Untitled Document

Turn base or Paragraph (para) RP Etiquette.

Often it seems that many new typists are keen to attempt the art form of description role-play and yet have little idea where or how to begin. In truth there is a sense of form to descriptive role-play that should be expounded upon and that is the reason for this missive.

Let us begin with the simple structure of such an adventure in a land where it is not only the description but the interaction with others that makes this opportunity phenomenal.

It is proper that one use a font that is of easily read size (10-14 point) and that will not cause the reader to squint (such as yellow color or tiny font choice) nor will it cause the room to spin (size 16 for example).
One should utilize a way of showing that they are continuing their sentence/post upon the chance they run out of room. A standard for this is <c> and >; which lets the readers know you are still within thought process.
In the event that you have posted more than one paragraph then it is customary to show that you are finished; while there is no standard for this matter <f>, <e>, and <d> are often used (indicating finished, end, done respectively).
Know that it is exceptionally important that you mark the difference in action and speech. Always use the same mark (i.e. the quotation) to indicate speech … such as Lyssia moves through the room with fluid energy and allows her emerald eyes to settle upon Punchingbag_Bob, “Good evening” she coos softly.

Now that the form and structure of how to make a post has been covered let us talk about a few points of etiquette that are often missed in the process of play.

While this list of etiquette is not complete, it is a good place to begin and we will encourage the reading of this missive by all parties involved. Take what you have learned and begin utilizing it fully so that all parties involved may enjoy the energy of interactive description role-play.

~Spamming Posts~	~Interruption Posts~	~Acknowledging other characters~
It is understood that some typists script up a post before making it in a word processor, while this is completely understandable it is hoped that one would pause between each paragraph and not spam the room with five posts in a row. The thought process behind this is two fold 1) no one can read that fast and thus why post things that will scroll in the room and 2) if you took the time to write please give us time to read. A rule of thumb would be to post one paragraph/post and re-read it yourself; chances are you will find ways to improve your post if you read it. Once you have read your post count to three and post the next paragraph. Such actions insure that other typists are given the opportunity to read your work.	Often times it seems that people are most eager to respond to a fabulous post and the typist fails to wait for the conclusion of the posting character. It is expected that when coming to a room you will wait until a typist completes his/her action post before interacting with them. This allows the completion of one thought before another must be taken. Although this is action is a sign of respect, very few follow it. Please attempt to be the example not the rule and wait for the character to be done before you respond to their look back at post 1 of 3.	Often it is most difficult to tell whom you are referring to within a general post, thus it is good manners to leave no room for doubt by placing the character’s name within the post out of character (in bubbles). This is particularly helpful for an involved character and often times will gain the attention of the typist. That being said, do not confuse seeing your character’s name in bubbles with speaking your characters name. For example - Lyssia move to stand at the east end of the bar her eyes falling upon the enchanting form of the dark haired male (Punchingbag_Bob) as a smile curves upon her lips. Such a post would clarify that the dark haired male at the east end of the bar is Bob … in no way did Lyssia say Bob’s name she merely referred to him for clarification.

~How to beef up description~	~Standard size of posts~	~Multiple character interaction~
It is common place to experience a moment of ‘okay what do I say now’ during descriptive role-play … in these cases it is helpful to react to the other posts completely. Comment on what you saw, felt, and did because of their post. If the other character took your hand, how did it felt, what did you do, etc. Often times the best interaction occurs when another typist’s move is validated. Thus to react to their post and then take it a step further gives a sense of tossing back and forth. When you experience this type of interaction you’ll understand the magnitude of such things.	This is an area for great argument, let it be said here and now that we are a place of interactive description thus our standards are different than a place based completely in paragraph writing. Because we value the experience of interacting with other typists we have set standards that are always attempted to be adhered to. The minimum post should be a paragraph, in other words three to five sentences. The maximum post should be five paragraphs, in other words twenty five sentences. Posts should acknowledge others within the room Posts should attempt to engage others within the room, but can be solo if unsuccessful (note of interest, review the guidelines for submission) Play should have an entrance and an exit to be considered complete.	Often paragraph interaction becomes garbled when so many are attempting to interact together in a lengthy description experience. In this case it is proper to move to a turn base interaction, to shorten one’s post to under three paragraphs, and to react to the moment not to past posts (a contradiction to another etiquette manner). In such cases it is completely acceptable for the lead character or the moderator to speak out of character (OOC) within the room to establish the flow. Generally this is done alphabetically by the characters name; however, that can be modified to meet the personal needs of the typists involved. Once the general order is established any joining characters are simply added to the bottom and the action becomes turn based.