Role Playing Dictionary |

Contents of this page...

Affiliating and Advertising
Choosing a password...
The key to a good layout...
Getting the text right...
Creating a good character
The role-playing person

Affiliating and Advertising

There's a difference between advertising, affiliating and listing.

Advertising - This is an advert. When it's on a boards2go board, or a forum, then chances are someone might delete it. And not many people want to scroll through adverts. But those sites that do post their advert back on your board are good, because it means you've got their attention enough and they've had to navigate around your site a bit.

Affiliating - This is like adopting a sibling. A nice sibling. (I realise there may be no such thing as a nice sibling, but for those who are doubtful, this does work). Some people only advertise their own sites or sites they roleplay at through affiliate buttons. Affiliates could be a grouping of sites that all have something in common - all Harry Potter sites, for instance - or they could just be random sites, or the owners could all know each other really well.

Listing - This involves listing on a site like this one. Some people like to have a listing site in their Favourites, and it is like a permanent advert. As they are categorized they are often easy to navigate through and this doesn't put people off as much as if they were browsing through adverts on boards2go.

Choosing a Password...

At some point or other, you're going to have to use a password. So, here are some tips for choosing and keeping one:

- Never give it out to anybody, even someone you know. Even your friends and family may not like you as much as you think.

- Choose a middle name as a password. Most people hdie their middle names out of embarrassment. Unfortunately, some middle names are quite common. This is why adding numbers is good.

- Add numbers on the end - such as 999, or 101.

- Write it down and keep it somewhere where you'll remember, or safe. In an email inbox is fine as long as nobody else knows the password for that. Keep it away from people.

The key to a good layout...

The key to a good layout lies with many things. Mostly, it's your own imagination, creativity and accuracy skills. Here are things which you'll need to think carefully about while making a layout:

Is it Simple? - People want something they can easily navigate around. Too complicated and they'll leave it.
Is it Attractive? - Everybody likes something nice to look at. Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro (and programs like them) are the ideals for making good pictures/borders/backgrounds.
Can I Read It? - I have been on a few sites where the writing is so small, it's impossible to read. Make sure people can read it, otherwise they won't bother with your site.

That's a rough idea on it. Text also matters, because if it's boring people will give up in the first paragraph. Make sure your grammar is correct. If you don't have a good picture making device, then ask someone else to make one for you at a studio, or ask several people to do one so that you can get a better idea. Also, have your own ideas very clear, and if you don't like it, don't be afraid to say no or change it.

Getting the Text Right...

Getting the text right is very important. Too boring, and nobody'll be interested. Too small? No-one can read it. So here are a few tips:

Spellcheck - Run it through spellcheck. If it isn't on your computer, plenty of websites have a spellcheck on them, and some RPGs provide one for you. Grammar and easy reading is essential. Don't be afraid to use a dictionary or thesaurus, but again, nothing too complicated.
Be Relaxed - Don't rush through it and find you've not put yourself across clearly. You want people to know what you're saying and not be confused. Long words can also be confusing for those who don't have a long vocabulary. Make it a relaxed read, and simple. Doing it this way also means that you have more time to re-think what you want to do and be more sure of the facts and details.
Attention - You need to have this for people to want to be on your site. You want your site to sound individual, amazing, original and unique. This is what makes people join it. The web isn't a good one for this. You need to use your own imagination. If there's something you're not happy with, then look at it again. Don't be afraid to alter or totally get rid of the offending item.
Color & Size - This is very important. Don't blind your readers with a vivid colour, or make them squint if it's too dark. Neutral and pale colours are best. Avoid bright backgrounds for your text. Size is important - you don't want people to be offended because it's 7 foot high. If it's too small, then they won't be able to read it.

Creating a Character

Creating a good character is one of the most important parts of roleplaying. Here are some basic rules to get you started:

Never, ever, EVER just roleplay yourself all the time. It's good if you take some of your own feelings or morals and put them into a character, but that can also make roleplaying boring and easy, and not just for other people. Try challenging yourself and throwing some odd changes in there.
Unless stated, not every character is gonig to be ultra-beautiful. Also, what your character is wearing cannot be so important that the other roleplayers need to hear about it all the time. Sure, they might have a holster for a weapon, or a pouch they keep magic runes in, but describing every aspect of your character's dress is just in bad taste.
Don't make them a Mary Sue. Not everyone can be angelically good. Even if they are that good, at least give them a drawback; such as they're so ugly nobody ever wants to touch them. Nobody's perfect and everyone has issues.
Your characters don't have to have a disability to get themselves noticed. Sure, it can add to the dimensions of your character. But it might also be insulting to anyone else roleplaying who really does have a disability, and it can also make your characters sound pretentious. If that's what your character is supposed to be, all's cool, but apart from that it's better to leave it alone.
Everybody has a traumatic experience in their lives, or something major that stands out for them in a negative light. That doesn't mean they have to refer back to it all the time - they can gt on with everyday life sometimes.
Don't make your character say the same things all the time. Yes, you have to introduce yourself, but you can do that in new ways to each new person your charrie meets.
If you say on your joining form that your character has a certain personality trait, try not to change it, especially if your character is involved in a plot.

The role-playing person

Role-playing is usually done through the third person. This is because most people started off role-playing like this and it is hard to use different tenses when two people are role-playing together. It also seems to work better in battles, as it gives each character more time to react; if one character is being role-played in the first or second person and the other in third, the character in the third person will immediately be at a disadvantage and there are more openings for confusion to arise between members. However, most sites allow their members to role-play across all the tenses. If you are going to role-play in the first or second person, you must be especially careful you do not god-mode or suchlike.

To Godmode: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godmoding

To God-mode passively or actively is rude and inconsiderate. The other members on the site have come to enjoy a community and an experience that involves an input from at least one other person. If there are two people, the total input of their series of posts/replies should be 50/50, unless one of them happens to fall unconscious or something similar.