Does RPGuild Need More People?

[ClocktowerEchos]

I'm putting this in Off-Topic and not Spam because I'm looking for a slightly more serious thread.

After poking around some other RP sites, I've been wondering: Is RPGuild too small? I feel like that the player count site wide has been getting smaller and smaller. Not going to lie but one irrational fear I have is that RPGuild is eventually going to just not have enough members and people will just stop coming and the site as a whole will basically die. I know that there's a solid chunk of people who don't have themselves listed as online via ghost mode but still, should there be more people?

Any of y'all have thoughts on this matter?

[Dion]

Yeah. We do.

[Burning Kitty]

What we need is people without commitment issues. Don't fucking post if you are going to drop without a word. If you are going to post stick with it.

[SleepingSilence]

Though more people is always a better thing, I've looked at other sites before...I don't even think population is the biggest issue really. There's a lot of specific problems I've had on this site role playing I've never had elsewhere. Commitment is certainly one of those problems, but there's plenty of others instances I've just never had happen elsewhere which I can only imagine would be instant turn off's for those less interested in RPing...

[Cyndyr]

The size of the population doesn't really matter, but yes, the Guild has been shrinking in the past few years. There's probably no solid reason for this, but factors could come from the fact that the site hasn't seen updates recently, people tend to lack commitment to their Roleplays, and that many of the advertised Roleplays tend to be extremely similar in design.

[TwelveOf8]

I agree with the point @Cynder made about many of the advertised roleplays being very similar to each other. That alone decreases ones motivation to start new roleplays and commit to them in the long term. There needs to be more diversity in ideas and concepts. Though it is understandable that people would play it safe and post ideas that have been proven to be popular in he past. But still, stagnation is a real issue in any creative community.

Anyways, every community has many hangers on but very few truly dedicated members. It's the eighty twenty rule in effect. I don't read the dev update posts and I'm not friends with any of the moderators, coders, nor admins, but from my perspective, this site is doing fine. Nothing to worry about.

[BrokenPromise]

I think this is a bad time of year. Most of your roll players are either in school or collage, and while everyone's schedule is different, this time of year is very popular for travel as well. I'm fortunate that almost everyone in my RP has been really good about letting me know how busy they are.

While I would be happier with a few new faces, I'm not sure how that could be achieved. I can run my RP, so I'm content with things for now.

EDIT: But I don't think we NEED more people. That almost makes it sound like the place is dying.

[Todd Howard]

Honestly can't blame people for leaving, considering the shit that goes down here on a constant basis.

RPGuild has only gotten worse over the last 3 years, from what 'quality' we had before the guild went down. It's just been a slow, but certain descent that is more depressing than anything else. Casual is slowly becoming the new Free, 1x1's are becoming more and more smut focused. Like, what is this, Bluemoon? It's not as bad on the fetish shit, but it's still pretty saddening. I just want to write a story, but if there's no smut within two pages, you're gonna drop?

Honestly, most of what I have to say more belongs in the bitch thread, so I'll probably just go rant over there. But if people do start joining, I can only hope we don't continue the trends that have been infecting my favorite one-on-one roleplaying subforum.

[Cyndyr]

Honestly can't blame people for leaving, considering the shit that goes down here on a constant basis.

RPGuild has only gotten worse over the last 3 years, from what 'quality' we had before the guild went down. It's just been a slow, but certain descent that is more depressing than anything else. Casual is slowly becoming the new Free, 1x1's are becoming more and more smut focused. Like, what is this, Bluemoon? It's not as bad on the fetish shit, but it's still pretty saddening. I just want to write a story, but if there's no smut within two pages, you're gonna drop?

Honestly, most of what I have to say more belongs in the bitch thread, so I'll probably just go rant over there. But if people do start joining, I can only hope we don't continue the trends that have been infecting my favorite one-on-one roleplaying subforum.

@Raddum

This is also another possible factor that I forgot to mention - there's a serious decline in Roleplay quality. No sections truly offer variety anymore and 1x1 has basically become a place that Roleplayers uninterested in smut/romance Roleplays tend to avoid. I still believe that the Guild desperately needs a system to separate smut-based Roleplays from ones that lack sexual content similar to Iwaku's system.

[Todd Howard]

This is also another possible factor that I forgot to mention - there's a serious decline in Roleplay quality. No sections truly offer variety anymore and 1x1 has basically become a place that Roleplayers uninterested in smut/romance Roleplays tend to avoid. I still believe that the Guild desperately needs a system to separate smut-based Roleplays from ones that lack sexual content similar to Iwaku's system.

@Cynder

As much as I hate Iwaku for the exact same reasons I've started hating this place (Except ten fold, that community sucks dick, seriously), they do this well. If I don't want to see that shit, I don't have to; Because it's in it's own subforums away from the potential roleplays I'd be interested in doing. That site is very good at filtering out things depending on people's preferences. And if there's anything to respect about that forum, it's that one fact.

That and it's fucking fantastic coding for posts. Like, when I tried that forum out for awhile and came back here I was so disappointed with what I had to work with. Thankfully our coding has improved a bit. But Iwaku's is just so much better. x.x

[Cyndyr]

As much as I hate Iwaku for the exact same reasons I've started hating this place (Except ten fold, that community sucks dick, seriously), they do this well. If I don't want to see that shit, I don't have to; Because it's in it's own subforums away from the potential roleplays I'd be interested in doing. That site is very good at filtering out things depending on people's preferences. And if there's anything to respect about that forum, it's that one fact.

That and it's fucking fantastic coding for posts. Like, when I tried that forum out for awhile and came back here I was so disappointed with what I had to work with. Thankfully our coding has improved a bit. But Iwaku's is just so much better. x.x

@Raddum

We could learn a lot from Iwaku. And they could learn a lot from us - like how to not isolate their own members through the use of cliques. Seriously though, someone should implement a subforum that could be shown or hidden with a focus on sexual Roleplay content.

And on a side note: How to improve the Guild thread when.

[skidcrow]

a lot of it relies on one sole factor: diversity, which is something the rps here lack. like, a lot.

take a look at, i dunno, roleplaygateway. you got so many different genres just on the front page! then look back at rpg. let's see, 10 high school rps, 7 teenagers with superpowers, a whole lot of smut (with some furry smut sprinkled inbetween) and whatever the fuck advanced and nation rps are like.

it's just that a lot of the "big" gms - yknow, ones that constantly drag in tonnes of interest simply from saying the word roleplay - lack originality. it's the same bland formula, sometimes with a little twist or maybe even a slightly different formula, and not a lot of consideration for the people not into that sort of stuff.

at the same time, it's also that themes people are interested in are typically found in free (where, no offense, the russian kids on csgo can english better than that) or they're just hosted by bad gms/are full of bad players. i honestly have gotten more into gming than rp searching because of this.

this isn't to say less players is such a bad thing. a lot of it is that people's attention spans are getting wayyyy too short. hell, you get users who join, post once, then never show up ever again. poof. that's it.

i don't see the problem with having a smaller player base, so long as it doesn't get to the point where the site is completely barren, or there's like 3 people left who all rp at different levels.

[Todd Howard]

We could learn a lot from Iwaku. And they could learn a lot from us - like how to not isolate their own members through the use of cliques. Seriously though, someone should implement a subforum that could be shown or hidden with a focus on sexual Roleplay content.

And on a side note: How to improve the Guild thread when.

@Cynder

As long as Mahz doesn't start taking money to plaster ads on the front page for roleplays, I'm okay with getting some of Iwaku's cool shit. RP ads would be total aids, though.

Well uh, don't we have a subforum partially dedicated to suggestions for the site?

Everyone just uses it to report bots, but it's there.

[Cyndyr]

As long as Mahz doesn't start taking money to plaster ads on the front page for roleplays, I'm okay with getting some of Iwaku's cool shit. RP ads would be total aids, though.

Well uh, don't we have a subforum partially dedicated to suggestions for the site?

Everyone just uses it to report bots, but it's there.

@Raddum

Considering the inactivity of Mahz, I'm not sure how much that would accomplish. It's definitely worth a shot, but I'm thinking more along the lines of what the community could do to fix the problem that quite a few of us have agreed exists.

[Todd Howard]

@Cynder

I have a firm belief that all of the bots come from Mahz and it's just his way of fucking with us.

As far as lack of dedication and inactivity go, I can offer my perspective; Considering I just got done dropping out of an RP that had great quality and uh... -great- people, maybe?

Maybe.

Anyways, I get annoyed easily. Like, really easily. And I prefer not to cause drama, so I usually just say that I'm leaving and leave it at that. I prefer to not cause a bunch of shit for everyone else, or the GM, despite having done it before. When someone does something stupid, or something I really don't like; I'd rather step out than continue as my motivation slowly begins to sink. If I think I'm gonna drag someone down, then I'm going to leave to let them do their thing; I have very few people that I've stuck with for very long periods of time, and those people have spanned over years, back on Old Guild even. These are 1x1 partners, primarily. Though there's a few people who I'll support one of their Group RP's to the death because I care about 'em enough.

I'm moody and generally just not compatible with many people. I tend to bitch at people, and hold myself to a specific standard that I don't lower for anyone; I also stand firm in certain beliefs, and take things the wrong way. So it's easy for me to kick into the "I should probably go" mindset, when I start feeling like I'm not gonna get along with someone, or a group.

It's kind of stupid, I know. I'm not looking for any sort of justification, I just want to offer something from the view of someone who has dumped roleplays before.

The people that don't say anything, though? They're a whole different problem. They just jump from RP to RP like sluts to men; And don't care what the fuck they cause. They care only about themselves and when they get bored with the toy, they throw it out, and find a new one. They are pretty scummy, and I've managed to build up a list of people I -refuse- to roleplay with for any reason. They equal auto-drops if they join the same group as me. I'll try and warn the GM beforehand, but most GM's are so desperate and "Need 12 fucking players" that they're too desperate to listen.

*sob*

[mickilennial]

like how to not isolate their own members through the use of cliques. Seriously though, someone should implement a subforum that could be shown or hidden with a focus on sexual Roleplay content.

@Cynder

But we already need to work on this for ourselves. From what I can see I have noticed this very quickly. We have plenty of cliques—people who refuse to write with other people, people who gossip about others [not vent], people who draw lines in the sand that really shouldn’t exist in the first place. It’s really disheartening to see supposed adults act like adolescents, though sometimes I suppose for many of them it can be quite hard to separate personal ideologies and when to recognize the difference between venting and ranting.

and I've managed to build up a list of people I -refuse- to roleplay with for any reason.

@Raddum

Is it productive to create established blacklists though? I get not favoring working with certain individuals, but there is also the need to ostracize them from the community by “warning” directors of prospective RPs. Where is the line of “Hey, this is a problematic player, here’s their reputation.” and “I hate this person, it’s me or them. You need to remove them or else.”?

[NuttsnBolts]

There's a lot that can be done to improve and give this site a fresh burst of activity, but I do have to say that Mahz's lack of activity is the biggest concern. We do need him for a good development session and need him to implement and rollout on many of the promises that he had for the community. We have a good setup, but everyone knows the lil bugs that we see around the place, the image uploader system that was never completed, and even the tags for roleplay genres never got fleshed out to the broader list that was put together at one stage.

I do agree completely with the comments above about 'clique' groups and the reputation of various players. I know theres a few players I don't particularly wanna RP with because of either their attitude or the way they roleplay. Nothing worse then a rogue player that starts breaking the rules and lore, and then starts an argument when they've been called out.

What I have noticed is that there are less discussions in the "Roleplay Discussion" section, which in reality should be overflowing with people discussing various topics and not enter into an abusive war. Maybe topics on things like "What can you do if your RP dies?" or "How do I manage bad players into good ones?"

[Cyndyr]

But we already need to work on this for ourselves. From what I can see I have noticed this very quickly. We have plenty of cliques—people who refuse to write with other people, people who gossip about others [not vent], people who draw lines in the sand that really shouldn’t exist in the first place. It’s really disheartening to see supposed adults act like adolescents, though sometimes I suppose for many of them it can be quite hard to separate personal ideologies and when to recognize the difference between venting and ranting.

Is it productive to create established blacklists though? I get not favoring working with certain individuals, but there is also the need to ostracize them from the community by “warning” directors of prospective RPs. Where is the line of “Hey, this is a problematic player, here’s their reputation.” and “I hate this person, it’s me or them. You need to remove them or else.”?

@Inkarnate

I honestly had no idea that RoleplayerGuild had cliques, but I wouldn't be very surprised. I have several "friend groups" myself, but they have no problem working/socializing with one another. I think the way that we currently have Roleplays split up (through skill levels) factors into this matter.

As for your other comment (the one directed towards Raddum), there is merit for having an established blacklist. As you may have noticed from other responses (between this topic and the other one that was created as a result of this one), the Moderators aren't particularly active and many people see no reason to report individuals which means that problematic players run rampant. If it's a matter of dislike, then I could understand how having a blacklist could backfire, but there are legitimately toxic individuals on the Guild. I have a blacklist myself with exactly three players on it (I've been on the Guild for 6+ years) which simply means that I avoid any Roleplays that they are in.

[Todd Howard]

Is it productive to create established blacklists though? I get not favoring working with certain individuals, but there is also the need to ostracize them from the community by “warning” directors of prospective RPs. Where is the line of “Hey, this is a problematic player, here’s their reputation.” and “I hate this person, it’s me or them. You need to remove them or else.”?

@Inkarnate

Well, I never give the GM the ultimatum you described. I tell them, in a PM, about the reputation and trouble that the player in question has caused on multiple occasions. This has been met with A: No response, B: Telling me to chill the fuck out, or C: Possibly actually taking action.

The majority of the situations ended in B. I don't feel like investing myself in something that I know someone else is going to ditch a week down the line; So I end up leaving myself after a bit of lurking and seeing what happens. I'm not one that likes to momentarily take something up and leave it; If I really like it, and I can get along with the group, then I'll strongly invest myself. But there's just some people who have fucked me over again, and again, and again.

I don't want to deal with them anymore. It's simple as that.

[pugbutter]

What we need is people without commitment issues. Don't fucking post if you are going to drop without a word. If you are going to post stick with it.

@Burning Kitty

This.

We've got the same number of active players as everyone else. At this moment Aniroleplay has about 300 members online, for example. And we're significantly larger than others like rPol. You just feel like the site is smaller than it is because:

• No one posts often enough.
• When they do post, it's in a larger range of short-lived roleplays, instead of fewer threads which last longer.

I do think that we need to start culturally shaming the abandonment of RPs, if not punishing these players officially in some way. As it stands they face no consequences for their actions and that's why nothing ever changes.