Post by Becky Amber Monroe on Jan 18, 2007 14:45:34 GMT -5
Credit to: Serene Snape
Site:New Hogwarts
1. Spelling and grammar are your friends.
There's nothing more difficult than trying to decipher something that seems to have been written in a foreign language. I know not everyone is a spelling bee champion or an English wizard, but I am sure that everyone has a word processor program or something along that lines on their computer. If you have a problem with spelling or grammer, type your posts in that before posting them on the board. It'll make it easier for everyone to understand.
2. Don't abbreviate in character.
When you are in character, things like "lol" or "btw" and other internet lingo is not appropriate. If I wanted to "laugh out loud" it's just as easy to type out "Daniel laughed out loudly." Not so complicated.
3. Keep actions in third person.
Here's a quick example. If I wanted to throw a book across the room, I would write "Daniel throws a book across the room" not "I throw a book across the room." When typing dialogue, it's fine to use I, me, we, etc.
4. Keep things real to your character.
If you're a student, act like one. Not all students are running around doing crazy things. Have your character act his or her age. You can't just change your identity based on convinence, even if it would help you out.
5. Plot things out.
The best storylines come out of work, not just spontaneous posting. Use the private messaging system to talk to other posters and plan things out. I do it all the time. Don't be afraid of messaging people in other houses than you either. We're playing characters... we're not necessarily like that in real-life.
6. Ask questions.
If you're new to role-playing, don't be afraid of asking questions. Use the General Board and the private messaging system to ask people who you like the styles of for tips, suggestions, etc. Most people are going to be happy to help you out.
7. You are only in charge of you. Don't take over other characters.
It's easy to get caught up in the moment and make other people do things they don't necessarily want to do. That's not cool. You can't expect people to work well with you if you're constantly trying to take over who they are or what they want to do. Once again, use the messaging system to your advantage. If you want someone to follow you, ask them. Really simple.
8. Sometimes it's best not to post.
If you can't add anything to what's going on, don't post. People are working on storylines that are important to them. If you're not going to add anything by popping up, don't. Posts that say things like "Hi" or "What are you up to?" aren't going to help the situation anything and can be frustrating for the people who are trying to actually get things going for them. An example of this would be "right now in the lake area, Blare and Ryan have a private conversation going on." It's better to let them keep their thing going. If you want to post about being by the lake, start a new thread or join a different one.
9. Read everything in the posts.
If you're going to jump into a thread, be aware of what's going on. Know who is in the room or who is involved in the situation. Know what happened before, not just what's going on at the moment.
10. Remember this is all a game.
One of the biggest mistakes people can make is to think that just because a character is one way means the person behind the character is really like that too. If you have a feud going on with someone on the main part of the board, it doesn't have to carry over to the OOC (Out of Character) threads.
11. Be creative.
I really don't think I should have to say this one, but it's necessary right now. There's nothing as frustrating as trying to play off a dull or useless post. Think things out before you post them and take time to be clear and unique. Make people want to read threads that you've posted in, not skip over your posts.
12. Don't post in closed threads.
Replying to a closed thread will get your posts deleted. Don't take over a thread and just start posting in it if the creator of the thread wants it closed.
Site:New Hogwarts
1. Spelling and grammar are your friends.
There's nothing more difficult than trying to decipher something that seems to have been written in a foreign language. I know not everyone is a spelling bee champion or an English wizard, but I am sure that everyone has a word processor program or something along that lines on their computer. If you have a problem with spelling or grammer, type your posts in that before posting them on the board. It'll make it easier for everyone to understand.
2. Don't abbreviate in character.
When you are in character, things like "lol" or "btw" and other internet lingo is not appropriate. If I wanted to "laugh out loud" it's just as easy to type out "Daniel laughed out loudly." Not so complicated.
3. Keep actions in third person.
Here's a quick example. If I wanted to throw a book across the room, I would write "Daniel throws a book across the room" not "I throw a book across the room." When typing dialogue, it's fine to use I, me, we, etc.
4. Keep things real to your character.
If you're a student, act like one. Not all students are running around doing crazy things. Have your character act his or her age. You can't just change your identity based on convinence, even if it would help you out.
5. Plot things out.
The best storylines come out of work, not just spontaneous posting. Use the private messaging system to talk to other posters and plan things out. I do it all the time. Don't be afraid of messaging people in other houses than you either. We're playing characters... we're not necessarily like that in real-life.
6. Ask questions.
If you're new to role-playing, don't be afraid of asking questions. Use the General Board and the private messaging system to ask people who you like the styles of for tips, suggestions, etc. Most people are going to be happy to help you out.
7. You are only in charge of you. Don't take over other characters.
It's easy to get caught up in the moment and make other people do things they don't necessarily want to do. That's not cool. You can't expect people to work well with you if you're constantly trying to take over who they are or what they want to do. Once again, use the messaging system to your advantage. If you want someone to follow you, ask them. Really simple.
8. Sometimes it's best not to post.
If you can't add anything to what's going on, don't post. People are working on storylines that are important to them. If you're not going to add anything by popping up, don't. Posts that say things like "Hi" or "What are you up to?" aren't going to help the situation anything and can be frustrating for the people who are trying to actually get things going for them. An example of this would be "right now in the lake area, Blare and Ryan have a private conversation going on." It's better to let them keep their thing going. If you want to post about being by the lake, start a new thread or join a different one.
9. Read everything in the posts.
If you're going to jump into a thread, be aware of what's going on. Know who is in the room or who is involved in the situation. Know what happened before, not just what's going on at the moment.
10. Remember this is all a game.
One of the biggest mistakes people can make is to think that just because a character is one way means the person behind the character is really like that too. If you have a feud going on with someone on the main part of the board, it doesn't have to carry over to the OOC (Out of Character) threads.
11. Be creative.
I really don't think I should have to say this one, but it's necessary right now. There's nothing as frustrating as trying to play off a dull or useless post. Think things out before you post them and take time to be clear and unique. Make people want to read threads that you've posted in, not skip over your posts.
12. Don't post in closed threads.
Replying to a closed thread will get your posts deleted. Don't take over a thread and just start posting in it if the creator of the thread wants it closed.
