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Abbreviations and Definitions

Abbreviation = Full word or phrase - explanation/definition
Example: Abb = Abbreviation - A shortened form of a word or phrase.

RP = roleplay - A story, plot, or setting that is intended to be played out by each participant posting the imagined actions of a character assigned to him or her.
RPing = roleplaying - The act of participating in a roleplay.
RPC = roleplay character - A made-up person used as a character when roleplaying in a roleplay.

IC = in character - This refers to text describing the character's actions, speech or thoughts.
OOC = out of character - This refers to text describing a thought the author wishes to portray that the character can not. This phrase is normally only used to describe non-RPC related text in an otherwise RP-related thread or post.

lit = Literate - While in roleplaying this term has many definitions, most dictionaries use a much more relaxed definition. Literate describes a person that shows competency of being about to read and under stand what is read, and that can write in a way that can be understood by other people that know the language. Literate when referring to a piece of written work is when that work can be read an understood by those that know the language.
Semi-lit = Semi-Literate - In roleplaying this term can have various meanings, but Semi-Literate means that something is not quite literate. A common instance is when something written has some instances where the grammar makes the meaning unclear, or when a person uses incorrect grammar that requires something to be reread to be understood.
Adv. Lit = Advanced Literate - This tends to refer to someone or a work that is not only literate, but far surpasses the minimum requirements.

noob = n00b - Someone that seems incapable of coherent thought. This is internet terminology often used to refer to someone that uses little if any grammar and types in 'text speak' or 'chat speak'. In more general usage, noob is an insult used to denote someone who is view as lesser, either by seniority or intellect.
newb = newbie - A new member or person to an area or website. This person doesn't know much about how things work, but seems capable of learning.
txtspk = Text Speak - Also known as chat speak or ch47 5p34k, it is purposeful lack of letters, and/or purposeful replacement of correct letters with alternate characters or numbers.

Forum - A forum is a place online that holds a selection of discussions or topics, called threads. A forum page normally appears as a list of thread titles, sometimes including a short discussion of each.
Subforum - When at a forum page, above the list of threads, occasionally are one or more links to another forum. Because the other forum in under the current one in hierarchy, it is called a subforum.
Guild - A guild is a user-run forum on Gaia. It is moderated by crew, vice captains, and the captain, all appointed by the captain who is the official owner of the guild. Gaia's moderators don't do much with guilds, it is up to the crew and higher ranked of a guild to keep everything inside it compliant with the Gaia ToS. Guild topics can be for anything compliant with the Gaia ToS, but that doesn't mean it will be active.
Thread - A thread, or topic, is a collection of posts. Threads can be accessed by clicking on a title in a forum, or by using a previously made bookmark.
Post - A post is user-submitted content to a forum thread, usually done through a form of some form.
Poster - The person that submitted the post in question, or a person that has made and submitted a post.
Timestamp - Depending on the the forum, this may be located anywhere around, or just in, the post or poster. What is contained in a timestamp generally contains the month, date, year, hour, minute and A.M or P.M. of when the post it is attached to was submitted. On Gaia, the timezone the time is set in can be varied by adjusting the timezone set for the account in 'Account Settings'. When set properly, all time markers are based on your time.

OP = Original Poster - The first person to post in the thread; the thread creator, not the person that submitted the first reply. Another version of this is TC, for thread creator.
BBCode = Bulletin Board Code - This is a slightly more user-friendly version of some html (hyper-text mark-up language) codes, used to add formatting and personalization to user-submitted content. BBCode is changed to html so that a browser can read it, but the limited functions it can preform protects other users and the website from harm. BBCode uses square brackets instead of the greater/less than signed the html uses.
url = Uniform Resource Locator - The url is usually in a long text field right under the menu and above the webpage on most browsers.
Ex = Example - An example is a sample that is representative of all of the items in a group or a parallel or similar case used as a model.

Grammar and Spelling

While this may seem frivolous, and there are other roleplayers who are using poor versions of these, proper grammar and spelling is able to be comprehended by more people. Simply, small things such as some capitalization of letters and some punctuation can make your posts for enjoyable more universally. The changes don't need to be difficult, and with use can become habit; making even typing school papers easier and faster.

[-] Separate your post into different ideas, or sentences, by making the first letter capitol, and put a period at the stopping point of the thought.

[-] Once you have a set of sentences around one larger idea, switch topic (such as from description to actions, thoughts, or speech), or switch characters, it is best to add a line break. I would suggest no more than five (5) sentences per paragraph, although up to eight ( 8 ) can be common and normal in some roleplays.

[-] Both of the tips above separate one thought from another. To an extent, the more you separate segments of your post, the kinder your are to other roleplayers and anyone else who reads your post. This includes punctuation such as commas and semi-colon. However, more than three blank lines between text is not useful or helpful.

[-] As long as action and thought are clearly separated from speech, how one goes about doing so is inconsequential. However, it is important to consider the methods already used in the roleplay, and the personal preferences for the roleplayers there. If all, or a majority, of the roleplayers are using quotation marks around speech, then doing so is the smartest choice. If the roleplayers are instead using symbols to denote actions, then pick the common one or, if appropriate, pick your favorite. When in doubt, or if it is your preferred method, just use quotation marks around the speech of your characters.

Homonyms, Punctuation, and Capitalization are some of the more common mistakes.

I'm not going to give an in-depth grammar or spelling lesson. Use a word processor (OpenOffice.Org has a free one) for spell check and proofreading, or a browser with built in spell-check. If you want to go over grammar points, try Purdue University's online writing lab. The Purdue lab is a great resource!

Roleplay Characters

[-] It is difficult to pretend to be someone, when you don't know the person; even with a general description of appearance and personality it is almost impossible. A person's actions, thoughts and reactions are based on past experience more than a few personality categories. Those past experiences are what make the person interesting and different. This is why it is important to put at least some thought into the past of your roleplay characters. Once you do, it is also necessary to have the character act according to those experiences and the character's personality, instead of what the player thinks will be funniest.

[-] When you think about the character's past and goals, try not to think too hard about what the character's future will be. If a future is preplanned, it is difficult to get there while remaining true to the character because what other characters do isn't up to you. Allow the roleplay to shape the future, and only think about what happened to the character before joining the roleplay when in the process of creating the character and profile.

[-] Not everything has to be in the profile, unless the roleplay creator requires it. While you might want to write it or type it all out for your own records and recollection, leaving some things out of the profile can make the roleplay more interesting. The roleplayers won't know every detail of all of the characters, and it allows for interesting conversations between characters as a roleplayer stumbles his or her character into a touchy subject of your character's.

[-] Make sure your character, and his or her history, makes sense in regard to the setting of the roleplay. An unwed teenage girl in the middle ages isn't getting a job, or much respect.

[-] Another incongruity comes with names. Make sure a first name is something that is logical for the parents to choose. The last name is not chosen, it is rooted a minimum of 5 generations in the past in most settings.

[-] Characters have more than hair and clothing to describe. Height and weight show if the character is lean and tall or short and wide, but need to also have a mention as to if the weight is from muscle or fat. Skin color and eye shape are also worth describing, but this point is more about the odd details. Is your character's nose flat and shmushed? Or short but pointy? What about big and rounded? There is also lip size, and shape. Only some people have an upper-lip that has a point in the middle. Does your character have black hair? Then wouldn't arm hair appear more prominent than someone with hair that is the same as the person's skin? Do you have a female character with a unibrow that constantly worries if she plucked it into oblivion enough?

[-] Flaws should be in the same range as strengths. Don't give a list of strengths about magic powers, then a flaw about how the character's dancing looks like a seizure. If minor things are too insignificant for the strengths list, then they should too be excluded from the flaws list.

[-] Consider what your character in relation to the other characters is, in age, experience, history, and whatever else. Base your character's abilities and magic power on that relation. The balance should prevent your character from being too much weaker or stronger than the others, and prevent quite a few problems. This way, if everyone else has god-like characters, yours won't have to be compromised to be an even match.

[-] If you want to enter your character into the action, don't just do loud, attention getting things; that gets annoying. Alternatively, try getting your character in the area of a group. Don't magically appear there, have it make sense. If the group is making a lot of noise, consider if your character is the type to go investigate.

[-] Unless it is a major part of your character, don't have it falling in love or wanting to hump anything and everything that moves. Except when a character has a mental problem, it is also strange for a character to be madly infatuated with someone only to suddenly be apathetic towards that person the next moment, or to be infatuated with another the next moment; this is omitting the possibility that the characters targeted by the infatuation aren't using some interesting drugs on the character becoming infatuated.

[-] In summary, know your roleplay character before roleplaying it, but allow for it to grow, develop and change with the roleplay. While roleplaying the character, keep in mind who it is, and have it act accordingly, with consideration to personality changes and new experiences that occur in the roleplay. HAVE IT MAKE SENSE.

Asking and Giving Advice

Requesting Advice

[-] Start your own thread or post in a classroom-type thread. Don't use a thread made by someone else that is asking for advice. That is called thread hijacking, or thread-jacking, and is viewed as rude and self-centered.

[-] Show willingness to improve. Using chat speak, not capitalizing the beginning of a sentence and ending with a punctuation mark appears lazy, especially when asking for advice. Put effort into your request post by separating it using punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphs/line breaks. This added effort will have advice-givers responding to your request more seriously.

[-] Some simple items to include with your request include: why you want advice, a summery of the world your roleplay sample takes place in, and a roleplay sample. A sample is most easily found by using a semi-recent roleplay post you have made, and pasting it into your request.

[-] Check back for replies. Bookmark the thread, or write down the url on a piece of paper; just make sure to return. Once every two days should be the minimum frequency at which to revisit the thread. Daily or more is recommended.

[-] It is a good idea to occasionally update the thread. Post a more recent roleplay sample after using the advice to improve, or post a revised version of the initial sample in response to the suggestions. This not only shows that you are serious about improving, but gives the assistance-givers a chance to see if you understand what you've been told, or what to say to help you further improve.

[-] Be nice to those that reply. Acknowledge all reply posts. Even if you disagree with one or all points of a post, be courteous. If you wish to post your opinion, put forth effort; explain your thoughts and provide examples. Foremost, consider and keep in mind all replies you receive. Whether you use the advice directly, or as a reason to type your thoughts more clearly, all feedback can be used for improvement.

[-] Thank those who try to assist you. Let them know that you appreciate their effort, and the time they spent to help you. “Thank you”, while simple, can mean a lot, and might even encourage more people to post advice. Sometimes helpers are discouraged when recipients are rude, and are then less likely to want to help someone else. Let the people that post in your thread know that you are grateful for the suggestions and glad that they posted.

Giving Advice

[-] Be respectful of the person you are advising or criticizing. Your objective isn't to tell someone that he or she sucks, but how that person can get even better. Behaving nicely will also be less likely to cause anyone to become defensive or offended.

[-] Don't just criticism, make it constructive. Explain what is wrong, and how to fix it. Offer possible solutions, or suggest ways to fix the mistake and not repeat it. It may even help to give pointers on how to spot that kind of error in the future.

[-] Offering compliments is another tool you have to be helpful. Compliments can be given as part of a follow-up; but they are also useful by making a post of suggestions and criticism seem less negative than it otherwise might. This will prevent your comments from being apt to dismissal by the person getting the suggestions.

[-] Don't get too nit-picky or point out too many corrections at once. Try helping the person improve step-by-step, from general improvements to specific ones. For grammar, the goal is to help fellow roleplayers create easy-to-follow posts; prefect grammar, on the other hand, is not the main goal. Once again, having a giant post of things done wrong is going to discourage the person trying to improve, instead of helping in the most efficient manner.

[-] An OOC tip is a remark in out of character text to a roleplayer in a roleplay thread. These are short, mentioning only one or two things, but can be of almost any significance. If the person giving is a roleplayer in the thread, they will likely hold more credibility to the targeted roleplayer; otherwise, it is advisable to dole these out in small doses, or to include compliments to the person being suggested to. Another tactic is to offer a similar level of criticism to all of the roleplayers in the thread, but remember to limit it to one or two tips per person.

[-] A suggestion or advice post is customarily between an OOC tip and a critique in size. Typically, these are only posted in response to an advice request thread. These list some possible areas for improvement, but don't go into an extreme amount of detail or thoroughness. This style of advice still need to be moderate and include a compliment, but requires less care to not enact hostility because the person has requested comments on ways to improve.

[-] A critique should be thorough and planned out. A critique isn't the only way to offer advice, but when giving a full critique it is important to offer as much advice as you can, with respect to time constraints and what is provided by the requester. It should be long just for picking out a lot of errors, but it should explain the errors and how to improve. As with all large posts, the layout of information should be thought out and the post proofread before submitting. A common and simple order of information is in the order the issues appear in the sample. Because these tend to get very long, it is good to break down the post into paragraphs or a list so that is it easier to read.

[-] Adding a reason, explanation or benefit for a suggestion might prove valuable. Doing this tells the person being advised why they should consider your suggestion. This also gives the person a reason to follow your advice; such as for someone who isn't particularly focused on improving. One way to set up a suggestion would be to state the area of improvement or suggestion, explain the benefit of following this advice, how to follow the advice (with possible example) and then a reason of why to follow it (which can be tied in with the benefit).

[-] Proofreading is valuable for all advice posts, as well as roleplay posts; it is a good habit to accrue. Checking for and correcting grammatical errors is good; however, fixing typos, incorrect words, and improving coherency should be a higher priority. To avoid embarrassment, make sure you aren't making errors that your posts is pointing out or correcting for someone else.

[-] After posting advice, the polite thing to do is to check in for a response or an updated/new roleplay sample. A follow-up may not require a post, but the opportunity might arise to compliment progress or pose a need to explain something in your previous post in more depth. If there were somethings left out of a previous post to keep the length down, it might be the time to mention it after some progress from your initial post is achieved.

I hope you found this guide informative and useful. Etiquette is a vital component in modern social behavioral expectations, and when used properly it can assist the user in the pursuit of a desired outcome.


NOTE: This is a Beta version of this guide. Please give any comments of how to improve this, what is missing, what is confusing, wrong words or wrong grammar in the fix the beta guide thread. Thank you.

v1 is focused on aesthetics
v2 is focused on content
v3 is focused on final touches and overall things