by Milograd » Tue May 01, 2012 1:00 pm
by New Federation China » Tue May 01, 2012 9:55 pm
(The) Republic of China - 中華民國 - Zhōnghuá Mínguó[MT]
(The) Republic of Xindalu - 新大陸 - Xīndàlù [Rostil]
by Radiatia » Tue May 01, 2012 10:18 pm
by Yohannes » Wed May 02, 2012 1:57 am
by Lolzieristan » Wed May 02, 2012 10:02 am
"I invade Milograd cuz he sank mai battleships lol "
by Dukopolious » Wed May 02, 2012 12:56 pm
Lolzieristan wrote:I love how this guide actually covers the basics the newcomers are asking about, instead of shipping over them entirely and moving on to things like communiques and godmoding. Admittedly, those are important. But we're taking for granted the fact that people understand what's going on. Which Milograd is seeking to rectify.
I think this is a great introductory chapter; I just think we could include two things.
1. Further reading hyperlinks, posted in an orderly and pragmatic manner and selected with an eye for quality, at the end of each section. The other posters are right; there ARE tons of guides already? Why not let the newcomers benefit from them immediately, instead of stumbling around the megathread(s) and clicking on links haphazardly like I did?
2. A finished product. I'm not saying we hyperlink to the one Greatest Battle In the History of Nationstates By Which All RPs Will Be Measured Forevermore, like some kind of Waterloo or Kursk, but I am saying we let them see us synthesize and apply each lesson the guide states into a good post. I believe in show, don't tell. A demonstration is worth a thousand lectures. Just because we say "no one liners" and "use paragraph form" doesn't mean they know what the hell we're talking about. I don't want them looking at the first war thread they see as an example...what if it sucks? What if"I invade Milograd cuz he sank mai battleships lol "
is the first one they see?
I just want them exposed to "good RPing" as soon as they click this link.
by Lolzieristan » Wed May 02, 2012 1:06 pm
by Spooty » Wed May 02, 2012 2:40 pm
by Cadagnia » Wed May 02, 2012 5:38 pm
OoC: Heh...I actually had to research Bandura's social cognitive theory for my psych summative.
Putting that aside, I'm going to agree with Lolzieristan here and say a couple relevant links after each protip up there in this guide would definitely help other people (including me - I wasn't aware that there were megathreads for me to read).
In terms of writing styles, standard-setting examples might be nice in terms of helping new people adjust to a more literate community. I don't think modeling posts would become a problem unless textwalls of useless information become the next big thing - or if people start stealing formatting or other peoples' work without due credit, which is a totally different issue.
But you gotta learn the ropes before you get any better, and I guess a part of that is taking a look at why someone is considered a better RPer than you are. You run the risk of people going 'similar is the way to go', but what I've noticed while creeping out the post histories of Milograd, Duke, and Lolzieristan (and on the opposite end of the spectrum...CoolBoyGcp?) is that writing styles don't tend to change much. I would instead guess that with examples of what II expects from RPers, new posters would be able to interpret the posts (in conjunction with the tips here) and take what lessons they need from it.
...
One problem I'm having, and hopefully I'm speaking for some newer players out there, is fleshing out my nation. I'm guessing there's no cookie-cutter method out there, and I'm not sure what defines a nation - so I'd call for a writing guide thread, and a thread that doesn't focus on realistic militaries, but realistic diplomacy, geography/culture/demographics...unless such a thread already exists.
by Spooty » Wed May 02, 2012 5:47 pm
Cadagnia wrote:a thread that doesn't focus on realistic militaries, but realistic diplomacy, geography/culture/demographics...unless such a thread already exists.
by Cadagnia » Wed May 02, 2012 6:09 pm
Spooty wrote:Individually these all exist, I could track them down and TG to you if you feel it's necessary.
OoC: I'd be much obliged.
Spooty wrote:But these are just elements of what makes a good RPer, again; the function of the nation but not the heart of the story, Leistung wrote what I consider to be the best guide out there "Writing a Decent Opening Post" In which he says "It's always best to explain a bit about your country in your OP so that you don't have to immediately follow up with your entire factbook when people get confused."
So whilst a Factbook is somewhat necessary, if only to keep the ideas in your head put on paper, everything a person should know about your country should be taken from the stories you craft, show, don't tell.
OoC: Of course. Thanks for the link, it's a wonderful post - and that you're supposed to explain as much as it takes for the reader to be interested without overloading them with obscure references is a given. This again ties into the whole 'learning to write' thing - new players need to have resources like that available to them. Just a really good RP thread by itself...is just a really good RP thread, and just tips can be often hard to follow - like "explain a little bit about your nation in your posts but keep your reader interested".
by Lolzieristan » Wed May 02, 2012 7:19 pm
by New Azura » Sat May 05, 2012 5:34 pm
Spooty wrote:You know what we're missing? A writing guide thread.
Look at the megathread list, apart from a select few it's made up mostly of technical and game aspects, poor form, considering the ideal put forth to newbies when I joined was "You cannot win Nationstates, so here's how to play it instead." Lolzieristan (god, I hope I spelled that right) just gave examples of several different narrative structures and there are so many more out there. If we want the Newbies to be good writers, and that seems to have become the crux of complaints over these past few years, maybe we should be teaching them how to be good writers, not good players.
by Spooty » Sat May 05, 2012 5:41 pm
by New Azura » Sat May 05, 2012 5:49 pm
Spooty wrote:Those are very nice, I intend to pour over the dialogue advice later, but I did say: "apart from a select few it's made up mostly of technical and game aspects" And three out of the hundreds of guides out there aint a good ratio to go by (I know there are more, and if it wasn't two AM I might go link some of those up.) The point I was trying to make is that our focus is in the wrong direction, that we're trying to have newbies aim to win rather than to play.
by Milograd » Sat May 05, 2012 5:59 pm
Spooty wrote: The point I was trying to make is that our focus is in the wrong direction, that we're trying to have newbies aim to win rather than to play.
by Spooty » Sat May 05, 2012 6:06 pm
by Lolzieristan » Sun May 06, 2012 11:56 am
by New Azura » Sun May 06, 2012 4:26 pm
by The Amyclae » Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:22 pm
by Milograd » Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:50 pm
by Yohannes » Sat Jun 09, 2012 7:05 pm
by The Amyclae » Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:51 pm
Yohannes wrote:I don't get what you're trying to say, The Amyclae. I've read the opening post twice now (the guide). It seems alright to me. First and foremost it was enjoyable to read, concise, straightforward and clear. In fact, your post (though it was no doubt eloquently and superbly written) is more confusing than the opening post in this thread itself.
In your opinion, what will be the solution to this problem then, since you've pretty much criticised and scrutinised every single aspect of the above guide. Perhaps, you will create a better (though let's face it, the word "better" by itself is misguided and largely subjective) guide to replace this one? That will be wonderful.
by Milograd » Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:56 pm
Yohannes wrote:I don't get what you're trying to say, The Amyclae. I've read the opening post twice now (the guide). It seems alright to me. First and foremost it was enjoyable to read, concise, straightforward and clear. In fact, your post (though it was no doubt eloquently and superbly written) is more confusing than the opening post in this thread itself.
In your opinion, what will be the solution to this problem then, since you've pretty much criticised and scrutinised every single aspect of the above guide. Perhaps, you will create a better (though let's face it, the word "better" by itself is misguided and largely subjective) guide to replace this one? That will be wonderful.
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