Opening Posts as a Deciding Factor

Just to be clear first of all, I am talking of OOC/Interest-Check thread opening posts, not in-character threads.

When (you) prospective players click on a link in any forum section (Free, Casual, Advanced) interested in the roleplay either based on the title or advertised setting/plot/etc, do you look to the GM's opening post for great, long, descriptions into their world, or do you prefer the OP be open and free to be more developed by the players themselves (give or take)? Should the OP really get into the knit and grit of the setting, explaining everything there is to the setting that the GM had imagined beforehand, or should the GM give a simple brief description as to the basic setting just enough that the players can understand what they're getting into without having to read a novel? Or is it in between? Should there be a few paragraphs of descriptions here and there to add more personality to the specific roleplay without trying to shove it down one's throat?

Does an ominous hider marked with (Extremely Long!) cause you to turn away and look for something else, or is it something exciting that draws you in? Would you prefer to ask questions as to specific elements that you want to know as you wish, or would you like to glean as much information from the OP's text before you come up with potential questions? Does it feel limiting to have an expansive setting spread out before you before you even join, or is it more interesting?

tl;dr I'm here wondering if players prefer not to have particularly long setting descriptions (and ask as the questions come up), or whether they like to be well-informed as to the GM's imagined world in the OP alone (they're always free to ask other questions outside the OP's descriptions). Be aware that I am taking no side here, and want to know RpG's opinions. GM's too are free to state their opinions as well, as they are just as likely to have made observations as to what other players prefer based on their own ventures into moderating/forming a roleplay.

I try to look for an interesting idea, a path for the RP to move ahead rather than idle until it dies, and the author's personality. I feel like OPs have a little of their author in them. I want to play with people I can get along with, so I think personality is a strong factor.

Length isn't an extremely important factor for me, but I admit I am turned off a bit by OPs that go into excruciating detail regarding plot elements I do not care about. This is especially true of an interest check.

When looking at an interest check she'd much rather see ten paragraphs of information rather then a single line saying something like "I wanna do a zombie RP in space with laser swords." The thing she finds that makes her close an intcheck thread is opening it and just seeing one or two lines, theres often times nothing there to catch her interest or tell much about the setting. Thats not to say every intcheck should be 20 paragraphs of info either though, that can just be plain daunting to see.

But anyway, its not so much the length that matters but the information, she likes to know a little bit about the story, world, setting, stuff like that, when looking at an intcheck. You can get that kinda stuff in a paragraph or two if you really want too. What it really comes down to is wanting to see that the GM has put some thought into what they want the RP to be, something to inspire confidence that the RP will at least last a little while once the IC comes up.

As a player I want a groundwork. Not an encyclopaedia, not a "I wanna do a zombie RP in space with laser swords." I want something I can mould and use creatively.

Side-note: a creation myth is a horrible intro.

As a GM that hugely varies depending on the audience I'm going for. If I'm going advanced you'll get a lot more pre-determined information than when I'm going casual, for example. If I focus a game on politics, there will be much more background available from the get-go than when everyone is a soldier. Duke X his personal life becomes a lot less important, for example, if all he does is say "Die for this cause." If you need him to authorise something he would initially disagree with, his personal life might play a big role in getting him to sign the papers anyway.

I wouldn't go for extremes. 100 paragraphs of background information is going to overwhelm prospective roleplayers, limit creativity somewhat, and ensure that the roleplay is going to build momentum slower. On the other hand, having like a single small paragraph 'detailing' what the GM wants to do is highly indicative of just a mere flitting desire rather than dedication. There won't be anything for the world and players to fall back on, and the RP might fall apart from the lack of support. It only shows that there is a lack of planning.

Going for the middle ground is better. Maybe some history, a description of the world and the setting of the RP, maybe 10-20 paragraphs, which, trust me, isn't alot. This allows the roleplay and GM in charge to get the best of both worlds. While this middle grounds gives enough information that roleplayers might need to judge if they want to be a part of hte roleplay and write a post/character, it doesn't mutilate their senses the way a hundred paragraphs would. At the same time, 10-20 paragraphs is a modest but not a small volume of info, and it would signal to prospective players that the GM has put in effort, and is likely to put in even more.

Of course, there are always exceptions and taste. I, for one, would like a detailed bible to look at, if it is possible. Failing that, I settle for the middle ground. Chances are high that I won't even read much of a paltry single-lined/single-paragraphed RP introduction.

If I click on the OP post of an OOC, I want to know what I'm getting myself into. I want to know what the world is, what the plot is going to be going towards, what kind of play is expected, and what my character is and is not allowed to be.
If it's a fandom RP, tell me when in the continuity its' set, and if I'm allowed to play 'XYZ' character/mecha/small kitten whatever. If it's an original RP, tell me about your world and setting, tell me what it is about, and why things are happening.
If I'm excited, I will read a long intro, because I wanted to play in the first place. If you want to keep things secret: fine, but then let me know there's going to be some surprises, or that some things are restricted in some ways.

More info: Good.
Less info: Bad.

However, I do not suffer from a lack of attention span, and I am a prolific reader, so this may not apply for everyone. That's your main problem; people's attention spans.

Personally it depends on a bunch of factors so there's no real true measurement on what is just since it depends on not only the game, but the prospective joiner reading the text.

Now obviously for the games based off existing properties info is going to be on the minimalistic side, with just the setup to the game and how it connects to the property. Since (a) chances are you aren't jumping into this blindly as opposed to entering it with some interest based on the property, and (b) it's implied you have some knowledge of the setting.

Now for original settings it really depends on what the game wants to do, a serious one centered around courtly intrigue is going to be better off having a detailed setting listing countries, people, and various political shenanigans. Now for a game centered around fighting monsters or I dunno racing after some item; a nice overview of the plot, world and what you can/will be playing will all that will be necessary.

But personally I'm of the opinion that I want nor need 30+ plus pages worth of text floating down my screen. After all I'm hear to play the game not read the manuscript of your yet to be published novel. Give me the premise, necessary world information, and maybe some spicy tidbits of misc stuff to grab my attention and we're good to go. I do not need nor care to read what type of toothpaste your monkey-turtle elves prefer to use unless it's somehow relevant to the plot. It's a nice touch but it's probably not gonna be something retained in the lists facts involving the setting.

With my personal experience, I find that unorganized, unformatted text has an affect that will sometimes make me leave before ever reading a word. In the interest checks, the whole point is to make players quickly understand if they might be interested, and have a well thought out premise behind them. It isn't so much about length as it is making players quickly aware of their opinion. Give them a reason to look things over, and keep things interesting. Long story short, just try to get people excited.

OOCs are about having anything a player would need quick access to, as well as information important to possible joiners. An OOC can be extremely massive, but only if players can find the information they need easily. The whole point of the OOC is to hold onto information which will always be important. It is best to place the most used information at the top, and the least used information like rules at the bottom. You can actually control the flow of newcomers to some degree by where you place the information concerning joining(this only works if you have an IC started and your title is untagged).

As a GM known for excessively long rulesets large enough I host them off site rather than try and fit them into a forum post I have to say I have no problem with excessively large opening posts BUT

You have to captured their attention in the first few paragraphs. Engage their creativity and imagination. Make the first four paragraphs a dull political analysis of the world and you'll be able to perceptibly watch the interest evaporate as dewdrops on your monitor. (Slight exaggeration may be present in this post.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kadaeux

As a GM known for excessively long rulesets large enough I host them off site rather than try and fit them into a forum post I have to say I have no problem with excessively large opening posts BUT

You have to captured their attention in the first few paragraphs. Engage their creativity and imagination. Make the first four paragraphs a dull political analysis of the world and you'll be able to perceptibly watch the interest evaporate as dewdrops on your monitor. (Slight exaggeration may be present in this post.)

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*agreement buddies*