Honestly? Yeah. I never really stopped writing my apps in the traditional way, like my freeform apps are just histories, but I feel like in a lot of ways we (as a community) have gotten a bit lax with how apps are laid out. I’m not a big fan of how many apps read more like an Instagram account than an actual character sheet. I’m not saying that every app needs to be an essay, but I’ve always viewed apps as your resume for your rp character. You should want to put more effort into it bc this is a hobby you enjoy, and while it might not be your favorite part of the process; it’s an important one. 

like I stated in my previous post, I’m glad that certain trends have more or less died, (like the rp sample) but I do feel like a lot of people put the bare amount of effort into their apps just to finish them, and it reflects in their app. And I know that you don’t always exactly know what your character is like yet. Totally get that. And this is all to say, I’m not really talking about anyone or any specific site, but it’s been an overall trend I’ve noticed. And this might just be a me thing, but I look at apps for sites I haven’t even joined yet bc I feel like they’re a good way to sort of gauge what the community is like before I make any commitments. I’m learning that apparently I am a massive planner bc reading how little some of yall prepare for threads or plots just confuses the hell out of me. My brain does not understand 

i'ma read your apps but every time i see some fancy prose that doesn't actually tell me anything about the character i'm like yo wtf is going on right now pls just tell me if she's nice or not. if an app does too much frilly dancing, i end up zoning out no matter how hard i try

Why be in a roleplaying hobby and not roleplay? It sounds ridiculous for me to ask that right? Of course I enjoy reading. I am sure that you enjoy roleplaying. The only difference really is that I prefer to read about the other character through what I discover about them in roleplay, and you want to know a lot of detail upfront. My way of doing it leads to stronger roleplay for me and I enjoy it more.

This thread kinda sucks.

lmfao should have clarified my "you" are general "you" if not quoted on another person's post

I think its fine if ppl just wanna rp with their pals but i often see a lot of grousing about not being as popular to write with or not getting as many plots and many times i think to myself "how legible is your app/plotter?" because i see TOTAL introverts up to their eyeballs in plots and its cuz they write clearly and try to help ease people into a collaborative story... starting from the app

I got that you were making a generalization. I think it is fair since I fall within that generalizations being made in the thread I should try to explain why I am doing it that way. It has nothing to do with being too lazy to read.

After all this is just a friendly discussion and the insight is helpful no? It's not like this is a bash thread.

I think whether apps are important is up for debate, which frankly is partially what is happening here. 

I don't even get why people are prescribing how you have to do certain things or behave in certain ways in order to be a roleplayer. I totally get this is a hobby that involves writing and reading, but by the same token, that's not how you use a semi-colon, and why are others who complain about how you should do x or y not using proper capitals to signify the start of sentences, given that writing in all-lower case hampers the readability of your posts? If the writing and reading part of roleplay is so incredibly important that everyone must read apps, then why don't all people follow proper writing conventions and format their posts correctly?

And this isn't aimed at you but in general:

It's incredibly easy to complain about people not doing things the way you want them to happen. But just because you think that's the way to roleplay doesn't mean that it is the only way to roleplay.



This thread, as I have said every post, is utter shit. It's designed to shit on people for not approaching this hobby the same way you do, and pretends to have some high ground over being an authority on what constitutes proper roleplay. Lots of people talk about roleplaying as an escape from things, and many more consider creative ventures to be something not constrained by rules.

So why do we need to have unwritten rules about what constitutes a "proper roleplayer", and why are we making threads designed specifically to shit on people for not following your unwritten rule?

Is the intention to drive people away from roleplay because they're not proper enough? 


EDIT:
And yes, I know I am being combative here, but I absolutely do not agree we should be telling others how to approach this hobby. If you do not want to roleplay with them, for whatever reason, then that's fine. All up to you. But while Sharp is willing to defend their decision, it's well worth to remember there's also people who will read this and feel called out or treated with hostility. Building a community shouldn't be about punching down, it should be about lifting up.

tbh i don't read apps unless i'm:

a.) wanting to thread/plot with the character
b.) the app writer wants to thread/plot with me
c.) the character looks litty from the threads i've lurked & i'm just genuinely curious

in case b.) if they've written a Novel it might take a while for me to get back to them...like, yeah, this is a reading hobby, but sometimes the contents of an app just aren't fun to read! i put books down when they aren't fun, i feel the same way about apps. the character can be Incredible and Totally to my taste and in every thread they are characterized so godly-well that i'm just obsessed but then the app is like, "here are 100k words of my blorbo stubbing their toe in varying situations!" and i'm going "where the fuck is the tl;dr??"

i'm saying this as someone who has probably (definitely? definitely.) written apps that aren't fun to parse. like i love love Love my purple poetic metaphorical prose that's just vaguely aesthetic + writing in second person + i've sometimes drafted very long, rambling apps when i get deep into a muse. that's fine. and i'd never fault someone for not wanting to read it, or just wanting me to outright tell them what's what.

edit: SORRY I SKIMMED TOO FAST I MEAN ID READ ABOUT UR BLORBO STUBBING THEIR TOE

when are you going to write an app next. can i read it even if im not on ur site? send it to my p2 dms please thank u

Nah this is so valid though

Do what gives you muse and I'll do the same and somehow we'll get to where we need to be

"this isn't aimed at you personally" ok.

but i guess i am genuinely confused abt the level of vitriol? it's fine to be different. ultimately at the end who fucking cares about how we approach things. like i said previously, it had never even occurred to me that other people didn't plan their threads and plots out ahead of time. evidently some of us would not make ideal rp partners, and that's fine?

like bud. i gave my opinion on how i view apps. don't like it? that's perfectly fine. you're allowed to. but also this is a rp discussion board what else are we gonna talk about?