Your post quality is all that matters! (proposed Tag for expanded canon)

[flutterscotch]

Dear friends in Canterlot. This is not exactly a specific question, but more of a general ""Why does it matter?" for YOU the Roleplayer than something that needs to be addressed by staff.

It is time to get on a soapbox for a moment and bring up one of the things on this forum that absolutely drives me insane and bums me out and at times has left me on the brink of leaving the community. And that is this weird elitism and board!canon-breaking, and arguing that seems to happen when people can't get what they want in Mane/World of Equestria RP.

I don't RP much. I don't really have the time. But I rather enjoy reading the applications. However, it bums me out when I constantly see people argue with the Helpstaff here (who are volunteers by the way) over things that will make their characters extraordinarily overpowered, or just rooted in a way of life that is anathema to the way the ponies we have seen on the show so far. It seems that people spend more time arguing to force others to see their point of view than to step back and actually write good, enjoyable RP posts.

But you know what? A lot of the time, people aren't looking for your RPs by tags, or looking at your created topics. Nope. They are looking on your LOG page, where you control how that information is displayed (or should be) to see what RPs your characters have been in. It's about your character and their interactions. That you can organize into a chronology so we have absolute sense of your intentions. And if you are established as an excellent RPer that people want to follow, a go-to place for everyone to see your threads.

And it doesn't matter where that RP thread is at that point. It is all about the character you have created, and the quality of YOUR posts. Which YOU can control almost all aspects of, and YOU can state when creating the post what canon the thread is using, and even who is allowed to be involved. You have a LOT more freedom in Crossover and Free-For-All, to do WHATEVER you want. Ignore the labels that are given to the forum itself and embrace the spirit of the rules applied to that forum. You can still make character applications. You can still treat it EXACTLY like you do the "Mane RP", but you are not subject to the same tight restrictions.

So everyone who wants their RPs to be just like their favorite violent video games, PLEASE keep in mind that there is a very set number of people here who want to RP as close to the show as possible, and PLEASE stop trying to get around the rules of World of Equestria RP to force your own headcanon onto that forum. Because not everyone wants their tea party or quiet adventure torn apart by a cyclone yielding madpony or megalomaniac. This is why World of Equestria RP exists. Because it's a filter to keep out overpowered characters and keep the status-quo so we know what to expect. It is NOT a filter to keep out "GOOD ROLEPLAY". What you neighbor does in a thread adjacent to you should have NO effect on the quality, or perceived quality of your own thread.

And for those of you who who only READ mane RP threads because you automatically assume there is nothing worth reading in Crossovers of Free-For-All...you should know better. There are great threads in all three forums, just as there are weak threads in all three.

So let's put this weird elitism behind us. I propose that all threads in Free For All and Crossovers that are just there because they want to expand beyond show canon with a more adventurous twist, or with greater technology be tagged with "Equestria Adventures" so that everyone knows that they are getting an almost board!canon-quality thread that might be a little more exciting or revolutionary if you are into that sort of thing than a standard World of Equestria RP would be. Your character rejected from World of Equestria RP for just a minor difference of opinion between yourself and helpstaff? Don't get mad, just move it elsewhere and RP as usual. Nice and easy. No need for anyone to moderate or critique, pure honor system.

This is a community, and we should all strive to act like it. And being pedantic and trying to skirt around rules and impose your own will is not very pro-social. I personally would like to be able to be able to invite my friends' children here some day and not have it be a place where everyone's fighting all the time, or an elite club for 20-somethings. You have your own threads for that. Don't try to expand it throughout the entire board.

Break the boundaries of the labels of the forums and write some good Roleplays, folks, instead of endlessly arguing semantics.

Stop worrying about your perceived labels and the connotations therein. The board will adjust eventually if everyone is consistent.

[SonicRainboomGirl]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!

I've poured my heart and soul into both Mane RP and Free For All, but people really are kind of mean on both ends of the argument. People in Free For All and Crossovers get fed up with Mane RP's speeds and strict Canon. Likewise, a lot of Mane RP players think Free For All is sloppy and filled with only stupid ideas. It's really sad. I hope we can move past these stereotypes and enjoy ALL of Canterlot's RP.

[flutterscotch]

They are. And it's completely unnecessary and infuriating.

[Rosewind]

What an amazingly insightful post! I couldn't agree more with you, Scotchie!

[Lux]

Amazing post!

[Dio]

There are quality threads running in FFA such as An Adventure of Unorthodox Proportions. For the sake of keeping them manageable most of them are closed and have a small group of players. Don't get discouraged, though, you'll still have opportunities to run your own or get involved with other people's RP threads. Like Scotchie said, YOU are the creative lifeblood of this place and it's your responsibility to tell great stories and have great fun. If you invest yourself into the RP, it will be a much better experience for all involved.

[Frain Breeze]

I get the feeling that my last thread is partly the cause for this post.

I'm only speaking for myself, but I strongly suspect others feel this way. The whole purpose of joining Canterlot was for the well-established canon and limitations on what characters can and can't do. I didn't want to RP in a forum where every other character too high-tech, wacky, overpowered, grimdark, or otherwise wouldn't fit. My previous experiences with such places typically involved two overpowered characters playing Calvinball with each other until somebody came up with a new way to godmode. I didn't want to go anywhere near a place that looks anything like that. To me, saying "You can take it to Free For All / Crossovers" is equivalent to saying "Go do that thing you were specifically trying to avoid." I preferred leaving the forum entirely over going to FFA. No matter how many people say good RP still happens there, it is incredibly difficult to accept.

That said, I do like the expanded canon tag you propose. Really like it. Really really really like it. As long as there's some definition behind it so we know what is or isn't acceptable, it should definitely encourage mixing between Mane RPers and FFA/CO RPers.

[Manestream]

Thank you Scotchie, for saying this with a grace and clarity I could not hope to muster

I will look into the name; and using that in the possible near future.

[RCTwilightSparkle]

[flutterscotch]

Thanks, Mane!

Frain, nothing to do with your thread, just the pent up accumulation of a years' worth if watching people argue in apps and in chat about their characters.

It bums me out.

[Hippo]

But you know what? A lot of the time, people aren't looking for your RPs by tags, or looking at your created topics. Nope. They are looking on your LOG page, where you control how that information is displayed (or should be) to see what RPs your characters have been in. It's about your character and their interactions. That you can organize into a chronology so we have absolute sense of your intentions. And if you are established as an excellent RPer that people want to follow, a go-to place for everyone to see your threads.

I take a lot of pride in my character log, for this very reason. I make it look nice and orderly so that people, including myself, can navigate through the deep complicated shifts of RP storyline that my characters run through. Some characters only have a couple entries, while Applejack has several. It's impossible to gauge how many people the log has helped understand my characters, but I would hope that it at least helps the people that I RP with, especially people who are just getting to know me.

It's the usefulness I get out of the log that makes me sort of wish that logs were required for mane RPers, if for no other reason, then so that others could see what they are doing, instead of having to word search to dig out a character app. Of course, I can understand why such a demand is not made, but I personally would strongly recommend maintaining a character log that is up to date, even if you are someone with one or two characters. It's not just a link pool for your characters, its like a summary biography for each of your characters, and the history that they have experienced.

This post actually encourages me to put even more detail in my log that I hope to insert very soon! Thanks, Scotchie!

http://www.canterlot...-character-log/