Quick question about the "F" word...

[Brigg]

Fil·i·gree, noun - ornamental work of fine (typically gold or silver) wire formed into delicate tracery.

Okay, so I have heard repeated mentioning of this word throughout the contest amd voting process. But it seems that its mentioned almost begrudgingly, like we should avoid it like the plague. The word almost seems like it is being laughed at.

It is a little confusing, because it seems like a great descriptive word; especially for fantasy settings and the like.

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

[Trialbyfireent]

It's one of those words like "racketeering" or "ironic." Only 5% of the population knows and/or uses them in the correct context, so it winds up in a lot of places where it doesn't belong. I'm a jewelry department supervisor professionally, so I might have more exposure to this particular word's misuse than others.

[Lady Firedove]

Yes. It is a great word ... so great that dozens upon dozens of people used it to describe their wondrous item submission in RPGSS two years ago (and maybe before that as well?). Some of them used it incorrectly, too. And, ever since that time, when it started being mocked on these message boards in cliche threads and such, it has brought much amusement, but, I fear, it may have also brought undue scorn upon perfectly good items that just happened to have filigree.

[Jeff Lee]

A similar thing happened with the word "attune." It was being used correctly, but occurred so often it started being the butt of jokes.

[Drejk]

It was almost like grinding through low levels of jeweler profession in World Of Warcraft again... Hundreds of filigrees used up in magic items that ended being disenchanting disenchanted just so you could bump your title...

[Drejk]

Jeff Lee wrote:

A similar thing happened with the word "attune." It was being used correctly, but occurred so often it started being the butt of jokes.

Makes one wonder if that flood of attunable items at that time had anything to do with introduction of magic item attunement rules in D&D Next not so much later...

[Kobold Catgirl]

*Gasp*
*Covers Mark Seifter's ears*
Not around the judges!

[FireHawk]

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

Last year (or the year before) it was used so much in entries it became a meme. The entries often used it incorrectly per the definition.

[Mikko Kallio]

Kobold Cleaver wrote:

Not around the judges!

Whaaat? :D

[BigNorseWolf]

*drinks*

[BigNorseWolf]

Jeff Lee wrote:

A similar thing happened with the word "attune." It was being used correctly, but occurred so often it started being the butt of jokes.

Which is a shame, because attunment is necessary.

Ultimate equipment opened up a slew of items that took up a slot and had x number of uses per day. The problem is that there was nothing preventing someone from using it up, and then swapping it out for a different item or even another one of the same item. Atuning to the item for 24 hours before it works is a neccesary limitation on those kind of items that are too powerful to work all day

[blackbloodtroll]

Just wait until someone uses the word "Niggardly".

Then, you have to explain that it is a synonym for Miserly.

[R D Ramsey]

I think I've only seen it once this year. It'd be a perfectly fine word to use with rings, though.

[Anthony Adam]

Some of the history behind filigree was that during the first year of public voting, when we saw behind the curtain of round 1 for the first time, there were a lot of items with filigree. It seemed at times you couldn't vote without each successive pair having filigreed boots, gloves, hats, cloaks popping up every single vote.

When a word is used on that many items, it assumes the status of "meme". So those of us around during that year shudder whenever we see the word. So many voting painful memories.

You will also find that those of use posting about filigree all have dedicated or higher in voting achievements. Which means we saw that word a lot, as in hundreds of times (some maybe thousands).

That's the history behind why we tend to regard filigree the way we do.

I hope that explains it in terms of this competition for you.

In case you were wondering, my item that year was filigreed too >.<

I have this knack of finding the meme theme each year!

[Feros]

Anthony Adam wrote:

I have this knack of finding the meme theme each year!

...so this year, what? A weapon with snakes and thunderstorms?

[R D Ramsey]

Feros wrote:

Anthony Adam wrote:

I have this knack of finding the meme theme each year!

...so this year, what? A weapon with snakes and thunderstorms?

That cuts holes in reality.

[Brigg]

Clouds Without Water wrote:

Feros wrote:

Anthony Adam wrote:

I have this knack of finding the meme theme each year!

...so this year, what? A weapon with snakes and thunderstorms?

That cuts holes in reality.

If you didn't say it, Clouds, I would have. ^.^!

Thanks for the insight, gang! I am sincerely fascinated and delighted to know this humorous bit of the community's history!

[Tripp Elliott]

If I make it to round 3, I'll be entering a monster with filigree.

[frank gori]

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

It was a few dozen items a couple years ago. You would find similar scorn for torcs. So many torcs...

[Mikko Kallio]

Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan wrote:

If I make it to round 3, I'll be entering a monster with filigree.

Filigreen, a metallic plant that encases its victims in macabre but oh so intricate wirework. Or wire spider.. or or or...

[Garrick Williams]

GM_Solspiral wrote:

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

It was a few dozen items a couple years ago. You would find similar scorn for torcs. So many torcs...

All of the orc torcs...All of the orc torcs.

*Shivers in a blanket as if suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Distorder*

[Feros]

Garrick Williams wrote:

GM_Solspiral wrote:

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

It was a few dozen items a couple years ago. You would find similar scorn for torcs. So many torcs...

All of the orc torcs...All of the orc torcs.

*Shivers in a blanket as if suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Distorder*

...and only a Star Voter to. *Shakes head in sadness*

Oh the toll that campaign took on all of us...

[Anthony Adam]

Computer says .... Filigreed torc!

[Clay Clouser]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Computer says .... Filigreed torc!

That opens a hole in reality to the shadow plane

[Nigel Tufnel, Guitar Wizard]

Clay Clouser wrote:

Anthony Adam wrote:

Computer says .... Filigreed Tork!

That opens a hole in reality to the shadow plane

...filled with umbral Monkees (and several specials of dread earworms).

[pH unbalanced]

Clay Clouser wrote:

Anthony Adam wrote:

Computer says .... Filigreed torc!

That opens a hole in reality to the shadow plane

...which extrudes a tentacle

[Lady Firedove]

... which oozes a slime that is poisonous to the wielder, but that grows a tree upon contact with the ground.

[Monica Marlowe]

GM_Solspiral wrote:

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

It was a few dozen items a couple years ago. You would find similar scorn for torcs. So many torcs...

I believe the final count was mentioned and it was less than 10 of 800 + items, however, it just felt like every third item because it was in not so great items. It was also the basis of a lot of negativity on the forums, voter fatigue set in and people became angry because they felt personally affronted by the presence of the word "filigree." The forum became quite toxic and it has left some of us sensitive to negativity on the forum. I suspect that it was that bitterness that prompted the cull the first year. There has been no mention of a cull this year and while I have no inside information, I suspect that it won't happen at all because there is a lot less angst among the voters.

Filigree is something of an in the moment and catalyzing word that represented that year's voting. All you have to do is mention "filigree" to some of us and we can remember where we were on that day.

[Monica Marlowe]

Garrick Williams wrote:

GM_Solspiral wrote:

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

It was a few dozen items a couple years ago. You would find similar scorn for torcs. So many torcs...

All of the orc torcs...All of the orc torcs.

*Shivers in a blanket as if suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Distorder*

shhhhh It's okay, they're all gone.

[Oceanshieldwolf]

Well I for one would prefer there were a cull. Let's focus on the items that people do think are Superstar - I would blindly imagine after this amount of time trends are not so much developed as hardened. Then again approximately 67% of most statisics are misleading.

[Jeff Lee]

Oceanshieldwolf wrote:

Well I for one would prefer there were a cull. Let's focus on the items that people do think are Superstar - I would blindly imagine after this amount of time trends are not so much developed as hardened. Then again approximately 67% of most statisics are misleading.

64% of all the world's statistics are made up right there on the spot. 82.4% of people believe 'em whether they're accurate statistics or not.

[Curaigh]

mamaursula wrote:

GM_Solspiral wrote:

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

It was a few dozen items a couple years ago. You would find similar scorn for torcs. So many torcs...

I believe the final count was mentioned and it was less than 10 of 800+ items, however, it just felt like every third item because it was in not so great items. It was also the basis of a lot of negativity on the forums, voter fatigue set in and people became angry because they felt personally affronted by the presence of the word "filigree." The forum became quite toxic and it has left some of us sensitive to negativity on the forum. I suspect that it was that bitterness that prompted the cull the first year. There has been no mention of a cull this year and while I have no inside information, I suspect that it won't happen at all because there is a lot less angst among the voters.

Filigree is something of an in the moment and catalyzing word that represented that year's voting. All you have to do is mention "filigree" to some of us and we can remember where we were on that day.

I think that thread directed a lot of voter's voting habits & not necessarily toward the best designer. In my opinion filigree was not nearly as bad as the complaints about filigree. Woe be the person with a good item that then had filigree in it (because 1 out of 10 was probably good--even if not SS)

I think the cull is less likely this year. The obviously bad stuff is not here like in the last two years and might not be irrecoverable statistically speaking. EDIT: cut more cull speculations since that is not what this thread is about. :)

EDIT EDIT: Forfty percent.

[Kobold Catgirl]

Lady Firedove wrote:

... which oozes a slime that is poisonous to the wielder, but that grows a tree upon contact with the ground.

Also it's got a kind of coin motif.

[R D Ramsey]

I bet that almost everything in the top 100 now will be in the top 100 at the end.

And everything in the top 50 will make the final 100.

[Mikko Kallio]

Garrick Williams wrote:

GM_Solspiral wrote:

Brigg wrote:

So, what really is the issue with the use of the word, "filigree"? Is there some history behind this?

It was a few dozen items a couple years ago. You would find similar scorn for torcs. So many torcs...

All of the orc torcs...All of the orc torcs.

*Shivers in a blanket as if suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Distorder*

Another cool idea for the monster round: The torc orc, a new sub-species. They can wear torcs in any of their magic item slots. They're often encountered wearing nothing but torcs.

[James Casey]

Mikko Kallio wrote:

Another cool idea for the monster round: The torc orc, a new sub-species. They can wear torcs in any of their magic item slots. They're often encountered wearing nothing but torcs.

These already existed, Mikko. They were called Celts!

[Feros]

Definition of Torque:

A rotational or twisting effect of a force.

So from this we can have:

How many torcs could a torc orc torque,
if a torc orc could torque torcs?

[Brigg]

Feros wrote:

Definition of Torque:

A rotational or twisting effect of a force.

So from this we can have:

How many torcs could a torc orc torque,
if a torc orc could torque torcs?

>B(

My brain!

[Feros]

Brigg wrote:

Feros wrote:

Definition of Torque:

A rotational or twisting effect of a force.

So from this we can have:

How many torcs could a torc orc torque,
if a torc orc could torque torcs?

>B(

My brain!

Meh. You didn't need it anyway. >:)

[Mikko Kallio]

Feros wrote:

Definition of Torque:

A rotational or twisting effect of a force.

So from this we can have:

How many torcs could a torc orc torque,
if a torc orc could torque torcs?

How many twercs could a twerk orc twerque...

[Aaron Miller 335]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Computer says .... Filigreed torc!

Did that, didn't help. I may have been a year early with that one.