Advice/Help Long & Detailed or Short & Sweet - Partner searches?

[Lexiseeksrp]

Which do you prefer and why?

The longer ones make me feel they are picky but will have quality replies.

Short makes me think they are casual- lax rps.

I look for mid posts- you?

 

[ashwynne]

I like multi-paragraph/novella-style RP's and typically people who want the same thing have correspondingly long and detailed search threads. I find that the thread tends to be reflective of the person's writing style. Plus, the more information that's given, the more I can determine whether we will be a good match.

Extremely short threads I don't even read. Mid-length are iffy. Long ones are the ones that I tend to gravitate towards.

 

[Tove]

Long and detailed. I don't mind reading those, at least I have a feeling the person knows what they want and there's a chance we have similar interests. Short, as in a paragraph, type of request threads don't tell me anything. I'm looking for their interests, plot ideas they may have, whether we have things in common. It also tells me they are interested in driving a story with me rather than just sitting back for the ride.

 

[Onmyoji]

For partner searches I prefer mid-range to long ones.

When they're too short it's likely there won't be enough information to determine whether I want to rp with that person or no.
If they're too long I sometimes get a feeling that I'm drowning in details. Especially hard to read when they use fancy BBcode that is unreadable on mobile. I just pass on those no matter how enticing they may seem.

Tbh, it's not as much about the length but about the contents of the search thread.
I tend to prefer longer ones because usually, they give a better overview of what kind of rp the person wants, what plots and themes they're interested in, what they will offer and what they expect from potential rp partners. If I get all my answers then it doesn't matter as much how long the description is.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I don’t worry so much about length and look more at organization and readability.

So if they have clear headers separating their preferences and plots/pairings I’m good. I would like minimal BBCode just for clarity but nothing so complex I can’t read it.

 

[Crayons]

As long as it isn't "I'm looking for partners k thnks." I'll probably read it all the way through. Some of them are pretty entertaining to read, even if you end up not feeling compatible with the OP.

The only thing I don't like is when they have the entirety of a plot already laid out, because I don't see how I get any creative input into that. So if the plots section is long, I generally won't read it. Likewise, I won't read long lists of canonxOC or canonxcanon pairings because that doesn't interest me.

So I guess, it doesn't matter too much as long as all the information is there and you can get a "feel" for the person writing it.

 

[Jet]

Enough to communicate major points but respect my time. If an interest check thread is written long-form with lots of random info, poetic descriptions and fancy terms meant to impress I just hit the back button. Basically



I'll read a long interest check but dont start with some deep lore about the third king's court and his wife's hair color. I want to see basic what, where, when, why, setting, story frame and for it to be done without compacting frills on frills to peacock writing skill. If the result of that is a long informative thread then great, I'll read it. If it's a short thread then that's great too. Same with writing in general, I want to write/read efficient writing that has the proper amount of words. Now that can be 10,000 or 100, it's about context. I don't like seeing added words just for length, writing should cover what content exists without adding on copiously for an A+.

But to get back on track, take a RP that has a similar premise to a big TV Show, Movie, Book series etc. Why waste everyone's time explaining in great detail what you can communicate with "Very similar to series XYZ, but here's how it's different" followed by the different aspects in concise form? I saw a zombie RP posted a couple days ago and the OP just flat out said "Very similar to The Walking Dead" perfect, now I know technology level, zombie type, rules of infection, time period, the power level of OCs, likely archs and more. Saves a ludicrous amount of time.

What I do if I have to make a long-form interest check is have it in a spoiler tab with another spoiler tab holding a short version. It would be nice if a lot more people tried that, but I get the sense from some interest checks that providing a quick, easy and ugly alternative to "megalong over detailed flowery" would take away from the IQ strutting.

 

[Idea]

I prefer longer ones, definitely. From them I can get a sense of more effort being put into it, and they often express both more options to pick from (increasing the odds I'll like a few at least), but also that the person knows their preferences.

The effort part hardly needs explaining. Getting more content into it will generally imply more work to produce that content in the first place, and write it all down of course. It's one of the reasons why I also like to see coding in the interest checks, the way I see it, it shows effort and dedication.

Longer interest checks will often include complete plots and/or large lists of options, both of which allow for a great variety of interests. Not only does this help me have more to pick and choose from, it also lets me get more insight into your preferences.

Speaking of, longer interest checks will often help identify preferences better. Directly they tend to be much more concretely listed, indirectly because more information of any time means more to trace. Furthermore, the length itself is also, I have found, a decent indicator of people's own views on post length and their tendencies in that field, which are important to me.

It is important to note, however...
THIS IS ALL JUST ABOUT 1x1s

Group interest checks, while I generally prefer them bigger, can easily become clustered with information that shouldn't go in there. While a 1x1 interest check is trying to give insight into you as a person, you're pitching yourself and therefore all contribution in the interest check is at least somewhat informative and relevant, in a group interest check your idea is your pitch, and it shouldn't be obscured by matters that dilute the point.

 

[Jannah]

I like long and detailed so I know exactly what to expect. From my experience those tend to be the novella style RPer's anyway and that's usually what I'm seeking.

 

[Rust]

I'm probably one of the few who like short, sweet, and simple to-the-point threads... or mid-length ones with just enough info for me to determine whether or not I'm interested in rping with that person. (Things like post length, where they prefer to rp, what they're most interested in, how often they expect posts, etc. all help me in seeing if we'd possibly make a good match or not)