Well, I think there's some merit to a point having been brought up by Dynamo, still. Not judging people solely based on which subforums they frequent.

Ironic from me, maybe. But the fact is, yes, you shouldn't just judge a player's worth based on which subforum they're in most of the time. That's a silly notion, no matter your perception of the community.

However.

This shouldn't discourage people from doing the 'ol "Facebook screening" method of things. With which I mean, if you know the guy's not used to wherever he winds up at, it's poignant to go through his profile and look at some of his postings in other sections. See how they behave, how they write. Even if every sub has different standards and culture, you can get a good glimpse into a person by analyzing what it is they do in those other subs.

So in that sense, rejecting someone because they come from free, casual, advanced, 1x1, tabletop or arena isn't baseless in the sense that you can see they wouldn't make a good fit just off what they do in said frequented place. GMs hold the right to keep the order, so keeping you out because you write too much fluff in Advanced or don't seem like the organized type from your 15 1x1 checks in different threads isn't exactly what I call a bad thing.

@Ammokkx Gotta say I agree.

Oh yeah, definitely vet people.

<Snipped quote by Dynamo Frokane>

you dragged an entire thread off topic by trying to instigate drama with someone that just reacted to a post, but feel free to gloss over that.

anyway insert actual topical thing here, i would give my thoughts but what i think about the subforums has already been said here by others.

I reacted to someone who reacted and then you and others reacted to me....funny how that works?

Anyway I don't see any actual refutation on my point apart from 'oh noes drama' so I aint got nothing to say on the matter until I hear a counter point, carry on.

<Snipped quote by Mara>

I reacted to someone who reacted and then you and others reacted to me....funny how that works?

Anyway I don't see any actual refutation on my point apart from 'oh noes drama' so I aint got nothing to say on the matter until I hear a counter point, carry on.

I'm honestly eighty percent sure you're trolling at this point, but I'll bite.

One guy saying he doesn't want to RP with you does not mean there's some site-wide conspiracy to keep the poor, victimized arena posters down. You are not being oppressed because one dude said he doesn't like your attitude and the attitude of the community you're a major part of. Saying you're being discriminated against because one guy doesn't like you has to be the funniest fucking thing I've read all week.

You definitely stoked the fires of this whole mess because you wanted to bait out drama. So here I am, feeding into the drama.

Stop with the victim complex.

You could just all drop the subject and exchange it for the original purpose of discussion.

*shrugs* But what do I know?

You could just all drop the subject and exchange it for the original purpose of discussion.

*shrugs* But what do I know?

I mean.

I did.

<Snipped quote by HaleyTheRandom>

I mean.

I did.

I know. And I thank you for it.

Getting back on topic, then!

I’m of the opinion that the sub-forums could use a touch up. I don’t think the naming conventions are particularly helpful for new users.

When I first tried to get on the site years ago I signed up for causal because I assumed that was for casual writers; the first RP I took a stab at was somehow more advanced than anything I’ve seen in the advanced section since.

On top of that, they’re a huge fluctuation of games in casual that honestly shouldn’t be there. It’s kind of a crapshoot qualitywise, and I’d put the blame on the fact that:

1. People are scared away from Advanced by its name and outdated ‘elisit’ rep
And
2. Nobody wants to work in the Free section because that somehow sounds more degrading than calling them ‘casuals.’

Apparently "Free" used to be called "Beginner's Roleplay". I'm not quite sure why Mahz changed it, but I've always found it still more fitting than what we have now. @Odin had a really solid pitch for restructuring the formats and basing them more around dedication/audience, but nothing really came of it as the staff (and particularly) Mahz felt it was fine as is. That's about all we'll probably see on that end.

time for the casual/advanced/MASTER rename

time for the casual/advanced/MASTER rename

Honestly, if we had to restructure (like if it was possible). The aforementioned pitch of setting them by dedication would be a good idea; that or sort everything by audience/genre. As oversaturated a "Anime" section would be I feel like combined with the tag system it'd be a lot easier and better than what we have now.

Apparently "Free" used to be called "Beginner's Roleplay".

Oh really? Hm. The more you know.

1. People are scared away from Advanced by its name and outdated ‘elisit’ rep
And
2. Nobody wants to work in the Free section because that somehow sounds more degrading than calling them ‘casuals.’

I agree. The naming/description thing needs a touch up. People assume you're a shit writer because you're in the free secction, or assume you're a pompus ass because you like the advanced side of things.

Call me crazy, but it kinda pisses me off.

<Snipped quote by Ammokkx>
Honestly, if we had to restructure (like if it was possible). The aforementioned pitch of setting them by dedication would be a good idea; that or sort everything by audience/genre. As oversaturated a "Anime" section would be I feel like combined with the tag system it'd be a lot easier and better than what we have now.

Honestly not against this idea. RPNation does something very similar. Instead of sorting it by writing levels, each board has its own genre. Fandom, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, etc. and it works pretty well. I just don't RP on there because the average quality is way lower and player retention is pretty yikes.

The problem then becomes 'how does guild adopt this' as we've kind of been with our system for a fucklong time now.

The problem then becomes 'how does guild adopt this' as we've kind of been with our system for a fucklong time now.

As cynical and absolutist as it sounds? It doesn't. Not unless Mahz suddenly thinks a suggestion made by a vocal minority is convincing enough to change how he's been organizing the site for ten-to-eleven years.

<Snipped quote by Inkarnate>

Honestly not against this idea. RPNation does something very similar. Instead of sorting it by writing levels, each board has its own genre. Fandom, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, etc. and it works pretty well. I just don't RP on there because the average quality is way lower and player retention is pretty yikes.

The problem then becomes 'how does guild adopt this' as we've kind of been with our system for a fucklong time now.

The lack of retention and lower quality on average might have something to do with how the boards are separated, honestly. I do like the idea of using sub-boards for genres instead of throwing everything into a giant list and letting the users sort it out, but I'm also not a huge fan of sticking the AOL-style one liners beside the Tolkien-wannabes, y'know? With the three sections, as flawed as they are, they at least give you the chance to find people who gravitate more toward your style.

I am a little late to the derailing of the thread, but uh... stop it.

The lack of retention and lower quality on average might have something to do with how the boards are separated, honestly. I do like the idea of using sub-boards for genres instead of throwing everything into a giant list and letting the users sort it out, but I'm also not a huge fan of sticking the AOL-style one liners beside the Tolkien-wannabes, y'know? With the three sections, as flawed as they are, they at least give you the chance to find people who gravitate more toward your style.

That's when the tagging system comes into play for helping determine that kind of stuff.

<Snipped quote by Superboy>
That's when the tagging system comes into play for helping determine that kind of stuff.

My thoughts exactly. You'd have a board for all types on one RP and you'd be forced to tag your 'writing level'. Say you'll stick with the free/casual/advanced system. I and a few others tag a few RPs as casual in the 'fandom' board. Then, users can check the 'fandom' board and either leave it unfiltered, or filter for the free/casual/advanced tags.

This way you leave freedom for both those who want a certain experiences and the ones that just like to throw darts and see what sticks.