Punctuation, capitalization, grammer

[evilcabbage]

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, because I always want to ask OOCly if they can slow down in typing so they can type "better" i.e. have more capitalization and make their sentences sound better. Is this a bad thing to wish? Is there a "safe" way to go about this? It kind of kills my enjoyment when people rp, but they don't take time to capitalize things, or are always spelling things wrong. I totally understand if english isn't their first language, but -still-.

[Malken]

You have a spelling error in your title about your pet peeve of bad grammar.

[RogueGunslinger]

If it's obviously unintentional, deal with it.

[Agent_137]

You could politely make a case for it, such as, "Capitalization and punctuation make emotes more legible. So don't feel pressured to emote fast."

edit: make a case for it... outside the game. Such as, on the gdb. Not using the OOC command.

[RogueGunslinger]

 If you have a complaint use the request tool, otherwise, just ignore it. Seriously even if you're being polite it can come off the wrong way, and end up making people mad. The OOC command isn't really for things like that.

[Cutthroat]

The best thing you can really do in a case like this is lead by example. There's no need to break character for something like this, and 99% of bad grammar cases aren't really complaint worthy for the request tool in my opinion. The only thing I would ever think of reporting along the lines of punctuation, capitalization and grammar is someone spamming capitalized words (which I've only seen once in six years). Or someone using emoticons habitually (which I've never seen at all).

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

When someone fails to use capitalization and punctuation I just pretend they are speaking in a monotone. Invariably I will also find reasons to not be around them. I can't stand it.

[evilcabbage]

You have a spelling error in your title about your pet peeve of bad grammar.

Intentional. I know.

[Lizzie]

The best thing you can really do in a case like this is lead by example. There's no need to break character for something like this, and 99% of bad grammar cases aren't really complaint worthy for the request tool in my opinion. The only thing I would ever think of reporting along the lines of punctuation, capitalization and grammar is someone spamming capitalized words (which I've only seen once in six years). Or someone using emoticons habitually (which I've never seen at all).

The only thing I don't agree with is your first sentence. Leading by example is not always a solution. In fact, in my observation, it's rarely been a solution. I've watched fairly long-lived characters start out, continue, and spend real-life weeks and even months being roleplayed without any punctuation or capitalization at all. Spelling isn't a big deal, because not everyone spells well, and not everyone uses a spell checker (I don't). Even grammar isn't the huge issue to me unless it's totally changing the meaning of a sentence to the detriment of the scene.

Thing is though - it's a text game. You're presenting your roleplay via text. Stubbornly rejecting punctuation and capitalization doesn't make your character look low-life, and doesn't make me "hear" your character talk in slang. It makes me think you, the player, are lazy. It is -especially- frustrating to see, when I and everyone else IS leading by example, and our examples are summarily ignored.

I don't send a player complaint about just someone's typing skills (or lack thereof). Sometimes it's accompanied by other things, and then sure I'll send a "heads up" to the staff. Maybe it's just someone new who is really not noticing that everyone is doing things differently, and maybe there's a reason for it. I wouldn't go OOC about it unless it's a HUGE deal. Like - if they're doing things like...

The tall muscular man says, in sirihish, "were do i find eq"

The tall muscular man laughs.

The tall muscular man says, in sirihish, "exp"

The tall muscular man says, in sirihish, "lol"

The tall muscular man sits.

The tall muscular man drops his tankard.

If I see something like that, then yeah I'll toss up a quick OOC suggesting he check out the emoting system and pasting the link to the website so he can find a helper. This kind of thing doesn't happen often though. I think I've seen something like it maybe - twice in the last year?

[ShaLeah]

When someone fails to use capitalization and punctuation I just pretend they are speaking in a monotone. Invariably I will TOTALLY OOC'ly also find reasons to not be around them IC'ly. I can't stand it.

FTFY

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

When someone fails to use capitalization and punctuation I just pretend they are speaking in a monotone. Invariably I will TOTALLY OOC'ly also find reasons to not be around them IC'ly. I can't stand it.

FTFY

O, hia. Thx.

[MeTekillot]

"You talk like you got a mouth full of kalan jam, Runner."

[Zoan]

rough circle lets go everone

[boog]

I guess this isn't such an issue to me, because I played a MUD for about a decade where people were less than stellar at spelling, remembering to punctuate, and, well, just with being capable in English at all. I also have a learning disability with English, so I tend not to judge people too much. It's not my place, and it's not any of our places: we're not the RP police, and we're not staff.

It's just one of those things. Just try to be gentle and realize some people don't have the mad skeelz you do!

[Zoltan]

I typo and misspell all the time, especially when I'm tired, so pot and kettle, etc etc. I try to ignore lack of punctuation and capitalization when I run into it, though it does bug me. I would never OOC someone on it, that's for damn sure. That'd be so very disruptive. I could see myself submitting a player complaint if it were totally out of hand, but in general I just try to live and let live on it. Grammar in general may be an IC thing, so I don't concern myself with that.

[Pale Horse]

[Not Serious]Were they playing a dwarf?

If so, it's obviously out of their control.

Were they not playing a dwarf?

They're secretly meatsexxing one and it's rubbed off.[/Not Serious]

When I happen to run across a player that has issues with punctuation and grammar, if it is not too disconcerting (personally) I tend to ignore it.  I am all to aware of my own mistakes and less-than-perfect typing skills.  

If they type like a text message, and show that they really do want to adhere to the docs, play a realistic character, etc, then I may try to drop a single, polite suggestion that improving their typing skills/habits would enhance their ability to interact with other players.  If I see that over time they are not improving..then I have done my part.  It takes a great deal to annoy me to the point where it would "ruin" the game for me, and even then I would probably not complain.

[Dresan]

Most people here are way too full of themselves. If you can't enjoy someone's character for some ooc reason, deal with it or put in a complaint to staff.

However considering the game is trying to attract and retain more players perhaps thread and posts that make everyone sound like elitist assholes is probably not the most productive way to go about solving the perceived problem.

[Zoan]

When I do a rare typo I feel like the WORST GUY.

[MeTekillot]

If being unable to take someone seriously in a text based game because they are not particularly apt at literally the ONE way we communicate in the game makes me an elitist asshole, well

[James de Monet]

posts that make everyone sound like elitist assholes is are probably not the most productive way to go about solving the perceived problem.

FTFY

[James de Monet]

I'M SORRY. Someone had to do it. 


You are correct, though. Posting the way we do may make us seem like effete snobs. Does it make the game seem less approachable for new players? Quite possibly.

On the other hand, though, blowing off some steam in witty, snide (but generally still friendly) banter on the GDB increases many players enjoyment of the community, and therefore, the game. So where is the balance struck?

[BleakOne]

To new players: If you are worried that you are not good enough at spelling, grammar and such and will be judged poorly, don't be worried. The mere fact that you are thinking about it means you put enough thought into it to not be anywhere near bad enough for someone to notice. We all make spelling mistakes and typos occasionally.

We like to pretend that we don't mess up on the GDB, because it's part of the fun.

HOWEVER, this isn't to say you shouldn't bother with grammar and such. The more effort you put into the basics like that, the more you can immerse yourself and others in Armageddon goodness.

As for silly GDB memes:
The tall, muscular dwarf says 'lets fite ruff circl' before the tressy-tressed girl heads east, dragging their kill behind them. Pikachu, Christmas feces, waterslides. 

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

This isn't about being elitist. This is about caring enough to try. If you don't care enough to try, gtfo.

say nah i dont care. my name is mill how aRe you IS NOT TRYING.

If you don't care enough to try, then fine. I'm elitist, and you're fucking up my immersions. GTFO.

[Dresan]

I'M SORRY. Someone had to do it.  


You are correct, though. Posting the way we do may make us seem like effete snobs. Does it make the game seem less approachable for new players? Quite possibly.

On the other hand, though, blowing off some steam in witty, snide (but generally still friendly) banter on the GDB increases many players enjoyment of the community, and therefore, the game. So where is the balance struck?

It says thread as well which should be made thread(s) perhaps. Believe it or not though I saw that before I pressed submit, normally I also edit my posts soon after as well. However in this case I wanted to see who wouldn't be able to 'resist' pointing that out because it kinda shows the specific mindset of people when they complain about this subject.  Surprised it was you though I was really thought it would be a couple other people here instead. It has been said before this is a pretty toxic of forum. I believe that and I play league of legends and in other equally toxic communities. In other forums you call people all sorts of things but normally you have proof to back it up or you are labelled a troll. In this place people make comments and often get away with speaking bullshit about others without needing to show proof or risk their own RP being outed. Its easy to make vague comments, especially when they can use the old 'it is too IC to discuss/prove' line to keep themselves from needing to actually needing to make valid arguments. Sorry, but lately this place has become even more mean spirited then usual.

If you don't care enough to try, then fine. I'm elitist, and you're fucking up my immersions. GTFO.

It is simply about being elitist because I've never once encountered a situation where the grammar, spelling or anything else so terrible I couldn't play with the person. On top of that, as you can see above most people here are talking about something things like typing 'is' instead of 'are', or perhaps missing some small punctuation. That isn't to say the situation hasn't existed where you absolutely cannot understand what someone is saying but that can be handled ICly so easily.  Again this an OOC problem, more specifically a person's perceived problem so send a complaint to the staff. Otherwise, what a real fun game this will become when everyone feels they need English degrees so they don't fuck up your immersionzz.

Oh and GTFO?  

[Riev]

I agree with those that are saying it is more about 'worrying' you are doing okay. Dresan, just because you havn't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Sometimes its a newbie to MUDs in general, sometimes its someone from a Hack and Slash, but every so often there is a player that just does NOT capitalize, or use periods, or commas. And when you TRY YOUR BEST to point out that they sound like an idiot, they don't seem to "get it".

Again, maybe it makes someone sound elitist, but the way you type is the ONLY WAY YOU COMMUNICATE WITH THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. This game is just like a book, that everyone can add their own little story to. I would never read a book, or a short story, and krath do I hate poems, that have no semblance of grammar.

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

[RogueGunslinger]

Riev you seem to understand nothing about the spirit of NaNoWriMo if you think it has anything to do with proper spelling and punctuation. Maybe that was the attempted joke?

Sometimes a newbie comes along with bad spelling or grammar, yes. I've seen it once or twice. I don't understand how you being condescending is going to help them. They will realize they're doing something wrong, sure. They will also realize how big of an asshole some of our players are.

I guess I don't understand your point. At the end of the day the attitudes in this thread towards people who may have typos are way, way worse than the reactions they actually have in game. And that's great. Because if you tried to OOC at me to tell my to type slower (After all this thread is about how to properly address people with typing issues) I'd report you for improper use of that function on a good day, and call you a dumbass on a bad one.

[Riev]

That was the attempted joke, yes. Someday, someone will come up with a 'sarcasm' font.

And the issue is, yes, how to address this situation. It does NOT come up often. Most of the time? It is NOT a problem. In fact, the few cases I've personally seen, either the person stops playing (because they were presumably new, and weren't really into the game anyways) or they DO eventually get better.

The issue is when someone has definitely been around long enough to know better. You can tell, because they're an Officer in their clan, or in a Leadership position, or have been around for a few RL months, and you they still have speech like "i dont know thats just your thing man" then it is really hard to take them seriously, and how do you bring that up? There are some of us that have a hard time taking that role seriously, and is that WORTHY of a player complaint, because of their position? Are staff aware? Is the person trolling?

IMO, those are the issues in this thread; finding out just how to bring up the situation. Again, newbies tend to tryhard, the times I've personally seen it, its someone that IMO should probably 'know better'.

To Add: The few dwarves I've seen ruff sircling? Speak to them in their own language and they are AMAZING. I kudos people when I see it

[ShaLeah]

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

I (the player) dislike the precedence there seems to be for dwarves in game to speak in all lower case letters with atrocious punctuation. It's made my play with that race really bad, not only do I not enjoy it but I dread it. That's the same feeling I get for every person who types like that.

I don't get the same feeling when there are horribly complicated dialects hand-crafted by players, accents and twangs that only a mother could understand, why? Because those have a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence, and their shortened words have an apostrophe, they make an effort.

Riev is right, it's about trying our best, joke or not. All my years playing I've never made a complaint about these players, I just choose not to play with them. Like I choose not to play in Tuluk, or the Soh, or city elves.

[RogueGunslinger]

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

I (the player) dislike the precedence there seems to be for dwarves in game to speak in all lower case letters with atrocious punctuation.

I have literally never seen this. This isn't a precedence it's a meme joke on the GDB.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

I (the player) dislike the precedence there seems to be for dwarves in game to speak in all lower case letters with atrocious punctuation.

I have literally never seen this. This isn't a precedence it's a meme joke on the GDB.

That it's confined to dwarves is a meme. That it happens is not.

[ShaLeah]

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

I (the player) dislike the precedence there seems to be for dwarves in game to speak in all lower case letters with atrocious punctuation.

I have literally never seen this. This isn't a precedence it's a meme joke on the GDB.

Don't make me comb every fucking log I have to paste the shit. Why do you think they do meme jokes? Cause they exist, cause they're funny, cause people can relate.

[Riya OniSenshi]

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

I (the player) dislike the precedence there seems to be for dwarves in game to speak in all lower case letters with atrocious punctuation.

I have literally never seen this. This isn't a precedence it's a meme joke on the GDB.

Didn't someone just tell someone else that "just because you've not seen it doesn't mean it's not happening"?

I've seen a lot of dorfs over the last several years do this. I've also seen a few humans do it, too.

EDIT: I guess I'm confusing threads as it looks like no one said that yet in this one... So I guess I'm saying it.

[RogueGunslinger]

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

I (the player) dislike the precedence there seems to be for dwarves in game to speak in all lower case letters with atrocious punctuation.

I have literally never seen this. This isn't a precedence it's a meme joke on the GDB.

That it's confined to dwarves is a meme. That it happens is not.

That it's someone intentionally doing it for laughs is what I'm arguing against.

[RogueGunslinger]

Plus, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, can't we just agree to always be trying our best?

I (the player) dislike the precedence there seems to be for dwarves in game to speak in all lower case letters with atrocious punctuation.

I have literally never seen this. This isn't a precedence it's a meme joke on the GDB.

Don't make me comb every fucking log I have to paste the shit.

Just one would impress me.

[Eyeball]

Putting a capital letter at the start of your sentences isn't so much to ask.

[RogueGunslinger]

Putting a capital letter at the start of your sentences isn't so much to ask.

Yep. What's your point?

[ShaLeah]

Putting a capital letter at the start of your sentences isn't so much to ask.

Yep. What's your point?

The point is it bothers some. The point is the post was made to address it. Some see it as "elitist", some people see it as common courtesy, some people are put off by it, I'm sure we run the gamut on feelings on the subject. The point is that the game is text based, it's English based, now no one is being unreasonable in asking to make your contribution to the game world legible. Is it?

[RogueGunslinger]

Putting a capital letter at the start of your sentences isn't so much to ask.

Yep. What's your point?

The point is it bothers some. The point is the post was made to address it. Some see it as "elitist", some people see it as common courtesy, some people are put off by it, I'm sure we run the gamut on feelings on the subject. The point is that the game is text based, it's English based, now no one is being unreasonable in asking to make your contribution to the game world legible. Is it?

You seem to have confused my stance and also the topic of this thread. I thought we were discussing ways to deal with people who typo or commonly misspell in the game. I'm saying using OOC is not the appropriate way to do that.

Ya'll are trying to tell me it's perfectly acceptable to "OOC: Slow down you're typing too fast and making too many mistakes, it breaks my immersion."?

It's like you guys are trying to make me say that bad punctuation and grammar is just fine and that we don't need to worry about it. That's clearly not at all what I'm saying. I'm just saying don't be an asshole to people in the game with the OOC command. Because no one in game is purposefully misspelling shit to get a laugh and piss people off.

IF they were, you would still not use OOC. You would report them.

[Potaje]

Hey, I say 'What ever folks.' I suck at sentence structures, get caught up in a moment, heart pounding blood surging through my veins.  My fingers twitch at times, my arthritis stiffens and aches my fingers, especially after hours of typing, or a mad driving sequence. The client I us has no spell check and spelling has never been my strong suite.

If you do not wish to play with me in game, that's you're lost, I get into character, I put heart and personality into them. Sometimes I hit the wrong punctuation go to backspace and hit enter, or go to punctuate and hit enter, I'm not a keyboard wiz, get in a hurry or flustered.

Sometimes I slow down, reread and my mind sees what is written as its intended in that moment, then I look again after hitting enter or when rereading and find my errors.

But because you might need some preparation H to sooth your sphincters because of my typing I not going to stop playing the game.

Nor does it mean I don't try to improve, but I only do that for my self, not for you.

This is perhaps the more common sentiment among those less perfect typists out there.

Edited to respond to the o.p., I agree that ooc is not a good means to respond to the situation, in my own opinion.

[ShaLeah]

Putting a capital letter at the start of your sentences isn't so much to ask.

Yep. What's your point?

The point is it bothers some. The point is the post was made to address it. Some see it as "elitist", some people see it as common courtesy, some people are put off by it, I'm sure we run the gamut on feelings on the subject. The point is that the game is text based, it's English based, now no one is being unreasonable in asking to make your contribution to the game world legible. Is it?

You seem to have confused my stance and also the topic of this thread. I thought we were discussing ways to deal with people who typo or commonly misspell in the game. I'm saying using OOC is not the appropriate way to do that.

Ya'll are trying to tell me it's perfectly acceptable to "OOC: Slow down you're typing too fast and making too many mistakes, it breaks my immersion."?

It's like you guys are trying to make me say that bad punctuation and grammar is just fine and that we don't need to worry about it. That's clearly not at all what I'm saying. I'm just saying don't be an asshole to people in the game with the OOC command. Because no one in game is purposefully misspelling shit to get a laugh and piss people off.

IF they were, you would still not use OOC. You would report them.

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, because I always want to ask OOCly if they can slow down in typing so they can type "better" i.e. have more capitalization and make their sentences sound better. Is this a bad thing to wish? Is there a "safe" way to go about this? It kind of kills my enjoyment when people rp, but they don't take time to capitalize things, or are always spelling things wrong. I totally understand if english isn't their first language, but -still-.

That doesn't mean he does it. I want to too but I don't, never have, nor would I complain to staff. That's a ridiculous thing to complain about (in my opinion), no matter how annoying it is to me as a player. It drives me nuts when people don't use the right symbol when they emote too but I don't think it's enough to make a player complaint either.

Given to choose between OOC'ly breaking character and putting in a player complaint? I'd choose the latter but I have only put in one player complaint officially ONCE in the time I've played.

[Lizzie]

You seem to have confused my stance and also the topic of this thread. I thought we were discussing ways to deal with people who typo or commonly misspell in the game. I'm saying using OOC is not the appropriate way to do that.

You would be incorrect. The thread is about people who regularly reject capitalization, punctuation, or some generally-acceptable routine of grammar.

This has nothing to do with typos or misspellings.

It has everything to do with making an attempt to present your text-based data in a way that is generally regarded as acceptable to the greater English-speaking world. And to be generally regarded as acceptable to the greater English-speaking world, sentences begin with a capital letter, end with some singular form of punctuation, and capitalizing the first letter of a proper noun (such as Chosen Lord, His Faithful, Amos, and yes - I). Everything else is awesome, but this should be the minimum that anyone should expect from everyone else. If it's not much to ask, then why do some people refuse to do it?

[Barsook]

I think because of texting on their phones causes people to forget to type in prober English else where.

[RogueGunslinger]

You seem to have confused my stance and also the topic of this thread. I thought we were discussing ways to deal with people who typo or commonly misspell in the game. I'm saying using OOC is not the appropriate way to do that.

You would be incorrect. The thread is about people who regularly reject capitalization, punctuation, or some generally-acceptable routine of grammar.

This has nothing to do with typos or misspellings.

It has everything to do with making an attempt to present your text-based data in a way that is generally regarded as acceptable to the greater English-speaking world. And to be generally regarded as acceptable to the greater English-speaking world, sentences begin with a capital letter, end with some singular form of punctuation, and capitalizing the first letter of a proper noun (such as Chosen Lord, His Faithful, Amos, and yes - I). Everything else is awesome, but this should be the minimum that anyone should expect from everyone else. If it's not much to ask, then why do some people refuse to do it?

First off I'm not wrong. The OP is pretty clearly talking about people who need to "slow down" and are typing too fast.

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, because I always want to ask OOCly if they can slow down in typing so they can type "better" i.e. have more capitalization and make their sentences sound better.

To the rest of your post I'd say no shit, Sherlock. Nobody is saying that capitalization and punctuation should be avoided. And if it is routinely avoided by someone, you should report them for it. I don't even know why people feel the need to discuss that.

[James de Monet]

I'M SORRY. Someone had to do it.  

Surprised it was you though I was really thought it would be a couple other people here instead. It has been said before this is a pretty toxic of forum. I believe that and I play league of legends and in other equally toxic communities.

Heh, I didn't mean "someone had to correct your grammar". I meant "someone had to take advantage of that opportunity for stellar irony".

As regards the topic, though, it honestly doesn't bug me too much. I typo a fair amount myself. The thing that I notice most is when people don't use sentence ending punctuation. It can make their meaning confusing (and leaves you wondering if they were going to say something more.)

[Eyeball]

Nor does it mean I don't try to improve, but I only do that for my self, not for you.

You have to share the world (both game world and RL) with other people, my friend.

Purposely disregarding this can cost you in ways you might never realize. It's not generally worth it.

[RogueGunslinger]

Nor does it mean I don't try to improve, but I only do that for my self, not for you.

You have to share the world (both game world and RL) with other people, my friend.

Purposely disregarding this can cost you in ways you might never realize. It's not generally worth it.

Are you serious? He JUST said he tries to improve. What business is it of yours the reasons why he does so? What business is it of yours how he decides to enjoy his time playing the game?

[James de Monet]

As a former clannie, I will definitively state that Potaje's writing skills are no impediment to his awesome roleplay.

I think this thread is referencing people with actual problems. Probably people who aren't even responding in this thread. You would know if they were, because their posts would say:

wut

wtf idk?

lolz how do i put a cat gif

[RogueGunslinger]

And may those people burn in a very special level of hell.

[ShaLeah]

As a former clannie, I will definitively state that Potaje's writing skills are no impediment to his awesome roleplay.

Potaje can typo around me any time. On purpose. Hell, I'd even play a dorf with him. There. I said it. Booya!

[Tyas]

I am uneducated and considering my age, it amuses me how stupid I am. In fact I make fun of myself frequently, it has grown into a habit. I dropped out of highschool, but graduated. Never went to college. And I have never ever cared for learning or bettering myself in that regard.

But what really effected my playing was coming home from work and having my hands frozen stiff from working in the freezers. My job right now is all heavy lifting and is messing with my hands in a similar manner. When I get home I do have to forcefully pry them open and move them about for awhile, because they do not work 'at all'. And then here I am playing Arm.

wtf idk?

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I am uneducated and considering my age, it amuses me how stupid I am. In fact I make fun of myself frequently, it has grown into a habit. I dropped out of highschool, but graduated. Never went to college. And I have never ever cared for learning or bettering myself in that regard.

But what really effected my playing was coming home from work and having my hands frozen stiff from working in the freezers. My job right now is all heavy lifting and is messing with my hands in a similar manner. When I get home I do have to forcefully pry them open and move them about for awhile, because they do not work 'at all'. And then here I am playing Arm.

wtf idk?

Haha. I work in a freezer too, driving a forklift. I know the feeling.

[evilcabbage]

Hey, I say 'What ever folks.' I suck at sentence structures, get caught up in a moment, heart pounding blood surging through my veins.  My fingers twitch at times, my arthritis stiffens and aches my fingers, especially after hours of typing, or a mad driving sequence. The client I us has no spell check and spelling has never been my strong suite.

If you do not wish to play with me in game, that's you're lost, I get into character, I put heart and personality into them. Sometimes I hit the wrong punctuation go to backspace and hit enter, or go to punctuate and hit enter, I'm not a keyboard wiz, get in a hurry or flustered.

Sometimes I slow down, reread and my mind sees what is written as its intended in that moment, then I look again after hitting enter or when rereading and find my errors.

But because you might need some preparation H to sooth your sphincters because of my typing I not going to stop playing the game.

Nor does it mean I don't try to improve, but I only do that for my self, not for you.

This is perhaps the more common sentiment among those less perfect typists out there.

Edited to respond to the o.p., I agree that ooc is not a good means to respond to the situation, in my own opinion.

To stuff it to some guys on page 2, because you all started to annoy me with your stupid bickering and bitching:

Potaje is someone I have been around. Potaje is someone I have played with. Potaje is someone who "WOULD" fit into the same criteria, except for the fact that he usually capitalizes his first word, he usually RPs fairly well (he always does) and he generally tries very hard to not annoy me. It's pretty much the only reason I can tolerate him (other than him being the funny little foreign man).

There are other newbies or even oldbies who just do not type well. It hurts my eyes to read, it hurts my heart to read, and it's difficult to deal with for me. I still suck it up, but when I read a nicely written desc, I expect to see some nicely written posts. When I don't get some nicely written posts, I start to get annoyed. Do I take it out OOC? No. But I still feel that annoyance.

Which is the root of my issue. How do you bring it up, if at all? Who do you bring it up to? You're all starting a big flame war and I just want one simple fucking answer to this problem, and all you guys can do is bicker about your experiences and fight over it because you think it's funny to argue with each other.

[evilcabbage]

You seem to have confused my stance and also the topic of this thread. I thought we were discussing ways to deal with people who typo or commonly misspell in the game. I'm saying using OOC is not the appropriate way to do that.

You would be incorrect. The thread is about people who regularly reject capitalization, punctuation, or some generally-acceptable routine of grammar.

This has nothing to do with typos or misspellings.

It has everything to do with making an attempt to present your text-based data in a way that is generally regarded as acceptable to the greater English-speaking world. And to be generally regarded as acceptable to the greater English-speaking world, sentences begin with a capital letter, end with some singular form of punctuation, and capitalizing the first letter of a proper noun (such as Chosen Lord, His Faithful, Amos, and yes - I). Everything else is awesome, but this should be the minimum that anyone should expect from everyone else. If it's not much to ask, then why do some people refuse to do it?

First off I'm not wrong. The OP is pretty clearly talking about people who need to "slow down" and are typing too fast.

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, because I always want to ask OOCly if they can slow down in typing so they can type "better" i.e. have more capitalization and make their sentences sound better.

To the rest of your post I'd say no shit, Sherlock. Nobody is saying that capitalization and punctuation should be avoided. And if it is routinely avoided by someone, you should report them for it. I don't even know why people feel the need to discuss that.

My thread has everything to do with typos, misspellings, lack of capitalization, and people who just do not appear to care or try. It's in the title:  Punctuation, capitalization, grammer.

[manonfire]

You're all starting a big flame war and I just want one simple fucking answer to this problem, and all you guys can do is bicker about your experiences and fight over it because you think it's funny to argue with each other.

im sorry are you new to the gdb sir

also please refer to my sig

[catchall]

Because this has already been alluded to, but the message seems not to have gotten through:


GRAMMAR


I only bring this up because of the subject of the thread.  My opinion is that I'm a linguist, so I don't care one bit about your spelling and grammar.  If your sentence doesn't start with a capital letter, I can just imagine that it does, or ignore it.

[evilcabbage]

go to the beginning of the thread where i stated this was intentional

[Nyr]

This is not something you should break character for; leave it to staff.

[ShaLeah]

This is not something you should break character for; leave it to staff.

So should we make a player complaint if we see someone questioning another on their typing?!

[Lizzie]

This is not something you should break character for; leave it to staff.

By "leave it to staff," do you mean we -should- report instances of "overzealous rejection of punctuation and/or morbid dwarf-capitalization disorder?" Or should we -not- report it, and let the staff notice for themselves, or not, depending on whether or not anyone on staff is actively monitoring the scene?

And, if it should be reported (or if you feel we should feel comfortable reporting it as an option, rather than an obligation) - should it be reported in a player complaint? Or as an "idea" on the PC in question, or as a wish to alert staff so that they can monitor the scene if they want to?

[Nyr]

I don't believe we've ever contacted someone solely over their inability to end a sentence with punctuation. 

Usually if someone is missing end punctuation, they're also missing middle punctuation...and capitalization...and other basic rules of grammar.  So we've definitely contacted someone over all of that TOGETHER, yes.  Especially if they're in a karma role.

Yet in game proper punctuation is considered part of good RP. It does make a difference in game, I am just not sure how to explain why.

The reason it makes a difference is immersion.

Let me tell you something, Bastard. Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.

let me tell you something bastard

never forget wat you are

teh rest of the world will not

where it liek armor and it can never be used too hurt you

ok sarge lets do rough circle now

I've only stepped in when someone's lack of regard for grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization is a habitual problem.  It's especially noticeable if they're playing a role that requires a special app or any amount of karma, as that kind of habitual behavior reflects badly on our standards for those roles.  I'll copy and paste one a couple of the pertinent things I've sent in the past about that:

Something has come to our attention that has been noted for some time, but I suppose it has been hoped that improvement would occur over time.  However, it has not.  Please improve on using punctuation, capitalization, and the like while you play this game.  While we don't crack down on typos or silly things like that, we do take a look at habitual problems, and this seems like one of those--it is not a thing that happens from time to time, but something that happens on a regular basis.  Communication is important in a text-based game, and it can be very jarring when you do not take the time to communicate as effectively as you can.

or

Also, it would be very much appreciated if you could make an effort to improve your capitalization and punctuation in the game. Making mistakes is something that can be expected, but this seems to be something habitual that you have done even after a helpful suggestion to improve from a player. As this is a roleplay intensive game (and a game based around words as it is), we do hope to see players use their words effectively so that they can communicate well. Without that communication in a legible manner, it is difficult to understand.

New players that can't handle grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization to a reasonable extent usually can't make it through the application process.

I've been a little more blunt at times when the situation calls for it (i.e., habitual oversights like this are just the icing on the cake and not the only issue we are e-mailing about) but that's generally what we will do--only step in if it is a habitual issue.

We can take a look at them if we're not already aware, sure.  If there's a discrepancy and we disagree that there's really an issue, we can also let you know that, too.  Everyone wins!

[Lizzie]

It's very helpful and encouraging to know that the staff will step in when they feel it's appropriate (AND that they'll let it slide when letting it slide is appropriate).

I'm still wondering how we, as players, should deal with the situation.

Should we:

1) assume that the staff is watching, and do nothing.
2) wish up to alert the staff that monitoring a situation might be in order
3) send a player complaint
4) use the "idea" command to suggest that someone have the "offending person" contact a helper/send a note encouraging them to punctuate and capitalize
5) any combination or all of the above
6) none of the above
7) aliens

[Nyr]

It's very helpful and encouraging to know that the staff will step in when they feel it's appropriate (AND that they'll let it slide when letting it slide is appropriate).

I'm still wondering how we, as players, should deal with the situation.

From the same quotes and threads that I quoted:

If someone is doing well in every other respect is it best to ignore it and lead by example and expect improvement or send in a request for staff to send a (hopefully gentle) suggestion for improvement?

We can take a look at them if we're not already aware, sure.  If there's a discrepancy and we disagree that there's really an issue, we can also let you know that, too.  Everyone wins!

Send in a request.

[Lizzie]

Ah okay, thanks. I have master google-fu but it sucks up all my fu-chi and leaves me nothing for GDB search-fu, I'm afraid.

I really think you should let us pick option 7 too though.

[evilcabbage]

So just to officialize it, is it a "player complaint" we send, and just explain that it's not as serious as "Blah blah killed me and didn't emote anything or say anything and blah blah", it's more "I've been RPing with x player for a while, and it seems like their grammer is having issues. I'd like to help them improve, but I realize it's not my place, so if you could send them a message coaxing them to try a little harder, that would be appreciated"?

[RogueGunslinger]

Complaining about a player is complaining about a player. There's no need to sugar coat it. What do you think, staff just blindly start terminating people who get complaints?

[maxid]

hi i'd like to note that it really bothers me when people don't know how to type and mispell words on the gdb too

thanks.

[Barsook]

I'm okay with people doing it in the GDB, but NOT IC.

[Fujikoma]

I generally gloss over it for the sake of the story. If punctuation and spelling are there but there are no capital letters, I'm not going to exclude someone over it. It can be jarring at first, and still a little meh later, but generally someone is really making the attempt to play, just, I dunno, maybe their shift key is broken?

Million things could be going on on their end I don't understand. If punctuation isn't always proper, I let that slide too. Spelling is a little harder, but some of these people, maybe they have some difficulties, and maybe with encouragement instead of punishment, will one day conform. In the meantime, there's plenty of fun to be had in spite of, or perhaps because of, how much of a butter-fingers you are with your keyboard.

Honestly, I'd prefer it be perfect, yes, but life has taught me to accept that even imperfect things can be enjoyable. How else would I have any friends?

EDIT: LMAO, ok, that last bit sounds a bit arrogant, what I meant to say was, if people did not accept imperfections, I would be without friends. I guess -triple-check what you type, especially if you haven't slept in a long time.

[Voular]

I swear to god I tried making five different funny memes involving some pun on Nyr's name and the fact he has the answer you seek.

I'll just say, listen to Nyr. It's just a game, man.

[i love toilets]

One of those people, I got the idea that indeed they couldn't capitialize letters for some reason or another and was trying to hide it

[Yummri]

[quoteIt's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, because I always want to ask OOCly if they can slow down in typing so they can type "better" i.e. have more capitalization and make their sentences sound better. Is this a bad thing to wish? Is there a "safe" way to go about this? It kind of kills my enjoyment when people rp, but they don't take time to capitalize things, or are always spelling things wrong. I totally understand if english isn't their first language, but -still-.][/quote]

In some cases it is rather unfair to judge. For example. Most blind people will spell phonetically, I know I do it all the time. Because we can't see how a word is pelt we only have the sound of it. Its the same with grammar. Its fairly useless to most blind people so beyond a comma or a period you might not see much of it. And some typos can be attributed to these facts and the rush to get what we have to say in before it becomes irrelevant due to how naturally behind the conversation we are.

Some people are better at this than others. But at least in my case I don't mind a correction, if I spell a word phonetically, that is fine for me. And I know I have the habit of typing way to fast for my fingers to keep up with sometimes. Its something I'm trying to improve and once I find a good pace that allows me to interact without being horribly slow. I'm sure it will get better.

[Scarecrow]

I like it when people use capital letters, and use a full stop at the end of their sentence. When they don't use a full stop it makes their character sound breathless. I vote for (like in other MUDS) a code system that automatically puts a full stop at the end of every say. My two cents.

[Fujikoma]

Lead by example.

Hope for the best.

If they can do something about it they will eventually be inspired to do so. If they can't, then it's kind of pointless to gripe. It's called "suspension of disbelief" and you do it every time you watch some crappy movie with a crappy plot and special effects that suck. Maybe you could insert your capitalization, grammar and full stops with your mind, man, duuuuude... Trippy.

You have the power.