This thread contains a list of terms that any aspiring roleplayer should keep handy. You don't necessarily have to use these, but you should know what they mean in context.
Despie: A player that seeks only to have their character engage in romance with the other characters.
Flowery: A flowery sentence is one that contains a large number of adjectives and/or adverbs. It can also refer to a sentence that has an unusual sentence structure. Flowery sentences aren't necessarily bad. The Lord of the Rings and Eragon are both examples of floweriness done well. Twilight is an example of a big flowery mess.
Godmode/Godmod: To godmode is to render one's character utterly impervious to any form of harm, by abusing their Narrative Word of God.
Gullible: Couldn't find this one in the dictionary. Sorry.
Host: (also 'OP') The Host is the person who starts the RP thread. Lit threads tend to have two hosts working together in order to facilitate better plot-writing. Within a thread that he or she has made, the Host has absolute authority.
Lit/Literate: (also 'Advanced') Arguably the highest level of roleplaying proficiency. A Lit has a high level of writing skill, makes few if any errors and, perhaps most importantly, is able to weave deep and entertaining stories containing interesting, well-developed characters.
From a proficiency standpoint, there is very little difference between a Lit and a Semi-lit. The technique and style of a Lit is, however, very clearly superior to that of his or her Semi-lit peers. A Lit's posts will read and flow very well, as well as being technically proficient.
Mary Sue: (also 'Gary Stu') A Mary Sue is a character who is utterly perfect in one or more ways. Such a character is only a Mary Sue if it is detrimental to the quality of their owner's writing - Superman, for example, is utterly invincible, but is prevented from being labelled a Sue because it does not damage the quality of the stories he is in.
Mighty Pens: The Semi-lit Roleplayers' Guild/Society that myself and several of the members here belong to. The main RP section is named as an homage to it, for it has produced some of the finest RPers I have had the privilege to write with.
Narrative Word of God: The ability of the roleplayer to directly affect the environment in which the RP takes place and the characters within that environment. In other words, if you say it happens, it happens. It is therefore necessary to exercise a measure of caution when typing up a post, in order to avoid potential back-pedalling later.
NPC: A character that no player claims ownership over. They are generally fair game.
One-Liner: This is the greatest dread of any Lit and most Semi-Lits. A one-liner is exactly what it sounds like; a post which is, for all intensive purposes, a single 'line' or a single sentence. The meaning can be stretched to include posts of up to three lines or numerous short sentences, depending on how obviously bad the post is. One-liners are normally perpetrated by those below the level of Semi-Lit. An (admittedly extreme, but very possible) example of a one-liner is the following:
(by magikchicken)ph0ru|\/|n0Ob wrote: Suddenly tarzan appeard and punched Steven in teh face! "Ha ha u suck" said tarzan.
OOC: OOC stands for Out Of Character. It is the term used to describe when a person speaks as him or herself within an RP thread.
Powerplaying: The act of controlling another person's character or characters in one's own post. If done without permission, this is an action viewed similarly to Godmodding. If done with permission and guidance from the other character's "owner," powerplaying can lead to a much higher-quality and longer post. (by magikchicken)
Redshirt: (also 'Chaff', 'Peon') Redshirts are NPCs that aren't of much value to any particular player. As such, they are considered fair game unless stated otherwise. This is also used in the traditional sense, to denote an utterly worthless NPC - cannon fodder.
RP: Stands for Roleplay. It's the thing that we do, man.
Semi-Literate: A person who possesses the modicum of intelligence and wit necessary to be a good RPer. Generally only distinguishable from a Lit by a lack of experience which results in occasional inconsistencies in characters, or a lack of great depth to an explanation or backstory. A Semi-Lit always has the opportunity to become a Lit through activities such as roleplaying with Lits, or reading lots of books. (by magikchicken).
Shmoe: A Shmoe is a player who runs through Lit and too far out the other side. Shmoes are those who try too hard to come off as being Lit, and end up with lots of flowery sentences crammed with adjectives and adverbs. They also occasionally use esoteric sentence structure and diction. Note that a person who writes in a style that differs from the norm or has a particularly flowery technique isn't necessarily a Shmoe; a Shmoe's writing will not read and/or flow very well. Tolkien wasn't a Shmoe. Stephanie Meyer is the Ur-Shmoe.
Timewarp: A Timewarp is when the Host or, with the Host's permission, another player skips the narrative ahead by a finite amount of time. Exactly the same as a timeskip in a book.
