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OK, someone might as well start this as an independent topic. Due to time constraints, I'm not posting anything here right now, though I will be editing this post regularly. For now, does anyone have any hints/tips they'd like to give out to people who are new to roleplaying? All hints and tips will be added to this post with proper credit.

Well, someone else got the basics out for me already, though I will probably add on (partly because I'm more than a bit fussy about RPing).


OK, I'm going to start expanding on the above quote:
1.) Spell check: The vast majority of computers (aka, every computer I've ever seen, and certainly every computer that has Windows) has a program with a built in spell-check. The easiest thing to do is to type up post in said program, and then copy and paste your properly spelled write-up into an actual reply. Note that some words will not be in the dictionary, such as Shinigami, Hadoku, Kidou, and Zanpaku-to. When using such words, you have at least three options (and possibly more that I don't know of). First, just ignore the red lines. Second, right-click the word and choose Ignore All (this may actually require you to highlight the word and use the menus at the top of the screen to run spellcheck). Third, right-click the word and choose add to dictionary. Only add words to the dictionary if you're certain you're not likely to accidentally mispell another word so it looks like that.
2.) Watch your Grammar: OK, I'm going to have to disagree, but I'm a**l with RPing. Grammar damn well better be perfect, or awfully close to it. Proper grammars utilizes commas, capitalization, and periods. It does not commonly use exclamation points, and certainly not more than one at a shot.
3.) Capitalization: While this falls under grammar, it probably should be mentioned separately. Words at the beginning of a sentence (aka, right after a period) get capitalized. It's not hard to do. Just hit the Shift key at the same time as whatever letter you're inputting. Names also get capitalized, ALWAYS. Another problem I've seen with capitalization is overuse of it. Entire sentences do not get capitalized. One word completely capitalized for emphasis is fine every now and then, but never ever capitalize an entire sentence.
4.) No abbreviations: Yes, 'cuz' counts as an abbreviation, unless used in speech, in which case it does have a distinct pronunciation. 'Cuz' should not appear unless within quotes because your character is saying it. Aside from that, abbreviations are fairly easy to understand. Just don't use them.
5.) Be descriptive: OK, in a nutshell, here it is - TYPING ONE-LINERS IS NOT RPing. It's annoying. And one-liners don't necessarily mean bad grammar. Here's an example using good grammar for both the bad and the good:
BAD: Aravilar opened the door and stepped into the room to investigate the noise.
GOOD: Aravilar stood outside the door for a second, wondering exactly what he'd find inside. The noise he'd just heard from inside had him more than a little cautious. One hand slid inside his coat, reaching across his chest for the Reuger he kept in a shoulder holster, though he didn't draw just yet. His other hand gripped the doorknob, and turned slowly. As he turned the knob, he put his shoulder against the door. He took in a breath and counted to three in his head. On three, he burst through the door. As he stepped through, he burst into laughter and his hand fell away from his gun. He'd entirely forgotten today was his birthday. The noise had merely been his friend Lee tripping over an end table.

Of course, we must throw in the must-do's. As in:
-Check spelling
-Watch your grammar (Doesn't have to be perfect... but come on. Everyone who's Role Playing should know where a period goes.)
-Capitalization. (I can't stress this enough. It's very easy to get lost in a post without capitalization.)
-No abbreviations. Take time to spell out your words.
-Be descriptive. It makes things interesting.

So in other words:
NO:
-joe ran up to billy "omg! i can't beliveey ou just did that"
YES:
-Joe had to run to catch up with Billy. When he did, he was out of breath. He clasped Billy by the shoulder to get him to stop. "What the Hell was that about? I cannot believe you just did that!"

Try to make posts more than one or two lines if at all possible!

Don't use punctuation in excess...like..."blahblahblah??????" "blahblah!!!!!"

And here's another helpful little picture to help tell you why we don't use "]337" or bianary code for that matter.

If only that would happen every time someone writes in 1337 3nodding mrgreen !

I probably should've responded to this earlier, but it managed to slip my mind. I'm not putting this in the original post because, quite simply, it's wrong. Well, the part about placing the dialogue is anyway, and the rest falls under using detail. Dialogue does not have a specific place within a post. While your personal preference may be to have it before all the action, dialogue is usually better off dispersed throughout a post, unless someone's going into an anime-style long monologue before attacking. Although I must point out that your example of "HERE I COME DIRTBAG!!!!" is something you don't do all by itself. It has three problems: Excessive use of capitalization (which I will soon be adding to the first post), excessive use of punctuation, and poor grammar. If you wanted to put that in the post, it belongs like this: "Here I come, dirtbag!"

I actually considered making a shirt saying "If you can read this, you are true 1337" in binary code- just to see who actually is geek enough to understand. pirate

"1337", read "Leet", is short for 'Elite' and is a language consisting primarily of symbols and numbers used on the internet. It is impossible to speak it; that only happens in comics. Also, it is used much too often by newbies trying to look cool. Literacy is actually better than 1337. Oh, and PROPER 1337, if such a thing exists, is something like this:

1 @// +|-|3 50|_||_ R3@P3R.

(I am the soul reaper)

It can be understood by what the symbols look like. @, for example, is "a".

Does that help?



Edit: The reverse slashes have not shown up. ^^ Just... imagine them there where the 'M' is.