bubbly_bot | (no subject)

Hi. We don't really roleplay together, so it feels weird to be approaching you like this. However, none of my friends who do play with you seem to want to come out and say anything, so I'm taking the initiative here, because I think it's something that needs to be said. They say it's a minor issue and don't want to stir up OOC drama, but I think it's a case where it's better to say something early than to wait until it turns into a big issue.

I hope I'm not coming across like I'm picking a fight. I'm not. In fact, if you tell me right now you don't want to hear anything that sounds like it might be criticism, I'll shut up and leave you alone. Or, if you'd really rather hear from them yourself rather than from me, I can tell them that.

So, my question is, do you want to talk? If you don't want to do it in the open like this, I have AIM.

You're not coming across that way, and if there is some minor problem, I really would like to know and get it dealt with before it becomes a major mess. Because those suck all the fun out of RP.

We can discuss it here or on AIM. I've let the cat out of the bag over some of the pups I play by now, though I've left the contact info off. I can be reached at whitedove01s.

If it's all the same, I'd like to keep it on LJ. For some reason, typing it out on LJ makes me take the time to think about what I'm saying before I post it. I don't want to be thoughtless and insensitive about this.

I don't know if anyone has talked to you about this, but sometimes your characters post with a little (or a lot) more information than people know how to respond to. I'm correct in assuming you play Quint, too, right? And some of the other robot characters? If not, feel free to correct me.

Anyway, when a character posts with too much information, or 'info dumping,' the reaction is usually that it overwhelms the other person. They'll either be really slow in replying or, in some cases, they might not reply at all. It's hard to respond to six different thoughts being told in six different paragraphs.

I thought you should know about this not only because it's an issue for my friends, but because I'm sure it's cutting into the amount of fun you could be having, too, when people cut conversations short or take a long time to reply.

Given that I tend to be really nervous around people OOC, especially certain ones, that's probably a good idea. I do play Quint, and some of the others as well.

And I was completely unaware of that problem, thanks for pointing it out. Over the past year in a different forum than Sages I kept being poked to make longer posts, until I got in the habit. It was done story format, generally paced slower than Sages, and long posts were considered preferable. I'll just have to watch and get myself to unlearn it.

What would you suggest is a good word length to watch for on my posts to break myself of the habit? And what about charas who have in-chara habits of rambling? Though after the last thread I'll have an IC excuse for Bubble to curb that around strangers.

I try not to go over three paragraphs, roughly three or four sentences each, when I'm RPing on Sages, but this is a flexible standard. One good solid paragraph, maybe two, is usually enough to let my character respond to the other character and give the other person a chance to respond without feeling like they have to catch up with half a minute's worth of IC action.

You're right that RPing on Sages and RPing elsewhere can have different standards of how much length is appropriate in a post. Training yourself to switch between styles is probably a good idea.

My best advice, both for characters that ramble and characters that don't, is to think of RP like real life or a play. Even if someone rambles, there's usually a point where you can pause them to let the other person have a chance to cut in if they want. People cut other people off all the time, especially if they're losing interest in what the other person has to say. If, however, the other player wants to hear more of your character's rambling, they'll probably make some sort of IC or OOC indication.

I hope that all makes sense.

It just occurred to me that "half a minute" is a relative term, depending on what is being done with that half a minute. Just think of it as "has my character said or done too many things in one turn and would so-and-so ICly have acted or responded by now?"

I'm editing down some of my replies now. I thought Gemini would be hard, since there's two charas there, but in the end I just got rid of their usual back and forth talking and restricted them to a paragraph each, with a line for action.

(no subject)

OOC

Re: OOC

Re: OOC

Re: OOC

Re: OOC

Re: OOC

Re: OOC