[SUGGESTION] Disallow text-to-speech in roleplay.

[Kana]

Okay, lets be honest, what your saying makes full since. I understand what your saying and its actually not a bad idea. AGAIN not a bad IDEA. But in practice it wont float. You have mute people, and people like me who know JSL, but when i speak to my non hearing friends a bunch of people loose there minds. In fact when one of my mute friends (in game) got mugged and didn't have a phone and i was translating for them it was a mess. Many, Many people complained telling them just to use TTS. I know of so many Mute people who would love to not use it, but because of backlash from people, they have no other choice. Now there could be some limit or something to TTS, cause not every shop keep, or teacher knows it. But if you remove it completely its just going to make it harder for the Mute people. Not because they cant use it, but because OTHERS will get mad and basically fight them for NOT using it.

I'd say it'd be fine to use it in class, but at stores, you could potentially action bringing whatever you want from the shelf to the counter anyways. That's what you'd do in a real store, you usually don't need to talk to the cashier at all. If it was disallowed, people wouldn't be able to tell you to use it, as that'd be practically saying "yeah break the rules for me real quick" The same problem happens with teachers IRL though, mute people don't just pull out their phones and start TTSing the teacher in the middle of class. Sometimes they bring a friend who can translate, or have one on one sessions with people who understand sign language. Very rarely, but sometimes, teachers bring in sign-language translators if they have a lot of mute students. TTS makes the struggle of being mute WAY too easy to RP, and cuts out a lot of vital and storyful roleplay moments.

 

[maraa]

Many, Many people complained telling them just to use TTS. I know of so many Mute people who would love to not use it, but because of backlash from people, they have no other choice.

They do have a choice, it's their character and they can do what they want with their characters. They shouldn't feel forced to use TTS for the sake of others if it doesn't fit their character's lore. . . People shouldn't give others backlash from the actions THEIR character would perform too, I don't believe it's their place to do so. Like if you're mad about how someone wants to play out their character, just don't roleplay with them, simple. But like I said, they always have a choice, they just don't like the negative outcome.

 

[Lizalopod]

Neutral

Having a phone and not being able to use TTS to communicate is like, bruh, why?

Like I get the point and I would have +1ed it if we still only had flipphones, but with smartphones it makes sense that people would use TTS to communicate

And this comes from someone who uses TTS actively in voice chat to avoid speaking. Its really useful to communicate honestly, I can't think of an icly reason why everyone would just stop using it.

If you wanna have the struggle of having a mute without tts, go for it dude, but we shouldn't force others to do it imo

 

[Kana]

Neutral

Having a phone and not being able to use TTS to communicate is like, bruh, why?

Like I get the point and I would have +1ed it if we still only had flipphones, but with smartphones it makes sense that people would use TTS to communicate

And this comes from someone who uses TTS actively in voice chat to avoid speaking. Its really useful to communicate honestly, I can't think of an icly reason why everyone would just stop using it.

If you wanna have the struggle of having a mute without tts, go for it dude, but we shouldn't force others to do it imo

What's the point of your character being mute then? Is it to be quirky?

 

[HighlightedTwin]

I don’t wanna sound dumb but like I’d understand if it was a character who was uhm… deaf. Like how is a deaf character gonna use TTS to communicate… uhm. Gemi made a point. It’s not like mute people can’t hear what others are saying. I think people are trying to have their character adapt and use innovative ways of speaking. Someone in my class was using TTS. I feel like there was an instance where they used to clown around but other than that it was used to have conversation athough they sometimes went back into JSL. What I’m saying is, TTS and JSL should be a choice of the player for their character to use. As I said I think it’s just innovative way for mute characters to communicate. But like I don’t know… I feel dumb. And if you’re one of those people who actually use TTS do note that it’s not always accurate with its pronunciation as in certain words won’t come across what the user is trying to portray. So if you’re gonna use TTS at least… roleplay it out a little more?

 

[Yume_]

-1

I don't think most people have their characters mute as choice, there's been an uprise of gangrpers who find that idk ripping someone's tongue out is cool. Tongues are very important to yknow, talking. And thus characters go mute. I don't see any problem with letting players just use TTS, sure it might be kinda annoying but at the end of the day it's not a huge deal. As someone who *has* made a mute character by choice, I did get JSL and everything, but when you're stuck to just JSL it becomes harder to find random new players to roleplay with.

 

[Naishoten]

I don’t wanna sound dumb but like I’d understand if it was a character who was uhm… deaf. Like how is a deaf character gonna use TTS to communicate… uhm. Gemi made a point. It’s not like mute people can’t hear what others are saying. I think people are trying to have their character adapt and use innovative ways of speaking. Someone in my class was using TTS. I feel like there was an instance where they used to clown around but other than that it was used to have conversation athough they sometimes went back into JSL. What I’m saying is, TTS and JSL should be a choice of the player for their character to use. As I said I think it’s just innovative way for mute characters to communicate. But like I don’t know… I feel dumb. And if you’re one of those people who actually use TTS do note that it’s not always accurate with its pronunciation as in certain words won’t come across what the user is trying to portray. So if you’re gonna use TTS at least… roleplay it out a little more?

This 100%, when I use TTS I never portray it with any other punctuation other than a period. I'd you are using anything else that would never be able to be portrayed. You also have to be using only words with it otherwise it seems ridiculous to me. Honestly I think there are ways for it to be ok to use and areas where it is ok to use. But just make sense with it other than doing laughing or stuff like that. In the end I prefer using JSL though.

 

[Lizalopod]

What's the point of your character being mute then? Is it to be quirky?

It's something that can be used for character development and backstory. I used to have a mute character and I didn't find myself using TTS, rather JSL and a notebook to communicate with

If you don't wanna do it, sure, but that doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't do it. It also doesn't even make sense icly if everyone just... didn't use it anymore.

 

[OhNoNate]

-1
As mentioned above me, there are now smartphones and it makes sense they would have TTS on them which they could use. If someone wants to use TTS let them, if they want to make an app for JSL they can as well. It's their characters just let them choose how they want to communicate

 

[gatekeeper]

IGN: ImKana
DATE: 12/28/21
WHAT YOU WANT TO SUGGEST OR MENTION:
I don't know if this has been suggested before or if it's even thought about at all really in the community, but it's something that has bothered me for the longest time. Text-to-speech is what a lot of RPers with characters that can't speak use as a method of communication. While it was creative at first, It defeats the point of your character not being able to speak. I believe it should be encouraged that people put effort into writing a sign-language application if they'd like to communicate.


HOW WILL THIS BENEFIT THE SERVER/COMMUNITY?:
While I don't believe this is a huge issue, it could help make the server a more roleplay-minded environment. Disallowing text-to-speech would finally encourage proper mute characters and stop quickly making characters with no thought into their story/lore. If you're going to make a mute character, you shouldn't cut corners, apply for sign-language or roleplay not being able to speak at all. TTS makes things a lot more boring, and when people send TTS messages through IC, nobody reads them off as an actual TTS message, and they read it as a standard message being sent, which again defeats a mute character's purpose.

Of course, I am open to any opinions regarding the topic and would love to hear anyone's thoughts.


Please remember that I am writing this at 2:30 AM; if the grammar sucks, don't blame me :sob.

+1

imagine hearing the same robot voice everywhere. insanity
this would be pretty hard to implement/keep track of, though. there are certain circumstances where tts could be realistically used, however its overuse makes it not only annoying to see, but also extremely unrealistic
there are other ways to convey simple messages in everyday situations, for example basic gestures that don't need to rely on tts for literally everything. even if it is used, keeping it to a minimum would be best

just apply for jsl, ez

 

[HighlightedTwin]

They do have a choice, it's their character and they can do what they want with their characters. They shouldn't feel forced to use TTS for the sake of others if it doesn't fit their character's lore. . . People shouldn't give others backlash from the actions THEIR character would perform too, I don't believe it's their place to do so. Like if you're mad about how someone wants to play out their character, just don't roleplay with them, simple. But like I said, they always have a choice, they just don't like the negative outcome.

You emphasize “their character” a lot in this. Shouldn’t we also make this a valid point to oppose someone’s method of roleplaying their character’s way of communicating?

+ 1
in reality, using text-to-speech is just a lazy way of roleplay. if you are too lazy to adequately roleplay as a mute person, don't do it. you're just being disrespectful (and also not true to reality at all).

Doing just a bit of research I don’t think it’s disrespectful nor is it “not true to reality”. In a growing world of technology, people are gonna use their smartphones to communicate and there’s always apps to help with that. TTS is one of them. Lazy or not they are still roleplaying.

Some peoples points are a bit contradicting here. I personally don’t think it should be disallowed but at least staff could limit the usage of TTS in a way of discouraging it.

 

[Naishoten]

Doing just a bit of research I don’t think it’s disrespectful nor is it “not true to reality”. In a growing world of technology, people are gonna use their smartphones to communicate and there’s always apps to help with that. TTS is one of them. Lazy or not they are still roleplaying.

Some peoples points are a bit contradicting here. I personally don’t think it should be disallowed but at least staff could limit the usage of TTS in a way of discouraging it.

I agree with this greatly as I have chosen my character to have a defect in their vocal cords causing her to have pain when talking, I did this when I first join and I love them as a character. I limit my use of TTS when I can. There are just some scenarios where I need it.

 

[justsimba]

-1/+1

I agree that how a lot of people use Text-to-speech avoids the factor people are mute and should have more conversations to people within JSL instead of always using TTS (which I have seen people do)
But it shouldn’t be removed completely. And I say this as someone who has a mute sibling irl, Text-to-speech is often times used when out in public. It gives that person who is mute a sense of independence that, without tts that person wouldn’t have because of the people who don’t know jsl (and it’s realistic and reality that not everyone knows sign language and is able to learn or have a desire to learn) it’d be hard to communicate. Yes paper is useable but it isn’t the most reliable source due to the factor that in the server, the chances of the book being stolen are very high, especially if your talking in a very populated area. It as well helps to grab someone’s attention when in the other room (which my sibling often does for my parents and I) and is also good for when your trying to communicate with say someone who is driving and cannot look at the person using sign language.

I do believe that there should be rules/guidelines on how text-to-speech is used due to the factor I’ve seen many players only use text-to-speech and not sign language. But it would be unrealistic to completely remove that factor of communication. And if rules/guidelines are put in place and/or if anyone has questions on text to speech or anything of such id be more than happy to help and give my opinion in.

 

[justsimba]

I'd say it'd be fine to use it in class, but at stores, you could potentially action bringing whatever you want from the shelf to the counter anyways. That's what you'd do in a real store, you usually don't need to talk to the cashier at all. If it was disallowed, people wouldn't be able to tell you to use it, as that'd be practically saying "yeah break the rules for me real quick" The same problem happens with teachers IRL though, mute people don't just pull out their phones and start TTSing the teacher in the middle of class. Sometimes they bring a friend who can translate, or have one on one sessions with people who understand sign language. Very rarely, but sometimes, teachers bring in sign-language translators if they have a lot of mute students. TTS makes the struggle of being mute WAY too easy to RP, and cuts out a lot of vital and storyful roleplay moments.

This is true, but there isn’t always someone who is able to translate for you within that class. And you won’t always be able to use context with say items or something of the sorts around you to inform what it is your saying, and the person you are talking to doesn’t know JSL. So, you either stay quiet (which is what I do for Atlas) or if there’s no other option, you use text-to-speech or even paper if you have it on you. Which I won’t lie I sometimes do for Atlas as well.

yes, most teachers and professors do know JSL which is a rather large help but there’s ones who don’t as well- so when facing a new teacher/professors you have to treat it as if they don’t know it until you learn that they do.

 

[Kana]

This is true, but there isn’t always someone who is able to translate for you within that class. And you won’t always be able to use context with say items or something of the sorts around you to inform what it is your saying, and the person you are talking to doesn’t know JSL. So, you either stay quiet (which is what I do for Atlas) or if there’s no other option, you use text-to-speech or even paper if you have it on you. Which I won’t lie I sometimes do for Atlas as well.

yes, most teachers and professors do know JSL which is a rather large help but there’s ones who don’t as well- so when facing a new teacher/professors you have to treat it as if they don’t know it until you learn that they do.

I personally just think there are better ways to roleplay being mute. For example, finding a way to make the teachers aware that you're mute just as you would in real high school. They will call on you less, or know to bring in someone who speaks sign language. I don't know if there's a way to completely get rid of it being used, and in some situations, I don't mind, but a lot of the time it's just used as a lazy way to communicate without any actual roleplaying involved.

You could try your best to use things like simple hand gestures, pointing to things, or just common body language to convey what you want. If you aren't ready for the struggle of not being able to actually communicate with anyone, you probably shouldn't roleplay being mute at all. This suggestion isn't just for the staff, it's for the community as well.

 

[Lizalopod]

I personally just think there are better ways to roleplay being mute. For example, finding a way to make the teachers aware that you're mute just as you would in real high school. They will call on you less, or know to bring in someone who speaks sign language. I don't know if there's a way to completely get rid of it being used, and in some situations, I don't mind, but a lot of the time it's just used as a lazy way to communicate without any actual roleplaying involved.

You could try your best to use things like simple hand gestures, pointing to things, or just common body language to convey what you want. If you aren't ready for the struggle of not being able to actually communicate with anyone, you probably shouldn't roleplay being mute at all. This suggestion isn't just for the staff, it's for the community as well.

I don't think it should be removed completely though tbh, maybe limited in some way. It's actually realistic to be able to communicate via TTS if you can't speak, like you have your phone in your hand why not use it lol.

It should be up to people to use it or not honestly. If you don't wanna use it, alright, if you do, that's really just your choice.

 

[HATOLA]

It's something that can be used for character development and backstory. I used to have a mute character and I didn't find myself using TTS, rather JSL and a notebook to communicate with

If you don't wanna do it, sure, but that doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't do it. It also doesn't even make sense icly if everyone just... didn't use it anymore.

they even not holding phones when they doing it LOL

 

[Naishoten]

they even not holding phones when they doing it LOL

I will admit I accidentally have had my phone out of my hand when I sent the message but I will always hold it in my hand for a while after and usually during when I'm doing it.

 

[Lizalopod]

they even not holding phones when they doing it LOL

You can harrass them with that when they do it, call it out or smthn

If they don't have it out you could argue they're failrping

 

[HATOLA]

You can harrass them with that when they do it, call it out or smthn

If they don't have it out you could argue they're failrping

Im not going to deal with that, it will be just easier for people with JSL; This is why Im not hiring people who using the thing -> its unrealstic to hold a phone AND A lot of items for customers.