What Not To Say.

[darkstorme]

Stephen_Zuckerman - 2/8/2007  4:12 PM
 ...my stance on the term "-k" is solid. Not only is it just... Ick, to use it IC, it's also somewhat anachronistic. As I understand it, the use of "k" at the end of a number representing that many thousands is a moderately recent thing... Past hundred years or so.

Absolutely correct.  In fact, just the last fifty or so years.  The use of k as a spoken abbreviation for "thousand" dates from after the resolutions that shaped SI (Systeme Internationale) as an international standard of weights and measures.  These resolutions took place in 1961.  Even in writing, K first appeared in economics after SI was adopted by most sensible countries.  (Just kidding, all you Stateside people.  We love you anyway, even if feet, ounces, quarts and miles don't make any sense at all.)

With regard to spelling/punctuation... as Stephen so eloquently put it, there's a difference between someone trying but failing (due to language barriers, aphasia, dyslexia, or age) and someone who isn't trying.  The former group should be applauded, and helped along subtly if possible; I've seen a number of characters whose "speech' (that is to say, typing and command of english) has improved tremendously over the time they've been in game.  That, in itself, is a spectacular service Layonara provides:  it exposes people unfamiliar with english to simple phrases with visual aids, at conversational speed.  It helps people develop typing and spelling skills.  It helps people with on-the-fly improvisational writing.  And all this is just a side-effect of the fantastic world that Layo is.

The latter group, however, are, perhaps, missing the point.  If you're not trying to be as comprehensible as possible (barring an accent, of course), then you're making roleplay with your character more difficult.  Note, I'm not saying that you have to be a spelling and grammar savant, but you have to be trying.  It's not that much trouble to type out a conversation properly - and the best part is, the more you do, the better you get, as in the above paragraph.

Likewise, as Carillon said, with accents/early modern english/planescant, the problem is certainly not in the doing, but in the consistency.  If you're going to adopt a speech pattern, stick with it.  Otherwise, it breaks immersion.. which, again, does not facilitate the kind of moments talked about here.

On the whole, I'd be inclined to disagree that the quality of roleplay is decreasing on Layo.  I think a few people may have lost their way.. but with threads like these, constructive and thoughtful, I think we'll see the brilliance that Layo's community can bring to the game.

[Filatus]

And let's not forget the people who really think keyboards should come with bigger kleryus ehm.. keys.

[Eight-Bit]

Oh, and for the record, my character Key is kind of intentionally hard to understand. No offense to anyone, it's just how I got into the habit of speaking as her. People she knows understand just fine, and new aquaintances catch on kind of fast. It's not hard, and I feel the entire character would be seen differently if not for her terrible common and heavy accent.

[Pseudonym]

_M_O_B_ - 2/9/2007  8:10 AM

I incorpate my Australian accent into my characters speech to make him seem heaps more country-ish and have really bad common.

Hey! I resent this!!

[LordCove]

Pseudonym - 2/9/2007  2:59 AM

_M_O_B_ - 2/9/2007  8:10 AM

I incorpate my Australian accent into my characters speech to make him seem heaps more country-ish and have really bad common.

Hey! I resent this!!

Ha ha!
I bloody love this!

Sall's obviously a bit english cause it makes him sound so Bloody Hard!


I hold my hand's up to using the "2k" recently however....shoot me....I'm still learning.

[Talan Va'lash]

Now repeat after me:
We are not going to use OOC terms IC
We are not going to get worked up over spelling, pronunciation, or accents
We are going role play in the spirit of the server. Speak of the things the residents of the fantasy world Layonara would know about.
We are going to have fun, and not attempt to dictate what is right or wrong as far as role play styles are concerned. What works for me, may not be suitable for you, and that’s just fine.

I am Talan Va'lash and I support the message in this thread.

----

Re: Ok/Okay
 - I personally prefer "okay" since it looks more "written out" and less like an abbreviation, but since it's too modern a word to be proper for the time period we're emulating regardless, I choose not to nitpick on this one.

Major Pet Peeve:
 - ANYONE using the word "cool" in it's 20th century slang meaning.

[s0ulz]

I agree with you Stephen on pretty much everything. I'll add one of my own though.

A thing that for some reason breaks immersion for me is bad capitalization. A sentence that is written in only lower case somehow seems broken to me, while a correctly capitalized sentence is just oh-so-nice to look at. Must be me though. *shrugs*

I support the ideas in this thread! Fen

[blonde]

Hi, im blonde. And i agree 10k percent with some of the things said in this thread. Ok?

[Timmy0420]

i agree for the most part, except about the numbers and capitalization. you have to realize that its a very fast paced game and in the time it takes a slower typist to type everything out all nice and english teacher friendly, everyone will have moved to the next area and started killing things for valuable xp and loot. dont get me wrong though, some spelling and punctuation really helps understanding tone and what the person is actually trying to say but you cant expect convos to have great grammar. and yes you can pronounce 1 because its a representation of the number one. all written language is symbols that have a meaning assigned to them, so 1 means one, its not some un-pronouncable glyph that people use for math.


@ faldred- pfft. l33t speek iz teh pwnage! ur an uber noob an teh suxxor if u dont agree +P (though it definitely shouldnt be used ic)


@ darkstorme- sensible huh? tell me, is it still -800,000 degrees up there in america junior? or were you too busy being cold, being an english protectorate and eating maple syrup to check your thermometer? hey, our system of weights and measurements may be "illogical" and whatnot but at least its got character!

(im just messing with you guys btw, me no be troll. troll bad)

[ZeroVega]

I'm ZeroVega and I also support this message. (Though I do tend to cut some slack to players who are not from the States or a predominantly English speaking society... still, it's a good habit to get into. Be understanding, but once that's over go ahead and whip their tuchis' into shape and get them typing English well and proper.) I love you guys.

[darkstorme]

Timmy0420 - 3/9/2007 7:43 AM
i agree for the most part, except about the numbers and capitalization. you have to realize that its a very fast paced game and in the time it takes a slower typist to type everything out all nice and english teacher friendly, everyone will have moved to the next area and started killing things for valuable xp and loot.

My recommendation, then, would be to download this (warning, based on House of Dead 2 - no obscenity, but a bit of pixelated gore), go here, or just try typing what you mean to say "all nice and english teacher-friendly". You'll find that your typing speed will improve immensely... and then it won't be a problem to put in whatever punctuation and grammar is required by the situation. *grins*

...but you cant expect convos to have great grammar.

Sure I can!

...and yes you can pronounce 1 because its a representation of the number one. all written language is symbols that have a meaning assigned to them, so 1 means one, its not some un-pronouncable glyph that people use for math.

It's not so much a matter of pronounciation as it is a matter of conversation flow. As a response to "How many arrows do you have left?", "Forty or so," or "Twoscore" reads better than "43", and allows for greater immersion, which was, in fact, the point. If you're required to say something like 46 325, if it's urgent, you needn't write "forty-six thousand, three hundred and twenty five". (Though it does look nice.)

@ darkstorme- sensible huh? tell me, is it still -800,000 degrees up there in america junior? or were you too busy being cold, being an english protectorate and eating maple syrup to check your thermometer? hey, our system of weights and measurements may be "illogical" and whatnot but at least its got character!

*blinks* "It's got character" is a defense of a measurement system? And it's a balmy ten degrees up in Vancouver. *grins*

[darkstorme]

darkstorme - 3/9/2007  7:56 PM
My recommendation, then, would be to download this (warning, based on House of Dead 2 - no obscenity, but a bit of pixelated gore)...

Having re-downloaded it (it's deadware, so the full game is available), I will say that anyone who can beat the Emperor can type just about anything one can imagine as fast as one might need to type it.

(Heck, even the Magician.)

Edit:  LightlyFrosted informs me that he beat the Emperor.  To him, many props.  And a modicum of resentment.  *chuckles*

[Timmy0420]

My recommendation, then, would be to download this (warning, based on House of Dead 2 - no obscenity, but a bit of pixelated gore), go here, or just try typing what you mean to say "all nice and english teacher-friendly". You'll find that your typing speed will improve immensely... and then it won't be a problem to put in whatever punctuation and grammar is required by the situation. *grins*

-i can type relatively fast, just saying-

Sure I can!

-well youll be severely disappointed-

It's not so much a matter of pronounciation as it is a matter of conversation flow. As a response to "How many arrows do you have left?", "Forty or so," or "Twoscore" reads better than "43", and allows for greater immersion, which was, in fact, the point. If you're required to say something like 46 325, if it's urgent, you needn't write "forty-six thousand, three hundred and twenty five". (Though it does look nice.)

-*shrugs* sometimes it actually faster for me to type out the number in word form, i just do whichever is faster-

*blinks* "It's got character" is a defense of a measurement system? And it's a balmy ten degrees up in Vancouver. *grins*

-yes, it got character! like how everyone else calls soccer football but we call it soccer? the US has always been a black sheep in the world and im quite proud of that fact. AMERICA, **** YEAH!

btw- ten degrees will ALWAYS be cold to me -.-

[jrizz]

I am Talan Va'lash and I support the message in this thread.

I am with you on this as well.