Jig

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

Prince said an IC-race could all be notably tall

Like, hypothetically, Estonians.

Prince said Jig isn't very fun to tease.

I just like to ruin fun.

Shienvien said It matters enough for them to consider one another roughly the same height, and be conveniently looking one another in the eyes when standing near one another?

Excellent point. I'm not sure I'll take it on board for day-to-day RPing, but, no that really is a good point and one I'll bear in mind next time I'm doing a close character-to-character comparison.

*please note: the above isn't sarcasm even if it kinda reads like it is*

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

Shienvien said
Another note: person's definition of "average height" is not necessarily a match for another person's "average height". For me, the average height for man would be 6'2'' or so, and for a woman 5'8'' or so. What's your "average height"?

Actually, this is a valid point. Since I have no frame of reference (I'm really stupid at visual-spacial stuff - I can't compare two lengths if they aren't right next to one another, read maps, remember locations, imagine 3D shapes, etc), average height for me is one that doesn't make me go "Hey, that guy's short/tall."

Clearly, this is an imperfect system.

Still, beyond obvious-height-differences-based-on-notable-heights-referred-to-in-CS's, most people can't gage another person's height against their own. Remember that thing everybody used to do in the playground where they'd go back to back and get somebody else to judge who was taller? If it's a matter of 6"1 to 6"2, that's very unlikely to get any IC application.

Prince said
Whoa, calm down there. I just wanted to call myself handsome.

...

I'm shorter than your average female height.

Just as well you only wanted to call yourself handsome, because your pitch is really nose-diving now.

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

Jig's Very Suitable Partner is more than tall, dark, and handsome enough for me, but thank you for letting me know. If my standards drop, I'll drop you a line. ;)

New B!tching!
Sheets not formatted how the GM has presented them, especially when explicitly stated to do so. Not bolding headings really isn't excusable in my book and, depending on the mood, I would ignore the sheet until it was fixed. It's hard to read and looks ugly and I would have specifically instructed players to format their sheet with coding (and reminded them that the coding would be findable in the raw post togglebox thing in the corner. Grrr.

Continued B!tch Rebuttal!

Shienvien said Just imagine two guys: one is scrawny and stands at 5'3'' or so, and the other is 7'1'' and rather strongly built. Perfectly realistic difference.

As I've said, being distinctly taller or shorter than average is the kind of thing that the average player would think to put in their sheet anyway. I'm not saying never ever tell me how tall you are and let me guess. I'm saying that the appearance section shouldn't be obliged by default to provide non-notable traits of the character.

Edit:
As Prince said. You both ninja'd me consecutively. Bastards.

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

Prince said
tl:dr Jig likes her men tall, dark and handsome.

This is not entirely untrue.

I was going to use blonde-and-big-boobed as an example of a type, but nobody was calling for boob-size to be put in the character sheets - though tbh, I can't think of any reason height should go in a sheet that doesn't also apply to bust (apart from RPs that have 'reaching things' as a fundamental element thereof).

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

You'd think that those traits, if notable, would naturally appear in the character sheet anyway. If a character is tall, the player may indicate this in the sheet. If they are very-slightly-taller-than-average, a player may omit this if unprompted. The reason I think this is fine is because being very-slightly-taller-than-average is extremely unlikely to crop up in any meaningful way.

You give the example of sexual attraction. Typically, I think the 'Having a type' thing can be dealt with in quite broad strokes. The old cliché, tall, dark and handsome are all distinct but vague features. The actual height isn't stipulated, but can be assumed to be 'tall enough so you'd notice but not so much it's freakish', the dark implies Mediterranean skin-tones maybe but definitely dark hair, and the handsome element kind of has to be assumed from context. Any of these features, if distinct enough to tick any of the tall-dark-handsome checklist, is going to be distinct enough to be put in a character sheet unprompted.

Either way, I think it's partly me still sulking that a nurse gave me sass when I didn't know how much I weighed and we're probably getting off topic, especially since my own personal gripe is mainly against weight, because it's not even a part of appearance. I typically play short males (short enough to merit an unprompted note in the CS, no less!) because it's a nice way to explore their confidence. I agree height probably is a relevant feature insofar as appearance can be, but if a player hasn't mentioned it, it's probably because the character's height is average enough to not bother to mention.

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

vancexentan said
well height and weight ARE notable because if the rp is combat scenario based roleplay weight class and how tall a person is drastically effects how they can do some things. Why do you think you rarely see heavy weight boxers fighting feather weights? Because it'd be the big guy smacking the smaller guy around a hell of a lot or the smaller guy just dodging and weaving around like a devil for the most part.

In that instance, fair enough. I happen to never participate in RPs with a high chance of mano-a-mano combat so that thought never crossed my mind.

Also it is notable if a character is taller than the other for reference sake.

I guess you're not wrong. It still feels like absurdly specific information for a character sheet to ask for measurements to me, though. You don't measure other things like hair length or specific hue of skin-tone (I hope!) on the off-chance an inter-character comparison feels necessary. But whatever. I guess there are reasons for height and weight fields for some people - I just think they're unlikely information to get used in the bulk of RPs I participate in.

Thicker Than Water

Well, I for one really enjoyed your post and am happy that you're feeling somewhat better. :)

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

Derpestein said
What's wrong with that?

It bothers me as well. It just seems really really pointless. If a character is particularly tall or short or overweight or emaciated, that will be detailed anyway, in the Appearance Section and in the IC, most likely. Unless otherwise stated, you can assume the height and weight to be average or not noteworthy, just like you assume people have the average number of arms (two) unless they tell you otherwise.

It doesn't help that I have no concept of how tall people are, or how much they weigh. I seriously don't know my own measurements. When I recently went to hospital, they asked me and thought I was hiding something / on drugs because I couldn't tell them.

Thicker Than Water

A couple of people have asked whether they should wait before posting - I really don't mind. There is no posting order to this, so help yourselves. :)

A Universal Guide

I definitely think having a core "How do I get stuck in?" speed-guide is a good idea. When you get a video game, you throw the instructions out of the way as you get the disc out the box, tell the annoying tutorial level where it can stick its helpful advice, and it's only when you get slaughtered on the first boss that you start to look at what you're doing wrong.

I also totally agree with advice #2-5, but I think for a detailed guide in any one topic, going into detail is kind of the point. Leaving out important stuff for the sake of brevity results in missing information. For more basic guides, as you've shown above, the 1,000 mark is probably sufficient.

OT: Are you looking for advice on the What is PbPRP guide, btw?