Post by Grey on Sept 17, 2012 0:18:12 GMT -6
For anyone I haven't had the chance to talk to yet - sup, I'm Grey. I'm an avid name-rater and I often held little critique sessions on Neopets. As a result, I've seen a lot of different styles and approaches, and I've talked to a fair few people about it. Name-rating can be a tricky business anywhere, so I thought it might be helpful to condense what I've observed into a 'guide' of sorts.
(The title is inspired by ‘Tigger on the couch’, a very enjoyable book by Laura James, and Tawnyspots, a Thunderclan cat. Who also happens to be a light grey tabby. I kid you not.)
Let’s start with an overview. I hope you don't mind if I make this pretty basic; it's no slur on your intelligence, I'm just trying to be thorough.
What is a name-rate?
A name-rate is exactly what it sounds like – an examination of a character’s name. For Warriors, however, that tends to take on a whole new level. In most cases, fandom or otherwise, an original character’s name is not a big deal, right? As long as it sounds cool, you’re set. But Warriors? Goodness gracious, Late Cretaceous.
The things I have seen go down on name-rate boards. That said, a lot of it can be avoided and negated by a little common sense.
Where does a name-rate occur?
Most commonly, they’ll appear on various forums, such as Neopets’ Role Playing boards. That’s where I do mine, anyway, and it’s relatively popular there. (Ailuronymy doesn't count as name-rating, that's definitely more a critique thing). Of course, there are various blogs that will also do name-rates, but that’s their business and I’m going to write this about how best to conduct public name-rates. Adapt as need be.
Who can make a name-rate board?
Anyone. There’s no kind of qualification you need. You just need to make the board, and you’re set. Sometimes you can even share a board with someone else and rate alongside them, but keep in mind that you should always ask permission first.
Why does a name-rate even exist?
For most ordinary original characters, I’m not sure. For Warriors, though, it’s a different story. Warriors is a fandom where character creation has an enormous amount of interpretation intrinsic with it, and there’s a lot of diverging opinions about the “right” way to do things. As well as that, people like to hear other people’s perspectives of their characters’ names, both to support and challenge them. Name-rate boards can also be excellent places to meet and greet with other fans. They’re a highly social event.
And finally,
How do you create a name-rate?
Now we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s do this.
Step one.
Create the board; title it appropriately to stop any kind of confusion. That means you should really put “Warriors name-rates”, as compared to “warriors’ name-rates” or any other kind of derivative. More than once, puzzled kids have come onto the board with, I kid you not, “Urkheart the Wild” and “Sir Cardovan”, mistaking the title to mean a more medieval type of warrior.
The title of the series is Warriors, with a capital letter. While writing it as such might not stop all misunderstandings, there’s a fair chance that it will limit them. It’s usually a good idea to clarify in your first post as well. Which brings me to the next point.
Step two.
Clarify your rules. This is fundamentally important. The best rules are clear, concise and reasonable. You should state what Warriors is, for those that might be thinking knights and dragons, and you should also state how you will be rating names. More on that later.
Other significant things to include are your name and requests, if you want people to introduce themselves when they post, for instance. It tends to create a friendlier, more approachable atmosphere I find, which is what name-rating should be about (among other things).
Your rules should specify your requirements as well, which varies for the individual. Regardless of what they are, they should be entirely unambiguous. Number them, if you want, but it’s not necessary. The most common requirements dictate your preferred number of names per post, what ranks are allowed (such as warriors, leaders, kits or apprentices), whether renames are welcome, whether you was description to be submitted as well, so on.
And finally, your expectations. If it’s relevant to reinstate the need to follow the forum’s rules, then do that. It’s best to explain briefly what behaviour you would like people to demonstrate while on your board; never, however, threaten them. “If you are rude, I will kick you out” is one of the stupidest rules. You cannot physically remove anyone, don’t pretend like you can. Not to mention, you are practically asking for people to disobey you on purpose – people are inherently like that. It’s like saying “no crashers” on a role-play board; you’re pretty much asking for trouble.
It’s perfectly fine to say you would prefer that people were polite at all times, and that you have the right to refuse to reply and/or name-rate for someone who is behaving badly.
What isn’t fine is censorship. You cannot request that people do not question your rates; if you have given a rate, you must be able to respond to people’s questions about why. That’s why they’re there, after all – for your opinion. That said, don’t think you’re all that because someone wants your take on something; if you start bandying about nonsense like “it’s my board, I don’t have to give you an answer, I do what I want, yolo”, then you really have no business making the board in the first place, get over yourself. It's a rare thing when that happens in any case, so I'm sure you all know how to conduct yourselves properly.
Step three.
You’ve got a gorgeous new board. Now what? If you’re lucky, some fans are going to scamper in all delighted to see you, and post their names. Awesome.
So you rate them. I suggest a ‘FIFO’ approach; First In, First Out – essentially, first come, first served. That means you don’t rate your friends’ names first if someone asked before them. That’s incredibly rude and if you want people to be pleasant on your board, lead by example. I’ll go in-depth into the act of rating itself in a bit.
If you want people to rate with you, make sure you include a note in your first post saying they need to ask (or, if you don’t care whether they ask or not, say so). Just keep in mind that you have no control over their rates, and they might not agree with your opinions of names at all. I find this is part of the charm of Warriors, though; one board can have an entire spectrum of perspectives.
You might like to post your own names in your first/second posts as well so that guests can rate them (if they like) to keep themselves entertained while you critique their names; the name rating process can be a bit slow, especially if you’re new at it. I have seen some people demand a rate-for-a-rate system, but I can't say I approve of it. Rate-for-a-rate is where the board maker posts their names and says that a guest must rate them, otherwise the board maker won't rate the guest's names. I consider that to be similar to a review ransom (when fanfiction writers beg for reviews or they won't post, et cetera), and it's not nice or professional. It's kind of conceited and clingy, really. That said, always feel free to post your names on your board - just make it optional to rate them, not mandatory.
If you do post your names to be rated, don’t get whiny if people give you awful rates. That’s childish. You can ask why if you want, but don’t expect them to reply; they don’t have to. They’re guests on your board, and they’re not bound by the requirement to defend their opinion. (That said, you’d want to hope they’d explain anyway). Even if they flame your names, you should never give their names undeserved bad rates; that’s completely and disgustingly unprofessional. It’s called ‘revenge rating'. Not cool at all.
Note:
You could be anywhere between a brand-new rater and an old pro, but regardless of your age, experience or style, someone is going to disagree with you – vehemently. It’s inevitable, because that’s what this fandom is about, and name-rating especially. You can’t stop that, and you’d be mad to try. Instead, you need to develop ways of coping with it – and if you do that, you’ll find that discussions can actually be one of the absolute best things about it. I’ll go over that in another section, though.
Don’t try to stifle casual conversation either. People are going to want to chat, especially if their friends are also on your board. Don’t try to stop them, unless the topic is really inappropriate and likely to get everyone in trouble from the admin. If anything, encourage people to hang around and talk; it’s fun, and a great way to pass time between rates. Not to mention, it saves you the trouble of bumping up your board all the time.
Yeah, cool, now tell me how to actually rate names, kthnx.
You’re going to need a few things for this. All Warriors name raters will require:
- a style.
- a healthy dose of common sense.
- patience.
- internet access.
- one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear.
- an ability to take both positive and negative criticism.
- a demeanor that doesn’t scare small children.
1. A style.
Everyone unavoidably has a style, whether or not you’re aware of it. It’s the way you rate, simply put. It’s best to put this in your rules somewhere, as a form of warning; that way, no one will be surprised by your rates – and this is good, because then they really have no business flying into rages about it. They asked for your opinion while knowing your perspective on the matter. In that sense, it works partly as a safety clause. That said, don’t expect people not to question you about it.
What is my style?
There’s a couple of aspects to style. The first is your general school of thought. This can be:
Traditional: derived from the first arc of canon, with alterations, et cetera. Ailuronymy is just one possible branch of traditionalism; traditionalism is a spectrum of opinions, not one almighty boot of the law stomping on everyone's fun. I'm an ailuronymic traditionalist, but I think traditionalism's been covered, so moving on.
Functional: in support of names that solely describe the cat, free from canonical restraints.
Creative: essentially limitless, uninhibited interpretation, with a focus on elaborate imagery, symbolism and sound.
Canonical: accepting only prefixes and suffixes that appear in canon.
Third-style: viewing names as a straightforward description of the cat requiring no additional explanation, with a –y often added to the suffix.
One-part: a system where all prefixes and suffixes correlate to form meaning and description.
These are very basic definitions, and unless you really know what your school of thought is, it’s best to default to saying nothing until you’re certain. If you say you’re traditional, and then rate canonically, people might spit chips. And, of course, within each category, there are dozens of nuances between individual raters – you must do what makes sense to you, because you will be the one to defend it.
The next aspect of your style is divided into two categories:
Analytical: less emphasis on your personal preference, you rate names using a consistent set of criteria.
Lyrical: heavily based on personal preference, you rate names depending on your emotional response and the flow of the name as a whole.
Generally speaking, creative-style is almost always lyrical in approach, and traditional, functional and third-style tend to favour a more analytical method. Regardless of your approach, however, it’s important that you always give reasons for your rates. Which brings me to the next aspect.
Whatever your perspective of rating, you’ll need to actually give some kind of definite and definitive insight into the name, and to do that, you’re going to need a mix of qualitative and/or quantitative responses.
Qualitative responses are:
Translation of appearance: you read the name and write out what you think it represents by way of appearance, and usually why as well. To do this, though, you will need to request people not to submit names and descriptions; only names.
Translation of personality/skills: as these can often be linked in some way, they occupy the same response. You read the name and write what you think it represents about the cat’s behaviour and abilities. To do this, you will need to request people do not elaborate their cat’s descriptions or histories.
(Usually these two are used together, and the rules will specify “no descriptions” as a blanket rule.)
Pass-or-fail: like what it sounds, this approach is simply stating a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for a name. For maximum results, it should be elaborated by reasoning, and usually the above techniques.
Quantitative responses are:
Zero-to-ten: a popular approach, it involves giving a numerical validation to a name. Can be used interchangeably with the pass-or-fail strategy, but has more room for nuance and can be viewed as ‘gentler’ (depending on how the rater uses it).
Percentages: an extended alternative to the above, it works in much the same way but with an impossibly wide range of results. Lends itself more to lyricism.
(Depending on your style, and how much time you will put into each name, you may want to put a “maximum number of names per post” rule in, so that multiple people can be rated without too long to wait.)
Examples of style:
Traditional (analytical + translation), zero-to-ten approach:
Blueheart – 7/10. A blue-grey cat with an idealistic notion of justice. Likely to be outspoken and outgoing.
Third-style (analytical + translation), zero-to-ten approach:
Blueheart – 7/10. Hearty, jovial cat with a grey pelt.
One-part (analytical + translation), pass-or-fail approach:
Blueheart – pass. A blue-grey cat who is quite melancholy in nature.
??? (lyrical), joke:
Blueheart - blueheart sounds like bluebeard which reminds me of caster from fate/zero so now all I am imagining is a tentacle monster cat with huge bulging eyes that shouts COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.
These are only some very basic examples to get you started and give you an idea of the wide spectrum of name-rating. You will develop your own approach over time; don’t try too hard to mimic someone else’s. Learn from other raters, but only do what’s right for you.
2. Internet access.
Why am I saying this? Because you’re going to hear prefixes, or maybe even suffixes, that you don’t recognise. You are on the internet – there is no excuse not to know what someone is talking about.
Don’t know the prefix? Google it. That’s part of your job as a rater; don’t ever say, “no rate, because I don’t know what it is”. If you’re going to do that, don’t make a board and waste people’s time. If you are too lazy to research the words yourself or unable to for some reason, ask people to tell you the descriptions of their cats or to explain what the word is for you.
3. Ability to take positive and negative feedback.
So, you’re minding your own business, rating names on your board, and someone shows up and questions your rates. It’s not even their name they’re asking about.
What do you do?
Well, I can tell you what you shouldn’t do. Don’t flip out about it. The best thing to do is answer civilly; if they sound like they’re being a total jerk/loser/troll (don’t call them this, the terminology is wrong and you will look really stupid)/crasher, be the bigger person and remain polite above all other things.
They can call your mother a hamster for all I care, just don’t start flinging insults around and getting defensive.
This is the world of Warriors name-rates. Best to get used to it, ehehehe.
As I’ve said before, it’s about interpretation. People are going to question you. You need to learn how to deal with it. If you can’t deal with it, maybe you need to have a break from name-rating until you can think of a suitable way to handle it. It can become quite stressful if you’re not used to it, as intense questioning can feel like an interrogation.
The most important thing is to remain calm and respectful to everyone’s opinion, even if they aren’t to you. If you feel there are too many questions and it’s distracting from your rating, tell those with queries that they will have to wait their turn just like everyone else. If they’re not happy with that, then they’re being dumb and take satisfaction in the fact you aren’t being dumb. Anyone reasonable will understand that you need to fulfill your obligations as a rater, and then will attend to giving them answers.
I'm pretty sure that's everything I can think of on the subject.
Wait, no.
4. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear.
Though, I would be more accurate in suggesting you wear a silly deerstalker hat instead. This is because, when you accept the mantle of a name-rater, you become a detective.
This is leaning towards a more analytical approach, but it can't do any harm to lyricists out there. When you are given a name, you must then deduce intention and implication from certain pieces of information.
There's a few traps that I've seen people fall into, and I have a few tricks-of-the-trade, if you like, to help avoid a mistake-rate:
Modality: modality is a linguistic term I have borrowed, and in this context, it means how certain something is. There are three tiers of modality that I use - high, mid and low.
High modality is when something is absolutely definite.
Mid modality is when something is possible.
Low modality is when something is unknown.
This is best learned by example, so let's say someone brings the name Blackfur to the table and I assess it.
"Blackfur is a black-pelted cat, possibly with small markings of white."
In this example, high modality is "is a black-pelted cat". I have given no room for debate about that. If the namer turns around and says, "Well, actually, he's a brown tabby," I'm going to be very confused, because all the information I was given is telling me that he is black.
Mid modality is "possibly with small markings of white". Many black cats have white tail tips or paws, but these aren't things that are highlighted in names. However, it's not certain - perhaps Blackfur is purely black. I can't know for sure, so I say "possibly" to infer that, though I am not one hundred percent certain, I acknowledge the potential for differentiation there. Mid modality is something that you probably use a lot - it's essentially just probability. For instance, if I am given a tortoiseshell cat to rate, I will say "highly likely to be female", as tortoiseshell toms are incredibly rare. However, I am wary about saying that the tortoiseshell cat is a she-cat, because I may be proven wrong (especially with how popular tortoiseshell toms are at the moment). Mid modality has the greatest spectrum.
Low modality is when you can't be sure of something at all. In this example, low modality statements are absent - I don't use them. As I don't believe that prefixes are inherently gendered (meaning rose- is for a girl, hawk- is for a boy, that stuff) I would never make a statement suggesting that a cat definitely had a gender - unless it was a genetic trait, such as the tortoiseshell tom comment above. So I didn't specify what gender Blackfur was, because I would just be guessing at a fifty-fifty percent chance.
Now, if any of you have seen The Mentalist, this next section might interest you. I have a particular interest in cold reading, and it was very interesting to see techniques being used by name-raters - and they didn't even know. I'll tell you about the usual suspects in qualitative personality assessments:
Rainbow ruse: this is a trick where you use two opposites simultaneously to increase the chances of a hit to almost one hundred percent. The most popular example of this among young role-players is "she's lovely and sweet and kind, but she has a bad temper and very little patience". See the issue there? It uses blanket terminology, so if you're not one, you're almost certain to be the other. This says nothing about someone's character, so don't do it. Pick one trait and stick with it. If you can't be sure of the traits, use low modality and don't say anything or admit that you're stumped.
Barnum statements: this is where you make a general statement that many people would feel is personal. In truth, it's really not. Let me test something:
"You have a preference for being alone at the moment."
I want everyone who relates to this to post and tell me; if you don't, do the same. Be honest.
Now, this is the part where I tell you that was my horoscope for today. Reading horoscopes for new Barnum phrases are pretty much one of my favourite things to do; they are nothing but Barnum. They are things that are common experiences in everyone's lives, and thus, things everyone can usually relate to. Be careful that when you're rating, you don't rely on Barnum statements. Some styles have predetermined meaning, such as traditionalism, so they can sound like them at times. Always check yourself.
And ironically,
Modality: ehehehehe. Yeah, modality can be used to trick people but for a name-raters, it's a useful tool if you use it correctly. You can't be certain of things all the time, but using the information given to you and external sources, you can get closer to the truth with clever modality statements.
For example, "Blackfur is a she-cat" compared to "Blackfur is probably a she-cat". One is irrefutable, the other makes allowances for inaccuracy. The thing about modality is that it must be handled with caution - too many half-statements, and you're hardly even rating any more.
And now we're done.
Thank you for reading. If you want to discuss anything, think I should add or change something, or whatever, let me know.
(The title is inspired by ‘Tigger on the couch’, a very enjoyable book by Laura James, and Tawnyspots, a Thunderclan cat. Who also happens to be a light grey tabby. I kid you not.)
Let’s start with an overview. I hope you don't mind if I make this pretty basic; it's no slur on your intelligence, I'm just trying to be thorough.
What is a name-rate?
A name-rate is exactly what it sounds like – an examination of a character’s name. For Warriors, however, that tends to take on a whole new level. In most cases, fandom or otherwise, an original character’s name is not a big deal, right? As long as it sounds cool, you’re set. But Warriors? Goodness gracious, Late Cretaceous.
The things I have seen go down on name-rate boards. That said, a lot of it can be avoided and negated by a little common sense.
Where does a name-rate occur?
Most commonly, they’ll appear on various forums, such as Neopets’ Role Playing boards. That’s where I do mine, anyway, and it’s relatively popular there. (Ailuronymy doesn't count as name-rating, that's definitely more a critique thing). Of course, there are various blogs that will also do name-rates, but that’s their business and I’m going to write this about how best to conduct public name-rates. Adapt as need be.
Who can make a name-rate board?
Anyone. There’s no kind of qualification you need. You just need to make the board, and you’re set. Sometimes you can even share a board with someone else and rate alongside them, but keep in mind that you should always ask permission first.
Why does a name-rate even exist?
For most ordinary original characters, I’m not sure. For Warriors, though, it’s a different story. Warriors is a fandom where character creation has an enormous amount of interpretation intrinsic with it, and there’s a lot of diverging opinions about the “right” way to do things. As well as that, people like to hear other people’s perspectives of their characters’ names, both to support and challenge them. Name-rate boards can also be excellent places to meet and greet with other fans. They’re a highly social event.
And finally,
How do you create a name-rate?
Now we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s do this.
Step one.
Create the board; title it appropriately to stop any kind of confusion. That means you should really put “Warriors name-rates”, as compared to “warriors’ name-rates” or any other kind of derivative. More than once, puzzled kids have come onto the board with, I kid you not, “Urkheart the Wild” and “Sir Cardovan”, mistaking the title to mean a more medieval type of warrior.
The title of the series is Warriors, with a capital letter. While writing it as such might not stop all misunderstandings, there’s a fair chance that it will limit them. It’s usually a good idea to clarify in your first post as well. Which brings me to the next point.
Step two.
Clarify your rules. This is fundamentally important. The best rules are clear, concise and reasonable. You should state what Warriors is, for those that might be thinking knights and dragons, and you should also state how you will be rating names. More on that later.
Other significant things to include are your name and requests, if you want people to introduce themselves when they post, for instance. It tends to create a friendlier, more approachable atmosphere I find, which is what name-rating should be about (among other things).
Your rules should specify your requirements as well, which varies for the individual. Regardless of what they are, they should be entirely unambiguous. Number them, if you want, but it’s not necessary. The most common requirements dictate your preferred number of names per post, what ranks are allowed (such as warriors, leaders, kits or apprentices), whether renames are welcome, whether you was description to be submitted as well, so on.
And finally, your expectations. If it’s relevant to reinstate the need to follow the forum’s rules, then do that. It’s best to explain briefly what behaviour you would like people to demonstrate while on your board; never, however, threaten them. “If you are rude, I will kick you out” is one of the stupidest rules. You cannot physically remove anyone, don’t pretend like you can. Not to mention, you are practically asking for people to disobey you on purpose – people are inherently like that. It’s like saying “no crashers” on a role-play board; you’re pretty much asking for trouble.
It’s perfectly fine to say you would prefer that people were polite at all times, and that you have the right to refuse to reply and/or name-rate for someone who is behaving badly.
What isn’t fine is censorship. You cannot request that people do not question your rates; if you have given a rate, you must be able to respond to people’s questions about why. That’s why they’re there, after all – for your opinion. That said, don’t think you’re all that because someone wants your take on something; if you start bandying about nonsense like “it’s my board, I don’t have to give you an answer, I do what I want, yolo”, then you really have no business making the board in the first place, get over yourself. It's a rare thing when that happens in any case, so I'm sure you all know how to conduct yourselves properly.
Step three.
You’ve got a gorgeous new board. Now what? If you’re lucky, some fans are going to scamper in all delighted to see you, and post their names. Awesome.
So you rate them. I suggest a ‘FIFO’ approach; First In, First Out – essentially, first come, first served. That means you don’t rate your friends’ names first if someone asked before them. That’s incredibly rude and if you want people to be pleasant on your board, lead by example. I’ll go in-depth into the act of rating itself in a bit.
If you want people to rate with you, make sure you include a note in your first post saying they need to ask (or, if you don’t care whether they ask or not, say so). Just keep in mind that you have no control over their rates, and they might not agree with your opinions of names at all. I find this is part of the charm of Warriors, though; one board can have an entire spectrum of perspectives.
You might like to post your own names in your first/second posts as well so that guests can rate them (if they like) to keep themselves entertained while you critique their names; the name rating process can be a bit slow, especially if you’re new at it. I have seen some people demand a rate-for-a-rate system, but I can't say I approve of it. Rate-for-a-rate is where the board maker posts their names and says that a guest must rate them, otherwise the board maker won't rate the guest's names. I consider that to be similar to a review ransom (when fanfiction writers beg for reviews or they won't post, et cetera), and it's not nice or professional. It's kind of conceited and clingy, really. That said, always feel free to post your names on your board - just make it optional to rate them, not mandatory.
If you do post your names to be rated, don’t get whiny if people give you awful rates. That’s childish. You can ask why if you want, but don’t expect them to reply; they don’t have to. They’re guests on your board, and they’re not bound by the requirement to defend their opinion. (That said, you’d want to hope they’d explain anyway). Even if they flame your names, you should never give their names undeserved bad rates; that’s completely and disgustingly unprofessional. It’s called ‘revenge rating'. Not cool at all.
Note:
You could be anywhere between a brand-new rater and an old pro, but regardless of your age, experience or style, someone is going to disagree with you – vehemently. It’s inevitable, because that’s what this fandom is about, and name-rating especially. You can’t stop that, and you’d be mad to try. Instead, you need to develop ways of coping with it – and if you do that, you’ll find that discussions can actually be one of the absolute best things about it. I’ll go over that in another section, though.
Don’t try to stifle casual conversation either. People are going to want to chat, especially if their friends are also on your board. Don’t try to stop them, unless the topic is really inappropriate and likely to get everyone in trouble from the admin. If anything, encourage people to hang around and talk; it’s fun, and a great way to pass time between rates. Not to mention, it saves you the trouble of bumping up your board all the time.
Yeah, cool, now tell me how to actually rate names, kthnx.
You’re going to need a few things for this. All Warriors name raters will require:
- a style.
- a healthy dose of common sense.
- patience.
- internet access.
- one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear.
- an ability to take both positive and negative criticism.
- a demeanor that doesn’t scare small children.
1. A style.
Everyone unavoidably has a style, whether or not you’re aware of it. It’s the way you rate, simply put. It’s best to put this in your rules somewhere, as a form of warning; that way, no one will be surprised by your rates – and this is good, because then they really have no business flying into rages about it. They asked for your opinion while knowing your perspective on the matter. In that sense, it works partly as a safety clause. That said, don’t expect people not to question you about it.
What is my style?
There’s a couple of aspects to style. The first is your general school of thought. This can be:
Traditional: derived from the first arc of canon, with alterations, et cetera. Ailuronymy is just one possible branch of traditionalism; traditionalism is a spectrum of opinions, not one almighty boot of the law stomping on everyone's fun. I'm an ailuronymic traditionalist, but I think traditionalism's been covered, so moving on.
Functional: in support of names that solely describe the cat, free from canonical restraints.
Creative: essentially limitless, uninhibited interpretation, with a focus on elaborate imagery, symbolism and sound.
Canonical: accepting only prefixes and suffixes that appear in canon.
Third-style: viewing names as a straightforward description of the cat requiring no additional explanation, with a –y often added to the suffix.
One-part: a system where all prefixes and suffixes correlate to form meaning and description.
These are very basic definitions, and unless you really know what your school of thought is, it’s best to default to saying nothing until you’re certain. If you say you’re traditional, and then rate canonically, people might spit chips. And, of course, within each category, there are dozens of nuances between individual raters – you must do what makes sense to you, because you will be the one to defend it.
The next aspect of your style is divided into two categories:
Analytical: less emphasis on your personal preference, you rate names using a consistent set of criteria.
Lyrical: heavily based on personal preference, you rate names depending on your emotional response and the flow of the name as a whole.
Generally speaking, creative-style is almost always lyrical in approach, and traditional, functional and third-style tend to favour a more analytical method. Regardless of your approach, however, it’s important that you always give reasons for your rates. Which brings me to the next aspect.
Whatever your perspective of rating, you’ll need to actually give some kind of definite and definitive insight into the name, and to do that, you’re going to need a mix of qualitative and/or quantitative responses.
Qualitative responses are:
Translation of appearance: you read the name and write out what you think it represents by way of appearance, and usually why as well. To do this, though, you will need to request people not to submit names and descriptions; only names.
Translation of personality/skills: as these can often be linked in some way, they occupy the same response. You read the name and write what you think it represents about the cat’s behaviour and abilities. To do this, you will need to request people do not elaborate their cat’s descriptions or histories.
(Usually these two are used together, and the rules will specify “no descriptions” as a blanket rule.)
Pass-or-fail: like what it sounds, this approach is simply stating a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for a name. For maximum results, it should be elaborated by reasoning, and usually the above techniques.
Quantitative responses are:
Zero-to-ten: a popular approach, it involves giving a numerical validation to a name. Can be used interchangeably with the pass-or-fail strategy, but has more room for nuance and can be viewed as ‘gentler’ (depending on how the rater uses it).
Percentages: an extended alternative to the above, it works in much the same way but with an impossibly wide range of results. Lends itself more to lyricism.
(Depending on your style, and how much time you will put into each name, you may want to put a “maximum number of names per post” rule in, so that multiple people can be rated without too long to wait.)
Examples of style:
Traditional (analytical + translation), zero-to-ten approach:
Blueheart – 7/10. A blue-grey cat with an idealistic notion of justice. Likely to be outspoken and outgoing.
Third-style (analytical + translation), zero-to-ten approach:
Blueheart – 7/10. Hearty, jovial cat with a grey pelt.
One-part (analytical + translation), pass-or-fail approach:
Blueheart – pass. A blue-grey cat who is quite melancholy in nature.
??? (lyrical), joke:
Blueheart - blueheart sounds like bluebeard which reminds me of caster from fate/zero so now all I am imagining is a tentacle monster cat with huge bulging eyes that shouts COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.
These are only some very basic examples to get you started and give you an idea of the wide spectrum of name-rating. You will develop your own approach over time; don’t try too hard to mimic someone else’s. Learn from other raters, but only do what’s right for you.
2. Internet access.
Why am I saying this? Because you’re going to hear prefixes, or maybe even suffixes, that you don’t recognise. You are on the internet – there is no excuse not to know what someone is talking about.
Don’t know the prefix? Google it. That’s part of your job as a rater; don’t ever say, “no rate, because I don’t know what it is”. If you’re going to do that, don’t make a board and waste people’s time. If you are too lazy to research the words yourself or unable to for some reason, ask people to tell you the descriptions of their cats or to explain what the word is for you.
3. Ability to take positive and negative feedback.
So, you’re minding your own business, rating names on your board, and someone shows up and questions your rates. It’s not even their name they’re asking about.
What do you do?
Well, I can tell you what you shouldn’t do. Don’t flip out about it. The best thing to do is answer civilly; if they sound like they’re being a total jerk/loser/troll (don’t call them this, the terminology is wrong and you will look really stupid)/crasher, be the bigger person and remain polite above all other things.
They can call your mother a hamster for all I care, just don’t start flinging insults around and getting defensive.
This is the world of Warriors name-rates. Best to get used to it, ehehehe.
As I’ve said before, it’s about interpretation. People are going to question you. You need to learn how to deal with it. If you can’t deal with it, maybe you need to have a break from name-rating until you can think of a suitable way to handle it. It can become quite stressful if you’re not used to it, as intense questioning can feel like an interrogation.
The most important thing is to remain calm and respectful to everyone’s opinion, even if they aren’t to you. If you feel there are too many questions and it’s distracting from your rating, tell those with queries that they will have to wait their turn just like everyone else. If they’re not happy with that, then they’re being dumb and take satisfaction in the fact you aren’t being dumb. Anyone reasonable will understand that you need to fulfill your obligations as a rater, and then will attend to giving them answers.
I'm pretty sure that's everything I can think of on the subject.
Wait, no.
4. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear.
Though, I would be more accurate in suggesting you wear a silly deerstalker hat instead. This is because, when you accept the mantle of a name-rater, you become a detective.
This is leaning towards a more analytical approach, but it can't do any harm to lyricists out there. When you are given a name, you must then deduce intention and implication from certain pieces of information.
There's a few traps that I've seen people fall into, and I have a few tricks-of-the-trade, if you like, to help avoid a mistake-rate:
Modality: modality is a linguistic term I have borrowed, and in this context, it means how certain something is. There are three tiers of modality that I use - high, mid and low.
High modality is when something is absolutely definite.
Mid modality is when something is possible.
Low modality is when something is unknown.
This is best learned by example, so let's say someone brings the name Blackfur to the table and I assess it.
"Blackfur is a black-pelted cat, possibly with small markings of white."
In this example, high modality is "is a black-pelted cat". I have given no room for debate about that. If the namer turns around and says, "Well, actually, he's a brown tabby," I'm going to be very confused, because all the information I was given is telling me that he is black.
Mid modality is "possibly with small markings of white". Many black cats have white tail tips or paws, but these aren't things that are highlighted in names. However, it's not certain - perhaps Blackfur is purely black. I can't know for sure, so I say "possibly" to infer that, though I am not one hundred percent certain, I acknowledge the potential for differentiation there. Mid modality is something that you probably use a lot - it's essentially just probability. For instance, if I am given a tortoiseshell cat to rate, I will say "highly likely to be female", as tortoiseshell toms are incredibly rare. However, I am wary about saying that the tortoiseshell cat is a she-cat, because I may be proven wrong (especially with how popular tortoiseshell toms are at the moment). Mid modality has the greatest spectrum.
Low modality is when you can't be sure of something at all. In this example, low modality statements are absent - I don't use them. As I don't believe that prefixes are inherently gendered (meaning rose- is for a girl, hawk- is for a boy, that stuff) I would never make a statement suggesting that a cat definitely had a gender - unless it was a genetic trait, such as the tortoiseshell tom comment above. So I didn't specify what gender Blackfur was, because I would just be guessing at a fifty-fifty percent chance.
Now, if any of you have seen The Mentalist, this next section might interest you. I have a particular interest in cold reading, and it was very interesting to see techniques being used by name-raters - and they didn't even know. I'll tell you about the usual suspects in qualitative personality assessments:
Rainbow ruse: this is a trick where you use two opposites simultaneously to increase the chances of a hit to almost one hundred percent. The most popular example of this among young role-players is "she's lovely and sweet and kind, but she has a bad temper and very little patience". See the issue there? It uses blanket terminology, so if you're not one, you're almost certain to be the other. This says nothing about someone's character, so don't do it. Pick one trait and stick with it. If you can't be sure of the traits, use low modality and don't say anything or admit that you're stumped.
Barnum statements: this is where you make a general statement that many people would feel is personal. In truth, it's really not. Let me test something:
"You have a preference for being alone at the moment."
I want everyone who relates to this to post and tell me; if you don't, do the same. Be honest.
Now, this is the part where I tell you that was my horoscope for today. Reading horoscopes for new Barnum phrases are pretty much one of my favourite things to do; they are nothing but Barnum. They are things that are common experiences in everyone's lives, and thus, things everyone can usually relate to. Be careful that when you're rating, you don't rely on Barnum statements. Some styles have predetermined meaning, such as traditionalism, so they can sound like them at times. Always check yourself.
And ironically,
Modality: ehehehehe. Yeah, modality can be used to trick people but for a name-raters, it's a useful tool if you use it correctly. You can't be certain of things all the time, but using the information given to you and external sources, you can get closer to the truth with clever modality statements.
For example, "Blackfur is a she-cat" compared to "Blackfur is probably a she-cat". One is irrefutable, the other makes allowances for inaccuracy. The thing about modality is that it must be handled with caution - too many half-statements, and you're hardly even rating any more.
And now we're done.
Thank you for reading. If you want to discuss anything, think I should add or change something, or whatever, let me know.
