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| Jargon and model numbers in RP; I take issue! | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 9 2009, 03:31 PM (718 Views) | |
| J.B. Hemlock | May 9 2009, 03:31 PM Post #1 |
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Lieutenant
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Okay, I have an issue I want to bring up, and that's the use of highly explicit military model numbers in RP, without any kind of glossary. The sort of thing I'm talking about looks like this (apologies to Mars, I don't mean to single him out, this is pretty endemic to the more military-minded folks on the board):
What is a G3P4? I have no idea. I imagine it's a rifle, as the guy raised it to his shoulder, but it could be a shoulder-launched bunny with a grenade duct taped to its body for all I know. I could just google the term, but that's not always satisfactory (in this case, I do see a link to some forum with a picture of some sort of rifle labeled G3P4, right after a link to a picture of some kind of twin turboprop, a link to an electrical connector, some whois info on g3p4.com and a spanish flickr page with a nifty looking pendant called a g3p4). When I bring jargon into my posts, I try to take pains to either include text to describe what the jargon refers to (last round, for instance, it was obvious that a Phalanx was a gun designed to shoot down missiles when I wrote about it in the Teresa Magbuano fiction thread). To me that seems like a good way to do it. Maybe it's not, though. What do you folks think? Is everything fine the way it is? Should we encourage people to write their RP in such a way that you know what's going on even if you don't know what a Pk12/73 Mk VII is? Maybe people would prefer glossaries or something. |
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| Russia (X) | May 9 2009, 03:38 PM Post #2 |
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Resident Anarchist
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Fair enough. I probably should've explained that. I usually do, unless it's something horribly obvious like AAA or WMD. Yeah, I guess there should be some kind of voluntary policy to explain jargon. If you're really wondering it's a H&K G3A4 Battle Rifle made in Pakistan. |
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| Schwerpunkt | May 9 2009, 04:48 PM Post #3 |
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Dalek Caan
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I really don't have the right to comment, since I take it one step further and infuse half my topics with the German language. =[ Edit: my signature made me laugh. Again. |
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| Russia (X) | May 9 2009, 04:49 PM Post #4 |
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Resident Anarchist
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I like the von Moltke quote. |
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| zzcesilia | May 9 2009, 04:51 PM Post #5 |
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Senior Warrant Officer
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Lol EAT MY S56GQ691 LEAD!!!!!!!! |
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| Schwerpunkt | May 9 2009, 05:10 PM Post #6 |
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Dalek Caan
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I recite Sonata Arctica's cover of Bette Midler's "You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings" while holding up a life-size portrait of him! ... Okay, not really. It's a shame he's not more widely known, though. He's so unknown that one of his quotes ("erst wegen, dann wagen") is normally cited as a 'proverb.' |
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| Zactarn Prime | May 9 2009, 06:19 PM Post #7 |
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Birthday Wagon
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Meanwhile, on topic I agree. Sometimes people can get a tad lost, and maybe the military mods should have to come up with a shortlist of some commonly mistaken terms. Nothing like a pistol, I mean, we know what that is. But maybe some typical Rifles and such. Same for the econ mods. They should be forced to do the same. |
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| Russia (X) | May 9 2009, 06:27 PM Post #8 |
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Resident Anarchist
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I kind of started that. I can expand to it. It's in the War Room. |
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| Russia (X) | May 9 2009, 06:47 PM Post #9 |
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Resident Anarchist
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http://z9.invisionfree.com/21c/index.php?showtopic=2855 Updated for your pleasure. Also, you may know use that thread to ask what something means. |
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[align=center] Russia Today Ministry of Foreign Affairs Armed Forces of Russia Research Rosoboronexport [/align]
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| zzLyly | May 9 2009, 06:50 PM Post #10 |
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For the record, I do not know what AAA is, unless you meant to just type AA. I think it may be easiest to simply add an asterisk to whatever term you think may be confusing and explain it at the bottom of the post. |
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| zzcesilia | May 9 2009, 06:56 PM Post #11 |
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Anti-Aircraft-Artillery |
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| zzLyly | May 9 2009, 07:02 PM Post #12 |
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Okay, I knew the majority of it. In any case, it's safe to assume that you can assume nothing. That is, never assume people know what you're talking about without very careful and clear explanation. |
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| Russia (X) | May 9 2009, 07:04 PM Post #13 |
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Resident Anarchist
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There's a dictionary, in the link I posted. Off the top of my head I have a lot of them right there. Regardless, I'll put up a resources thread too, probably steal some of CSJs, just so people can find some stuff on their own. This stuff is always in the War Room (except for CSJ's excellent guide). |
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[align=center] Russia Today Ministry of Foreign Affairs Armed Forces of Russia Research Rosoboronexport [/align]
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| Schwerpunkt | May 9 2009, 07:05 PM Post #14 |
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Dalek Caan
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AA = Anti-Aircraft AAA = Anti-Aircraft Artillery SPAAG = Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (ie, Germany's Gepard) SPArt = Self-Propelled Artillery (ie, PzH 2000) Domestically produced variants of common guns is just odd. That was pretty obscure, X. |
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| Greece (TheOne) | May 9 2009, 07:06 PM Post #15 |
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Maybe you want a glossary of animals, food, slang for each country too? No, but seriously, is this really an issue? Don't know what something is? Look it up on google or wiki. |
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| Dax | May 9 2009, 07:07 PM Post #16 |
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Il Duce
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qft. |
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| J.B. Hemlock | May 9 2009, 07:25 PM Post #17 |
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Lieutenant
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That's a reasonable attitude to take, I suppose. At the same time, if you force your reader to stop and do fairly extensive research on a term that's bandied about in a work of fiction, you're probably going to lose the reader. Looking at the rifle in Mars' piece, for example. I'm pretty sure, from context, that it's a rifle. I don't know anything else about it, though. Why is it mentioned specifically by model number? Is that significant? Is there something that's going to come up later in the story where it will matter that it's not any other kind of rifle? Nothing else in the piece is mentioned with that much specificity, so it must be significant. Googling it, I have to go to page 2 before I come up with anything that actually goes on to talk about the rifle. The page that shows up on page 2 mentions that it's kind of a hybrid assault/sniper rifle. Is that what's significant about it? I mean, I've read fiction that goes into that kind of detail over items, but they typically will do it for everything, and they'll still do it in a way that you can suss out what's happening. I guess that's my main issue with that sort of thing. If the item is so important to the piece that it needs to be mentioned by model number, at least say what it is: "He raised his own weapon, a G3P4 to his shoulder, took aim and opened fire. The ungainly rifle, sort of a hybrid sniper/assault weapon, was renown for its accuracy, and he had high hopes of striking his target." I am, after all, going to be bringing the TRW LEMDE into the RP pretty soon. Be nice if people could figure out what that was from context, mmm?
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| Schwerpunkt | May 9 2009, 07:27 PM Post #18 |
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Dalek Caan
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http://www.google.com/search?client=firefo...G=Google+Search Second hit = HK G3. Indent under that cites the G3P4 as an asset used by Pakistan's rangers. L2google, dewd.
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| Russia (X) | May 9 2009, 07:49 PM Post #19 |
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Resident Anarchist
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That was a lapse. Poor me. I should've put in it's Pakistan's version of the G3A4. Blah. And if you can't figure what that is lrn2wiki/google etc. I mention things specifically because I'm specific, IDK. I strive for a little bit of detail wherever I go. Not a lot, but some. If of course it comes to the top of my head when I'm writing, as I don't bother looking stuff up.* I'm not in the "author" mold. It wasn't all that complex, wiki G3P4 and it redirects to H&K G3. It actually brings you right on down to the variants section. I guess there is a little significance to the G3P4, in that: A. It's in the same lineage as the G3A4, which is a shorter model (and has drum sights like on MP5), indicating the troops were only going in to provide security B. It's specific to the unit involved, which sort of makes it a little more interesting/unique (w/e). Eh?
Modual descent engine, used in the Apollo mission(s). *The scary thing was that something that obscure is "off the top of my head." |
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[align=center] Russia Today Ministry of Foreign Affairs Armed Forces of Russia Research Rosoboronexport [/align]
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| J.B. Hemlock | May 9 2009, 08:34 PM Post #20 |
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Lieutenant
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I'll shut up about this. Looks like I'm the only one who objects, so I'll just deal with it. ![]() Mars, I apologize for using your post as an example for this. I've irritated you by it, which was not my intention. I had brought it up as an example of the sort of thing that makes it difficult to read some of the RP fiction on the board, with the intent that we'd discuss it the way you might in a writers circle. This was inappropriate on my part, and I won't do it again. |
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| Russia (X) | May 9 2009, 08:37 PM Post #21 |
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Resident Anarchist
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No, it's OK. It's a valid concern. I will make more effort in trying to change this next time I write something like this. Or maybe I won't: "The soldiers had trusty PVS-12s with them ..." Hehehe... |
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| United States [Sel] | May 9 2009, 08:42 PM Post #22 |
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The Creator
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I would just say something basic like AK47, M16, Uzi or gun. I don't particularly care for specific model numbers. |
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| zzLyly | May 9 2009, 08:46 PM Post #23 |
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I agree, that's generally the best solution. But if someones going to worry about noting what is meant, I'd just add a thing at the bottom of a post, as I said before. |
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| zzcesilia | May 9 2009, 09:08 PM Post #24 |
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EPIC RAMBO = Yes in Canadian EH! = is a noun best used at the beginning and end of each sentence Any Cultural Reference to Canada = Replaceable with any third word in the sentence Thus "Yes I would like to order a hamburger" would become "EH! EPIC RAMBO I WOULD MAPLE SYRUP THAT ORDER OF HOCKEY STICKS, EH!" |
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| Stoklomolvi | May 9 2009, 09:23 PM Post #25 |
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Lieutenant
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wtf fail. |
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| zzcesilia | May 9 2009, 09:39 PM Post #26 |
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No.... "EH! WTF WIN EH!" |
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| Dax | May 9 2009, 09:55 PM Post #27 |
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Il Duce
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It really, truly is beginning to get annoying. It was funny for a while, but it's getting old. |
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| zzcesilia | May 9 2009, 09:58 PM Post #28 |
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Ok i'll stop now. |
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| Max | May 9 2009, 10:15 PM Post #29 |
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:lol: /winthread |
[align=center] [/align]I watched them strap him into the seat and shut the door. He might of looked a bit nervous about it but that was about all. I really believe that he knew he was going to be in hell in fifteen minutes. I believe that. And I've thought about that a lot. He was not hard to talk to. Called me Sheriff. But I didn't know what to say to him. What do you say to a man that by his own admission he has no soul? Why would you say anything? I've thought about it a good deal. Cormac McCarthy | |
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| zzcesilia | May 9 2009, 10:17 PM Post #30 |
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Haha Yes someone liked it. |
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| aramil | May 10 2009, 12:23 AM Post #31 |
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Hm, JBHemlock, I must say I'm in the same boat with you in this, as someone who has a lot of RPing experience but close to no modern military technology experience. It's not a big deal, but it'd be great for those who have the knowledge to help us tech novices out when they can, though a lot of that already happens. |
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| zz(Dwight) | May 10 2009, 03:58 AM Post #32 |
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(To Lazy to read the entire posts so here it is) If you're talking about guns and weapons, I agree without doing the Jargons, but if you're using it for aircraft. Use this. It lists all the acronyms for the helicopters and example so if you plan to make a new helicopters (especially the US) and use the USAAF Designation System to your aircraft, you can use that one. |
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| zzkyogen | May 10 2009, 04:46 AM Post #33 |
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Senior Sergeant
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can't people just write rifle or pistol? i don't know any weapons except if i search it online |
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| zzBugs | May 10 2009, 08:50 AM Post #34 |
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I think just searching it online would be the better option. Most nations have a weapon that is specific to them and their military use, so you can either 1) Look on the players Wiki military page (which usually has it) or 2) Just type in what you have. IF your that confuzzled by it...we do have an ooc discussion thread. |
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| J.B. Hemlock | May 10 2009, 11:51 AM Post #35 |
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Lieutenant
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Well, in my case, it's more the sort of thing where, if I'm jarred out of a piece of fiction enough to have to think "What the hell is this? Google time?" then the author has lost me as a reader. That's just me, though. |
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