Forums » RP Discussion » What can kill an rp for you?

HAIIIII Yeah its me again, i'm sure ya'all see my name now and are like, OMG STOP ARK! But NEVER! YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE OF ME!!!......Ok now that is out of the way! I am posting this to see what can kill an rp for you, like for me, the two things that kills an rp for me instantly is Grammar Nazi's and people that post in netspeak!

For me, one thing is feeling like my partner isn't putting in the same effort I am. I'm not talking about things like real-life interfering, nor am I talking about the natural ebb and flow of role-play where sometimes one person simply has less to write that isn't useless space-filling.

I'm talking about when one person really makes the effort to craft a post, and takes the time to help flesh out the setting, the environment, and gets as little as a nod and a spoken sentence or two. I "feed" on posts, taking the energy of my partner, crafting a post with it, and shooting it on back. A few posts of lethargic space-filling and it becomes difficult for me to think of anything to write.

That said, I'm not one of those people who just gives up on a story and stops responding when something goes a way or in a form I don't like. That's actually a pet peeve of mine, but that's a whole 'nother thing. I happily pause the story to chat and see what's up, see what can be done, yadda yadda. I'll work with my partner, so it kind'a kills it when they aren't willing to.

I think that's about the only thing I really run into that actually kills a story.

I sometimes have that issue, but it means I hit a roadblock and my mind is clouded, I more or less go off who I am rping with so if they give me short shots, that is what they get.. but I am now looking more for people that make huge posts and in the least I try to give a para minimum and if I start being stupid, it means im tired and I am ready to pass out at the comp.

He's tenacious...like a shark on chum. Believe me...I know from experience. That being said, sometimes a partner needs a few kicks in the butt to get back on track. I will say that Rhygar's player has been patient beyond belief. (Sometimes I picture our RP sorta like Lucy, Charlie, and the football -- "No, I swear, I'll finish this one!")

There could be a long list on what could kill an RP for me. I'll name a few at the top of my head.

God modders/Autoers//Twinkers Possibly the bane of everyone's Rping. People who have the end to end all characters. People who assume that their character can beat god, Chuck Norris and so on.

People who pretty much take over a roleplay with their character, Mainly if it is a God mod or a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. They are pretty much too perfect for their own good and want to be some sort of hero. Then go off in a tangent when they are told to stop.

If an RP is boring to me, I will pretty much drop it. Mainly if my partner wants their character to be the centre of attention.

People who plagiarise other people's posting styles or posts. Yeah. Don't do that. There are people who littery would steal posts.

How can you plagiarize a posting style?

*Shrugging* Well, if you adapt a style to match someone else's so they are comfortable and end up basically copying their format maybe?

Well sometimes its not always a bad thing though, some people see how epic you are and try to incorporate your style into theirs, I mean my style was coined off a ex girlfriends, but she really helped me refine it to what I can od now so I guess I owe her that much now that she has passed on

People posting just a few lines (granted if there’s not much to say there’s not much to say, and that’s alright!)

Also, people taking a loong time to post. If you take a bit but you post like an entire paragraph, or more than a paragraph, that’s a loot more acceptable, but taking forever just type two or three sentences, that kinda kills the rp for me, because by the time they do post, my mind’s not really in the rp anymore, if that makes sense. That was why I was so hesitant to do rpr for a long time, but the people I rp with on here are reaaal good about posting fast

I'd like to know how a style is defined ('what makes my posts mine?') to actually apply the world 'plagiarize' or even just 'copy' here. Unless you're literally copying someone's entire post, something I have never seen done in the whole 14 years I've roleplayed, it's not really possible to copy a writing style. It will always remain personally bound to your own. Even ghost writers who help other authors can never truly refine their style to be the original author's, so I find statements like this really confusing and a little scary considering the implied impact it has.

If you could actually plagiarize someone's style, where do you draw the line between where someone improves their writing, and calling them out/being upset with them for having writing that 'looks too much like your own'? Where is the solid proof someone 'stole' your style?

I don't agree that it's impossible to copy a writing style, but I am also similarly baffled about what plagiarizing a writing style might mean. A word I would be more familiar with in the situation that seems to be being described is "learning," and it's how most of us learn to use language more skillfully (or at all) - by emulating those around us.

I feel like I'm missing a piece of what is trying to be said.

The thing that I find hardest to keep going through is when it becomes clear that the other character is unchangeable. For example, the player had a specific arc for the plot in mind, and if any character takes an action that would change it (physically restraining their character, for example), they just ignore it and go onward. When it becomes clear the story is on a track, I don't feel like I'm playing with someone anymore, I'm just watching them write a story without me!

Yup, I am. Storytelling is important to me, as is making sure everyone involved is legitimately having fun. This hobby is meant to be fun--it can be cathartic, it can be exploratory, it can be any number of things--but it all boils down to fun, and I genuinely want my partners to have fun. So--yeah, I can be as tenacious as a Terrier worrying a T-bone.


I agree it's a grey area, but that said--myself, I try to write for my partner, include certain turns of phrase to make the player snort aloud, maybe reference an earlier part of the story or something we OOCly chatted about, plus there are certain styles of typography that, not truly "unique", as such, some players employ more than others. That said, I don't see a problem with it. If someone likes my style enough to try and copy it whole cloth, they're totes free to. Maybe they can tell more epic stories with it.


I've run into that, myself. It's head-on-wall material, to be sure--but what makes it difficult is that sometimes the other player doesn't always realize something like that was written to begin with. That's my biggest problem; sometimes my brain just fritzes out and I either completely mis-read a post or read something that wasn't even written to begin with. Thankfully, as yet, I've mostly had understanding partners who either ran with it in-story or (kindly, mind ) kicked me in the heinie-bumper OOCly about it.

Often it's obvious that it is all one giant script the other partner's going off, which is irritating as heck, but sometimes it's just the person having a bad brain day, too. I mean, to run with your example, sometimes I'd been in a situation where my character would have been restrained, but my brain decided to herp-a-derp and I didn't even see it, so I write my character going on as if it hadn't happened. Again, though, thankfully most of the partners I've had in my life--and nearly every single one, here on the Repository--have been gracious about it. It just also--for me, anyway--makes it a touch more difficult to immediately recognize when it's purposeful scripting on someone's part, or just someone else having their own herp-a-derp moment.

I'm certain you can copy a writing style in some sense (ghost writers who co-write an author's book series, such as on the Animorphs series, have to) but you can always tell some differences, and in most cases the original author has to edit the work to be 'true to their own style', which is what I'm basing my thoughts on. I can still pick out the books that were co-written by other authors in the Animorphs series, rather than solely written by the original author, despite all these efforts. Hence why it's really hard to truly copy a style in my opinion, because your style tends to be uniquely your own no matter how hard to try to emulate someone else. It only goes so far before your own quirks creep in and set the tone.

Also, what ruins RPs for me are unrealistic characters, in the sense of actions and plot twists that don't work with the character itself. Such as a character with a phobia of spiders, suddenly casually brushing a spider off because they're 'just that brave', rendering the phobia pointless without a reason as to why the phobia was overcome. It makes the RP immediately inaccessible to me. You don't have to keep your character the exact same for 10 years, in fact I love it when characters develop and grow into something different, but there has to be something that causes this. Events, new social circles and such. Not a change plucked out of thin air just because it suits the moment.

Also plot twists that make no sense, usually things that 'happen just because, without any reason'. (I think "without any reason" is a running theme? ) It's so frustrating to me when people do this. I don't need a 20 page essay explaining in detail what happened, but something has to lead up to what's going on that fits in with the previous occurrences. That's what a continuity is, that's what storytelling is to me. Without this I just can't enjoy myself no matter how good of a writer someone is.

I guess... someone controlling my characters without permission. And super long posts with unnecessary detail like describing the dust on their eyelashes just to fluff up the post for more length. I prefer 1-5 paragraphs so the story moves forward at a decent pace without a bunch of filler/fluff writing.

that i can understand and I hate that too, but i used ot do DnD soo i got used to it, but if I am not ok with whats going on I will speak up, but fluff writing I have never heard before so I giggled

This is my pet peeve in RPs, but luckily, even if I have seen a bit of a godmodding thing here, it usually stops soon and it doesn't really even get to bother me. So it is 'fine' for now. But really. I don't like godmodders

This is another one. It is My character and I will be in charge of them. Hands of, or I'll go 'Original the Character'
Not really, but yea. I can RP my own character just fine, and don't you want to know their real reaction to the thing? For me, it's a part of an RP that you can never know for sure what is going to happen and what way the other person decides to pull the story. If they want to 'play woth themselves' then they shall do that, but my character isn't going to just 'get hit and die' or 'fall blindly in love' with yours.

Had someone steal my posts before and use it for their character. They did it to everyone else. They got their just desserts, though.

@ Reima

I think anyone can god mod by accident and pretty much stop when they realise it.

@ Amirrora

Oh.. I hate when people do that. I can understand if it was by accident by maybe a rookie Rper or someone who just doesn't understand the concept. I can let that slide. The whole. "I HIT YOU AND YOU BLEED!" No.

I guess the whole thing when someone doesn't give someone a time to react to one's action also counts as this.

Basically God-modders and auto-hitters. Also people that flat out ignore my RP posts during a fight.

That ain't right.

amen to that