Emoting Classes

While I might agree with "emote" having extended its range from simple feelings to actions which could not be simply discerned in the limited visual environment of SL, why would you bother saying this example at all in a "normal" conversation? It could be quite happily expressed in direct chat as "I am going to wander off now to go all emo on someone". It is, perforce, an embellishment.

Pep (is this an emote, an embellishment?)

that particular emote, delivered as it was with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, is not the point.

It would not be delivered in "normal" conversation.

Actually I can think of only one situation where it would be delivered at all.

I'll add it to my list of kewl exit lines.

Pep (Still hasn't got a sensible answer from his kids about the definition of emo, except they wear black but they are not Goths)

Oh well that's pretty simple. The answer is musical preference:

If they wear black, and listen to Fallout Boy, they're emo
If they wear black, and listen to The Cure, they're goth.

It's your first example that confuses me. If it was TCR I might see the distinction, but Fallout Boy are just taking the mick.

Pep (or maybe emos are too dim to see the joke?)

PS On further interrogation I have determined that checkerboard, red or pink flashes may represent distinguishing marks

Too *oopsie* answer an earlier question, '/me' works in either chat or IM. It shows up in the same color as the rest of your text.

OP, your current emote skills aren't bad, as I'm sure you know. However, I noticed something about it that I would characterize as a common flaw (though really, it's a matter of taste). Your emote was all about you and how you look - Jerboa's rewrite was more interactive, including the listener in the scene. I think, for a dancer, that would be very important.

My bet is that those folks who come to SL from IRC or other, exclusively text-based venues have a tendency to use emotes mostly to describe their appearance ... whereas, since SL is already so visual, in describing appearance you may want to focus on highlighting special points your audience may have missed (e.g. your ankle bells), and describing the effect the watcher's presence is having on you.
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Nika presents some good advice on the use of emotes. Since we have the visuals, there is a lot of unnecessary stuff that just clutters up emotes. What is more interesting is describing the more subtle details that are difficult or impossible to be observed or noted by glancing at someone's avatar.

If my character sits down in a chair, I don't emote myself sitting in the chair. It's a bit redundant, anyone watching can see what I did. Now if I flash a glance at someone and wink at them as I sit down, or there is some eccentricity about how I sit, then that is what you want to convey.

Also, I think you should be careful with long lines of description devoid of dialogue. It gets boring. I have to be honest. I find most of the emotes that strippers do to be incredibly annoying and trite. It's even worse when they are paragraphers describing the way they "slide their hands over their skin and slam their lithe body against the hard steel pole". It's even worse if you are in a crowded club filled with "hoooooo" spam.

Keep in mind your environment as well as your patron. I think the best thing you can do in just talk to people genuinely and make them feel welcomed. If you have something interesting or naughty (or both) to say that's even better. It personalizes your interaction and makes it feel real. If you are going to emote, try to keep it concise, get the best bang for your buck with the words you pick, avoid purple prose like the plague, and mix dialogue in when appropriate.

Since we are sort of body language handicapped in SL, there is a vast amount of unspoken communication just waiting to be tapped into. Note the movement of your eyes, the expression on your face, your body posture, the way you speak, the way you walk, the way you laugh.

Providing imagery to tittilate the senses is another interesting thing to explore. We can't "really" smell, or hear (sans voice), touch, smell, or taste... but if you can make someone recognize these senses it makes it so much more immersive. Talk about the feeling of a finger tracing lightly down the bumps of your partner's spine, how warm and soft it feels, like the tickle of a feather.

Ok... I could blabber on for awhile, but my lunch break is over and I'm already in a hurry to post. I hope I didn't make too many last minute typos.

Cheers!

eh i'm not really sure what Pserendipity is trying to get at but that's just the way i spell and i make quite a few mistakes sometimes. Don't bother most people so shouldn't really bother you.

Nika, thank you i know i need too improve lol but i've also noticed alot of clubs never go into the detail i do but i still want too work on my skills a little more. Jerboa's emote was much much better i agree, i think my main problem is it takes me a few mins too come up with something and not always that works when you are a dancer, you have too be quick on the draw. So it seriously puts my creativity too the test lol. I never came from IRC, the first time i emoted ever was in SL and that was in Gor.

Oh I can deal with a lot, such as smartypants as yourself. Let me make it simple for you and helpful for others: In good form, your example would look something like this:

/me's eyes wander to her Master's crotch, and she quickly looks elsewhere, while sucking in a smirk and a snicker. What was so amusing, had the Master left his pants undone or was it something else that just crossed her mind at the moment? She lets a smile come out on her face.

Now the insult is there (and can be made meaner if you like), but it's fair, no powergaming i.e. it leaves up to the other player to decide for his character if the pants were left open or what, no OOC.

Why so serious, you ask? Because the most important thing people tend to forget about RP is that unlike forum discussions, it's about *cooperation*, not *competition*. An RP isn't supposed to be a battle of wits between the players to just pass the time or inflate one's ego, there are other (games) for that.

Unless of course the RP *is* a battle of wits!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EkBuKQEkio

The best way to learn is to go to other clubs, watch other dancers, and take notes on what you like and what you don't like. Then do the things you like, and don't do the things you don't like.

That's how I treat new dancers at my club who want to learn. I ask them to observe the other dancers one night, and then teach me what's good and what isn't.

(Asking them to do a little homework also serves another purpose for me, by helping me figure out who is willing to put in effort. Usually I hear, "That sounds great, I'll do it tomorrow!" and never hear from the person again.)

There's no one and only one way of being creative. You need your own style. You only develop that by making your own decisions, rather than having an "expert" make decisions for you.

If you want to take a class, that's fine, as long as the class is free. I wouldn't recommend paying someone to tell you something you can learn much better for free on your own.

Sorry, you're sounding like those wimpy educationalists that don't believe in winners and losers, those apologist inclusionists that don't comprehend or deludedly deny the natural desire of the male (and sometimes the female, but not in Gor of course) to battle for an optimum position in the pecking order *wherever* competition is possible - which is most places.

If RP is not a battle of wits it might as well be a sewing circle.

I am delighted, however, that I seem to have succeeded in persuading you to agree with and even reinforce my original contention that the fun is in making subversive, anti-social, disruptive thoughts available to participants, making them think and type fast (if they can!) rather than settling into dull, mundane sequences of /me nods, /me nods, /me nods . . . until /me nods off.

Pep (doesn't RP as such, because he has found similar attitudes to yours prevalent in SL, smothering interesting and provocative RP)

One thing you should keep in mind that most people are more concerned about making a social connection than reading some sort of poetry.

A long, beautiful emote may read well, but if it's self-indulgent and doesn't connect with the customer, then it's just boring.

And in some cases, the long, poetic emote is intimidating, and drives people away.

A shorter, less poetic emote is better if it at least creates interaction with the customer. And better is not just one emote, but an ongoing dialog.

The point someone is making about challenging people- competition vs. cooperation- I don't believe that roleplaying has to be competitive to be good. However, competition is interactive- having a "competitive" attitude actually serves you well, if your customer shares the same mindset.

(This is why couples bored in their relationships look for reasons to fight with each other. Fighting is more entertaining than boredom.)

The fine art of teasing has a "competitive" aspect to it. The best teasers don't give the customer what they want right away- they make the customer work for it. There's an art between being too tough (making the customer give up) and too easy (boring to the customer).

(And in fact, I always advise dancers to never end up sleeping with their customers, or giving them absolutely everything they want. The first time you give it away for free, the expect it that way forever after. You've lost them as a customer.)

In my opinion, the best dancers at my club are not the ones with the longest emotes or the best vocabulary. The best dancers are the ones who make the customers feel involved. And they, incidentally, seem to do better on tips.