Animation Source Forums

Take time to sit through and read this. Yes, it is kind of long. But isn't it worth it, if you learn something? Maybe not to some of you. But here is Maya's Guide to Roleplaying, for BaltoSource. Please take some of this to heart.

There are rules about roleplaying here at BaltoSource. You can view these here. Read through them. They are important. But now, I am going to go in depth with these. We will go in order of how the rules/guides are posted. Lets begin...

Post Length - Four scentences makes a semi-decent post. Sometimes it really is hard to write something. I have had these times in the past; not very often, but enough. When I do, the best idea is to Private Message or Instant Message the owner telling them this. Or, use the OOC system. When I use the OOC system to tell someone I have writers block, or cannot for the life of me think of something to write, I tell them "No muse". This basically means that it 'is of no use', sense I cannot think of anything. In example...

OOC : No muse, sorry.

Simple, right? It doesn't take up that much space, and most understand the term. If you did not know this term, now you know it. And you can teach others to use it. You don't really need to explain yourself, and if you do it's best if you simply PM or IM the owner. A good idea for the 'No muse', is to make a note of it in your topic starter somewhere. Just simply explain what it means. This shows that those you entered your roleplay, actually read what it said; It will delete the need for them to say "What does that mean?" You can tell who read your topic or not fully. ;]

Controlling Characters - This is simple. You may not control someone elses character, unless they have stated you can. You may only control the characters that belong to you, or the character that you are playing. And this goes for owners of the roleplay too; You may not control your members characters. If you do need to have something done a certin way, PM the member. Do not simply control the character. It will cause less trouble if you simply PM them.

RolePlays belong to their Creator - I believe this is very important. Respecting the creator is important to have the roleplay go along smoothly; but this also applies to respecting everyone in the roleplay. If the owner/creator asks you to do something, you should not hesitate to do so. The creator should have an idea of how they want the roleplay to go. So, if they need your char' to do something, please do it. I have had players removed from the roleplay, because they would not do what was asked. No one likes to do this, but sometimes it needs to be done. Dont let yourself, and your char', be kicked out over something silly - such as turning off your signature.

Keeping track of the Storyline - This has to be most annoying. The great thing about roleplaying on a forum, is that everything you have had gone on in the roleplay is right there. You do not have to ask "What's going on?", because it is all there for you to read. This question seems to be commonly asked. I guess most people are either A, lazy; B, stupid; or C, both. If you are lazy, then you should not be roleplaying in the first place. If you are stupid, then... Well, then I supose I have englighten you with the fact that you can go back and look at what has been said. If you are both, then you have been englightened and insulted, eh?

Out of Character Discussion - This one seemed pretty explained in the first place. The OOC system works okay, but I think its best if you simply use PM's or IM's to sort things out. Because it doesn't take long to click 'PM' under the post of the person you need to talk to. If you insist on the OOC system, then try and keep it sort. Remember, this is roleplay, not chat time with your buds. If you need to ask them something important, like a twist or something, PM them about it. I am sure they will get back to you before they post; if they dont, just ask them to edit their post. Its as simple as so.

Signatures in a RolePlay - This has to be one of the most ignored rules. But it is just as important as the others. Signatures take away from the roleplay. A lot of people have rather large signatures, that take up a lot of space. Turning it off is simple. Don't believe me?



Thanks to Claymore for letting me use this animation he made.

As you can see, it is not hard and very simple to do. It takes maybe two seconds of your time to turn it off. You do not have to turn it off anywhere else, only in the roleplay boards. Its not to much to ask, really. If you forget to turn it off, go back edit it, and click if off. Once again, its not that hard, nor is it to much to ask.

Asterisks to denote Actions - This is very important. When roleplaying, it is just like writing a story. I believe this goes for any place that you are roleplaying. Asterisks (*) are for actions from you, like *glomps* or *hugs*. When you are roleplaying a char', it is ment to be written like a book. If it isn't, you will confuse people. As bad as a lot of people are at roleplaying, most know better than to use asterisks.

This is not acceptible :

*looks down oh gets up*

This is what it should look like :

The wolf looks down to see themself sitting upon another wolf, who was to weak to push the wolf atop it off - or possibly that the wolf was simply not as strong as the first. "Oh," The wolf said, slightly embarrased to see itself upon another wolf. At this point, the wolf got up, and off of the weaker creature it had been sitting on.

This is another example of what is not acceptible :

"sighs looks up i hate" *my life lays* "down"

This is what it should look like :

The wolf sighs, looking up. "I hate my life..." They muttered, as they laid down.

Those are two of the most unreadable things ever. No one will roleplay with someone like that, unless they too have learned such poor ways of 'roleplay'. This is where one would say...



Quotation Marks - These are very helpful when it comes to your character talking. It is very hard to read what someone writes and understand if fully, if it is not written properly. It takes two extra seconds to use quotations. I suggest you use them. Sometimes, when people and animals are involved a lot, it might be a good idea to show the difference. Animals cannot talk to people, and you might want to show this. Something I will use often, is have the human have actual quotations ("), and have the animals (when they are speaking to one another) simply use apostrophe (') for when the animals are talking. But, this also can get somewhat confusing when using apostrophes for words such as it's, maya's, ect... Some people bold out when the character is speaking. I find this annoying, but sometimes it is helpful.

General Punctuation - This has to be simple for everyone. Most everyone here is in at least the fourth grade, and should know how to type with proper punctuation. And if you don't, this is the internet - you can look up just about anything. If you cannot grasp the basics, then you should not be roleplaying. I have seen quite a lot of people who cannot grasp the 'Enter' button. I see this often, not only in roleplay but in writing too. Examples...

"Hey all. Whats up?" Maya said, as she troted up to the group of friends; Kayla, Weasel, Arii, and Kylie where. "Hey there, Mayaness!" Kylie said, while others also shouted out their hellos. "Maya!" "Hey Maya! Where have you been?" "Maya, my hero!!!" Shouted Arii in the last moments before Maya smiled and replied. "I have been up your nose, Weasel!" Maya teased, sticking out her tongue. She went and hugged them all, and they returned it right back.

No use of the enter button. One of the first things I was taught, that when someone new talks, or if there is a wall of text about their actions after their first words, then you need to start a new paragraph. This is what it should look like...

"Hey all. Whats up?" Maya said, as she troted up to the group of friends; Kayla, Weasel, Arii, and Kylie where.

"Hey there, Mayaness!" Kylie said, while others also shouted out their hellos.

"Maya!"

"Hey Maya! Where have you been?"

"Maya, my hero!!!" Shouted Arii in the last moments before Maya smiled and replied.

"I have been up your nose, Weasel!" Maya teased, sticking out her tongue. She went and hugged them all, and they returned it right back.

That is much better, and much easier to read. Just like a book, right? Exactly. That is what is wanted. But we also want to try and not make it look to spacy, and fill in with more detail. Above, I did not add much detail - and there is plenty more that could have been written. But that is just an example to help those who are 'Enter-button Repaired'.

We have covered the basic rules that Steet gave. But there is still the advice that Nighteyes gave. I never saw Nighteyes roleplay, but I am told they were grand. This person no longer roleplays here because they got fustrated with all those who could not comprehend what they wanted.

Dark_Wolf made some very good topics on roleplaying too. Click here to see her topic on Good roleplaying, and plot ideas. Click here to see her topic on Getting Started. ;] These could be very useful, so take time to read them if you already haven't.
----

To give you an idea on how to get started, I will use my "Revenge is her Name" roleplay. You can click here to view it; I cannot promise the link will always work. Here is exactly what it all says at the moment...



A bit much, you say? No, not at all. This is a very good way to start a roleplay. Everything is sorted nicely. You want to know the rules of the roleplay, you actually have to read what it says. It took me a while to type that out, but I did. I have my own rules for roleplaying, and they work good. My most effective one is the 'colour-coded' posts. You can tell who is who by there colours. In this particular example, I did not require this. I had started it here at BaltoSource, and I have seen a few other roleplays who did the same thing. My memory works well with the colours; it remembers who is who without even reading what it says. Anyone is welcome to use this. But remember - the colours listed are not the only ones there, you can use more.

Another thing I do, is require a certin bio code. Because if I do not, most bios are filled with.. uselessness. Nothing I want to know. And I also require a good, well written Physical Description of the character. This is one of the most important parts. A picture can be important, but a good P.D. shows true writing skills. It is a way for me to test if you can be in the roleplay.

I try to use the same bio in every roleplay I do. If I join a roleplay, I make sure they do not have a specific bio they want me to use. This is very important. I show the same respect I expect to get. Here is the bio I use...



You can easily take out the last two for posts if it does not matter to you. Anyone is welcome to use this. I have seen bios that will have 'Height' and 'Weight' as seperate places. This goes in the P.D. (Physical Description). Height and Weight aren't too important, but a good roleplayer will add this into the description. Making them as 'seperate' places shows that you have to tell them to put it. When you only have 'Physical Description', it will ask more of your roleplayer, and show you if you really want them in the roleplay.

When someone messed something up in the bio or such, I simply PM'ed them about what they needed to fix. Its simple, and one of the two (who had joined) fixed it and got back to me. The other decided not to join when I mentioned how I dont take 'future mates' in roleplay. I find this annoying. In the real world, most of the time no one has an idea of who their 'mate' will be. In the wolf world, its all chance. Now, I understand that if the roleplay asks for people like this, then its okay. But I never said I wanted people to jump out saying 'Ohhh! Future mate, plz plz plz!!11'. I try not to do that. I give all the roleplayers a chance to 'charm' my char'.

I have one more thing that I normally do, that almost everyone always ignores. The 'First Post', is what I call it, for lack of better words. This is like audtioning for getting into the roleplay; just like you would audition to be in a play. What I ask of my roleplayers, is to post an example of what their roleplay skills are; it also happens to be the post that continues mine on. This way, if they are accepted, I can PM them and just post my next post without a worry. It saves time, and helps me to see if they are what I want in the roleplay.

A good idea I have seen, not yet used, is posting a secret set of words somewhere in your starting topic. In order for them to join, they have to say the word. If they did not say the word (or words) then they are not accepted into the roleplay. This shows you those who actually do read what you write.
----

Just like writing a story, you need diversity. You need to have some variation, and patience. You need a lot of things to write a story, and most of them apply to roleplaying as well. Roleplaying can help bring up your writing skills, and writing/reading can help bring up your roleplay skills. If you are not willing to try and improve, people are going to stop being 'willing' to let you slide with poor roleplaying.

TIPS TO BEING A BETTER ROLEPLAYER

• Do not roleplay in the Roleplay Shoutbox, unless you have had proper guidance.
• Ask a 'elder' roleplayer for tips, and ideas, to improve your skills.
• Make a note when someone tells you something about roleplaying; dont let it go in one ear and out the other.
• Learn how to write a 'simple' story with proper Punctuation, and such, before attempting to roleplay.
• School is a wonderful thing, use it to your advantage; it teaches these simple writing skills to you.
• If someone tells you you are not doing something to the right standard, fix it; don't continue on doing the same thing.
• Don't tell someone you cannot handle being cricitized; you're going to have to deal with this if you want to improve.
• Don't take your roleplay skills for granted - always try to improve.
• Make sure to check your post before submitting it. You can go back and edit the mistakes, but its better to realize them first. There is a handy 'preview' button for a reason.
• If you are not sure about a word, go to Dictionary.com and type in the word to see if it is spelt correctly. This is very handy, sense it also has other web tools to help your grammer and such.
• Keep your characters spontantious - dont have all 'mean' char's, or all 'sweet and scared' characters. A good roleplayer can fill any role - so practice.
• Keep in mind that there is always ways to improve, and if you ask someone, I am sure they will find something for you to work on.
• Take your time when posting, it is not a race.
• Be fair, and do not God mod, or any other type of 'bad' roleplaying.
• Make a statement; Make a lasting mark - you want others to remember the good times that were shared.
• Don't limit yourself to a few things - try somethin new now and then.
• If someone seems to be having trouble roleplaying, help them out. They need to learn some way too - teach them.

More can, and shall, be added to this topic to help improve your roleplaying skills. I hope this helped, and I hope that the other topics and links posted in here helped. Remember, roleplaying isn't something that takes you a few moments. It takes time. If you do not have patience, then obviously roleplaying is not for you.

This has been your passionate-about-roleplaying huskee, Maya. I hope this helped someone.

WOW Maya! Fab Guide ya got dere mate! This'll definetely help newcomers with RPin'... if they aren't too lazy to look at it XD

Well, posting it in the roleplay once a day seems to get more peoples attention. Hopefully people will actually take this all to heart. HOPEFULLY.

You're welcome. ;D

*Lyckan was surfing the net instead of doing her homework, as usual. She decided to look up a song and got thrown into a site called Balto Source. She remembered it well, having been a member there earlier and wondered if her log in was still accessible. It was, and she spends several moments looking in her old gallery and stuff. Then she went on to the forums ((is it even called that?)) she slides into the role-play section and decided to reread the "Maya´s Guide". Then she remembered why she quit Balto Source. The many rules of role-playing made her feel uneasy, and she'd been role playing for years on different sites ((since I was what, ten, maybe?)). She was used to the old asterisk way, which she loved and she thought that the examples did not do it justice, so she decided to do something.*

- Maya, I dearly admire you and the time you spent on doing this guide and I truly believe it covers everything, but when you talk about improvement and trying to realize that you should always set your goal higher you already express that the ultimate way of role-playing is by these rules, your rules. Can't there be a way of improving your style of role-playing as well as your style in role-playing? Can't we be allowed to try different things? I do see the benefits of your style but think about this; when you have discussion between two players sometimes the answer is just "No" or just "Yes". With your “four line rule” the conversation won’t be as realistic as it should be sometimes, or maybe all wolves are really slow in answering? The style I'm used to makes the game more easily read, realistic and beginner friendly. It sets a faster pace in the role-play which (and this is what I got used to) makes the game give you two hours of fun, intensive role-playing getting about three hundred posts, instead of these month long ones. (And I did see role-plays with up to 1600+ posts.) I do not say that you should change; I just ask if you have to be so strict? Can’t a group of people from all over the world just have fun?

((The rules I played by;
** = doing
(()) = like your OOC:
- = speaking human
"" = thinking
¤¤ = speaking animal

and by the way asterisks in the real language is meant to be like someone really emphasizing on that word like; I *love* wolves.

I am aware of that I did not read your whole post nor the many posts before mine but I won't even ask you to bear with me, since if you hate what I'm writing, you can always ignore me.

Have a nice day.
/Lyckan

P.S. I wrote this in "my" role-playing style. Is it really that hard to read/understand? D.S.))

Please read the whole thing if you really want to see what's being said in that big 'ol post I made. It makes much more sense when you do. Those aren't my rules. They're my guidelines. Hence, "Maya's Guide to Roleplaying". It's just a guide. Something to improve you.

And yes, your roleplay style IS harder to read. It's not simple enough for some people. Writing like a book makes it easier to read. Especially if you've had an American "English" class or such. Because most of us have read books. It just makes more sense to write like this...



PS - I'm not as mean as some people make me out to be. ;D I can be understanding now and then.

WOW! This is a wondorful guide, and fortunatley not as long as I thought it would be.

I do not have 'Attatch Signature' on my options though... is this because I am using the TLK theme?

On Balto/TLK Roleplaying, the signature is turned off by default, and this cannot be changed. However, you still need to turn it off manually on the Other Roleplaying section.

Hey sweet guide Maya I just might start my own roleplay here on the Forums.

I read the whole thing *claps my hands* xD I do my best to follow everything you said^^ To me most of those things seem like...common sense xD But I guess for some people it isn't

You'd be surprised.