I understand everything Ab has said.. I think you guys are just giving him a hard time, but here it goes.
First, the "line limit". It's jokes. An 8 line battle (4 bars) doesn't mean 8 actual lines or 4 actual bars. It means 639 characters (take notes, kiddies). A 16 line battle (8 bars) is double that of an 8 line, or 1278 characters.
Writing a normal verse for a four bar battle (not some Twista or Bone Thugs flow with a zillion syllables, but something you could actually spit to a track), you'll notice that you can write four actual bars, and still have room to spare... probably enough for another bar, maybe more. So, "filling the box" just means fuck what that "limit" said and use up all 639 characters.. adapt your flow and content to fill it, because it's a battle and you should probably say as much as you're allowed to. Pressing enter after a bar will shortchange you, not help you. Your opponent will be able to write more than you, giving them the advantage.
As far as capping syllables, quoting wordplay, and ending bars with a symbol, it's really personal preference. However, it does make it EASIER for the voters to catch your rhyme scheme(s), understand your wordplay and punches, and to understand your flow. Sure, you can type a plain Jane battle and hit send, but again.. you're probably hurting yourself. Because at the end of the day, this is a battle site.. and every battle has voters.. and the more you can help the voters to understand your verse, the more likely you'll get votes. But, also take note that it's a text battle. Misuse or Overuse of symbols will only fuck you up. I see a lot of people putting their inner rhyme schemes in apostrophes.. then they'll also put their wordplay in apostrophes. So it's just a fucking mess of stringed phrases in apostrophes. Don't make your verse a fucking eye sore if you want people to respect it... because at the end of the day, it's a damn text battle. If you don't know how to type or how to structure a verse and make it voter-friendly, then go grab a mic or don't bitch when things don't happen your way.
Most of the time I'd rather type plainly as well for a number of reasons (and I'd do it if I weren't on this site).. but making my shit easier to follow seems better for the voters here.
TL;DR: If you don't wanna doctor up your verse, then don't. Just don't go bitching to anyone when someone doesn't understand your content. Also, use all 639 characters in an "8 line" battle... there's no reason not to.
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