Post by Knight-Captain Nathanos on Nov 29, 2007 22:24:06 GMT -5
Thanks to Arai for providing the tips that made a bunch on barely understandable gibberish into well played out posts. *Salutes*
GODMODING
Okay, so godmoding is typically seen as just springing an attack on someone, like “He kicked the human in the chest, breaking his spine instantly.” But it also includes things like:
KNOWLEDGE – So basically, if the person does not tell your character a piece of information, such as a name, then you don’t know it. There’s a lot of this on the board, stuff like, “She greeted the newcomer. “Hello, Arai,” she said.” If I haven’t told you my name, you don’t know it. And you shouldn’t use it until I tell you. This rule also extends to thoughts and feelings. Unless they post “she acted anxious” or something, you aren’t aware that she is anxious.
LOCATION –Unless you have a good reason to be somewhere, like you live there or are traveling there for some reason, you shouldn’t just randomly appear. So when you post in a new region, you should also say the reason that you are there. Otherwise you appear to have a magical teleporting machine.
POSSESSIONS – If someone posts that they have a hidden knife, or a vial of holy water in their pocket, you cannot post back, “He knew she had a knife in the top of her boot.” In a real life situation, you would not know that the person you’re talking to has a knife in their shoe.
LENGTH AND QUALITY
I know that sometimes it’s hard to post back well, especially if you are not in the middle of a fight or other action scene. So here’s a few tips to help keep your posting interesting:
LENGTH – Personally, I try to make a post that fills the little white post box. It keeps you from just posting one sentence, which is sort of spam-like.
DESCRIPTION – Since sometimes you can only post a one-sentence spoken reply, try to fill up the rest with descriptions. Describe thoughts, actions, the position your character is in, the expression on their face. Something like, “she ran her fingers back through her thick black hair, a confused expression in her dark eyes” or “shifting her weight to one leg, she glared at him, crossing her arms” or “he sat there, watching her, listening to the gentle chirps of crickets and the rustle of the wind in the trees.”
VARIOUS GRAMMAR THINGS – Okay, so some of these are my own pet peeves as a writing perfectionist. But at least try to capitalize where needed, like names, beginnings of sentences, names of cities, etc. Also try to spell things correctly; there’s a spell check button at the bottom of the page before you post.
VOCABULARY – Use as varied vocabulary as you can manage. I doubt that anyone memorizes the dictionary (what, am I the only one?), but try to use more variations of the same word. Instead of ‘said’, use ‘cheered’, ‘commented’, ‘remarked’, etc.
OTHER
A few other things that can be bothersome:
OUT OF CHARACTER POSTING – It’s okay to post out of character if your posts are relavant, such as inviting someone to join your faction, or posting on the general board. However, if your post is only “lol” or “I agree with Vincent” or something like that, don’t hit send. Nobody appreciates these posts, and they only give you unfair posting strength, number wise. Also, avoid posting out of character on a real thread at all costs.
REALITY CHECK – You do have limitations. It annoys the people you are posting with if you have powers only the experts are supposed to have. If you have questions about what you can and can’t do, such as mind-reading, talking to others through your thoughts, or vanishing, contact an administrator to make sure it’s within your limitations – before you post it.
ENTERING A THREAD
So there are some unwritten rules when you want to enter a post. By writing them here, I just destroyed the unwritten thing. Oh well.
OPEN THREAD - If the thread has (open) after the name, you are allowed to enter it without permission. However, try to enter at a logical time i.e. when two people are having a deep conversation, don't just pop in. Wait until any action lulls a bit. Also, if you enter after posting has been going on for a while, read all the pages first. This just makes it easier for everyone, because you know what's going on and can respond accordingly
PRIVATE - Private threads are arranged over PM's or on another thread. If you are not expressly invited, don't try to post there.
UNSPECIFIED - If there is not an (open) or (private) after the name, then before entering, you should PM the person who started the thread. Try not to post and be like "Is it okay that I join in?" That disrupts the flow of the posting, especially if it is in the middle of a fight or some high action sequence. PMs are best.
So, that's pretty much it. Just let me know if something needs changed/added!
GODMODING
Okay, so godmoding is typically seen as just springing an attack on someone, like “He kicked the human in the chest, breaking his spine instantly.” But it also includes things like:
KNOWLEDGE – So basically, if the person does not tell your character a piece of information, such as a name, then you don’t know it. There’s a lot of this on the board, stuff like, “She greeted the newcomer. “Hello, Arai,” she said.” If I haven’t told you my name, you don’t know it. And you shouldn’t use it until I tell you. This rule also extends to thoughts and feelings. Unless they post “she acted anxious” or something, you aren’t aware that she is anxious.
LOCATION –Unless you have a good reason to be somewhere, like you live there or are traveling there for some reason, you shouldn’t just randomly appear. So when you post in a new region, you should also say the reason that you are there. Otherwise you appear to have a magical teleporting machine.
POSSESSIONS – If someone posts that they have a hidden knife, or a vial of holy water in their pocket, you cannot post back, “He knew she had a knife in the top of her boot.” In a real life situation, you would not know that the person you’re talking to has a knife in their shoe.
LENGTH AND QUALITY
I know that sometimes it’s hard to post back well, especially if you are not in the middle of a fight or other action scene. So here’s a few tips to help keep your posting interesting:
LENGTH – Personally, I try to make a post that fills the little white post box. It keeps you from just posting one sentence, which is sort of spam-like.
DESCRIPTION – Since sometimes you can only post a one-sentence spoken reply, try to fill up the rest with descriptions. Describe thoughts, actions, the position your character is in, the expression on their face. Something like, “she ran her fingers back through her thick black hair, a confused expression in her dark eyes” or “shifting her weight to one leg, she glared at him, crossing her arms” or “he sat there, watching her, listening to the gentle chirps of crickets and the rustle of the wind in the trees.”
VARIOUS GRAMMAR THINGS – Okay, so some of these are my own pet peeves as a writing perfectionist. But at least try to capitalize where needed, like names, beginnings of sentences, names of cities, etc. Also try to spell things correctly; there’s a spell check button at the bottom of the page before you post.
VOCABULARY – Use as varied vocabulary as you can manage. I doubt that anyone memorizes the dictionary (what, am I the only one?), but try to use more variations of the same word. Instead of ‘said’, use ‘cheered’, ‘commented’, ‘remarked’, etc.
OTHER
A few other things that can be bothersome:
OUT OF CHARACTER POSTING – It’s okay to post out of character if your posts are relavant, such as inviting someone to join your faction, or posting on the general board. However, if your post is only “lol” or “I agree with Vincent” or something like that, don’t hit send. Nobody appreciates these posts, and they only give you unfair posting strength, number wise. Also, avoid posting out of character on a real thread at all costs.
REALITY CHECK – You do have limitations. It annoys the people you are posting with if you have powers only the experts are supposed to have. If you have questions about what you can and can’t do, such as mind-reading, talking to others through your thoughts, or vanishing, contact an administrator to make sure it’s within your limitations – before you post it.
ENTERING A THREAD
So there are some unwritten rules when you want to enter a post. By writing them here, I just destroyed the unwritten thing. Oh well.
OPEN THREAD - If the thread has (open) after the name, you are allowed to enter it without permission. However, try to enter at a logical time i.e. when two people are having a deep conversation, don't just pop in. Wait until any action lulls a bit. Also, if you enter after posting has been going on for a while, read all the pages first. This just makes it easier for everyone, because you know what's going on and can respond accordingly
PRIVATE - Private threads are arranged over PM's or on another thread. If you are not expressly invited, don't try to post there.
UNSPECIFIED - If there is not an (open) or (private) after the name, then before entering, you should PM the person who started the thread. Try not to post and be like "Is it okay that I join in?" That disrupts the flow of the posting, especially if it is in the middle of a fight or some high action sequence. PMs are best.
So, that's pretty much it. Just let me know if something needs changed/added!