This isn't as common as it should be in roleplaying. People tend to be too polite and become reluctant in taking the initiative in fear they overstep their boundaries. As a result, an event that would take 2-3 posts can end up taking 5 or more. Some of my best memories roleplaying were when people weren't trying to step over each other's toes.

I find this to be one of the main reasons role plays die out, everything becomes too draggy and nothing happens so people lose interest.

Because traditional roleplaying rules tell people to do this. No Godmodding, no metagaming, etc etc. The only comfortable way to avoid it is to build chemistry with your roleplay partners so you know what they are comfortable with so both of you can take the initiative without being afraid of the other person.

The best way we've found is to do stuff but leave the results open... Instead of "he disemboweled her" we prefer to use "he swung the knife at her stomach, intending to spill her bowels".

The former leaves the other character no escape routes, while the latter can be avoided. If someone gives us such an opening, we probably would at minimum take some damage. Of course, if the situation calls for it, we could easily let the full attack hit.

Sometimes, going out on a limb will come back and bite you, other times you'll end up having done something truly epic. If you're unsure about what to let through, you could always let chance decide by rolling dice.

No normal character should be invulnerable. It might be annoying as mosquitoes buzzing around your head if the character you spent hours or even days writing ends up dead (or maimed), but in our opinion, if it makes for a good story, it's worth it. Stories ruined because you dare not let your character take a punch when it is unavoidable without breaking plausibility cannot be recovered nearly as easily as you can create a new character.

This is also a bit of what I will call reactionary posting, meaning people will respond to something presented to them, rather than taking a bit of a lead.

Eg: you see some keys on a desk that are for a nearby door. The other player then also notices the keys. You them take the keys and open the door, entering the room. The other player follows.

I can go on for a bit longer, but these sort of follower players are hard to manage because they never really do much other than appear in the RP and the story doesn't generate around them because they aren't really getting involved.

@VilageidiotxI don't mean stuff like outright controlling them or autohitting in fights. Instead, more like the stuff Ellri and Nutts said. Though sometimes, I think minor control is okay. For example, you're using a very rowdy and outspoken character and you're interacting with a very timid and shy one. I find it perfectly plausible if yours does something like grabbing their hand, pulling them along as you make a dash for something.

Stuff like that.

"Don't be afraid to mess things up"

That's my motto. If nothing seems to happen, go Leeroy Jenkins into the nearby dungeon and drama is sure to follow.

I like to play characters who are either reckless or bigots, or both. It's always so easy to create chaos with them, and chaos is the driver of fun imo :D

That is a sensible viewpoint, @Rithy. Nothing pushes people to act more than a Leeroy Jenkins. Granted, in our Star Wars RP, that will generally end with at least one dead PC... but if it makes for a good story, who cares? New characters can always be written.

Funny part is that sometimes things will go bat shit insane and the GM will get frustrated because it's broken their story preparations, even if it turns out to be a good idea.

@NuttsnBolts, the role of the player is to frustrate the gm a little. Or a lot. If the gm plans an extensive underground route, the player will go overground.

Alas, I find that does happen a bit. Takes folks being more comfortable with each other, I think, to fully avoid it.