RP Pet peeves. What's yours?

[Ashe]

- People who go AFK mid-RP without giving a quick note about it. I can understand if something happened so you had to leave immediately, but if it's not something immediate, at least send a /tell and let me in the know, so I'm not waiting forever on you responding, maybe even thinking the chat had munched my post (which I assume every time someone doesn't reply or is just really slow in replying).

 

 

 

Omg I am kinda guilty of this but it's more like when RP goes on for like....5/6 hours and it's 4 AM and I fall asleep.  

I gotta stop RPing for hours.

 

That being said, I'll usually say something like "Guys, I'm falling asleep, end it." but at the same time there's times where I'll close my eyes for a second and wake up 4 hours later alone in the middle of a map somewhere.

 

I'll add another pet peeve--people who don't take advantage of the lore in the game. Some people I think are afraid to approach serious history/lore as a part of their character.  I've done some serious crazy focusing on Allag and Ishgard for my RP because my character is interested in Allag relics and is Ishgardian. But when I see people who are like "Oh, I kinda do this but just sit in a tavern all day talking"....I'm like whyyyyy.  Go take advantage of the world.

....

so another pet peeve is tavern-only RP.  For every time I've rp'd...maybe 3 times total in the QS? Every other instance has been in some godforsaken part of the map. 

Death fight in the middle of Coerthas...

Ran an expedition in an IC dungeon run of Wanderers Palace.

Planning on Gubal Library.

....

There's just so many opportunities!!! Then again, I'm weird that way I guess....

[Flickering Ember]

To Tiergan its a good way for new people to maybe get some ideas of behaviours that might be pushing people away.

 

Also everyone loves to vent.

 

That is exactly the problem.

This thread should absolutely NOT be used as a guideline for how to RP. "RP pet peeves" may as well be retitled to "Things I don't like or don't prefer in my RP." There is no right or wrong in RP. It is absolutely and completely subjective. We can agree, that even though it is subjective, that most of the RP community prefers you not to RP as a Pokémon or to meta-game, etc. Even though it is subjective, most of the community seems to be on the same page here.

 

This does not apply to pet peeves. There is no mass consensus on pet peeves. It is all personal preference. Even if several people in this thread agree with each other on a pet peeve, it does not make that pet peeve a 'behavior that might be pushing people away.' Let us look to the OP's response to one of my posts:

 

 

Not my intent to be a "Negative Nancy" just getting a feel for what people do and don't like while listing a few of my own.

 

I don't blacklist a person from my rp circle for doing those things nor do I chastise them for it, but I can't promise I won't be rolling my eyes from behind my computer screen. 

 

 

So, right here there is not a consensus on how people approach their own RP pet peeves.

Do people who invoke a pet peeve push others away?

Or do they merely warrant an eyeroll, like the OP suggests?

 

 

You can't accurately measure what the community likes and dislikes through this thread alone. I can tell you right now that I don't care one bit if you use 'would' in your emotes, write terribly long purple prose, or type your characters' thoughts out. 

 

However, in a thread like this you're not going to get the perspective of people who don't care. You will only get the perspective from those who do.

 

The problem with venting is... There is no problem until you discover that you're the person who is being vented about. There is no clear announcement that says "You're a purple proser!" RPers who are self-conscious, doubting, anxious, are left to wonder if you are referring to them.

[Hammersmith]

It's been a while since uni. Do your refer to grammatical control or descriptive style? I thought purple prose was overly descriptive and figurative, rather than concise and literal as I thought Realism implied.

 

Descriptive more than grammatical control. Henry James is one of the foremost literary realists, and his sentences are grammatical torture. That's more the result of him trying to avoid ever suggesting a hint of anything like a third-party narrator describing events as they occur, though.

 

Also of note: I'm not saying you're wrong or that the style you're describing deviates from a norm.

 

I'm more suggesting that L. Realism is a easiest to access common denominator  for people stepping into RP, which leads to it becoming the common thread of thematic.

 

I mean, seriously, I love Prachett and he loves purple, footnotes, thought processes and violently strange narration.  Half the fun of playing Hammersmith is his short, curt style punctuated with the strange and the surreal mixed in at times for a maximum punch on the sensibilities.

 

EDIT: THIS IS ALSO OFF TOPIC SO I'M GOING TO ABANDON SUBJECT NOW. SOMEONE MAKE A THREAD ABOUT STYLISTIC TRENDS, PREFERENCES, AND AESTHETICS.

[Virella]

Just know that when you tell me you're an Ishgardian exile, I'm always thinking, "Man, how does anyone still live in Ishgard when 99% of the population gets exiled every day?"

 

That is my feeling as well haha.

 

And the new wave of dragon roleplayers. Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of lovely ones between it, but, yeah. I don't know why, I simply can't take a lot of them serious. Especially when people are directly connected to any main lore chars, that gets sort of onto my nerves.

Dragon roleplay has always gotten on my nerves I must admit. Thankfully I've seen some interesting dragon roleplayers around tho

 

But on top of that;

 

 

Especially people using au ra models for it, and not elezen, especially, especially after MQS showing off that the elezen become dragons, and not the au ra! In truth, I suppose us Ishgardian elezen are all dragon scum

 

[Addison]

Probably my biggest pet peeve that I haven't seen mentioned (or missed) is when someone goes crazy over the top with their injuries. I'm talking worst case scenario here. The thing that drives me crazy? They not only demand OOCly their character to live, they also demand that their character be in tip top shape 5 minutes later to do something equally or more stupid that got them in trouble in the first place.

 

As someone who roleplays a healer, who has roleplayed a healer across multiple games and settings, this is just annoying.

 

Also, mind wipes. Mind wipes are just a fancy way of saying retcon. To me anyway. I don't know why they bug me. They just do.

[Jana]

On a related note, I wish there were more MSQ RPers. There's still too few of them.

 

I kind of feel this way too. I originally wanted Jana to be part of the parties that would have cleared the Coils IC, but in the end I settled for Jana seeing through their eyes via Echo visions. Being the "one who slew X-Boss" (or even "one of those who did") seemed like it would be a bigger hassle than it would be worth, even with a creepy paranoid character who's fairly guarded about having the Echo.

 

Omg I am kinda guilty of this but it's more like when RP goes on for like....5/6 hours and it's 4 AM and I fall asleep.

 

I kind of have the reputation of pushing myself further than I should and falling asleep mid-RP. It's troublesome but my friends are fairly understanding about it (to the point where one of them will leave their character next to mine to provide a lap sometimes).

[K'nahli]

I've never been a fan of book RP. When players tell me what their character is doing as an author, it annoys me. Let them speak and convey it, not the person playing.

 

I understand that people do it to try to be immersive, but "All it does is remind me that the player is there and in control" she said with an annoyed tone... <--ugh

 

I admit that this confuses me a bit. While it's certainly not always necessary, I don't see how else you are supposed to convey an important detail like that regarding your character's reaction. For instance...

 

Arrogant Swordsman:

You can go ahead and leave now. I have no more need of you.

 

Bumbling Acquaintance:

W-Wait..... what? You want me to leave?

 

 

In the case of the acquaintance's response, how are you supposed to tell if the person meant the statement to have been delivered with surprise while stuttering anxiously... or if they meant for it to be spoken with disbelief and frustration?

[Flickering Ember]

To Tiergan its a good way for new people to maybe get some ideas of behaviours that might be pushing people away.

 

Also everyone loves to vent.

 

What you see as positives are what I see as negatives.

 

Venting is "fine" until it becomes apparent you're the person who is being vented about. Then it becomes not so fun. Unfortunately there's no big sign that appears over your head when you activate someone's pet peeve. "WARNING, WARNING: You're a purple proser!" For those who are self-conscious, doubtful, shy, or anxious...it's easy to get the suspicion that you may be the one folks are referring to in this thread. That's not really anyone here's problem but there do seem to be a lot of such folks in this community. (In every RP community, actually)

 

That becomes even worse if people use this thread as a "What not to do in RP" thread. Which it absolutely shouldn't be. This should be seen more as a "Things I personally dislike or don't prefer in my RP" type thread. There is no right or wrong in RP. It's all subjective. Some things like not RPing as a pokemon, not godmodding/metagaming, etc.  are typically agreed upon by the RP community at large despite their subjective-ness. These have a consensus.

 

Pet peeves, even if multiple people in here agree on them, do not share a consensus. Folks who really can't be bothered to have pet peeves aren't going to bother posting in here. You don't see the views of people who don't care, only those who do. Therefore it is not a reasonable metric to get an idea of "What do most people like and dislike?" You're only getting one group's opinion here.

 

For example, I don't care about 'would' usage, or thoughts in emotes, or purple prose. It's my preference. What I like or dislike in my RP is no more 'right' than anyone else's 'preferences.' 

 

I'm disappointed that staying out of this thread for a few pages and I come back and already see lots of implications going on that suggest stuff on folks' pet peeves list around here are automatically deigned as 'the wrong way to RP.'

 

Perhaps I am in the wrong coming in here if I'm not going to post pet peeves, but can we at least accept the idea that no one in here has the authority to define 'right and wrong' + 'good and bad' styles of RP? This thread may have merit as a form of venting, but it has very little use as a guidline on how to RP.

 

Edit: For some added insight on why I chose to speak out on this:

 

 

 

 

Probably mostly because it's exactly threads like those that made me shy and insecure about my RP

 

-Me, during a conversation about whether or not I should have posted anything

 

 

 

[Syranelle Ironleaf]

For example, I don't care about 'would' usage, or thoughts in emotes, or purple prose. It's my preference. What I like or dislike in my RP is no more 'right' than anyone else's 'preferences.' 

 

Since you made a specific mention about my peeve (the usage of would), the only thing I can tell you from my personal perspective and experience is that, no, I don't think anyone is "wrong" for doing it or that my way is right or better.  Do I find it irksome, like nails on a chalkboard?  Sure.  Will I avoid roleplayers who prefer to type in that style?  Not in the least.

 

I've roleplayed with people who have difficulty with the English language, be it through personal barriers or language barriers.  What matters most to me is the effort applied.  As long as the person appears to be genuinely trying to RP (even if they're "trolling" or misbehaving) I will certainly give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

You're right, though, no one should come into this thread viewing it as what to do or not to do in roleplay, because everyone is different and it's all subjective.  Roleplay with the people you enjoy and avoid the people that you don't.  That has and always will be the mode by which I operate.  It doesn't matter to me if you're good at spelling/grammar or bad at it, good at roleplay or bad at it.  As long as I enjoy being around you and interacting with your character, then it's all gravy.

 

[Maveree]

Probably mostly because it's exactly threads like those that made me shy and insecure about my RP

 

 

 

-Me, during a conversation about whether or not I should have posted anything

 

 

 

 

Well, to be fair, the same argument could be used against the Vent Tent. It comes down to the basic fact that it's just venting, not finger pointing, and not a single bit of it is personal nor ever supposed to be taken personally. Taking it personally is going a bit far, honestly, there's no need to be self conscious!

[Gaspard]

people are too easily offended imho. I miss the days where you could cuss eachother out verbally online, have a little flame war here and there, hate eachothers guts for a few hours and then return to "business as usual", roleplaying with the very same person a few hours later and not having it affect IC one bit.

[Kellach Woods]

If you hit the posting limit constantly in an area where many people are trying to RP and conversations can easily be lost...

 

You might be irritating me a tad.

 

also other stuff but they got nothing to do with RP.

 

On the other hand, I'd also thrill to see anybody attempting postmodern writing aesthetics in RP. Somebody attempting Burroughs' cut-up style in roleplay, however successful, would have my respect, as would anybody who figured out how to take House of Leaves and turn that into a character. Either possibility or others I haven't considered would be welcome.

 

That would be about as horrible as someone deciding to RP entirely using Finnegan's Wake as a base.

 

Also cutting-up a monitor is costly.

[Volk]

I love meeting new people IC - no OOC introduction needed and you dont need permission to RP with me ! However, pls pls pls don't try to RP with me in tells - it is strange for me and I have difficulty enjoying it. Just my personal opinion not universally true for everyone i am sure.

[Melodia]

My main pet peeve is having really fun rp and something meaningful as far as an rp scene goes, and all kinds of "That was fun! Can't wait to rp again!"

 

And the following day forward, as if the rp had never happened, or highly diluted. When we pass each other on the street it shouldn't be as if we met again for the first time. Or, it shouldn't be like pulling teeth to have the two meet again.

 

That's my biggest and most annoying pet peeve.

[Naunet]

On the other hand, I'd also thrill to see anybody attempting postmodern writing aesthetics in RP. Somebody attempting Burroughs' cut-up style in roleplay, however successful, would have my respect, as would anybody who figured out how to take House of Leaves and turn that into a character. Either possibility or others I haven't considered would be welcome.

 

I prefer Dhalgren, personally. ;P

 

(off-topic, I know lol)

[13uddy]

My only real major dislike (I don't want to say "pet peeve" because it sounds like I should be referring to a posh British dog or something) is the "play to win" mentality that often includes metagaming/godmode.  

 

I'm also not a fan of excessive shortspeak in RP.  I don't mean using abbreviations (like using OJ for orange juice or using the initials of your group and things like that) or if someone sends a quick message while otherwise engaged in an activity that requires focus.  I mean when people sit in a safe area and try to carry on extended conversations almost entirely made of "lol ur gr8 2 ikr" and things like that.

[Ashe]

 

 

Omg I am kinda guilty of this but it's more like when RP goes on for like....5/6 hours and it's 4 AM and I fall asleep.

 

I kind of have the reputation of pushing myself further than I should and falling asleep mid-RP. It's troublesome but my friends are fairly understanding about it (to the point where one of them will leave their character next to mine to provide a lap sometimes).

 

Yeah, my FC-mates get it.

Probably because it happens so often >.<

[Kismet]

I have many RP pet peeves, but I think one that's cropped up in recent years is when people assume that real-life culture/customs/ideals/norms automatically apply to the setting they're RPing in. Just because in YOUR culture it might be rude to do something a certain way, who's to say this is the case in either Eorzea or Othard, let alone in the entire world of Hydaelyn? That just gets on my nerves.

 

I find a similar annoyance in Doman RPers (regardless of race) who assume that Doma and Japan are one in the same, so you can literally just rip whatever you like from modern-day Japanese society and have it be lore-appropriate for Domans to do or have. Just no.

 

Another one I think is funny to point out because it's hilarious is the inappropriate use of 'would' in emotes.

 

Sally would sashay down the road.

 

Yes, you said she WOULD do that... but it's implied that she didn't because something stopped her. Why didn't she sashay down the road? WHY?! I HAVE TO KNOW. TELL ME, DAMNIT.

 

A friend of a friend said that whenever she sees someone make an emote of that nature, she fills it in with "but they were mauled by a bear". This is what I'm doing from now on. That's right. In my personal headcanon, your character's just gonna get wrecked by a random bear unless you complete that shit. (Not really, but I will laugh at you.)

[13uddy]

Another one I think is funny to point out because it's hilarious is the inappropriate use of 'would' in emotes.

 

Sally would sashay down the road.

 

Yes, you said she WOULD do that... but it's implied that she didn't because something stopped her. Why didn't she sashay down the road? WHY?! I HAVE TO KNOW. TELL ME, DAMNIT.

 

A friend of a friend said that whenever she sees someone make an emote of that nature, she fills it in with "but they were mauled by a bear". This is what I'm doing from now on. That's right. In my personal headcanon, your character's just gonna get wrecked by a random bear unless you complete that shit. (Not really, but I will laugh at you.)

 

I started laughing so hard I have tears because I've done the same thing.  In a few instances, it led to some really hilarious situations where many people nearby would add on to the "story". 

 

To use your example, it would have gone something like:

Sally would sashay down the road. 

"But then she was mauled by a bear."

"And the bear got indigestion and died."

"Leaving behind three cubs who would grow up to vow revenge on their mother's killer."

"Then Sally woke up and realized it was all a dream."

"And vowed to never sashay again."

[Manari]

 

 

 

 

Another one I think is funny to point out because it's hilarious is the inappropriate use of 'would' in emotes.

 

Sally would sashay down the road.

 

 

 

This type of RPing has always confused me. I never really understood why people typed like this. I guessed it might be a way for my character to interrupt their action that they "would" do, but most of the time they type 2 paragraphs of stuff like this all at once before it's my time to post anyway, full of other things they would also do. Am I supposed to include which things I would stop and which things I would allow to happen?

[Nero]

Capitalization, or the lack thereof. I get that things like "human", "elf", "bear" are lowercase, but the terms Hyur, Elezen, and Roegadyn are proper nouns to me and thus deserve the respect of a proper noun. Same goes for terms of office, like "sultanate", but when used in RP of the context of FFXIV, I prefer to capitalize it as "Sultanate" because it specifically refers to the Ul'dahn Sultanate. The Admiralty of Limsa Lominsa, etc.

[Flynn Bladebreaker]

Long paragraphs and narrating for attention.

 

Don't get me wrong, I've seen some good writing, maybe too good. But in crowded areas I've seen paragraphs of emotes in one sentence that can be quickly missed when the chat box is spammed.

 

As for narrating, like someone emoting everything they're thinking or had been doing that my character would not *see* or care to notice. Like, "Joe would lean against the rail, he is tired after being chased by mercenaries all day and hopes no one would walk up to him." No offence but I don't care what you were doing I would if our characters talked about it maybe *shrug*

 

EDIT: Also characters who look/act like other characters from a movie/game/npc, too many Thancred clones and Y'shtolas and Dante from Devil May Cry

[Talon Morrigan]

A pet peeve of mine is when other rpers stand in judgement of someone's rp or rp style. I understand we all have opinions of what is or isn't kosher in rp.. and many of the things listed here are completely understandable reasons to be annoyed or avoid rp with another. However I simply believe it's wrong and biased when you put someone else's rp under the scope of what you find acceptable and pass judgement on them based on the standards you apply to your own rp. 

 

Some of us are new to it and haven't been "taught" the "rules". Many of us have learned how to rp by watching other rpers. So it is often a case of people mimicing something they've seen others do. Typically these people (myself included) would be happy to adjust things, or learn better or more acceptable ways of conducting our rp, but we never get the chance. Why? Because others are quick to pass judgement and then gossip about it. 

 

Too many new rpers are shunned because they don't hit the mark so many others set for them. So perhaps instead of avoiding said people, or isolating them, it would be more of a benefit to try to discuss things and help build them up so they can improve. Wouldn't this make the "Rp Community" a much better place than staying in our little circle of friends and whispering about how this one or that one sucks at rp? 

 

Granted there are always those that can't or won't take constructive criticism and immediately blow up about it. But there's just as many people out there who aren't good at offering it without coming off as insulting or condescending. 

 

Ah but I've ranted enough I suppose. Beyond the above, the only other thing I find truly upsets me is the tendency of others to take OOC into IC and then pile on "Friends" who wish to tug on the "White Knight" mantle. People fight.. argue. say things in the heat of the moment that they don't mean or wouldn't intend. It happens. But when someone takes that and runs with it playing the victim and draws others into the argument and things snowball into one giant mess. The end result is people going of on one another about things none of them have a clue about and a matter that could have just died if the original parties had just walked away from things gets carried on  and on. 

 

It's stupid, childish, and plays out like a middle school drama. Best advice: If you weren't there and part of it, keep your nose out of it and let it end. 

 

So yeah.. my two cents for what they're worth. Best wishes to all in their rp.

[Dravus]

My biggest pet peeve is when any critique - no matter how justified or well worded - is painted as being in a similar light to harassment. It feels, to me, like a lot of role-players have gotten into the habit of shielding themselves from responsibility or improvement by constantly painting anyone who offers criticism as an 'elitist' or any of the other numerous buzzwords that are often thrown around.

 

People are free to do whatever they want, of course, however they simply need to acknowledge that everybody else is free to interact with them or cringe at their character concept if they go too far and outside of what can be considered plausible within the setting.

 

It's understandable that people will make mistakes - especially if they're new - but in my experience most role-players are more than willing to help out if approached. If people don't learn from their mistakes, however, then it's understandably just going to create problems further down the line.

 

In short? Criticism isn't equal to harassment. If someone is being nasty and abusive then the problem is that they're being nasty and abusive - not that they're offering feedback. I wish more role-players realised and acknowledged the difference.

[Lilia Lia]

Capitalization, or the lack thereof. I get that things like "human", "elf", "bear" are lowercase, but the terms Hyur, Elezen, and Roegadyn are proper nouns to me and thus deserve the respect of a proper noun.

 

Well, not quite.  Proper nouns are names.  You may be assuming that they should begin with capital letters because of real-world demonyms that are based on proper nouns (i.e. African, European, American) which are normally used for races on Earth.  But race names like lalafell, roegadyn, miqo'te are not proper nouns - you would still use an article to refer to them, like "the miqo'te" or "the roegadyn," in a way you wouldn't for proper nouns, i.e. "the Barack Obama," "the New York," and so on.

 

That having been said, I've seen the game using capital letters to refer to the races also, as well as not doing it at times.  My guess is that this has to do with the fact that most real-world race descriptors have a proper noun as their root word, so it doesn't quite look right to us, intuitively, to see "lalafell" or "miqo'te" without capitalization, but it's closer to something like "gorilla" and "monkey" and "gnome," because you could rightly refer to "a lalafell" or "the lalafell." 

 

But I guess what really determines it is usage in the game world.  I confess I haven't paid a lot of attention to the consistency with which the race names are capitalized but I don't think they always are, are they?  In dialogue, I mean.