Writing "in character"

[Kazuo Shinrai]

What has been annoying me for quite a while (and it's something I am guilty of as well) is people writing things the way their character would pronounce it. Putting heavy accents and capping words as that supposedly would be how the words would sound when that particular character speaks.

Well, here's a slight news flash. The character is not speaking now, it's writing. Sure, if you character is very poor at writing, you could make this visible but it doesn't make sense to write stuff with "a dialect". Quoting people ofcourse would be something completely different. But I would recommend making a firm destinction between what is quoted from your character and what he would write down.

In the end of the day, Tomato and Vase are still written the same way

PS
Ofcourse this is just my opinion, but think about it... makes sense doesn't it?

[Drachir]

I realised this some time ago, which is why I don't do it anymore, unless I'm quoting something that someone has said in-game.

However, take it up with the people you see doing it, rather than making a thread about it. For one thing, not that many people do it, and another thing, its slightly arrogant of you.

[Ben Radau]

I agree to Kazuo´s point of view. For a non-English-native-speaker like me it is often more easy to ignore those posts than to spent my time guessing what is ment. While InGame it belongs to the RP, but then I can ask and try to understand it that way. But written on a board? I don´t think it fits to RP that way :c) Again, a single opinion, if you want to do it that way, feel free to be ignored by me ;c)

[Gregor Eason]

Unless its a first person account, I agree. But most of the time, it is. Therefore, I have to take the other side of the argument.

[Erik Arkay/Evinyatar]

Erik can't write...As such everything he posts is as he tells it to someone or as it's happening (with live dialogue)

[Gregor Eason]

Aye, exactly. Nay much can be done there.

[Rupert]

I have from the start made differences from the way my character writes and talks, can't say H in normal talking but writes it out just fine during reports. The problem comes when the discussion floats on a level which sounds like everyday chatting then I use his can't-talk-h style. I don't know if all discussion on the board should be counted to written IC...but then again, why bother getting annoyed over it aslong as we understand one another

[Smedly Herbwood]

I am very guilty of what Kazuo is talking about, but i think of the boards as an extension of my in game character and i'd feel strange making posts as Smedly if i didn't use the accent and abbreviations that I use in game.

He isn't a guard, so I don't imagine him submitting reports as such on the civilian jobs board.  I try to imagine that he is recounting his events in conversation to someone he is sat with in the tavern, or to the Union leader or to whoever has logged onto the boards and happens to read the posts.

[Banedon]

I agree with Smedley for the very same reasons.

Anything I do with Banedon in the game and on the boards, is as smedley quite rightly said, an extention of my character. As such, Banedon writes as he speaks.. phonetically.

[Drachir]

I always think of posting reports as scribbling some well educated notes onto a piece of parchment, plucking a thorn out of a flower, and sticking it into a wall inside the barracks. With Delsa I add spelling mistakes, for example,

Today I went to Bree Birtain.

Doing this makes it alot more realistic, especially if you're playing an idiot
However, I don't do this with Drachir because he's an intelligent Scout who would never be caught making spelling mistakes.

[Raiden Morana]

I think this is a very interestin'  point.

I too think that IC posts are an extension of the character. But I would reckon that not a lot of Guardsmen or Serfs etc. would be able to read or write so they would get someone else to write the report for them. This being so I think that the report would not be written in slang or dialect.

However Raiden can read and write a little (what good is a warrior who can't read his orders ) so he does tend to write things as he says them. That said I do tend to drift in and out so that might makr it more frustarting for people.

As a side point i think that there is a lot of support and for teaching young children now to read phonetically and results suggest that they can reade better than their age would suggest - dunno how there spelling is though 

[Mela Arkay]

Not that im in BoC but i thought i'd state my point anyhow:

I don't see anything wrong with it, if its a report or whatever written from the persons point of few why not add the way they would speak it. Makes it more personalized and interesting to read instead of these dull proper English ones (no offence meant of course).
You have to remember that this is the medieval times and education then was rare so people if they knew a little about writing would write words how they say them.

This is only my point of few but there we go then.

[John Dell]

Actually, this is how swedes wrote english in the day when most europeans left for the new world, the swedes wrote as they talked over there. Thats how language has been thought, so I dont know if its so wrong but.

Then again I have trouble reading it if its not in proper english