There are some “looking for RP” terms I just.. don’t understand. No- I am not being critical, I literally don’t understand what they mean and English is my first language.
These terms I see are:
The heck?!
OK… I am not going to lie.. I am going to sound really old when I say back in my day you were a para-rp’er or you were not. That’s probably the only term I am familiar with the meaning behind.
What I know is a para-rp’er is short for paragraph roleplayer which means they will kick out 1+ paragraphs per post unless designated otherwise.
equally so multi para usually means 2+ paragraphs
I imagine lit means literate? I am not going to dive too deep on this because i would be repeating
the well said words of Mercyinreach on the word “literate” but I think this topic might compliment that topic.
And semi-lit means semi-literate – which is concerning considering the meaning of the word literate.. which would mean either one of three things if someone fell into this category:
I am going to assume Novella? Is novel level writers? Like maybe they write a LOT of paragraphs. That’s the best I can figure of what this term means. So, I googled it and apparently Novella means a text that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
So, lets back up… what is a short story? Apparently, it averages on 1,000-4,000 words (some leading up to 20,000) words. However, a short story or even a novel is composed of character actions, dialog, interactions and a story that goes from beginning to end without interacting with another person. That’s no roleplay. But I understand what we are reaching for here is “post length”. I suppose its not too horrible considered I used to tell people I wrote a book for rp posts, but it was more of a joke then something I would place in an ad.
The problem I have with these terms is that not everyone around the world knows what they mean. They are essentially roleplay slang. New people going into the site, or perhaps people who are learning English as a second language would not see these and know what they mean.
I have roleplayed for almost 20 years, with English as my first language and I had to look into them to understand even an idea of what they meant. I can tell people who use these terms have a lot of frustration behind them too, like they are having a hard time filtering out people whose styles don’t match their own.
Based of these terms I would call my self a:
lit-multi-para to novella writer.
But honestly, I think its more beneficial for the sake of clear communication and keeping true to the meaning of the real terminology that I am a:
multi-paragraph (3-6 paragraph average) roleplay writer with fairly good grammar and spelling and keen sense for details.
I feel like that expresses my style better than the short slang versions. But that’s just me.. what do you all think?
These terms I see are:
- Para-rp
- Multi-para
- Lit
- Semi-lit
- Novella?
The heck?!
OK… I am not going to lie.. I am going to sound really old when I say back in my day you were a para-rp’er or you were not. That’s probably the only term I am familiar with the meaning behind.
What I know is a para-rp’er is short for paragraph roleplayer which means they will kick out 1+ paragraphs per post unless designated otherwise.
equally so multi para usually means 2+ paragraphs
I imagine lit means literate? I am not going to dive too deep on this because i would be repeating
the well said words of Mercyinreach on the word “literate” but I think this topic might compliment that topic.
And semi-lit means semi-literate – which is concerning considering the meaning of the word literate.. which would mean either one of three things if someone fell into this category:
- English isn’t their first language
- They don’t spell or grammar check; perhaps they write too fast?
- Our school systems are failing our children.
I am going to assume Novella? Is novel level writers? Like maybe they write a LOT of paragraphs. That’s the best I can figure of what this term means. So, I googled it and apparently Novella means a text that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
So, lets back up… what is a short story? Apparently, it averages on 1,000-4,000 words (some leading up to 20,000) words. However, a short story or even a novel is composed of character actions, dialog, interactions and a story that goes from beginning to end without interacting with another person. That’s no roleplay. But I understand what we are reaching for here is “post length”. I suppose its not too horrible considered I used to tell people I wrote a book for rp posts, but it was more of a joke then something I would place in an ad.
The problem I have with these terms is that not everyone around the world knows what they mean. They are essentially roleplay slang. New people going into the site, or perhaps people who are learning English as a second language would not see these and know what they mean.
I have roleplayed for almost 20 years, with English as my first language and I had to look into them to understand even an idea of what they meant. I can tell people who use these terms have a lot of frustration behind them too, like they are having a hard time filtering out people whose styles don’t match their own.
Based of these terms I would call my self a:
lit-multi-para to novella writer.
But honestly, I think its more beneficial for the sake of clear communication and keeping true to the meaning of the real terminology that I am a:
multi-paragraph (3-6 paragraph average) roleplay writer with fairly good grammar and spelling and keen sense for details.
I feel like that expresses my style better than the short slang versions. But that’s just me.. what do you all think?
You're on the right track.
Para = 1+ paragraph
Multi-para = 2+ paragraph (usually 3+)
Lit = "literate" = Multi-paragraph with good grammar and spelling
Semi-lit = "Short" posts (a couple sentences to a few paragraphs) with decent grammar and spelling
Following, illit = "illiterate" = Just a few sentences with variable spelling and grammar, possibly using an asterisk-action style
Novella = actually the word for a short novel, refers to usually 5+ paragraphs; I have also seen "uber-lit" used
I don't like "literate" based terms either, and I'm familiar with them from rather toxic communities. I prefer just giving a length range to trying to make a word for it in general. *shrugs*
Para = 1+ paragraph
Multi-para = 2+ paragraph (usually 3+)
Lit = "literate" = Multi-paragraph with good grammar and spelling
Semi-lit = "Short" posts (a couple sentences to a few paragraphs) with decent grammar and spelling
Following, illit = "illiterate" = Just a few sentences with variable spelling and grammar, possibly using an asterisk-action style
Novella = actually the word for a short novel, refers to usually 5+ paragraphs; I have also seen "uber-lit" used
I don't like "literate" based terms either, and I'm familiar with them from rather toxic communities. I prefer just giving a length range to trying to make a word for it in general. *shrugs*
Para-rp - at least 1 paragraph usually 1-2.
Multi-para- 3+ paragraphs
Lit
Semi-lit
Novella - usually 8+ paragraphs. Think an entire chapter of a novel per post or close to it.
Lit and semi lit stand for literate and semi literate which are mis uses of the word literate to dictate writing talent/education, fairly concerning and offensive.
Multi-para- 3+ paragraphs
Novella - usually 8+ paragraphs. Think an entire chapter of a novel per post or close to it.
Lit and semi lit stand for literate and semi literate which are mis uses of the word literate to dictate writing talent/education, fairly concerning and offensive.
thank you for making this!! english isn’t my first language and i admit i’ve been rather confused at times when i’ve seem most of these terms previously. it’ll be nice to have this to look back on if it’s needed! 
I appreciate some of the clarifications here from others.
Sunflower: your very welcome. I figure if I of all people struggle with this, im fairly certain others do. so why not talk about it?
Sunflower: your very welcome. I figure if I of all people struggle with this, im fairly certain others do. so why not talk about it?
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