Other Roleplay Pet Peeves

[Marira]

Well firstly I don’t personally care, in fact I tend to request written description an purely for this reason. It’s easier for people to just describe what they want their character to look like than bother with images.

However a rule is a rule.

And if everyone else in the role play finds a way to complied with it and you do t than you shouldn’t get special treatment because you can’t find the exact image you want.

Not I’m using the general you ( as in you the theoretical player ) not specific you ( as in marira )

To me it’s about two things

Aesthetics - so everyone looks the same

And also uniformity among players. Everyone has to follow the same rules to get their characters accepted.

If you the player don’t like the rules than that just isn’t the role play for you.

Because yes I would rather keep the rules equal and avoid playing favorites than be like

Well I like Bobs character sheet more than Toms do Bob doesn’t have to follow the rules but Tom does

Well even then I wouldn't use it as a matter of favorites. And even then it's simply a matter of rule following.

But, I'm willing to give the benefit of a doubt that over the span of a few years there's a much better shot of finding something in a specific style than any other.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Sorry had to sign in at work but to finish my thought I think the bigger pet peeve I have over the arbitrary rules I don't agree with thing is when people think they don't have to follow the rules of a roleplay.

Like they themselves or their character is too special to follow whatever guidelines the GM sets so they'll bitch and moan until the weaker willed GMs cave or the stronger willed ones block them. At which point they start bitching and moaning about how the GM was mean and didn't let their precious snowflake character in the roleplay.

And it's like.... dude just follow the rules or join a different roleplay. I mean is it disappointing when you find an idea or a group you like and you don't fit the requirements? Sure. But the answer to that isn't to try to change the entire roleplay to fit your own personal needs. It's either adapt your expectations or move on to a different roleplay.

And even worse is when the GMs let SOME people get away with doing whatever they want but others have to follow the rules exactly. Like it's such obvious favoritism that it sends me into rage tears. Like that is one of the few things that makes me actually walk away from the keyboard I get so mad.

Because as I said above. A rule is a rule.

To use the previous example If your rule is that all the characters must use comic based images. And Tommy decides he's going to use an image from a comic TV show and you let him get away with it than that's b.s. Because at that point you ought to let Sally and June do the exact same thing.

But no because Tommy is your friend / a person you like and Sally and June are just some random nobodies on the web. They have to follow the rule while Tommy gets to do whatever he wants.

garrrrh alwejaop ihr elkhr a;ljkeu *incoherent seething*

Sorry I had a lot of bitterness about those specific pet peeves built up.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Well even then I wouldn't use it as a matter of favorites. And even then it's simply a matter of rule following.

But, I'm willing to give the benefit of a doubt that over the span of a few years there's a much better shot of finding something in a specific style than any other.

Yeah honestly it just depends on where you roleplay. 1x1s overwhelmingly don't bother with face claims of any sort. I mean if you want to use one you can ask but most people are like...dude whatever man I usually just put up a little blurb and get on with it.

Groups on the other hand require a lot more organization and work to keep everyone on the same page. And the thing is sometimes there are going to be request you think are stupid.

God the site I was on I swear to god it was like people had some kind of competition going on who could come up with the most ridiculous application process.

There were the folks that had reserve slots that read like you were applying for a job interview where the questions were things like : Hours of Availability, Experience In Roleplaying, Role You're Applying For, Time Zone, etc.

And you had to fill that out just so you could get STARTED on a character sheet.

There were people that asked you to make entire threads dedicated to your character. With entire posts dedicated to things like personality, likes/dislikes, background, appearance, fashion,etc.

And the one that was the biggest pain in the ass to me personally - Relationship Journals. Ugh whoever came up with the idea to add Relationship Journals to already overlong character sheets on that site ought to be slapped.

The idea for a Relationship journal was a post where you put a list of all the playable characters in the roleplay and your own character's relationship with them. It was a gods awful pain to keep them updated and fill them out to the specifications of whatever the GM wanted ( different relationship journals had different requirements )

But they did serve a very good purpose. They encouraged OOC plotting among players and made it so everyone was on the same page when it came to how their characters knew one another and would interact.

Where there better ways to come to these conclusions without the extra work? Yes indeedy.

But the rules said you make a Relationship Journal so you either made the journal or you passed up the roleplay.

And for awhile there EVERY roleplay but the super casual ones had these things. It was annoying but it was something you just had to adapt to.

Eventually the trend faded ( thank all the gods ) and we all moved on.

( lol i got lost in my point there I think but yeah tl:dr Just accept that sometimes the rules are stupid and ask yourself how much stupidity are you willing to put up with to do the roleplay you want? If that fails ask if you can borrow the idea for later and just make your own roleplay. )

 

[Ferociousfeind]

I think it must be perpetually Halloween where I come from, because all around me are ghosts, ghosts, ghosts!

Now, I won't name names, (and I don't keep track either), but it's infuriating when we've finally gotten everyone online at the same time, and the roleplay starts.
We get 2-3 pages in, and then it slows down and stops. I'm sitting here, refreshing the page, waiting for a response, and it simply never comes.

We have an OOC chat for a reason! So you can communicate! So please use it. If you're no longer interested, say so!

I am really picky with my roleplay - even when I'm trying to "expand my horizons". So I have plenty of energy to devote. I'm constantly scouring the Fandom and Futuristic tabs in search of a roleplay that piques my interest.

I mean it, my interests are really specific, and rather exotic. When was the last time you saw a roleplay taking place in the Splatoon universe? Yeah, me neither.

So I've applied to a dozen roleplay by now. Some start, some don't. Some don't get past the Interest Check. Sometimes people post that they're interested, and bizarrely never come online after that.

A futuristic roleplay I took part in died extravagantly when the GM simply stopped coming online. And they were such a joy to RP with. I've never experience such enjoyment in a roleplay before or since.

I pride myself on being a loyal roleplayer. If a roleplay dies, I can guarantee I'm either unaware of it or the last post in the thread. I have never once disappeared on a roleplay. The only exception being a long-dead roleplay which was temporarily revived years later. I was no longer interested in the plot any more.

But I swear that's only happened once!

So please, don't leave please?

 

[rae2nerdy]

I think it must be perpetually Halloween where I come from, because all around me are ghosts, ghosts, ghosts!

Now, I won't name names, (and I don't keep track either), but it's infuriating when we've finally gotten everyone online at the same time, and the roleplay starts.
We get 2-3 pages in, and then it slows down and stops. I'm sitting here, refreshing the page, waiting for a response, and it simply never comes.

We have an OOC chat for a reason! So you can communicate! So please use it. If you're no longer interested, say so!

I am really picky with my roleplay - even when I'm trying to "expand my horizons". So I have plenty of energy to devote. I'm constantly scouring the Fandom and Futuristic tabs in search of a roleplay that piques my interest.

I mean it, my interests are really specific, and rather exotic. When was the last time you saw a roleplay taking place in the Splatoon universe? Yeah, me neither.

So I've applied to a dozen roleplay by now. Some start, some don't. Some don't get past the Interest Check. Sometimes people post that they're interested, and bizarrely never come online after that.

A futuristic roleplay I took part in died extravagantly when the GM simply stopped coming online. And they were such a joy to RP with. I've never experience such enjoyment in a roleplay before or since.

I pride myself on being a loyal roleplayer. If a roleplay dies, I can guarantee I'm either unaware of it or the last post in the thread. I have never once disappeared on a roleplay. The only exception being a long-dead roleplay which was temporarily revived years later. I was no longer interested in the plot any more.

But I swear that's only happened once!

So please, don't leave please?

I think it's a matter of overestimating your free time and the amount of effort a roleplay takes. Some people simply don't have consistent schedules to be online, they have real life issues come up, or they just didn't properly think through how much time it would take for them to get a reply out.

This is pretty much the exact reason I don't do groups anymore. My schedule is too uneven, I work too much, and my muse is a fickle thing at best.

But not everyone has my degree of self-awareness. Hell I didn't even always have my degree of self awareness. It was a long while for me to finally just throw in the towel and be like...nope groups are just not a thing I can do anymore.

Plus some people just realize after the fact that a roleplay is not for them and don't want to cause a scene so they just ghost away rather than risk getting into an argument or being attacked.

I'm not saying you would do that. But I've seen enough really nasty examples of people turning on those who try to bow out that it's not a totally irrational fear. After all they can't know that you aren't the kind of person that will harrass them and name call them for trying to leave, can they?

Furthermore I always remember the example of the one time a member of my group was in a car accident and hospitalized for several months. Obviously all we the players knew is they had just ghosted randomly one day only to come back months later to tell us they'd been in the hospital.

Now that's an extreme example but the point is that you can't begin to know what is going on with other people. And they won't always have the capacitity ( for whatever reason ) to let you know.

 

[BackSet]

When people use timy text or complex bbcode that diesn't work because my ipad wont let me scroll.

 

[BackSet]

I think it must be perpetually Halloween where I come from, because all around me are ghosts, ghosts, ghosts!

Now, I won't name names, (and I don't keep track either), but it's infuriating when we've finally gotten everyone online at the same time, and the roleplay starts.
We get 2-3 pages in, and then it slows down and stops. I'm sitting here, refreshing the page, waiting for a response, and it simply never comes.

We have an OOC chat for a reason! So you can communicate! So please use it. If you're no longer interested, say so!

I am really picky with my roleplay - even when I'm trying to "expand my horizons". So I have plenty of energy to devote. I'm constantly scouring the Fandom and Futuristic tabs in search of a roleplay that piques my interest.

I mean it, my interests are really specific, and rather exotic. When was the last time you saw a roleplay taking place in the Splatoon universe? Yeah, me neither.

So I've applied to a dozen roleplay by now. Some start, some don't. Some don't get past the Interest Check. Sometimes people post that they're interested, and bizarrely never come online after that.

A futuristic roleplay I took part in died extravagantly when the GM simply stopped coming online. And they were such a joy to RP with. I've never experience such enjoyment in a roleplay before or since.

I pride myself on being a loyal roleplayer. If a roleplay dies, I can guarantee I'm either unaware of it or the last post in the thread. I have never once disappeared on a roleplay. The only exception being a long-dead roleplay which was temporarily revived years later. I was no longer interested in the plot any more.

But I swear that's only happened once!

So please, don't leave please?

I know how you feel, man.

Ive ghosted only once and that was because of a couple of reasons.

A. I made the mistake of making a character who was completely detatched from the action so I couldn't post (because his job is watching. Trust me, that would get boring fast. I would just end up reiterating what everyone had just said.)

B. The notifocations screwed me over and stopped notifying me about posts in that rp.

C. Everything was going so fast and I couldn't keep up.

 

[BackSet]

You'd sooner use your imagination with a set of words than you would an actual image?

I know Im late to this argument but, yes. Yes I would. Not for asthetic reasons (I hardly pay attention to appearences in rps so long as they fit the theme. Im more focused on keeping the mary sues and overpowered characters out.) but because that's what rping is. Using your imagination. I Don't mind images but i much prefer descriptions. Face claims seem kind of stupid too me because they aren't as versatile and personal and unique as written words. (Keep in mind i Dont care. This is just preference. But i feel I must defend my chosen way of conveying my characters appearence.)

 

[Marira]

I know Im late to this argument but, yes. Yes I would. Not for asthetic reasons (I hardly pay attention to appearences in rps so long as they fit the theme. Im more focused on keeping the mary sues and overpowered characters out.) but because that's what rping is. Using your imagination. I Don't mind images but i much prefer descriptions. Face claims seem kind of stupid too me because they aren't as versatile and personal and unique as written words. (Keep in mind i Dont care. This is just preference. But i feel I must defend my chosen way of conveying my characters appearence.)

eh, at that point I was playing Devil's advocate. I provide both description and an image (granted I can find one in an appropriate medium) since an image alone doesn't cover EVERYTHING about my character's appearance.

 

[Platypus]

It would be like if you're watching a live action movie and out of nowhere a cartoon popped up and started interacting with them.

It really isn't. Since you know, you never actually see the different characters.

Because the aesthetics of a fictional world are important.

I agree with this to an extent. But i just don't see the problem with some players using say an anime character that looks decently realistic while others use an "realistic" image of some korean pop star.

Besides, plenty of people use face claim with completely different art styles and nobody seems to care much about it so I fail to see why this would be any different.

 

[memphis]

When people use timy text or complex bbcode that diesn't work because my ipad wont let me scroll.

Ah, I hate this. Not only does it make it difficult to read on mobile devices, but people fail to understand that there are people out there who are visually impaired in some way or another, which can make certain font sizes and colors difficult to read even on computers. I mean, I would hope those people would be able to speak up for themselves and alert the other person if they ran into a problem like this so that they could change something, but it would be nice if people just took in to account what's realistically readable, and what's not. If you are sharing a large amount of text with another person, and the expectation is that they're going to be reading all of it, it should never be much lighter than black (if it's on a white background). Also, typically, I'd say a majority of the time color on color is also a bad idea.

 

[Bone2pick]

I agree with this to an extent. But i just don't see the problem with some players using say an anime character that looks decently realistic while others use an "realistic" image of some korean pop star.

Besides, plenty of people use face claim with completely different art styles and nobody seems to care much about it so I fail to see why this would be any different.

I won't comment on your above example because it's too undefined. I have no idea what you mean by "decently realistic anime" and "realistic image".

As to the second, are you using face claim as a synonym for character image? I could be wrong, but I was under the impression face claim was for a photograph or video of an actual person, not an illustration. Anyone can correct me on that, but it feels strange to call something like traditional comic book art a face claim... I don't think I'd like to.

Also, depending on how far apart the different art styles are, I'll care. I don't require a perfect match but you'll need to be in the ballpark. And if I'm using artwork and you're using a photograph, then you're definitely not in the ballpark.

 

[Marira]

I'm also not saying you can't use your imagination, obviously that's what we're doing here on this website. But how come the same couldn't be done for a image in a different art medium? Maybe it's because I'm a visual person, but I would imagine it being much easier. *looks at picture* "oh okay, that's the image they provided, so I can expect this character to look like xyz, portrayed in the aesthetic I had in mind." That's the idea I was going with when I made that statement.

 

[rae2nerdy]

It really isn't. Since you know, you never actually see the different characters.


I agree with this to an extent. But i just don't see the problem with some players using say an anime character that looks decently realistic while others use an "realistic" image of some korean pop star.

Besides, plenty of people use face claim with completely different art styles and nobody seems to care much about it so I fail to see why this would be any different.

What I mean is from a visual standpoint. You have all these real people and then suddenly a picture. It throws off the aesthetic as we are assuming that your face claim is more or less EXACTLY what your character looks like ( minus whatever minor alterations you inform us of )

Think of it like actors being cast to play parts in a book adaptation.

If I say my character looks like Sandra Bullock. Bob says his character looks like Daniel Radcliffe. And Susie comes along and is like my character looks like Aladdin from the Animated Movie.

There is a very big disconnect in the appearances of those characters.

Because your basically saying in a world where Daniel and Sandra are real people going about the plot of the roleplay they will also be communicating with what is essentially a cartoon ala Roger Rabbit.

Which I mean that works if the roleplay is deliberately meant to be representing different mediums, again ala Roger Rabbit, but it doesn't work if the roleplay is meant to be a solid asthetic in the real or not-real form.

It's a sort of breaking of immersion. The only reason people give visual face claims is because they want you to see exactly what their character looks like. Therefore the larger the difference in quality and style of the people on display the more you risk breakng immersion.

It's not like reading descriptions in a book where you can just imagine the character to look however you want. It is people saying extremely specifically - This is my character's visual. When you read about them this is the image you should see in your head.

 

[gambolingcat]

You folks bring up some great peeves. One I'd like to add is:

- Writers being actively mean to other writers for goofing up grammatical rules.

It's one thing to ask (or, hell, demand) that your roleplay partner try to observe good writing rules. It's quite another to deride and hiss at them for making honest mistakes on punctuation, spelling, etc. It's not always laziness. Sometimes we -- as in ALL writers -- mess up without knowing we're doing it. Mocking someone for that doesn't make you a better, cooler, more proficient writer. It just makes you a bully.

If you're going to point out someone's mistakes, do it only to genuinely teach them. If helping isn't your main goal in correcting another writer's work, keep your mouth shut, and go find a different partner. But I promise you: you've screwed up your tenses before, too. We all have. Don't be a bully.

Also, if you're going to mock someone's usage, you better be damn sure your usage is absolutely crisp and clean. I've often found it to be true that the nastier a writer is about correcting other writers, the weaker their appreciation for what language rules actually do.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Related to above when folks are like - you must have flawless grammar before you darken my pms.


Like okay cool that’s great, imma avoid you like the plague.

As cat said it’s just super nasty to expect perfection from people and get snide when they make the inevitable mistake

 

[Ferociousfeind]

While I expect perfect grammar, the occasional mistake is also expected, but ur not gunn roply wit me if ur respns luk leik tis

 

[rae2nerdy]

While I expect perfect grammar, the occasional mistake is also expected, but ur not gunn roply wit me if ur respns luk leik tis

Oh no I mean when people are like

You used the wrong your? Misplaced a comma? Get thee gone fowl illiterate!

Like literally if you aren’t perfect at all times when it comes to your writing you shouldn’t write at all.

And if you do make any kind of mistake no matter how small than your immediately attacked.

When you expect literal perfection rather than - hey do your best and if I notice some common mistakes I’ll let you know or bow out.

 

[diablita]

Somewhat related to the roleplayers who only play females, I hate it when other roleplayers only do "lGbT-fRiEnDlY" characters. Don't get me wrong, I am an ally and don't have an ounce of ill will against anyone whose sexual orientation is different from others, but it seems that some of the younger roleplayers as myself seem to overromanticize the concept of a character being LGBT.

Also, I hate roleplayers who use profanity consistently throughout their writing; it comes off as try-hard and immature. Get a dictionary or something, gosh.

 

[Ferociousfeind]

Oh no[1] I mean when people are like[2]

You used the wrong [3]your[3]? Misplaced a comma? Get thee[4] gone fowl illiterate[5]!

Like[6] literally[7] if you aren’t perfect at all times when it comes to your writing[8] you shouldn’t write at all.

And if you do make any kind of mistake no matter how small than your[9] immediately attacked.

When you expect literal perfection rather than - [10]hey do your best and if I notice some common mistakes I’ll let you know[10?] or bow out[10?].

[1] Missing a comma.
[2] Missing a period.
[3] Forgot quotation marks around "your".
[4] Using archaic form of "yourself".
[5] "Illiterate" is not a noun.
[6] Overuse of "like".
[7] Overuse of "literally".
[8] Forgot a comma.
[9] Wrong "your", should've used "you're".
[10] Forgot quotation marks around the quote.
It's great, isn't it?

 

[rae2nerdy]

[1] Missing a comma.
[2] Missing a period.
[3] Forgot quotation marks around "your".
[4] Using archaic form of "yourself".
[5] "Illiterate" is not a noun.
[6] Overuse of "like".
[7] Overuse of "literally".
[8] Forgot a comma.
[9] Wrong "your", should've used "you're".
[10] Forgot quotation marks around the quote.
It's great, isn't it?

I’m not sure what your getting at ? Gonna be honest it comes off a little douchey.

So if your trying to agree you might want to clarify that

 

[King Crimson]

Writers being actively mean to other writers for goofing up grammatical rules

How about writers being actively mean in general?

 

[Ferociousfeind]

I’m not sure what your getting at ? Gonna be honest it comes off a little douchey.

So if your trying to agree you might want to clarify that

The point was I was agreeing that seeking out grammatical errors to point out is an annoying habit.

 

[myfanwy]

× when people complain about aesthetic later on rather than telling you upfront that they'd prefer plain posts.

× people who complain about someone else's writing style and preference.

× "i only play females but i can double up but only focus on writing my female character as opposed to the male :^)"

× "can i use a drawing??" when it has been stated that the person only wants realistic face claims

× people who don't meet any of the preferences of a role player but insist on asking and then getting mad when said person says "no, sorry"

 

[memphis]

but it seems that some of the younger roleplayers as myself seem to overromanticize the concept of a character being LGBT.

While I do agree that there are people who do grossly fetishize LGBT characters, and that this is a problem in and of itself, I do see where people are coming from in wanting to write LGBT characters. I think the fact that many roleplayers, younger or not, prefer to write LGBT characters should be taken with a grain of salt. From my personal experience of the roleplaying community as a whole, I've observed that, often, the writers of these characters are often LGBT themselves. I know that it can seem a bit overzealous at times, but I do strongly believe that a lot of people who are a part of the LGBT community themselves write exclusively LGBT characters because this is their only outlet to express themselves. Mainstream media is flooded with non-LGBT characters and storylines, so it makes sense that somebody who might not have the opportunity to see people like them represented in traditional media write the characters and stories they wish to see represented.