That won't stop those mentioned idiots anyway. But how about using the current system as default and also offering something like 'fdescribe me' for a more free form? You could also include an aproval, so maybe the guild admin or GM has to aprove it.

Having the GM or admin approve it would be a bad idea. I constantly tweak my description, and having to get it changed every time would be seriously annoying, especially since it's not something that they should really be concerned with.

It was an idea and I also think that only very few people constantly change their descriptions.

I didn't say it wasn't an idea, I just think it would be a bad one. Besides, having a description approved would be a bit TOO subjective for a guildmaster/guild admin to review on this one, I reckon...

Why? It is the same as with normal descs in Achaea or Imperian. In many guilds it was common that novices were required to have a decent desc and that description usually had to be approved by an aide.

Meh, I suppose...but that wasn't really about it being a "decent" description, though, judging by some of the ones I saw get through, that was just a minimum-length business.

We ask for a decent description, but that's hard to enforce, as the moment they're no longer novices their descriptions start waving her arms, having shinny eyes that look at you fearfully, wind tossing his/her hair....

Just whip them and tell them : No cookies for you!

Long gone are the days of the shadowsnakes where if a novice didn't listen to threats of whipping it might actually work.

I don't want to ignore the characteristics of my race so much as present them in the manner and style of my choosing.

I agree with all of your points, save the solution derived from them. Why is it good to restrict each and every player of Lusternia just to curb the poor descriptions a few of them would otherwise create, assuming these measures prevent them from doing that at all?

I want to offer a solution I believe would work, but still address the concerns these current restrictions are based on: Keep the current system for Freshmen Novices, but allow established players the responsibility to craft their own appearances.

If that is still too lenient, then just allow those who have achieved mentor status the responsibility to create freeform descriptions. If we are trusted to help others learn this realm, then why not also to depict ourselves to them in the manner of our discretion?

Having experienced some of the more free-form code bases of the MUD family, I understand exactly why the enforced description-start here. There's actually a fairly large cross-section of players who would ignore the facts of their character and put down whatever their little hearts desired.

In my own little experimental MUD, I address it by having the "look" function providing a name line on characters like most MUDs have on rooms.

e.g.:



Still, I'd rather have the way they do it here than leave it to the mercy of the general populace to actually admit their character's race and sex in the description.

Hmm. My own experiences with being able to draft your entire description are the very reasons I am making this point.

How many times have you run around the world to find someone so you could look at them and determine their race and gender? HONOURS does this very well. So well, in fact, that I believe it obviates the necessity of explicity including that information in the beginning of a description. As long as the description actually describes what they look like, what more do you want of it?

The only reason I see for why things are as they are is just to provide last-minute, hard-coded guidance.

But what if, in my undeath, my skin no longer glistens? What if I have trimmed my shaggy coat? Perhaps nobility is difficult to discern in my stooped demeanor or unkempt appearance.

Whatever the reason, it seems a slender crutch indeed.

DSL?

As to the custom desc thing, make it dependant on rpp. Proven good roleplayers get to change their descs to whatever they want, twinks are stuck with " is a {descriptive adj} {racename} and"

This "proven good roleplayers" thing is rather a bad foundation for ANYTHING, since it's impossible to prove accurately, and horribly subjective to boot. And what exactly would forcing twinks (those with bad rolepoints, I guess) to have a bad description do? Compound the problem?

Agreed. Qualifying one persons roleplay takes significant interraction to be objective...imagine doing that for anyone who wanted a freeform desc. That's why I suggested limiting it to either people past freshmen novicehood or at the most, those with mentor status.

Well, I think newbiehood might be a better gauge than novicehood. I mean, it seems to work for everything else.

My only qualm with that is a player new to Lusternia, who might get out of newbiehood without being exposed to much outside of Newton. The 24 hours to get out of freshman novicehood seems like a safe minimum time to get acquainted with how things are here...although honestly, I'd be happy with anything.

I'd be inclined to agree, but I have the feeling there's some reason grace of innocence and all the rest of it goes out as newbiehood does, quite apart from health concerns. ('cause I can't say that a level 21 with trans everything can beat me, even though I suck, just 'cause curse would lay 'em flat too fast.)

It's worked for IRE for however long, so I don't know if it'd be good to change that. *squint* May just be me being neophobic though.