Pet Peeves

[Qetesh]

- Gripe threads.

If you gripe in a grip thread, does that make you a hypocrite?

Heh, well.. I just wanted to toss my sentiments on this thread in a different light. These are things that I do that I hate.

Your and You're.. Their and they're. I do this a lot and kick myself every time I watch it scroll up my screen. Thinking Ugh.. why can't I spell or use grammar.

When I forget I am in a non-imm room and people see "Someone Says" and bug out. This is doubly bad when I say threatening things like, "Bite Me Hal" or "I'd really like to P-Kill that guy with my Avtar"

(those were jokes by the way, or at least the second was)

When I use ~ twice to flag someone in a talk instead of ~ and !, so others see the full key words of the person I am referencing twice unnecessarily.

When I use ~ ! instead of %^ when targeting a person's stuff.

When I think of all the times that I would type emotes like.. "The blue-eyed, black-haired woman casts her deep-blue gaze on you."  *Facepalm*

I do so much annoying stuff when I speak/emote in game it's not funny. I still don't know how they gave me Karma.

[Cuusardo]

People who whine and complain about a change needing to be made ICly, and not bothering to try to do anything to push the change they want to see.

Hell, that irks the shit out of me IRL when people do that crap.

"Oh I'm so fat, but I don't want to exercise or eat healthy foods."

or

"My boyfriend is cheating on me/beating me, but I love him and don't wanna break up with him"

:evil:

[moab]

I think color vocabulary lends a "tone" to a character. Eyes that are bright, glowing, effulgent, lambent, radiant, illumined all tell us slightly different things about this character.  To limit ourselves to words that someone else might be comfortable with first requires us to assume something about that person's lack of knowledge (for valid reasons or not) and secondly requires us to put the breaks on our own creativity.

If there is one good thing about text games it is that, at least on Armageddon, you learn something about vocabulary.  Vocabulary is a good thing!  

Now, I do hate it when people use the 5 dollar word for its own sake when another is perhaps better.

Saffron is a good example.  It isn't just a color - but it brings with it the context in which we often find the word - middle east, desert, lush spices, heady chaotic environments (at least for me).  Orange is - well orange.

Being conscious of the RL context of a word can really add power to the descriptions that you encounter and write (right?). :-D

My pet peeve:
People that expect karma magickers to emote when karma magickers die in a heartbeat if they don't just cast like motherf*cker because some newbie is swinging their sword without an emote.

Me, in a combat situation, I'll emote after the cast, thanks.  :-D  There are room echoes prior to casting that take care of the details.  That said, encountering someone who is clearly emoting a build up to combat will get an emote or two before I shrivel his/her brains but very often this is not the case.  My personal goal is to make sure that magickers are feared by YOU OOCly.  You encounter me and I'll make sure YOU are sweating about loosing your 20 day ranger so the next time you tread very carefully.

edit for clarity:
by newbie I mean newbie character, not player

[amoeba]

- Gripe threads.

If you gripe in a grip thread, does that make you a hypocrite?

"The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48"
Irony I"ron*y, n. L. ironia, Gr. ? dissimulation, fr. ? a
  dissembler in speech, fr. ? to speak; perh. akin to E. word:
  cf. F. ironie.
  1913 Webster
  1. Dissimulation; ignorance feigned for the purpose of
     confounding or provoking an antagonist.
     1913 Webster

  2. A sort of humor, ridicule, or light sarcasm, which adopts
     a mode of speech the meaning of which is contrary to the
     literal sense of the words.

Along the lines of what Qetesh said, for me:

I hate it when I typo and lose track of things because my seven year old is crawling under my chair saying "daddy" thirty times in a row as I'm in the middle of a critical scene.

I hate it when I typo when I am caught up in things, and am trying to get a timely response in before that 120 word/min typer puts in something to make what I have to say non-relavant.

I hate it when I typo when I respond verbaly to someone in the RL room, and my fingers go along for the ride, giving my sentence the appearance that a dyslexic, lefthanded, chimp wrote it.

Okay, so I typo a lot. I hate it.

[Twilight]

I hate it when people don't give you a realistic amount of time to respond to what they've done in the game, taking the OOC act of typing out something into IC inaction or unresponsiveness.  I'm not talking minutes, but 20-30 seconds is about a minimum in a non-combat scenario to not be just OOC'ly rude.

[LauraMars]

I hate typoing when I'm solo-rping.

When I'm emoting killing a rat, then ripping the skin off said rat with my bare hands and eating it raw, and I'm relishing that I can put as much gore and detail into my emotes as possible...it's just terrible when I typo.  It's just so embarrassing on a deep and personal level.  I turn red, irl, and want to apologize.  Then I feel even more embarrassed because there's nobody to apologize to.

In summation: solo roleplay typos/mistargets = TEH WORST.

[Rindan]

My characters tend to live for a long time.  I found that if you do everything in your power to stay alive when push comes to shove, you usually can keep sucking air.  You might be in a worse position then when you started, but if you keep pushing, things tend to work out.  

Having spent time as a criminal and militiaman, I am always amazed at how easily people throw their lives away.  It is a pet peeve of mine when the 'hero' keeps his mouth shut and shouts obscenities as the templar is getting ready to gut him.  Almost as bad is when the 'generic morally American character' starts protesting about how this isn't fair, he didn't do anything, there is no proof, exc.  He continues to protest even as the big ugly half-giant raises his blade, as if protesting one more time is really going to save his life.

I don't know about you, but if some nasty ass god king servant was torturing me and telling me that I am only going to die once he has seen me scream a little more, I would start lying my ass off in any way I could to get me out of there.  If lying didn't work, I would start promising to do anything he wants.  Templars are not exactly the most just people in the world.  Sure that works against you in that they don't care if you are guilty or innocent, but it also works FOR you in that if you can offer them something they want, they don't really care if you are guilty or innocent and will set you free.

If you are a dwarf and telling a templar something is against your focus, I have no problem with you going down tight lipped.  On the other hand, if you are a scrawny 'rinth rat or Byn mercenary, for fucks sake man, just start spewing.  You don't even have to be truthful.  Tell the biggest lies in the world, promise the templar the world, then once you are free run like hell to the 'rinth and don't leave.  Elves are prideful, but they are also supposed to be intelligent.  They might bite off more then can chew with their pride, but they sure as hell won't die for it unless they are some whacked out tribal dying for his tribe.

My other pet peeve are elves who take no pride in what they do.  When you are sitting down with another elf at a 'rinth bar, it is a-okay to admit that you pick pockets and con artist.  He isn't going to turn you into the templerate, and even if he did, the tempelrate wouldn't care.  That isn't to say you tell him that you are a northern spy or that you just stole a steel sword, but there isn't a thing wrong in the world with detailing how you exploited some stupid commoner round ear for a few 'sid.  Showing who has the bigger balls earns pride points.  Go for those pride points elves.

My final pet peeve is the lack of city elves.  I just wish there were more of the bastards.  Every time I play one I am struck with the sudden realization at how few there are.  It sucks for a lot of reasons.  First, I think elves are at their most elfish when they are around other elves.  Babbling in Allundean about criminal misdoings is always a merry time.  Second, the militia tends to automatically (and rightly) assume that because you are one of three active PC elves in the city you probably know what the other two ass holes are up to.  If you tell them that there are thousands of elves in the 'rinth and you don't know the two he is talking about, they (rightly) don't believe you.  Third, if half of a tavern's population was elven PCs, I have a feeling that the number of people who act like it is a travesty that there are elves in the tavern and not a normal occurrence would drop dramatically.

[da mitey warrior]

Shops closing at night.

People who reply to questions on the GDB with "Ask IC".  Especially when it involves non-coded things, like what color the sky is or what kanks eat, where half-giant babies come from etc.  Sure, there are some things which should not be openly discussed, but loosen when it comes to general things.  

People who reply to a newbie's question with a direct quote from a helpfile or a link to another answer.  It's a canned response and not very polite since it implies the newbie was stupid for not looking up the helpfile themselves.  

When you number your paragraphs on the GDB with 1), 2) 3) etc.  Number 8 always gets transformed into a goofy smily face   unless you disable them.

[Rindan]

Shops closing at night.

Oh, that is a good one.  I have always thought that if shops were to close any time, I would think it would be high sun when it is the hottest and most unpleasent out.  Night time when it is nice and cool seems like the best time to go shoping, not the worst.

[Ritley]

People who type out long and flowery emotes, and take FOREVER to do so.

People who spam hunt.

Tribals whose primary concern is NOT their tribe.

People who target pcs to pk specifically because they notice that it is a new pc.

Poorly played half-elves.

Poorly played dwarves.

The damned change of "break" to "cease" when using psionics. EVERY time I type "break" the first time.

Heh I have given up with the half-elf because I can't seem to get there mentality. So that's one less bad played half-elf. My dwarves are pretty good though.

[Cenghiz]

Err.. I hate it when my character makes mistakes he/she shouldn't just because I did.. Bonking your head many times does not correct what you did with OOC misconsideration.
I hate it when my char's being fooled and ICly I should ignore and keep on. One of your chars get killed by a krathi. The next one accidentally meets the same krathi and acts like that dwarf's simply a usual hunter till everything immolates within a moment. Waiting for the time of possible death, thinking -OMG OMG HE'Z STILL ALIVE HE MUST BE 40 DAY OLD HE MUST BE UBER I'M DEAD- while emoting skinning that durrit whistling a tune.... That is for sure not the kind of excitement I love. But I should confess I'm proud with myself, acting like an adult in such situations.
Not being able to log out... The templar summons you for a service, then the other templar who you secretly work for frowns watching you in the tavern, into which you came to log out. Then the reenegade mage asks you in your mind when you'll manage to sacrifice that soldier his group wants dead. Three nobles psi one after another asking questions as the guilder silently nods at you, gesturing to his bag. And you try to keep your eyes open. (Last time my uber super duper magicker died just because I was too sleepy in a mission and I HATED it.)
Uh, I also hate good players' bosses, wives, husbands... their real life. I usually end up playing real fine plots with nobles. I love them, I just hate being forced to wander around aimlessly for three hours just to wait for them log in and have some decent RP. I'm planning to start some funds to pay the good RPers' bills, so they'll spend their time only and only ARMing.
Err.. I guess this is enough.

[Gaare]

I hate this =>>>>>  :wink:

Look at it.. Why would you use it instead of using a normal smiley.. or... this  :twisted: ...

What is the meaning of "wink?" What do you suggest? Do you like me? Do you like everyone.. Do you find someone attractive. Do you assume I know something that you did not refer openly? I hate responsibilities.. I hate finding myself reading and searching something secret in messagges with " :wink: ." Don't use it.. please do not use it..

What kind of emotion that may refer.. It is not a normal smiley at all.. its one eyebrow is missing. It is a mutant in smileys.. Would you like a smiley without a eyebrow if you would a be emoticon?..  

I even hate to see that, winking at me while I am writing posts.

PS. I apologize, that's that suitable in general discussion.. but seriously.. I think that emoticon should be removed from GDB.

[Delirium]

It means they're joking, being ironic, or otherwise tongue-in-cheek.

[LoD]

My pet peeves, in no particular order:

1. When players don't capitalize or punctuate their sentences.  I don't mind if you talk with an accent that looks more like ASCII than english, but at least use capitalization and punctuation.

2. When I am about to emote or use a tell that targets someone specific who just happens to leave the room right before I hit return and I have to type it again.  Even more annoying is when I then mispell the next emote or tell and am forced to go on to a third try.

3. People who use OOC in a way that distracts from the environment for a reason that really doesn't warrant it. (i.e. correcting your spelling, gone messages in a crowded tavern with a tag line like, "to fix some dinner".)

4. Harsh replies from players on the GDB when newbies have questions, as if they skipped the "backstab rat" phase.

5. Players that either give you names that aren't keywords or unoriginal names that are in their sdesc (i.e. the gold-eyed man tells you his name is gold.  How cunning!)

6. Players that are in authority or leadership positions that can't seem to manage 20 straight minutes of uninterrupted play.  They either go afk, just sit there as if they're in another window, etc...

7. Characters that just seem to "figure out" relatively obscure IC knowledge that was almost certainly gained by a previous character without going through the steps of learning about it ICly.  Some people build it into their background as a rationale (i.e. I grew up in the grasslands, so I just happen to know the location of every berry bush, plant, rock, tree, hideout and den.)

8. Smart HG's, (most) escaped muls, desert elf magickers.

9. Characters that want so badly not to give away their class that they answer questions like "What sort of work do you do?" with answers like, "Oh, you know - this and that." or "Just some odd jobs." but won't explain what any of the odd jobs were.  This also applies to characters that don't seem to have put any rational thought behind how (and particularly where and from whom) they learned the skills they do possess.

10. People who say they've become bored with Arm because they've played every role possible and/or know everything about the game and it's no longer fun.  This is pretty much impossible, because there are an infinite amount of character concepts you can produce and a multitude of levels upon which they can play.  It also points toward you having a rather frequent and extensive OOC source of information, because I've played this game since it started and am likely to have seen less than half of the people, places and things this game has to hold.

-LoD

[Gaare]

Oh.. If you do not like a clan, please leave it, retire your PC or much better make suggestions to your IMM, your leaders and your clanmates by using clan GDBs.

[Anonymous]

I used to have a lot of pet peeves.  Now that I'm starting to settle down, or something, I think my biggest pet peeve are people who have a lot of pet peeves.

[EvilRoeSlade]

8. Smart HG's, (most)

You're absolutely right, since half-giants really ought to talk in third person and then get themselves killed after four hours of play.

[LoD]

LoD wrote:
8. Smart HG's, (most)


You're absolutely right, since half-giants really ought to talk in third person and then get themselves killed after four hours of play.

Now, ERS, I'm going to avoid the flame bait and just assume that you had a bad day today and that's why you decided to post this.

Rather than derail this thread into a "dead horse" discussion about quality HG RP or their capacity for complex problem solving, I'll clarify my point by stating I don't like HG's that demonstrate an effortless ability to communicate, make decisions, interact with the different races and manage themselves in any way, shape or form that resembles the mental capacity of a human, elf, dwarf or half-elf.  That would be a "smart HG."  

I don't like it because HG's are granted powerful advantages that could easily be abused should someone decide to ignore the disadvantages that should go hand-in-hand with playing the race: infamous stupidity, curiosity, usual kindness and a willingess to adopt the customs of others, which could include completely changing loyalties because someone they hold as a close friend influences them.

-LoD

[EvilRoeSlade]

I made the post because most half-giants I see don't seem to be doing too bad and are definitely role-playing as poorly as the average desert elf magicker, not because I wanted you to flame me.  Sarcasm remains a good way to make one's point.

Escaped muls, I'm not even going to touch, but remember that it says in the documentation that the desire for freedom is common in muls.

[Xygax]

If there is documentation which suggests that captive muls commonly desire freedom, please direct me to it, as I suspect that it needs correction.  Other than pure labor-slaves (which muls are only -rarely- used as, NPC evidence in some cities to the contrary), most slaves are relatively content in their lives and in fact enjoy a better lot than the average commoner.

-- X

[Naiona]

It is certainly possible to play a half-giant too intelligently just as it is possible to play one much too far to the idiotic side.  The half-giant is a difficult role to play and one that is rarely done particuarly well.  It seems the players nearly always take it too far to one extreme or the other. (Not to say there haven't been some very well done half-giants, there have been.)

As to muls, the docs have been rewritten and will be posted sometime in the next month or two as soon as I have a moment.   While muls are very unpredictable, emotional and dangerous,  they are bred and raised to slavery without the possibility of freedom. It is a concept that wouldn't even occur to most of them, and to most of those few who it would occur to, it would be frightening.

[EvilRoeSlade]

I'm referring to this page here

Are Escaped Muls Appropriate Character Themes?

Yes! But like all things, you have to approach it realistically. Despite public perception, muls do have strong desires of their own, which will be discussed a bit later. But suffice to say that the desire to escape the bonds of slavery is a fairly common one for a mul.

But in all honesty, why would you want to change that documention?  It's been there longer than either of you have been on staff and gotten the idea that no slave should ever desire to be free, doesn't really contradict your point Xygax (muls are not most slaves), and most importantly, an escaped mul is really the only playable role that the mul race has for it.

[Ktavialt]

It's been there longer than either of you have been on staff and gotten the idea that no slave should ever desire to be free, doesn't really contradict your point Xygax (muls are not most slaves), and most importantly, an escaped mul is really the only playable role that the mul race has for it.

That first thing didn't really need to be said. I don't think it makes any
difference when the persons on staff became on staff, unless you're trying
to figure out what the person who wrote the original document meant,
which isn't what I think is going on here. It looks more like current muls
are being played more as buff, independent warriors, rather than having
the traits that they should have.

What the potential change that Naiona spoke about regarding muls doesn't
mean they cannot be free muls, it just means that something made a mul
overcome that frightening prospect of becoming free, something pushed it
far enough such as mistreatment of the slave or its friends or other things,
and it decided to break away (or perhaps was forced, somehow). Also, it
tends to suggest that a mul that is free will probably in some form seek
another master. Also, it redefines the born-as-a-slave-and-meant-to-be
attitude and how its different from current Earth-style views on slavery.

- Ktavialt (my two cents)

[Naiona]

All Armageddon documentation is subject to update as the game evolves and changes.  In nearly every case, the updated documentation creates greater depth and opportunity for rich background in a particular subject area.  In the case of the new slave and mul documentation, the suggestions of several players have been incorporated, as well.

Rather then justify my reasoning for performing what is a fundamental part of my 'job' as an IMM, I will allow the updated documentation speak for itself upon completion.

As always, we are not looking to stifle roleplay with documentation, but to provide some basic guidelines and potential motivations while creating a consistent and enjoyable environment.  Ktavialt summarized very nicely what should be a large part of the mullish personality.  Other issues which are not dealt with in the current documentation but will be in the new documentation involve the techniques used to raise and control a mul, the particuarly dangerous and volitaile nature of a mul and an in-depth examination of the concept of a bond-mate.

[LoD]

But in all honesty, why would you want to change that documention?  It's been there longer than either of you have been on staff and gotten the idea that no slave should ever desire to be free, doesn't really contradict your point Xygax (muls are not most slaves), and most importantly, an escaped mul is really the only playable role that the mul race has for it.

First of all, neither Xygax nor Naiona made mention that "no slave should ever desire to be free" as you misrepresent again in your post.  Both of them do suggest that most mul slaves wouldn't even consider freedom as an option when weighed against the things keeping them in place.

Also, your assertion that "an escaped mul is really the only playable role that the mul race has for it." is simply incorrect.  The two very best muls that I've ever seen have both been slave PC's, as they should be.  The problem is that most players don't seem to have the patience, understanding and willingness to accept a mul's extreme physical advantages with the full weight its disadvantages.  They often choose the "easy" road in the form of an escaped slave, which is supposed to be the extreme exception to the rule and not the common vehicle through which they are played out.  It is certainly not the only viable role for a PC, and usually results in the degeneration of the mul's specific racial RP and a slow slide toward becoming more what the creator likely desired in the first place, a devastating monster roaming the sands with hardly any drawbacks.

There is certainly a need for some change to this dated documentation that allows it to fit more appropriately into what the game has become.  To even claim that there should be some kind of proportional correlation between how long an Imm has played vs. their right to alter/update the documentation implies that you believe time is the only factor that carries with it weight, experience or understanding.

If that's the case, I've played as long or longer than anyone in the game and (not that it matters, because they're the Imms) I agree with everything they've said.  Does that now make it valid?  Should it?  I would  like to think that the Imm Staff rarely does things rashly or without a great amount of forethought when it comes to changes in the game documentation.  

-LoD