[b][i]Current Discussion: Maintaining a Playerbase.[/i][/b]

Alright, so I operate off a simple rule that the first three months of a roleplay are absolutely critical; as a GM, you need to be able to keep momentum going and set deadlines and stick to them. There's a lot of things that I think a lot of GMs do that contributes to games not making it out of the gate that they may not realize, and it goes back to even before the first IC post drops.

Make sure you vet your players and give feedback on reviews while sticking to your standards; all it takes if a few minutes of checking someone's posting history to make sure they stay with games and not drop most of them. Granted, we all have times where a game isn't for us, and that's fine. It's more the people who join a dozen roleplays at the same time and then commit to none of them; giving that player a character slot at the expense of someone who has proven to be someone who can stick things through slumps and slow downs is going to hurt in the long run. Likewise, review every character sheet that comes in and make sure it's up to your standard; have people revise them when you give feedback, and you can tell a lot about players for who are willing to make adjustments and those who butt heads with you. You want to make sure that your players who are accepted are roughly of similar expectations and skill level and generally have positive temperaments. 

On that token, figure out how many players you're comfortable managing and stick with it! You don't want to have a story in mind where you have a half-dozen players and end up with a full-dozen or more if it is a bit too much for you to handle or doesn't work with your story. I myself prefer about 6-8, and as the game's established I don't mind picking up new blood, but my personal GMing style is trying to help players craft their own personal stories and incorporate parts of their character bios into the RP and it's a lot more meaningful and manageable if I only have a small portion of players compared to say an open sandbox with an always open tag. 

The other major factor of player numbers is posting rotations; less players means faster turn around times, and one thing I notice GMs  get caught up on all the time is that they wait for absolutely everyone to post before moving the plot along; oftentimes people lose interest in an RP if they have to wait weeks between GM move along posts because one or two people are dragging their heels. This is why setting deadlines is important! If I notice that the posting rate is slumping (or people don't have anything in the works), I basically say a week from that day, or as I usually do, next Monday-Wednesday, is my move along day and everyone should have their stuff in by then. I don't punish players for missing the deadlines, it just means they missed out on a chance to reply. The only time I really kick someone for being absentee is if it's been well over a month and they haven't contributed anything. I do give them a head's up and a deadline, but even that might be temporary. 

Point is, you need to keep momentum going and as a GM, you should already know how your first quest/ mission is going to pan out, all the major NPCs already created and a story already in mind before the game even launches and then just fill in the blanks as you go. Players should never be forced to wait on their GM past a certain length of time; say "hey I'm moving the story along on Friday" and stick to it. Let players know that they're not waiting on a dead RP or a GM who has no time for them. Remember; players are trusting you as a GM to provide an experience for them, and by submitting a character to you and an interest to take part in [i]your[/i] story, it's your responsibility to demonstrate to them that you aren't wasting their time. We have all joined an RP, spent hours on a character, and then find out that the GM lets the game slowly die before it even gets started. It's frustrating and demoralizing, and I think as GMs, we have an obligation to our players to respect their time and efforts.

Now for actually running the game, I have a simple rule; focus on the engaged players and don't worry about the not-engaged ones. What I mean is if people are constantly talking about the story and characters and are posting regularly, those are the players who are going to form your core group, whereas players who rarely post, don't talk OOC, and generally seem to be absentee in general are probably going to end up dropping and putting the entire game on hold to make sure they post is a major factor games on this site die. This is why I keep saying deadlines; tag everyone, let them know when they have to post by, and stick to it. Have your next GM post ready to go shortly after and keep going like that. If you notice players missing several deadlines, you probably should have a chat with them and see where they're at and ask if there's anything you can do to help their inspiration or alleviate their concerns, and sometimes it ends up being a positive experience. But you shouldn't sacrifice the enjoyment of an entire group over one or two players who seem very disinterested; if you put too much time and effort into those players at the expense of the 6 who are extremely motivated, you're going to end up bleeding those players because the game's stalling and not moving along. 

On a more positive note, one thing that absolutely keeps players invested and feeling good is consistent positive feedback. Hit that like button when you read a post; it takes no time at all and lets people know that their hard work is being read and appreciated. When someone makes a post, compliment it and say what you liked about it! Talk about the characters and what happened a bit; if you do that kind of feedback, it starts to become a self-sustaining cycle where players all feel like they can participate and the more they put in, the more they get back. I've found it helps really develop characters OOC and helps flesh them out as people, and I've had some pretty awesome plots in roleplays that player characters had that largely spawned from OOC discussion and feedback.

And finally, last last big point; do not tolerate toxic behaviour. If someone's causing issues in your game, constantly argue with other players, insult players or characters, or otherwise turn the OOC into a toxic shitposting nightmare, get rid of them, no refund. The internet is full of holes for people with shitty personalities, your RP doesn't have to be one of them. You should always try to cultivate a positive and active atmosphere so people want to keep coming back and participating. If you don't, all it takes is a few shitty comments to start driving people away if an RP is still in its infancy. Personally, if I notice a Discord or OOC starts getting into uncomfortable or inflammatory rhetoric before characters even get accepted, I'm out. I only have so much free time, I'd rather spend it in good company.