[b]Edit for Clarity (where previously there wasn't enough):[/b]

When I say 'introduce character', btw, I mean 'Introduce character in the IC to other characters who were previously ignorant of the other's existence'. I'm talking about the setup that can happen in an RP where the characters exist in a vacuum prior to the IC and the whole of the start of the RP is everybody meeting everybody else.

Obviously introducing a character to a reader is a different thing and, yes, a skill that can be developed.

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I'm not saying there's no way around the challenge of the 'characters all meet for the first time' scene, but prevention is better than cure. When GMing, I try to encourage players to work out pre-existing relationships between their characters before the IC to avoid this problem.

[quote=Brovo]You can literally make a depth-filled intro in one paragraph and move on without any problems. [/quote]

Sure, but once you've waited for a whole round of people to do this, 'moving on' takes a while, and stagnation sets in. You're right that stagnation doesn't spell the death of an RP, but it [i]is[/i] in my experience, where an RP dies - especially at the beginning when momentum is lost. Why risk it, if you can avoid it?

[quote=Brovo]Resolution: [b]learn proper introductions[/b][/quote]

On the whole, I think I introduce characters satisfactorily. Unfortunately, I haven't a device that can learn skills [i]onto[/i] other people and once you're in the rut of 'everybody take turns to write a big fluffy impressive intro post' with no real practical interaction in the turn-based, huge-group scenario (especially when all characters are introduced to everybody in one sitting - surprisingly common in my experience) because of the GM's management, there isn't a lot of wiggle-room for any one player.

Really, I think GM's are to blame for these as there's lots of ways around the 'lots of strangers' setup but the best really isn't to sit in a big circle and take it in turns to say your name, your dream job, and a secret nobody knows.

If I thought it was my fault, I'd be fixing it in context, not b!tching. xD