Ok, well, I don't know about you, @Theyra, but I still want to give this a try. If you're still interested, I'll work up an ooc, and post the link here. I'll fill out the rest of the team with npc's, whom I'll retire as new players come along.
This has serious “Bitching Thread V3.0” energy, but if we all act like adults maybe it won’t get locked.
For the time I’ve been roleplaying, many of my pet peeves have come and gone. I’ll often move past some only for others to spring up in their place. But the one thing that consistently bugs me is people who publicly complain. We all talk about our grievances from time to time, but I feel that is best done as privately as possible. If a player or GM has an issue with a post, it should be a matter addressed between those people in PM/DMs. If you just want to vent, one on one with a friend or group is fine for that. Matters involving an entire RP (which rarely happens) could be hashed out in the OOC, or preferably over an IM service like Discord. But I see little reason to vent one’s grievances to everyone.
The status bar is probably the most egregious example of this. You have people taking to the status bar to overshare family drama report every time their writing partner does something annoying. Why are you trying to put this in front of a stranger’s eyeballs? Are you trying to validate your position by fishing for a few likes? Do you hope that your writing partner will see you complain and change because you can’t talk to them directly? I have a hard time finding flattering reasons for people to vent in this way even if they have a good reason to do so.
Another problem with complaining, and especially chronic complaining, is that everyone has learned to read between the lines. Complaining about ghosting creates the perception that you are impatient and/or not worth playing with. Rushing to the status bar to mention icky writing practices makes you come off as a Mark Twain wannabe that can’t write to your own standards. Complaining about the size of a long post can oust you as someone who finds it painful to read. Your complaining might resonate with a few, but every time you do so you alienate a group of potential writing pals. It’s the same reason most people won’t join RPs where there are 20+ rules. Even if half of the rules seem reasonable, it starts to feel strict and controlling when taken too far.
If a status bar complainer saw this post, do you think they’d change their ways or just write me off as a jerk?
I am interested, either as the believer or the normie or something else.