[Ranylyn]

Disclaimer: This is about IC, not OOC. I wish it could be about both, but details. This is also mostly relating to people who don't use the forums, and is simply being posted here as something to link them to.


I know. I know. ANOTHER one of these PSAs. Thing is, there's been a bunch of newer players lately whose IC interactions have been... painful for all the wrong reasons. When I explained the situation, I was told it didn't matter.

I'm here to bitchslap everyone who thinks it doesn't matter with the undeniable truth: IT MATTERS.


I am going to say the exact same phrase three times, with one difference: The punctuation. And see how it changes the ENTIRE MEANING.

With proper grammar: "I can't think of anything as painful as losing. You?"
In this scenario, we have a prideful character who hates losing more than anyone else, asking their friend for their opinion.

Without proper grammar: "I can't think of anything as painful as losing you."
This scenario is completely different! It's not losing a battle that's the issue, it's losing the person they're talking to!

Without proper anything: "i cant think of nething as painful as losing u"
This scenario is "I disrespect everyone reading this so I won't put in the effort to even write the words fully." To which I reply, "I won't put in the effort to read it, get the fuck out, and don't come back, because this isn't babby's first chat room."


I'm not being "elitist" when I say that grammar matters. Everyone makes typos, myself included, and I'm not nitpicking little mistkaes. I'm talking about people ICly doing this constantly and then OOCly (and ICly) calling other people names for not understanding them because they wrote it the way that is not taken that way. Don't get so pissy when it's brought up, we're just trying to help you understand!

If you want to roleplay, it's to your benefit to embrace grammar, at least on a rudimentary level; no one's expecting you to be an English Major! Punctuation completely changes the meaning of some combinations of words, and that's important for communicating yourself properly. If you truly do not want to type properly, then please don't partake in IC interactions. You can still play the game OOCly and people are fine with that.

[Snake]

Good luck putting that into certain people's heads, I really do wish good luck. No sarcasm.

But remember, not everyone is an english native.

[Esther]

There is a difference between ESL and text message speak.

Many of our playerbase is ESL (English as a Second Language, as per college course listings), and these players ~don't have this problem~.

[Ranylyn]

Exactly what Esther said. That 3rd one is actually a problem almost exclusive to those who learned English first, from my experience. Most people learning it later actually put in the effort. (And I respect them for it. I really do. Props.)

[Exxy]

Although I'd like to leave the argument there are various reasons for characters not to speak correctly (having poor Common, having a lisp, replacing certain words with others, the character is meant to just be confusing and extremely difficult to understand, etc), this seems more like it's geared to RP etiquette for people who are just starting out and/or don't realize they need to improve on the area of text-based speech.

Edit: Maybe I missed that point of it being more of an issue that someone uses how they speak OOCly in IC somewhere in here but I really don't think telling them to GTFO will help anyone in the interaction to walk away from it with a better understanding.

I'd also like to say a big congrats to people who are ESL students in the community. Why? They demonstrate a more competent grasp on correct grammar and spelling usage than most Primary-English users do (and that's sad on our part, really - but I'd like to think it's from generational shifts more than anything). I suppose it comes with either committing it all to learn another language or not having the patience to do so, but really, the ones who did: 110% Kudos.

[Lolzytripd]

I have a horrible caffeine addiction that leaves my hands shaky at times. As such I sometimes turn on on an autocorrect tool that at times leaves me using the wrong versions of words, mainly there and their.

[Ranylyn]

^ I'm sure we've all had too much caffeine and done the same thing at least once, Lolzy. I grew up having coke with every supper, myself, so I have quite the caffeine-guzzling habit as well. That's bearable. Maybe ever so slightly off-putting when it happens repeatedly, but at least we know what is meant, usually.

EDIT: And in case it needed to be said, Exactly, Exxy. 100%. The rudeness is simply aimed at the ones who continue to insist it doesn't matter.

[catabur]

It doesn't matter.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

How decent your grammar or word-typing skills are matter little on how fun you are to RP with.

I have met plenty of people who do the grammar good, but were boring as shit to roleplay with. And some were just toxic.

As long as they're making a decent effort to not only be fun, but also try to better their English skills, then that's all you can really ask of anyone. Just saying, "fuck off and go kill yourself" because they dare sully the English language is a bit extreme.

Also, proper grammar in that sentence is: "I can't think of anything as painful as losing; you?"
You just can't expect a fragment sentence to hold up on its own. Not to mention that "You?" seems more of a fragmented sentence, but due to how people talk there will be plenty of grammatically incorrect sentences.

[Esther]

teh thng is ppl type liek dis all teh time, n its not rly good 4 u 2 rp liek dis, so dont do it, kk?? smh

You must have missed the part of Ranylyn's original post where he stated he does not expect one to be an English major. Is it too much to expect people not to replace words with numbers, words with letters, TH's with D's, strip the vowels out of words, and use text message abbreviations?

It does matter, and it makes people look unforgivably stupid and lazy.

[Ranylyn]

Catabur: I don't expect perfection largely because of the way we talk with so many fragmented/ run-on sentences. (After all, aren't all sentences "supposed" to have a verb and a subject? We often give one word answers, which are neither verbs or subjects.) However, even a RUDIMENTARY level of grammar does help clarify meaning.

While plenty of people who type properly can't roleplay well, and SL2 has made this abundantly clear, people who can't will never be good at it. How do you expect someone to prove their point when they ICly talk like "Ne1 wan 2 go xploar a bdp 2nite?" (I HAVE LITERALLY SEEN THIS EXACT PHRASE ICLY. IN-CHARACTER!) And as brain-shatteringly (I know that's not a real word. I'm not a perfectionist.) dumb as that is, at least the meaning gets across (Assuming you're used to this crap - and I cry for anyone who is) unlike situations like in the first post.

EDIT: Should probably clarify, while there's no longer a specific rule about it that we can find, I have spoken to a GM about it and they're not supposed to type like that in-character. I am now keeping an eye out for this again, for screenshots. This discussion was only two days ago, however, and I have not been on all that much since then.

We can definitely agree on "all we can do is ask people to better their English skills." However, the above example shows not only a refusal to do so, but active rebellion against the notion of proper communication. And communication is the key to any relationship, be it professional, romantic, casual, and so forth. Roleplay falls into that third category. Ergo, roleplay cannot occur if people do not make the effort to communicate properly.

Also, I have never in my life told someone to kill themselves, please don't put words in my mouth. I'm not nearly that rude. I AM, however, rude enough to tell people to fuck off and go away, which is exactly what I said. There's a big, and I do mean BIG, difference between "Take your crap elsewhere" and "Rid this world of your presence." Thing is, I treat people the way they treat me, and I'm rude about this purely due to the backlash I've received from a few people (or one particular person on multiple characters.) I'd love nothing more than for everyone to display at least thread bade civility, but sadly, our world isn't up to the task.