Can we add something to the rules?

[Crosshair]

I'm not saying don't let them play... i'm just saying make it clear that they should type correctly... No literacy tests, that'd be stupid at best...

Incidentally, i find it noticably difficult to type without putting a full stop or a capital letter... I find it wierd...

Now, i really think we should say something in the rules... and please people, if you see someone starting to do it, ask them OOC to type correctly... one little chastisement can change their habit for life!

[kinvoya]

When it bothers me I usually OOC the newspawn (who is usually also a new player) and tell them politely that no one will take their char seriously or interact with him/her unless they use good spelling and punctuation. Then I ignore them even if they speak to my char. If they are interested in playing the game I usually see a lot of improvement. If they aren't interested in playing they are usually gone soon enough.

I used usually a lot in that paragraph.

Edited to add: I once proposed a small grammar/spelling test for new players but Jos shot it down. I think this would not be so hard to pass but would serve the purpose of making them slow down and realize that they are expected to use regular English (I'm not sure if this is a problem in other languages) rather than whatever you call what they use.

[Crosshair]

If he did die, it was for other reasons. Not his speech impediment which was how my prison guard viewed it. Plus, if I remember correctly, Cassius and he were playing Bad Cop/Worse Cop...

"he's a dead 'un if he tries to speak anything but the Senators Karnonian, Mr Page, sah!"

[Marian]

What annoys me the most is not that they can't type clearly, but that they're too lazy to. If you can read and comprehend English (or any other language) than you can write it too. Even Pie could type clearly if he wanted to.

Edit:

No literacy tests, that'd be stupid at best...

I play a game called Kingdom of Loathing that requires a literacy test before you can use the chat. Basically all it is is typing a couple of things correctly, and it doesn't seem to scare anyone who actually wants to get into the chatroom away.

[Crosshair]

And if Pie can do it... well...

But it's true. Cantr is a pretty involved game, so why be lazy about one of the fundamentals? Everything else is pretty much automated for you, and you really can't enjoy it if your charracter is seen as a cretin, and you yourself are just seen as some lazy fanboy behind a keyboard who would say "Lol! ur gme is fnny cz ppl dnt pwn evri1!!!!!!"!11!11!11!!11111"

[Marian]

But it's true. Cantr is a pretty involved game, so why be lazy about one of the fundamentals?

Exactly. It's a text-based game. If someone finds absolutely no enjoyment in communicating through text, then why are they even playing? It's obviously not the right game for them, they're never going to contribute anything meaningful to the RP, and they might as well go play WoW.

[kinvoya]

Marian, see my edit above. Kingdom of Loathing is the exact example I used, too. Shot down.

[Crosshair]

Or SWG *blushes*

*hi fives Marian*

Good, so i think we are agreed that people who don't use correct spelling and grammar should be warned in the rules, or ingame by a friendly man in his fourties with a crossbow...

[Marian]

Marian, see my edit above. Kingdom of Loathing is the exact example I used, too. Shot down.

I wonder why he didn't like it?

It's not like it's forcing anyone to type correctly, there are still idiots in the KOL chat, but it would let players know that Cantr players takes that kind of thing more seriously than your average free RPG.

If not a little test, then like I said, can we please, please please get even one tiny little sentence in the newbie guide telling players Cantr isn't a chatroom? (I'd think that was obvious, but there are a lot of people who seem to miss it completely...)

[Capt. Mobious]

God, I wish I still had my halberd...

[Crosshair]

Lol yh cz ppl chat lyk lil 12 yr old gals on msn lol!

Thats the most annoying one, right there... "Yh"

MY GOD

Yes....to Yh... not even Yeh... its a GRUNT for crying out loud!!!!

[kinvoya]

I used to have this theory called "The curse of kinvoya" because none of my suggestions were every accepted. Then I think one was. They did it just to spite me!

[Talapus]

I still remember running into a note in Cantr that read "lmao d00d plz stop sh00ting @ me w/ur bo"

[Marian]

Crosshair, I think I'll take over a town and start my own little RPers utopia. Lazy typers get killed immediately, and maybe we'll eventually start spawning people who are efficient or better writers. That's how the skill system works, right?

[Crosshair]

I still remember running into a note in Cantr that read "lmao d00d plz stop sh00ting @ me w/ur bo"

Hideous... just HIDEOUS....

He probably said hello to be shot at...