Other Open Letter of Disgruntlement

[eyflfla]

During the past 2 months or so on this site I have expressed interest in well over a dozen RPs, created nearly a dozen characters, and got to make a total of about 5 posts in 3 different rps.

The one I had the highest hopes for died when someone, the most important character, ghosted after one post. 2 weeks later I made a pain in the ass of myself, and everyone said they were still interested and I proposed a plan to restart us. One person posted, I responded, and then it died.

The second I admittedly left, I spent a week of back and forth making my character meet requirements, and then my first post was criticized for using the "1st person". I replied with a definition of 1st person and assured the GM that I would use names in future posts, that I left it out because I was introducing my character as an unknown (in an already running plot). He did not relent and said I used the word "he" too much (after eventually agreeing I did not use 1st person). Another player expressed having no problems. I guess I was just the hair up that GM's ass.

The third is technically still going, but we started on a beach, met a mysterious person and then the GM said OOC that he would think up stuff soon. I think it's going to stutter and die like all the rest because I don't think he had any sort of plan going in and he's had a week to come up with it.

Posting is not hard. It does not have to take that long. Threads should not go weeks without input. Especially from the GM. This past week I posted in all the threads I had posted a character in asking if it was still going. I only got like 2 responses confirming death. All the other GMs were apparently content to let their RPs die before they even started and without the decency to notify the next of kin when queried.


I wanted to like this site, but so far it sucks and has been a source of disappointment. I'm pretty much done with it, but I'm a glutton for interaction so I'll probably check this thread's responses.

Anyone want to clue me on pockets of active players who post more than once a week? Or is there a site out there where RPs get beyond the character creation stage?

 

[Hige]

This is why I stay away from group RPs and stick to 1x1

 

[ViciousVip3R]

To be honest that is just the nature of collaborating with large groups of people. You need all the stars to align to have a good RP that continues with equal levels of enthusiasm and commitment from everybody. If you are looking for recommendations, I would highly recommend you check out the Quest Log subforum, which has a highly active, albeit small community of individuals. Obviously, this comes with a lot less work and individual input, but I've found that a good plot/storyteller and the interactions with a great community more than make up for it. If that is not your cup of tea, I could direct you to specific RPs that I am currently involved in and have been going well for a while:
Army of the Southern Cross - a dice RP, focused on Robotech lore. However, the GM is very friendly and willing to help out with beginners. (If you don't feel like making a character, you could consider taking up mine. You don't really need a backstory but you can add one if you want, but my character comes with all the stats you will need to consider, which is the main part. I've grown kinda tired of it but don't want to let the others down by leaving now, but if you want to take over then that would be the best of both worlds.)
Millennium City - this is one of those Hosted Projects, not sure what it is about as I never really got into it, but you could check it out nonetheless and see if it is the right fit for you.

Hope this helps,
Vici

 

[Necessity4Fun]

Millennium City is one of those multi-fandom things where anything is possible... Not sure of how they do their things, if it's act based or full of mini plots, but at least now you know what to expect from it.


I have the same issue as you, and always end up with only AEGIS remaining, every single time.

I would suggest AEGIS to you if you didn't want weekly posts... That is very very difficult...
AEGIS has been running for almost a year and half now, but it doesn't have the regular posting you're looking for... There's actually a pattern going. Every start of an episode we get hyped and post a lot pretty frequently, but then our lives catch up with us and most of us, including the GM, need to slow down and figure things out. The RP fizzles out for a couple months as people deal with work and school, picking up again once semesters start to end.

Sure, we have some side missions going as well so sometimes these come back earlier/don't stop as much. The point is, it doesn't really dies since once welian (our GM) is free again she starts doing roll calls and accepting new players and moving the RP along.
That's my only experience with an RP that didn't die quickly ^^'

If you're interested, AEGIS is a superhero academy RP that doesn't always stick to the school format, some episodes actually happen somewhere else! Also powers are explained with science! It's really well made IMO (But I'm biased because I love it so much) I've been having lots of fun since it started >w<

Here's a link so you can check it out, if you want: AEGIS Hosted Project

 

[AlbaGuBrath]

Posting is not hard. It does not have to take that long. Threads should not go weeks without input. Especially from the GM.

I think this may be the issue, that posting may be much easier for you than it is for the people you've met. Different people may need more or less time to post, depending on their inspiration and how much they write. A multi-paragraph response can easily take an hour or more just to write, even if they already know what they want to say. Even a reasonably short post may take a while, especially if the author is stuck, busy, or doing background research for something in their post.
Related to this is time. Not everybody has time or energy to churn out posts at a regular rate, especially if they prefer to write detailed responses. GMs are no exception to this; they have lives too, and have far more work to do in a roleplay than the people who are just writing characters. Work, school, and life in general all get in the way, and naturally they take priority over RPs. It's frustrating when this happens without warning, but that's life.

One way to deal with this in a 1x1 or small group might be to try to choose a time when you think you can all be online to post together, but that would be impractical in a large group and may also fall apart even in a small one due to those issues mentioned above, as well as others. An active OOC chat is also helpful, as it builds relationships between the players, helps them to stay invested, and gives them a way to pass the time while waiting for a post.
Finally, probably the best advice for dealing with this is to 1) clearly state in your posts what your schedule is like and what you'd like in return, 2) be patient, and 3) be persistent. There are people around who post a few times a day, so if that's your thing, great! Others will want to post more often than that, while others will want to post less often. Just look around for something that will make you both happy (flexibility is a good thing!) and don't give up if you don't find exactly what you're looking for. There are so many people and stories around here that there's bound to be something for you, and if not, you can always make your own and try to gather like-minded people to you. It may or may not work, but you can always try again!

 

[apolla]

I see both sides of the coin. I've been on this site for like... four years, I think. Somewhere around there. I only started doing group RP's recently, but I fell in love with them.

Being a full time nurse myself, I understand that people get busy. People work, they have lives, they go to school. Roleplaying is not a priority over those things, and sometimes unexpected things happen and people have to drop or take longer to post.

But I've also started and joined countless roleplays here (1x1's included) that have died. It sucks, it really does, and what I hate is when people express interest in a roleplay, and then either NEVER put up a CS or put up a WIP that never gets finished. That shit is annoying, especially when I see you posting elsewhere. Like really... if you're not interested, don't put up the wip. If you lose interest, delete it. It's polite. It's also polite to answer tags.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Millennium City is one of those multi-fandom things where anything is possible... Not sure of how they do their things, if it's act based or full of mini plots, but at least now you know what to expect from it.

Millennium City - this is one of those Hosted Projects, not sure what it is about as I never really got into it, but you could check it out nonetheless and see if it is the right fit for you.

Hope this helps,
Vici

School and stuff kind of overtook my ability to be involved, but I was there early on. Not sure how it's progressed since then, but I do know that we only let in characters occasionally. It was usually in "waves," and there'd be one big event in-universe that would give the new players a tutorial how on how the city worked.
If they used OCs without asking, the RPer didn't demonstrate they could RP adequately, or they couldn't post often, they wouldn't be accepted.
If you use any character, they are automatically stripped of all their equipment and powers and can earn them back in-universe by purchasing expensive "power orbs" that would grant the character one of the character's powers, pieces of equipment, training and experience in something, etc.
The system of setting up a character was somewhat flexible; I RPed as Emile from Halo, and since I had a very low power cap, I was allowed to start as Emile but without his armor (i.e. a super soldier that is not nearly as powerful, but still a super soldier). On the other hand, someone else was RPing as something that was basically a god, so they started out as a completely average person... ish...
There's a long-term plan, lore, money is kept in a google spreadsheet, GMs run the city districts and can set up their own quests to either expand in the lore, give players a chance to earn money or gain items, or establish new settings or factions.
Early on, we were basically using the quests to drive the plot, give the characters benefits, and help bring characters together, but that might have changed.
The entire RP is set to take years, if memory serves.

Oh, and the actions of the characters have consequences for the most part. There's some grace given; i.e. if someone raises a weapon towards your character, you have a post to be able to respond, and there's a good chance that even if your action doesn't help you much, they won't kill you; though it will probably have serious repercussions.
As an example, one guy tried to walk into the middle of the most fortified place in the city (at the time) and assassinate a VIP and then leave. He made it to the gate. But because he didn't actively attack anyone, instead of him dying, he was just severely weakened and had all of his stuff taken (basically started at square one and took active intervention from other players to get him out of that situation).
Another example is when... Sans the skeleton swam away from the group to get the loot by himself and an enormous shark grabbed him (it was planned to be in the story, but because he swam off on his own, he aggroed it). He died.

But yeah, it's a good RP. And if the GMs are great (for the most part, they were), then you'll have a great time.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

School and stuff kind of overtook my ability to be involved, but I was there early on. Not sure how it's progressed since then, but I do know that we only let in characters occasionally. It was usually in "waves," and there'd be one big event in-universe that would give the new players a tutorial how on how the city worked.
If they used OCs without asking, the RPer didn't demonstrate they could RP adequately, or they couldn't post often, they wouldn't be accepted.
If you use any character, they are automatically stripped of all their equipment and powers and can earn them back in-universe by purchasing expensive "power orbs" that would grant the character one of the character's powers, pieces of equipment, training and experience in something, etc.
The system of setting up a character was somewhat flexible; I RPed as Emile from Halo, and since I had a very low power cap, I was allowed to start as Emile but without his armor (i.e. a super soldier that is not nearly as powerful, but still a super soldier). On the other hand, someone else was RPing as something that was basically a god, so they started out as a completely average person... ish...
There's a long-term plan, lore, money is kept in a google spreadsheet, GMs run the city districts and can set up their own quests to either expand in the lore, give players a chance to earn money or gain items, or establish new settings or factions.
Early on, we were basically using the quests to drive the plot, give the characters benefits, and help bring characters together, but that might have changed.
The entire RP is set to take years, if memory serves.

Oh, and the actions of the characters have consequences for the most part. There's some grace given; i.e. if someone raises a weapon towards your character, you have a post to be able to respond, and there's a good chance that even if your action doesn't help you much, they won't kill you; though it will probably have serious repercussions.
As an example, one guy tried to walk into the middle of the most fortified place in the city (at the time) and assassinate a VIP and then leave. He made it to the gate. But because he didn't actively attack anyone, instead of him dying, he was just severely weakened and had all of his stuff taken (basically started at square one and took active intervention from other players to get him out of that situation).
Another example is when... Sans the skeleton swam away from the group to get the loot by himself and an enormous shark grabbed him (it was planned to be in the story, but because he swam off on his own, he aggroed it). He died.

But yeah, it's a good RP. And if the GMs are great (for the most part, they were), then you'll have a great time.

Sounds like fun!
I would probably join it if it didn't feel so convoluted ^^' That much people posting that much frequently? I am bound to get lost real quick and fail to follow up in time! XD

That group is huge!!!

 

[Hall Kervean]

Sounds like fun!
I would probably join it if it didn't feel so convoluted ^^' That much people posting that much frequently? I am bound to get lost real quick and fail to follow up in time! XD

That group is huge!!!

There's a discord if ye wanted to join.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

There's a discord if ye wanted to join.

Ehhh, I appreciate the offer but I would only be watching for a while, at least until this semester is over and I can actually compromise on more things to do ^^'
I'd be just lurking over there for a month or so XD

 

[Slade]

I don't really think it's RPNation specifically as much as it is the RP community at large. I've done it. You've done. We've all done it. We have a ghosting epidemic of sorts going on. Don't know how that came to be, though when I first started out I was pretty confused why other players would just drop out without a word after a few days/weeks. I was pretty bummed about it at first too, but I gotta be real, you either die a hero or you live long enough to yada yada.

It's much easier to find a good, stimulating RP in 1x1's than group RP's though, at least that's what I've found. You have a lot more control over what's happening, and with the right partner, it feels a lot more like a legit collab than, you know, typical RP (not that there's anything wrong with the latter). That said, the ghosting epidemic is still alive and well there.

 

[Cross]

What we need is.......ghostbusters.

1x1 rpers ghost too. Sometimes it's just good luck finding a reliable partner.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

Sometimes it's just good luck finding a reliable partner.

At least someone who will let you know why they are absent at the moment or why they're leaving. For some reason, this, which is so simple and cordial is not obvious and a common practice for some >.>

 

[beautyofthebeast]

I have the same problem with finding 1x1s; I honestly am struggling to find dedicated partners that don't disappear off the face of the earth; I'm beginning to think someone is following my partners around and just taking them out ten posts into the RP

 

[rae2nerdy]

I actually think it's a matter of age catching up to people. As people get older their lives get busier ( either with work/school/family's etc.) So in that case finding people who have a lot of free time available to them becomes increasingly difficult.

I agree with a previous post - your best bet is to start small, find a group of individuals you enjoy writing with and who you can work out a reasonable posting schedule with.

 

[eyflfla]

I think this may be the issue, that posting may be much easier for you than it is for the people you've met. Different people may need more or less time to post, depending on their inspiration and how much they write. A multi-paragraph response can easily take an hour or more just to write, even if they already know what they want to say. Even a reasonably short post may take a while, especially if the author is stuck, busy, or doing background research for something in their post.
Related to this is time. Not everybody has time or energy to churn out posts at a regular rate, especially if they prefer to write detailed responses. GMs are no exception to this; they have lives too, and have far more work to do in a roleplay than the people who are just writing characters. Work, school, and life in general all get in the way, and naturally they take priority over RPs. It's frustrating when this happens without warning, but that's life.

One way to deal with this in a 1x1 or small group might be to try to choose a time when you think you can all be online to post together, but that would be impractical in a large group and may also fall apart even in a small one due to those issues mentioned above, as well as others. An active OOC chat is also helpful, as it builds relationships between the players, helps them to stay invested, and gives them a way to pass the time while waiting for a post.
Finally, probably the best advice for dealing with this is to 1) clearly state in your posts what your schedule is like and what you'd like in return, 2) be patient, and 3) be persistent. There are people around who post a few times a day, so if that's your thing, great! Others will want to post more often than that, while others will want to post less often. Just look around for something that will make you both happy (flexibility is a good thing!) and don't give up if you don't find exactly what you're looking for. There are so many people and stories around here that there's bound to be something for you, and if not, you can always make your own and try to gather like-minded people to you. It may or may not work, but you can always try again!

I get all that, really I do. My final straws are broken when 1) the posters are posting elsewhere 2) everyone said they were still interested 3) A group of 8 people can't muster more than one post between them in a week - After all expressly said they were still interested in the RP. - Even the GM

And GMS have lives too, yeah, sure. But like another poster mentioned, you ought to at least be able to reply to a tag within a few days. My final anger comes from posting in several interest threads asking what was going on, and not getting a response after a week. I hold GMs to a higher standard, they should have a clue what they're getting into.

At least someone who will let you know why they are absent at the moment or why they're leaving. For some reason, this, which is so simple and cordial is not obvious and a common practice for some >.>

When I joined this site I read a lot of people's requirements and to that end I don't ghost on RPs. There was a 1x1 I was in, and it wasn't working for me, so I said so. I did let one thing ghost actually. It was a small thing I wanted to run and only 1 person expressed interest, to which I replied to. And then nothing happened. It required 3 or 4 people to run, so I figured it would be self evident that it was dead. And I did make the last post.

People get ghosted on, so they ghost on others and the whole site ends up dead.

 

[Lappi]

I find it a epidemic around here. It sucks making a RP or joining a RP and it ends up dying after 2 pages.
It made me quit RPN recently for around a month.

 

[Darkmaster006]

We're all dead, I guess. Don't give up so soon, though. Maybe just leave for a while and then come back; but ultimately you just have to find the right people. Maybe talking OOC a tad would help? Who knows.

 

[eyflfla]

I find it a epidemic around here. It sucks making a RP or joining a RP and it ends up dying after 2 pages.
It made me quit RPN recently for around a month.

I think the only way to curb it is to not contribute to the problem. Hold ourselves to a higher standard, make an effort to post, let others know if you can't (honestly a quick post of "hey I am busy with work/class/family in town for a few days" would do soo much for attitude), and don't ever ghost on a thread. Just because others will be jerkfaces and wander off and let their group down doesn't mean we should either. And I aint trying to preach at you specifically, I'm just doing a little soapbox thing.

I may have gotten a 1x1 partner out of this, so perhaps there is hope.

 

[eyflfla]

Welp nothing came out of the one I expected to die.

Another one had 2 posts and then it died. And neither of those posts was from the GM.

WTF is wrong with people?

Players being fickle, I can get, sure. But you'd think a GM would have an interest in keeping their thread going. They have lives too blah blah blah --- You'd think they'd make 1 flipping post in their RP in the two weeks since they started it.



I've gotten a few potential 1x1 partners and at least one of them got a cool thing going with me. So there's that.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Welp nothing came out of the one I expected to die.

Another one had 2 posts and then it died. And neither of those posts was from the GM.

WTF is wrong with people?

Players being fickle, I can get, sure. But you'd think a GM would have an interest in keeping their thread going. They have lives too blah blah blah --- You'd think they'd make 1 flipping post in their RP in the two weeks since they started it.



I've gotten a few potential 1x1 partners and at least one of them got a cool thing going with me. So there's that.

Yeah I was asked to make the RP for a friend and kind of expected her to take over, but she never did. I've been working on college apps recently so I've stayed away from detailed rps like the one I started.

 

[eyflfla]

Well thanks for chiming in. It's nice to know.

But you're not the only one doing it.

 

[BackSet]

Yeah I I yeah this happens to me too. Lucky for me most roleplays don't even start before they die so I don't have time to grow close to my characters. Others die way late so at least I got a good run out of the character before the roleplays death. And hey, now I have another character I could use in another rp possibly.

 

[eyflfla]

I hold GMs to a higher standard. If you're going to run the show at least have the wherewithal to try to keep it going.

One passenger can jump ship and the rest can keep the boat a float, but a captain that disappears is a shit heel. A cruise that sells tickets but then never leaves port is a shit deal.

 

[StoneWolf18]

I believe that this response might be vital here:

There are many factors at play here, seeing as we’ve all done it. Dropped a roleplay without saying a word.

First and foremost, emergencies come up. If I had a partner in the hospital or with family issues going on, I wouldn’t force them to post because that’s much more important. Going along with that, one has to understand that real life comes before roleplaying. I have shamelessly dropped partners when feeling swamped with class work and that isn’t something people should be afraid to do.

Next, you have the oddity of xF (xenForo’s) thread watching alert system. Not many people realize that if you don’t check on a thread each or every other log in, the site thinks you’re no longer interested and may or may not show alerts for it until you revisit it. So it’s more than likely that if you’re not using PMs or not tagging your partner in a thread when replying, they could’ve not seen it.

Then we have my final point, taking initiative. Sometimes people need a gentle poke as the confrontation and possibly of their partner getting made or upset is too much for them to cope with, so they try to simply back out quietly instead. So instead of waiting for your partner to come to you, why don’t you go to them. Start a casual conversation, “Hey, how’ve you’ve been?” Which progresses into “If you’re no longer interested I completely understand, just let me know!”

So, can it be that people are unreliable and flakey? As someone who has had many roleplays die after the first post, it can. But is everyone unreliable and inconsiderate? No.

TL; DR - Don’t be so quick to assume.

My lil’ two cents.

Not only that, but you know what the easiest way to remedy this problem is?

GM your own roleplay.