Advice/Help Threads falling flat on their faces...

[Sleipnir]

Now, I'm not exactly new to roleplaying -- I've been doing this for almost 15 years, probably, since I was a tender little 13 year old making beautifully cringe, lovely, edgy little 13 year old type characters, and I've roleplayed in a variety of settings. I've done chat boxes (yes, really!) and forums of all types. Heck -- I was a user of Feral Front in conjunction with RPN before Feral Front even went by that name! It's not as if this is a new hobby of mine.

However...

I don't know if it's changing crowds, bad luck, or what, but I have a strong tendency to get a huge amount of interest when I post interest checks, but nothing ever sticks for more than a couple pages, even despite the incredible enthusiasm I get on the uptake.

My first inclination is that it must be the genres I'm shooting for, pun intended: Most of the interest checks I've posted and games I've started have been Wild West themed. I've done some wagon train journey things as well as some weird west interest checks that lean hard into a more fantastical southwestern gothic element. Like I mentioned before, the interest checks tend to do great! It sure feels like there's a demand for this sort of thing, but it always ends up flopping right away.

My second inclination is that it must be something I'm doing wrong, which is feasible. In the past, I've done pretty well with roleplays going for at least awhile, but I left RPN for a couple years, came back, and now I'm struggling with it. Maybe I'm starting games with a little too much open space hoping to let characters mingle before jumping into stuff, or maybe I'm putting off too much of a vibe of being "in charge" and people are expecting lots of guidance, but I'm not sure -- I try to make it clear to begin with I want to let people do what they want and take control of the setting, but it ends up slowing down right away. Is it a genre problem? Maybe I can improve my own set-up strategies? Is it just bad luck? I don't know!

Any tips or advice for getting roleplays off the ground once you leave the interest check phase??

 

[Caroline1539]

Honestly I've encountered this problem in the 1x1 scene as well. You get an interest check up or you respond to someone else's, you get into the brainstorming stage, everything's going great, annnnd...they dissappear.

I think it might just be a general season of disinterest or lack of motivation on everyone's part. It's like pulling teeth to get people to actually  write nowadays.

 

[ricecrackermix]

at the risk of sounding like a horrible curmudgeon or like, a luddite, i think part of it is changing crowds. you seem like you write "a lot" and well-- ive noticed a trend downwards in reply length overall, which lots of younger roleplayers (im 25 so take that with a grain of salt LOL) rejecting the notion of multipara entirely and gunning primarily for a single paragraph composed of 3-5 sentences overall. (i personally put a lot of blame onto the twitter RP scene, because it was chaotic and encouraged a lot of what i view as bad habits.) i see more people discussing multipara/novella with rancor these days, dismissing roleplayers who prefer these types of replies to be "snooty" and "elitist." a lot of the people i notice who prefer this type of roleplay are generally older or otherwise more experienced roleplayers, and people who overall just... like to read and write outside of roleplaying.

i think a lot of people are coming at this hobby from something like character ai, which is fine-- which is welcome! the more the merrier, frankly!-- but because of that theyve learnt to behave a certain way and expect certain things, and it can cause trouble trying to mesh with the greater online roleplaying community. i think some of them feel threatened by more established and experienced roleplayers and it results in them... i dont want to say "dragging everyone else down too" but you know what i mean, right? it fosters an unusual culture thats unhealthy for everyone involved.

less judgmentally: i think a lot of people-- myself included-- tend to get really excited for an idea, and then get hit with a wave of anxiety that they cannot make it work as well as they have it in their head, and they end up dropping the ball. i have several people i am straight up ghosting right now, and i would say half of them i am ghosting because as we talked more i realized we were incompatible writing-wise in a way that i couldnt meaningfully put into words (they arent a bad writer or anything, i just dont want to argue with them about why we dont mesh) so we are just politely not messaging each other, but sometimes i ghost because i am wildly insecure! i realize that the other writer is better than me-- like, a LOT better than me-- and i suddenly get super nervous that i wont live up to their expectations and i... panic and stop responding because i would rather them spend the rest of their lives thinking im rude than realize that im not a good writer.

of course this is stupid because i send writing samples pretty early on and most people are generally pretty upfront about if they dont want to write with me because they think my writing style is a bad match for theirs, but it scares me, y'know?

just my two cents tbh

 

[gator]

dismissing roleplayers who prefer these types of replies to be "snooty" and "elitist."

but sometimes i ghost because i am wildly insecure! i realize that the other writer is better than me-- like, a LOT better than me-- and i suddenly get super nervous that i wont live up to their expectations and i... panic and stop responding because i would rather them spend the rest of their lives thinking im rude than realize that im not a good writer.


of course this is stupid because i send writing samples pretty early on and most people are generally pretty upfront about if they dont want to write with me because they think my writing style is a bad match for theirs, but it scares me, y'know?

Sounds to me like there's a good reason we did away with writing expectations, they're counterproductive to actually writing

 

[ricecrackermix]

Sounds to me like there's a good reason we did away with writing expectations, they're counterproductive to actually writing

i try to be nice to people who clearly enjoy roleplaying differently than i do. that said, i dont think theres any crime in having expectations for a partner.

 

[gator]

But those expectations are exactly what led to the anxiety problems you wrote about experiencing. You don't see the irony?

 

[ricecrackermix]

But those expectations are exactly what led to the anxiety problems you wrote about experiencing. You don't see the irony?

hmm... i think i see what youre getting at, but i disagree. the solution to "i am anxious that other people have standards or expectations that i cannot meet" is not, in my opinion, "i should have no standards or expectations for myself or others." i think the solution is that i need to focus on creating things i can be proud of, work on improving my self-esteem, and communicating better with my partners instead of panicking-- something i have been working very hard on and have seen a lot of improvement in!

i would say 95% of the people i have admitted this anxiety to in the past couple of years have been extremely reassuring and kind, especially when i tell them i would really like to write with them because their prose inspires me, and i would appreciate their patience and support as i learn to incorporate new things into my writing. and across the years, i would definitely say that my writing has improved due to this behavior! ive had a lot of luck with these sorts of people being extremely willing to work with me. it is usually just a matter of being upfront.

i think if i had lower standards for myself and others i would not have as much fun writing. i know it is not the case for every roleplayer, but i like a bit of a challenge! i like people who make me want to be better (not necessarily insecure.) writing only with people who dont make me strive to be the best i can be would let me stagnate which, a someone who would like to improve their writing, almost seems like a waste of my time!

personally, i think that having people you admire in your life is a great way to motivate yourself to become more like the person you aspire to be. it certainly may not be for everyone, but its what works for me!

 

[gator]

I don't think you actually need to be good at writing to be a good roleplayer. All you have to do is communicate what your character is doing in as straightforward and clear a manner as possible. I suppose you could define that as being good; I don't know. I'm not really certain what it means to be "good" at writing, in general, to be honest. Is it just communicating clearly? Most people are plenty capable of that without requiring a huge amount of effort.

 

[nerdy tangents]

So I actually think anxiety is a big part of why roleplays fall through.

Because are too anxious to communicate with their partners when something is wrong and so they just stop talking to their partners.

It doesn’t really bother me but I can understand how it’s frustrating to be like “well gosh guys I can’t fix something if I don’t know it’s broken.”

But you can’t solve other peoples anxiety for them, so I just let people leave if they want to leave. There are other fish in the sea and plenty to keep me busy offline as well.

 

[cheeseburger90210]

I don't think you actually need to be good at writing to be a good roleplayer. All you have to do is communicate what your character is doing in as straightforward and clear a manner as possible. I suppose you could define that as being good; I don't know. I'm not really certain what it means to be "good" at writing, in general, to be honest. Is it just communicating clearly? Most people are plenty capable of that without requiring a huge amount of effort.

well said. thank you for saying this!

 

[Eldritch_Cat_Creature]

As someone who has been on both ends of this phenomenon (Being ghosted and ghosting people who didn't have anything glaringly wrong with their style or their OOC), I can provide some insight on why I do it on occasion. I only do 1x1 though, so this may or may not apply to group RP ^-^

(As a quick note, I am not proud of this or saying it's the right way to go about things. It's a mixture of anxiety about hurting people's feelings, not knowing how to phrase my issue, and several past experiences where people did go off on me for trying to communicate that make me unreasonably afraid even years later.)

In short, I ghost when it feels like I'm not getting the level of engagement I need during the plotting/character development phase.

A lot of the time, I've noticed that people will reply positively to my ideas but not contribute many of their own, and it feels like pulling teeth to get more detail and active engagement.

For instance, I'll lay out several bare-bones ideas for a plot, expecting people to pick one and add their own spin to it, or to reject my ideas and contribute their own. However, often people will reply with "That sounds good to me!" or some variation of it over and over, and it takes all the fun out of plotting for me. Even when I directly prompt them to contribute in more detail by asking, "What sort of development arc do you want for your character?" or "What kind of genre do you want our story to be? Are you feeling more of an adventure? Mystery? Horror? Fantasy?" they'll reply with "Oh adventure sounds good" and not add in anything else of substance when I ask them to elaborate.

I never know how to address something like this, because it boils down to "I wish you'd care more", and that sounds like a pathetic thing to say. I can pretty easily bring up and discuss more concrete issues. "I think your character has abilities that don't quite fit into this universe; maybe we could slightly rework them together", or "Your posts are beautiful, but I have trouble reading light-colored fonts or very fancy fonts. Would you mind toning it down just for this thread?" are very simple topics for me to discuss, because they are self-contained and have simple solutions. However, I feel like I can't necessarily make someone care more, and plotting/character work isn't fun for me if I know the other person was sort of forced into doing it. So, in those cases, I usually just ghost because I have no idea what to do.

If anyone has any ideas, though, I'm all ears-- I hate ghosting and I'd love to do it less

 

[Jet]

People get excited for ideas but are too lazy to see them through, especially when the expectations are high and there's a big workload. This website has seen a downturn as the hobby has become less popular, so you have a higher chance of getting screwed when that happens. Because if say, 60% of people bail after expressing interest, that hurts more when you have less total people. Years ago you'd post a thread and get two dozen users declaring interest, fifteen would dissapear leaving you with a solid 9-10 person RP.

Now you get ten replies (maybe) and 6-7 people dissapear, leaving you with a skeleton crew.

My current RP only started because of my connections. We have 13 members and only one came from the RPN interest check. We had 7-8 people express interest and only one stuck around, and the rest came from my friends list.

This is in stark contrast to the last story I ran, beginning back in 2018, where I had to deny people because we exceeded mass capacity.

Edit

And one more thing that may be controversial.

Yes some people suffer from anxiety and it's a genuine reason for them to leave RPs, but anxiety has become a catch-all excuse for many as well. I don't thing we should ascribe mental illness to every situation that's unfavorable, and again, if you genuinely suffer from anxiety then this isn't about you, but mental illness has become a casual excuse used by undiagnosed people, who don't suffer from anything at all. It's a great excuse because calling bullshit is extremely offensive, and there's no way to prove it's untrue.

Also there's a difference between anxiety and having uncomfortable conversations. If you lose interest because your passion waned after a couple days, and you dissapear because the conversation is uncomfortable, there's a good chance it's not anxiety. It could be conflict avoidance which is a common neurotypical personality trait.

Maybe I'm getting too deep into this, but I've seen mental illness thrown around as an excuse many times. I've had people DM me saying "I have to leave because I've been slammed by a crazy wave of depression, and can barely function right now," and then I spot them on three interest checks throwing around smile emojis, talking about how excited they are to write characters.

Hell, one person said that when I was in two roleplays with them, and they were "too depressed to write a single word," in one discord server, and quit the RP because they "would be a burden."

Meanwhile, they were extremely active and bubbly in the other server.

It trivializes mental health and turns it into like, a little kid saying they have a tummy ache to avoid school. No Bueno.

 

[Edric Blight]

This is such a great thread as someone who personally feels the same way. I haven’t really been able to get a good RP going for a couple of pages even if it seems my partner is equally as passionate and excited as me about a story. So, I guess I’ll give my two cents.

Bottom line the reason why I feel roleplays never seem to end up panning out more than one or two pages- communication, or rather the lack thereof. In my 5 or so years of roleplaying (yes, I know that’s not a lot compared to most people on this site so I do acknowledge I am not a seasoned veteran) the biggest thing I’ve noticed is people lack communication skills. As someone who grew up and raised in a household that stressed open and honest communication, it baffles me how many people are afraid to talk.

I think it comes down to this- we’re all behind screens on this site. We’re not in person and talking so that type of communication is lost. It’s so easy to just not communicate when you’re behind a screen and your partner is too. It’s not like real life where you can just leave in the middle of a conversation and never return (I mean you technically can but that would be highly rude and at least in my country, that’s frowned upon and seen as improper basic human etiquette). The internet and this site gives us the ability to ghost or leave conversations freely. We don’t have any personal connection with our partner so, people find it hard to communicate at times and easier to ghost, leading to a roleplay thread falling flat as you so rightly said in your first post here in this thread.

In my years of roleplaying I’ve come to learn that not everyone is like me. Not everyone expects honest and open communication, especially not on the internet. But sadly I do feel without that open communication it’s incredibly difficult to keep a story going. It takes two to tango as they say and if one isn’t in step with you, the whole thing falls apart- flat on its face. So essentially what I’m trying to say is the internet breaks down people’s social skills and there isn’t open communication going on between partners because it’s hard for a lot of people to communicate and the internet provides an easy out to not do so.

I think the pandemic further destroyed everyone’s social skills so you have people who are permanently scarred from that and who really have a hard time with social skills, even if it’s interaction behind a screen and not face to face. I also acknowledge that there are A LOT of people on this site who have severe anxiety and depression. A lot of people use roleplaying and writing as a way to cope with anxiety and depression and whatnot. It’s getting better now thank goodness but I had extreme depression, so I totally understand. A lot of people are just scared to follow thru and unfortunately, it results in ghosting- they never let you know they’re done with the RP and they never respond in the IC thread again. Sometimes I’m left wondering if you have such bad anxiety and know you’re not gonna end up communicating or even putting any effort into continuing an RP, why waste both your and the other person’s time? But I acknowledge that’s a bit of an asshole take, so don’t hate me for it.

I’m certainly not putting myself up on a pedestal here but I feel I’m in the minority in stressing open and honest communication. I think it’s key to a healthy RP and its longevity. I also acknowledge that some people are scared to be honest. Some people don’t know how to word that they’re not interested in an RP or even that they have this or that idea they’d like to incorporate. It leads to them “chickening out” (kind of a derogatory term here but bear with me) and ghosting, then the thread never picking up and falling flat. It’s extremely rare I see a partner as dedicated to communication than I am and I think all around, people just suck at communication here- especially on the internet, so that’s why threads never pick up.

I’m prepared to be flamed for my opinion here and I’ll acknowledge I’m in the minority but plain and simple that’s just what I think it is. People don’t communicate for a multitude of reasons, valid or not, and roleplay threads lie flat and dormant, never to be touched again. In my perfect world everyone would openly and honestly communicate their feelings with each other but that’s not how the world works. And really, no one is really particularly obligated to do so. I also just think there’s a culture here on this website and among role players in general that ghosting is normal and acceptable and you have no reason to give the other person the common decency of saying “hey I’m not interested in this anymore.” It’s a tragedy I see personally so many times myself. It’s sad looking at the many threads of both mine and others that are left behind due to falling flat.

I’m a bit jaded but I’ve just come to accept the fact that ghosting is a part of this hobby we love called roleplaying. People don’t like to communicate so you can either sit and whine about it like I used to when I first started or try again and hope for a partner that will continue a story with you and actively communicate. The right partner is different for everyone and it can be like finding a diamond in the rough. But hopefully whoever you are, you eventually find that partner you can create a meaningful story with that actually picks up off the ground and doesn’t last only three pages or less.

Perhaps I’ve gone off topic a bit and made this more about ghosting but my whole thing is ghosting IS the reason for threads falling flat and the reason for ghosting is lack of communication. I’m personally heavily against ghosting and always believe everyone deserves the decency of being honestly BUT KINDLY told if they’re not interested in RP, but that’s not how this works. But that’s a story for another day. It’s just a sad reality and I sadly don’t personally have an answer as to how to fix this. I will say to you OP that I really don’t think it’s anything YOU are doing wrong. It’s just the nature of this hobby. People lie, people don’t communicate, people will waste your time, etc. It sucks but it’s what happens.

Finally I’ll end with this. I’ve noticed particularly this year that there has been a huge influx in younger role players. Many of these younger role players are minors. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a minor who wants to write and roleplay. I was once a minor too. We all were. But, as an adult I’ve come to realize that maturity levels differ from age to age. Why this has any relevance is because of this. I understand I’m making a wildly broad generalization but it’s just what I’ve personally seen from recruitment posts and even some public RP threads. A LOT of minors are not looking to write paragraphs like a majority of writers (particularly adult writers) are on here. I often see it’s just one to three liner type RPs. Now, I am in NO way judging or shaming those who don’t write a paragraphs and stick to the shorter length posts. You roleplay how you want to and as long as you’re having fun, then hell that should be good enough for everyone and if someone wants to say that’s not right, then screw them.

But, typically I do tend to notice that these shorter length post roleplays that a lot of minor writers like to engage in aren’t really suitable for the long term. Both eventually get bored fast and the roleplay falls flat because there’s not enough substance in the posts to keep it going. Why this matters to the original post is because I’ve just noticed a HUGE increase in minors creating interest checks and looking for stories, more than I’ve personally ever seen before. A lot of them like I said are looking for shorter posts and I personally feel in my opinion that these short post RPs are not suitable in terms of longevity. Because of this, they fall flat and you’re gonna see a lot of threads that never end up getting past the first two pages.

Ok I’ve rambled on a lot and probably gone off topic but I hope my message is clear. My opinion for threads falling flat all the time is just a lack of communication and I guess a culture that accepts that as the norm. It’s different from what I was raised in so it’s always gonna be a shock to me but it’s what I feel leads to all this ghosting and role plays never gaining any ground. As someone earlier in this thread brilliantly put it, finding a roleplaying partner and carrying on a story is like pulling teeth these days.

Thanks for reading if you did. In no way do I think my opinions are facts and I acknowledge many of my views are flawed and unpopular. But I did wanna get my thoughts down on the matter.

 

[GojiBean]

Hoyo!

I can only answer your questions based on my own experience and philosophy as a GM. So, here we go!

My first inclination is that it must be the genres I'm shooting for

Not likely. Genre alone hardly ever is the reason behind anyone's departure. If they were interested enough to raise their hand and say "I'd like to join!" then the problem is almost certainly elsewhere.

Maybe I'm starting games with a little too much open space hoping to let characters mingle before jumping into stuff, or maybe I'm putting off too much of a vibe of being "in charge" and people are expecting lots of guidance

This is where I think the main issue is because participant agency is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it's a great feeling to know that you have some freedom to explore your own creativity. But on the other hand... What exactly do I want to do?

This is a question a lot of people simply aren't considering when they join an RP. And even if they do and they stick around long enough to be part of its initial posting this question often eludes them until it's too late. And once they confront it they're left wondering, "Well, shit. What do I do now that I can post whenever and whatever I want? I could do this. I could do this. I could probably do this, or this, or this." So on and so forth.

Having a literal universe of options can be very intimidating, especially if the individual is newer to roleplaying as a hobby.

Often times at the beginning of an RP it's better that the GM take full control and provide as much direct and forward facing guidance as possible to everyone who's joined so that there's as little wiggle room for misinterpretation, confusion, or uncertainty as possible.

Regardless of the genre, setting, time period, etc, the GM must be as transparent as humanly possible in what their vision for the RP is, what their expectations are of every participant, and where the boundaries of the RP lie as that's often another major issue for participant agency.

If the GM is not clear where the boundaries are it can create a fear of backlash which prevents people from taking advantage of their agency, and they end up waiting for either the GM or someone else in the RP to have their character interact so something can get started. Someone might want to go somewhere or do something but be uncertain if you would allow it as the GM even if you said "you're free to do what you want for right now." Often times even a statement from the GM that says you're free to do whatever basically becomes null and void in the face of self-doubt. And this feeling only gets worse the less clear the GM is initially about boundaries.

And one final problem... Not everyone communicates their intentions or desires for what to do in the RP in OOC chatter. A lot of people are shy or introverted (like myself) and they just wait silently for someone else to initiate either OOC or IC. And when nobody comes to poke them or their character they feel left out, ignored, and forgotten. So they end up dropping.

Any tips or advice for getting roleplays off the ground once you leave the interest check phase??

Take the wheel and steer that ship.

It's nice that you want to give people agency and a sense of freedom to explore their creativity. But early on in the RP it's usually much better for everyone if you're more hands on and directional.

The best method I've found for this is to do so via your narrations. For example: a new face appeared from (insert direction/location), a stack of smoke rose in the distance from (insert direction/location), a strange sound emanated from (insert direction/location), etc, etc.

Hints and clues like these are a great way to both give clear direction while also giving everyone enough agency to respond to the presence of whatever this in their own way. And if you've been clear before posting started about where your RP's boundaries are and what the expectations are everyone should have an easier time responding.

If you want to implement a posting order it may be helpful to posting organization, speed, and fluidity. I usually don't do that myself. But even so, it's an option.

------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully this was at least somewhat helpful!

Cheers!

~ GojiBean

 

[Len Auphydas]

People get excited for ideas but are too lazy to see them through, especially when the expectations are high and there's a big workload. This website has seen a downturn as the hobby has become less popular, so you have a higher chance of getting screwed when that happens. Because if say, 60% of people bail after expressing interest, that hurts more when you have less total people. Years ago you'd post a thread and get two dozen users declaring interest, fifteen would dissapear leaving you with a solid 9-10 person RP.

Now you get ten replies (maybe) and 6-7 people dissapear, leaving you with a skeleton crew.

My current RP only started because of my connections. We have 13 members and only one came from the RPN interest check. We had 7-8 people express interest and only one stuck around, and the rest came from my friends list.

This is in stark contrast to the last story I ran, beginning back in 2018, where I had to deny people because we exceeded mass capacity.

Edit

And one more thing that may be controversial.

Yes some people suffer from anxiety and it's a genuine reason for them to leave RPs, but anxiety has become a catch-all excuse for many as well. I don't thing we should ascribe mental illness to every situation that's unfavorable, and again, if you genuinely suffer from anxiety then this isn't about you, but mental illness has become a casual excuse used by undiagnosed people, who don't suffer from anything at all. It's a great excuse because calling bullshit is extremely offensive, and there's no way to prove it's untrue.

Also there's a difference between anxiety and having uncomfortable conversations. If you lose interest because your passion waned after a couple days, and you dissapear because the conversation is uncomfortable, there's a good chance it's not anxiety. It could be conflict avoidance which is a common neurotypical personality trait.

Maybe I'm getting too deep into this, but I've seen mental illness thrown around as an excuse many times. I've had people DM me saying "I have to leave because I've been slammed by a crazy wave of depression, and can barely function right now," and then I spot them on three interest checks throwing around smile emojis, talking about how excited they are to write characters.

Hell, one person said that when I was in two roleplays with them, and they were "too depressed to write a single word," in one discord server, and quit the RP because they "would be a burden."

Meanwhile, they were extremely active and bubbly in the other server.

It trivializes mental health and turns it into like, a little kid saying they have a tummy ache to avoid school. No Bueno.

"Anxiety" is just an emotion that normal people feel, constantly. You can't just expect nobody to express a common human emotion just because there is also a disorder named after it. You dont have to be mentally ill to feel anxious, nor do you have to feel anxious all the time. I kinda doubt you could find a single person past five years old who has never suffered from anxiety in any shape or form. And no, it doesnt trivialize mental health to use a common english word to describe a common, normal emotion. Everyone has problems.

 

[Jet]

"Anxiety" is just an emotion that normal people feel, constantly. You can't just expect nobody to express a common human emotion just because there is also a disorder named after it. You dont have to be mentally ill to feel anxious, nor do you have to feel anxious all the time. I kinda doubt you could find a single person past five years old who has never suffered from anxiety in any shape or form. And no, it doesnt trivialize mental health to use a common english word to describe a common, normal emotion. Everyone has problems.

I was discussing mental health disorders, why are you ignoring that and arguing a point I never made? Also, considering how this is an unserious hobby that doesn't have real stakes, if you have serious anxiety to a point where you can't even participate, because the very thought makes you severely anxious, that leans towards the disorder rather than common anxiety.

But that's a whole separate conversation. I was talking about the commonality of using mental health as a dishonest excuse for ignoring someone or something, which has become annoyingly common these days.

If you'd like to argue against the actual points I made, feel free, but coming in here with a terrible attitude while slipping around my actual point? Poor form man.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Let's not hijack Sleipnir's topic to argue over anxiety. Anxiety is a human emotion, sure; I would even call it part of the basic human experience. That said, for some, it is much more severe, to such degrees it may be considered a disorder. Let's not minimize those situations, but also, let's keep in context of the topic at hand.

Anxiety clearly plays a role in retaining player engagement and activity. I think that is an agreeable stance.

I can see plenty of people are jaded over this topic, too. Sure, the site demographic is changing and so are their tastes. I know I'm not getting any younger.

That said, I still believe that this topic really is divided into two parts: engagement and retention. Communication and clear expectations are the answers I have for those issues.

Someone else said it and I'll sing in that choir: communication is the cornerstone of social enveadors such as forum-based roleplay. Or, really, any roleplay. Any collaborative writing. There's even some overlap between communication and expectations.

That said, communication is hard. We can say things like "would it be so hard to tell me you aren't interested?" or "is it really that difficult to tell me what it is you don't like?" but the answer is yes. More and more, we're coming into an era where confrontation is being avoided. Unfortunately, this is dulling communication skills. But, at the same time, it's a solution to the problem a generational gap has faced in that they witnessed people before them communicating and not getting desired results.

Confrontation and communication can be an emotional drain. It can cause anxiety for some or just plain be a drag for others. We write and roleplay for fun and when that starts to become a chore, why bother? Silence and ghosting gets you judged, and perhaps rightfully so, but it still sucks.

It can be this no-win situation where the effort required to communicate sincerely doesn't seem like it is worth whatever payoff one would receive. There will always be another user, always be another interest check, and always be another chance.

That is the reality of the situation. Unless you can sell yourself and your game so well that you convince someone to care, or somehow prove you're just a bit different from the sea of other chances that exist, there no longer really is a driving force to put in the extra effort to communicate. At one time, it may have been considered the standard, but it's not anymore.

And, that's where expectations come in. Sure, you have to set them and boundaries with players, but you really need to manage your own expectations.

You cannot please everyone. You may think you have done everything "right" but the model for role-playing is changing. Your idea of right might be someone else's idea of cringe, too much work, or just plain uncomfortable. That's just the nature of the beast. The entire platform is just becoming more dynamic. There isn't some formula for success.

So, I want to backtrack. Goji said you need to take the wheel and steer the ship.

I agree. But, not necessarily for the same reasons.

Within reason (no one wants to be an RPG horror story), be yourself and embrace the parts of the hobby you enjoy. Run games you like. Find some like-minded friends, start small, and build. Make something you are proud of and enjoy. In fact, don't be afraid to start smaller. I often find it's a mistake to cast a wide net.

It is far, far easier to create a compelling, engaging story with just a few players and their characters than it is a large group. You have a better chance of drawing people in and eventually making friends when you have something smaller and a bit more specific to your tastes to begin with. If you can make people care, you can convince them to communicate. That's when the doors really open.

Or, you can completely neglect my advice, design some formuliac system that results in a large volume of players joining, and then trying to figure out how you're going to plot for all of them. Just go out and absolutely prove me wrong--I love to see it.


Oh, and the other thing. Learn to transition well. Learn when it needs to happen, how to do it smoothly without stepping on toes, and how to immediately engage people with a hook in your new scene. Always have at least one hook, if not several.

 

[Steve Jobs]

So firstly, I'll endorse all of GojiBean's tips for writing an engaging interest check.

Second, I will offer my own perspective on this subject.

I think that the trend of interested users not translating to actual applications (or active players) has been around for many years. Seriously, have you ever tried arranging a D&D campaign? It's less noticeable when you have a larger user base, but the problem itself has always existed. You can have the most engaging interest check in the trendiest genre, but that isn't going to increase your interest retention by a significant amount. So don't take it too personally. Rather, I see a few reasons/causes behind this issue:

1. Users having FOMO
2. Enjoying an idea, but later being unable to write a character for it
3. People get busy or lose interest

Given the number of roleplays never get off the ground or die later, taking a shotgun approach to roleplays will give someone more opportunities to roleplay. It costs nothing to express interest and unfortunately, they can renege it at any point.

I've also had issues before where I'm excited to get started and apply for something...only to realize that I'm not enjoying the process or the idea that I am trying to execute. Obviously, I'll do the best that I can, but if I know I'm not going to do my character justice then it's better for both parties to bow out.

I usually state that my interest is tentative or that I'll lurk before deciding whether or not to apply as to temper the OP's expectations. Personally I think if prospective players were clearer about their intentions (including if/when they lose interest) it would save a lot of headache.

 

[Malphaestus]

Roleplays have always tended towards abruptly ending, as caused by a multitude of factors most aptly summarized as 'loss of inspiration'. This tends to be on the part of participants, as opposed to the GM, though certainly a vanishing GM is not outside of the realms of possibility. It is, however, more likely the further into a roleplay it manages to survive, and as roleplays tend to be short lived, not a primary concern.

Calling roleplays "games" aside, you can be as perfect as perfection may become, and still fall flat on page two because of things beyond your control. It is, therefore, healthier to assume nothing, as for the longevity of your story, and simply find enjoyment out of what you have at the present. And thus, not to become discouraged by the inevitable failure, and treat the hobby for what it is: a momentary joy.

What you need, should you pursue a long lasting roleplay, is participants who are able to perform over longer periods of time, and most importantly, capable of writing without creative prompting- performers who are not bound to minute inspirations, capable of upholding their obligations as participants whilst you pursue your own obligations as the GM. Though much else goes into the equation, the primary cause for the casualty of most roleplays is- as I've experienced- the inability to manage lack of inspiration: were you to magically combat this in any way, you'll notice a dramatic increase as to the longevity of your stories.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Roleplays have always tended towards abruptly ending, as caused by a multitude of factors most aptly summarized as 'loss of inspiration'. This tends to be on the part of participants, as opposed to the GM, though certainly a vanishing GM is not outside of the realms of possibility. It is, however, more likely the further into a roleplay it manages to survive, and as roleplays tend to be short lived, not a primary concern.

Calling roleplays "games" aside, you can be as perfect as perfection may become, and still fall flat on page two because of things beyond your control. It is, therefore, healthier to assume nothing, as for the longevity of your story, and simply find enjoyment out of what you have at the present. And thus, not to become discouraged by the inevitable failure, and treat the hobby for what it is: a momentary joy.

What you need, should you pursue a long lasting roleplay, is participants who are able to perform over longer periods of time, and most importantly, capable of writing without creative prompting- performers who are not bound to minute inspirations, capable of upholding their obligations as participants whilst you pursue your own obligations as the GM. Though much else goes into the equation, the primary cause for the casualty of most roleplays is- as I've experienced- the inability to manage lack of inspiration: were you to magically combat this in any way, you'll notice a dramatic increase as to the longevity of your stories.

I find the topics brought up here interesting. The claims here are common, but they're factually quite opposite to my experience on-site. Right out of the gate, for instance, you state roleplays have always tended towards abruptly ending. Thing is, most of my games have had more of a gradual decline. If they get off the ground, their end is not abrupt. On the flipside, when I am a player, when I see an abrupt ending, it has historically almost always been because the GM has vanished.

As a side note, I refer to a roleplay as a "game" for two primary reasons. One, a game really just refers to any activity that is done for the sake of fun or entertainment, which roleplay often is. If it's not, this serves as one of those expectations that should probably be clarified. Two, generally by perceiving it as a game, it becomes something with more inherent design. I don't generally like the shotgun approach because the net it casts is often so wide it can cause problems. Instead, I prefer design elements in everything from my interest check to my world-building that somehow encourage the behaviors and mindsets I believe would best work together within the ecosystem the game creates.

Now, it is true that a game can fall flat for reasons beyond your control. However, you're introducing a perspective/belief that several of my on-site friends possess that I simply don't agree with: that it is healthier to assume nothing. Or, as they might put it, if you set your bar low, you can't be disappointed. I am of the opposing mindset. If you go in with clear expectations set and a solid idea of what you want and the type of people you want that from, you have a far higher chance of getting a long-term result, should that be what you want. This all brings up another idea: you referred to an inevitable failure, but what actually is a failure?

Determining success and failure is difficult. I typically gun for a cathartic ending, but fact is, I know some writers that don't want catharsis as an end-game goal. Some people design their games to be infinitely ongoing with no end in sight. Some people don't have any faith a game could reach a narrative conclusion, so they in turn don't design one. When a game dies on page two and there's nothing been done, it's easy to determine failure. When makes it to page ten, fifteen, or twenty and just loses momentum, it starts becoming a touch harder. All games/roleplays will end. That is fact. Whether or not they are a failure at their end, I would argue, is a matter of perspective. One that becomes incredibly gray if you consider that the purpose of the hobby is just to enjoy yourself. If a roleplay brought you any modicum of enjoyment for any amount of time, one could argue that it served its purpose and thus was a success.

I believe far too often that I see jaded GM's and players hit with what they consider bouts of failure and burn-out, many reaching a point where putting in effort feels like a waste because of this inevitable failure you referred to. To be clear, I'm not really arguing against that point because I see it a lot. How their energy and inspiration waxes and wanes. How often the very first issue that arises in a game, big or small, can feel like the beginning of its end. It's tragic. But, it comes from experience. It comes from the fact that one bad social interaction can burn one individual. It can kill their creativity. They don't even need to leave, they can "quit quietly" and cause just as much damage. They may remain for their friends or to avoid confrontation. Posts can become stale and that lack of inspiration can become infectious. Or, perhaps it becomes a big blow-out multiple people leave. RP drama happens all the time. Stay in the hobby long enough and anyone can attest to it.

Being a GM is hard. Not just running a game, but your social interactions. You often have to design hooks for everything. It often your job to find a way to get individual characters interested, not just their players. You need hooks, sometimes character-specific hooks, that keep the momentum going. You need a reason for things to happen. If you continuously try to force illogical decisions or actions that don't feel correct for a character, you're going break immersion and just dissolve the spirit of that character and thus the player. All while trying to balance out the fact you need to watch what you say and how you say it because the wrong series of words can result in a cascading effect that has someone lost interest. Sometimes it becomes a battle of making up for poor hooks by better socializing; sometimes it's the opposite, you may be an incredible writer with a lot of anxiety or other issues that make for weak communication.

And, that is all neglecting the fact that player-friction can be a whole separate issue that a GM has nothing to do with. Sure, conflict resolution is a skill, but realistically speaking, we do live in an era where one bad interaction--especially early--can result in a game-ghosting or quiet quitting. We live in an era where asking how someone is doing or feeling because you can tell there is a shift in their behavior happens to be another type of confrontation they want to avoid instead of a sentiment of human empathy. Beyond that, we exist on a platform where there might be some pre-existing beef you don't know about. That's a whole can of worms.



The best advice I can give is to be the source of inspiration and engagement. Learn to write and design scenes--each and every single one of them--in such a way that there is always something to reply to, both internally and externally. Make your posts stimulating to both action and thought. I personally do not believe you can always rely on the creativity of players to carry you through. It can be helpful. Players getting some ambition, setting up collabs, wanting to do their own thing. Even in a linear story, allowing some time to flesh out these ideas and make them happen can do wonders. But, outside of a sandbox, they should not be the crux of a game. I'm a believer in that every game will have issues, but if you can make its contents interesting and fun enough to look past those issues when they arise, you will retain players.

Grease the wheels of inspiration. Keep the momentum flowing. This is in part adjusting your writing style. This also partly plotting and opening your mind to the creativity of other players. Integrating character histories, tying in events and NPC's that previously only existed in their history, so on and so forth. If the issues in a game overwhelm the interest, especially later on, then normally said issues are due to inherent incompatibility between individuals or an egregious issue that needs to be addressed. So, you either can't do anything about it or you absolutely have to do something about it.

 

[Grey]

Been in this game since before RPN was RPN.
This is not a new phenomenon, neither is it a product of new crowds, genre, 'level', etc. It's been happening since at least 2011 (maybe before, but I was less active then).
There are basically two tendancies in the scene - the legion of more casual players who are quite happy to throw themselves into their favourite fandoms (and while those get off the ground, they do crash; the lower barrier to entry and higher numbers just mean statistically there are survivors), and the varying flavours of people taking roleplaying more seriously.
Whether or not your RP gets going from the interest check is down to luck, pitch, networking, and momentum. And luck is the big one.

I've put time into carefully crafted pitches and gotten either no response, or huge enthusiasm. Likewise I've thrown some of my worst work into a thread and people have jumped on it (in fact I find my lower-effort pitches seem to draw more eyes). Whether you get takers is really down to whether the right people are looking at the right time, and if you just happen to have the right pitch that resonates at the time.
I've also been a community fixture now and then, and seen other community fixtures, and that's a double-edged deal. On the one hand, people see your name and your work and eventually think "you know, this time I'll ask to join!" and on the other, there are probably more people intimidated by reputation afraid to try their hand. To be clear, I am extremely welcoming to new or inexperienced players, but somehow I don't seem to communicate that. In any case, networking; people know your name, your style, if they don't join themselves sometimes they'll point a friend at your RP.

What you should get from this is that persistance and community count for a lot. I re-use pitches semi-frequently; some years they fill up fast, and others, nothing. So you play other RPs, you participate in threads like this, eventually you get somewhere.

Finally, momentum. Once people start getting interested in your check, you have to move fast. The lower friction between posting interest and having an OOC thread to chat about characters in, the better. You have to keep the conversation going; drop lore tidbits, solicit questions, ask for opinions, keep everyone talking.

I'm obviously a touch biased by sticking mainly to dice RPs where we're a tighter-knit bunch and, in my experience, people are more likely to stay engaged or be very clear when real life requires them to step away, but I've had far worse luck with general freeform RPs. I'm hardly free from blame for some falling flat, of course; sometimes the ADHD and depression kick in hard and I disappear for a few months.

 

[Malphaestus]

I find the topics brought up here interesting. The claims here are common, but they're factually quite opposite to my experience on-site. Right out of the gate, for instance, you state roleplays have always tended towards abruptly ending. Thing is, most of my games have had more of a gradual decline. If they get off the ground, their end is not abrupt. On the flipside, when I am a player, when I see an abrupt ending, it has historically almost always been because the GM has vanished.

I will not engage as to the conversation about 'games', as it is not the right place. It is tangential.

As for this specifically, I will emphasize that it is common for a reason. Your experience is yours, the voice of many others are the voices of many others just as much. Luck is the prime influencer, you having more than others is your blessing, but not mine.

As such, you can only be persistent.

 

[Vox Angelis]

I've been roleplaying for a long long time, and have RP'ed on several websites. From personal experience, this is no new trend, this happens everywhere, anytime. Huge amount of interest and hype that falls short not long after the IC is actually created.

I won't go lengthy on the reasons why because I feel like everyone who gave their opinions here have already make very good points. In my many years, I've only got to play in two RPs that lasted for more than a year. The first RP had concluded its story after one or two years, and when the GM tried to go for a sequel, it didn't garner as much interest as its predecessor. The second lasted for 4 years before internal strife within the GMs and some grudges became the RP's undoing. So as far as reasons why RP don't take off or suddenly die, there are just too many reasons for it to happen. I'd say the factors that make a RP go silent heavily outweighs the factors that keep people around.

But it does feel like the hobby has changed direction and is probably focused elsewhere nowadays. A lot of the places I used to go don't have as much activity as there used to, and I'm honestly surprised that, despite seeing a lot of members online here, the RPing traffic isn't as high as I would've imagined.

I know from experience a lot of new RPers don't do forum RPing anymore. You see them thriving on Twitter and Discord.

 

[Daisie]

I'll make it pretty short cause I'm just probably echoing a lot of what other people are saying, just in different words. Communication & momentum... stuff like that.

I mention this every time it comes up, but I've gotten away with having many very successful RPs here on RpNation, and with miniscule amounts of actual ghosting. Maybe leaving, sure, but not real frequent ditching with no explanation.

I'm sure SOME of that is probably luck, but my (unintentional) tactic has been to make friends first, and RP partners later. It's not something I do as a hard and fast rule, but it's how I got my RP partner of 8 years, and it's how I've spawned almost all my multi-year RPs - through friends. People are less inclined to ditch someone they've already talked to semi-regularly for weeks or months.

It's slow, but looking for friends you happen to enjoy RPing with seems to have better odds than looking for RP partners you happen to be friends with. Basically just networking! Ask your friends to join. And ask your friends if they have friends who might like to join.

Edit to clarify: because of this, I've rarely actually used an interest check before. I think I've created one for a quest RP once, I'm pretty sure I've only ever responded to less than 3 in the 8 years I've been here. It's worked out well for me.

 

[GrumpySwallow]

As someone who has been RPing since they were a wee 13 year old on the Neopets forums, then moved on to TTRPGs and MMORPGs, let me tell you: this is normal, no matter what platform you use for RP. For example, when I RPed in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft, I've often seen folks in the public chat asking for RP, getting responses from other RPers stating their interest, then either going silent because they're all waiting for someone to create an idea for RP, or they reject ideas that are presented while offering no alternatives. Then the RP never happens. Another example is going to the popular bar in a city in a MMORPG, seeing it full of people with RP tags in their profile stating they're open for interaction, but no RPing actually taking place because they're all waiting for someone else to start the interaction. Or they're all RPing Lone Wolf Edgelords that just lurk in the corners of the bar.

The reality is that while people do want to RP, they do not want to put in the work to actually make one; they want someone else to provide the RP for them. That's why there are more players than GMs. This is why open world/sandbox-style RPs tend to fail. This is also why Bar RP is so popular on platforms such as MMORPGs: Bar RP is easy and takes very little effort or preparation on both the GM and the players. Yes, there are many other factors that affect a RP's success such as trends, the offline lives of players, and simple luck, but I think this is a thing that is not often addressed in regards to why RPs fail. As a GM, you cannot expect others to write your RP for you, or to care more about the success of the game than yourself. You have to make the RP threads, you have to establish the scene and the setting, and you have to guide your players through the plot. Once things are fully established and the players are settled into their roles, they may become confident enough to make their own mini-stories within your game, then you can take a breather.

Another reason I've seen RPs die is because the GM makes no effort to help their players out when they have a Writer's Block or they're stuck in a dead interaction. For example, a RP I was in died because everyone was waiting for a response from a player that turned out to have ghosted. In another RP, the GM was invested in the evil plotting of the villainous PCs but did not give the heroic PCs anything to do in the meantime. It took a month for the Evil PC plotting to finally end, but by then everyone else got bored of waiting and left. If players are stuck, it is up to the GM to push things along. I've no problem with telling my players to skip a person's turn and move the scene along after waiting over two weeks for that person to respond. If they're really stuck, then I'll throw a small plot hook at them to get them active in the game again. Sometimes, for the sake of keeping the game alive, a GM will have to make a less-than-Cookie-worthy post to move the scene along. That's okay, and most decent RPers are understanding of this.