Okay, this might not be anything anybody is actually interested in and this is rated H for High, but hear me out.

My recent attempted-game didn't get enough interest to get it off the ground, which wouldn't be the first time that that's happened to anybody. But, like many Wannabe-GM's, I do love my baby and would instantly try again if I could be sure of getting the necessary players involved - and dare say that I will in the future. We all know it's a bit of a lucky game, getting enough players to take part, and if you don't get one or two within the week, your game is probably finished before it started. 

Now, the previous incarnation of the same game had more character applications than I could accept, so it's not just that it's a bad concept - there is interest out there, just not at the point I was looking this time round.

What I'm picturing that might support those games-that-could-be is a kind of 'long-term interest check', to which the GM and interested players actively and regularly subscribe - say, to check in via a simply tickbox once a week to say that they'd still like to take part. This sort of Interest Check isn't there for communication as much as a slightly clinical way of counting heads, and heads that actually matter, because they're regularly still saying they're interested.

This would stop threads that aren't getting interest quickly enough to wither from seeming like a waste of time to prospective players, and if they could be listed differently, it would stop them falling so far below active threads that prospective players don't look for them. While it sounds like just doubling up the number of interest check listings, I don't think it would be; if everybody, including the GM, has to actively tick a box every so often to keep their game active, those threads that have been given up on entirely will vanish on their own, as will successful ones.☺

As I say, I'm not sure it's anything anybody particularly wants, and much less that it could implemented quickly, but I do feel like this idea might solve a problem at least I'm experiencing the longevity of games, particularly niche games that don't fit within the more popular genres. If nobody thinks it's a particularly good idea, just let it wither and die [sub]like so many others[/sub], but if anybody thinks it has legs but thinks it needs refining, definitely hit it with the Criticism Stick.

Cheers,
J