In reply to Mrrshann618 (msg # 9):

It depends on the game. I dislike it when people use coloured speech instead of proper grammar. Even in your example, I would want the player to write out, Said Bob whether or not they coloured their speech. Because I read a game like I would read fiction.

I don't dislike it, necessarily, except that it can be a pain to add in all the tags.

I've never really understood the point of it though. The only reason to emphasize dialogue over actions/thoughts, is if you think the speech is more important. I do not think so.

I don't find it the least bit distracting.  In fact, I rather like it.  It helps my poor ADHD-distracted mind keep things better organized, and it helps make things jump out at me easier if I need to remember what Bob had said - I can more easily skim down and just look at the red text for Bob's speech whereas Joe's is blue and Tom's is green.  It makes it a lot simpler for me, and it tells my brain, which is constantly trying to distract me and itself, that I really need to pay attention there.  Quotation marks just don't do it as much because of all the other punctuation in posts.  They just blend in.

Because I don't need to remember speech in a book as well as I need to when actually interacting with other players on a web site, it's not a big deal to not have colored speech in a book.  But when it comes to taking notes when reading medical books, I highlight.  If I need information on one of my medical problems and I get it from a website, I print it all out and then highlight or underline with colored pens the relevant information, doing so in very small chunks and several re-reads so I don't miss anything, so that I can then go read the entire thing and focus on what I need to focus on to help me retrieve the information from my brain later.  That doesn't mean speech is more important than actions, tone of voice, body language or facial expressions, but it does mean that my character's verbal response(s), if any, definitely needs to also take into consideration what was said.  Plus it just helps break up a lot of text for people with learning disabilities or other issues like those on the now-redefined autism spectrum.

As an educator (who dearly loves working with special needs students), a sufferer of ADHD, and the mother of a child with ADHD and Autism, I can tell you that what works for some people will drive others crazy.  So while you might not like colored text, it can really help other people and vice versa.  It allows me, for example, to give my best to the games I am in, and that of course means also to the GM and the other players.  Maybe those colors that bug you so much are helping me or other players in your games be better players which is good for you.

So worst-case scenario, color or no color bugs you.  Is that really a big deal?  Are children going to starve over it or have to bathe in their drinking water because of it?  It's just something to deal with in games where the GMs request or allow color.  When you're the GM, request no color.  But for the sake of players who might really benefit from it, and remember that the entire game and all people involved would also benefit, please allow it if it is requested.  However, it's your game, so ultimately it's your right to do what is best for you.

Best-case scenario - realize that it's really helpful for some people and be glad that they have a tool in their arsenal that can help them overcome what can be an embarrassing and detrimental issue in their lives.

This is just my opinion but I like working with the colored speech. It helps distinguish speech from regular exposition, especially if one's sight isn't the best.

I'm not really sure why you'd need to distinguish speech from any other text, though. Surely descriptive stuff is just as important as what someone is saying? And...just look at the beginning of each paragraph for speechmarks...

If my character is Bob, I'm not going to say/post "Said bob". You already know it is me by the title of my post.
If you read this like fiction, and it is done in a post format from the POV of the character posting, it is not needed to add a subject unless you are referencing someone else. This would make "Said (person)" completely redundant.

I read these, as a GM/player, as if I were reading a script rather than a story. The Color replacing the speaking while the black is referencing actions or thoughts.

Definitely not saying I'm right, as it is all a matter of perspective and preferences.

Speechmarks?  I am going to assume you mean quotation marks.  The problem with that is quotation marks and speech are not always and shouldn't always be at the beginning of paragraphs.  Sometimes speech should be in the midst of or at the end of paragraphs, and that can create problems for people with all kinds of learning disabilities and other issues.

And as I explained in my original post here, speech isn't necessarily more important, but it does need to be categorized differently and responded to differently.

I like colored speech, and I use it, and plan to keep on using it.  :-)

Different strokes for different folks.  I don't join games that require colors for speech, but nor would I join a game that requires I not use it.

I hate anime pictures. *shrug*  But, yanno, in the scheme of things, it's pretty small.

In my games I do prefer to use colored text for our dialogue.

What's the reasoning for picking out a certain color for a character?

For some colored text for dialogue is for it to stand out from the rest of the post, most usually choose red or blue, but for others it's pretty random. Others like colored text for dialogue, because it makes things just easier to read especially with a long post. I agree and I've found for many it does tend to help readability somewhat here on RPoL.

I ask if a player is going to use 'Color Text' or 'Formatting Text' these are my recommendations, they are NOT a requirement but will add a new level of posting and understand to ones writing in a post.


This message was last edited by the user at 01:38, Mon 02 Feb 2015.

Exactly. The 'Said Bob' is redundant, techinically, but leaving it out would mess with the way I enjoy games. Much like people who use colour instead of quotation marks and commas and such.

Like yourself, I'm not saying I'm right. That's just how I like to play.

Bears mentioning that I don't actively dislike coloured speech. I'm in a game where I have to use it, and I do. And I'm in a game where I don't have to, and I don't. And in the two games I'm running, I neither encourage or discourage it, and some players use it and some don't.

What drives me a bit mad is when players use colored dialogue and/or italics in place of quotation marks.

So this:

The orcs are coming!  Run!  Bob grabbed his sword and dived out of the open window.

Instead of this:

"The orcs are coming!  Run!" Bob said, grabbing his sword and diving out of the open window.

Sometimes speech tags are useful, and sometimes they aren't needed, but they do tend to be clearer.

I don't really like the "Bob said" all the time.  I suppose it is a case of are we emulating sitting around a table playing a game, or writing our own personal book snippets.

That is easily fixed.

"The orcs are coming!  Run!" Bob said, grabbing his sword and diving out of the open window.

"The orcs are coming!  Run!" Bob shouted, grabbing his sword and diving out of the open window.

Bob grabbed his sword and dove out of the open window while alerting his companions.  "The orcs are coming!  Run!"

Bob grabbed his sword.  "The orcs are coming!  Run!"  In a flash he dove out of the open window with a fleeting prayer he would land on his feet and not on his head.

There are many ways to keep text and speech grammatically correct while also allowing for variety so that writing does not get boring and bogged down with he said, she said.  (And those are just three super easy ways you can vary up what is written.)

In reply to otghand (msg # 21):

Yeah. I've seen games where they write in 1st person, too. "I attack the orc."

Can't handle it.

You don't specifically have to say "so-and-so said" every time...just as you don't see that particular phrase used constantly in novels, you can change things around a bit and use different words and stuff without needing to use the exact same method os speech indication every time - if it's only two people who're having a conversation you can get away with not including any narrative description for a few lines once it's established which order they're talking.

Observationally, when I jumped into this thread I stopped scrolling to read the red comment, AND THEN read it from the beginning. I probably would have just read the last few comments and moved on, not having given personal input otherwise.

I enjoy colored text tho I dont require it in my games. It lets everyone have there own unique distinguishable mark.

I would rather have colored text, then a 400 word wall of text describing the mechanical process of eating a peanut butter sandwich while scanning the news paper. Complete with inner monolog about digestive pains.

The colored text just breaks it up and gives your eyes a place holder to rest while you make sense of everything

I prefer colored text (with quotes) because I tend to identify folks by visual cues rather than a tiny little name written of to the side and away from the text I'm actually reading. I can't tell the trouble I've gotten in because I didn't know who I just responded to.

I'm with Shannara and Lord Cal and DLH on this.

Colors aren't necessary in books because one person is writing it all. The author doesn't have trouble keeping straight what was said or done or thought so that another character can respond appropriately. He or she also isn't including instructions to the other characters.

As a GM, I use small+orange to denote OoC instructions/information to my players. I use dark blue in quotes to denote "NPC speech" and darkblue italics for their thoughts (though I rarely share NPC internal monologues. I ask that my players pick a consistent color in quotes for their "speech" and the same color in italics for thoughts.

When I'm reading through several posts, it helps me keep it all straight, especially since some people aren't great with proper punctuation and some tend to run a whole post into a single big block. It's easier to remind them about colors than to harp on grammar and structure.

As a player, I use color for "speech" and thoughts, differentiating with quotes and italics. I desist if asked by the GM, but find games without color-speech harder and slower to read and more likely to misconstrue.

Anything that makes it easier to get things right and less likely that I'll screw up is good for me.
This message was last edited by the user at 03:10, Mon 02 Feb 2015.

I think colored speech is a necessity here, not just for a single reason.

These are a few of my reasons, not in any particular ranking:

I can scroll through a post quickly to find the person's post I'm looking for (my own too). Often I'll read a thread, then have to come back to it later and respond with my own post. I remember Player A said something first, so I can go right to Player A's post with my mouse wheel. "Did I already say something, or was I only thinking about posting it?" I will often ask myself.

If I'm reading a book, I'm focused and relaxed and the narrative is (generally) consistent. When I'm reading/posting to a game, I may have 3 minutes here or there, not everybody is "on the same page" temporally, and players can have different ideas of what they want to do which may be contradictory. Anything that helps keep people straight in those situations -- without my having to reread carefully from Post 1 to reset the situation -- is a boon.

Some players are ... prolific. Over time you get to know for yourself whether their posts include information "of note" or if it tends to be rambling musings about their secret emotions and overanalysis of a situation. For those players, again with the pressed time, it's a boon to be able to pick out "what did they actually say?"

GMs can have a game post with multiple NPCs. Sometimes players have posts with more than one character even. Maybe they aren't professional authors, and the structure of a conversation might leave a bit to be desired. Another boon to understand the flow of a conversation when other cues might be ... lacking.

Very frequently, as the story develops, I find myself wanting to review what some character *actually* said to my PC, and sometimes in what order. Reviewing 12 sentences of Green colored text over the span of 2 threads is infinitely easier (for me) than doing keyword searches for that specific character, limited to the certain posts, and still possibly requiring me to read entire posts when I only wanted those few sentences.

I would argue that dialog actually *is* more important than any other part of a post, discounting combat mechanics during combat. Unless the game is one-on-one, spoken dialog is the primary way player characters communicate and built rapport.
This message was last edited by the user at 03:44, Mon 02 Feb 2015.

OK I read them all and can agree with some and disagree with some.  However it all comes down to personal preferences, if you do not like colored text requirements by the GM, then politely bow out when you learn of them.  Problem solved and your nerves are not irked, plucked or whatever other term you wanna use.  Just my 2 pennies worth.

I agree that, functionally, adding color to speech doesn't detract from the dialogue (and if it's good enough for King James and Geronimo Stilton, who am I to object?), but as a personal preference, I prefer typography to conform to printed standards.  Some players think that coloring speech automatically indicates that it's spoken, but honestly, I don't know if it's spoken dialogue, internal monologue, or a third-person narrative comment (granted, the last case is rare, but I've done it in games before (= ).  Please, folks, don't neglect the quotation marks.  They've worked hard to get to where they are today.  =)

Too, I object to using different colors to indicate different speakers or languages, although I grudgingly accept such conventions.  Perhaps it's due to my advancing years, but it's hard for me to remember if Timmy or Sue is using lavendar or if Sindarin is mauve or burnt sienna.  Using speech tags like "she said" (which is totes common in literature, y'all) makes things much easier to read.  One GM likes to use different real-world languages for fantasy languages, which is far more immersive than using red for Orcish.

One exception is for OOC sections.  Using another color for OOC lines is more gamish, I think, and helps distinguish the narrative bits from the rest of the post.

Ultimately, I don't have a problem with using color for dialogue, but I do find it unnecessary.

I simply see the addition of colour as a tool to be used, or not, if one prefers. The same thing as changing a font to show internal thoughts or as a substitute for telepathic speech. Personally I enjoy the feature and don't really see the use in hating on others using it. If it works for you than great, if not than maybe it is time to accept that another will do as they wish with their posts.

I do have to agree though, with not excluding quotation marks where needed. Not having that little keystroke does tend to make me think the speech is internal and not vocal. A second read through if need be quells that assumption though.

Not all of us like spicy food, but there is no use in calling people out on it or arguing that spicy food should not exist.

Personally, I like to think of colored speech as akin to stinky tofu or durian.  Yeah, it may be weird, but man, do people love it!  =)

I put up with it when others use it.  It's when the GM mandates that *I* use it that I find really annoying.

That's where we can make the choice of joining or not. It is their creation and maybe there is a reason behind their request to differentiate one's speech from narrative.

I like colored speech because it helps people (especially myself) more easily identify when my character is speaking, and thus also find something they may catch in one of my posts.  Sure, if you're always on top of things and responding to posts immediately, it may not be necessary, but when you're looking back through posts to find certain details of what was said, or trying to find something in the morass of posts that occurred when you were away for a vacation or, heaven forbid, post at a slower rate than some other people in the game (sometimes people think they need to post several times a day and you have to search through a page or two of posts to find what's relevant to your character), it just HELPS.

It's a tool.  One I personally use to convey a distinct voice.

I could learn dozens of terms to accurately describe the way someone sounds in my head and hope that everyone else hears their voice the same way I do, or I could put a COLOR on it and say "to heck with it, however you hear it in your head is up to you, but it's gonna be consistent, darn it!"

That way, you can do clever things like have a voice recording play and see if players pick up on the voices without blatantly saying, "Oh, it's this character, but you can't quite make it out so you aren't sure, but it sounds really similar!  But don't be suspicious now~" and instead leave hints and clues.  I've had perky characters use brighter, more energetic colors like pink and yellow, while darker, more broody characters use something like a dark purple, and hotheaded ones take something like a red.  Little ways to help convey their personality that don't require me to write a paragraph every time they speak.