Where are all the people who don't poof after a three pages of play?

[poppet]

Thanks. I've got more ideas than I know what to do with though. The problem is that I only have time for one play at the moment. But thanks for your kind offer. ♥

 

[poppet]

Also, I agree. I tend to write a lot and that tends to scare people off who are just here for a quick fix or who have busy real lives and can't keep up.

 

[call me rae]

Also, I agree. I tend to write a lot and that tends to scare people off who are just here for a quick fix or who have busy real lives and can't keep up.

I find a good way around this is to put all the settings in a google doc for your own information then in the overview do a elevator pitch style interview.


Where you go over what your roleplay is about in like five sentences or less.


And then just opening up a Q&A for frequently asked questions.


That way you aren't overwhelming people with all this info off the bat.

 

[Grey]

If it helps, I've also written a number of tutorials on making your roleplay the best you can. It focuses mainly on stuff like use of tropes, world-building, and plot-construction, but I personally believe all that stuff is most important to making an enduring roleplay.


NFG has now planted the idea for a specific interest check tutorial, though.


Tutorial - Grey's Learning Annex

 

[poppet]

I'm fairly sure I did that this time around (my first and only play here so far), though minus the doc. I used a small paragraph to reel people in, and on the next page added the important details. Any questions were asked and answered in the OOC. It's my personal character posts that can get long, lol. I had 15+ people interested/join this play. It's keeping people there that's the problem. I've gotten, "Oh sorry, summer vacation," after already having been gone for a month. "Unsure of where to jump back in," and a super old friend who's just having life issues. It's really, in my opinion, flakey people who don't really have any intention on committing to something if something interesting them more comes along. (And of course the actual real life things.)

 

[call me rae]

I'm fairly sure I did that this time around (my first and only play here so far), though minus the doc. I used a small paragraph to reel people in, and on the next page added the important details. Any questions were asked and answered in the OOC. It's my personal character posts that can get long, lol. I had 15+ people interested/join this play. It's keeping people there that's the problem. I've gotten, "Oh sorry, summer vacation," after already having been gone for a month. "Unsure of where to jump back in," and a super old friend who's just having life issues. It's really, in my opinion, flakey people who don't really have any intention on committing to something if something interesting them more comes along. (And of course the actual real life things.)

Ah well in that case just asking people what their post schedules are like is honestly helpful. I know in another site many groups would actually have you put your timezone and hours of availability in your character request.


Another thing to remember is that the more people you have the greater the chance that someone is just not going to be able to keep up. Whether that's because they found something they liked better or because they have real life issues come up.


That's why I tend to stick to 1x1s and small groups because the less people you're juggling the more likely it is you'll be able to get everyone sync'ed up in terms of schedules and such.


But if you are set on a group the thing to do here is just keep the story going. If someone stops posting well okay just move their character out of the action someway and keep posting without them.


If multiple people stop replying than just remake the roleplay entirely and see if you can't find other people.


If possible you can even ask your players themselves - hey what do you think I did good, what do you think I did wrong?


But yeah people will flake out. That's just a fact of roleplaying. The thing is you can't get discouraged because of it. Instead of focusing on the people that left really work with the people that stayed. Ask them about their interests, try talking to them in the OOC to get to know them. And ask them - hey if this goes pear-shaped would you be willing to continue as a 1x1 or in a small group with just us active folk.

 

[Ironrot]

Kind of related, but I'm curious, how regularly do you expect posts, @poppet?


I've also never been in an RP with a post order. It seems like they would have a significant impact on an RPs post rate.


(Question's not directed only at Poppet)

 

[call me rae]

Kind of related, but I'm curious, how regularly do you expect posts, @poppet?
I've also never been in an RP with a post order. It seems like they would have a significant impact on an RPs post rate.


(Question's not directed only at Poppet)

Well post orders ironically work best with smaller groups. Or very linear style stories. Sort of like a round robin.


Example. Player A says character A is at a park. Player B says Character B meets character A at Park. Player C says Character C arrives and invites Character A & B to a party.


You are basically just building on the posts that came before you rather than replying to a specific person which is what more free-form roleplay does.


Another way this is used is if there is some kind of combat or group activity that takes place with multiple characters in a roleplay. The GM will split the players and their characters into groups. An each group has a specific time period in which they are expected to post.

 

[poppet]

I don't have a post order, but I put in the rules how often I expect posts when I make a play. It all depends on how many plays I have going on or what's going on in my real life. The point is, if someone can't do that, they shouldn't join. The problem is people who commit and say they can do a thing, and then suddenly they back out and everyone loses.