Hint. Not everyone uses 80 columns linespacing. When I look at people like that, I see:

blah blah blah. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------. They are wearing blah
blah.


I'm not overly fussed, but seeing a line like that always throws me off. Generally the only time I see a description begging for separation is when the player decided to tell you every single detail about their character's piecesparts, how they look to you, what they're doing when you look at them, and/or how you feel about them.

Is it really a big deal, like, at all though? It's a little silly to get upset over some dashes or what have you.

The secret Lusternian dashes police will be coming to take some of you away very soon.

All in all, not terribly. It irks me more on some days than others. But if you think about, it, that's the one place where there's never a reason to break character. Even chats sometimes have to break character, say if you're talking to an admin or trying to explain skill use to a novice. Org help files sometimes have to break suspension of disbelief. But description...?

Not the worst thing, I suppose. My first day in Hallifax, I got to watch two people at the Matrix discuss recipes in system terms like 'dropped description' and 'base item type' and such. Urgh.

The one time I stop being paranoid...

My reading speed and comprehension are astronomical, and I spend far more time reading books than consuming any other form of media. While I was visiting my mother for three weeks, I read approximately 1,800 pages' worth of books for pleasure, yet watched only two or three hours of television. Incidentally, I'm also a postgraduate English major.

Literacy is near and dear to my heart, I assure you; I consider it a great gift that should be treasured. I actually judge people's intelligence primarily by whether or not they read for pleasure, which is a blatant logical fallacy, but I cling to it nonetheless. Sadly, there are many educated people who don't read for pleasure.



That's my point exactly.

Personally, I don't think one additional line breaks RP or constitutes too much white space. It's just a shame that Lusternia (along with nearly all MUDs) doesn't recognize a "blank space" character... if it did, I'd use that instead.

You are reading a description where someone's physical attributes are visible regardless of what kind of clothing they are wearing. Their clothing is also all enumerated at the end of their physical description. Adding white space is the least of your RP woes with Lusternia's descriptive system.

When I look at someone, I also don't see periods, commas, capital letters, apostrophes, or any letters. Are those breaking RP too? A line break is no different-- it is a format tool that, when properly used, better conveys an abstract reality through light translated by the human brain. I'd have a fit if I saw someone with this description:

He is an ordinary human and he looks really tired his hair hangs around his face like a wet mop and my goodness look at those puffy eyes how pink they are and whooooooa hes a short one probably shoulda eaten more crispix as a kid.

This is how our minds would typically take in someone's appearance-- random run on thoughts all stuck together. Should we all have our descriptions written like this because it's more "in character?"

Question for everyone arguing this:


Does the stick up your butt have a stick up its butt?

Yes.

No.

look me
He is an ordinary human changeling demigod and looks really tired his hair hangs around his face like a wet mop and my goodness look at those puffy eyes how pink they are and whooooooa hes a short one probably shoulda eaten more crispix as a kid. He is wearing 10 pocketbelts, Gloves of Harvesting, a changeling cameo, a sapphire ring of waves, a red bone ring with a soap-shaped opal, a silvery bone ring with a scrying pool of diamond, 6 dark forestal scabbards, prayer beads of bone and feather, a shadow-black backpack, a ridiculous pig nose, an etched pearl ring, a ghoulish dark suit of field plate armour, a ghoulish dark great helm, a thin sapphire band, and a silver lining pendant necklace. He walks with the truefavour of Nocht.

I find it a little rude that you chose my description to post on the forums. Honestly.

Edit: And for the record, I'm just saying it bothers me. I'm not saying I'm right and you're wrong... Goodness.

But you're Hallifaxian. You should get one installed.

I would if it wasn't so expensive. Thanks for pointing out my inadequacies

You don't "see" typos, but you're going to make conclusions about someone if their description is riddled with them.

I cracked up at this for some reason, oh man

oh man give me a second-

Ok I'm good. Yeah.



Oh no hahaha not again I can't stop laughing

I heard that you can get one for free with the proper paperwork.

Still have to pay the processing fee for the paperwork, though.

There is a set of paperwork to get that waived for anyone above city rank 5 or of high rank in Elostian's order or a minister. You should be fine.

Someone needs to make a CHelp file with that info in it? Because I definitely did not see that in the State Articles for Paperwork, nor anywhere in the Ministry of Bureacracy archives.