Creating a new RP

BUILD THE WORLD, NOT THE STORY
The characters will defy all expectations. They'll sabotage every single scene along the linear plot you've laid out for them, and they'll do stuff that destroys all your amazing story plans. The solution: let the PCs decide where the story goes. You as GM should be prepared to create a story around what the PCs are actually doing, rather than what you want them to do.


POST AN INTEREST CHECK THAT TURNS PLAYERS AWAY
There is no such thing as a RP that is fun for everyone, and yours is no exception. Immediately tell potential players exactly what they can expect from your RP: let them know how much combat they can expect to face and at what level; whether the focus will be on drama or war or comedy; whether the storyline will progress based on characters following orders, investigating mysteries, rescuing princesses, searching for treasure, battling evil, exploring strange environments, etc. Your goal is to turn away players who will not have fun in your RP, so that the only players who express interest are the ones who will stick around after the first few posts.


KEEP CHARACTER SHEETS SIMPLE
Character creation should be quick, fun, inspiring and meaningful to the setting or plot. There is a golden rule that applies here: Trust your players. The players are excited about your RP; if your interest check worked like it should, they are already eager to play characters that match the sort of RP you will be running. Invite them to write as much or as little as they want in the character sheet. Resist the urge to control the limits of characters' skill levels, possessions and backgrounds, and don't force players to come up with character details that will never be important to the game; instead, encourage players to develop unique and creative ways their characters are involved with the plot and with each other. The character sheet is a writing prompt, not a box.


Running the Game

THE PCS ARE THE PLOT
Characters will defy your expectations, and they'll want to interact with the NPCs and environment in ways you weren't prepared for. Trust the players. Whatever they do, go with it. Create a plot out of it. Make things happen in response to their actions, for better or for worse. Take the story in a completely different direction based on what the PCs do or say. Your job as GM is to read everything and to make sure each and every player feels like they're making an impact on the story.


NPCS ARE SUPPORTING ROLES
The PCs are the heroes of the story, the instigators of the plot, and the cause of all plot progression. Every character the GM controls is, without exception, a NPC. Your NPCs should only exist as support, encouragement, and sources of information or drama for the PCs. Wherever possible, create NPCs that are in some way inferior or look up to the PCs' superior strength or wisdom. The PCs are always at the center of the plot and in charge of what happens next -- NPCs and GM-played characters should never, ever steal the spotlight.


KEEP THE PACE FAST AND FURIOUS
Forum roleplay is a unique and frustrating medium because it takes a very, very long time to get through one scene compared to in-person or chat RP. A mundane conversation might be perfectly fine and engaging when you're roleplaying in real-time, but a forum RP can get very boring very fast. As GM, you must keep the story consistently engaging and interesting. Every mod post should give the players something new and interesting to interact with or react to. Note the progression of time, glaze over uninteresting moments, and summarize events that aren't particularly engaging. If the players are taking days and days to respond, they're probably bored (or taking final exams). This is your cue to increase the stakes and demand the PCs' immediate attention.


Troubleshooting

REASONS TO REJECT A PLAYER'S APPLICATION, AND HOW TO DO IT
Assuming you've followed the guidelines above, there should be very few reasons you might feel obligated to reject a player who's interested in your RP. Sometimes, however, a player will write a character sheet application that very obviously shows that the player has misunderstood the concept of your roleplay or has not read the interest check. Refrain from rejecting a player solely based on writing ability. If I may insert personal experience here, sometimes the mediocre writers have amazing ideas, and sometimes great writers have no imagination at all. Every roleplay can benefit from a mixture of writing ability.

When you do find yourself in the position of having to turn someone away, do so from the perspective that this roleplay will not be interesting or engaging for the player. This player obviously wants to play a sort of game that welcomes the character they have created -- the fact that your roleplay does not welcome their ideas just means that this is not the roleplay they are looking for. Be happy and helpful, let them know that their ideas are perfectly good, but gently let them know that this particular RP isn't the right fit for what they want to do. Encourage them to try applying to roleplays that are tagged appropriately, and assure them that there are lots of RPs that would be happy to have them. A lot of times these players are new or confused about the site, and are open to guidance.

This is fine to post in the OOC, but only once. If the player objects, asks more questions, or continues to be confused, take the issue to PM and give the player some personal guidance where it won't cause embarrassment or disrupt the other players.


PLAYERS THAT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS IN-CHARACTER
Almost every RP has at least one character that assumes success in whatever they attempt to do, whether it be killing an enemy or figuring out the solution to a complex problem. Overpowered characters may also fit into this category, as well as characters that try to be everywhere at once or mix up the timeline of what's happening.

When a character abuses their power, especially when they insta-kill all enemies, try using the "Yes, but" method (which is a bastardization of the "Yes, and" rule of improvisation). Allow the character to do what they say they do -- but add a negative consequence. For example, maybe that enemy they just instantly killed had valuable information, or maybe their eagerness to solve all problems by themselves has attracted the anger of a horde of armed NPCs. The PC will think twice next time before showing off their full strength unnecessarily. Only do this sparingly, as necessary. If a player's actions constantly result in negative events, they will only get frustrated.

Alternatively, in many cases it's appropriate to simply ignore some parts of a player's post. In your next in-character mod post, point out what actually happened in response to the character's actions, and dictate the order of events. The grand majority of players are simply interested in moving the story along, and will happily accept an arrangement in which their assumptions of what might happen are overruled by the GM.


DISRUPTIVE PLAYERS (AND CHARACTERS THAT DON'T PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS)
In both of the circumstances above, usually there is a player that is unhappy with how the story is going for their character. There are several scenarios that fall into this category: A player that assumes their character is the star of the show and superior to all other PCs (not to be confused with purposefully egotistical characters); a player that belittles or instigates fights with other players OOC; a player that tries to control the plot, the NPCs, or other players' characters; a player that objects in the OOC whenever something bad happens to their character IC.

A golden rule when handling any kind of problem with a player is this: Take it to PM. Never, ever, ever tell a player in public in the OOC that they are doing something wrong in the RP. They will be put on the spot, and they will be embarrassed or angry, which could escalate the problem. PM the player, with the purpose of helping them achieve their goals. Sometimes just nicely asking them to not control the NPCs, for example, is all you need to do. Otherwise, ask questions: what sort of things do they want to do with their character? What's not working for them? What would be an awesome plot to do with the character? Chances are that this player is just as frustrated as you are -- or never realized they were being disruptive at all! -- and there's probably an easy solution, like making their character more important to the plot or giving them something worthwhile to do in the game. Again, always approach a problem with the intention of helping the player solve whatever issues they are having.

If you feel the urge to write something in anger, walk away from the computer and clear your head until you can come at the problem from a place of helpfulness. Along the same vein, never punish a PC in-character because the player happens to be causing you frustration. Again, that's a surefire way to escalate the issue. PM the player and work things out in a friendly and helpful manner.




Feedback, criticism and questions are very much encouraged. These are only my own personal experiences, mistakes I have made, and solutions that have worked for me in the past. Please take them with a grain of salt. They are by no means the way things should be done for everyone -- and each individual circumstance is different -- but I hope to at least offer some points to consider. :)