Leet, roleplay, and just spelling

[BrightCat]

I have taken to standing on the tops of the mountains around New Tris instead of actually in New Tris. You guys can join my standing-on-a-mountain club if you'd like. x3 But yeah, it's been getting really bad lately. There was a lot of emote spam going on one day. I had to say enough was enough, and I usually don't say anything. If it was enough to get me to step in then you know it's gotten to a bad level. I understand if the person isn't native to English, or if they have dyslexia or something, that's no prob. But sometimes there are people where there is no excuse. :P I give everyone the benefit of the doubt at first and I wait to see if they're really trying or if they're just lazy. But I do think we've got some trolls on board now... I hope that this is simply another phase in the life of Order and it'll fade soon enough. :P Or, we could always just gather somewhere else. We can still get to the other starter islands.

[Nambroth]

i apologise if i have given offense in any way - i guess i do leet, but it is so part of me these days that i am not even aware of it......
to me, its like 'thieve's cant' - a way of discovering who might be like you vs. who is 'other'....

Goodness no!! You've done nothing to ever offend me anyhow-- the people I am having issues with have been chatting in the main tab.. that is /say, and talking about totally OOC stuff like TV shows, youtube, other video games. Spamming emotes such as /yawn or somesuch 10, 20 times in a row.. etc.

I don't think most people mind some OOC silliness or even some chatspeak, I myself will comment an OOC (( LOL )) etc sometimes when I see a character do something really funny.

It's just when people positively spam out of character chat-speak, canned emotes, etc... that it gets to the point where I start losing it. If someone is willing to try and learn, that is one thing (I don't care if they are a 'good' role-player or not as long as there is some effort there) but some of the new players recently don't seem to fall into that category...
When I said before that last Sunday New Trismus felt like an old AOL chatroom-- I meant it quite literally! It felt like a chatroom for young people that were bored, and not at all like a RP server.

[Frith-Rae]

And what I find highly ironic...Blizzard CS has stepped up personally to police Moonguard Goldshire due to the problems there with inappropriate /say converstion and spammed whispers of inappropriate comments..lol.

Frickin finally - now if they'd just get around to al lthe OTHER GOldshires. How odd that all servers seem to pick the same town to decide where the "ugg" of society would congregate.

But I guess looking at where/what levels Goldshire falls under - perhaps that's the reason NT is getting so much spam. Both are the early-level congregation area..hrmm...

Any other games where early-level cities are where the "unmentionables" hang out? LOL

[Tcei]

From the official policy found here
Italics and bolded relevant parts to this thread.

I would of added this to my previous post but couldnt find it.

Communication Policy

The communication in public chat channels while on the role-playing shard must be appropriate to the high fantasy atmosphere found in the Istaria roleplaying world. Public channels include those channels moderated by Virtrium and are denoted by the "Istaria" label as the channel moderator. Channel moderators are designated by a blue name in the list of members actively in the channel. Player created channels are considered private channels and may or may not have these restrictions applied to them as determined by the player moderators who run the channel.

Modern-day happenings will not be discussed on public channels. This restriction includes, but is not limited to: sports events, current news, movies, computers, games, and music. Discussion of said events on private channels such as /tell, /guildchat, and /group is permissible as long as all parties agree to allow it. Such private channel communications will not be monitored by Virtrium and it is left to the players to monitor their own communications.

Internet shorthand, abbreviations, and “l33tspeak� are not allowed on the server. Should you discover someone using this form of communication, please ask him or her to refrain from doing so in the future. If the player continues to do so, please report them to a Istaria Customer Service Representative through the appropriate channels.


Asking for help: Players are encouraged to try to roleplay when looking for help, be it to form a group, ask advice or ask about game mechanics, in public chat channels. We recognize, however, that this is not always possible and sometimes a player must step "out of character" in order to ask, and answer, questions. It is reasonable to expect that lengthy conversations regarding game mechanics and game play will be moved out of public channels and a private channel created instead.

Much of what goes on in the role-playing shards depends on players “self-policing� and monitoring their own and others’ behavior. If someone violates the Communication Policy, please courteously ask the offender to stop before alerting a member of the Virtrium support staff. If the player’s inappropriate behavior or communication continues, then report the incident(s) and offender to support. Each report will be reviewed and handled by Virtrium on a case-by-case basis. If someone uses an occasional abbreviation or types one or two out-of-context words, please do not take offense.

The chances that a CSR will step in under such circumstances are slim, unless the offending player is violating another rule and/or his or her offense is deemed particularly egregious. Please use the tools available to you and your own best judgment before reporting an individual for violation of this policy. Players who repeatedly violate the stated rules and the spirit of these rules will be given the option of having their characters moved, at their expense based on the current server transfer fee, to a non-roleplay shard, or will be banned from the roleplay shard.

That being said, Vel, I didnt mean to sound like I was trying to pick on you or others like you. Occasional ooc has never bothered me. Something like what's been described as happening in nt recently sounds like something that violates the Order server rules, and possibly the harassment policy too.

But I guess looking at where/what levels Goldshire falls under - perhaps that's the reason NT is getting so much spam. Both are the early-level congregation area..hrmm...

Any other games where early-level cities are where the "unmentionables" hang out? LOL

Im pretty sure I've seen it in just about every game I've played that's developed a centralized area in or around a newbie area. I seem to recall a few instances like this even back in my (old school) eq days. -_-

[Dhalin]

The reason why this happens in Goldshire/NT/etc, is that it is the place that is easiest to get to.

For an RP realm, some people like to create characters purely for Roleplay. When characters are started, they don't want to haul these characters miles to other towns and cities (and risk multiple deaths/downtime in doing so), so they park it in the newbie towns.

Veteran characters who want RP, know that everyone goes to these newbie towns and they head there themselves. Thus, you get the congregation of players in NT/Goldshire/etc.

And when you have a large group of people anywhere on the internet, bad apples are almost impossible to avoid....

The reason why Moon Guard's Goldshire was chosen to be policed was because:

A). The person who raised the complaint directly to the devs on the forums was from Moon Guard IIRC, and
B). Moon Guard is either *the* or one of the, highest population RP servers. I've heard from other people who have experienced multiple Goldshires, that Moon Guard was definitely one of the worst for stuff like that.

[velveeta]

no offense comprehended at all, shian!

one of the reasons i do not normally inhabit rp shards (altho i adore to rp - as someone once said about me 'of course she's depressed, she has to wake up every morning and be her') is that i babble.....A LOT. ask any elder on blight. it has been a problem before. and its about stoopid sheet, of course, cause i am a stoopid sheet.
shorthand is a means to an end for me, namely, getting all the crap out fast as possible....

anyway - as always, my thoughts are, if you are in a rp shard and not on a designated ooc channel, it is only common courtesy to not post ooc comments, especially without notice to the others in the channel. don't go there if you don't intend to even try to fit into the community.

as for spelling, well - i have learned to live with the spelling thing. believe it or not, i am actually kinda anal about spelling and grammar. i realize that others are not, have handicaps, or do not write english as a primary language, so i have learned to be more tolerant (kinda like exposure therapy for suffers of ocd) - but i still have to force myself to even look at some peeps posts, due to the almost unreadability. sorry, but it is true.....

[Glaciera]

Im pretty sure I've seen it in just about every game I've played that's developed a centralized area in or around a newbie area. I seem to recall a few instances like this even back in my (old school) eq days. -_-

On my EQ server, waaay, waaaay back when, it was Greater Faydark.


On topic of the rant, I avoid NT like it was on fire (and sometimes I wish it was). When I do have to go there, I go straight through and/or take care of my business as quickly as possible. Since I don't want to be slurped, mauled, or eaten. I'm a gnome, it's a dangerous world when the majority of dragons you come across think you're food (an entirely different rant).

I don't look at my "Main" tab, as that's where all the idiocy is, until I'm long gone. And then it's just quick enough to make it stop flashing, or make sure I didn't get a tell.

I won't claim I'm a terrific speller, or great at grammar, BUT, I do try. That is really all I expect from others. TRY, dang it.

And QUIT using emoticons in RP. My head nearly exploded the first time I saw that.

P.S. This is not directed at those for whom English is not their primary language. I applaud those who are multi-lingual. Nor at those who have learning disabilities like dyslexia. Nor at occasional chat-speakers.

[Frith-Rae]

*hehe* Poor gnomes; I will have it be said that though Frith has eaten a good biped every now and again I would never EAT a player character...lol.

(and of course not commenting on the entirely poor form and godmodding necessary to slurp/maul/or eat someoen who doesn't want to be...:/)

[Starstilanxs]

At this point I have practically taken on the 'jerk' role in New Trismus, basically enforcing the rules till others get it through their heads. As much as I hate doing stuff like that to other players because I really am nice! I see no other recourse aside from threatening to report it.

The biggest annoyance that I have had to deal with recently is one just wouldn't listen to -anything- I had to say, it was just 'spam spam spam spam spam'. These are the players that I will start reporting to the devs, hopefully they will do something about them as the RP enviorment that NT was is being crushed by those that refuse to follow simple rules.

[Nambroth]

On topic of the rant, I avoid NT like it was on fire (and sometimes I wish it was). When I do have to go there, I go straight through and/or take care of my business as quickly as possible. (snip)
I don't look at my "Main" tab, as that's where all the idiocy is, until I'm long gone. And then it's just quick enough to make it stop flashing, or make sure I didn't get a tell.

Aw, I am sorry to hear that. Despite the obvious problems that this thread is about, it hasn't always been this way and it still isn't always this way (With any hope it'll pass). I've had some of the best, in depth and wonderful roleplays in NT!

[Shinkuu]

Personally I am not a fan of "L33T" either and it is just annoying.

The whole purpose of communication is to convey one's thoughts fluently and effectively to another creature. Therefore, purposefully making your writing harder to comprehend defeats this purpose.

However, if the speech is IN-CHARACTER (which the above form should NEVER be) and is purposefully different or spelled to indicate accent or the character's difficulty with speaking then I find it 100% ok. Though expect me to act as puzzled ICly as I would be OOCly in understanding it if my character should not have any reason to understand it more easily.

For instance, none of my characters Speaks or understands the Dragon Language some use and they act appropriately when it is spoken to them but I do not really care if others use it.

[Shinkuu]

Aw, I am sorry to hear that. Despite the obvious problems that this thread is about, it hasn't always been this way and it still isn't always this way (With any hope it'll pass). I've had some of the best, in depth and wonderful roleplays in NT!

I often find the same in NT and likewise I move fast to be avoided and to avoid such conversation. Much of the RP that actually DOES manage to take place there is nothing of the sort I would want to be involved in but on rare occasions it is ok.

[Shinkuu]

At this point I have practically taken on the 'jerk' role in New Trismus, basically enforcing the rules till others get it through their heads. As much as I hate doing stuff like that to other players because I really am nice! I see no other recourse aside from threatening to report it.

The biggest annoyance that I have had to deal with recently is one just wouldn't listen to -anything- I had to say, it was just 'spam spam spam spam spam'. These are the players that I will start reporting to the devs, hopefully they will do something about them as the RP enviorment that NT was is being crushed by those that refuse to follow simple rules.

Thank you Stars for your vigilance. No one likes to be the "Bad Cop" if you will but it HAS to happen from time to time. I would like to THINK that even the annoying players would find it far superior an experience if they behaved and actually got to be accepted into the community and have some reasonable RP.

[Xepher]

^ Though I'm not around regularly, I have always and WILL always exercise such vigilance on Order, more so now than ever. Playing the role of "Bad Cop" is something I'm good at, and I love my job, even though the increase of problematic players is something I'd rather do without.

There are a lot of us out there trying to talk to these players and guide them in the right direction, but as its been mentioned, they don't want to listen. The only thing I can think to do if talking to them and enforcing the rules proves futile, is reporting them. Tcei posted the rules for the Order server and it clearly dictates that what these players are doing is against them, so we can only hope the staff will take action on some of them, and soon.

We do want more players on Order, but it's like I've been saying for a while now; quality over quantity. It was disappointing to log back in after a long hiatus and find the place is crawling with new players who have zero idea what Roleplaying even is, and don't care to respect it or us older players if they do.

Hopefully something will be done about them soon, but until then, we have to be patient and keep up our attempts at... mitigating these new players, so to speak.

[LungTien Temeraire]

There are my thoughs:
New players joining the Order shard doesn't always know what roleplay is. But as long as we stay polite, respectful and tolerant, they can quietly get help and improve. I have myself met some who wanted to play sort of gods or something like that, and staying patient and gentle is the best way to deal with these cases. If they become angry for nothing and continue to do as they wish, though, the ignore button is the last option. Not all roleplayers have english as their native language or knows it well, preventing them to write detailed sentences and things like that, but they can still improve and roleplay well with other roleplayers.

[Starstilanxs]

There are my thoughs:
New players joining the Order shard doesn't always know what roleplay is. But as long as we stay polite, respectful and tolerant, they can quietly get help and improve. I have myself met some who wanted to play sort of gods or something like that, and staying patient and gentle is the best way to deal with these cases. If they become angry for nothing and continue to do as they wish, though, the ignore button is the last option. Not all roleplayers have english as their native language or knows it well, preventing them to write detailed sentences and things like that, but they can still improve and roleplay well with other roleplayers.

That isn't the issue though Lung. It isn't the fact that we are singling out people who don't have English as their first spoken language as we are quite tolerant to that, we encourage those people and help them as much as we can.

Recently there has been an influx of people who refuse to listen to the experienced RPer's, completely ignore anything and everything that we give as advice, blantantly disrespecting our community as a whole and refusing to stop using leetspeak, smilies, and spamming the chat. They are a problem and one that they themselves refuse to fix.

On the subject of actually reporting them, I have done this. I didn't get any help from support about it. Apparently what ever 'Order RP Rules' that we have is not 'officially' supported even though its stated by the company. >.>

[LungTien Temeraire]

That isn't the issue though Lung. It isn't the fact that we are singling out people who don't have English as their first spoken language as we are quite tolerant to that, we encourage those people and help them as much as we can.

I haven't said everyone was doing that, Starstilanxs. It is just another issue.

Recently there has been an influx of people who refuse to listen to the experienced RPer's, completely ignore anything and everything that we give as advice, blantantly disrespecting our community as a whole and refusing to stop using leetspeak, smilies, and spamming the chat. They are a problem and one that they themselves refuse to fix.

That surprises me... I didn't meet or hear about them until now. In this case, we have to do something, indeed.

[RuneDragoon]

There are my thoughs:
New players joining the Order shard doesn't always know what roleplay is. But as long as we stay polite, respectful and tolerant, they can quietly get help and improve. I have myself met some who wanted to play sort of gods or something like that, and staying patient and gentle is the best way to deal with these cases. If they become angry for nothing and continue to do as they wish, though, the ignore button is the last option. Not all roleplayers have english as their native language or knows it well, preventing them to write detailed sentences and things like that, but they can still improve and roleplay well with other roleplayers.

As stars has said, its not about the people who are inexperienced, but more about those who just dont want to learn. They come over just to troll.

[LungTien Temeraire]

As stars has said, its not about the people who are inexperienced, but more about those who just dont want to learn. They come over just to troll.

Yes, that is a different issue... I would prefer, though, to use the ignore option, and spread the word. That could surely make them leave or think about it.

[Sereamha]

I have so many people on ignore now....it really is a sad thing.

I have reported three people already, but support stated they can not do anything without screencaps and logs.