I've noticed very few people ever describe the smells. Why is that? I wonder what results we'd get if we took our old posts and rewrote descriptions to use senses other than the ones already used in the post.

Macchiato  animanga roleplay communities have been around since 2000, and probably before that too. It was predominantly dark skins back then, though, and the epitome of coding was a html table at the top.

Oh, you weren't offensive. It did come across like you might've misunderstood it was a matter of preference ("is too much for me"), when it's unfortunately not. As illidan main mentions, usually I get mocked for using light mode (because in the year 2024 people still don't understand astigmatism), so I feel a need to explain often I'm not asking for something because I like it better.

I mean, in a way I do, much in the way that most people prefer being able to see.

It kinda sucks, because when I was younger I was totally fine with dark skins for the most part. Wish they stopped playing around with brain implants and just figured out a way to make lenses that last a lifetime instead...

I don't think a "dark skin is too much for me." I have astigmatism, which can cause a phenomenon called "halation." When putting white text on a black background, this "triggers" the halation, which means the white text becomes overpowering and starts blending into everything, to the point you start seeing nothing but white. It's painful and disorienting, and not a matter of preference because a skin is "too much for me."

It literally (in the literal, non-figurative sense) makes it impossible for me to browse the site because it causes too much eye strain and headaches.

That said, the grief I get from asking for an accessibility option often isn't worth it, so I don't feel comfortable asking people to include an accessibility option in their skin listings. 

I keep insisting I don't need to learn western social customs because that's too deeply rooted in western culture, but then they insist I have to be "polite"...

Jokes aside, I think learning idioms is always useful, since they tell you a lot about the culture you're interacting with, and it's just cool to be able to use them if you want to (and choose not to use them most the time because they're lame).

My experience with ESL has mostly been that a lot of people put a lot of value on being a native speaker, and then nine out of ten times, native speakers make you wonder just how they manage to survive communicating in their own language.

It sucks to pass on a site because it offers only Dark Mode skins, and my dumbass astigmatism causes halation and makes it physically impossible to participate.

WordPad is pretty robust, but usually I write directly in the post box. I'd use WordPad more if I felt inclined to edit my posts, but as it is, I'd rather just get some posts out and enjoy the thrill of writing with none of the misery that editing can introduce.

Something based on Chuunibyou demo koi ga shite, except the delusions are real and we have to actually banishment this world.

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.

Cos you made a choice to read it lol

It's been a while since we had a thread to shit on people.


Personally, I go over apps to have a gander at possible plot points to work into a thread. If I see your character's got a deceased child, I might try to work something into the thread that lets you address that plot point and work it out some. I think that's fun for me to do.

At the same time, I don't feel comfortable passing judgement on others for not reading my apps, and I don't even write my apps with an audience in mind. To me, I'm writing out my character as a presentation to the site admins, to let them know what I plan on doing. The most relevant stuff I want you to know before we sit down to write will be in bullet points in a plotter. Everything else, I will present to you within our posts.

For example, if my character has a complicated relationship with her family, I will write in the app that "She has a complicated relationship with her parents", then put a bullet point in my plotter that she is an aspiring artist, and she's looking to have her art displayed in a gallery.

Someone's char owns a gallery, great, we set up a plot where circumstances make the art director present it in their gallery (like, maybe they have a kid who's super into the paintings, which my character abuses to make the art director agree to put her art up just to placate his kid).

Within the thread, I'll reveal that my character's fathers were heavily against her going to art school and are convinced she'll be a jobless failure, so she wants to snap a picture of her art on display to prove them both wrong and show she had what it takes, in the hope that it may soften their harsh stance towards her and ameliorate their relationship.


So if someone hasn't read my app, that's fine. I don't take offence, and I won't think less of you for it, and I strive to ensure you still get to know my character through our writing. I'll go over all your apps to see if there's some interesting plot points that match up with mine, because that's the way I enjoy approaching it. But it's fine if that's not your cup of tea.

Oh no, I just posted in another thread where I included a small description of a kitchen with rotten meat in it. I wasn't sure how to describe the smell.

In fact, most of my RP-related searches are about smells, since I like including smell in my posts. :c

"How to describe the smell of rotting meat"

Personally, I don't equate length with effort. Whenever I edit writing, often I have to cut things, not add to them. After all, people are inclined to repeat things, meander, or get lost in minute details irrelevant to the scene.

I'm not privy to people's lives, so I don't like to assume things based on circumstantial evidence at best. I have no way of telling whether someone made 5 minutes of time in a busy work schedule to reply to a post, or if they spent 15 minutes writing while they were waiting for the bus. The former comes off as someone who is more enthusiastic, even if their shorter writing time usually means a shorter post.

If I were to describe a filthy kitchen, I might write something as such:



I spent ten minutes on that, but it's not very long. Does that mean it's low effort?

Turn it around. Say roleplaying is like having two actors in an impromptu play, bouncing off each other. One of the actors walks to the front of the stage and holds a 10-minute soliloquy while the other sits in a corner, sipping some water, checking their insta, maybe write a post.

Often when I read lengthy posts, I find that they're a lot about the character, their experiences, feelings, memories and whatnot, and the hooks to reply to often aren't more numerous than I would find in a short post. If you want to be judgmental and negative, you could say these posts are written for the author themselves, to show how smart and emotional they are.

But we don't know, because people's reasons for roleplay differ and writing such lengthy insights into characters may be cathartic or therapeutic.

My point is, if we want to be negative, it's easy to judge both short and lengthy posts as either being not enough or too much effort, as being unenthusiastic or too self-centred. It mostly comes down to what your expectations are. If you expect your writing partner to return lengthy posts because that's what you enjoy, great. Communicate that if your partner isn't meeting your expectations.

I think we should normalise pulling out of threads because they aren't sparking joy or filling a need. So much resentment can be avoided if we're upfront and honest with each other, and accept that not all writers have a spark.


EDIT:
I realise I overlooked the question, which is "When is it too long?" Sorry, I have a short attention span.

Nonetheless, I think that depends on circumstances. A riveting post is easier to read than a meandering one. Proper formatting helps keep your focus too. If you stay to the point and the writing is sharp, I'll have an easier time focusing on your 3,000 word post. By contrast, if you meander and launch into poetic waxing, then your 500 word post could come off as many times longer than the 3,000 word one.