The Do's and Don't's of Roleplaying

[PhazonDragon]

Or, the "How Picky Are You When it Comes to Roleplaying" thread.

I'm curious... Does anyone have any pet peeves or things they just have to do when they roleplay?

I know for me, it's a bit of an annoyance when dragon speech is put into the same paragraph as a rider's speech, because technically they are two different characters, they each deserve their own paragraph.. But it's not something I'm too picky about, since one of my close friends does it. |D

Something that I must do when typing a post is put dragon speech in italics. Always. It's such an effort to not type the tags, that I have to proofread my post for tags I missed, along with spelling errors and the like.

What about you guys? Something to share?
/attempt at getting more people to post

[Topaz]

Aw Phazzy. x3

Well, I always have to use the right tags/colors for certain speech..
"Human character speaking aloud."
Weyrling/rider speaking to a dragon.
Caleth speaking privately to Kiana alone.
(Different colors for each dragon of course. I try and find colors with matching names instead of numbers; for instance Caleth's hex code is #FAFAD2, but when posting I use lightgoldenrodyellow. it's just easier for me to remember. ^-^)
Caleth speaking to others; be it another dragon, another human, or the entire Weyr.

Also, when a character, no matter the species, is thinking to his or herself, I usually just put it in plain text. I used to use italics for that as well, but I found it too confusing for others to decipher.

As for separating speech in different paragraphs for different characters, I can't say I do that too often, if at all. I usually just separate paragraphs by main topics or series of events, and other dividers like that. My paragraphs tend to flow with time, so if my weyrling and their dragon are having a conversation, I wouldn't bother separating every line of speech, regardless if there is a sentence or two of description in between them.

Finally, I just try and stick to the common courtesies of roleplaying. I make sure not to do anything drastic or say too much without letting another character respond, and I do my best to be fair with any confrontation actions towards another character. Spellcheck is my best friend. :3

I think that's it for that.. However I'm also very anal about my profile formats.. which come to think of them, I'm not quite happy with them yet. Once I get some fuel back in my muse-bot I'll probably fix that. xD

[PhazonDragon]

-purrs-

lol I totally understand you with that color stuff. I mean, I have a ton myself... I wonder how many I have memorized...
220c07 a67d3d 66ff66 88caff 3333cc
And I know I'm missing a lot from some closed weyrs.. .3. But for the most part... I don't have Aricoth's or Brynath's memorized yet. I often have the profiles out and open in another tab, for my own reference.

But yeah, italics for thoughts. I don't usually do that either.. Mostly, it's for thoughts that a character would say, not narration-thought-type stuff. Hurph. If that makes any sense. xD

As for weyrling/dragon or rider/dragon, etc that kind of character, my conversations tend to be lumped into giant paragraphs to save space (but I like to break them up where I see fit, so that others don't have to read walls of text). For different characters in one post (meaning two riders or the like) I like getting out ye olde bold tags and title each section.

Oh, I love to leave room for responses. xD I always try to do that, which is why I may not post for a while, to see if someone else in the thread wants to get something in before my next post... Common courtesy is a roleplayer's friend. I'm not a fan of people who speedpost and leave others in the dust.. Hence why I can be so picky when it comes to roleplays I join. Yis.

That reminds me... I'll have to fix up my profiles as well. But I'm lazy.

[redwerecat]

Hmm. In response: I try to separate all my separate characters into their own distinct posts, like in one roleplay where I've got three separate ones.

The only problem is, with this one and a few other Pern roleplays, I tend to shush dragon and human together since they're closer to one entity than two.

As for pet peeves...oneliners, terrible grammar, and posts wher epeople are only like "Hi my name is Foofoo I am -insert tragic history here- lets go on an adventure."
Usually all in one sentence just like that. I makes me want to smash faces in with a brick.

I don't always mind speedposting, but I dislike it when it's a group of people and everyone is together. (If it's one thread, and multiple groups, like...A and B in a hallway, and C, D, and E somewhere else entirely, then I don't mind if A and B continue along separately without C D and E. Did that make sense?
If A B C and D are all in the same place, then I hate it if C and A go on without B and D.)

Otherwise...I can't think of anything. I like long posts, and lots of background info that still manages to allow for lots of character personalization.

[Topaz]

Oh man.. Red, I totally agree on the smashing faces with bricks thing. D:< Some people just stuff all their info into the first greeting they have. For one, in real life.. if someone spoke on and on like that, they would be weird. I don't care how open-minded and friendly you are, you would be wary that they might have some kind of mental disorder. Secondly, that only leads to repeating your entire story to everyone you meet, one after the other. It just gets ridiculous. No one cares about your history the minute they meet you. A name and maybe a place of birth should suffice.

[phyrstyr]

Red, i completely agree with the grammar! it makes me so mad that i have to fix it. Even if I'm the only one who knows what is should be.
And Topaz, i also like to separate things by color and italics. It just makes everything easier to read. *nods to self*
But i cant stand when a person writes like they are obviously less than 10 years old or illiterate.
I am in an RP on Magi currently and i am considering leaving it only because they write two sentence posts that give you no info (and are almost impossible to understand even though only 2 lines. i have no idea how they accomplish it). and for PAGES! every time i go on, there are at least 3 new pages of pointless one-liners that leave me in the dust. I only stay because the basic concept of the RP is very good.
[/rant]
Also, i don't like when there are spelling problems by mixing up words. For example, and as 'adn' or like as 'kile'. I understand it happens, and i do it all the time, but you don't have to write it, realize it is wrong, and go into the edit to apologize instead of fixing it.

Otherwise, im pretty tolerant. ^.^

[Topaz]

I've left many a Magistream RP because of illiteracy. Even if it's just one person who is really bad, I just can't do it. It's proven to be the quickest way to drain my muse and push my buttons all at once. =D And it really is unfortunate, because the only reason I join RP's is because the story line is interesting to me. :/

[redwerecat]

Ew. Illiteracy. I almost feel bad that I learned to rp on...Neopets.
(Shudder)
It was terrible.

And I hate rp-spammers! Like the ones who go "Oh! Nice rp. U should join my XSomethingX poetic title rp." And then they leave. Or does this only happen to me?

Urg. I also hate it when a roleplay dies for no apparent reason. It just up and kicks it one day...and people are left going "WTFBBQBACON? What happened?"

Or when the original idea-maker dies all of a sudden. And then you can't do anything.
DIvka: I sooo agree with the spelling. I don't mind it every so often, but i always try to spell-check my posts. The only things i'll miss are uncapitalized 'I's and words I've misspelled as something normal- like if I misspell Tire as Tier or something. Then my brain seems to skip it over.
(For instance, I just spelled 'try' as "trie". What?)

[Houka Ryuu]

Well, here's my bit of formatting whenever I roleplay in a dragonrider RPG. Everyone is welcome to use my formatting if they so wish. ^_^

Color - This means that your dragon is talking to another dragon.
Ex: Hello, I am Green Houkath. said Houkath to the Weyrlingmaster's dragon.

Bold + Color - This means that your dragon is talking to you.
Ex: Rider-Mine, I am terribly hungry. Will you not feed me? Houkath cried at a stunned Lesla.

Italics + Color - This means that your dragon is talking or thinking to himself/herself.
Ex: What is Mine thinking making me wait here for so long. Houkath thought to herself as she waited for Hers.

Italics + Bold - This means that you are talking to your dragon mentally.
Ex: Houkath, are you doing okay? Lesla asked her dragon as they alighted on their new home.

Italics - This means that you are talking or thinking to yourself.
Ex: I wonder how Houkath will do when she's ready to mate... Lesla thought to herself as she looked lovingly at Houkath.

"Text Here" - This means that you are talking to someone.
Ex: "Hello, my name is Lesla and this here is my dragon Green Houkath." Lesla introduced herself to the pair that met her.

Italics + 'Text Here' - This means you are quoting someone's speech word for word.
Ex: "Faizah said, 'Go in and pick a weyr for yourself and Houkath.'." Lesla told the Weyrlingmaster.

EDIT:
As for pet peeves, I also hate one liners. If I'm stuck, and can't find something to write about, I'd rather not post and wait for a few days for my muse to come back.

Ditto on the grammar and spelling, I hate it when I see misspellings especially if an RPG site boasts of their advanced literacy and are a bit of a snob about it. >_< Yes, I have seen a few of those kinds of RPG sites which thankfully never lasted for more than a few months. ha ha ha

I also try to write separately for each persona whether it be human or dragon. Sometimes, I even write from my dragon's point-of-view instead of just from my rider's. However, that just makes posting very long and often times redundant so I usually just deal from my rider's perspective of things.

I'm a stickler for details so sometimes before I join any RP Thread I ask a lot of detail oriented questions most especially time-wise. After all, I don't want my character to be in two places at the same time.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. ^_^