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Princess Pittooey said:
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Does post length = Literacy to you?
- Thread starter Star Pupil
- Start date
We exist.
vongentlemen
Super-Earth
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2011
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- The Hereafter
The two are neither mutually inclusive nor exclusive. I'm coming to believe that being able to type a longer meaningful reply oft gets exponentially harder when you advance north of around 600 words. To that end, I've seen quite a few people that pride themselves on being able to type 1,000+ but ultimately have very little meaningful prose actually contained therin.
On a more practical note, expectation of longer responses often inflates reponse time, which can run the risk of grinding a good RolePlay to a halt during infancy.
On a more practical note, expectation of longer responses often inflates reponse time, which can run the risk of grinding a good RolePlay to a halt during infancy.
J
James London
Guest
I'm not a Hemingway fan, but "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." has more impact than if it were a several paragraph story. That being said some posts need to be shorter or longer than others, and a good author/writer knows what length is needed.
Xanaphia
Union Smut Peddler
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2013
Honestly, I think it's facetious to say there isn't a strong correlation between post length and literacy. Not that one necessarily dictates the other, but they clearly go hand in hand. No, not every post calls for a long reply, but it shouldn't be a pattern. It may be because I have a personal preference for moving the plot along than writing fluff.
That said, one of my favorite rps was with a partner who wrote what I considered to be fairly short posts. Two to three hundred words, on average. Yet, his ability to convey what was happening in the scene, and emphasize the important details was incredible. He truly had a gift for economy of language. On the other end, I had a partner who would send massive posts full of purple prose. I think he spent a paragraph describing how his character's abs rippled. A decent writer knows when to write several paragraphs, and when to write one.
That said, one of my favorite rps was with a partner who wrote what I considered to be fairly short posts. Two to three hundred words, on average. Yet, his ability to convey what was happening in the scene, and emphasize the important details was incredible. He truly had a gift for economy of language. On the other end, I had a partner who would send massive posts full of purple prose. I think he spent a paragraph describing how his character's abs rippled. A decent writer knows when to write several paragraphs, and when to write one.
Xanaphia
Union Smut Peddler
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2013
James London said:
Since you brought up that Hemingway line (story?) I fell in love with these a awhile ago, and was impressed by how much information and emotional content they can pack into a few lines.[/quote]
Posts are like cocks.
Size doesn't really matter as long as you know what you're doing with it, but you can't hope to really do much with a one-liner.
People typically like to brag about their post sizes, and large posts are often intimidating for the weak-hearted.
Easy.
Size doesn't really matter as long as you know what you're doing with it, but you can't hope to really do much with a one-liner.
People typically like to brag about their post sizes, and large posts are often intimidating for the weak-hearted.
Easy.
C
Chai
Guest
I don't think there is such a thing as 'too big' when it comes to posts, because I have seen ones that are into thousands of words (like 3000+ words), but they were just as enjoyable as reading something around 600 words. That largely has to do more with the actual skill of the writer, and whether they're able to discern which details are relevant and which are not. If the setting is particularly symbolic to the story, and I can tell, I don't mind reading a novella the describes the such things. If the details are rather insignificant to the story, then yes, it would get boring having to read a rather large section about 'fluff.'
But that is also not an indication of being 'literate' or not. You can spell correctly, have perfect mechanics and perfect sentence structure, but be really shitty at telling a story. Literacy (ability to read and write) and ability to craft a story are two completely different things.
As I have stated in my request thread, being 'literate' has nothing to do with how much or little one writes. My 300-word posts are just as 'literate' as my posts that are 3000 words long. The quality of writing shouldn't suffer regardless of the length.
But that is also not an indication of being 'literate' or not. You can spell correctly, have perfect mechanics and perfect sentence structure, but be really shitty at telling a story. Literacy (ability to read and write) and ability to craft a story are two completely different things.
As I have stated in my request thread, being 'literate' has nothing to do with how much or little one writes. My 300-word posts are just as 'literate' as my posts that are 3000 words long. The quality of writing shouldn't suffer regardless of the length.
I don't think big posts are necessarily intimating or boring. Most of the larger posts here are written by people who excel at story telling and so they're an enjoyable read but I have come across a few posts that are just too long with insignificant, and often repetitive, details. I remember RPing with someone who used to take a full paragraph to describe a simple action like opening a door or tying shoelaces, that was just too boring.
Also when I first started writing here, I was intimated by posts that were more than double what I normally wrote. That's not the case anymore though. I guess I used to use post length as a measurement of effort and I wanted to match my partners, and found it burdensome at the time.
With time I got used to the big stuff ;p
Also when I first started writing here, I was intimated by posts that were more than double what I normally wrote. That's not the case anymore though. I guess I used to use post length as a measurement of effort and I wanted to match my partners, and found it burdensome at the time.
With time I got used to the big stuff ;p
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2012
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- Australia
I'm with Fruit and Ari, in that I don't think post length has anything to do with literacy, and that lengthy posts can be fine, and not necessarily intimidating, fluffed or difficult to respond to. In the end, it all comes down to the person you're writing with, and I've found I can mesh with those who write fifteen-hundred word posts (Lait is currently a good example, as our posts are generally extremely long, because that's the dynamic we have with each other as writing partners, and what we both love in relation to that story), and those who write five-hundred.
I think one thing to remember is that roleplays are, as opposed to novels and the like, not written specifically to satisfy an outside audence, and, if they do, it's just a bonus. The only people whose thoughts or opinions really matter, and those I write to please, are my co-collaborators. No-one else. If someone writes lengthy posts, or you don't like their style, etc, it's probably best to move on, and find someone whose preferences match more closely. There really is no right or wrong in regards to post length, just preference, and what works for the two people involved.
I think one thing to remember is that roleplays are, as opposed to novels and the like, not written specifically to satisfy an outside audence, and, if they do, it's just a bonus. The only people whose thoughts or opinions really matter, and those I write to please, are my co-collaborators. No-one else. If someone writes lengthy posts, or you don't like their style, etc, it's probably best to move on, and find someone whose preferences match more closely. There really is no right or wrong in regards to post length, just preference, and what works for the two people involved.
C
Chai
Guest
Hm... Well like exactly what Quix said, roleplays, unlike novels and even material on Literotica, are more meant for the enjoyment of the two parties that are writing it as opposed to any outside audience that may feel like clicking on that particular story. Why should it matter if you are boring everyone to tears with posts that are lengthy? The point is to make it interesting for your partner, and if any lurkers/stalkers are getting bored with it, then they can feel free to not read it anymore. Regardless of post length, as long as the post makes my partner happy, then I am also happy. Writing roleplays is completely different from writing a novel.
To say that posts above 600-700 words probably bores everyone to tears is a horrible assumption to make, especially because a majority of the people here that do write to above and beyond are truly engaging writers who are great at crafting and telling a story. I do think massive posts can and often look overwhelming to a reader who has no idea what the story is about prior to reading a monstrous-sized roleplay opener, but it in no way means they're not interesting.
To say that posts above 600-700 words probably bores everyone to tears is a horrible assumption to make, especially because a majority of the people here that do write to above and beyond are truly engaging writers who are great at crafting and telling a story. I do think massive posts can and often look overwhelming to a reader who has no idea what the story is about prior to reading a monstrous-sized roleplay opener, but it in no way means they're not interesting.
- Joined
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- Why do you care?
A post should be as long as it needs to be. No more, no less. Whether it's short or long, you can damn well bet what I post will be quality, not drivel or repetitive nonsense. On average, my posts run around 600 - 1500 words (give or take)—though I've written posts as short as 300 and as long as 3000 words. While I by no means will claim to be the most profound writer or even a writer who's all that, I like to think I'm at least decent and can tell a story. Therefore, I like to think my average length posts aren't boring, but engaging, captivating interest and drawing the reader in. Perhaps I'm completely daft in my thoughts here, but everyone has their own opinions on the matter. What I do know is that I have no plans to change the word count since I don't really consider it when I write to begin with. That said, I shall go about my business and bore people with my long-winded words. >///<
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2015
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- a fantasy land
Post length can depend a lot on the dynamic of the RP. In fast-paced ones, with posts going back-and-forth several times a day, and sometimes several per hour, even one-liners can be appropriate.
OP
OP
Star Pupil
Old soul
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2011
- Location
- Valhalla
Lurker said:
I strongly agree with this. I can do both but have found preference in several shorter responses with the necessary content to drive the story forward. I'd rather have the story moving fluidly than waiting daily or weekly for a post that's several paragraphs long.
Also good to see this thread is still going.
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Princess Pittooey said:
That's because our short responses are driving it forward...
Erit of Eastcris
Low-Rent Poet
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2014
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- Elsweyr (California)
Interesting question. Permit me to toss my hat into the ring, if you will, beginning with a piece of my history.
The first forum I ever used for roleplaying was based around a particular indie game studio's work. Its roleplay section, way down at the bottom of the page, was split into three sections, titled as "Role Playing Academy", "Role Playing", and "Advanced Roleplay". For my entire stay there before the forum absolutely imploded under the unresolved sexual tensions of 40% of its population and became too salted to sustain my spoiled oversensitive hide, I was in the former most category; easily the most alive and interesting and... well, fun of the three subcategories. The requirements for being allowed into the upper echelons of the board were nebulous but definitively linked to post length. I, being the naive little sprout I had been, decided to peruse the Advanced section to get a feel of what might be expected from the "greatest of the greats" as it were. What I saw was rather impressive; a small cadre of some six active people typing monolithic posts and wielding ungodly elephantine character sheets containing every subtle detail described in at least seven different variations, stories spanning hundreds and thousands of lines of intricately-woven prose dedicated to squeezing out every microcosm of detail even remotely possible.
To be brief, I read, and I wept. For I was bored to fucking tears.
By conflating an RPers skill, nay their very competence, with word count, they had instilled in the community a belief that the best possible RP to be had was something dry, sterile, and hollow which could be dissected at anyone's inconvenience to be used as a less-efficient thesaurus. And so nobody advanced, not because they weren't capable enough, but because... well, why bother? The fun was at the bottom rung, where everyone else was. Needless to say, I left after the community was divided not solely over bitter feelings, as I had been entirely uninvolved in the debacle (ah, computer troubles, how I despise you sometimes), but mostly because the people leaving were the ones I like hanging around with.
Fast-forward a few years and good number of personal demons later, and you'll find yourself in the here & now. My present average is a floating number between three and four paragraphs, largely because of how I format my posts and how I manipulate the flow of the RP; I rarely go below two as I use my first to react to any relevant details my partner has given me, and my second to move us forward if only a little. Each paragraph averages to about six sentences, though that's only because I play fast and loose with syntactic precision most of the time and leave sentences and thoughts conjoined like a normal person might speak. Point is, I find that the best measuring stick for a person's skill at writing in the context of RP, as with most of you, is "did you do anything meaningful to the RP with this addition, or are you simply wasting time and throwing a fistful of words into the mix to appease some underfed sense of obligation?" Because I have an RP going right now where my partner hardly gives me six lines of text, but I'm enjoying the hell out of it. Certainly more than I would have the ten-thousand word Advanced Roleplay section on my original boards. I also have one where my partner gives me as much as I give them, and our posts are somewhat large but filled with little things and expound on tiny quirks in how our characters think and how the world around them moves, not relevant but intriguing little minutiae that helps give everything that third dimension. And I'm still enjoying the hell out of it.
*Bows* I think that makes my case, however redundant.
The first forum I ever used for roleplaying was based around a particular indie game studio's work. Its roleplay section, way down at the bottom of the page, was split into three sections, titled as "Role Playing Academy", "Role Playing", and "Advanced Roleplay". For my entire stay there before the forum absolutely imploded under the unresolved sexual tensions of 40% of its population and became too salted to sustain my spoiled oversensitive hide, I was in the former most category; easily the most alive and interesting and... well, fun of the three subcategories. The requirements for being allowed into the upper echelons of the board were nebulous but definitively linked to post length. I, being the naive little sprout I had been, decided to peruse the Advanced section to get a feel of what might be expected from the "greatest of the greats" as it were. What I saw was rather impressive; a small cadre of some six active people typing monolithic posts and wielding ungodly elephantine character sheets containing every subtle detail described in at least seven different variations, stories spanning hundreds and thousands of lines of intricately-woven prose dedicated to squeezing out every microcosm of detail even remotely possible.
To be brief, I read, and I wept. For I was bored to fucking tears.
By conflating an RPers skill, nay their very competence, with word count, they had instilled in the community a belief that the best possible RP to be had was something dry, sterile, and hollow which could be dissected at anyone's inconvenience to be used as a less-efficient thesaurus. And so nobody advanced, not because they weren't capable enough, but because... well, why bother? The fun was at the bottom rung, where everyone else was. Needless to say, I left after the community was divided not solely over bitter feelings, as I had been entirely uninvolved in the debacle (ah, computer troubles, how I despise you sometimes), but mostly because the people leaving were the ones I like hanging around with.
Fast-forward a few years and good number of personal demons later, and you'll find yourself in the here & now. My present average is a floating number between three and four paragraphs, largely because of how I format my posts and how I manipulate the flow of the RP; I rarely go below two as I use my first to react to any relevant details my partner has given me, and my second to move us forward if only a little. Each paragraph averages to about six sentences, though that's only because I play fast and loose with syntactic precision most of the time and leave sentences and thoughts conjoined like a normal person might speak. Point is, I find that the best measuring stick for a person's skill at writing in the context of RP, as with most of you, is "did you do anything meaningful to the RP with this addition, or are you simply wasting time and throwing a fistful of words into the mix to appease some underfed sense of obligation?" Because I have an RP going right now where my partner hardly gives me six lines of text, but I'm enjoying the hell out of it. Certainly more than I would have the ten-thousand word Advanced Roleplay section on my original boards. I also have one where my partner gives me as much as I give them, and our posts are somewhat large but filled with little things and expound on tiny quirks in how our characters think and how the world around them moves, not relevant but intriguing little minutiae that helps give everything that third dimension. And I'm still enjoying the hell out of it.
*Bows* I think that makes my case, however redundant.
love-apple
Moon
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2016
I think literacy means being able to grasp what your RP partner and you both want from the RP. It goes past word count. Things like word count and grammar and such are tools - building blocks. It sucks that we use the word "literate" to mean more than it does - though having endured countless RPs (just beginnings, let's be real - I couldn't finish) where I would not have identified my partners as such, even on the base level, I get why we began to use it as an identifier as a community. But it has obviously grown to mean more.
When you are literate, you think about things like word count and grammar and hold yourself to a standard, and when you are extremely literate you stop thinking about those things because you don't really have to and you find yourself breaking your word count expectations and stuff because it is right for the RP and your skill has surpassed the need for guidelines.
Length sometimes seems necessary - especially if you don't RP in IM. If you have to wait, of course you want a good chunk of meat to feast on before the next meal. And sometimes in IM it's nice to engorge oneself on lengthy and complex paragraphs. It just depends on what the RP calls for.
Literacy is style, length, adaptability, and grammar. If you go about thinking it's just length, it gets dry and dreadful.
When you are literate, you think about things like word count and grammar and hold yourself to a standard, and when you are extremely literate you stop thinking about those things because you don't really have to and you find yourself breaking your word count expectations and stuff because it is right for the RP and your skill has surpassed the need for guidelines.
Length sometimes seems necessary - especially if you don't RP in IM. If you have to wait, of course you want a good chunk of meat to feast on before the next meal. And sometimes in IM it's nice to engorge oneself on lengthy and complex paragraphs. It just depends on what the RP calls for.
Literacy is style, length, adaptability, and grammar. If you go about thinking it's just length, it gets dry and dreadful.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2015
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- a fantasy land
Erit of Eastcris said:
To put it in different words, a good measure of an RPer's skill is their ability to adapt to different kinds of partners and keep them interested, engaged and begging for more.
No, post length does not equal literacy, not at all.
I have seen people write several long paragraphs, without really saying much about anything, its so weird. Others are the other way around. As long as you leave something for your partner to react to, while managing to move the story forward and keep it interesting and engaging, it does not matter terribly much how long the post is.
I have seen people write several long paragraphs, without really saying much about anything, its so weird. Others are the other way around. As long as you leave something for your partner to react to, while managing to move the story forward and keep it interesting and engaging, it does not matter terribly much how long the post is.
Temptationist
Star
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2013
- Location
- Canada
The term "literacy" needs to be put in to context.
By the definition of literacy, as you posted, anyone who can read or write is literate.
But using that word in the context of roleplaying... and the context of roleplaying specifically on BlueMoon, then some may disagree or think the term "literate roleplayer" includes more than just a plain ability to read and write.
I started roleplaing at a very young age on a website called GaiaOnline.
On this website, it follows a very black-and-white interpretation of the term "literate", all which were indicative of post length, specifically.
There are three main types of writers:
One-liner (1-3 sentences)
Semi-literate (1-3 paragraphs)
Literate (3+ paragraphs)
However, when I migrated to BlueMoon years ago, I noticed it was different on here.
People define their own literacy range, so the definition differed from writer to writer.
Nowadays, I also define literacy different. It's based on many factors.
Depending on the plot, my cravings, and what I'm looking for...
I typically look for a partner who can write several paragraphs, and who's not afraid and not intimidated by a post that could be upwards of 5, 10, even 15 paragraphs or more. Because as I writer, if I have a good idea, sometimes I can hit those high numbers.
I also look for legitimate writing skills. Spelling and grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary (super important - if my partner is constantly using the same words, it becomes repetitive and stagnant).
My third quality I look for is creativity. It's a big one that's often hard to predict before the roleplay actually starts. My stories must be ever-evolving, so a partner who cannot add any fuel to the fire, or cannot contribute any twists, ideas, developments, etc. of his/her own is problematic for me.
So, sometimes, finding a partner that matches your own expectations and needs can be tricky.
By the definition of literacy, as you posted, anyone who can read or write is literate.
But using that word in the context of roleplaying... and the context of roleplaying specifically on BlueMoon, then some may disagree or think the term "literate roleplayer" includes more than just a plain ability to read and write.
I started roleplaing at a very young age on a website called GaiaOnline.
On this website, it follows a very black-and-white interpretation of the term "literate", all which were indicative of post length, specifically.
There are three main types of writers:
One-liner (1-3 sentences)
Semi-literate (1-3 paragraphs)
Literate (3+ paragraphs)
However, when I migrated to BlueMoon years ago, I noticed it was different on here.
People define their own literacy range, so the definition differed from writer to writer.
Nowadays, I also define literacy different. It's based on many factors.
Depending on the plot, my cravings, and what I'm looking for...
I typically look for a partner who can write several paragraphs, and who's not afraid and not intimidated by a post that could be upwards of 5, 10, even 15 paragraphs or more. Because as I writer, if I have a good idea, sometimes I can hit those high numbers.
I also look for legitimate writing skills. Spelling and grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary (super important - if my partner is constantly using the same words, it becomes repetitive and stagnant).
My third quality I look for is creativity. It's a big one that's often hard to predict before the roleplay actually starts. My stories must be ever-evolving, so a partner who cannot add any fuel to the fire, or cannot contribute any twists, ideas, developments, etc. of his/her own is problematic for me.
So, sometimes, finding a partner that matches your own expectations and needs can be tricky.
Temptationist
Star
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2013
- Location
- Canada
Victorian_Virtue said:
It's all subjective.
Very subjective.
Your preference is that specific range, whereas other writers may prefer a much bigger range in terms of word count.
I, for one, can bang out a near-novella for a single post, and I'll only do so if it adds to the development of my character and story, AND if my partner is on board for that style. I won't give a thousands of words in a single post to a partner who prefers 2-3 paragraphs. That doesn't match, and my partner would probably not enjoy it. But for those who really enjoy an extended post, I assure you they are not bored to tears.