I've really been trying to avoid this topic since it frustrates me to talk about it but I'm going to address a few things here before I go to bed.
First unless Huggy editted this thread before I read this I don't really see anything offensive. I don't see them bashing anyone. They are merely sharing their feelings.
Anyone who knows me well enough around the game knows that I get extremely offended when the terms literate and illiterate get thrown around. For one thing people aren't even using them correctly. It humors me when someone prides themself on being so called "literate" but keeps calling people who obviously can communicate well enough to be understood as "illiterates". I'm going to be honest with you all because I don't sugar coat my words or feelings so here goes...
The use of these terms in this community is total nonsense.
Did you read that right?
NONSENSE
Calling people illiterate based on their rping style is insensitive and rude. While not all the people who consider themselves as "literates" are bad people most of them use the terms like some kind of badge of power or greatness. It's like we're back in grade school again with the name calling and bullying. There is no need for such disgraceful behavior like what I've seen in game based on this whole who is literate and illiterate thing.
What users fail to see with this so called innocent labeling game is that using labels like this starts a trend in a community. It opens pathways to bullying and broken social orders. It starts to slowly chisel away at the core values of respect, and unity within the community. Users don't just use the word as a way of describing a person's rp skill anymore but rather a way to label someone as a noob and even shun them. Being labeled as an illiterate in this community is close to being called a noob or a troll. It's not a title that anyone likes to be called and for some it's quite hurtful.
The users who support the use of these terms need to reconsider exactly how calling others this would make them feel. Most of the users in this community are very young and easily impressionable. Perhaps they endure name calling and bullying already and come to a game like this one to escape that reality. The whole point of roleplaying is to step away from reality yet some users insist on making Feral Heart another hostile environment.
No user here can tell me that the use of these words is innocent or ever good. I've corrected a number of very rude "literate" rpers in game before because they get to a point where they act like nothing but snobs in game. This isn't to say they all are but sad to say most are. Often times these "literate" users mock the way "illiterates" rp or speak. They tell others to block the user or ignore them the moment they see their rp samples or conversations. They say that they are dumb kids or mock their education. Some even go so far as to sit about and openly mock these users when they rp together sometimes obnoxiously correcting their "horrible grammar".
This is just a small bit of what I encounter in just one day on one map:
The whole idea & use of the words literate and illiterate are warped in this community. It's gotten to a point where many users don't even have the courage to approach others to ask to join rp groups because the majority of the so called literates, will eat them alive. What fun is a game where you have to constantly worry how you spell or how you formulate your sentences? This is not school. This is a game people.
I have rped numerous times in game and never once have I cared about a person's rp skills or so called "literacy" level. For me as long as you're imaginative, friendly, and looking for fun you're the perfect rp partner. I can't see what's so hard with opening up and rping with others of different skill levels. Never do I have a problem in my rps just because one user isn't as skilled a rper as the others. The rps are always fun. The whole excitement of life is encountering different people with different abilities. The better you can handle outside your own social bubble the better of a person you become, more interesting experiences you can have, and the more you learn. That's what this community is about. Not titles. Not skills. Not who can rp better or write longer paragraphs with more complex words. Not showing off ot grammar.... No
It's about fun. A community of smart different people getting together to have fun.
If some users don't want to rp with other users than fine. But why label people? Why make people feel like they are lacking in something or are less intelligent than others just because of how they speak or rp in chat?
No one here is perfect and everyone started some where even those that claim to be "literate" now. I miss the days when Feral Heart first started and rp groups were every where and I never ever saw this madness of who is "literate" & who is not. I'm disappointed with the way users approach rp these days.
Consider the Official Feral Heart RP Day. Think about what it represents and what we're trying to encourage. We strive to bring all users together for the fun of rp. New & old. More experienced & less experienced. Realistic, semi realistic, and fictional all together. It's a day where the whole community is encouraged to unite into one adventure. Never once do we exclude or judge another based on any traits yet alone literacy. I strongly believe that the theme of our Official RP Day shouldn't just be a one day thing... It should be an example of the way users should treat each other always.
