Aside from the use of colour, there are many little ways that players can make their text a little easier on the eyes of others. Many of these are very simple and easy to incorporate into your regular play habits:
%r: begins a new line.
%r %r: leaves an empty line, breaking up your text.
%t: gives an indent (tabbed space) signifying the start of a new pose or paragraph, breaking up large blocks of text and making them easier to read.
Here is a body of text, written with three different formats to demonstrate how easy and effective the use of these tags can be:
"Oh, come!" laughs the bar tender, "You cannot possible make such a grand entrance as that into a tavern like this, declaring yourself a bard and songster and then expect to sink your beer without calls for performance! It's been a long, hard Winter here, and we're all in sore need of levity!"
A murmur goes up from the other occupants in the inn at hearing the bar-keep's words. Life recently has been marked with long, dark nights filled with cold exhaustion and short, hard days filled with the back-breaking tilling of yet-frozen earth. "Aye!" cries a gruff voice to the left of the newcomer. "A song for your beer and more for your dinner - we'll all pitch in to get you a comfortable night if you give us an evening of mirth."
The young traveler tips his head in concession. "Aah, my friends, forgive me - I thought not of your heavy days of toil. Come! Offer me no price, simply allow me to wet my whistle, and an evening of cajolery shall be yours!" And with that, he takes up his frothing mug, drinks heartily and smacks his lips in appreciation. Casting a clever performer's eye about the place, he quickly picks out the best spot for he performance - a table at the end of the long room, opposite the bar, and then leaps atop it, spreading his arms to honour the audience. "A song for the weary!" he cries, pulling a pipe from within his jerkin and sounding a note which he then hums. The room falls quiet as, after a pause, the newcomer begins to sing, his voice light and sure: Through many lands I've travelled, and many things I've seen. The wastelands of the Wildest North, and forests oh so green. But in my heart, though I ran wild, I kept the single thought, Though I may stray day after day, a home is what I sought. //Home's not the road before you, nor the path you leave behind, But the place where you are standing; just look and you will find, That all you need - forsaking greed - is right here at your feet. The friends you know, the ways you go; the people yet to meet.
Above is the text as it may appear in the MUSH without any formatting being used at all. It involves three writer and, as you can appreciate, is unpleasant to the eye and difficult to read.
"Oh, come!" laughs the bar tender, "You cannot possible make such a grand entrance as that into a tavern like this, declaring yourself a bard and songster and then expect to sink your beer without calls for performance! It's been a long, hard Winter here, and we're all in sore need of levity!"
A murmur goes up from the other occupants in the inn at hearing the bar-keep's words. Life recently has been marked with long, dark nights filled with cold exhaustion and short, hard days filled with the back-breaking tilling of yet-frozen earth. "Aye!" cries a gruff voice to the left of the newcomer. "A song for your beer and more for your dinner - we'll all pitch in to get you a comfortable night if you give us an evening of mirth."
The young traveler tips his head in concession. "Aah, my friends, forgive me - I thought not of your heavy days of toil. Come! Offer me no price, simply allow me to wet my whistle, and an evening of cajolery shall be yours!" And with that, he takes up his frothing mug, drinks heartily and smacks his lips in appreciation. Casting a clever performer's eye about the place, he quickly picks out the best spot for he performance - a table at the end of the long room, opposite the bar, and then leaps atop it, spreading his arms to honour the audience.
"A song for the weary!" he cries, pulling a pipe from within his jerkin and sounding a note which he then hums. The room falls quiet as, after a pause, the newcomer begins to sing, his voice light and sure:
Through many lands I've traveled, and many things I've seen.
The wastelands of the Wildest North, and forests oh so green.
But in my heart, though I ran wild, I kept the single thought, :Though I may stray day after day, a home is what I sought.
Home's not the road before you, nor the path you leave behind,
But the place where you are standing; just look and you will find,
That all you need - forsaking greed - is right here at your feet.
The friends you know, the ways you go; the people yet to meet.
There is the text as it can look when correctly formatted - much easier to read and pleasing to look at.
\%t The young traveler tips his head in concession. "Aah, my friends, forgive me - I thought not of your heavy days of toil. Come! Offer me no price, simply allow me to wet my whistle, and an evening of cajolery shall be yours!" And with that, he takes up his frothing mug, drinks heartily and smacks his lips in appreciation. Casting a clever performer's eye about the place, he quickly picks out the best spot for he performance - a table at the end of the long room, opposite the bar, and then leaps atop it, spreading his arms to honour the audience. %r %r %t "A song for the weary!" he cries, pulling a pipe from within his jerkin and sounding a note which he then hums. The room falls quiet as, after a pause, the newcomer begins to sing, his voice light and sure: %r %r %t %t Through many lands I've traveled, and many things I've seen. %r %t %t The wastelands of the Wildest North, and forests oh so green. %r %t %t But in my heart, though I ran wild, I kept the single thought, %r %t %t Though I may stray day after day, a home is what I sought. %r %r %t %t Home's not the road before you, nor the path you leave behind, %r %t %t But the place where you are standing; just look and you will find, %r %t %t That all you need - forsaking greed - is right here at your feet. %r %t %t The friends you know, the ways you go; the people yet to meet.
And here is the last post (with the heaviest formatting) complete with the two elements of coding needed to break it up into lines and paragraphs. Feel free to copy the above line, pasting it into your game window and playing around with the tags and breaks until you understand them fully.
