IMPORTANT: Cyphers/Topicals

[Prodi G]

Cyphers

Providing the fact most of you have been on this site for nearly a year, you should all know what the Cypher section is. If you don’t, here is a little explanation. The cypher section is the only place on the site where you can submit your poetry/rap, especially if you don’t have a mic or beat to turn it into a track (specifically text cyphers). This section of the site is the most neglected and buttfucked section of the site, as it is currently overloaded by people posting strings of rhyming words, and others posting random shit. The only saving grace of the cyphers section currently (that I’ve seen so far), is @BURDENS , he is the only one who consistently drops cyphers that are of a high quality, and uses storytelling, descriptive writing, poetic tools, and creative concepts to create a worthwhile reading experience. Now there are two types of legendary cypher writers on letsbeef, @BURDENS , and @DaDDiO . DaDDiO is another important figure on the cypher sections, as he is able to string together a 64 line cypher using a long scheme of multi’s. Both of these people are severely underrated on the site, and usually aren’t considered when talking about greats, why? The answer is simple, the cypher section is neglected. I rarely see anyone drop a cypher that isn’t just filler or off the top of their heads. I rarely see any of the people at the top of the battler leaderboard dropping a cypher. I rarely see a cypher that doesn’t take a few months if not years to get just above 10 votes. I rarely see any forums talking about cyphers. I rarely see any tournaments about cyphers. I rarely see a good cypher that gets more than a few votes. I rarely see different people other than the few who do vote on cyphers, to even look at the cyphers section.

My question is why? Why should cyphers be valued so less than battles?

Here’s the answer that I’ve come up with.

Battles have something called, a “definite structure”. No matter what, a verse that has killer punchlines but no multi’s, will lose to a verse that has worse punchlines (not horrible, but worse), but has multi’s. There is a certain structure that you need to follow. There is a way most punchlines are set-up, which things has to work this way, and so-on. This makes it easy to vote on. There is a structure and whoever follows it better and more creatively wins. If someone deters from the structure, mark their verse lower. Quite simple isn’t it? In contrast Cyphers have no definite structure, as a cypher can be anything the writer wants it to be (as long as it rhymes, which is really the only thing a cypher HAS to have, other than legible writing), it doesn’t have to be a story, it doesn’t have to be a biography, it doesn’t have to be a sociopolitical rant. You can’t compare cyphers, since each cypher has a different intention and writing style. Cyphers also take longer to read (and make) with each cypher usually being 32 lines, which is twice as long as the typical Battle verse, which is 8-16 lines. This makes it a hassle for people to rate, since there is no guideline to vote for it and it takes longer to read (and therefore evaluate). Another factor is that FVC members don’t get credits for rating cyphers, which makes it a waste of time for the, to rate these cyphers (despite quality of them). These factors all contribute to why the cyphers are so neglected. And since there isn’t anyone voting on them, there isn’t anyone motivated to write any good cyphers. This creates a domino effect resulting in one of the most underrated sections on this site. Couple that with the fact that the cypher section’s coding is broken to the point of no return (clicking all cyphers leads to all battles, on my device at least) and it’s just so sad. I think the only way to help this, is for
1. Fix the Coding in the cyphers section (not sure if it’s broken for all, but for some it is).
2. At least give some credits to the people who rate cyphers
3. Possibly create a separate FVC to rank cyphers?
4. Have more people write cyphers.

[Prodi G]

Cyphers

Providing the fact most of you have been on this site for nearly a year, you should all know what the Cypher section is. If you don’t, here is a little explanation. The cypher section is the only place on the site where you can submit your poetry/rap, especially if you don’t have a mic or beat to turn it into a track (specifically text cyphers). This section of the site is the most neglected and buttfucked section of the site, as it is currently overloaded by people posting strings of rhyming words, and others posting random shit. The only saving grace of the cyphers section currently (that I’ve seen so far), is @BURDENS , he is the only one who consistently drops cyphers that are of a high quality, and uses storytelling, descriptive writing, poetic tools, and creative concepts to create a worthwhile reading experience. Now there are two types of legendary cypher writers on letsbeef, @BURDENS , and @DaDDiO . DaDDiO is another important figure on the cypher sections, as he is able to string together a 64 line cypher using a long scheme of multi’s. Both of these people are severely underrated on the site, and usually aren’t considered when talking about greats, why? The answer is simple, the cypher section is neglected. I rarely see anyone drop a cypher that isn’t just filler or off the top of their heads. I rarely see any of the people at the top of the battler leaderboard dropping a cypher. I rarely see a cypher that doesn’t take a few months if not years to get just above 10 votes. I rarely see any forums talking about cyphers. I rarely see any tournaments about cyphers. I rarely see a good cypher that gets more than a few votes. I rarely see different people other than the few who do vote on cyphers, to even look at the cyphers section.

My question is why? Why should cyphers be valued so less than battles?

Here’s the answer that I’ve come up with.

Battles have something called, a “definite structure”. No matter what, a verse that has killer punchlines but no multi’s, will lose to a verse that has worse punchlines (not horrible, but worse), but has multi’s. There is a certain structure that you need to follow. There is a way most punchlines are set-up, which things has to work this way, and so-on. This makes it easy to vote on. There is a structure and whoever follows it better and more creatively wins. If someone deters from the structure, mark their verse lower. Quite simple isn’t it? In contrast Cyphers have no definite structure, as a cypher can be anything the writer wants it to be (as long as it rhymes, which is really the only thing a cypher HAS to have, other than legible writing), it doesn’t have to be a story, it doesn’t have to be a biography, it doesn’t have to be a sociopolitical rant. You can’t compare cyphers, since each cypher has a different intention and writing style. Cyphers also take longer to read (and make) with each cypher usually being 32 lines, which is twice as long as the typical Battle verse, which is 8-16 lines. This makes it a hassle for people to rate, since there is no guideline to vote for it and it takes longer to read (and therefore evaluate). Another factor is that FVC members don’t get credits for rating cyphers, which makes it a waste of time for the, to rate these cyphers (despite quality of them). These factors all contribute to why the cyphers are so neglected. And since there isn’t anyone voting on them, there isn’t anyone motivated to write any good cyphers. This creates a domino effect resulting in one of the most underrated sections on this site. Couple that with the fact that the cypher section’s coding is broken to the point of no return (clicking all cyphers leads to all battles, on my device at least) and it’s just so sad. I think the only way to help this, is for
1. Fix the Coding in the cyphers section (not sure if it’s broken for all, but for some it is).
2. At least give some credits to the people who rate cyphers
3. Possibly create a separate FVC to rank cyphers?
4. Have more people write cyphers.