Biggest Rp Pet Peeve

[Lady Absinthia]

What is your biggest rp pet peeve and why? Is it lack of grammar? Not spacing between paragraphs? God moding? Auto hits? Gm's vanishing? Something else? Interested to see which pet peeve is the most hated overall.

*This is not a topic to debate what is the worst pet peeve or vent. A simple listing of your top pet peeve and why it is as such.

For me it is people who ignore a Gm's posting rules. Why? It is a courtesy thing, something I find very lacking much of the time in the RP world.

A Gm posts their topic and rules, nearly always there will be a posting rule or rules.

• Must post every X amount of days
• Must wait X amount of posts between your last post
• Post must be a minimal of X amount of paragraphs long
• Post must be formatted as follows

People are so keen to join an rp that is something they are craving, they just ignore the posting rules; as if they don't apply or the gm took the time to add them just for the hell of it. Then when the GM calls them out they get all belligerent. Seriously? The rules were there to begin with, the lack of respect an Rper shows a Gm over this matter never ceases to amaze me.

*Now this is not in reference to those who had an illness or sudden unexpected thing arise and that they notified the GM that they won't be able to post for a bit. Just to those that ignore it in general.

So, what it yours? I'm sure there are tones out there that irk most.

[Engel]

I have a few that's the same, but variations of it. People who claim they want to do something, post once and disappear. People who claim they want to do something, post a few times and then make up excuse after excuse as to why they're not posting before disappearing entirely. People who claim they want to do something, but clearly didn't fucking bother reading an interest check. The worst is when they have the gall to give you attitude about anything later, had one of those not too long ago.

The babies that need to be coddled or they're just gonna disappear or stop posting. I've no interest in talking someone into posting. That's silly, and shouldn't be necessary if the person is an adult.

[Ace of Hearts]

Other players.

[Ellri]

For us, it is people who disappear without any notice or explanation. Be it from an RP or from the guild altogether. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to log on to say "Dropping out due to RL." or "RL issues. Be back in a month." or somesuch. People might not want to explain what their issue is (like what RL event caused them to have to drop, but that's their prerogative. For us at least, its perfectly fine if they just leave it at "RL."

Same goes when people drop out of an RP (but not off the guild). It doesn't take much time to throw in an OoC post stating that you're dropping. All GMs appreciate knowing whether someone's still in their RP.

[ClocktowerEchos]

People who only follow a CS/NS skeleton and don't bother making it unique or good looking. If it lacks any sense of originally and creative/lack of time and effort put into it, it bugs me a lot.

[Mixtape Ghost N]

People who awkwardly insert into existing scenes. This is probably only a problem for Character Driven Roleplays, but it always irks me when you have a perfectly valid scene here with action and whatnot, and then this other guy "just so happened to be in the neighborhood" and throws all that out of whack. Or that one guy who enters every conversation.

Not everyone has to be involved with everything.

[Terminal]

Casual roleplayers.

The assertion that the alleged 'Free' RP subforum actually exists, and is not a filthy MYTH.

Grammar-School levels of soft science in Science Fiction roleplays.

[NuttsnBolts]

People that create characters that don't fit into the world correctly, either through the general design or choice of abilities and weapons. For example, a big burly overweight man with the ability to perform parkour moves, or a child who was able to defeat a grand master fighter on their first go.

We've all seen these characters and while they may be suited for some unique rps, they always seem to pop up.

[Atrophy]

My personal dumb pet peeve that really isn't a problem? People using colors that are hard to read and hurt my baby eyes. Guys, I love you, I love that effort you put in, I love how you dress up your posts to make them so damn sexy. It's nice. But my eyes are already bad enough as it is for looking at screens for most of my life and I've managed this far to go without needing glasses, so please stop killing the little guys.

It really only gets to me when it's used extensively, like in dialogue for example. I kinda get the point of using color for a character's dialogue(like, it's fun right? Colors are fun?), but it can really ruin an otherwise fantastic post if I'm forced to squint and highlight and rub my little precious eyeballs that are hurting because you thought that color would look great on this background. Still, I'm not gonna get mad at you and I'm not gonna ask you to ever change: I just want you to know that your words are prettier when I can easily read them.

For us, it is people who disappear without any notice or explanation. Be it from an RP or from the guild altogether. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to log on to say "Dropping out due to RL." or "RL issues. Be back in a month." or somesuch. People might not want to explain what their issue is (like what RL event caused them to have to drop, but that's their prerogative. For us at least, its perfectly fine if they just leave it at "RL."

Same goes when people drop out of an RP (but not off the guild). It doesn't take much time to throw in an OoC post stating that you're dropping. All GMs appreciate knowing whether someone's still in their RP.

@Ellri

Oh, this absolutely. To all you ghosters out there, we're worried about you. Let us know if you're okay, okay?

I actually feel that the people who remain on the guild bother me more, especially if they are just straight out ignoring PMs or @Mentions. It's cool if they don't wanna be in the RP anymore. Perhaps they misunderstood the RP or the GM kind of led them astray. Maybe they just lost motivation for their character or aren't having fun and want to try their hand at something else instead of just dropping uninspired posts. Maybe they think everyone in the RP are jerks. Whatever. Just politely excuse yourself. I feel like most people on the guild wouldn't even need to be given a reason why someone is backing out because I'm sure most of us have been in RPs that we just weren't feeling. That said, I'd rather have someone let me know if I had done something to make them drop out. But bopping out without saying anything isn't just rude, it can seriously hurt the flow of an RP and sometimes kill off something that would otherwise have been great.

I'd almost say that this shouldn't count as a pet peeve, though. It's less of an annoyance and more of a kinda sorta giant problem. _{Although I feel like it's kind of an accepted evil, because the only potential solutions I can think of are all rather gross...}

[Shorticus]

Honestly? Playing to win is my biggest pet peeve.

I'm putting this in a hider because it's fairly lengthy and also because I'm a little afraid I might make someone angry. I don't know who, but I'm forewarning folks before they open the hider.

Hider

Let me make a disclaimer: I understand there are certain forms of RP which are based around playing to win. That's the Arena in a nutshell after all: seeing who can describe their characters fighting in such a way they win a PvP fight. If that's your thing, you do it to it; beat the crap out of people in the Arena. But if I'm not in the Arena, I hate coming across a "playing to win" mentality from a player in the same thread.

See, I've always looked at roleplaying as a cooperative writing experience and a game of give and take. When you roleplay, you're working together with another person or with a group of people to make a cohesive story that's enjoyable for everyone involved. If your characters are opposed, you may still want your characters to come out on top, but you always have to remember that the roleplay isn't about you: it's about your character and every other character in the roleplay. You strike a balance between doing what's awesome for your character and doing what's awesome for the roleplay.

If you're playing to "win" in a thread that wasn't designed with "Let's compete!" in mind, you're effectively trying to steal the limelight of this cooperative experience for yourself. You're ignoring the fact that there are other players who are working with you to make a good story, or else you're acknowledging them but saying "I don't care" at the same time.

When I write an application for a Nation RP, for instance, I don't design a character or nation with "I gotta win this roleplay" in mind. Hell, sometimes I go in knowing my concept is going to be wiped out pretty early. What I do is make something that compliments or contrasts the other nations in the thread. I want to make something that brings about conflict or adds a new layer to the roleplay. I do not want to make something that will conquer all the known world because clearly this swarm of horse archers (who are for some reason blindly loyal to their demon overlord who crushes all rebellion and revolt with demon powers) is superior to all other armies on this puny map. That's just petty.

Moreover, the writing style that comes about from an "I gotta win" mentality is unnatural. What do I mean by that? I mean that it's a style of writing that feels awkward, clunky, is poorly paced, and doesn't get published for exactly those reasons. In a fight scene, for instance, I don't know of any author (or comic book artist or film director) that spends 3-5 paragraphs talking about the way one character fights so perfectly, then another 3-5 paragraphs about how the other characters responds to that so carefully, then... back and forth. No. Nobody does that, nobody except roleplayers.

What we should do instead is collaborate with each other for fight scenes. Get with the person you're having a sword fight with! Jump into a chatroom that lets you edit as you go! You can work together to make a paragraph that's fluid, that has good pacing, where characters are actually reacting to attacks as they happen. One guy swings and the other parries, stepping back onto a rock. He thrusts forward; the other guy takes a hit, winces, and trips the fellow off the rock. They move into closer range where one guy's shorter sword has an advantage, and the other guy has to struggle to get out of there, and... etc. It will read better than if folks just take turns writing four paragraph blurbs at a time.

Now, I understand the solution above isn't in the spirit of Arena roleplay, and I understand that folks have fun in the Arena just as much as folks do anywhere else on this forum. That's a totally legitimate way to play, and it has a forum sequestered off because it's very different from how most roleplay functions. Most roleplay is about cooperation, not competition, even when two players have characters whose goals are diametrically opposed.

When you join most roleplays, you should come in knowing you shouldn't necessarily try to be Johnny Badass. You should, instead, try to be a team player. After all, the thing that distinguishes roleplaying from a lot of other writing forms is it's a group effort. Roleplaying is multiple people working together to create a story. Shouldn't you practice writing in a way that's conducive to group play?

[Nevix]

When an RP is really slow, so you leave it alone for awhile. Then when you come back there's like 4,000 new posts and no one mentioned or quoted you so you had no idea. Now you're super behind and you know that no one missed you. Kick. In. The. Balls.

[FantasyChic]

I get kind of annoyed when I, in a IC post, mention a character or two and interact with them (outside of a collab post) and when they post, they completely ignore what my character said or did to them. I thankfully haven't had this done a lot, but (and I won't mention names or RPs) it has been happening in a game I am in and it is frankly making me want to drop out. I like interacting with people, and I don't mind collabing on something, but if my character is doing something to yours or saying something to yours, at least acknowledge it and then move on to what you want to do. Or better yet, message me.

I could, of course, poke them and say "hey, my character did so and so" and let that be, but my thing is I shouldn't HAVE to do that. If you are reading the IC posts, then yeah, you should see that I am talking to you.

I also don't like tagging people in IC posts, but that's just my thing.

[Mirandae]

People who claim they want to do something, post a few times and then make up excuse after excuse as to why they're not posting before disappearing entirely. The worst is when they have the gall to give you attitude about anything later, had one of those not too long ago.

@Engel

Add to that, people who are impatient and jump to their own conclusions and infuriate themselves when their partner has clearly stated the required attention of other obligations; people who don't give polite nudges, but have the gall to complain in threads like these instead. Indeed, these are the worst kinds of people.

[PlatinumSkink]

When one player uses the knowledge they have at hand to make the other player's characters look like fools for no reason.

For instance, one player makes their character make a suggestion, and is supposed to be reasonably good at what the suggestion is about. The other player makes their character absolutely tear the person's argument apart and makes the other character out to be an idiot. Really, any post that somehow states that the actions of another player is somehow stupid when the player who made the post did not intend their character to be stupid at that. It makes the character break character in another person's post, due to what might have been a minor lack of knowledge from the player's part. The character in the game should not suffer being called a fool because of a minor mistake of knowledge in their player or whatever.

When that happens, it irks me to no end. Specifically, the person who made the choice of making the other character look like an idiot when it clearly wasn't the intention. Yupp. It makes me want to punch that guy.

[Billsomething]

people who create a character sheet and never rp despite the fact they have a perfectly good character to use.

[Lady Absinthia]

Alright, quoting some here since only half of the instructions were followed by the following - You've given me the "pet peeve" but forgot the why it bothers you. Inquiring minds want to know. (That and the fact you didn't give the why makes me want to call you out. :p)

Other players.

@Ace of Hearts

One, why does this bother you? And side note - then why are you here?

Casual roleplayers.

The assertion that the alleged 'Free' RP subforum actually exists, and is not a filthy MYTH.

Grammar-School levels of soft science in Science Fiction roleplays.

@Terminal

Why do these bother you? And is this a three way tie? (If not, pick one.)

people who create a character sheet and never rp despite the fact they have a perfectly good character to use.

@Billsomething

Why does this bother you?

[Eklispe]

Ellipses.......

I despite it when people use these to point out something or just in general. It makes me feel like they're trying to point out something as though it should be obvious and seems really condescending. Really condescending. I mean really... this should be obvious.... did you read the rules.... ITS SO ANNOYING.

[Ace of Hearts]

<Snipped quote by Ace of Hearts>

One, why does this bother you? And side note - then why are you here?

@Lady Amalthea

joke
jōk/Submit
noun
1.
a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline.
"she was in a mood to tell jokes"
synonyms: funny story, jest, witticism, quip; More

[ClocktowerEchos]

Nations in NRPs based purely on conquest. Not even trying to make it interesting like "they believe that by conquering other peoples, they will save them from doomsday" or "they are a dying race and were once peaceful but are now forced into war". Just pure "I want to win this NRP so fuck y'all, I can beat all of your sorry asses with a race dedicated to nothing but war even though realistically such a nation cannot sustain itself and would also be culturally dead".

[ArenaSnow]

In it to win it.

Because honestly, winning... meh. I win when I can look back and have an interesting story. Heck, I would voulenteer to be the antagonist of a story when the outcome would be me going down. All I want is to go down in a way that's memorable :)

Other peeve;

being on Terminal's peeve list.