The DEFINITIVE list of nouns that can be used in sdescs

[Bluefae]

     Sorry to resurrect this thread -- could someone point me to the final list?  Danke!

[mansa]

http://www.armageddon.org/general/words.html

[Fathi]

Whoooaaaa, no 'breed'?

[AmandaGreathouse]

Um, not much to chime in, just wanted to say that I really like the use of androgynous in sdescs, like the tattoist in that bar. I think it is pretty cool to see people that aren't right of visible as male or female, especially from a distance in a crowded establishment. 

[Bluefae]

http://www.armageddon.org/general/words.html

     Sterling, M., as usual.   

[Fnord]

I've seen boy or girl in sdescs before.

[Tisiphone]

I've seen boy or girl in sdescs before.

Before, but they are no longer allowed. I had an app rejected specifically for that reason.

[jcarter]

dame

So I take it we're not allowed to say cool 1950s noir things like "that hood just clipped my molly!" and such as well?

This game is too harsh for me.

[Briarfox]

I have seen atleast one 'breed' in the last two months which made me pout with jealousy.

What about she-elf? Can this be acceptable?

[Jingo]

This list seems pretty arbitrary.

Teenager is allowed by child is not?
Lass is allowed but dame is not?

I don't get it.

[Yam]

Yeah.

[Dalmeth]

This list seems pretty arbitrary.

Teenager is allowed by child is not?
Lass is allowed but dame is not?

I don't get it.

In my experience, arbitrary decisions like that come from... well, experience.

[Jingo]

In my experience, arbitrary decisions like that come from... well, experience.

Which is fine... so long as we are told why.

I suppose the explanation for dame is that it has a high class connotation that is not always present. A dame could either be a member of the english aristocracy or one of the girls from 'Sin City'.

Child, boy, girl, elfess and giantess I really don't have a problem with. And I guess the rest can be made adjectives anyways.

[brytta.leofa]

I have seen at least one 'breed' in the last two months which made me pout with jealousy.

Yup.  Believe I saw a "girl" fairly recently, too (that I thought was a PC).

Some of the exceptions may be for a reason, though, special app or otherwise.

[Sanvean]

I've seen boy or girl in sdescs before.

Yes. Sometimes staff forget and let them slip through.

The list's purpose is basically to head off problems that have arisen with various nouns.  These fall into one of two categories: they lead the player or the players around her/him into incorrect play or they are overly jarring to other players.

Child, boy, girl, etc fall into the first category. People tend to play these characters unrealistically or take advantage of unrealistic play by other players. A classic example would be "the blue-eyed little boy", which was a sorcerer (back in pre-karma days) relying on the reluctance of other players to kill a child. Zalanthan life is harsh and brutal, and childhood in the way we know it falls by the wayside quickly. A 13 year old on Zalanthas -- the earliest possible starting age -- has known death, disease, brutality, hunger, and templar whim. They have seen those around them drunk or spice-addled as well as having sex.  And need to be played as such.

The other list is words that have proven jarring. This is indeed an arbitrary list -- I've tried to apply common sense when compiling it.  I continue to add words when discussions come up about specific words or when a word is being consistently bugged.typoed by other players. 

[Bluefae]

Sanvean, would some of the descriptors in the "arbitrary" category be special app-able (assuming a clear and compelling reason, etc.)?  Regardless, I'm happy you took the time and trouble to compile the list, as it no doubt saves on rejection heart-ache.  Also, just reading it can be helpful when trying to find the noun to bring your critter alive.

Edited to add:  Would it be inappropriate to ask about the reasoning behind specific words?  As someone who's juggling far too many projects herself, I can appreciate that following up on the whims of others isn't always high on the priority list.   

[LoD]

Edited to add:  Would it be inappropriate to ask about the reasoning behind specific words?  As someone who's juggling far too many projects herself, I can appreciate that following up on the whims of others isn't always high on the priority list.   

I believe that Sanvean already answered this to some degree in her earlier post:

Generally the reasons I have been putting words on the unapproved list are: too slangy (breed, dude, kid, lady, stumpy), too reminscent of a non-Zalanthan concept (spinster, maid), too young (child, boy, girl), too incomprensible (dickens-whelp), too misleading (abomination, giant, titan), too job-related (warrior et al)

If there are specific words you have questions about, that don't generally fall into one of the categories that she mentions above, perhaps you could mention those?  However, it seems fairly plain to me what the motivations behind disallowing certain nouns has been in the past and likely remains today.

-LoD

[Simple]

I've seen breed..

[Fathi]

Okay. If this is the topic where I'm allowed to do it, I will just list the words that I'm curious about.

1. Mutant, albino, and hunchback. I love these three and I -think- I've seen them all in-game before, but would they be kosher?

2. Teen. I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate seeing 'teen' in sdescs because, like Sanvean stated in the post LoD quoted, it just seems too slangy and colloquial, also needlessly androgynous unless you're playing an androgynous character. Are these people with 'teen' getting through accidentally like some of the 'girls' I've seen recently or is it actually allowed?

[Sanvean]

Yes, mutant is fine, make sure it matches the main desc. Ditto albino and hunchback.

Teen is allowable because it doesn't lead to the same sort of mistaken play as child.  One of the rules of thumb I use to determine whether or not a word is jarring  is would the word be terribly jarring in a typical fantasy novel. Obviously, there are subtle shades of difference in all sorts of words, and teen may well be one of them.  I would not find it unexpected in most fantasy novels. Many teens are somewhat androgynous.

You are welcome to special app a FORBIDDEN noun and we'll take a look.

Other noun-related problems include nouns than require special code, like a winged person who wants flight coded for them -- or may swear up and down that they won't do that and yet after a couple of months they're starting to say, hey, you know, would it be possible if....? etc.  Nouns that confuse people -- "giant" is one of those, given that we have half-giants in the game.

[Incognito]

I'd definitely throw in "midget" in the acceptable list
I've used it in the past, with a detailed description of his race in the Mdesc, and boy it was fun!

[Jingo]

It makes sense now.

Jingo approves.

[Southie]

Just curious, why is 'breed' unacceptable?

[Barzalene]

I'm still protesting lad, lass and maiden, but no one is paying attention. I even made big old sign on sticks, but I don't know where to go to march.

[Marauder Moe]

Just curious, why is 'breed' unacceptable?

Maybe because it's not a noun at all.