It's like pulling teeth

[Murdergurl]

This might be a little rant-y, but OMFG! it is hard to get people interested and organized into group RPs here!

Continuing from the advice given to me from some of the admin and other members on my "Tired of these RP Topics" post, I have made a handful of attempts to gather people around a couple different roleplay concepts. I made my own RT, trying to gather a group of like-minded individuals that were tired of the same 'ol thing. I've even come in and tried to give a goodly push on dwindling threads others made that I thought were really great ideas. I've even managed to find some obscure ideas that were falling back in the pages. And so far, nothing has come from any of it. I feel like I'm doing more than most would bother to when it comes to promoting any of these topics. I invite people to the OOCs (which usually are just a big waste of time), I do everything but start the damn thing with my own plot idea (because this will have people assume that I'm going to GM, which I am adamantly opposed to). I feel like I've cast a pretty wide net... and I'm pulling back on nothing. It's been a bit since I started taking action on the advice given to me, and I've got little to show for all the time spent doing so.

Even in some of the very few ideas that I've jumped aboard on, the surrounding enthusiasm does not seem to be shared. Either that, or my own enthusiasm is kind of on the fence, and I feel like I'm just settling so that I can actually participate in something. I'm pretty sure most of these RTs will not come to fruition, and tbh I will not altogether be surprised when they peter off. I've since dropped out of a few threads that were getting nowhere (I delete my comments so as to fully remove myself from the topic). And I suspect I will be doing the same with a couple more in my queue soon enough. I've been here just under two months. Usually when I've gotten in on a new site, things are supposed to e exciting and fresh and inviting... but tbh, I'm just meeting the same stagnant disappointment and isolation I've had elsewhere.

#rantover

 

[welian]

Oh yeah, totally, although it's not just an RPN thing. It's more of a "finding a group or partner on the Internet" kind of thing. On top of that, with school starting, everyone's schedules are going to be up in the air for a few weeks.

It totally sucks, but I think it's worth the wait once that magic sparks.

 

[Murdergurl]

Oh yeah, totally, although it's not just an RPN thing. It's more of a "finding a group or partner on the Internet" kind of thing. On top of that, with school starting, everyone's schedules are going to be up in the air for a few weeks.

It totally sucks, but I think it's worth the wait once that magic sparks.

yeah, trust me i know. I have lost track of all the sites I've belonged to over the years. Some were pretty good for a time. But I think tha might just be some golden age nostalgia. To me, online RP started getting more difficult like a decade or so ago.

The wait, for me, is perpetual it seems

 

[welian]

My personal golden age was definitely from like, 2010 to 2013.... which, ew, was about a decade ago. God I'm old.

 

[Murdergurl]

My personal golden age was definitely from like, 2010 to 2013.... which, ew, was about a decade ago. God I'm old.

I started in 97. So I had a good 10 years or so of good RP before it started going downhill for me

Edit: RP probably wasn't actually as good as I remember it to be. But as a novice writer and also because I was a young teen, I don't think my writing capacity or standards were very high back then. Thus, it was easier to find a place for my mediocre capabilities and childish interests at the time.

 

[SP3CT3R]

There must be some kind of spirit going around this forum and whispering in ears, because I was trumpeting this exact same stuff a few months ago.

But, ultimately, it's not easy to get people to organize unless you're putting yourself in the position of organizer. I can't GM that well, myself, so I've just been outsourcing my roleplay needs to some of the more rules-light RPGs and supporting novel RP ideas when I see them.

 

[Reid]

Honestly, I don't know what to tell you, I don't know what could possibly help in this situation because I've been in the same exact place as you many times. Trying to organize things, then it fails. It sucks, but ultimately, it's a game of chance. Personally, I'm more into 1x1s because I can't for the life of me keep up with a group setting. Sometimes I shelve an idea and come back to it a while later, sometimes I'll bump a thread of mine occasionally in hopes of a partner, etc. Sometimes, things sort of click into place without you paying attention. Like, several months ago I kept bumping a thread every day, hoping for a partner. I posted something similar to you, a lament about not being able to find partners (especially when the topic is niche!) and by sheer luck I found my current partner who was also into said niche thing.

It can be pretty discouraging, not being able to get the sort of RP you want going, or to have people poof, but such is the nature of online forum roleplay....

 

[Murdergurl]

There must be some kind of spirit going around this forum and whispering in ears, because I was trumpeting this exact same stuff a few months ago.

But, ultimately, it's not easy to get people to organize unless you're putting yourself in the position of organizer. I can't GM that well, myself, so I've just been outsourcing my roleplay needs to some of the more rules-light RPGs and supporting novel RP ideas when I see them.

Yeah, I've been helping to spread interest with some ideas. I was even using my sig as an ad spot for a couple of other ppls RPs at one point. I am willing to help with worldbuilding too. But oftentimes, not a lot of other people actually contribute to that. OOCs and Discord chat channels wind up being more memes and B/Sing than actual discussion.
I even pitched an entire idea of my own a couple time, and just needed a GM for it. Also didn't get anywhere. So yeah, in the end I'm at the mercy of what other people put out there, and most of the time it falls apart or is just not my cup of tea to begin with.

Honestly, I don't know what to tell you, I don't know what could possibly help in this situation because I've been in the same exact place as you many times. Trying to organize things, then it fails. It sucks, but ultimately, it's a game of chance. Personally, I'm more into 1x1s because I can't for the life of me keep up with a group setting. Sometimes I shelve an idea and come back to it a while later, sometimes I'll bump a thread of mine occasionally in hopes of a partner, etc. Sometimes, things sort of click into place without you paying attention. Like, several months ago I kept bumping a thread every day, hoping for a partner. I posted something similar to you, a lament about not being able to find partners (especially when the topic is niche!) and by sheer luck I found my current partner who was also into said niche thing.

It can be pretty discouraging, not being able to get the sort of RP you want going, or to have people poof, but such is the nature of online forum roleplay....

1x1's give me a lot of anxiety. I don't like being set up with just one other writer. It puts too much pressure on me to be the only other source of collaboration. The more people in it, the better.

As far as niche interests... well, I've been bumping my own conglomerated RT for a bit, now. Hasn't gotten any responses to speak of. And the inherent problem with putting out interests, is that people expect for you to GM them. And as my signature makes a point of, GMing is not in my field of capabilities. And it seems I'm not alone in this. The biggest deterrent to getting a lot of the things I've been dipping my fingers into, is that we can't get a plot and/or GM around anything. Otherwise, it's just the OP GM going AWOL on the thread.

#acronymlivesmatter​

 

[SP3CT3R]

Yeah, I've been helping to spread interest with some ideas. I was even using my sig as an ad spot for a couple of other ppls RPs at one point. I am willing to help with worldbuilding too. But oftentimes, not a lot of other people actually contribute to that. OOCs and Discord chat channels wind up being more memes and B/Sing than actual discussion.
I even pitched an entire idea of my own a couple time, and just needed a GM for it. Also didn't get anywhere. So yeah, in the end I'm at the mercy of what other people put out there, and most of the time it falls apart or is just not my cup of tea to begin with.


1x1's give me a lot of anxiety. I don't like being set up with just one other writer. It puts too much pressure on me to be the only other source of collaboration. The more people in it, the better.

As far as niche interests... well, I've been bumping my own conglomerated RT for a bit, now. Hasn't gotten any responses to speak of. And the inherent problem with putting out interests, is that people expect for you to GM them. And as my signature makes a point of, GMing is not in my field of capabilities. And it seems I'm not alone in this. The biggest deterrent to getting a lot of the things I've been dipping my fingers into, is that we can't get a plot and/or GM around anything. Otherwise, it's just the OP GM going AWOL on the thread.

#acronymlivesmatter​

Athough, the thing is, I'm prone to backseat GMing in RPs I don't have any claim to. If someone picked up an RP idea of mine, there is a very high probability I'd become insufferable.

 

[Murdergurl]

Athough, the thing is, I'm prone to backseat GMing in RPs I don't have any claim to. If someone picked up an RP idea of mine, there is a very high probability I'd become insufferable.

yeah, that's an issue I have thought about, but have yet to have the opportunity to realize. If I were to successfully hand over a setting I made, I actually don't know how well I'd take having someone else lord over it. It's a paradox, for sure. But like I said, I haven't gotten that far yet.

 

[SP3CT3R]

yeah, that's an issue I have thought about, but have yet to have the opportunity to realize. If I were to successfully hand over a setting I made, I actually don't know how well I'd take having someone else lord over it. It's a paradox, for sure. But like I said, I haven't gotten that far yet.

I feel like I could do a great job as a co-GM of an RP, but the problem with that is that I feel like I've gotta build the idea from the ground up with them. The few times I've tried asking someone to co-GM a plot I'd already written out felt like hiring an editor.

Edit: Not asking you to co-GM, just so we're clear. It sounds like we have similar problems GMing roleplays, and differing tastes in setting.

 

[Murdergurl]

I feel like I could do a great job as a co-GM of an RP, but the problem with that is that I feel like I've gotta build the idea from the ground up with them. The few times I've tried asking someone to co-GM a plot I'd already written out felt like hiring an editor.

Edit: Not asking you to co-GM, just so we're clear. It sounds like we have similar problems GMing roleplays, and differing tastes in setting.

The only role I'd even want as a Co-GM would be to keep the lore in check. I do not like the burden of crumbing along the rest of the players, and I've only ever attempted tp GM before out of sheer desperation. There is also the inherent problem of GMing your own plot amongst other characters beside your own, and I feel that anyone that is GMing or co-GMing will effectively have "insider information" that kind of ruins the novelty of being a participating player. So the setting can be made, but having a hand in where the plot can and will shift kind of defeats the point

 

[SP3CT3R]

The only role I'd even want as a Co-GM would be to keep the lore in check. I do not like the burden of crumbing along the rest of the players, and I've only ever attempted tp GM before out of sheer desperation. There is also the inherent problem of GMing your own plot amongst other characters beside your own, and I feel that anyone that is GMing or co-GMing will effectively have "insider information" that kind of ruins the novelty of being a participating player. So the setting can be made, but having a hand in where the plot can and will shift kind of defeats the point

I just can't plan ahead for shit.

 

[Murdergurl]

I just can't plan ahead for shit.

i can. but it's frustrating to get people to go into the varying pathways without having to "force" it. And they inevitably want to go do their own thing, off on various tangents. It turns into a mess. I'm sure there are peeps who are better at keeping their groups in line. But I'm not one of them.

 

[Crayons]

I dunno, maybe this is a bit harsh, but I feel like if you're not prepared to GM a group RP, you might as well forget it.

GMs already have their own ideas, their own RPs they want to run, it's very unlikely you're going to get someone who wants to take over someone else's idea and run it, no matter how good it is.

I don't like GMing either particularly. It's a difficult and often thankless task, and I prefer RPs that are collaborative than GM run, so I understand where you're coming from. But there isn't a solution here except that if you want a specific type of RP that no one else is currently running - you have to do it yourself, or forget about it until one comes up. And that's really all there is to it.

 

[Murdergurl]

I dunno, maybe this is a bit harsh, but I feel like if you're not prepared to GM a group RP, you might as well forget it.

It's not harsh at all. It's my own sentiment, actually. I don't want to GM. I never really have, and like I said before: I've only attempted it out of desperation to try and get one of my ideas moving.

GMs already have their own ideas, their own RPs they want to run, it's very unlikely you're going to get someone who wants to take over someone else's idea and run it, no matter how good it is.

Yeah... I know it's very unlikely... but what else am I gonna do? I had all my n doubts about the idea, and the only reason I even really attempted this was because some people suggested it to me.

I don't like GMing either particularly. It's a difficult and often thankless task, and I prefer RPs that are collaborative than GM run, so I understand where you're coming from. But there isn't a solution here except that if you want a specific type of RP that no one else is currently running - you have to do it yourself, or forget about it until one comes up. And that's really all there is to it.

Well, I've been doing the forget about it thing for quite a while now. Because, as you stated:

• I'm not really fit to GM my own RPs
• It is very unlikely that anyone is going to just miraculously take up my ideas

So I've been just trying to find stuff that is... okay, but not really hitting the nail on the head. And I'm just trying to push and support whomever else shows interest in something I'm at least half-hearted about. Because If I'm going to be perfectly honest, I feel like I'm always just settling for something and hoping it doesn't stall out. And even then, my-fucking-god is it a slow and arduous process to even get to that point. I feel like I should be getting paid for the effort I'm going through, tbh. The process of getting to the fun part of this hobby has become very much a chore to me in these last couple years, and it just kinda hits harder every time I run into the same b/s on a new site. So it isn't specific to here. I have known that for quite a while. This is just my most recent letdown ad frustration, is all.

Eventually, I know someone is going to say (or they have already said it) that I just need to keep looking, and that I should keep trying, or even go to a different site (which is how I got here, incidentally) etc. etc. But... goddamn!, how much patience do y'all expect me to have? This was said by me in an older topic that may or may not still be floating around, but I just can't stay clinging to an interest for weeks on end. So eventually all that waiting is going to be for nothing once that RP that I was striving for starts to turn sour and stagnant in my muse's eye.

 

[Syntra]

It's not harsh at all. It's my own sentiment, actually. I don't want to GM. I never really have, and like I said before: I've only attempted it out of desperation to try and get one of my ideas moving.


Yeah... I know it's very unlikely... but what else am I gonna do? I had all my n doubts about the idea, and the only reason I even really attempted this was because some people suggested it to me.


Well, I've been doing the forget about it thing for quite a while now. Because, as you stated:

• I'm not really fit to GM my own RPs
• It is very unlikely that anyone is going to just miraculously take up my ideas

So I've been just trying to find stuff that is... okay, but not really hitting the nail on the head. And I'm just trying to push and support whomever else shows interest in something I'm at least half-hearted about. Because If I'm going to be perfectly honest, I feel like I'm always just settling for something and hoping it doesn't stall out. And even then, my-fucking-god is it a slow and arduous process to even get to that point. I feel like I should be getting paid for the effort I'm going through, tbh. The process of getting to the fun part of this hobby has become very much a chore to me in these last couple years, and it just kinda hits harder every time I run into the same b/s on a new site. So it isn't specific to here. I have known that for quite a while. This is just my most recent letdown ad frustration, is all.

Eventually, I know someone is going to say (or they have already said it) that I just need to keep looking, and that I should keep trying, or even go to a different site (which is how I got here, incidentally) etc. etc. But... goddamn!, how much patience do y'all expect me to have? This was said by me in an older topic that may or may not still be floating around, but I just can't stay clinging to an interest for weeks on end. So eventually all that waiting is going to be for nothing once that RP that I was striving for starts to turn sour and stagnant in my muse's eye.

Have you considered doing 1x1s? I think I saw you saying you weren't into those, but I feel like the approach might be genuinely better for you. Two reasons: a) it's easier to find one person who is interested in the same stuff you are interested in than it is to find such a group, b) the burden of moving the story along is equal between two players. Feels like a nice compromise, tbh. Of course, if you aren't into romance, it can be difficult to find a 1x1 partner as well, but I see platonic requests there, too.

 

[Murdergurl]

Have you considered doing 1x1s? I think I saw you saying you weren't into those, but I feel like the approach might be genuinely better for you. Two reasons: a) it's easier to find one person who is interested in the same stuff you are interested in than it is to find such a group, b) the burden of moving the story along is equal between two players. Feels like a nice compromise, tbh. Of course, if you aren't into romance, it can be difficult to find a 1x1 partner as well, but I see platonic requests there, too.

I used to do 1x1s. But I have found through the years that I always worm my way out of them because I find the dynamic uncomfortable. I don't like to shoulder so much of the responsibility of the ongoing narrative with just myself and one other individual (kind of the same reason I don't like to GM). In a group, there are a bunch of us, and I can RP in my little sideline for as little or as much as I'm willing to get into it. But in a 1x1, it's just them and me. And I have found that I really just don't like that.

And yeah, definitely NOT into romance at all. I actually have it on my list of things I avoid. The stuff I look for is action and adventure tyoe of themes. violence and bloodshed and all that jazz. definitely geared for a party and not a duo

 

[Murdergurl]

*sighs*
So in light of everything, I'm going to pull back from all of this. Barring one OOC chat in Discord, I'm going to take a break from this RP search stuff. I'll be back in a bit when I think I can undertake the perpetual searching again.