Storytellers advice -- long-term viability

[QUOTE="Lux___Wolf]How long does a storyteller wait before one messages the interested people to check where they are with character template?

[/QUOTE]
Storytellers typically do that after the forums go live.
 
How long have you waited? Usually, two-three days is a good wait period, notwithstanding weekends and public holidays. After that length of time, it's a good idea to politely nudge people, either by PM, status alerts or the main RP thread in 'Our Roleplays'.


Captain Hesperus
 
I just waited a day, no biggie. Just wondered. Okay, I'll post in the RP thread tomorrow/later today. Thanks!
 
Guys, I just want to point out that:


If you are having trouble with users who promise to join your game and then it starts, they do not join. You are welcome to report them. Unless of course they have an actual legitimate reason.(School starting, sick, other irl problems). We have noticed quite a few users joining games only to not go through and create a character. We can only do something about it if they get reported.
 
[QUOTE="The Dark Wizard]Guys, I just want to point out that:
If you are having trouble with users who promise to join your game and then it starts, they do not join. You are welcome to report them. Unless of course they have an actual legitimate reason.(School starting, sick, other irl problems). We have noticed quite a few users joining games only to not go through and create a character. We can only do something about it if they get reported.

[/QUOTE]
There are many rights that Storytellers don't seem to know about for this site and some of it is really important. I may go into this more someday, but to put it simply: the Staff tries to stay out of all conflicts between a ST and game users and if we must get involved we will almost always sides with the Storyteller. The only times we do not is when it clearly violates one of the site rules or is openly discriminatory towards the player for something personal (race, gender, etc.). For example: if a player comes complaining to one of us administrators about - let's say - not getting into a game or their character being dropped from a game, we simply tell them that there is "nothing we can do" and that they need to address all complaints to the ST.


Of course this does not give you the excuse to be rude to your players for complaining to you, but you do have certain rights as a Storyteller when it comes to your game that the Staff will not jeopardize. Pretty much - You have the right to select and remove anyone you desire from your game, you can control the aspects of the game however you wish and you can mandate any number of requirements to play regardless of how difficult or ridiculous they are (as long as they meet the Site Rules) without justification or clarification.


Really you guys are the content producers and its your hard work. You should never feel bullied into making your game to fit someone else's desires. If this is ever occurring, as it has a few times in the past and was left unreported until the breaking point, you should either tackle the situation with the user knowing your power or contact us at once and let us handle the user fallout.
 
Fallen is now a year old, and I owe that entirely to dedicated players who both take a keen interest and are patient when I need a breather. I think, now, that one of the best ways to keep a game alive is to specifically invite players you know to be reliable for your minimum of characters and let anyone else join after that.
 
Grey said:
Fallen is now a year old, and I owe that entirely to dedicated players who both take a keen interest and are patient when I need a breather. I think, now, that one of the best ways to keep a game alive is to specifically invite players you know to be reliable for your minimum of characters and let anyone else join after that.
I believe fallen is one of the oldest games on the site.
 
[QUOTE="The Dark Wizard]I believe fallen is one of the oldest games on the site.

[/QUOTE]
That and Robotech.


Captain Hesperus
 
[QUOTE="Thorn Darkblade]All my dead games have one thing in common-
Players lose interest fast.


Whether its been school, work, Internet issues, or me just taking a small breather not to burn out, pbp games have this habit of being really hard to jumpstart again.

[/QUOTE]
For me it's been that the GMs lose interest fast. There are a variety of reasons, but whatever - the GM simply stops posting in the game's IC threads after 1-3 months. Sometimes there are no posts in the OOC threads, sometimes they have (broken) promises to post. A month or so of confusion and checking in follows, during which the players silently stop checking.


I've found the following rule can help somewhat - at the very least, prevent that awkward and unpleasant uncertain conclusion:


Pick a time X. "1 week", "3 days", and "2 days" are the usual best choices, but this can vary depending on the players and GM. Clearly post X, and this rule, where all players will see it before the game begins, preferably while recruiting players.


If a player does not post in their PC's thread for X, that PC is actually doing nothing. Combat paralysis causing a turn to be skipped, fumbling for the right thing to say, whatever: you're no longer waiting OOCly on the player, as the PC is doing nothing while time passes and everyone else can react to that lack of action. This specifically excuses a player posting twice in a row, if the second post is said reaction coming at least X after the first post. Technically this applies to three times in a row too, with at least X between each post, but if that happens the player is permitted to declare it as a 2X-without-posts (see below), despite their own posting, and is encouraged to use their final post in the thread to link to the thread their PC is going to.


If it has been 2X since the last post in a IC thread*, that thread is closed. Plot and narrative are brushed aside by the OOC fact that Nothing Is Happening. The players are given license to have their PCs arrive in another thread, as a last ditch effort to allow affected players who wish to continue playing to do so.


If it has been 3X since the last post in any IC thread*, the game is over, period. By this point the chances of a revival effort are basically zero, so this rule is posted ahead of time to provide advance agreement that nobody will waste their time and energy attempting to revive the game, complaining about it being on life support, or whatever. Game over, move along. This also helps if the game is run in a forum whose staff need formal notice that the game has concluded, for instance to lock its threads or move it to an archive: this is a strict mechanical rule they can follow without need of feedback from the GM and all players, since said feedback is often impossible to acquire in a reasonable time (another X or even 3X) in this situation.


*Purely OOC posts, such as requests for a response, do not count even if they are in an IC thread. Only some sort of IC action, from a player or GM, counts toward keeping the thread or game alive. (This is a formal recognition of informal truth.)


This rule can be suspended by a clear statement from the GM that the game or a thread is on hiatus, but only if that statement includes a specific date when the hiatus will end (or a specific length of hiatus, sufficient to calculate said date when the hiatus is declared). Indefinite hiatus is not allowed, and any attempt to declare one is ignored for this rule's purposes. (The main purpose is that, if an indefinite or ambiguous hiatus is declared then 3X passes without further posts in any IC thread, the game is over.)
 

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