'Elitism' doesn't necessarily need to be something negative. We boast a very diverse community made up of all sorts of different people with some very different perspectives. I consider myself to be something of an elitist - simply because I always strive to do my best.
Role-play is a hobby that I enjoy but as I live in a completely different timezone to many other role-players I don't really have the patience or the time to wade through stuff that I find ridiculous or directly contradictory to my immersion.
This doesn't need to be a source of conflict either - though in my experience a lot of people react poorly even when you word 'sorry, not interest' in as polite a manner as possible.
Besides, you can't please everybody and some people just lack in basic etiquette or refuse to put their foot down to the point where their role-play is usually pretty awkward.
I'm willing to compromise, of course, but generally there's some stuff I try to avoid altogether simply because I find it ridiculous. The casual use of Fantasia is a major example, especially with so many people expressing a desire to turn their character into an Au Ra when the expansion is upon us.
To me, that strikes me as odd and pretty lazy. It also suggests - to me at least - that it's not worth involving myself with their character in-depth because chances are they'll just latch onto whatever happens to the 'flavour of the month' at the time and expect everybody else to play along.
Now if it were part of a major storyline and a source of conflict and turmoil for the character then I'd not be nearly as opposed to it (though still a little wary).
At the end of the day, though? I prefer to tell a good story and appreciate those who seek to the same without trying to go out of their way to be as bizarre as possible. True creativity in my mind is not doing anything and everything under the sun, it's creating an interesting character that fits the confines of the setting without requiring someone to bend over backwards in an attempt to try and make it work.
Role-play is a hobby that I enjoy but as I live in a completely different timezone to many other role-players I don't really have the patience or the time to wade through stuff that I find ridiculous or directly contradictory to my immersion.
This doesn't need to be a source of conflict either - though in my experience a lot of people react poorly even when you word 'sorry, not interest' in as polite a manner as possible.
Besides, you can't please everybody and some people just lack in basic etiquette or refuse to put their foot down to the point where their role-play is usually pretty awkward.
I'm willing to compromise, of course, but generally there's some stuff I try to avoid altogether simply because I find it ridiculous. The casual use of Fantasia is a major example, especially with so many people expressing a desire to turn their character into an Au Ra when the expansion is upon us.
To me, that strikes me as odd and pretty lazy. It also suggests - to me at least - that it's not worth involving myself with their character in-depth because chances are they'll just latch onto whatever happens to the 'flavour of the month' at the time and expect everybody else to play along.
Now if it were part of a major storyline and a source of conflict and turmoil for the character then I'd not be nearly as opposed to it (though still a little wary).
At the end of the day, though? I prefer to tell a good story and appreciate those who seek to the same without trying to go out of their way to be as bizarre as possible. True creativity in my mind is not doing anything and everything under the sun, it's creating an interesting character that fits the confines of the setting without requiring someone to bend over backwards in an attempt to try and make it work.
