An Inception of Quality

What is quality in dueling, and how does such a concept as quality sneak its way past our defenses to coil its way around our posts? We talk about quality versus quantity, tossing the words about like we really know what we're talking about, that we're the hot cats we are and we can fully comprehend this little conundrum--even when we don't, us lying bastards.

Thing is, we ascribe certain traits to good forum dueling structure: flow, readability, creativity/originality, directness, good use of language, detail, grammar/spelling... Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up, here. Dozens of different categories all combined to create a little nuance called "quality"? When the hell did that happen, and why wasn't I informed?

Truth be told, I did get the memo--then shot the message bearer. We're over-complicating things. Sure, you need to have all of the above, their traits specific to writing in the first place, but a quality post should be one that's simple, straight-forward and gets the job done. Don't get me wrong, I still believe in all of the above and think they're very important things to keep in mind when crafting a duel, or even RP, post, I just don't think we need to complicate matters with an over-abundance of thought put into all of that, at least not straight-away.

Problems arise when people decide to over-simplify or over-complicate, going from one extreme to the other. Over-complication comes in the form of being overly verbose--not necessarily a bad thing cramming in every detail, but some become bored by it. Verbosity is both good and bad, and if one isn't all too skilled with it, it'd be better to shy away from it as one is likely to cause boredom over excitement. An example would be describing every single piece of paint on a door, right down to the cracks, and following it up on how the brass knob seems to be tarnished. Do we really need all that? Is it necessary to overload our sensory input with that much detail? I don't think so--it'd drive me insane trying to read it, or to write it.

Of course, the other extreme is over-simplification, where details are cut out from the heart of the post, slashed away in the hopes of creating a truly aerodynamic post that gets straight to the point. No longer are you talking about the door. It's now just a door, a doot that lacks character. You don't say that the paint is chipped and cracked, or even that it's white. No character, no feeling. This creates a whole new problem where the post is so short that it is useless to the opponent and anyone who happens to read it. We need details to function. Vagueness and ambiguity in posts are a detriment, and we should shy away from them if they interfere with quality.

So where's the happy medium, then? How can we get quality posts without over-stepping the bounds in one way or another? Well, you can't. You can only gauge what you feel is a good post. Does it contain the necessary detail? Does it read and flow well? Are the ideas, attacks and counters original/creative? Are you direct and to the point, and is the use of language good? If you can give a fairly good answer to those questions then chances are your post doesn't suck to holy hell--although sometimes you might want to get a second opinion.

After all, most people say quality is a matter of opinion, like intelligence, and frankly, I don't have one.

 

- W. Visarett