I don't understand how after many post how you think "it really is that simple" applies.
Then I'm not doing a good job of explaining how it works at our table. Sorry for the reductionism.
what is the diffrence between "I want to look more in-depth?" and "Can I make a perception check?"
At our table, we prefer the former.
that comes off pretty insulting, as if people who name skills and ask for a roll aren't not sharing in the story telling
I apologize, the intent is not to insult or put down the playstyles of others. I'm just trying to explain what is going on at our table and apparently not doing so great at it.
except I don't know that I would call it magic words, but I do see why some are saying it is. Are you saying you don't understand what they mean, or are you saying even though you understand you don't like there choice of words?
At our table, we are asking the player to be reasonably specific about what their PC is attempting and how they're going about it. "I use Perception" doesn't cut it at our table when I've just described 3 or 4 important things about a room and, instead of interacting with those details, they shortcut to a generalized statement which then puts the burden on me as DM to describe what their PC is actually doing... which is, again, something I avoid as DM. At our table, it's not my job to dictate what the character is actually doing, only to narrate the
result of what they are doing.
It reminds me of all the teachers that used to say things about Axeing questions and aint... like "You understand what they mean"
I don't follow this metaphor. At our table, I literally don't understand
exactly what a player means when they say "I use Perception". I need more clarification than that. I hope that is clear from what I said above. And, as a reminder, this is how game flows
at our table. It is our preference and is in no way an indictment of how other tables run. All tables are free to play however they like if everyone at their table finds it fun.
Indeed, I come here to learn from how others play and share how we play. I'm not here to put other people down. I would ask that you read my posts through that lens, please.