I'm sorry but I had to make a reply of some sort on the names rant.

Now I don't know most of you and I don't frequent this forum so please bear with me. If you wish you can have this thread deleteled and never think of it again but please let me voice my opinion since you have voiced yours here. Thats only fair is it not?

And this is my opinion, not the opinion of the author of the names guide just so you know. I was not in any way pressured or manipulated into saying this.

http://critters.4.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=390

Now this sounds ike the rant of those who are personaly offended. The names guide to me seems as though it was aimed at making sure the names were not only properly pernese sounding but also had an element of originality to. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm tired of seeing cliche names.

Now first I would like to point out that the author never said that the names would not be earthish. This makes your comments in that respect both pointless and uncalled for. Yes some would be distincly earthish *but* after generations they would have been changed in the way they are pronounced (and hence altered the spelling dramatically). It is pointless and time consuming to add in a thousand letters to one name just to have it sound the same at the end. It's also a hall mark of the uncreative and I know everyone here is creative so I'm confused as to why theres a need to butcher current names.

The author was right in saying that it's not likely for there to be many names begining with X.. we've all read the books. How many X names do you remember?

Now on the Z instead of X thing. Have you even really listened to names like Xander, Xia and the others. If you had you would notice that the X makes a Z sound anyway. X only makes the 'ex' sound when it's by itself or has e in front of it. This is one of the many underling rules of pronunication that keep the english language from changing dramatically. More importly names begining with X are overused and again uncreative. And well you wouldn't be here if you were uncreative.

On japanese and celtic sounding names. Japanese ones would have been altered over time just like the earth ones. Celtic names are just too complex for the average person on pern. I've noted after reading the Mccaffrery books that names in general were fairly simple. And other then that japanese and celtic names are very much cliched now.

An honourifics... There is a destinct point to this part of the names guide.. It was my impression that farnorth was a Pern rpg as with many others.. The author is trying to keep it sounding like pern. Also there seem to be two rules with honorifics. 1 - that they are no more then two sylables for convience during thread fighting and for the dragons bad memory. 2- They sound natural and roll of the tounge easily. In a thread fall fumbiling over a difficult to prnouce honofic could cost lives. Simple as that.

Now the names guide was not aimed at anyone and was writen for two main reasons. A - Too keep it the names logical and pernese and B - Too keep the element of creativity that goes with writing.

Again I apologise if anyone takes offense to what I have said. These are opinions yes, but they are opinions based in logic.

take care, Loxanna

If you weren't the author and you barely visit our forum what business do you have criticizing the rant of one of our most active users? I'm not saying this to be mean but I personally feel you have no right to criticize something ranted by one person but so obviously agreed upon by others.

But many also disagree with her so all fair.. And what right does she have openly critise someone else?

Well, I've noticed that Shadow has closed the other list, so I'm going to attempt to control my irritation on this one... but once again, I feel the absolute need to speak.

And Shadow, if you feel this insubordiation warrants removal from the board, please do respond in that matter. In all honesty, this one has been enough that if I hadn't been having so much fun RPing with the writers on the RP forum, I'd have already left. Don't take it as a threat, or as a personal insult towards yourself...

But there are some things that being quiet about doesn't help. Had I not posted the initial response, you would never have known just how angry that list made almost everyone, and you'd have shrugged it aside as one member being silly.

Now, on to a response to this other one...

Oh really? This begs to differ:

Nope. Xia is pronounced Gia. Xander does indeed have a Z sound... but Xandry is more like Jhandree. Xavier is very obviously EXavier.

People on Pern are stupid?
I'm not saying that every character on Pern should have a Celtic-sounding name, but the author was stating that names shouldn't end in "wyn". Should names not end in "a", either? It's almost as common...

The honorifics... this time I'm really not going to start on them =P

That's why the author stated that she was writing it after lurking for a while... and why the highlights are:
X names! (characters X'lani, X'tan, Xeriath, Xiaryth)
Wyn Names! (character Hanwyn/H'wyn, others)
Japanese Names! (character N'sumi, others)
Earth-like Names! (characters Scott, Hana, Sarah - among others)
Honorifics! (not even going to list the ones that are obviously not what she likes...)
UN-good names! (obviously pretty much all of them... with the exception of hers, I've no doubt.)

And that's pretty much where I'm at. I'm of the opinion that the right to criticise people isn't restricted only to those who want to parade under the name "anonymous" because they don't want the flame their articles are going to evince... and seeing as the author wasn't willing to leave her name, how was I supposed to take it up with her privately? If you can't handle the heat, stay away from the fire.

And, by the way, the only responses I've gotten yet that aren't in agreement with my post are from people that rarely frequent the RP. I'm not saying that no one else disagrees.... but it certainly appears that those that are most active do agree. Any correlation? I dunno... *shrugs eloquently*


(((BTW... if removal is considered necessary, please remember to remove all of my creations, as well! The Index, the Felines, my characters... so on and so forth. I'd imagine I wouldn't be around any longer, to ensure that!
It's certainly not that I *want* to leave, but I do recognize that my post here won't be appreciated by those who "matter", and I certainly don't intend to stop speaking as I find it necessary!)))

Well duh, we wouldn't rant if it didn't piss us off.

Knowing the author of the rant I know her opinion on this was the same, she wasn't promoting "butchering" the names at all.

Now these two paragraphs contradict each other rather nicely... Of course there weren't many X names in the books, like you said we've all read them. Therefore my question is why would X names be considered 'uncreative' (the word you are so fond of using) ? If they aren't seen in the books then they are most definately originals. Make up your mind before you criticize other's characters names. (Yes i take personal offense at this part seeing as how I have a character with an X name.)

Again I will admit to being offended on this one. While I have no celtic sounding named characters I do have a japanese sounding named character who I'm incredibly fond of. To paraphrase somebody who answered on the rant thread: some of the original settlers were japanese so why wouldn't there be japanese sounding names? I never said they would be exact japanese names just sounding, I know it woudl change over time, even on Earth that has happened.

Again, your point is similar to the ranters on this one so why get pissy at the ranter?

How would you be privvy to such knowledge if you hadn't written it? Even if you did write it you must have fairly close contact with the author of the naming guide who would have told you how offended she/he was by the rant, at least that is how it seems to the casual observer.

Well I know I took offense at both your post and the original reason for all this nonsense.

Listen.

I wrote it, yes.

And now I would like all of this to stop. If you don't like it, I'm not asking you to. It's personal opinion.

My feelings have been seriously hurt by all of this. Therefore, I quit FarNorth. You keep your beliefs, I'll keep mine.

Thank you.

*blinks slowly*

Well then...

I guess if that's what you feel is necessary. And yes, I would imagine that we all knew that you wrote it, Newbie. It wasn't particularly unclear, it was just rather... underhandedly sneaky. It left no one to corner individually, which is rather what I imagine was desired.

And if you think your feelings were hurt by all of this... please do imagine ours!

If that had been the way it had been presented, I don't believe it'd have caused such turmoil.


And last but not least...

That's definitely all I wanted - and, I'd imagine, all anyone else wanted. Thanks for realising it.

One final note, I hope this doesn't cause offense but I thought I should include it.

I never meant this to be a mean gesture. I meant it to be a helpful guide based on my reading and RP experience dealing with Pern. I now realize it caused some turmoil, but I never meant it that way.

I'm sorry Newbie. I didn't mean any offense to you...but it sounded so critisizing I couldn't help but agree with Tigre and the others!

If you feel you should leave. It is your choice. I am personally of the opinion that this doesn't warrant you leaving.

sep

And I thank you for stating that, however way I'll continue to take it. In the future, please consider what you're posting prior to posting it! It really, honestly read as an attack on the RPers at FarNorth, implying that none of us are intelligent enough to come up with our own names. The points in the "guide" were all implying that characters currently RPed had "bad" names.

I took personal offense to this - particularly seeing as many of your points were slandering my own characters! The idea of a Naming Guide isn't a bad one at all - but this one is extremely condescending. It's arrival right after the "Mutant" dispute, especially claiming to be "anonymous", made it look like you were angry at us for disagreeing with your ideas on what should be done with the Weyr, and were using your friendship with the owner as a way to "get back".

I spent a lot of time considering it before actually posting the Rant - and, despite obvious appearances, I wasn't intending to completely trash you. I was needing to expend the absolute anger that I felt over the posting of something so mean, and I was needing to see if other members felt the same way as I did. I've always preferred the idea of "say it to my face" over talking behind someone's back - I wasn't interested in PMing a whole bunch of people to whine ineffectually about something. I guess I probably could have written the whole thing up and PMed it to all of the members, urging them to PM Shadow if they were in agreement... but that seems entirely too underhanded and sly to me. Had you actually signed your name to it I'd have approached you directly and stated my points, only taking the matter to the general board after striking out that way, but there was no signature.

On the matter of that - the posting as "anonymous" - that only increased the feeling of it being an attack on characters instead of a helpful guide. Presented in that manner it was obvious that it was expected to draw ire - ire that the author didn't want to deal with. I'm not saying that this was absolutely your intention; I'm merely stating the way it appeared. Anyone who disagreed would either stay quiet to maintain peace, or take it to the board and get into trouble... I knew I was starting something before I typed the first word.

Anyway, this long-winded diatribe has essentially been an appology - in a very limited way. I am not sorry that I posted what I did, and I'm not sorry that it's drawn attention to something that I feel was unjust. I am sorry that you wrote something that may have been well-meant in such a manner that it read as an insult, and I'm sorry that it's caused such stress on what has been a terrific RP board.

Edit: I was just told that the Name Guide was up before the mutant dispute, and as such I withdraw that objection, and do abjectly appologise for that misunderstanding!