| Falcon79 | Date: Monday, 02-Sep-2013, 3:28 PM | Message # 1 |
 Sergeant
Group: Blocked
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| Hello everyone!
Some personal thoughts as we get started in this chronicle. There has been some argument over slang terms and whether they are polite or not. Well, if you're 200 years old and aren't part of prissy society, then you will be using slang, pretty much always. Because that's how things work in real life. If you want to play an old vampire who always uses formal terms, then I hope you added a bunch of etiquette to your sheet. Food for thought.
Examples of common slang:
Toreador - Rose
Gangrel - Outlander
Nosferatu - Rat
Ventrue - Blueblood
Deputy - Hound
There is nothing inherently disrespectful about these terms. If the admin, storytellers, or others suddenly decide these terms are extremely rude for this particular chronicle, then now's the time to say it. For me, the idea of being berated for calling a deputy a "hound" or a Nosferatu a "rat" is as silly as someone getting upset because someone called a Toreador a "rose."
We have a term for a policeman today. It's called "cop." Fact is, when it started, the slang term was considered impolite. That lasted while, and now, there's nothing impolite about the term at all. Many policemen make an issue about it, wanting to be referred to by a more polite term, but many policemen call themselves cops, little kids say they wanna grow up to be a cop, etc. No one would think of calling someone rude because they said the word cop. It's not a swear word or derogatory term. Most slang words become less impolite as time passes and more and more people use them casually.
So why would vampires, with hundreds of years to use such words casually, consider these slang words even remotely offensive?
Specific thoughts on the term hound, because that came up. People used to go hunting. The master rode the horse, the hounds chased after the animal. The hounds were fast, efficient, and absolutely necessary for the operation. Being called a hound, in that sense, would only be derogatory if you didn't like the implication that you had a master. Well, grow up, sweetie, if you're a hound, then you're a servant of the Sheriff, and ultimately the Praxis. Every hound I've known ever has made a point of constantly calling himself a servant of the Sheriff and the Praxis. They'd never take offense if someone else said the same thing about them. That doesn't mean they have to like the term hound on an individual basis, in the same way that some policemen still don't like being called cops.
In the other games I've been a part of, the Ventrue prince was the pinnacle of etiquette and upper crust society, and routinely used slang terms to refer to things. Why? Because he was old, and that's what old vampires do. It made sense, a lot of sense. If you want a younger vampire to make an issue of it out of ignorance, then great. But to me, in my own, personal vision of the world of darkness, 3rd edition, it makes no sense to pretend that an elder vampire is being intentionally rude when they use slang terms.
TL:DR
Cop used to be derogatory. It isn't any more. Vampire slang terms are the same way. Feel free to make an issue of specific terms IC if you want. Flavor, flair, yay! But OOC, I absolutely disagree that a vampire is intentionally being rude when he uses super common slang terms.
P.S.
About Pieter: Pieter Janszoon has been using the same words and same language with anyone he's ever met since they arrived in the city, and for around 40 of those years, he was doing it as the Primogen of the Gangrel. If you're playing a vampire who's been in the city for a while, remember the shared roleplaying experience. Don't think of him as a new neonate, fresh in St. Louis, who just needs to be told proper etiquette. If your character truly cares about it, then you've already tried telling him many times, and you're annoyed at his stubborn resistance to change his ways. Which, frankly, is how most older kindred are anyway...
Message edited by Falcon79 - Monday, 02-Sep-2013, 3:33 PM |
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| JoOldLogin | Date: Monday, 02-Sep-2013, 4:36 PM | Message # 2 |
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Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
Messages: 115
Status: Offline
| This is going to be closed after I put this up. I'm not deleting this thread because everyone needs to see this:
1) HOW A CHARACTER REACTS TO ANOTHER IS ---- IC.
2) WHAT A CHARACTER VIEWS AS OFFENSIVE IS ---- you guessed it, IC.
There was no reason to put this thread up here, aside from trying to change another player's opinion of IC matters in an OOC fashion. I will direct you to the site:
http://theembraced.ucoz.net/index/gamer_etiquette/0-42
Quote OOC refers to OUT OF CHARACTER. IC refers to IN CHARACTER. This means that there are things that you (the human) knows that you (the character) does not. Keep OOC information separate from IC information. This includes but is not limited to, personal drama between other players, missives, and gossip. Breaking this rule is called Meta-gaming. There are severe repercussions if you are caught doing this. The scene will be negated, your character will be retired, and you could be banned. Please know that we often consider this a lifetime-ban-worthy offense. |
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