Roleplaying Pet Peeves

[Minerva]

Damn shame, that.

Extend this to players who refuse to let me kill them off as a GM too. Good God, yes, you died. You took a sword to the gut. You're dead. No, you can't live without your internal organs. What kind of asinine question is that?!

"of course you can live if you got your insides liquefied by an Interdimensional Demon from hell! But only for a few seconds."

 

[Minerva]

Oh! Final one!
When you're running a Fandom RP or something with an already established universe, and someone is like "What's this." And you have to explain to them what something is because they're too Stupid/Lazy to use Google.

 

[Windsong]

This has probably been said already.. But..

People who throw around mental illnesses like it's a passing cold. A little bit of time on Wikipedia's mental illness list can give loads of personality ideas for a character. Don't be afraid to check it out.

 

[Saito Hajime]

Oh! Final one!
When you're running a Fandom RP or something with an already established universe, and someone is like "What's this." And you have to explain to them what something is because they're too Stupid/Lazy to use Google.

On this vein; people that can't be bothered to read.

Did you write up a scenario which explicitly stated no wars occurred recently?

Someone will post a character who experienced war recently!

I mean you could at least read the bloody premise of the RP you're joining....

 

[Minerva]

This has probably been said already.. But..

People who throw around mental illnesses like it's a passing cold. A little bit of time on Wikipedia's mental illness list can give loads of personality ideas for a character. Don't be afraid to check it out.

I have Characters with OCD, and ADHD, I even have some that are High-Functioning Sociopaths.

 

[Windsong]

I have Characters with OCD, and ADHD, I even have some that are High-Functioning Sociopaths.

You just labeled off most of the United State's of America's teenage population.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

You just labeled off most of the United State's of America's teenage population.

 

[Issues]

One liners.

I'm fine with just one paragraph per post, so I feel like I'm not asking too much, but as soon as a one-liner gets dropped I feel like just dropping the rp.
I don't wanna put effort into something if I don't get it back.

 

[Mu]

Repetition of the word 'said'. She said, he said, it said. Said said said.

 

[Dervish]

I'm pretty sure Windsong was just poking fun at how a lot of teenagers self-diagnos whatever illness that reinforces their shitty attitude or behavior, which is really dickish to anyone who legitimately has and suffers from the illness.

 

[Windsong]

I'm pretty sure Windsong was just poking fun at how a lot of teenagers self-diagnos whatever illness that reinforces their shitty attitude or behavior, which is really dickish to anyone who legitimately has and suffers from the illness.

Exactly this. Sorry @Ottriman , @Sen , and @Gen. Gwazi Magnum missed the playful jab.

I work with and around teenagers every single school day and beyond. It's beyond silly what these kids can come up with when they want to believe that their angst and attitudes are because they magically acquired an illness of the mind during their most formative years.

Then the parent's get them on medications to counter-act this almost hypochondriac-like problem and then the kids really do get messed up. The kids on medication are easy to point out from the rest just because they act and feel so mechanical without that energetic creativity bug a kid usually does.

That's something else that bugs me in RP; unnecessary angst or attitude. Yes, your character lost their parents at a young age and had to fend for themselves, so did mine, that's what they had in common remember? No, please don't try to explain your problems to every bystander and hope they'll pity you more than my character did. A little is good for flavor, but like salt or pepper in a fine dish too much can really overpower it.

Also, forced pairings. Probably a repeat, it feels like deja vu.

 

[Dervish]

I think I brought up forced pairings in one of my earlier posts, but it bears repeating. If you're forcing characters to fall in love, and 1x1 is super guilty of this, it's mechanical and disinteresting because there's often no chemistry and if you only start off with "farmer x astronaut, princess x toothless hobo, werewolf x whaleshark" or anything like that, you're fighting against yourself and will be lucky if you and your partner actually mesh and fulfill each other's expectations. It also kinda sucks to try and come up with a character you want to play when you're only given a certain role for a generic pairing.

Say I really want to RP with you because we're friends and I adore your writing, but the only appealing setting you're offering is "taxi driver x Cthulhu cultist", but I don't know how to play mister cultist but I want to win the heart of the jaded heroine of The Big Apple's downtown core, because man oh man, my blimp racer character would be such a winning personally who can show taxi lady a better life high in the sky, escaping her troubles at 10km/h max speed with the soothing yellow hug of Goodyear embracing her escape to nirvana. All I can think of for Cthulhu cultist is a masked guy who spits a lot and doesn't have an indoor voice. I simply can't work with that!

Ridiculous hypothetical pairings aside, you get the gist. I think some people are way too fixated on forcing people to write a pairing that they get their rocks off thinking about but ultimately it's screwed out of the gate. I really click away super fast if I see an interest check that's nothing but generic pairings. I want to see plot ideas and work to create a story with you, not check off a fetish grocery list that required no thought or effort and tells me nothing more than you really want to see a golf caddy get fucked by a ninja.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Exactly this. Sorry @Ottriman , @Sen , and @Gen. Gwazi Magnum missed the playful jab.

I work with and around teenagers every single school day and beyond. It's beyond silly what these kids can come up with when they want to believe that their angst and attitudes are because they magically acquired an illness of the mind during their most formative years.

Then the parent's get them on medications to counter-act this almost hypochondriac-like problem and then the kids really do get messed up. The kids on medication are easy to point out from the rest just because they act and feel so mechanical without that energetic creativity bug a kid usually does.

Oh, I see. :P

*Removes previous rating and gives you a heart*

But yea, self diagnosing is a bitch, and something I'm very cautious about whenever someone tries to say "I/you might have X, I googled it".
And the medication overhaul is also a pretty big problem. :/

 

[Kagayours]

Oh, I see. :P

*Removes previous rating and gives you a heart*

But yea, self diagnosing is a bitch, and something I'm very cautious about whenever someone tries to say "I/you might have X, I googled it".
And the medication overhaul is also a pretty big problem. :/

I see nothing wrong with someone suspecting that they might have a certain mental disorder, and then talking to a psychiatrist about it to see if there's really anything to worry about. It worked out for me, anyway. So glad I sought out this sort of thing when I realized I was having trouble concentrating and that something might be to blame (apparently I was correct when I thought it was ADD, though I was open to the idea that it might be something else, or nothing at all). So, that said, I think I'd encourage that kids talk to someone if they think they might have something. Getting treatment could be a huge help for them, whether said treatment involves drugs or not.

But yeah, declaring for sure that you have something when you haven't talked to a professional about it... yeah. Not the best idea.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

I see nothing wrong with someone suspecting that they might have a certain mental disorder, and then talking to a psychiatrist about it to see if there's really anything to worry about. It worked out for me, anyway. So glad I sought out this sort of thing when I realized I was having trouble concentrating and that something might be to blame (apparently I was correct when I thought it was ADD, though I was open to the idea that it might be something else, or nothing at all). So, that said, I think I'd encourage that kids talk to someone if they think they might have something. Getting treatment could be a huge help for them, whether said treatment involves drugs or not.

But yeah, declaring for sure that you have something when you haven't talked to a professional about it... yeah. Not the best idea.

True, there was a reason I used the word "Cautious" instead of something like "Annoyed".
It's common though to see suspicions like that turn into self diagnosing, and that's where the caution is from, the risk/tendency for people to do that.

But yea, totally agreed.
If you suspect something talk to a professional, don't just swap ideas with friends and then use that as your diagnosis.

 

[Atlas Child]

An annoyance of mine, which applies more to myself than other people, is character consistency. In role plays with slow posting rates I have a hard time really connecting with my character and writing them well because I'm only jumping into their minds once a week or two. I feel like sometimes their personality changes from post to post mostly because I imagine them differently this week then I did last. It's something I notice in my own posts more often then not and honestly gets on my nerves far more than nearly anything another player could do.

 

[tart.]

My biggest pet peeve is when older people look down at me. Yes, I know that I'm fairly young, and YES, I know my character sheet isn't as pretty as yours because I have no experience with coding. And then they excessively try and give me lessons like they're all high and mighty. Don't get me wrong, I am very open to ways that'll improve my writing, but I don't want to hear it from a 30 year old man who can't even spell their character's highly over dramatic and foreign name correctly.

 

[Brovo]

YES, I know my character sheet isn't as pretty as yours because I have no experience with coding.

Pro-tip: [b]I am bold[/b]. I have magical eye-drawing powers. Use me around each title header to look pretty. Also add a space, it looks nicer on the eyes and flows better from subject line to subject line.

Without formatting:
name:
age:
gender:
history:

With formatting:
Name:

Age:

Gender:

History:

Beyond this? Up to your personal taste. All this does is make it a lot easier on the eyes. Otherwise, totally agree, people shouldn't look down on you for your age. Especially since you're amenable to learning and improving, that's an important quality at any age.

 

[tart.]

@Brovo thank you, kind stranger from the interwebs. I can gladly say it hasn't happened on this site, and that's one of the reasons why I love Iwaku, but I've had rough times on other forums and such.

A 25 year old man and me got in a heated argument simply because I notified him of a moderate mistake in his reply in this group roleplay; I mean, you'd notify him too if he mispelled nearly every character's name and other words along the way. He then proceeded to tell me about how I should shut up because I'm a, and I quote, "puny little punk who thinks they're a god." And then he said I should respect and look up to him since he was older. Okay buddy, whatever helps you sleep at night.

 

[Kagayours]

My biggest pet peeve is when older people look down at me. Yes, I know that I'm fairly young, and YES, I know my character sheet isn't as pretty as yours because I have no experience with coding. And then they excessively try and give me lessons like they're all high and mighty. Don't get me wrong, I am very open to ways that'll improve my writing, but I don't want to hear it from a 30 year old man who can't even spell their character's highly over dramatic and foreign name correctly.

Pro-tip: [b]I am bold[/b]. I have magical eye-drawing powers. Use me around each title header to look pretty. Also add a space, it looks nicer on the eyes and flows better from subject line to subject line.

Without formatting:
name:
age:
gender:
history:

With formatting:
Name:

Age:

Gender:

History:

Beyond this? Up to your personal taste. All this does is make it a lot easier on the eyes. Otherwise, totally agree, people shouldn't look down on you for your age. Especially since you're amenable to learning and improving, that's an important quality at any age.

I second Brovo's piece of advice. Bolded headings with a blank space between each section just makes the whole thing look so much more cleaned-up and well-made, even if it only takes two tiny steps. And a good-looking CS is generally a solid way to make a good first impression on a GM, even if it's in somewhat of a subconscious way.

As another pointer (for you or anyone else who happens to be reading): Don't center-align the whole thing. It's just ugly, and hard to read. Center-aligning one or two lines of text or an image is fine, but don't center-align the whole thing. Not pleasant.

As a GM, I don't exactly dock points (so to speak) for players doing this sort of thing, but, it's just annoying for me to see, personally. @_@