"Why won't anyone respond to my ads or wants?"

[bellsprout]

Number 2 is the biggest one for me.

On a forum a while back I signed up to be a storyboard artist. They looked at mine and said one thing:
"It doesn't copy the original style of Pokémon."

And then I look at someone else's form to be a storyboard artist and it looked NOTHING like a Pokémon, which it was umbreon, and it was accepted.

[Nightingale]

Okay I feel a bit awkward because my site seems to work a lot differently than those of people who have been here longer, but I must say that a major turn off to me is when someone is Suuuuper specific about really unnecessary rules and exactly how you have to behave and exactly what your character must look like, act like, etc etc. I don't get the point of it. When you sign up for a roleplay, its not a job or collage application. Its for fun. I, personally so far have only two roleplay boards, neither of which is really meant to ever have sign ups. They are entirely open. I just don't get the point of sign ups in general, but if you must have them, long drawn out ones are especially stupid to me. I mean, are you SO darn perfect that someone must be exactly a certain way to roleplay with you?

[Vicious Vixen]

I have a question for wildmaven, would it be possible to have a section in the looking for ads, where we could give a sample of our roleplaying ability, maybe limiting the sample to 100 words or so if you think it's too clunky. That way they can get an idea of how we write in character. For instance, I know I write a lot differently when posting up a basic ad than when I'm roleplaying. I would also appreciate it from an admin POV for my own forum, because it would help me decide how I'm going to approach them, what level they're at etc.

[wildmaven]

Jun 10, 2014 8:18:37 GMT -8 Nightingale said:

When you sign up for a roleplay, its not a job or collage application. Its for fun. 

While I agree that this is all supposed to be fun, the purpose of filling out an application, at least on my site, is to establish that your character's background is appropriate for the era and genre in which we are role playing. Many times people think that it's okay to have their character be a complete screw up, psychologically damaged, don't get along with others, etc., so why would they even graduate from Starfleet Academy and, even more importantly, why would they be assigned on the most important ship of the Fleet?

Jun 20, 2014 12:38:38 GMT -8 Vicious Vixen said:

I have a question for wildmaven, would it be possible to have a section in the looking for ads, where we could give a sample of our roleplaying ability, maybe limiting the sample to 100 words or so if you think it's too clunky. 

Sure. I don't think that would be a problem as long as it's short and stays PG-13. I'll edit the form to reflect that. 

[Vicious Vixen]

Jun 20, 2014 12:49:47 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

Jun 20, 2014 12:38:38 GMT -8 Vicious Vixen said:

Sure. I don't think that would be a problem as long as it's short and stays PG-13. I'll edit the form to reflect that. 

Thanks:)

[Nightingale]

Jun 20, 2014 12:49:47 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

Jun 10, 2014 8:18:37 GMT -8 Nightingale said:

When you sign up for a roleplay, its not a job or collage application. Its for fun. 

While I agree that this is all supposed to be fun, the purpose of filling out an application, at least on my site, is to establish that your character's background is appropriate for the era and genre in which we are role playing. Many times people think that it's okay to have their character be a complete screw up, psychologically damaged, don't get along with others, etc., so why would they even graduate from Starfleet Academy and, even more importantly, why would they be assigned on the most important ship of the Fleet?

Jun 20, 2014 12:38:38 GMT -8 Vicious Vixen said:

I have a question for wildmaven, would it be possible to have a section in the looking for ads, where we could give a sample of our roleplaying ability, maybe limiting the sample to 100 words or so if you think it's too clunky. 

Sure. I don't think that would be a problem as long as it's short and stays PG-13. I'll edit the form to reflect that. 

Now I can see where your going with that, but I mean more like OOC rules, not in character. Like having a ridiculous minimum word count, and getting warned for being a few words short, or having staff members decide literally EVERY detail, from who wins a fight to whether the offspring of a character is a boy or a girl, to exactly the maximum age your character may be before they have to die. I just really don't get the point of rules like that.

[wildmaven]

Jun 20, 2014 13:14:51 GMT -8 Nightingale said:

Jun 20, 2014 12:49:47 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

While I agree that this is all supposed to be fun, the purpose of filling out an application, at least on my site, is to establish that your character's background is appropriate for the era and genre in which we are role playing. Many times people think that it's okay to have their character be a complete screw up, psychologically damaged, don't get along with others, etc., so why would they even graduate from Starfleet Academy and, even more importantly, why would they be assigned on the most important ship of the Fleet?

Sure. I don't think that would be a problem as long as it's short and stays PG-13. I'll edit the form to reflect that. 

Now I can see where your going with that, but I mean more like OOC rules, not in character. Like having a ridiculous minimum word count, and getting warned for being a few words short, or having staff members decide literally EVERY detail, from who wins a fight to whether the offspring of a character is a boy or a girl, to exactly the maximum age your character may be before they have to die. I just really don't get the point of rules like that.

Unfortunately, the evolution of a board's rules is usually due to some member doing something that damaged the entire storyline at some point. My Rules on my board are, in my opinion, ridiculously long, but each and every one of them ensures that things remain fair to everyone, and the rules have come about after RPing for more than 20 years.

However, there are admins who obsess about every little detail and that only causes stress both on their part and on the members. If I see that a member is doing a tremendous job in the RP, and I know they're not going to disappear halfway into a plot, I'll give them creative freedom to invent a new alien species or give them some other perk like RPing a villain.

My feeling is this: you only have to read the Rules once. If you play well with others, follow the storyline, and don't suddenly change your character from a fun-loving engineer to an emo recluse for no good reason, then I pretty much leave you to RP. Of course, some of the curveballs that I come up with during plots may make them WANT to become an emo recluse, mwahahahhahahah. *cough*

[Nightingale]

Yeah well that does make sense too. I just like a lot of freedom in a roleplay. But I definitely see your point as well.

[Ruley]

I decided to come back to this thread after a while away to reflect on this.

There is a bubble forming inside some peoples minds that is limiting their scope as an Role Player. In advertising my new site now, i have people throwing strops and deleting their accounts once they find out that certain canons are reserved or taken. It baffles me that people don't check this before joining or expect me to kick the other persons claim aside so they can post. This is still a problem and i understand people saying "oh they only have muse for that character" That's great, but if its a popular character then they are better off making their own site!

Many of the replies i got after sending out my site to people on the looking for thread were rejections based on things i had no control over, specific character was the biggest one, followed by random AU plot points.

I would encourage people to play different canons to mix things up or make an OC, i recently found great joy in playing a die hard evil slytherin and in my 8+ years of rping i had never played one before!

Also think this way, if you join a site, you make friends, friends that might point you to other sites or form one with you later down the line and then you can go play your specific character or AU tweak on the site whilst being able to bring new experiences along with you from playing things differently.

Sorry, just a bug bear of mine. it seems hard to find open minded people.

[Former Member]

I just created a forum called Chick Chat and nobody has responded to this yet.

(Link Removed)

[wildmaven]

Jul 26, 2014 7:58:37 GMT -8 @whoselinefan said:

I just created a forum called Chick Chat and nobody has responded to this yet.

(Link Removed)

Hi there. I've removed your link, as it is not appropriate for this discussion. 

According to the Rules of the Advertising board, members are not allowed to reply in your Advertising thread, which is why no one has done so. They will, however, click on your link in your thread and visit your forum, or PM you if they have questions. 

[Lynx]

Jun 5, 2012 11:09:12 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

Jun 5, 2012 10:51:37 GMT -8 Fragleheart said:

I learned to roleplay by watching the more advanced members on the forum, so I hate seeing elitists running around, refusing to give new comers the same opportunity I had.

I agree with this to a point. I love it when someone new comes along, but if they can't follow a plot, or if their writing is so bad that it is hard to make sense of what they wrote, then they can just drag down a board and make it look bad. It's a delicate balance.

As an RPer for many years, I can agree to a point. However, this is where I learned to set up, shall we say, "side plots". These are plots that aren't involved with the main plot and allows more experienced users to RP with newcomers to ascertain their skill level as well as help them improve. This way, by the time the newcomer moves into the main plot, there is a much less chance of them dragging the plot down. This, of course, requires patience and a positive attitude with the RP veterans to help make the newcomer less of a newcomer. I've seen too many times where veteran RPers just get frustrated and complain rather than trying to help. To me, this is something that shies many newcomers away. If the veterans took the time, and practiced with the newcomer on a side plot, then the veteran could give pointers on what the newcomer needs to do to improve. A big problem with some veterans is that they seem to point out the flaws with the newcomer, rather than encourage them by pointing out the positives and suggesting ways to improve those areas that need work. I was lucky. When I was first starting to RP, I was with a great group of people that encouraged me and gave me pointers, rather than getting frustrated and tell me "I don't have what it takes to RP". The results are beneficial to everyone.

Just my 2 cents.

[wildmaven]

Lynx, you bring up some good points. However, there are members who refuse any sort of help, staying with the "take me as I am or screw you" attitude. I have several members on my board who have even offered to proof read a problematic member's posts, which is a ton of work on their part, only to have that offer turned down. It all comes down to how willing the new member is to work at any issues. If they don't want to learn, there's not a whole lot you can do at that point.

[Lynx]

wildmaven, I certainly have to agree. It definitely needs to be a cooperative effort for both the veterans and the newcomers. If there isn't, then yes, there's not much that can be done.

[Willow]

I have to add this here as a frustration to seeing Forum leaders complaining that people won't reply to their ads.

Just today here I came across TWO RP forums (that will remain nameless) that I was really interested in joining.

Lo and behold when I get to their page there is NO WAY AT ALL, as a guest, I can ask anyone there a question about the forum. No shout box, no guest friendly area to post...nothing.

I'm sorry but I don't want to have to become a "member" to ask a question about becoming a "member". It seems very disrespectful to my time. So frustrating. So I end up leaving and not joining.

Shhhheshhh!