Forums » RP Discussion » The Crowded Area & Posts

I have an inquiry for everyone, mostly out of curiosity. Actually, I have two.

You're IC in a crowded area-- town square, tavern, cavern, etc.-- with, say, 6-7 PCs and various NPCs, and things are going on everywhere all over the place. Do you go out of your way to acknowledge everyone and everything happening around your character, or do you focus on the people/things immediately around them despite being able to see, as the player, everything?

And my second inquiry, not exactly related to the first: post size. What do you prefer when it comes to post sizes, and how do you feel when you're required to go a certain length or stay away from one (because yes, I have seen and been in dreams that are either "you must post a paragraph" or "please don't post multiple paragraphs")?

Regarding your first question, I only respond to things that directly affect or interest my character. If you're really in a crowded area, you're not going to be responding to everything people say, just those you're actually talking to.

That said, I do try to keep up with the other conversations, just to know as a player what is going on and if something happens that I would have to respond to.

Along with darth, whatever it is that my character can see or react to. Are those people right next to her? Are they even paying attention to her? Can she hear/see what's going on? Trying to respond to everyone at once can be daunting and a bit too much (especially if you wouldn't do that in real life.)

I agree with both of them. I tend to react only to those that directly affect my character but as a player inwatch everything for something that my character may notice.

In regards to the post length bit. I don't care really how long people want posts to be. That's their choice. But if I can't feel I can pull it off on a regular basis then I ain't gonna do it. Plain and simple. And besides you don't need to have a paragraph long post, much less 3 paragraph long, to make a good rp.

While in the past I have done posts in the Main Hall of TGT that are 5-6 posts long, I only do so (or try to do so) when it is quiet. If nobody else is rping but me and the person I am interacting with, why should it matter what length I choose to post? I will interact with what directly effects my character - if one person is talking to her, I will response to that one person and if five are, then I will respond to those five accordingly.

Post sizes.. I'd prefer 1-2, as I rarely go under 1 anyway. My average ranges from 1-3 depending on what is going on, but my maximum number of paragraphs done in a single post is about 8 I believe which, in the context of the storyline and rp, was appropriate to give both background information into the character's response and the response itself.

The others pretty much summed up what i would have said. I only answer to what directly effects my character, or what the character can see or hear and may respond to. If nothing is going to interest my character or doesn't involve my character i will keep note as a player but that's about it.

As for the second part. I usually stick to one para, even when in a crowded place as that seems to be a the norm for most RPers in any given situation. I can go higher then a para but usually don't.

One thing Id like to add onto the group rp thing. Its not necessarily of course to have your character respond to everyone involved in the group rp, but I feel it IS a good idea to at least say ______ spotted ____ but had nothing to say to them" Or "_____ was not aware _____ had walked up" Just a quick note worked into the post so the other person dosent feel they are being ignored all together, which is a common problem in group rps.

Wow, this topic took off like a rocket! Wooosh!

@EVERYBUDDY So it looks like for the most part everyone here (myself now included) goes along with what's realistically normal-- responding to things immediately around your character but keeping an eye as the player to what's going on as a whole. That's good, because yes, I am in agreement that ICly responding to EVERYTHING can be a daunting task. Acknowledging folks, like what Zhi has mentioned, is fine too however. It at least shows that you're paying attention to the overall group, even if your character isn't.

As for posts...
@Lance I'm with you in this boat; Skuldhellir taught me to appreciate my post lengths no matter how long they are, and to not expect people to post as much or little as I do, because we were advised to try to keep from making huge paragraphs made of fillers...

@Meri ... but this is not to say that huge amounts of paragraphs are large and always full of fillers. Ours at SH always seemed to be, so we tried to strive for conscience instead of filling ourselves up. Paragraph posts can certainly be full of things to post to for the other players and useful to the plot (such as your 8-paragraph example-- while that's a bit much for me, I can understand it being used to help with background when needed)...

@silver ... and this is usually the length I go to the most these days-- a paragraph at most, and I can't remember the last time I had to [c] a post because it went beyond Furcadia's character size limit for a single entry. It's been that long. I'm sure if I tried I too could go higher than a paragraph, but honestly I just can't attempt it.


Did I get everyone? I hope I did-- hit me with a fish if I missed you.

I think (and this is just a personal opinion) that if you are in a crowded place, and I am saying easily 8+ people on your screen and most who are active, that you shouldn't do more than maybe three continued posts, one or two is certainly acceptable, trying to be courteous to those around you. It's just when posts are continuously flooded off screen by one person it's a little overwhelming, a bit much, and makes things a bit more crowded.
I have nothing against large posts, but in can be nice to keep in mind who else is around and other peoples RPs that could be interrupted by the posts.

What if nobody else is RPing though?

Yes and no (again, personal opinion, I'm not going to stop anyone from doing this.) I guess I have difficulty, mainly in the game Furcadia, of understanding the need of an 8 paragraph post in a public setting (or more or less over all). Longer posts make more sense to me if you're having to create the setting- especially if your character owns a big ship or a huge mansion but you don't actually have a pixellated ship/mansion so you just sit off to the side in a private room, or a quiet corner and have to describe it all to creating the setting. Typically you don't have to do that if you're in a public area where the environment is already set for you.

It gets me wondering how much of those 8 posts are filler? If that's a potential RP partner, how much of that five to ten paragraphs can I skip over to actually see what the character is doing? How much of that is filler and information that, essentially, is unnecessary for me to know? This also happens with two posts or even within a single post, but to me would be more prevalent in numerous paragraphs in a single turn. I am less likely to give massive posts consideration because I will honestly assume it's mainly filler or the person giving me their characters history- which is little use to me because it's only 'thoughts' not the character telling my character it's history.

in the 8 post rp I did (in TGT's garden), the 8-posts involved controlling the character I was posting on, and two NPCs. The character's thoughts played a part in the post as it was part of a climax rp to a storyline that had been building up for months. I included a memory flashback, then the reaction. Then had to tie in that main character's reaction to the other two characters I was also posting about, THEN all of those three's reactions to my other friend's post who was also controlling more than one character in a single post. Filler can be relevant if it is tied into WHY a character is doing an action -- for example, a slave getting whipped. Maybe they call on a memory to try and distract themselves from the pain? Maybe it reminds them of something else? You might not be able to respond to the memory, but it explains to those reading WHY the character has what reactions they do instead of them being unfounded.

*Edit: On the last part with the slave being whipped example, I wouldn't call it filler - I'd call it relevant background information that's in context with the current post. Filler to me is nothing to do wiht what is being rped at all. If there is nothing at all to respond to, then that is the only time I can see multi-para posts being 'bad'. But something to respond to and some background information? Mm, details

If we're going to go specific- (and without getting too off topic- )for those that have been in TGT (The Golden Tether on Furcadia) the Main Hall is the most active place in the dream and on your screen you can easily have 20+ people at one time, though maybe only half roleplay, it really depends on the day as sometimes you can have twenty people and no one posting!
That is what I mean by public; in the garden you'll rarely have anyone around you, so if we're using your example, Meri, to me that's perfectly acceptable. I'd think it'd be too much if there was a post like that in the Main Hall. And it also depends what you define as truly 'public.' Public could be anywhere where you can't lock a room, I need to be more specific and say what is a public and active area and what I think is 'appropriate' roleplay for those areas (depending on the dreams rules, yada yada, and so on .)

I understand giving history in a post, which may be interesting, but I still stand by my original statement: if the character isn't verbally telling my character their history, then there is little point to explain it as there is nothing I can do with that information. To me, Meri's roleplay really wasn't in an active, public place and it seemed to be a more private-group roleplay. Some situations may call for longer posts, others for shorter ones, it's really up to the whim of the player.

When roleplaying, I don't write as if it were a novel, now this isn't a bad thing! I'm just saying that were I reading a novel then non-visual/non-verbal background, history, thoughts, and feelings would be relevant to me as it's important for me to understand the characters I am reading about. When I roleplay I try to emulate real word interactions- my character isn't going to find out about someone elses history unless they're told, same thing with real life. My character is the character in this 'story' so to say, and I enjoy it more if as the player, I am kept in the dark about things instead of being similar to an omniscient being. I like being surprised and I don't want to mistakeningly mention something ICly that I would only know OOCly, if that makes sense! (Ooo, maybe invisible notes for other characters would benefit me as sometimes I forget interactions or what has taken place ICly between my character and someone elses.)

Of course we have to keep in mind that roleplays are always situational, that I am simply generalizing and that in doing so there will certainly be exceptions to my statements and opinions. There is no wrong way to roleplay and that opinions on what is right and wrong differ greatly. Now, without derailing the topic too much farther I don't have anything else to really add to this specific subject, otherwise I'll just be repeating myself. But it is an excellent discussion, thank you!

I'm agreeing wholeheartedly with Dylan here, but it also depends on who I'm roleplaying with. If ever there's a time for an 8-para post, it WOULD be the culmination of a long storyline with your dear friends whose characters you the player have come to adore, in a private/low-traffic setting. But if I'm roleplaying in a more normal situation, I don't WANT to know what the other characters are thinking, since my character can't react to that. (Excepting mind reading and stuff but let's ignore that. ) I want my character to undergo the process of finding out what that character is thinking, which feels more real and deep and struggling.

As per the original topic? Basically going with the flow here and saying I tend to ignore the people that aren't interacting with me. However, if someone makes an offhand comment about my character in their post, even if it isn't a big deal, I try to respond in kind. It's more of a politeness thing, I suppose, or mutual respect. Like "Yeah, we're all in this big crazy thing together. My character will meet your eyes and nod, why not?" I try to include the other people in the scene in my posts as much as is reasonable, even if it's just a name drop. Like "Heimdall's nose wrinkles at the smell of Pink Princess' perfume, but it says nothing." It's showing the player "hey, I am acknowledging your presence even though my character isn't going to interact with them." Since everyone likes their presence acknowledged! Otherwise, why would you RP? X) Sometimes it bloats my posts to be over a para, but very infrequently, since I'm pretty good at trimming the fat. (I don't like to post over a para unless I'm setting a newish scene, like Dylan said.)

In crowded area's I like to only focus on things that are directly affecting my character. Otherwise it just becomes a chaos and it wouldn't be very logical. When you enter a shopping mall do you extensively interact with EVERY person you come across? I apply the same logic to rp. Like Heimdall though if others mention my character in their posts I'll do so in kind.

Post length I find a different matter though, I try to post short myself when I'm in a crowded area ESPECIALLY if there's a posting order applied (which I think is ridiculous unless it's a large scale battle). Otherwise a single round can take a full hour and those hours stack at incredible rate.

Italicized the last bit because I agree and understand that 100%. Although I'm not against posting orders and paragraph-long posts together, the two can unfortunately often create scenes that take 2-3 hours or longer to do that realistically would only last maybe half an hour or an hour at most. And it's not just the length that causes this-- it's that it may, on some occasions, take posters 5 minutes or more to post a paragraph long post (and I've on a few occasions had to wait 30 minutes or more for someone; patience is a virtue, but not in this case).

And it does indeed stack up. I start rping at 3PM and look up to find that it's 7PM and that my interest in the scene faded off nearly an hour ago, and the only reason I'm still posting is for the sake of the scene being played out instead of a want to actually play it.