Also, as a reminder: being descriptive and detailed is not exclusively purple prose. Purple Prose is when the descriptive and detailed becomes excessive and flowerly to the point it defeats the point of the narrative. It is wise to remember not all descriptive, at-length posts are purple prose. A lot of people on this site use purple prose incorrectly to define any detailed post they don't like, that's not what it is.

I've only ever really considered Lovecraft to use purple prose :P

Some of my favorite novel authors are really descriptive, imaginative, maximalist-type writers. I don't think many of them use purple prose but by RPGs arbitrary (and false) definition of it they would be considered as such.

Don't me wrong. I haven't posted IC here in forever. I see it, I like it, I see it, I like it... aahhh But, I've been doing it for years. Advanced belongs to %25 of the population.

This is a limited opinion because there's more to it, but I want to say there are definitely cliques and postboys who have cornered the market and know what they're doing. They know what they want for quality and quantity. They have word minimums, which in my case is 600+ for most stories. Having friends who you know will have a good time with is wicked, and also brings in new associates all the time; who, in turn can be judged and possibly critiqued.

The quantity issue can be cumbersome. But, unless you're anal retentive the quantity goes down and the quality goes up.

basically me with advanced

There’s a difference from having a preference in style and decrying a style as just being purple prose (or conversely, beginner’s writing).

If ANY elitism in advanced exists it is because elitism against advanced is commonly parroted.

Ngl the testing ability to have someone vomit a still legible small essay for a post is a pretty good vetting system to get out those without dedication and such. Also there is literally nothing wrong with elitism especially in a goddamn hobby like RP

Also there is literally nothing wrong with elitism especially in a goddamn hobby like RP

As someone who looks down on nearly everyone, and especially upon @Andreyich, I agree.

You should consider high casual low advanced :^)

I never had a problem with people who used those terms.

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As someone who looks down on nearly everyone, and especially upon @Andreyich, I agree.

ditto

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I never had a problem with people who used those terms.

glad for u

I've only ever written in Advanced on RPG. This is more to do with the fact that the plots and groups attract me more in that section. The best roleplays that suit me reside in Advanced. That's just how it has been when I've looked for a new roleplay.

I guess a lot of it depends on how you like to write. I love writing detail. I like to imagine and play out a scene in my head and that means that I *think* I probably write a lot of description, exposition, introspection. I like to know how a scene feels; that might come from the sights, smells, sounds. I also tend to write Elder Scrolls/High Fantasy where that level of description is the standard, imo. I like to be immersed, both when I'm writing and when I'm reading other character posts in the group.

Quantity is not always the way, I agree - and some of my posts are shorter than others, whereas some are *very* long but I like to make sure that everything makes sense, nothing is a waste. Part of that comes from editing - reading the post back later and maybe trimming out a sentence or two here, a paragraph there - making a more cohesive piece of writing.

That said, I follow the standard set by the roleplay - if the posts are shorter, I'll probably keep to that level too. If they're long winded and very personal, then I'll write like that.

Want to jump in real quick with a small anecdote - I'm somewhat new to the guild, not to RPing.

The way I see it here is, at this point, the difference is purely who you want to net in your IntCheck and actual RP. I'm currently running an RP that's posted some pretty damn long posts (which might change soon) in a short amount of time. I don't think I ever would have caught the same audience if I had posted in Advanced, which seems to fit the amount of lore that my co-GM and I built for the world. I think I would have at least gotten people that tend to post at a slower rate if I had made my RP Advanced instead of Casual - not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

That's the main difference that I see - obviously there are different post lengths, qualities, guidelines, but at this point I'd wager that people cast their net because of who they want to catch, not because of lore reqs.

I've seen a one-two or three-liner be more advanced than a 5 paragraph post and I've seen a 5 paragraph post be more advanced than a one-liner. I've participated in various role-plays that kept me up into the wee hours of the night and made me happy and eager to reply when I can. Length is not a factor; it's the content within the post that is.

I think both @Stormflyx and @stone bring up good points - I personally won't usually go searching for an RP in Advanced, just because there's a certain set of genres that are popular in that section (a lot of high fantasy, from what I've noticed) & may not be what I'm looking for at the moment. Nothing wrong with any of the genres, ofc - just not what I personally want to do, sometimes.

And I usually post interest checks in Casual because even if I want to write a long in-depth post because I'm extra as fuck, for some RPs I don't expect everyone else to do so as well. Since the guidelines are looser and more lax, Casual seems like a better place to put that kind of thing than Advanced.

You should consider high casual low advanced :^)

............b-b-but.......what about........HIGH FREE

Quantity =/= quality is a weak argument in my eyes because;

• Quality in writing is subjective - this makes this a cop out answer. A lot of roleplaying writers, here and elsewhere, think their writing is god-tier awesome when really it's shit tier quality fanfic selfservice.
• Quantity is not inherently linked with quality but more often than not qualitatively great posts have a larger quantity of information (and therefore, higher quantity of words) than low quality post -- there is certainly a link between the two.
• Writing is not about quality, writing is not about quantity, writing is about how much you enjoy writing the post, and roleplaying is about how much you enjoy writing the post and how much others enjoy reading your post. If you are content reading one liners until 5 am in the morning then I'd say that the roleplay hits the perfect spot for you. Personally I can't do that because it doesn't interest me. It's not a quality I look for in a roleplay.
• Subjective and personal take that come from my own experience (i.e. anecdotes) but the people who put QUALITY IS NOT QUANTITY REEE at the top of their interest check are also often the same people who write a small paragraph that parrots exactly what your post said without adding anything new to it. Quality =/= quantity, sure, but your post has neither. I'd rather read purple prose than a rehash of what I already wrote for you.

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I feel like there's a lot of assumptions and misinterpretations in what you're saying here. To address your first point——yeah? But I'd say that there's a pretty universal standard for good writing that will obviously be evident. George R.R. Martin is 99.9 percent of the time going to be considered better than a 10 year old writing their first fanfic. Sure, a very small amount of people are going to think that the kid is better than the published author, but whenever we say "good" writing it should be obvious that we're looking at the consensus formed by the most knowledgeable consumers and skilled authors. Doesn't the fact that you're saying that writing is "actually fanfic tier" instead of "god-tier awesome" show that you have a clear standard for what is good and what is bad writing? I know that this connects to your subjectivity point in a way. Thing is, it shows that there's obviously a clear consensus of what quality looks like and that most writers typically want to head towards that point.

Second, I already said that I don't have an issue with the idea of writing long posts in the OP, which is how a lot of people took it despite me saying the exact opposite in the thread starter. The issue is not the quantity of a singular post being long, nor did I ever say that posts should ALWAYS be short. Rather, I was saying that to constantly have long posts is inevitably going to have a detrimental effect on quality because there will inevitably be little of substance to say when lengthy posts are written every time regardless of context or how much it contributes to narrative and characters. Quantity can mean that there is a lot of information. What it does not necessarily mean is that all of that information isn't redundant or insignificant as to draw out the post count while contributing very little to the play as a whole.

I can't tell if you actually mean me in your third point, but I made it clear that I didn't always want short posts. This connects to my other point, though. As people get more involved in a hobby, they will usually cultivate a desire to improve their craft. Not all the time, duh, and the people who are fine without changing things up should not be looked down upon. However, more often than not people will want to improve and as they do so what they have fun reading and writing will be subject to change. Even if roleplaying isn't about being good, you can't act like that isn't a huge factor in it.

And you already said that your last point is subjective so I won't dwell on it for too long. I will say that I find the exact opposite to be true. When a person writes quantity is not quality, I find that they're more to the point. If you feel the need to write more because you're in an environment that links that particular skill to having higher quality, then you are way, way more likely to repeat what the other person said as a way to get more words in. Frankly, however, the issue with both purple prose and rehashes are that they give remarkably little for the other person to respond to. I named the thread "Quantity is not Quality," yes, but the main point of contention is how there is little value in a lot of cases where people feel the need to write an exorbitant amount——not in all cases.

I feel like in a lot of areas you were responding to what you'd assume a person making the quantity is not quality argument would say as opposed to what I was actually pinpointing.

So after you both write your introduction posts which are rightfully going to have a lot to establish, you get down to the actual interactions and everything grinds to a halt. Posts become slower. Your partner is writing a lot per post, but there's not much you can actually reply to, so you focus mainly on your character's emotions, how their reactions relate to their backstory, etc etc. That is, until, one of you is burned out by the slow pace of the plot and the project dies before clearing a single page.

this is not an advanced specific issue and i have encountered it the most in casual (though casual is basically advanced-lite now with all this high-casual bullshit)

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this is not an advanced specific issue and i have encountered it the most in casual (though casual is basically advanced-lite now with all this high-casual bullshit)

What constitutes as high casual?

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What constitutes as high casual?

writing advanced-level but not wanting to move to advanced because its dead and elitist. if you look at the actual descriptions of the sections most everything in casual meets advanced's minimums, and if you go by the requirements that the community is built many casual roleplays still meet the minimums. people just use the high-casual tag because casual is the most active section.

i do agree with you that the sections are more about the general vibes, genres and thickness of the lore encyclopedia tho.

If you put “high casual” in your Interest Check you might as well post your RP in Advanced.