List of approved nouns.

[Onasaki]

Now, this may just sound like a rant from some "newb" who isn't ever on the game nor on the forums. But I'm sort of disappointed that a MUD like this would have an approved list of FREAKING NOUNS for short descriptions. I recently sent in an application, and it was rejected because I used "boy" instead of one of the other "okay'd" nouns. This list, sounds to me like it's utter bullshit. Why? Because no where, have I EVER played was there a list of FREAKING APPROVED NOUNS.

I read the list, a couple of things that are there, are agreeable, but the majority of them are sort of insane. I mean, child, boy, girl, lady, kid, waif, maid, fellow and gent are all on there? But for what reason? Because the immortals got tired of seeing them so much? You all know that's bull. It's like rejecting an application because you used "green" instead of "viridian" for your eye color or something(no this hasn't happened to me, just using it as an example of the type of thing this is).

Now you people, you tell me. Why are all these nouns "rejected" hmm? It's kind of stupid, and in a way discriminating. And you can call me crazy all you want, but this is just insane. The way my application was rejected, was, in a way, like I typed "the giant fire-breathing tarantula" as my short description. Rejected for a MISUSE OF NOUN. C'mon now. Even when looking through information and such there is no say of a list of approved nouns for the interductory area. It's like they just randomly made it up over night, slapped a fake date on it and said "This is here. You cannot use this words for obscure reasoning."

I want to know. I want to know WHY this words are "barred" why they're not "Allowed" Lad and Boy are synonyms.  Girl and Lass. Maid and Maiden ARE THE SAME WORD in this example. Sure there's different ways to use "maid" but in a description is obvious to know that it's meant to describe the gender of said character.

[Riev]

This is the second time you have come onto these boards, criticizing the game, calling it "stupid" and giving us ways in which you would "fix it". I'm all for trolling when Yam does it for sex and power, but this is getting ridiculous.

If you are using a rejected noun, it is because there are certain things we want to avoid. Sdescs cannot be changed but maybe -once- in a career, so nouns that describe age are often tossed out.

Please, if you have any respect for this game, try and word your posts to not be so inflammatory. We're all more than happy to explain things in a calm manner (usually) so long as someone isn't telling us how much Armageddon is "stupid" in their opinion.

[Gimfalisette]

Why are all these nouns "rejected" hmm?

For the most part, those nouns are on the list for one of two reasons:

-- They don't fit the environment of Zalanthas.
-- They are not appropriately objective.

[Cutthroat]

Okay...

Why are all these nouns "rejected" hmm?

Some of the nouns (boy, girl) suggest an age that is below the minimum (you are a boy or girl if you are under thirteen as a human, apparently).

Some (crone, waif) suggest some other kind of status that is either objective, or not readily available from looking at them.

The list is not utter bullshit. There is a reason for it.

[fourTwenty]

Look on the bright side, at least you got turned down for a reason that's in the docs. I had my mdesc changed because I used the phrase "You see a". I was told not to use "You" when it's even in the frickin' example. Go figure.

As far as the list of approved nouns I was under the impression that they where more guidelines than steadfast rules.

Was your PC a human?
A male?
Less than 10?

If you answer no to any of these questions then you shouldn't have used "boy" anyway. Certain words like "boy" aren't generally allowed because the construe a specific image. Change it to lad, you should be fine.

I'm in favor of the list so that at least we have some guidelines. Guidelines are good.

[Kassindra]

I know this guy from other forums. He's always like this. He comes to games, play it a little and finds everything he think is wrong with it and posts it on forums to get others to agree with him and lash out at the people who spend time making the game what it is now. Even if he could just as easily change the noun to the approved list, he won't. He'll rather come here and start an argument and polls to get others on his side. It's not good for the community here at Armageddon. Everywhere has their own rules and guidelines to follow, if you don't agree then you don't. But to call the game stupid is just rude.

[Onasaki]

I don't care. Call me insane. Insult me all you want. I've seen 13 year olds called boys.

[staggerlee]

I can't play the MUD and probably will never be able to get into the MUD until there's color throughout it. Such plain grey words disillusion my desire to play the MUD.

Once there is color, the name "Onasaki" will probably be known more on this forum...However, it might just be known for complaints, gripes, or whining. Why? Because I've noticed things I didn't like within the MUD, and have the tendency to ask for major changes. But don't worry, the only thing I care about right now for this MUD is color.

Onasaki lied to us!!!

Seriously though, the list is important and operates informally if not formally on all RPI muds.  Nobody will allow you to use any words you want your desc, and this MUD is more lenient than many I've played.

Too lenient I'd say, there are a few more words I'd very much like to see added to the black list.  A forum search should answer all your questions Ona, like this:

http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,21616.0.html

[fourTwenty]

I don't care. Call me insane. Insult me all you want. I've seen 13 year olds called boys.

I can call you a goat. Does that make you a goat?

[Delstro]

Considering:
A Boy is a male child from birth to puberty.
Puberty hits, on average, at 11 and a half to twelve years old.
The youngest you can go in Arm is 13.


They are all on there for a reason.

[Onasaki]

And I respect the reasoning for most of the words. But the ones I've listed don't make any sense.

[Marauder Moe]

All player characters in Armageddon are, by Zalanthan cultural standards at least, adults.  There used to be a very clear pattern of younger characters with the word "boy" or "girl" in their sdesc behaving immaturely in a fashion not in line with the game setting.  Believe it or not, when "boy" and "girl" stopped being allowable sdesc nouns, the number of inappropriately immature characters went down.

[fourTwenty]

And I respect the reasoning for most of the words. But the ones I've listed don't make any sense.

Please elaborate. Why don't they make sense?

[Cutthroat]

Waif:

  1.
        1. A homeless person, especially a forsaken or orphaned child.
        2. An abandoned young animal.
  2. Something found and unclaimed, as an object cast up by the sea.

Maid:

  1.
        1. An unmarried girl or woman.
        2. A virgin.
  2. A woman servant.
  3. A housemaid or chambermaid.

Gent:

n. Informal.

A gentleman.

Those words, and many others, are not objective enough for use as sdescs. Assuming they were naked (no uniforms) you can't tell someone is a virgin, a servant or a nice guy just by looking at them.

[Marauder Moe]

I mean, child, boy, girl, lady, kid, waif, maid, fellow and gent are all on there?

As for some other words, "lady" has a very specific meaning in Armageddon: a noble woman.
"Kid" is modern day slang.
"Waif" has connotations of being homeless and/or orphaned.
"Maid" is a profession.
"Fellow" is a vernacular term implying some sort of familiarity.
"Gent" is slang, a shortened version of "gentleman".

[musashi]

I wouldn't sweat the noun list too much, English is a big language, there are plenty of other options out there for you if one word is black-listed.

Sometimes it seems like app's get rejected for little nit picky reasons that make you feel like staff is picking on you, but eh ... they're actually usually just trying to be helpful.

For instance, I've had an app rejected because I put in my pc's mdesc that he had little jade and onyx beads woven into his hair.

No real problem there, except that I also said he was from Tuluk, so a staff remember rejected the app with a little note that said something like: Just a thought, but green and black are Allanak colors.

Opps ...

I doubt the staff member was trying to be mean to me, just trying to point out something that might come off as strange or out of line with the image of the game. Same with some words like boy and waif. They convey meanings that the game is trying to get away from. ::shrugs:: Not a huge deal really.

[Marauder Moe]

Also, the actual list of approved/disapproved nouns: http://www.armageddon.org/general/words.html

It can be found by going to the main Armageddon Page -> Introductory Information -> Creating a Character -> Creating a Short Description.

[Onasaki]

*sigh*

You've all made valid points. I'm just insane, crazy, and a heretic. Just burn me and get it over with. Well, technicly, I've been "burned" throughout this entire thread, as kids say nowadays. Anyway, I'm done. I apologize for whatever insults and offense I've given to the MUD as a whole, and will -resend my app and just live with it. I just didn't understand why such words have been barred, and you've all given me reasons behind it.

I apologize again.

[Qzzrbl]

Pretty much the only list that's important is the unapproved nouns list.

Just about anything that's not on that list can pretty much be used.

[Gimfalisette]

*sigh*

You've all made valid points. I'm just insane, crazy, and a heretic. Just burn me and get it over with. Well, technicly, I've been "burned" throughout this entire thread, as kids say nowadays. Anyway, I'm done. I apologize for whatever insults and offense I've given to the MUD as a whole, and will -resend my app and just live with it. I just didn't understand why such words have been barred, and you've all given me reasons behind it.

I apologize again.

I'd suggest cultivating some patience and benefit-of-the-doubt, in order to maximize your enjoyment of ARM.

[fourTwenty]

You've all made valid points. I'm just insane, crazy, and a heretic. Just burn me and get it over with. Well, technicly, I've been "burned" throughout this entire thread, as kids say nowadays. Anyway, I'm done. I apologize for whatever insults and offense I've given to the MUD as a whole, and will -resend my app and just live with it. I just didn't understand why such words have been barred, and you've all given me reasons behind it. I was hoping for at least ONE person to see my side of this, andThank you for explaining this to me in a calm way rather then what appears to be defense for the MUD and returning disrespect.

Maybe I Definitely should've been a little nicer in the first post. Might've gotten less people seeming mad, and I apologize for that.

Fix'd, to promote your future enjoyment of our kickass game and infuriating (But for somereason loveable) playerbase.

[AmandaGreathouse]

I don't care. Call me insane. Insult me all you want. I've seen 13 year olds called boys.

I'm all for manchild in this instance. Better that than boy. 

[Shalooonsh]

Now, this may just sound like a rant from some "newb" who isn't ever on the game nor on the forums. But I'm sort of disappointed that a MUD like this would have an approved list of FREAKING NOUNS for short descriptions. I recently sent in an application, and it was rejected because I used "boy" instead of one of the other "okay'd" nouns. This list, sounds to me like it's utter bullshit. Why? Because no where, have I EVER played was there a list of FREAKING APPROVED NOUNS.

I read the list, a couple of things that are there, are agreeable, but the majority of them are sort of insane. I mean, child, boy, girl, lady, kid, waif, maid, fellow and gent are all on there? But for what reason? Because the immortals got tired of seeing them so much? You all know that's bull. It's like rejecting an application because you used "green" instead of "viridian" for your eye color or something(no this hasn't happened to me, just using it as an example of the type of thing this is).

Now you people, you tell me. Why are all these nouns "rejected" hmm? It's kind of stupid, and in a way discriminating. And you can call me crazy all you want, but this is just insane. The way my application was rejected, was, in a way, like I typed "the giant fire-breathing tarantula" as my short description. Rejected for a MISUSE OF NOUN. C'mon now. Even when looking through information and such there is no say of a list of approved nouns for the interductory area. It's like they just randomly made it up over night, slapped a fake date on it and said "This is here. You cannot use this words for obscure reasoning."

I want to know. I want to know WHY this words are "barred" why they're not "Allowed" Lad and Boy are synonyms.  Girl and Lass. Maid and Maiden ARE THE SAME WORD in this example. Sure there's different ways to use "maid" but in a description is obvious to know that it's meant to describe the gender of said character.

Hi there!  It's good to see a new player so interested in the way the game works, and I'm glad you have such a wealth of input.  As with all things, new ideas are essential for growth, yet some traditions must stand for there to be a solid foundation and a cultural background.

That being said, the reason that this rule is in place is because we say so.

Boy and girl are very subjective.  You can be a man at 8 years old if your father has perished, your mother is ailing, and you are working 18 hours a day to support the medical needs of your mother and two infantile sisters.  Alternatively, you can be a boy at 21 if you still hang out in your grandmother's basement, work 8 hours a week at 7-11, and have find amusement in ruffling feathers.  These are the primary reasons we don't allow 'boy' or 'girl' in an sdesc.

There is also the fact that any 'boy' or 'girl' who survives more than a year or so in game is invariably going to want an sdesc shift up to 'teen' or 'young woman' or 'lass' or 'humanoid' or whathaveyou, thereby increasing the staff workload.  We have plenty of clans and players to focus on, and a lot to do.  Adding to our workload is not going to make things run any smoother than they already are, and since such a change as this does require a HighLord or OverLord to perform, the requests would invariably sit in queue for a few weeks to a couple months.  Staff of that rank have hundreds of other things to focus on other than tweaking a PC because they wanted to spend 2 IC years as 'boy' in order to try to panhandle more 'sid and gear due to pity.

Your argumentative stance is not to be admired.  In fact, it's not even an arguement, it is just a rant, thereby invalidating the very first sentence you typed.  Your post does not sound like a rant, it is a rant, and is not productive in any form other than to garner responses and raise ire.  If you have some sort of structured conversation you would like to have, please email us, but do not troll our boards.

That, kind sir, is bullshit.

[Shalooonsh]

*sigh*

You've all made valid points. I'm just insane, crazy, and a heretic. Just burn me and get it over with. Well, technicly, I've been "burned" throughout this entire thread, as kids say nowadays. Anyway, I'm done. I apologize for whatever insults and offense I've given to the MUD as a whole, and will -resend my app and just live with it. I just didn't understand why such words have been barred, and you've all given me reasons behind it.

I apologize again.

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this.  I do hope you enjoy your future PC, and I think you will find the staff of the game is a bit more understanding of the predicaments of new players than others I could name.

Again, if you feel you have a point you would like to make to the staff, do feel free to email us.  There was no sarcasm in that statement, and (I believe) many of the current players will agree that we will (as staff) address the point you make and try to clear up any confusion over any of the rulings we've made.

Warning:  Some of us may employ run-on sentences from time to time.

[Is Friday]

You'd think you were Pinocchio, wanting to be a boy so bad. (Who cares?)