[quote=@NuttsnBolts]
You get that itch, you browse the forum, and then you find that roleplay you really want to enter—or you decide to make your own. At which point you have entered the all too familiar waiting game until the eventual IC. Have any of you noticed that it is often several days or even a week or so later until a roleplay truly starts?

So the thought crossed my mind, but do some people space out the process of starting a roleplay to a length that is too long? That decision to wait until a certain date/number of [i]"interested"[/i] comments before migrating from Interest Check to eventual OOC. Could, or more should, a GM place a character sheet template in the Interest Check so people can start working on their characters sooner? And how much should a GM prepare their own works (OOC, Characters, and IC #1) before choosing to start their roleplay?

Understandably there is a point when you go too fast and it falls apart, but I wanna hear thoughts on what pace has worked for others, and whether there are choices you would whole heartily avoid because they burn too fast or too slow.
[/quote]

It's the forum itself, it is not a normal thing for RP's to take as long as I've waited for people to write characters, for the gm to even start the RP, and then for people to post or say that they drop before posting anything. I've also never had so many damn people feel the need to nitpick every single thing they could possibly do. It's like people are TRYING to waste as much time as possible before the damn RP starts. It makes it very tedious, and it kills my interest in doing them and almost makes me continue out of obligation that I don't want to be "the asshole that drops mid RP" but so many people's direction and ability to go with the flow. (or complete lack there of.) It has made me, completely alter my CS, completely rewrite sections of my story, made the goddamn stupidest rules to a RP I've ever seen. Some that actively slow the roleplay down.

But no, I usually don't put widespread interest in RP's that I won't even bother doing if it takes slightly longer than I expect. Or in less than a week say I can't do it because life or disappear without a trace. Or even worse START/CREATE the rp and waste everyone's time in the process and then quit the RP you created. (Seriously, If you "have real life stuff." Please, don't run a campaign! >.<) 

If you're asking how much time should the GM go over his own interest check/OOC before he posts it and starts the roleplay...it should be long enough that he doesn't have to get asked simple questions that they should probably think they'll be asked if they leave the information out. Once the OOC is posted and interest has already been met. It shouldn't take long at all for the RP to start. If you didn't plan for "NPC" characters and what you wanted to do to start your own RP. You shouldn't of posted the interest check/OOC in the first place. At the rate some of them go, I'd almost suggest to pre-write some the first post of the RP. That way it's already done (or at least part of it.) and maybe gives people an idea of what you're looking for, especially if the premise is incredibly vague or complex.

The other forum I roleplayed in, free/starter rp's always were instant (post a character and join right in.) type and there is a surprising lack of those on the free section...which is meant to be fast paced and just for newer players or those who want quick role-plays to mess around in in between longer ones they're doing. And the others ones took maybe 2-5 days to start once everything had been accepted and dealt with. There was a lot more going with the flow. If you had proper spelling and stuff and didn't blatantly make a screwed up CS, you were almost always accepted without issue. Which I consider far more reasonable...but that place had a LOT of differences.