Viewpoint What makes you nope out of a search thread?

[BackSet]

People have yet to explain to me what semi-literate even means so whenever I see it I always assume it's kind of pretentious. This isn't meant to offend anyone, I'm just saying what I conclude.

Anyway, what the heck does semi-literate mean anyways.

 

[NesyCelvestian]

Semi-literacy, well.

Here's the explenation from online:

《Semi - Literate》 For me, this stage is the awkward stage between being a one liner and a literate roleplayer. This stage is where more emphasizes is put into detailing their characters actions, but not by much. It's more that they put more than one sentence during their post.

 

[BackSet]

So... writing a paragraph at least, then?

Why don't people just say that!

This is worse than science class!

 

[NesyCelvestian]

Well, some people expect to know what semi-literate means.

Honestly, I could say I am literate because I can write: Details and stuff without slang or anything that. But my spelling is adequate and It's not perfect.

Then we have my grammar which is a little choppy so it basically means I am literatish but I am on the verge of semi-literate. More like an intermediate roleplayer.

 

[Crayons]

The whole "semi-literate" thing seems so whack to me because outside of RP circles, it's basically an insult and has a completely different meaning. XD

Back in my day there was: script style, one-lining, para, and multi-para and that was it. You were assumed to be literate (as in able to read and write) whatever type of posts you made.

 

[NesyCelvestian]

Well some people learn how to make better intrest checks obviously. This is why I decided to JOIN this discussion. To get a piece of damn advice what details not to put and what to put.

 

[BackSet]

I know people like their fancy terms and junk but sometimes you've just gotta lay it out bare.

Which reminds me of an annoying thing, it's totally cool when you make your interest check well written, I like interest checks that are well written, but sometimes, it's not clear what your roleplay is about so please, for the love of god, put a layman's terms description below the well written fancy one, as well as laying out what you expect from your players.

 

[Cassie Lang]

On any site I've been on, it's always been by paragraph. You aren't the only one scratching their head trying to figure out what literate/semi-literate means here.

 

[NesyCelvestian]

Big rip lol.

 

[BackSet]

On any site I've been on, it's always been by paragraph. You aren't the only one scratching their head trying to figure out what literate/semi-literate means here.

 

[Becker]

Anyway, what the heck does semi-literate mean anyways.

It's a very flexible term so I wouldn't worry too much about it and if you're still unsure then perhaps ask the GM for a more detailed explanation in what they're looking for. We all have our own expectations when joining or starting something in regards to what we want from our partners, few people are willing to write in-depth stories, paragraphs long and be okay with a few sentences in reply from their partner.

From my personal experience I tend to regard the more casual people who don't have alot of time or eagerness for a RP as those that write a paragraph or less. Semi-Literate folk, I would put somewhere between two to three paragraphs and literate writers would be around four plus paragraphs. That said ~ my expectation of paragraph may be completely different to yours so it's something to take with a grain of salt. Speaking to your partner or GM, making it clear what you'd like to achieve with each post and making sure that both parties understand that not everyone is consistent with their postings so a bit of leeway can go a long way in ensuring both parties are happy to work together.

All in all, I would trust my gut whether or not to try something with someone that i've met on the site and perhaps look through some examples of their previous writings. Doesn't matter if they call themselves Casual, Semi-Lit or Literate writers ~ no two writers are the same.

 

[NesyCelvestian]

Quality beats quantity lad.

 

[Becker]

Quality beats quantity lad.

I used to believe this too but nowadays, it's speculative on what level of quality or quantity someone would be looking for in a post. If someone were to write paragraph after paragraph, describing in minute detail on slicing a apple into bite-size pieces ~ I wouldn't call it quality nor quantity... i'd call it a unwise choice of mine to partner up with someone who writes like that. I'm not looking for the most qualitative writer nor the most quantitative ~ I'm looking for someone's writing I enjoy to read and get involved with, doesn't matter how many paragraphs or how detailed they are. If I find myself reading their posts time after time, all the meanwhile having a very pleasant experience and looking forward to the next one ~ then i've found my partner.

 

[Cassie Lang]

If someone were to write paragraph after paragraph, describing in minute detail on slicing a apple into bite-size pieces ~ I wouldn't call it quality nor quantity... i'd call it a unwise choice of mine to partner up with someone who writes like that.

That's called purple prose, actually, and should be avoided no matter your writing skill. Even so, I'd still agree with the quality beats quantity concept.

 

[NesyCelvestian]

Yep.

 

[BackSet]

I do both.

Because the quantity guys will inevitably drop and the quality guys'll probably stick around.

 

[NesyCelvestian]

blurp.

I am going for quality + quantity.

 

[SP3CT3R]

So... writing a paragraph at least, then?

Why don't people just say that!

This is worse than science class!

Science is the only moderately interesting core class wym

 

[BackSet]

It's okay.

 

[ashwynne]

I will forever hate using terms like “semi literate” and its ilk. There are different definitions across the board... especially when it comes to where semi-lit ends and “literate” begins (and then, heaven help us, advanced literate begins and ends) so actually knowing what it means is an individual thing. It's why I go by word or paragraph count when setting up my own interest checks. That's a way more tangible way of doing things. Even better is to just provide samples of a standard roleplay post from the get-go so there's really no confusion.

 

[rae2nerdy]

The whole "semi-literate" thing seems so whack to me because outside of RP circles, it's basically an insult and has a completely different meaning. XD

Back in my day there was: script style, one-lining, para, and multi-para and that was it. You were assumed to be literate (as in able to read and write) whatever type of posts you made.

I think it's actually pretty common for each site to have it's own definition. RPN itself used to have a uniform definition for paragraph length that was broken up into Simple / Casual / Detailed.

Simple - less than paragraph.
Casual - at least one paragraph
Detailed - three paragraphs

(There were more to the individual definitions but that was the part that is relevant to this conversation.)

I know on Gaia they had more or less the same break down they just called it - Simple / Semi-Lit / Lit / Advanced Lit

Simple - less than a paragraph
Semi Lit -at least one paragraph
Lit - three paragraphs
Advanced Lit - five paragraphs or more.

They called "Script Style" Chat on Gaia and I think here too. I've never done those type of roleplays so I can't say for sure. I think the problem now is that since RPN doesn't have it's own site wide definition anymore people are just using the definitions they are most used to from other sites.

 

[zippy]

When the thread is marked as "multiple settings" and has many tags that attract your interest, but upon clicking you realize that they are all fandom pairings with a small note at the bottom that they're "potentially interested in other ideas".

Stop doing this! Just mark your thread as Fandom. (also applies to the other tags as well, but I mostly see it with Fandom)

 

[Crayons]

I think it's actually pretty common for each site to have it's own definition. RPN itself used to have a uniform definition for paragraph length that was broken up into Simple / Casual / Detailed.

Simple - less than paragraph.
Casual - at least one paragraph
Detailed - three paragraphs

(There were more to the individual definitions but that was the part that is relevant to this conversation.)

I know on Gaia they had more or less the same break down they just called it - Simple / Semi-Lit / Lit / Advanced Lit

Simple - less than a paragraph
Semi Lit -at least one paragraph
Lit - three paragraphs
Advanced Lit - five paragraphs or more.

They called "Script Style" Chat on Gaia and I think here too. I've never done those type of roleplays so I can't say for sure. I think the problem now is that since RPN doesn't have it's own site wide definition anymore people are just using the definitions they are most used to from other sites.

Semi-lit is one to two paragraphs? Jeez. I should start paying more attention to semi-lit requests. I wouldn't mind an rp with shortish posts if it was good. Semi-lit makes me think the writing quality is kind of sucky and half assed, not that it's a different length of post. :/

 

[rae2nerdy]

Semi-lit is one to two paragraphs? Jeez. I should start paying more attention to semi-lit requests. I wouldn't mind an rp with shortish posts if it was good. Semi-lit makes me think the writing quality is kind of sucky and half assed, not that it's a different length of post. :/

In all the sites I’ve been on yeah it’s been one to two paragraphs. It was on Gaia and the few other sites I was on that used the “lit” definition scheme. But you can always ask the person directly what they mean.

 

[Cassie Lang]

Honestly, as someone who has never heard of the "lit" definition in regards to how much one writes until now, I think it's dumb. Even on the main site I RP on which has similar categories, I think it's dumb, though that's partly because people post roleplays in the section that is more popular than others for more potential players/views even if their RP clearly fits another section. Just say you want X amount of paragraphs (and decent grammar, if applicable to what you want) instead of trying to be all fancy-schmancy.