Face claims and coding: Mandatory for a good experience?

[Shakespur]

Hello all, I'm new to the site but not roleplaying in general. In fact, I've been roleplaying for just over sixteen years total, most of which started back in 2001 on an older Star Wars Forum.

The reason I started this thread is because of a recent experience of mine. I had attempted to enroll in a roleplay where Face Claims and Coding Knowledge seemed mandatory. I can understand the Face Claim portion, but what rubbed me the wrong way was the adamant requirement that I be able to code more than just bold, italicize, or underline.

My first thought was: Since when does coding mean you aren't a good roleplayer (if that's even the case), and if it isn't the case, why would that be a requirement in the first place? Or even grounds for refusal?

I'm not as old as many players nor am I as young, but I will openly admit that I don't code at all really. I'll toss in a bold now and again if I need to draw emphasis to something, but aside from making things look fancier in the scope of a profile, I don't really understand the application in terms of roleplaying itself.

Maybe there's something I'm missing here? I'd like to hear why or why not many of you seem to agree or disagree.

I'm very much on the side of "coding doesn't mean you can't roleplay well" if that's even the case at all.

Thanks for your time.

-Shakespur

[Maestro]

Shakespur,

There is definitely a faction of users on our site which are quite creative in the ways they maximize the available coding. I've been blown away by some of the intricate designs I've seen on not just character sheets but role-plays themselves. This site is meant to be a bastion of creativity, and a means for people to express themselves how they see fit. But, of course, there is always going to be a difference of opinion and diverse groups of people who prefer one method to another. I can't say I've ever run into the problem of being denied entry into a role-play because of my coding expertise but I normally stray from those stories knowing they'd expect something out of me I couldn't deliver on. Of course, I could try to learn and maybe even be successful at it but for me, personally, it isn't a fad I find myself interested in.

Now, that isn't to say I agree or disagree because I believe people here have the right to come at a role-play in whatever way they wish. And ultimately, a GM should have total control over his or her story as long as they fall in line with the rules. It is an odd expectation, to say the least, but some of the users here really seem to take pride in presenting information in a unique way. It sounds odd, but I don't write much these days and I read even less but it is sometimes nice to look at more than just a block of text. At the same time, the level of skill and time that goes into these designs seems like a headache I wouldn't want. I'm a practical guy and at the end of the day I sit and think about what benefits me, and going all in on coding doesn't. Nonetheless, people should express themselves how they see fit.

As for face claims, I've never been too big on that either. I've seen so many profiles with bizarre coding and an even crazier amount of gifs and pictures on a single page. When I first started here, I don't recall seeing any early signs of this behavior. But as technology and information become available, things change. Personally, I miss the days of spending five minutes on a character and fleshing their appearance/story with my words. Call me old fashioned. There is a whole other generation of writers out there and each will put their own trademark on their work.

Just a friendly reminder to those who like face claims and coding. This should simply be a sincere discussion on a difference of opinion. Treat it as a means to discover what each other has to say on the subject.

Cheers,

~M

[Zodia195]

I know this subject is old, but I wanted to give my own personal opinion on the matter.

Shakespur, I am one of those 'old roleplayers' too, only I got my start in the Yahoo! Clubs (currently Groups) from 2000 right after I started college. And yeah, face claims and coding weren't a thing, even though we did have character profiles, which were pretty small.

I don't mind face claims here, but if the coding is too complicated now, I just don't bother signing up no matter how good the RPG. I won't name this rpg, but there was one I wanted to join, but the coding for the profiles was so complicated that I couldn't even finish it and ended up with a major headache. It made me feel bad too because I know how much effort the person who created the coding (who was friends with the GM). But I simply don't have the energy to do these kind of profiles.

[Kato]

I don't mind FCs, if you can pick your own. I think having some kind of visual is useful to define a character and help fix them in the mind's eye. However, I don't think either FCs or coding is mandatory for a good roleplay experience. I too am old-school. For me, RP is about writing. Writing doesn't need to be have fancy fonts and typesetting and colours. If it does, that's fine. If it doesn't, that's also fine. All an RP really needs are words, written in a basic font, in a way that is easy to read.

Overly coding-based character sheets are off-putting, but as long as someone has pre-coded it, and I'm just putting in information where it needs to go, that's OK with me. I've done RPs that need a little bit of coding but the GMs have generally been very helpful in editing the CS if I get stuck. Needing to learn a whole different skill set just so I can RP is a different ballgame though, it's not for me. If I'm making my own RP, a bit of bold, italics and centre, and a few images are enough.

What I don't like, coding and FC wise, is if there are loads of animated GIFs everywhere. It's like Geocities 2.0. Maybe it looks pretty (maybe), but it distracts the eye away from the text, which should be the focus of the RP. The text is where the actual roleplaying takes place. It's design 101: Function over Aesthetics.

Obvs, people have their own opinions about this and that's fine. There's enough room for everyone. :D

[SpiritDancer]

Since I am one of those roleplayers who does like to make things look pretty for no real reason other than for them to look pretty I'm here to say that it isn't mandatory to do all of that to be able to have a good experience here. There are certainly roleplayers who will roleplay with you and not require you to do any of that fancy stuff.

That being said, I do not think that it's wrong to deny someone on the grounds that they aren't able to extravagantly code things. If it is their roleplay they have the right to expect things from their role players, and sometimes the thing they expect is decent coding. Although I've personally never rejected someone for that reason and I usually try to help people with whatever problems they have, I can see the issues someone else might have.

May it seem pretentious to some? Definitely, but at the end of the day it is their roleplay.

[Shakespur]

Wow! I was surprised to come back after so long and see more responses to this old topic of mine!

I don't mean to bump it, but I did just recently return and was checking in on a few things.

I'm glad to see differing opinions on the matters themselves, and I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who comes from an older school of playing and thought.

[Moonstruck]

I am one of those rpers that goes extra with coding, and know just how long it can take. Especially when it comes to making those elaborate profiles.i haven't done any big ones lately because they are too time consuming..

Some of the coding in posts though I like because it helps things look neater. I will always [justify] a post. And I'll either use a color or [Ic] or both to make dialogue stand out if that's what other rpers are doing.

[猫ババ]

xxC O D I N G

not sure if this is dead, but i also wanted to put in my piece as someone who goes way overboard with code/photoshop. personally, i am a one of those who is actually interested in coding and design as a career choice. this site actually was what sparked that initial interest into coding. bbcode (the code used on this site) is mostly just a simple, forum friendly version of html. i would consider html one of the easier coding languages, but it is by no means simple for everyone. i actually really enjoy making intricate codes on this site as it is almost away to express my inner creativity. it is really a hobby for me. of course i enjoy the writing aspect as well! getting into character and creating stories with people is equally exciting to me.

i do not have any rp's on this account for you to see, but i would like to say that i do try to make character sheets easy to follow for people. all they have to do is put in the info and the code i wrote will do the rest. honestly i really just like seeing everyone have the same character sheet. it is very uniform. if someone couldn't get my code to work, i would definitely offer to handle it so they don't have to suffer from a headache. as a cs major i know the struggles of having non-functioning code. i much rather give the player a better experience and take the headache off their hands.

not sure if you have seen the role plays on this site with applications, but my stance on that is that sometimes they can be valuable. for me, the application isn't about seeing the code, rather the person's ability to read, pay attention to the plot, and of course, write. i have had experiences where people don't read my posts and continue to make a post that interrupts continuity. i feel that with an application, you can guarantee that a person was attentive and made sure their character fit the story and didn't copy another character. it really is upsetting when you want to have an idea take off, and then have it turn out to not be fun because of someone's inability to follow along and or write somewhat decently. it doesn't have to be college level writing or anything crazy strict like that. i just think it's reasonable to get an idea of who you are collaborating with.

xxF A C E C L A I M S

as for faceclaims, i am definitely not as passionate. however, i will say that faceclaims give a character more life. that is just my opinion, but i am also a very visual person. i have a hard time imagining the whole story unless i have some visual representation of the character i have and am interacting with. i guess it kind of relates to the whole book movie debate. some people really enjoy seeing their books come to life visually, most people seem to not. it does definitely take away from the imagination, i will say that much. i just personally can't see myself running an rp without faceclaims. it just seems so vital to me. it's also part of the fun in building my character. that's just me though. hopefully my whole rant had some substance. :P