The most important elements to role playing? (Poll included!)

[Aragorn]

Ah, back here again >_<
I voted "Good Characters" but only because that was the closest thing to my beliefs. "None of the Above" seemed just too vague for me.

In fact, my choice would include all of the above. My chose being
"Player Initiative"

Honestly it doesn't matter how good the plot is, nor how good the characters are. It doesn't even matter who the GM is unless they're subpar material and add to the chaos.

An RP consists of several people. Of which ONLY ONE of them are the GM.
Co-GM's you say? You mean those elevated players that don't do anything? Sure they act like receptionists, relaying messages, controlling the OoC, some even throw in occasional ideas *gasp*
But essentially the burden is on the main GM to keep things flowing.
BUT!!! Even the best GM's can't keep a plot going by themselves for too long. I'm not saying that GM's don't make mistakes because I've seen many make horrible errors, but in contrast to what the players contribute? It's trivial.

Action, Speed, Character interactions, even how the plot progresses. Is largely dependant on the players. Not the GM. The GM can ask people to post more frequently, but it's up to the players whether to comply or not. Same with plot. A GM might have an awesome idea, but that means nothing if the players don't cooperate or at least allow for the idea to be implemented. Forcing plot in is possible, but players often seem to feel neglected or uncomfortable when their actions are ignored and the plot continues to run along the rails set out for them.

Looking back, I probably should have chosen "Player Choice" but from what I can see, Good Characters are often indicative of good players. I am so damn sick of the "Silent Loner". There's one in every RP, he could be intelligent, lazy, angsty. But what they do is essentially all the same. They stay away from the other players, never socialize, keep making stupid "I'm so good" posts. And never contribute anything.

I'm sorry, but the part about Co-GMs is not necessarily true. When I appoint a Co-GM, I make it clear that they have most of my powers and are responsible for taking my place while I'm gone or, god forbid, I go on vacation for a week or more. Then again, a Co-GM is vital for the kind of roleplays I do, which rely heavily on the plot I had planned with my Co-GM(s).

[Kazour]

Me? I like having a plot, if a book wouldn't have a plot at all... It would suck, so hard that it would be impossible to keep reading. I feel that's the same with Role Plays and tabletop RPGs and anyways it always gives the Game Master something to work with.

[ShotgunJones]

What, of the available options, do you think is important to role playing on the poll above? Why?
Is it covered sufficiently in one line? Not enough? Not at all?
Do you think it is mandatory to a role play's survival? If so, why?

As a player, I'd say character interaction is the main reason to take part in RPs. I always try to come up with interesting characters and I want other interesting characters for them to interact with. I guess that this would basically fit on your list as relationships. But maybe mark down good characters as well. And I should probably note that that for players that aren't online so often, when playing faster RPs, whilst you might miss say a fight scene that happened in a single night, but you aren't going to miss the development of any relationships featuring your character. Hence talking is good.

Personally I'd say it's crucial for a role-play's survival, because in my opinion, it's the real motivation for players to post (I'd imagine talking between characters also accounts for the most posts in a thread as well).

That said, it's worth noting I don't actually need/want an RP to be purely character driven. Just so long as there is enough time and space for characters to talk in between whatever else happens.

What, of the available options, do you think is not important to role playing on the poll above? Why?
Do you think it could be removed entirely without any impact to a role play's health or stability? If so, why?

I think they're all important. I suppose if I had to pick a least important factor I'd say action. Simply because one good fight scene is better than a hundred arbitrary ones. Also because I'm more of a fan of talking and aren't always on-line for any quicker fight scenes. I was going to say speed, because if the game is good in every other way then it's worth waiting for. However I have noticed a lot of RP's seem to die because initially the posting rate has been too slow and players have lost interest because nothing has been established. So speed can actually be very important.

Is there anything important not listed on the poll? If so, what is it? (Note: If it's "good players", I'm talking specifically RP, not the people in the RP, though they are important.)

Honestly, I think it's all covered.

In what section do you typically role play? Choose one or more of the following: Arena, 1x1, Advanced, Casual, Free.
Would you consider yourself to also be part of a niché group? Such as nation role players, high-casual, or otherwise?

I only really post in casual or free. I'm not part of any group at all.

Do you want to post any links to illustrate your thought processes? Such as a role play on site, or an article off site? Note: Please don't link RP's on other sites here. That may constitute as advertisement, which is not Fonz-cool.

Well there was that time when I jumped over a shark on my motorbike.

Are you typically a player, or a GM/DM?
If you are a GM/DM, do you prefer to rule with an iron fist or let role players roam free?
If you are typically a player, do you prefer a GM to lead the story forward or do you prefer to lead yourself through the story?

I'm strictly a player and not a GM. Personally, I don't mind being lead through a story, but I'd prefer freedom where possible to make decisions for my character. But basically so long as I can talk to people and/or shoot magic guns at them I'm okay.

(Optional) Weigh the value of each of the poll options on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being "non-essential in any manner" and 10 being "absolutely essential in any manner."

Plot, I need a good overarching story to keep me going. 5 (I can definitely appreciate a good plot. But I don't need it as a player)
Player choice, if it's linear I don't feel useful. 7
Good characters, after all they do everything right? 10
GM Control, if the GM doesn't have control, (s)he can't fix anything. 8 (For the GM running the threads, making sure game content works).
Genre, poor genre choices kill role plays. 3
Relationships, a good role play should have great relationships between characters. 10
Action, a role play without some life and drama is boring, regardless of everything else. 7
Speed, a role play without at least a decent pace is a no go for me. 9 (At the start at least)
Character-centric, something focused on the characters, not the plot. 7
Plot-centric, something focused on the plot, not the characters. 0

And that's all. Thanks for weighing your opinion. If not, well, at least you read this far... Right?

No problem. Glad to help Oh and I should mention I only really go in for RPs online, so I'm going to show bias towards writing and not gaming.

[Disciple Cain]

• What, of the available options, do you think is important to role playing on the poll above? Why? Player choice, I've found, is crucial simply because it overall effects every other elements within a roleplay. I've found that if I don't have players that are taking the RP seriously enough or aren't enjoying it, they are actually wasting a slot and we'll all get unlucky enough that they'll be the one douchebag that does a story critical action and then disappears off the face of the earth suddenly, crippling the pace of the RP.
  
  • Is it covered sufficiently in one line? Not enough? Not at all? Not at all. Bad player choice has brought down too many campaigns that could've been great simply because everyone went idle or totally forgot about the RP because it's pace was too damn slow to even remember that there was an RP going on in the first place.
  • Do you think it is mandatory to a role play's survival? If so, why? Absolutely mandatory. As I previously stated, if you have bad players then you're going to have bad characters, bad progression, and eventually a crippled RP. Every player is an important part to a working machine. One gets mucked up and jammed, and the whole thing can stop working properly until you fix it or replace it. Better to just replace it. I've never had good luck with trying to fix computer or car parts. Replacing them doesn't guarantee quality every time but you'll know if it's going to break down in the next month at least.
  
  
• What, of the available options, do you think is not important to role playing on the poll above? Why? Genre choice. It's hard to choose a bad genre since they are all good to some extent or otherwise they wouldn't sell or be written. Someone, somewhere will obviously like the genre. If a player doesn't like the genre, that stems from player choice, not genre choice. Replace them with one that does like the genre and you're fine.
  
  • Do you think it could be removed entirely without any impact to a role play's health or stability? If so, why? Well I'm not sure if you could physically remove genre from a roleplay. I'm probably not thinking to far into it simply because it's a non-issue.
  
  
• Is there anything important not listed on the poll? If so, what is it? (Note: If it's "good players", I'm talking specifically RP, not the people in the RP, though they are important.) Not that I can think of.
• In what section do you typically role play? Choose one or more of the following: Arena, 1x1, Advanced, Casual, Free. I roleplay in Casual most often. Arena never really appealed to me, one on one's are starting to bore me since they primarily involve romantic interests between the two characters rather than anything else and two characters normally wouldn't interest me enough to keep roleplaying. It's played scene by scene, and I like to know that there's more than just me and one other. Advanced has good writing and all, but I don't like waiting a century for the next post to show up as has commonly happened and every Advanced I was part of never got past their first two rotations of posts because they added far too many people and the posts took far too long for anyone to be kept interested, especially me. Free just doesn't have standards. We all know that. It's a terrible, dark place in roleplaying that we've probably almost all been at one point or another, but don't talk about it much after that.
  
  • Would you consider yourself to also be part of a niché group? Such as nation role players, high-casual, or otherwise? High-casual I guess? Though really I just roleplay in casual because Advanced feels too damn stuffy.
  
  
• Do you want to post any links to illustrate your thought processes? Such as a role play on site, or an article off site? Note: Please don't link RP's on other sites here. That may constitute as advertisement, which is not Fonz-cool. Nope.
• Are you typically a player, or a GM/DM? GM
  
  • If you are a GM/DM, do you prefer to rule with an iron fist or let role players roam free? There's a magic about doing that perfectly that doesn't involve letting them run rampant or ruling with an iron fist. If you give the characters and players a reason to go along with your plotline, they'll follow it. They'll roam free within your world to accomplish their own goals, of course, but the trick is allowing them each a chance to shine in the limelight and pursue their own character's interests during the course of it.
  • If you are typically a player, do you prefer a GM to lead the story forward or do you prefer to lead yourself through the story? I like it when the GM leads the story forward, but I also enjoy driving the story forward by my own actions. I never enjoy being led by the ear through an RP, and that will almost always happen when the DM is playing a character.
  
  
• (Optional) Weigh the value of each of the poll options on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being "non-essential in any manner" and 10 being "absolutely essential in any manner."
• Plot, I need a good overarching story to keep me going. 8 (If there isn't some sort of points of interest within the story, my characters won't have any reason to be a part of it.
• Player choice, if it's linear I don't feel useful. 10 (It's not that I don't feel useful, it's that... just read everything I previously said about player choice. It's clutch.)
• Good characters, after all they do everything right? 9 (You can forgive characters that aren't absolutely perfect, but if you don't have characters that make sense then you're going to have a problem when 'Suspension of Disbelief' becomes an issue.)
• GM Control, if the GM doesn't have control, (s)he can't fix anything. 8 (If the GM doesn't have control, they aren't a GM)
• Genre, poor genre choices kill role plays. - (I don't believe that there is such a thing as poor genre choice, just poor player choice.)
• Relationships, a good role play should have great relationships between characters. 8 (relationships are important, but not clutch)
• Action, a role play without some life and drama is boring, regardless of everything else. 7 (This can go horribly wrong is you go too much toward the drama side and not enough toward the action side. I like them both, but they have to be balanced.)
• Speed, a role play without at least a decent pace is a no go for me. 7 (If it doesn't go fast enough, people will forget about it.)
• Character-centric, something focused on the characters, not the plot. 7
• Plot-centric, something focused on the plot, not the characters. 7 (Both are equally important as the each other. If it's not plot-centric in some manner, that means there isn't anything bigger than the characters that looms over them. If there isn't anything that is a personal interest of the characters, it means that the characters won't feel deep enough... perhaps 2-dimensional sometimes.)

[Gwazi Magnum]

• What, of the available options, do you think is important to role playing on the poll above? Why?
  
  • Is it covered sufficiently in one line? Not enough? Not at all?
  • Do you think it is mandatory to a role play's survival? If so, why?

Note: Not sure if by one line if you mean the one line descriptor in the poll or one line in the RP. So I'll answer as if you mean both.
Though in terms of one line descriptors in the poll, I think you've described them all pretty well in one line.

Plot
This is very important, without a good plot or story an RP will not be engaging, interesting or that enjoyable.
You may love the characters and the theme, but unless if you going heavily into fan-fiction and/or 'mature' roleplays, it will be the plot that keeps you going.
And any good plot granted comes with good characters.

This is something not usually done well with one line per post.
Unless if you're roleplaying style is posting what your character says and only that, so it's as if you're having a full conversation IC and not saying a line and then randomly wandering around a room and shit, it works.
There's two types of one line posts from what I've seen...

1. The kind that's the result of laziness, people who just add no detail because they lack the skill, creativity and/or will to do so. Or maybe they just really struggle with detail.
2. The kind where it's like that on purpose so...
a) Players can reply sooner (not left waiting 10mins-1hour between posts)
b) To not say one line and then feel obligated to describe several actions, the feelings/sights of the room etc.
c) So you can strictly have a conversation without feeling the need to change settings, move rooms, or take control of someone else's character every post.

This is in my opinion Mandatory to a roleplay's survival.
Unless if all the RP depends on is 'mature' scenes or fan-fiction, the plot will always be the RP's bread and butter.

Player choice

Someone who grew up on games like KOTOR and Mass Effect, choice is a big deal for me. Without choice I cannot enjoy the experience nearly as much.
That said sometimes you need to go linear to keep the plot going, but if the players don't have choice then it's more like they are being told a story than roleplaying.

This is only covered in one line if the RP has short and quick posts usually.
If it's the kind of RP (Casual or Advanced) that goes into paragraph(s), the one line is just being tokenism and it's more of a taste of what the players are missing.

Many RPs can survive without player choice, it happens many times. However if there is a lack of player choice it doesn't feel like an RP to me and may it survive or not, it won't be the kind of RP I would ever want to take part in.

Good Characters

Depends on what you're looking for.
Good characters are always important, I will not argue that. But they may not be vital, many times they are.
But if you're in the kind of RP that focuses on the story or 'journey' the players are on rather than the characters, an RP can survive with moderate characters.
But good characters is always something people can strive for.

It can be covered in one line depending on how they are a good character.
Are they a good character cause you bond with them and understand their feelings?
If so you probably need more than a line to get such a feeling across to the players.
Are they a good character because of the funny things they do and the one liners they have?
Those can normally be accomplished with one line.

GM Control

Depends on the GM.
Some GM's shouldn't have control.
But if that's the case then they shouldn't be GM to begin with and them being GM probably dooms the RP to failure...
Best you can normally hope is another player to step up, make an alternate RP with the same plot and have players migrate over to that one.
Which tbh I've done more than once... and made many enemies as a result

But a true roleplay is group controlled and should be enjoyed by all. If you have GM's and players fighting over control, your RP if probably doomed anyways.
This doesn't really need a 'one line' thing, either the players get along and can share control or they don't. No amount of typing will change that.

Genre

Genre helps an RP, but it does not make or break it.
Granted some players just cannot go RP's of certain Genre's due to personal tastes which is fine.
But Genre's are tools for the RP, they do not define an RP.

Relationships

If you mean romantic then no, this is not vital at all.
Is it a powerful tool? Yes, but you do not ever need romance to do an RP.... ever.

If you mean relationships as in anything like friendships, rivalries, etc. Then yes this is vital.
If characters do not have a relationship to one another... they aren't really characters at all.
Characters automatically develop said relationships when you give them personality, if they lack relationships then they probably have no personality at all.

Action

No!

This is of course assuming by action you mean violence, combat etc.

Many roleplays (if not majority) of RP's on this site have little to no action on this site and they flourish from it.
Because they get away from the 'guns and explosions' and into what makes roleplaying actually roleplaying.

If you want a non-forum roleplay example, just look at the video game 'To The Moon'.
No combat... at all, and it's one of the best games I have ever played.

If you go into drama though... not needed either.
It can help, if it's the right kind of drama.

But 90% of the time the 'drama' in RP's is the equivalent to stupid high school drama made for the purpose of causing drama... in which case... I repeat what I said above.

Speed

Partially, it depends on how active the players are.
If they are busy with other life commitments they need a slower RP so they can keep track of it and keep up.
If they are always on though... a slow RP just may not move fast enough because they either

a) Sit around forever waiting for a post to show up
b) Get so absorbed in more active RP's that the slow one goes into the back of their mind (unless if it is a truly amazing RP)

Speed is one of those things where fast and slow is neither good or bad, but depends on the specific people in said RP and their specific needs.

Character/Plot -Centric

It's dangerous to invest too much into one and not the other.
I know I stated above that story or character driven RP's can work very well, and they can.

But normally depending too much on one and too little on another will not end well.
Most RP's need that mix of character development and story development to work, unless if said players are looking for a certain specific/unique experience.

• What, of the available options, do you think is not important to role playing on the poll above? Why?
  
  • Do you think it could be removed entirely without any impact to a role play's health or stability? If so, why?

-GM Control
-Action
-Character/Plot Centric

These more often destroy RPs than help them in my opinion.
They have the potential to be used right, but typically RP's are a more open and enjoyable experience for me if these factors are just eliminated for reasons stated above.

• Is there anything important not listed on the poll? If so, what is it? (Note: If it's "good players", I'm talking specifically RP, not the people in the RP, though they are important.)

This may be because I've been up for 23 hours now without sleep, but I think you have covered all the major things here.

• In what section do you typically role play? Choose one or more of the following: Arena, 1x1, Advanced, Casual, Free.
  
  • Would you consider yourself to also be part of a niché group? Such as nation role players, high-casual, or otherwise?

I am typically a Free roleplayer for two reasons...

1. I struggle at times making larger posts, I can do it easily if there's stuff going on. But I am not the type of roleplayer who likes to add detail for the sake of adding detail
2. The fact there's no need to add detail to your posts for no apparent reason that to add detail and/or look more impressive allows players to be more flexible and focus more on what I believe makes an RP, the characters and the story... not how the grass looks in the sunlight or how a door knob feels when you touch it.

• Do you want to post any links to illustrate your thought processes? Such as a role play on site, or an article off site? Note: Please don't link RP's on other sites here. That may constitute as advertisement, which is not Fonz-cool.

Royal Killer

This remains to date the 1x1 roleplay with the largest amount of posts on the entire site.

I enjoyed this one largely because focus was never on what details I could come up with in the enviroment, but rather focus the intention solely on the characters and the plot. Because no one was getting cranky over how many words I had per post.

Boys (Special) Boarding School

One of the longest/biggest Free roleplays to date.

This one I enjoyed largely for the same reasons I enjoyed Royal Killer. Because the focus was on characters and story, not trivial details.
Note: The two people I carried this RP on with mostly became close friends for a while, so that was also an element.

• Are you typically a player, or a GM/DM?
  
  • If you are a GM/DM, do you prefer to rule with an iron fist or let role players roam free?
  • If you are typically a player, do you prefer a GM to lead the story forward or do you prefer to lead yourself through the story?

Player.
I have GM'd many times before and can do so again if needed.
But I tend to join more RP's than I make.
Most RP's I am the GM of are usually the result of RP I either

a) Planned in advance with friends
b) Is a result of me standing up a shitty GM and making an alternate RP that players follow me to

As a GM I like letting players roam free, it is not truly an RP for me or them if I'm spending all my time controlling exactly what they're doing.
RP's are a group project, never something one person should be set in charge of.
If what you want is to control the whole story... just go write a book or something.

As a player I like a GM who will get the story moving if needed, but will otherwise allow players to enjoy the RP they way they want to.
The GM should be watching the RP to make sure it flourish's and doesn't destroy itself, they should not be trying to control it.

• (Optional) Weigh the value of each of the poll options on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being "non-essential in any manner" and 10 being "absolutely essential in any manner."

I'll write a more elaborate scale here, just so it's easier for me to use.
If I don't define each number by itself I tend to start to blur numbers together at times.
For example: Give one thing an 8 but something else I like more a 7.

1 = Not essential at all
2 = Barely if at all essential
3 = Rarely essential
4 = Somewhat essential
5 = Uncommonly essential
6 = Moderately essential
7 = Commonly essential
8 = Usually essential
9 = Almost always essential
10 = Absolutely essential in any manner

Plot: 8
Player Choice: 9
Good Characters: 7
GM Control: 2
Genre: 4
Relationships
-Romantic: 3
-Otherwise: 9
Action: 1
Speed: 7
Character-centric: 4
Plot-centric: 3

[Hellis]

To me It's a combination of things

To use the Scale

Plot: 6-8 (depends on the game really)
Player Choice: 10
Good Characters: 7-8
GM Control: 2-6
Genre: 5
Relationships
-Romantic: 3
-Otherwise: 9
Action: 2
Speed: 7
Character-centric: 6
Plot-centric: 2


Players should feel that their actions matters, that they are part of the story. That they help build it and the world around them. At the same time must respct when the GM decdides to push things along and steer things in a certain direction that he feels is the natural outcome of said player actions. That said, GM is there to enforce rules and help paint the bigger picture, he should not try and railroad. none of this would matter if everyone played shitty characters, as I as A GM would grow uninterested in the game and characters would be hard pressed to find reason to interact.

[Yeovilty]

I chose "Player Choice" on the poll, as this is very important to me. I find with player choice, and a good overall GM, plot can evolve on it's own, or even just side-plots and such if there is already a main plot set (which will always help towards a story! At least to get it going.) In my eyes, a good GM can create plot on the fly, twisting player choices and making behind the scene decisions of what other NPC's are doing "off screen" creating a deeper, more involved chain of events that can lead to places. Of course, not all chains like this can end happily or even last a long time, so back up story is always helpful.
Adding world events that players can react to makes a big difference as well! So as someone is rocking around, doing their thing, events happening around them, either caused by other RPers or NPC's.

Without player choice, I feel I'm stuck into typing out what is expected of me, not what I would actually rather do.

Alot of the list is very relevant, but I feel player choice ranks number 1.

[Disciple Cain]

Realizing I took player choice in the wrong context just now... even though I still kind of stand by what I said. Player choices within the RP, however, are important. Ridiculous player choice can also cause derailment, disbelief in the RP and plot, and apathy from the DM's side if it goes too far :P

[Yeovilty]

Realizing I took player choice in the wrong context just now... even though I still kind of stand by what I said. Player choices within the RP, however, are important. Ridiculous player choice can also cause derailment, disbelief in the RP and plot, and apathy from the DM's side if it goes too far :P

I just realised myself there was another side to the "player choices" option... I just jumped to the assumption about having options whilst RPing. Though my point stands, even if it's about players having a choice about what kind of character they can create/roleplay (as long as there are limits, no one should start out at the top. I always feel characters should start from a very low "standing" and work their way upwards.)

[Tomaru]

Interesting characters are important above all else. Characters drive plot. They say if you get enough monkeys in a room they can write Shakespeare; well if you put enough interesting characters in an RP, Shakespeare will happen on its own. Interesting characters are essential for an RP's survival, because if the characters are boring, there's no reason fr me to interact with them, and thus no reason for me to post. Interesting characters are also the sign of a skilled player, and skilled players can make stuff happen when the plot starts to drag.

Genre is not important at all, especially on this site. The genre is revealed in the interest check. Players who like it join. Players who don't, don't. That is the extent of the importance of genre.

The poll neglects the idea of balance. In order to make a successful RP, the GM needs to learn what the players like, and reach the proper balance of plot, characterization, control, etc... for that particular group. The perfect balance will be different for every RP and every GM. Personally, I let my players do whatever they want (within reason). I'm finding that this is leading to more interesting and complex plot twists than I could come up with on my own.

I typically roleplay in a casual setting, though my posts are often of high-casual length or higher. I prefer the speed of the casual setting, and the relaxed post requirements do away with temptations to pad posts with bland description. To me, it doesn't really matter if I'm posting three paragraphs and somebody else is posting one. If that one paragraph adequately advances the plot, so be it. I'm not here to write a novel (though there's nothing wrong with that), I'm here to relax.

I am more often a player, but when I'm feeling picky about my setting, I'll just GM, that way I get the exact RP I want. Though, as a GM, I tend to be a very active player that does important plot stuff rather than a sole author. I push the plot where it needs to go, but I don't dictate it. As a GM, I love player involvement over all else. As a player, I tend to like the same. Of course, different GMs will have different styles, but I like it when the GM simply makes something happen, and then lets the players work it out. I also like it when the GMs give players a bit of control over certain arcs. On the contrary, an overbearing GM is a surefire way to get me to stop posting. If I wanted to read somebody else's story, I'd buy a book. There's no reason for me to play if my actions are predetermined. Also, I stay away from roleplays with too many combat mechanics.