I considered joining a great looking advanced RP at one point a couple years ago, but decided against it when I noticed how infrequently players post as a whole in the subforum. It's worthy to note that, despite how much effort went into the lore and world building, the RP died shortly after.

I've been part of a roleplay called The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention for a few years(!) now. It often moves at a positively GLACIAL pace and the GM was even forced to prematurely enter Chapter 2 with a little timeskip to grab everybody's attention again and resume posting. But it works. We can go weeks between posts or take months to resolve a single encounter, but we're all competent writers who have long-term plans and visions for our characters and we have an extremely dedicated GM who similarly has a really expansive vision and fleshed out plot in store for us.

It is, by Guild standards, practically unique in that regard. I can only think of Ellri's Star Wars RP and the long-standing Create-a-Hero RP that are in the same category of size and age.

It's possible. You just need to work at it and get lucky with a dedicated and capable group of players. There are ways to make yourself lucky, though. It sounds stupid but pick the right fandom! TES and WH40K roleplayers are pretty hardcore about sticking with things, I've noticed.

@Dread The best one that lived for years that I was apart of was more communal than having 1 GM. While the GM held the mysteries and shit, the plot, world and characters were developed by everyone so everyone had "a say" in the RP. Funny thing is, it was only 3 of us because the original had like 15 players then boiled down and in the end there was the trio. Great fun. So maybe the size is a factor in the life of the RP. The only reason it died was because I left/stopped coming to RPG. Now that I'm back, the other two seem to have been gone for some time. I don't know if we'll ever bring it back to life.

Yah, I suppose group size could def be a factor, but I really think it comes down to keeping the spirit of the RP alive through GM and player intervention, even during slow periods or borderline stagnation. Players are a fickle bunch for sure, and also there isn't much loyalty to a particular RP of it seems that the GM has gone missing or just disconnected. It's kind of like: "Well, why should I care if the originator doesn't?"

But, to be fair, my experience in RPing is table-top, which means people are physically there and the overall dynamics are different than virtual. And Guild is the first site I've joined for PbP, so my perspective is still coming from fresh eyes.

Although I think everyone can agree that the key RP killer is lack of steady participation. But how does one fix that in a virtual environment?

Although I think everyone can agree that the key RP killer is lack of steady participation. But how does one fix that in a virtual environment?

Its just about keeping the RP interesting as possible, usually finding that right balance between player freedom and focus to make someone excited to comeback. Also building an RP model that wont end the RP if someone drops. This is why Sandbox RPs usually do so well.

Its just about keeping the RP interesting as possible, usually finding that right balance between player freedom and focus to make someone excited to comeback. Also building an RP model that wont end the RP if someone drops. This is why Sandbox RPs usually do so well.

Sometimes that doesn't work. Some players want to be told how to go about things. Sometimes you can't reignite the interest of an RP.

Luck & Timing might play a role in this though. Sometimes its about the when and how an RP is set up and the "perfect who" come around and the life of the RP is ridiculously long.

Also, gonna hit you with a PM here in a minute. Have a Q about your RPs.

@Dread Do you like trading card games btw?

@Dread Do you like trading card games btw?

I do, but my answer is still "no" to your RP from the last time you asked, lol

<Snipped quote by Dynamo Frokane>

I do, but my answer is still "no" to your RP from the last time you asked, lol

Did I already invite you? Apologies.

But Ammokkx can tell you how good the RP is, he liked it enough to try to join it twice

@Dynamo Frokane But maybe you should keep this thread on-point about the topic, aye? The matter of whether or not your RPs are worth joining are best settled in interest checks and PMs, I think.

@Dynamo Frokane But maybe you should keep this thread on-point about the topic, aye? The matter of whether or not your RPs are worth joining are best settled in interest checks and PMs, I think.

Actually it does highlight something on-topic in this thread that you mentioned, my point about not discriminating who to RP with based on what sub forums they frequent seems very relevant all of a sudden.

<Snipped quote by Ammokkx>

Actually it does highlight something on-topic in this thread that you mentioned, my point about not discriminating who to RP with based on what sub forums they frequent seems very relevant all of a sudden.

Is it really 'discriminating?' 'Cause it looks more like you're trying to advertise your RP in the middle of a discussion thread. Maybe I'm totally off base because I haven't the slightest clue what history the two of you share or even what you're talking about, but it certainly doesn't pertain to anything that should be going on here.

That said...

<Snipped quote by Yevin>

Although I think everyone can agree that the key RP killer is lack of steady participation. But how does one fix that in a virtual environment?

I think that does depend on which of the writing sub-forums you're working within, in all honesty.

In the free section, it's a fairly simple task to keep an incredible active IC and OOC; the nature of one-liners and the AOL-style writing helps keep up the momentum very well.

On the flip side, you have games in advanced where you might see a post every three weeks. In that case, keeping up participation is a great deal more difficult. Something like an active Discord helps foster a community and form friendships, both of which keep people engaged not only in the story they're crafting together, but in their fellow players; it's much easier to care about someone's writing when you like the writer personally, in my opinion.

Casual, being as populated as it is, is harder to nail down. I find the style depends entirely on the genre and pace you've set. If you're going for a slow burning space opera? Aim toward the advanced approach. If you're doing a lighthearted, slice-of-life style game? You can probably just rely on normal IC and OOC interaction to carry the momentum.

One of the biggest RP killers is the mentality of "eh I'll post later".

If you find yourself thinking this, do one of two things:

1. Drop the fuck out

or

2. Post anyways.

One of the biggest RP killers is the mentality of "eh I'll post later".

If you find yourself thinking this, do one of two things:

1. Drop the fuck out

or

2. Post anyways.

why? why can't someone just opt to post later? sometimes people get busy or don't feel like writing. it ain't a job, it's a hobby.

<Snipped quote by tex>

why? why can't someone just opt to post later? sometimes people get busy or don't feel like writing. it ain't a job, it's a hobby.

While you're completely correct in that regard, Tex has a point. While you can always choose to do it later, the longer you hold off, the more you're dragging everyone else down and slowing the RP to a crawl by refusing to post. If the 'later' goes from just being a few days later to a week or two, it starts to become a problem.

If someone finds themselves so disinterested in an RP that they'll keep from posting despite having the time for several weeks, they should just bite the bullet and drop out instead of wasting the other players' time. It's all a matter of relativity, of course; 'too long' is a totally subjective time frame.

<Snipped quote by Dynamo Frokane>

Is it really 'discriminating?'

Hang on do you even know what I'm referring to? This thread is about opinions on sub forums, in response to the earlier post made I'm saying its very ignorant and straight up discrimination to refuse to RP someone purely based on the fact they frequent a certain sub-forum. I would hope that you would either judge them as what they write as an individual poster, not the places they post.

Let me know which part of my statement is controversial.

<Snipped quote by Universorum>

While you're completely correct in that regard, Tex has a point. While you can always choose to do it later, the longer you hold off, the more you're dragging everyone else down and slowing the RP to a crawl by refusing to post. If the 'later' goes from just being a few days later to a week or two, it starts to become a problem.

If someone finds themselves so disinterested in an RP that they'll keep from posting despite having the time for several weeks, they should just bite the bullet and drop out instead of wasting the other players' time. It's all a matter of relativity, of course; 'too long' is a totally subjective time frame.

i mean sure there's like a limit, but just because you have the time doesn't mean you should force yourself to do it. sometimes you're just not in the mood, you know? i think so long as your get your post in within the week, that should be fine.

if you force it, it can very well be bad writing because it's forced, or phoned in. once someone has taken 2+ weeks to post? then i would complain about it. but i think giving your fellow writers the time to write a quality response is important.

<Snipped quote by Superboy>

Hang on do you even know what I'm referring to? This thread is about opinions on sub forums, in response to the earlier post made I'm saying its very ignorant and straight up discrimination to refuse to RP someone purely based on the fact they frequent a certain sub-forum. I would hope that you would either judge them as what they write as an individual poster, not the places they post.

Let me know which part of my statement is controversial.

I believe I do know what you're referring to, yes. You frequent the Arena sub-forum and certain users hold less than savory views on that sub-forum.

As dumb as it may be to judge someone based on what they enjoy, discrimination is a loaded as hell word, dude. I think it's a little ridiculous to compare having your hobby judged negatively to being discriminated against, like you're a second class citizen that's having their rights squashed by the majority group.

Yeah, no, I think you're entirely correct in that you shouldn't have to deal with preconceived notions like that. But if someone's so immature that they can't see passed the fact that you played in a certain type of game, then just...ignore them. They were never worth your time to begin with.

Edit:

<Snipped quote by Superboy>

i mean sure there's like a limit, but just because you have the time doesn't mean you should force yourself to do it. sometimes you're just not in the mood, you know? i think so long as your get your post in within the week, that should be fine.

if you force it, it can very well be bad writing because it's forced, or phoned in. once someone has taken 2+ weeks to post? then i would complain about it. but i think giving your fellow writers the time to write a quality response is important.

I'm with you on that, for the most part. Though sometimes I'd rather get a phoned in post on time than wait an extra four or five days for someone to find their mood. It's especially heinous in a group setting, where everyone has to specifically wait for that one person to post. That kind of thing contributes fairly heavily to RPs that lose steam and results in people losing interest and dropping.

I don't think putting up a post should ever be prioritized before taking care of work/yourself, but there are times when it's best to just buckle down and get on with it for the good of the whole group, y'know?

@Superboyeverything on a case-by-case basis. i guess i'm also not used to really doing rps where one person can hold up the whole squad, but if i were doing that, i'd probably be leaning more toward your point of view.

I've always priotized the success and enjoyment that the roleplay offers as a whole over the individual preferences of each player. I wouldn't be able to let individuals that take weeks to post hold back an entire group. But then it's just like it's been mentioned, it depends on the group and the players. Sometimes you're just not compatible with others.

But if you're not compatible with others, I think it's less selfish to just jump ship, or force yourself along. It's better in the long run, otherwise you are just a detriment to the entire game.

<Snipped quote by tex>

why? why can't someone just opt to post later? sometimes people get busy or don't feel like writing. it ain't a job, it's a hobby.

I believe that would depend on the RP requirements. Some Gm's are fine with people opting out to post later. If they are, it shouldn't be a problem. (Granted I could never host an Rp that way, you know me, I would go fucking nuts...)