Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Exit
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My take on the main three:

Free
Funnily enough, one of the RPs that I hold dearest to me and one of the longest running games I've been a part of took place here. It was also my first on the site and inevitably where I learned a lot about what RP should and shouldn't be like. Of course, it was years ago on the 'old guild' so the community was slightly different and there was a lot more activity than there is now.

Call it a stroke of luck but the game I joined just happened to have a handful of dedicated players who were interested in weaving a subplot into the main story... and it worked, until the GM abandoned the site.

Before I start going off on a tangent of the 'good ol' days'... my opinion? Free can and has been the home to some great games and great people. It comes down to what you're looking for and how well you can sort out interest for good ideas from good GMs and those from bad ones. Also, as someone as mentioned earlier, it can be a place for good writers who want to RP without putting the effort into their work... which is actually a perfectly okay thing to do. Take what you've learned in casual or advanced and inspire some minds at the 'playground' like someone did for me. Or, host a game and do the same. You'd be surprised how many people start to put in a real effort to improve when they see what that looks like and what it does for them.

Sometimes, we get so caught up playing a game on hard and beating ourselves up over it, we forget how much dumb fun we can have slaying at a game on easy.

Casual
I'm here. So are you. I might be back next week.

Advanced
I admire some of the GMs here for the games they host, the way they host it, and for being as dedicated as they are. If I had the time, I'd remain here but I don't and can't. What I do have time for is reading and learning and appreciative stalking... and following writers home and watching them sleep through their windo-

My advice to anyone in Casual who is hesitant about joining: sign yourself up and give it a shot. You'll only learn a lot. My hope is to one day host a game here that is actually successful.

Actually I'd like to host a successful game anywhere really...
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Bartimaeus
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Free- Simply stated, and as the name implies, this section is free of rough expectations or requirements. Good place to spend your time if you don't want to/feel as if you can't make multi-paragraph(or even one paragraph) posts. Just simple fun with usually minimal effort.

Casual- Where you want to go if you want to provide more than a couple sentences. Again, as the name says, for the casual escape from your everyday life into the universe of whatever RP you choose >.> You like being creative, but you aren't so serious as some other places. Imo, of course.

Advanced- Advanced. For those of us who like a good amount of structure. Personally my favorite or second favorite section of the site. In-depth detail sets the world before your eyes much more reliably than Free/Casual, and having higher expectations set upon you helps to make you improve yourself. I also tend to see the more interesting RPs in this section.

Arena- Ahh...Arena. I used to roam arena before I took a a long hiatus from RPing. I found it very enjoyable to have a competitive view on RPing. I notice some others view the community as toxic. Can't say I really agree. Back when I played(and now that I lurk around there), it isn't really the community that's toxic, but rather the select RPers who can't handle a loss. Just my opinion that's its not the section's fault which personalities are attracted to it.

1x1- A really nice section for building good relationships with some good writers. For those who don't like to have so many people doing so many different things at one time. Don't need an entire cast for these Rps. This section appeals to me and I'd use it, if I wasn't obsessed with finding out what everyone has to offer.

Nation- Nation is a very intriguing section to me. Having control over an entire nation and deciding the actions of such nation sounds very fun. Whether it be warfare or not. Kinda like an extremely large-scale arena section. I'd definitely come here if I knew how to play one of these. Or if I had the time. Maybe after I finish an RP or two.

Tabletop- I haven't looked much into this section, I've only done my tabletop games irl. <.<

These are all my raw opinions, so please don't get offended if I said something about your favorite section that may have sounded rude, I mean no offense. x3
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by SleepingSilence
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Well because it's never interesting to just repeat what others say. I'll actually provide some different insight on another role-playing forum I was on before it shut down, and I'll compare it to my findings on these forums. It's beneficial, because I haven't partaken in several of these during my stay, but several mimic the other forum which I did. Figured, added context may be interesting. Because I find all sources of roleplaying valid, just depends what you're looking for.

Free: Everyone's already mentioned what free was meant for. Beginners, or people that just want to jump right into writing and not try that hard detailing background, plot or complexities of character. What they really should be for, is to encourage fast and fluid community engagement. In the previous forum, almost every single thread/roleplay was called a "join in" roleplay. Meaning all one needed to do was look at the rules, write their CS, post it and get straight into the action. The CS was more a formality, get somebody to learn how to write them and made a quick reference to somebodies character. So if newbies were in multiple roleplays, they'd remember which character was in which roleplay. But that's not how it's done here.

So who in free role-playing denies somebody whose interested? Probably nobody for any reason I could understand. So, why does everyone even keep the acceptance process? If somebody causes trouble, the rules are still there and would warn they'd be asked to leave/removed. This were also useful for people with free time to write, but perhaps not enough commitment to another long form roleplay. (Or in my specific case on this forum, free was often the only one that remained consistently active.)

If it wasn't clear, I don't think talent or lack thereof should exclude somebody from at least trying to partake in anything they wish. The less those uncertain are discouraged, the better.



Casual: Well everyone ends up here and sometimes they stay here, but we'll get to that with the next subject. What else can be said about this place that probably hasn't already been said? It's meant for those who want to roleplay, have roleplayed before and don't have the time to do extensive writing. It's a good balance and it's popular for multiple reasons. Though the differences in activity/consistency can't be so easily fixed here.

To add a tangent that's relevant with my experience. Note it may not represent the collective whole, so if it doesn't apply to you. Skim past this part, it's not made for you. The biggest problem is often not with the players. But the GM's quitting, leaving their players in the dust. Gm's not knowing how to handle a single/a minority of inactive players. (Or kicking them after the fact for petty reasons, or not realizing someone they accepted isn't on par with their standards.)

There's also more GM rule breaking than I've ever seen on any roleplaying site. If you make rules, you actually have to follow them yourself and justify why it's better having so many. (if you do.) Also any Co-GM, actually needs to be on the same page with the lore or understand the game. (They often do not.) It just seems people take the word casual, a little too literally at times and their responsibility to keep in contact with their fellow roleplayers is met with minimal effort.

So please if I can give a little personal advice, only create or join a roleplay, if you can follow through.

Another note, that I will make clearer later, is that I don't think word count is always accurate gauging posts like these. But I'll try to show the difference in word count as well, because that plays a minor factor.



'High-Casual': Behold! A category that shouldn't exist, and one I've probably done the most of. It only exists because the held belief that the Advanced section is too selective and various other negative hearsay. I basically see no actual quality differences between the two categorizes in any meaningful way. The only noticeable thing I see, or at least should see. Is how much of the story is dialogue? Dialogue is a lot easier to write, and makes it naturally progress a story and lengthen a post. People shouldn't need to create High-Casual because of a community assumption that perfectly acceptable writing will still be denied for some bandwagon acceptance, or hear some pretentious and esoteric excuse for their rejection.



Advanced:Filled with much pretension and flowery prose, along with strict and overly complicated rulesets and lore that's difficult to parse. Yeah, no. There's plenty of the latter in casual, and their almost none of the former in most things I've read. So what do I think differentiates Advanced and Casual on the forum? Average word count per post. (That's pretty much it.)

Okay, that's not entirely fair or accurate. An extensive vocabulary may be seen here. But not all Advanced Roleplays have that. Some don't even seem to have standards any different than a Free RP, judging from how many suffered from not even running their posts through basic spellcheck. (When I checked it, a while ago and it was scattered research. So this isn't a current observation for anyone in particular.) That's not knocking it as a whole, mind. But you have to wonder, where do all these stereotypes come from?

Yes, Advanced should have a little more extensive vocabulary and longer posts that have added character information and setting detail. It should have some prose writing and not be entirely straightforward. But it also should be encouraged for more people to try, and make people not feel obligated to create "High-Casual", because of what can only be described as a wholly community based problem...



Now for much briefer thoughts to close.

Arena: I've not partaken in these on this forum. I have done so in previous, though I don't think it's quite my thing. But this section appears to be the same problem that many other forums/subsections had/have as well for quite some time. The lack of a consistent moderator/mediator. There seems to be too much in-between arguing that leads to stand-stills, where a third person/overseer is suppose to be spectating matches like this and making calls that players can't find common ground on. A previous forum had several people dedicated to simply follow all arena matches and acting as judges who had the final say. Rarely did anyone complain about bias. It's something that would be very helpful.

1x1: This isn't forum specific. There's lots of smut. (No judgement here.) Also, many people saying to PM them and not answering. But it's probably the best way to start a roleplay with somebody, if writing is your biggest concern. Like somebody has already mentioned, it's a good way to have the most say in the build of a story and characters without having the wherewithal to write a novel. No one to babysit, no complications if someone drops or goes on hiatus without so much as a word. Role playing in it's simplest form, but not necessarily it's most basic. I'd urge anyone to try this, if Casual isn't turning up any active successes, and you feel like doing more writing than Free tends to provide.

Hell, try writing some weird smut or something you may feel just slightly 'cringey' about, or uncomfortable with. It may just improve your ability to write things outside your usual scope. If you can get comfortable with hyper-violent and sexual content it only expands your knowledge of the written word.

Tabletop & Nation: Sadly, I can't make comparisons here. Nor, have a participated and I honestly haven't read enough of others work to make anything accurate to the sections as a whole. But they're not super-active and I'd be interested in giving them a try. Just never had anyone extend such an offer.

And that's all my opinions, not-so neatly complied. Whatever section you may enjoy or frequent. I believe all can be valid, no matter you're ability and also improve for the better. Now stop reading this, and get to writing. :P
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by tex
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This may be a little off topic, but considering how this is a thread that compares and contrasts the different sections, it seems to be something that doesn't draw away from the spirit of the conversation. There isn't really much of a conversation being had in this thread yet when you think about it, though. Just a lot of somewhat agreeable opinions.

I'd preface this with the fact that nobody is immune to making grammatical mistakes, but this isn't the only issue you'll find when looking at the sections on RPG. My concern, or topic of discussion rather, has more to do with standards in relation to Advanced and Casual. Although it's pretty clear that the two sections differ only slightly, and standards will differ further between GM's, I'm curious to know exactly what people expect in an Advanced RP.

If I were going into something titled 'advanced' for example, I would expect not only legible writing, and zero spelling errors, but near-perfect grammar, and healthy writing habits. I'll use @SleepingSilence's advanced examples to point out a few things that would immediately trigger me, and likely have me bail in a matter of days if they were repeated constantly. If these were in fact posts written by you, I mean no offense.



And that's less than 10% of the post in question. Perhaps something later in the post would justify the aforementioned, but it's difficult for me to trudge through writing like this. Although I haven't read all of the advanced RPs on the forum, I can safely say that almost every one that I have tried to read suffers from a similar amount of grammatical or syntactical errors on a post-by-post basis. The shorter Advanced RPs are the only exception to this, it would seem. What's strange is that I don't see nearly as many errors in casual, despite the fact that some people perceive a difference in skill between the two sections [Advanced>Casual].

So, I'm quite curious to know what everyone's standards are for their partner's writing in Advanced and Casual, specifically. Is it fine as long as it's legible and easy enough to understand? Or are there particular errors that bug you to no end? Where would you draw the line? Does this differ between Casual and advanced? Should it differ between casual and advanced?

I think it's more interesting to get a detailed first person series of ideas in regards to their expectations rather than their perception of an entire section based on experience.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by SleepingSilence
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@tex Answering the comments related to yellow. (I'll get to the specific post critique last.)

This may be a little off topic, but considering how this is a thread that compares and contrasts the different sections, it seems to be something that doesn't draw away from the spirit of the conversation. There isn't really much of a conversation being had in this thread yet when you think about it, though. Just a lot of somewhat agreeable opinions.

I'd preface this with the fact that nobody is immune to making grammatical mistakes, but this isn't the only issue you'll find when looking at the sections on RPG. My concern, or topic of discussion rather, has more to do with standards in relation to Advanced and Casual. Although it's pretty clear that the two sections differ only slightly, and standards will differ further between GM's, I'm curious to know exactly what people expect in an Advanced RP.

If I were going into something titled 'advanced' for example, I would expect not only legible writing, and zero spelling errors, but near-perfect grammar, and healthy writing habits. I'll use @SleepingSilence's advanced examples to point out a few things that would immediately trigger me, and likely have me bail in a matter of days if they were repeated constantly. If these were in fact posts written by you, I mean no offense.



And that's less than 10% of the post in question. Perhaps something later in the post would justify the aforementioned, but it's difficult for me to trudge through writing like this. Although I haven't read all of the advanced RPs on the forum, I can safely say that almost every one that I have tried to read suffers from a similar amount of grammatical or syntactical errors on a post-by-post basis. The shorter Advanced RPs are the only exception to this, it would seem. What's strange is that I don't see nearly as many errors in casual, despite the fact that some people perceive a difference in skill between the two sections [Advanced>Casual].

So, I'm quite curious to know what everyone's standards are for their partner's writing in Advanced and Casual, specifically. Is it fine as long as it's legible and easy enough to understand? Or are there particular errors that bug you to no end? Where would you draw the line? Does this differ between Casual and advanced? Should it differ between casual and advanced?

I think it's more interesting to get a detailed first person series of ideas in regards to their expectations rather than their perception of an entire section based on experience.


Well it wasn't a post about discussion, merely on opinions of the threads in question. I certainly tried to bring up points for those who desired such, so I certainly don't mind partaking in it.

You are correct. Errors, inconsistencies or just things that can't actually be directly pointed out and instead seem bizarre or clunky. You made some in this very post actually. And if I was my detractors, I can assure you that would be my focus on pointing them out instead of addressing anything you said or meeting you halfway.

I also agree that most advanced roleplays suffer from things like this. I've been attacked numerous times for claiming such too. I'd argued far worse and less interesting writing on a regular basis. But that's mainly because a lot of it, isn't novel worthy. It's a first draft writing in every regard, there is no professional editor.

I feel the statement that you'd abandon a roleplay for minor writing errors is one of many problems this site has. There is no sense of community. No one is helping others improve writing. When you join a roleplay and notice writing errors, you don't need to ignore them but there's nothing stopping you from trying to help someone else, so they can improve. It's very petty, and it's that attitude that people avoid advanced sections in the first place.

I also wholly disagree that these problems don't persist in casual, they do. As for personal writing pet peeves or various things people do that can disturb you and distract your ability to write...that feels like it should be in a separate post.

Here's the best way you can actually offer advice to someone's writing and not come off as a personal attack. Suggest how it can be improved, with your own direct examples. (Which for the record, I'll take this as best as I can, and appreciate the time afforded to point out some errors.)

Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by mickilennial
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And this thread was going so well.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Dion
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I didn't want to say it but can you two maybe take this criticism debate somewhere else?

EDIT: That is to say, it might be wise to make a criticism thread where you can critique each others posts bit by bit, rather than going back and forth in a thread that specifically has: not posts listed in the title, but RP subsections.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Bee
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I don't think anyone on here that's worth RPing with cares that much about grammar. As long as it's readable and coherent then it's fine.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by tex
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@Odin

There's no debate. My intention was to directly compare and contrast writing standards between the sections, while keeping the conversation fixated on the topic that this thread revolves around. I've no intention of carrying on with a "debate" on writing practice as a whole, or elaborate on the flaws/mistakes therein. Even so, a ""debate"" on grammar and style seems perfectly welcome in a thread which directly discusses the differing opinions on the different levels of writing between sections. Why you would assume a conversation on the differing levels of writing has no pertinence on a thread directly about sharing thoughts on different levels of writing is wholly beyond me.

With that in mind, you are perfectly welcome to address me elsewhere regarding your writing, @SleepingSilence. I'm more interested in more detailed examples on where individual standards lie in Advanced and Casual when it comes to this thread, hence my own criticisms.

I'd appreciate it if people didn't associate every single critically mounted discussion with some kind of disruption and respond to all comments therein with snide remarks.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Dion
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@tex the comment was much less aimed at you, and more so at Sleeping Silences answer to the critiques -- which I am convinced would've went into a deep dark tunnel of off-topic discussion.

Glad I got your attention, however. No snide remarks were intended, but I suppose I also don't really care if you did see them.
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Heat
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Brothers and sisters are natural enemies. Like Casual roleplayers and Free Roleplayers! Or Arena Roleplayers and Free Roleplayers! Or Tabletop roleplayers and Free roleplayers! Or Free Roleplayers and other Free Roleplayers!

Damn Free Roleplayers! They ruined the Guild!



Nah but for real roleplay where you feel most comfortable. I personally can't do Free but I hold nothing against people that do. I float between Casual and Advanced.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by HaleyTheRandom
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Everyone calm your fucking tits.

I said to keep this thread civil... Yes, I asked for your opinions on the different forums. I did not ask for you to come at and attack each other. If you wish to debate, please take it to PM's or another thread.

And before you start whining and saying there is no point in a thread without a discussion, I never said you weren't allowed to converse. Just don't go around attacking people because their opinion is different than yours.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by SleepingSilence
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@HaleyTheRandom Apart from the reactionary comments, I think everything was fine. Just happened to go in a slightly different direction from the intended question of the thread.
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The only scenario where opinions are shared without any friction whatsoever are echo chambers. Actual productive debate is not sunshine and rainbows. I welcome a more intense debate so long as everyone remembers the first rule of good rhetoric: Respect the individual; only engage the argument.

That said, How to piss off every section simultaneously: A sarcastic take.

[sarcasm]

Free:
Substance? What's that? If you want real content here you have to look across multiple posts to really see any advancement of plot. Its brief and often lacks good formatting, and if either of those are true than it's actually a casual-level RP masquerading as free. I hope your inbox is prepared to explode because lack of per-post content is often made up for with sheer volume of posts. Good luck keeping up!

Casual:
Literally everyone is here. So many RPs, characters, and players come and go so frequently I don't recall having seen the same person twice. The sheer fervor of activity in this section makes things blur together, and that activity only draws more to it as GMs often gravitate towards where the players are. Its the catch-all for everyone where people think themselves above free but are afraid of advanced, even if they're very capable of writing to it's level.

Advanced:
Here it's always the same crowd it seems. You think that thousand word CS was long? Get ready to be expected to do that every post. The lore dumps are massive and intense and you better keep up. The GMs here enforce rules with an iron fist you won't find elsewhere. Oh and don't be surprised when posts come in as slow as once a week.

Arena:
And I thought advanced moved at a turtle's pace.

1x1:
Porn. Yeah I said it. One browse of the checks will find more erotica than storytelling. Nuff said.

Nation:
If this place isn't godmodding-metagaming central then I will honestly be shocked. Every nationsim RP I've ever been in before ended up with people being more concerned with getting ahead and running up the score than the actual complexities of diplomatic relations or grand strategy, or the overall plot and how their interactions affect the world and story at large.

Tabletop:
I already have a D&D group.

[end sarcasm]

An actual, more thoughtful take:

Free:
Very reminiscent of my time RPing through Skype and other messenger platforms. Its a very rapid-fire style that I don't particularly care for anymore since it burns me out quickly and I don't feel like it effectively represents more complex, more cerebral characters. Its not my prefered cup of tea, but I'd be lying if I said I don't agree with why it exists. This was the style I cut my teeth on after all.

Casual:
Honestly has a bit of an identity crisis. There's a ton of stuff, and players, here that I feel could pass in Advanced (admittedly I have somewhat unique standards for a GM in that section I'll talk about later) but don't for whatever reason. Some have said its intimidating. Others prefer faster pacing. A few GMs have said they prefer the exposure and perceived accessibility. Reasons aside, it does represent the largest pool of potential players on the site.

Advanced:
It has a bad rap, and some of it is deserved. Someone accused the RPs in this section of crumbling under their own weight, and unfortunately that's not without basis. From my tone it should be obvious this is a section I'm both attached to, but also want to see improve. The sheer content of people's posts makes it a bit exhausting to keep up higher post rates, and I know firsthand the burnout is very real. It also contributes to that intimidation. I could go on but I'll end this blurb here for brevity of the larger post.

Arena:
I don't actually spend any time here. From outside it has the appearance of being slow-moving, and the profile "arena stats" thing really doesn't help its appearance. It gives this competitive image which is honestly kinda off-putting.

1x1:
I wasn't actually kidding in my sarcastic version about the volume of erotica I come across here, and it's a bit annoying as someone who very much is not interested in partaking in that. I'm also super fucking picky about my one-on-one concepts so really it's just not the right place for me to be advertising those. In RPG's defense, those particular concepts have struggled everywhere I've advertised them, not just here.

Nation:
I've had a number of bad experiences in nation roleplays. I projected that in the sarcastic version so I'll concede that's entirely coincidental to me. I'm also not really a fan of stats in written RP, and I'm really not a fan of a GM rolling stats for me. That's pretty much deal-breaking for me. Stats are often the order of the day here, so its a section I don't frequent. That said, it seems to be alive and well so obviously it has its crowd of people. One day I want to either join or run something here.

Tabletop:
My same personal dislike of stats affects this section too, which means I don't really go here. Long-form written RP just doesn't seem like a medium that works well for a tabletop game, but I also really don't see actual RP activity there. Maybe people recruit and go to Roll20 & Discord voice or something? Its an obscure section I don't really think about unless I'm actually thinking D&D at the time.



I know this post is getting long but I wanna take the time to make a rebuttal to @tex about his critique of that post sample before I conclude.

The post you're critiquing is, for one, far fluffier than what I write and what I expect from my own players. In that regard I have no objection. The usage of grammar in a lot of ways that you critique, however, is somewhat reminiscent of something I and a few of my players do. We purposely ignore the technical correct usages in favor of using grammar to make our posts read in a certain way. I personally abuse commas, semicolons, and fragments to do this. The result is that my posts, if read as intended, actually have a pacing that somewhat mirrors the action and emotion taking place. I make it a point to ensure spelling and word usage is always correct but I do take creative license with the intricacies of grammar & punctuation, as do certain others. I acknowledge your subjective dislike of technically-incorrect usage, though I will challenge the implication that this somehow disqualifies a post from actually being more advanced.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by tex
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@Sierra

I can understand the intent with writing in a particular style to convey what-have-you, but I would not go as far to consider objectively incorrect grammar to be a universal technicality. I firmly believe that there are rarely times when you should sacrifice grammar for any sort of attempt to have something read a certain way. There are a plethora of grammatical tools that allow one to exercise a particular form of sentence flow. Take this as you will, but I perceive all attempts to dismiss grammar as a very obtuse approach to creative writing. If we are to judge any form of writing and hold it to any given standard, the only objective metric we have to reference is grammar. Anything beyond that is a discussion of either opinion, or genre-specific trends. It would only be productive under the pretense that we would be using acclaimed sources as reference to further contrast different levels of writing.

While there are certainly situations where grammatically incorrect statements can be used to some success, these are few and far between. Sentence fragments in particular are rarely acceptable, and should certainly be used sparingly. They serve a very impactful purpose, - to convey thought - but unless one can convey the exact reasoning behind fragmenting one of their clauses without offering an alternative, it's not a great idea. It can easily disrupt sentence flow if overused. I find that this is a common mistake that a lot of writers make (I would use fragments relentlessly to pretty up my writing when I was younger) along with a relentless usage of adjectives, pointless use of semicolons, overuse of commas, and this is a big one that I often still make before proof-reading, redundancy. It may get a little subjective at this point, you're right about that. As mentioned earlier however, a conversation on objective writing methods is impossible. At best, citing authors that successfully execute particular patterns of writing to great success would grant some level of merit to an argument. A good example of a writing method used in poetry, one that was an objective success, would be something like Iambic pentameter.

I certainly can't make sweeping generalizations such as 'they are all objectively poor examples of writing' in regards to every single post that doesn't adhere to the typical rule-set of grammar. If there were to be any judgement on writing level, it would certainly have to come down to a case-by-case series of examples. But I will say that, despite incorrect grammar having some application, I do not associate all attempts to explore and innovate with 'advanced' writing. I associate it with creativity.

Admittedly though, the Advanced section is more often host to far more creative and unique ideas than casual is. I think it's been mentioned a few times already here, but where Casual is flooded with typical tropes that get recycled infinitely, many advanced concepts are fresh in comparison. If there were an argument to be made for the advanced section being 'advanced' as the name implies, I think it would be in regards to its willingness to step outside of the box. I wouldn't make that argument myself, though.

Of course at that point it's a balancing act. There are people who try to defend their incredibly poor writing by using this 'outside the box' mentality as a shield, while there are others who claim there to be no point in stepping outside the rules. To disregard either side is of course, entirely silly.

At any rate, I think it's more important to fully understand martial arts before attempting to fashion something new. The same can be said for any practice.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Ruby
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Everyone calm your fucking tits.

I said to keep this thread civil... Yes, I asked for your opinions on the different forums. I did not ask for you to come at and attack each other. If you wish to debate, please take it to PM's or another thread.

And before you start whining and saying there is no point in a thread without a discussion, I never said you weren't allowed to converse. Just don't go around attacking people because their opinion is different than yours.


Ye. Don’t make us close this bitch down. :D
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by pugbutter
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While I agree with most of the rest, I must say I respectfully disagree. Yes, there's a lot of word and sometimes a lot of fluff, but Advanced to me seems like a group of people that pay particular attention to detail. Sometimes a RP is tossed in here because of super heavy lore. I am just getting started in this section, so I may have to get back with you.


"Bigger is better" doesn't apply to writing. Details are bad if they're not, minimally, inspiring a sense of awe for this fictional place and its inhabitants, and ideally also developing characters; forwarding a plot; creating themes, symbols, and imagery; establishing a narrative tone.

@tex is 100% correct: the worst side of Advanced is just a whole lot of words for words' own sake.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Ammokkx
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Ammokkx ShaDObA TaNOsHiI

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Free is kind of alright, as far as I'm concerned. If you've absolutely no idea what to do or where to do it, it's always a good place to get your bearings on stuff even if it may initially set a bad precedent. It's also what I consider the most 'harmless' of any of the subforums, with its userbase being mostly self-contained and generally open and friendly from what I've seen. I say it's the best section you'd never see me caught dead in.

Casual is a pretty hot mess, and that's alright. It's the 'general' of RPguild as others have mentioned. While, yes, there's a fair bit of Superhero and Fandom RPs (Myself being no exception to this), there's also more standard fantasy stories and general RPing going on. It's got one hell of a fractured community though, and if drama happens it's 9/10 either here or in Arena(lol). You get a good feel for what everyone is like after your 15th or so RP, and even then you might run into somebody new still. It's house to a lot of bad GMs and flaky players though. I'd argue it's got the highest dead RP ratio compared to any other subforum (except arena, lol). I don't see why people take issue with its range of skill- it's honestly something I'd personally encourage. You can more often than not gauge how competent someone is by the mere title of something, and even if you couldn't, a quick glance at their first post tells you all you need.

It's also not like RPs are a constant flood over there. You get maybe four in a day at best, which is a reasonable enough amount to keep up. RPGuild isn't so flooded with activity that interesting concepts get buried instantly- and if something's interesting in casual, you'd better believe it's got an active thread that constantly makes headlines. Casual's just a good section, and honestly, I feel the term 'casual' fits the best as I don't see too many people there take it overtly seriously and they rather just have a good time instead.

Advanced is just a casual re-skin. I'm honestly not even joking. Anything you can find in casual, you can find in Advanced and vice versa. Sometimes the advanced subforums are even used to advertise a casual RP. I'd say the only difference is a small sub-section of elitist that don't know they're elitist making their nest in there, but honestly, this is in every subforum. I don't get the argument advanced somehow has more idea diversity- For christ sake, it had a persona RP going the same time one was running in casual, and an RP concept I saw not too long ago was very reminiscent of a casual RP I played in eons ago.

The only reason people perceive advanced as different is because it, generally, houses the more competent of casual RPers, but again, I've yet to see anything that couldn't happen in the casual section. It's all about audience, and there's a huge overlap. Some who find themselves to be Advanced residents even write like they'd fit in just fine with one of the more competently written Casual RPs- and I've seen this. This may all be anecdotal evidence, sure, but I'm not going to just put in a single example from a single RP for each of these and call it evidence either. Advanced is just less saturated, but in the end, not much different from Casual.

Oh, and sometimes it's also a dick-measuring contest.

Arena is lol. This is the true elitist section. RPs here, if they're not dead, aren't driven by the want to RP, they're driven by a want to win which defeats the entire purpose. It's a section made to flap about your giant ego and talk your way to victory. I honestly have no idea why a subforum this toxic would exist, but I'm glad it's a congregate for the people I'd rather not see in my own RPs.

Nation is weeeeiiird. To me, it seems like an overcomplication of a simple idea. From all I've seen and heard, Nation tends to devolve into excel-spreadsheet madness keeping track of every little thing as if we were playing crusader kings II: Electric boogaloo. Even then, I don't see the appeal of playing an entire country. Characters are already physical embodiments of certain ideas, kind of like how Greek and Roman gods used to be. You could easily convey the idea of a whole country in the manifestation of one, two or three at best characters with their own motivations and goals, thus streamlining the process. Then again, I don't know why anyone would submit themselves to the torture that is trying to play Crusader Kings II, so what do I know? Definitely not a section for me.

Tabletop is... eeeeeh... I don't feel it's terribly creative. Often it devolves into using already existing boardgames for their RPs, which I find you're better off doing in roll20. The few times I do see an original idea with an original system crop up, it's usually short lived. The section's harmless, so by all means it can exist, I'm just kind of 'eh' about the whole thing.

1x1 is something I have no experience with on this site, but I used to do this style in the past. It's been with a different community, but it was definitely easy to find a good partner and just have a fun time, and you could do any range of things. Nowadays I'm more a fan of group RPs because they allow for more creative visions and ranges of skill, but I liked my time when I still did it and encourage people who enjoy this with all my heart.

And finally, I'm going to include Expanding Horizons because it's also a subsection where people write in. EH is kind of a meme, but a meme that was doomed from the start. You can't really have a persistent world unless your site's dedicated to the concept. Guild is not. Guild also had much too small of a userbase to garner enough traction to kick it off. E.H. was better suited to just having an entire forum created for it and have its own userbase, rather than trying to insert it on the guild. Definitely an interesting experiment though, and one of the better things to happen to this site in a while as it has tried to innovate without taking anything away.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Bishop
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Bishop

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@Bee I'm sorry Bee, I didn't mean to click on your profile. Just wanted to google search your profile Gif cuz it reminded me of one of those casting couch skit girls that you find on phub.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Dion
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Dion JIHAD CHIQUE ® / NOT THE SHIT, DEFINITELY A FART

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@tex is 100% correct: the worst side of Advanced is just a whole lot of words for words' own sake.


And the worst side of free roleplay are uninspiring posts condensed into one or two sentences.

This argument goes for literally any of the sections -- and at that point becomes a non-argument. What you are saying here is much less an argument than 'bad writing is bad writing.'
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