Kestrel said
For once I agree with Jig.

I'm positively glowing. :P

Hey if that's what you guys think is better than fair. You can think that way but I PERSONALLY like to see activity in the IC over activity in the OOC.

Honestly, the best way is both. If a player cannot think of anything meaningful to add to the rp within the IC, then they should ask for help within the ooc, communicate with their other players, and then come up with something that'll enable them to write a meaningful post instead of skipping. Because if one or more players choose to skip writing a post because they can't come up with something then it'll ground to a halt, and even then for pacing reasons a post, big or small, might be handy for progressing things along.

I can agree with that pach.

Is it too late to join the conversation? My complaint isn't about the logistics of RP so much as the tone and content in general. Compared to tabletop, I feel that forum rpg's are shifted towards 'edgy', super-serious content generally lacking in much self-reflexive humour (correct me if I'm living under a rock and have just missed all the humour-centric RP's on this site).

It feels weird to complain about an rp being 'too serious', but sometimes it's just hard to buy into all the dystopian post-apocalyptic angst when there's TOO MUCH of it. Honestly, I've tried starting rp's on this site and elsewhere stipulating a different tone and approach but no one seems to really get it, or if they get it they don't embrace the idea... everyone just ends up ignoring the starting conditions and doing their own thing, making tragic backstories for their characters and being really *serious* in general.

It's not that I don't like drama roleplays anyway, so maybe it's a minor gripe. I think the word I would use is that all the drama and tragedy is just getting a little 'tiresome'.

Valeria said
Is it too late to join the conversation? My complaint isn't about the logistics of RP so much as the tone and content in general. Compared to tabletop, I feel that forum rpg's are shifted towards 'edgy', super-serious content generally lacking in much self-reflexive humour (correct me if I'm living under a rock and have just missed all the humour-centric RP's on this site). It feels weird to complain about an rp being 'too serious', but sometimes it's just hard to buy into all the dystopian post-apocalyptic angst when there's TOO MUCH of it. Honestly, I've tried starting rp's on this site and elsewhere stipulating a different tone and approach but no one seems to really get it, or if they get it they don't embrace the idea... everyone just ends up ignoring the starting conditions and doing their own thing, making tragic backstories for their characters and being really *serious* in general.It's not that I don't like drama roleplays anyway, so maybe it's a minor gripe. I think the word I would use is that all the drama and tragedy is just getting a little 'tiresome'.

Honestly, light hearted RPs can be found, it's just a matter of rummaging through them like the discount movie bin at Walmart. I personally like to have a mixture of serious content and humour in my games, it helps keep things fresh and a life without humour is one lived wrong. I find it helps in the OOC to specify what kind of tone and approach you want to have in your games, and as a GM, it's your job to kind of keep people reeled in and moving along. If you want, I can take a look at a few things and see if I can't work with you to get things where you want them!

I've always loved when a partner goes 3+ days without posting and either comes back to say "Sorry, I was away" or how they lacked a muse. That's all fine, but PLEASE tell me! It's just out of respect to tell your partner that you will be away for several days while if it is lack of muse, let's talk about it in the OOC. Instead I'm stuck sitting, wondering if my partner has dropped the RP or not.

One thing that annoys me is when the CS has a separate "sexuality/gender preference" section. If it's important for all the players to know that my character is Gay/Straight/Bi/Whatever, I'll mention it in their personality or their history. It does not need to be it's own section... If my character finds yours attractive, I'll deal with it then. Not to mention the fact that not many people play Gay characters. So when there are two of them, everyone assumes that the two Gay people will be an item. Gay people have types and preferences too ya know! They're not attracted to someone just because they're Gay! Having this as a separate section makes me feel like romance is going to be forced on me. which brings me to my other Pet Peeve...

Forced Romantic Relationships: I like Love and stuff as much as the next guy, and I'm fine with having preexisting platonic relationships... What I don't like is "Hey, let's have our characters be a couple by the end of this RP" to the exclusion of anyone else. Romance in RPs should be developed naturally as part of the characters interactions with each other. Not planned before the characters have actually met each other in the Roleplay. When it is planned like that, it just comes off as cheesy, forced, and not good to read. Not to mention you basically ignore the other characters that you may find you click with better along the way...

Crimson Flame said
One thing that annoys me is when the CS has a separate "sexuality/gender preference" section. If it's important for all the players to know that my character is Gay/Straight/Bi/Whatever, I'll mention it in their personality or their history. It does not need to be it's own section... If my character finds yours attractive, I'll deal with it then. Not to mention the fact that not many people play Gay characters. So when there are two of them, everyone assumes that the two Gay people will be an item. Gay people have types and preferences too ya know! They're not attracted to someone just because they're Gay! Having this as a separate section makes me feel like romance is going to be forced on me. which brings me to my other Pet Peeve...Forced Romantic Relationships: I like Love and stuff as much as the next guy, and I'm fine with having preexisting platonic relationships... What I don't like is "Hey, let's have our characters be a couple by the end of this RP" to the exclusion of anyone else. Romance in RPs should be developed naturally as part of the characters interactions with each other. Not planned before the characters have actually met each other in the Roleplay. When it is planned like that, it just comes off as cheesy, forced, and not good to read. Not to mention you basically ignore the other characters that you may find you click with better along the way...

[2]. Honestly, it bothers the shit outta me too. Unless the purpose of the plot is explicitly to be romantic in which case the sexuality field helps.

Otherwise? It really ain't hard to figure it out in the IC. If Lucy is staring at Susie's mighty fine boobs cupcakes, then Lucy's probably bisexual or lesbian. Probably. Not rocket science.

Also forced romance is just... Well... Yeah. Ugh. "YO! LUCY! DEMON TWELVE O'CLOCK! PLEASE STOP MAKING OUT WITH SUSIE LONG ENOUGH TO HELP ME WIT DAT, KAY THANX."

My thing with character sheets is that the gang and I have started just going minimalist. Name and a biography. Sometimes some other concise information like his job. No need to have an app with everything in it when it a) can be done in the biography and b) can be done in post.

It's kind of lazy to just put everything in a sheet and never reference it ever again because you're checking off a box on an application. You don't have to develop it in the story if you don't want to. If you want your characters to have traits, don't state bluntly that their personality is so and so. Develop that shit.

I already mentioned this in my introductory post 'cause I'm a derp, but it all boils down to two things that bother me more than anything else:

1. Lazy, derivative or just plain cop-out writing. I cannot bring myself to read something that's been done a hundred times already.
2. People who gush so much in their writing that it detracts from the writing itself or the character it's supposed to be about.

Now, I don't claim to be some kind of expert on writing, but I'd like to think I've been doing this long enough to have a relatively high level of skill at it.

MisterEightySix said
I already mentioned this in my introductory post 'cause I'm a derp, but it all boils down to two things that bother me more than anything else:1. Lazy, derivative or just plain cop-out writing. I cannot bring myself to read something that's been done a hundred times already.2. People who gush so much in their writing that it detracts from the writing itself or the character it's supposed to be about.Now, I don't claim to be some kind of expert on writing, but I'd like to think I've been doing this long enough to have a relatively high level of skill at it.

Welcome to the guild. Beward through, there is a ton of cop-outs and copy and paste rps within both the free and casual, there is even some in the advanced. But, I'm getting carry away. Hello.

It pisses me off to no end when someone randomly enters a thread for no reason and doesn't intend to join the roleplay or has no introduced themselves prior.

When they do this, what do you do about it? Do you address them and maybe ask why they are there?

They might be new and clueless and you can gently point out the proper protocol. If they are disruptive you can ask a Mod about it.

Never mind, I have found context.

I do the following:

Ask them to remove their post until I can accept them IF w'ere open and if that doesn't work see the below

Ask them to leave and delete any posts that may have been disruptive

Ask a mod for assistance

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I'm here to roleplay if they want to know proper conduct they should look at the various guides we have on our site in any corner of the section. And besides that my roleplays aren't meant for newer roleplayers. The main thing I look for is experience and secondly is how they can use that experience. If they're capable of doing as well or better than the others in the rp than I may consider it. If that is the either send me a pm first, post in the a pre-made thread made for recruitment, or take it somewhere else. I don't want anyone in a roleplay of mine if they can't do something as simple as opening a private message, write it up, send it to me, and wait to reply before doing anything in a already active thread.

When people say "I will post this and that day," and then don't do it. I get disappointed and they are embarrassed, which is bad for everyone. People should instead say "I plan to work on a post this and that day," because it leaves the time frame for actually posting that post open.

I feel that Prisk.

When you drive a REALLY good partner away because of your own personality quirks.

-My fault, if anything, and it pisses me off to no end that I try so hard to make the other person happy, but end up letting my own personal emotions leak into my roleplays, and from there, into my friends. Its a disaster.

When you really want to post something amazing, and you spend hours doing it, then the next post some guy just randomly spits out the bloody unreleased sequel to The Lord of the Rings.

When you want to RP with someone, and then you just, lose interest. Possibly my biggest peeve, because my mind likes to overplay something for weeks only to drop it the second I get attached.

When, as a GM (and probably as a player), you go to sleep satisfied with your work in an RP. Wake up the next morning, and everybody's gone and started arguing with each other about things.

It's happened enough times that I just rolled over and went back to sleep today.

Yep that more or less has happened to me to my now practically dead Bleach roleplay brovo....twelve paragraphs for nothing...