What the hell are we doing?

[Daggertail]

Molotov hit the nail on the head it's both. I know I write for fun but I write on Althanas so people can see what I write, interact with what I write and I interact with what other people write. Things like EXP and Gold are rewards that make me feel good about what I write and that my writing is worth rewarding. Score’s are important to me because it’s what some one thinks about what I did and I know a low score really hurts and a high one feels good, these things keep out the lazy RPers that post one liners and really don’t care.

We do want to tell good stories but being Althanas is about rewards as well. Things like scores and EXP matter and can really hurt and help someone’s will to write. I know I often chime in when reward amounts change because I don’t want Althanas to cater only to those who are really good writers or write to the judges’ tastes and the score has a huge tilt that can be discouraging. I’ve learned to ignore JCs mostly because I don’ like reading most of them (there are some exceptions like Letho) and I have different tastes than most judges, maybe ‘cause I’m not a grammar nazi.

[Empyrean]

Um.....CARROTS!

Okay, anyway. I write for several reasons. I've loved roleplaying since I was eleven, and because Althanas lets me do it in detail and basically any circumstances I want, I love Althanas too. For another thing, Althanas itself is great to hang around. I think my writing has improved more during my time here than at any other point in my life, because I've been influenced by so many different styles of writing here, and there are so any amazing writers.

For another, I love coming up with characters and I love to write. It's a high that I don't think I'll ever want to give up, as cheesy as that sounds, and here, other people are the same way. Plus, y'all are fun to talk to.

But there's nothing wrong with wanting to gain more EXP. It's pa of the game that Althanas is fashioned to be, next to the bigger factor of a creative writing workshop, and a lot of people, including myself, like the idea that by going for a higher number, we can ultimately become better writers. The comments of judges, whether you think them true or not, are ultimately going to help us with our style, our plot, our grammar, whatever.

Therefore I don't think we write for one specific purpose. I think it's a bunch of combined things, but all pertain to improving your writing.

[Death's Nephew]

IS THIS JOKE DEAD YET???!?

Damnit...big Damon said it. Roleplaying is fun and we want some gratification for it, be it in spoils or numbers that say what someone thought about it.

I do it for the fun. And I really really really want a shotgun, lol

[The Valkyrie]

NO THIS JOKE WILL KEEP KICKING UNTIL YOU STRANGLE IT.

I write because I love to. And yes I care about my score. but not so I can get EXP and level (yeah I've been here this long and only just made it into the top 50 because of that crash...). I want my score so I know that it isn't just good writing because I think it is. I like knowing what someone else's critique of my writing is. so there.

[Bohemia]

WHO WANTS TO TOUCH MY PENIS

Really, I'm just here to improve myself, and considering how I was when I first came here, I think it's helped.

[Storm Veritas]

When I was a child, I dreamt of writing about a character on an (not yet created) internet message board that would be very powerful, and that I would have to spend countless hours wasting away while I progressed that character to that point.

I'm getting close to that boyhood goal, Madison, AND I'LL BE GOD-DAMNED IF YOU'RE GOING TO STOP ME!!!11

[Sighter Tnailog]

Hey, as long as we're ranting...

WHY THE FUCK IS IT THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE BITCHING ABOUT ALTHANAS BEING ALL ABOUT NUMBERS AND NOT ENOUGH ABOUT JUST STORIES ARE THE ONES WHO CAN PULL JC'S OUT OF THEIR ASSES AND GET CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR EVERYTHING THEY WRITE???? AND WHY DONT THEY SEEM TO CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE APPRECIATE ABOUT ALTHANAS!?!?

HEY IF THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT WRITING GOOD STORIES THEY CAN DO TO ANY OTHER SITE WHICH IS WHY ALTHANAS IS SO UNIQUE AND BELOVED FOR ITS INTERESTING LEVEL UP SYSTEM THAT IS NOT STUPID LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!!!

A funny sentiment from the person who beat me in the Serenti.

Also, if you talk to Santh, the reason Althanas is unique in this world is because of its rubric, not its level up system.

Quite frankly, I believe you've created a false dichotomy. According to you either love writing as this pure Platonic ideal or you're a mercenary for arbitrary numbers that have no value outside of this website. I think most of us fall somewhere in between. No matter what you do, you like to have some kind of positive reinforcement. Does this make us attention grubbing whores? Perhaps to some extent, but no more so than most aspects of life. Writing is a means of communication. I'd rather write on Althanas than on a notepad that I leave in my closet for some important non-EXP reasons.

1) I know somebody else read what I wrote.
2) I know what someone else thinks.

Does that make me a bad person. Perhaps. Does it make Althanas a mutual gratification society? Perhaps. Are these the worst things in the world, probably not.

Additionally, keep in mind that EXP is the measure of character progress and GP is the most effective way to obtain goods. I don't necessarily need ten tons of EXP per quest or a million GP, but I do like to get enough so that my skill sets can keep up with the stories.

This is the kind of point I like to see made, because for the most part it's correct. My general thought is that Althanas should exist in some sort of creative tension between writing for writing's sake and writing for experience and character improvement.

I've just been noticing for some time now a trend on Althanas towards the idolization of the numbers over the writing. I run into people whose spirits are dashed when they don't get a Judge's Choice within three weeks of joining -- I was at level 6 before I got a Judge's Choice, regardless of Cyrus's opinions on my writing, which I take as a lovely compliment. Or I find people who are more concerned about getting onto the top ten EXP chart than on deserving of the honor.

My concern is at this point we are approaching a state where the numbers matter more than the philosophy behind them. That worries me. Althanas maybe shouldn't be a pure "Platonic ideal," but I can't see it hurting things if that's the model we STRIVE to emulate, or at least the model we keep on our minds as we go about our work here. While gaining rewards for the good things we do isn't a bad thing, and indeed is a great thing, shouldn't we aim a little bit higher?

[Anteni]

If we all just wanted EXP and gold and other numbers that are virtually gratifying, we'd all be playing videogames intead of writing on a forum. Still, I think the desire for more EXP or gold overshadows, at times, a simple desire to write for its own sake. When it comes to roleplaying on a forum, though, one expects some reward or another for their time; progress in the fantasy world, character development, responses from other writers, etc.

Personally, I came here to write - I've had trouble just settling on the character with which I want my posts to revolve around, though. I roleplayed for about a year on a completely different forum: free-form, with no level-ups or restrictions on purchasing power. Frankly, it was awesome. What emerged was a dedicated set of community members that maintained equal character skills, but still allowed the writer to think of essentially anything that caught their imagination and develop their character in any direction along with the environment itself. Sure, powergamers and such came by every once in a while, but once they realized that their posts were not taken seriously, they either changed their style or left.

Coming from this background, I was a bit thrown off by this "level" system and a way to actually account for gold pieces. Since I am at the bottom of the barrel right now, I feel a sort of pressure to become an "EXP whore" and accumulate as much gold as I can. A desire to just write has become pushed to the side, partly, because my character isn't the true character I want - gold and EXP is the way to get him there. Until then, I don't feel as though I can fully enjoy my time here - rather foolish, yes, but it will just take some adjustment on my part.

Let's just pretend I threw in a funny phrase of capital letters.

[Ebivoulya]

My reason for being here is very simple. This is where all the fun people disappeared to

I couldn't convince them to come back, so I followed them instead. Great stories require great writers, and except for a few, everyone here, myself included, is mediocre. Some have talent, some have dedication, but everyone has flaws, and you'll never know what they are until someone better than you points them out, or gives you the vision to see them.

Does that mean all you need is a few magical tips from a writing God and you'll be pulling Nobel Prizes out your ass? Could happen, but good luck finding someone that good, and even if you find them, good luck convincing them you're worth a breath.

Either you let the people you write with change you, or you change them. Either way none of us will ever be the same, for better or worse. Whether these stories happened in some mystical land of magic and swords, or Neptune, they are still a part of you, your memory, and through that, your character. Your character is no more and no less than your best imaginary friend.

Taking part in the creation of something that some could even construe as fact, as history, reality, is not self-gratification, it's self-actualization. There is no greater pride than the pride you take in your creation, your victory over idleness. That doesn't debase it, or demoralize it. Would you rather be sitting in front of the TV, or working hard at that 9 to 5 so you can save up for that fly new ride and get yourself some ass? So what if you're likely to never meet or know any of the people you work with here? They're still real people, with real stories, and a real viewpoint. And as writers, which all of us love to call ourselves, we're colleagues; peers. Equals. Maybe even friends.

Here's to you, my friends.

[Storm Veritas]

Here's to you, my friends.

Cheers!

Now post in our god-damned thread...