RP disease ?

[CAP Ireland]

I don't know why, but most RP's I've been following/ been in/ applied have died very quickly due to one or two members walking into the sunset or forgetting about it completely.


Most have been newish members but their dedication was so intense it seems odd that they would just forget about it last minute.


I'm beginning to think that there should be an unspoken rule that those who have clearly moved on or are simply not participating in the RP anymore should be either removed from the roleplay, replaced by an admin or get a strike (with 3 strikes deleting your account).


It's just so frustrating that I spend maybe 2 hours (in total) in an RP for one person to ruin the fun and waste my time.

 

[redribbon]

Well, that's one of the caveats of roleplaying; it's going to happen over and over again, I'm afraid. People RP for certain things-- pairings, exploring new lands, making characters, forging friendships-- and when they don't get what they want, they move on and find it elsewhere. People have to work together to make sure everyone gets what they want out of the RP. It's everyone's responsibility to keep things interesting, moving, and fresh enough to get people to continue replying, much like any novel or movie or any other medium with an audience. If someone leaves or stops replying, I personally think there's something inherently wrong with either the RP itself or the RPers, and the blame falls on everyone, but that's just what I believe.


Isn't there already an unspoken rule that the RP should move on if someone disappears? You could just time skip or something and keep RPing if it means that much to you. Or is it the fact that you spent time with another person only to have them leave that's frustrating? Because I understand that feeling. u_u It sucks.

 

[gabrielle]

I used to really have this problem as well as getting ignored in group roleplays. The way I seemed to rid myself of this issue was coming up with characters that I really loved so that I could use them in more than one roleplay. It saves me the time of spending hours on writing up a character that I might not even get to rp for very long assuming the roleplay will die. Then I started 1x1 roleplaying. It got rid of my problem of being ignored or left behind, and I find in 1x1's it's easier to talk to your partner in OOC. With that being said, you get to actually have communication, and the two of you get to talk out differences instead of just dropping the rp. I don't know if doing this would help with you, but it's just what worked for me.

 

[Thorn Darkblade]

I have this problem CONSTANTLY. It usually happens due to players simply stop posting, or vanishing, or whatever, although it has happened a few times on my end as well.

 

[EMPIRE OF ASHES]

Yeah, that's happened a lot of times from as far as I can remember. Though sometimes you strike it lucky. Like right now, I've got a group of skype friends that I met from an RP more than four years ago, and every so often, we still do RP together - even though the thread that we're working on is extremely slow going. Like, I'm talking somebody posts at least once a month and that's it. I posted in that thread maybe just yesterday, and the last person to do that was in February. We still hang around and talk and stuff, though it's just that people are busy doing their own things to RP all the time. I think I'm kind of the one in the group that's got the major RP-ing issues - I love it, and I keep doing it, even when I promise myself that "Nope, not gonna happen".


But, yeah. Outside of them? I have an expectancy for RPs. If it doesn't survive more than two days, then there's a chance that it's going to die very soon. Or more than three / five days without a single post being made, and chances are, it's dead. Or close to dead. Most people just don't post after a while for some reason, who knows why. (' )

 

[Kylesar1]

For me, it seems to die when nothing can really happen. In other words, no potential for growth. For example, when I join the magical school type RPs................what happens? I mean you go to class, talk to students, then what? To me, these thrive on numbers, not quality, which is probably why those aren't for me. I came to that conclusion after joining 4 with the same results


I sit for a far longer time thinking of what to say than anything. Another thing is definitely players leaving without a trace.

 

[Joe Carroll]

As many times as I've seen RPs die for similar reasons (lack of commitment by the players, members disappearing and leaving others hanging, out of character infighting, etc), I was always confused by a particular moderator I saw back in my AOL days. She would create a particular group RP, get everyone excited to join and create characters, and then inevitably disappear due to real life issues (usually because she did theatre work and didn't have time to sign online for the RP she created). Eventually the other players would be lost because the group had no direction, people would start to complain, then she'd show up when many left and would become upset that the players didn't just keep things going in her absence. She would shut down the group at some point.


Then, a year or so later, an almost identical group would be formed by the same mod. All of the above would happen again. Later, rinse repeat. Same issues, same result, same complaints, RP shut down.


And again, reopened, same thing. Several times.


Bit of a "disease" there, for sure. If you know you're too busy to moderate a group but expect others to run it for you so you can deal with your life but not think they can deal with their own, why form one? It always left me scratching my head when I'd see it happen repeatedly.

 

[Archie]

The one biggest reason that almost always is the case is nobody takes leadership and tries to get everything moving. This happens two ways: usually the creator loses interest (or hope, or just is lazy) and nobody steps up. Uncommonly you get drama, which really is the product of two people trying to take it in different directions.


Honestly people should try to get it moving but if people are going one way, swim with the crowd. the most valuable kind of RPer, owner or player, is someone who panics and starts paddling when nothing is happening, and stops when everyone else picks up the oars


That was like poetry I'm proud

 

[MidnightSun]

I like any others have experienced this before, things happen, people forget, ect, but I find that sometimes confronting a person instead of being silent is helpful. There have been times when I ask a person why they have left and sometimes it turns out they never knew it was their turn to reply or something did not go through.


However, if people purposley drop RPs because they are bored or for some other reason than they should step up and say something. Personally I like to use my status to comunicate to people because writing everyone a message is annoying and mobile can be difficult.


I guess sometimes you just have to keep it in the back of your mind when in a group or one on one that you have to sort of expect life happens. It doesn't excuse them, but if they do it constantly to many users then maybe they should get a talking to from a mod for curtesy reasons.


If it becomes a really big problem, talk to them about it, and if it goes bad than I wouldn't stress too much because part of RPing is seeing who clicks and those who stick around are worth it.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

I like roleplaying and I've gone through this many times, but it really comes down to life bein more important. It also takes an incredible amount of energy and effort to rp good.


I don't know about you, but it takes an extraordinary amount of effort for me to imagine something and convey in a way that is easy for others. If you are not in love with the character and your rp, it would be a chore.

 

[Windra]

Been there, done that-- even in my short roleplaying career. In fact, it was the first forum rp I ever joined. It really bummed me out when the host abandoned her own roleplay, because I put a lot of time and care into my character sheets, then and now.


I've moved on though, obviously.~ I've learned the hard way that it's just part of life. :3

 

[RandomBomb]

Yeah, that's going to happen in many of the RP's on here if they don't have someone driving the plot, which is often enough the thread creator. Especially when the story hits around 130 pages and then just dies (no joke, this happened to me...), it hits hard, like no one has time. Also, if the plot is just dragging, put something new in and watch the rp either wither or sprout.


tl;dr avoid school role plays and make sure plot is driven

 

[Sunbather]

Yeah, and I never get why. Like, I was in one, was called PLACEBO. It was so good. The world was good, the OP made really fancy graphics and all, the characters were all good, playerbase was decent. It was great. And for a week or so, it was super fun. But suddenly, noone posted anymore. I'm not sure why. I tried pushing about six times or so, suggested progress, but nothing happened. Crushing.

 

[call me rae]

For me this is usually a matter of time management. And the problem is escalated in a group setting because not only are you trying to manage your own time but you've got to juggle everyone else's schedules too.


It's why the suggestion to have some kind of forward moving plot - and a clear plan of action for what to do in you absence - is important. I work and sometimes my schedule gets hectic and I just can't post often enough to keep something going by myself. Usually if this happens and the group is tight-knit enough I just pick someone from the group - or the group as a whole - to just keep moving along the plot while I handle my real life business.


If my character is holding things up I'll go ahead and give them the all clear to move them out of the center action.


But if the issue is less time management and more an issue of too many chiefs and not enough Indians than I usually go - yeah I don't have to deal with your drama. Bye.


Now when I'm not the one running things I always post the owner when I'm going to be mad busy and just let them know. This is because I hate when people disappear on me and no one like hypocrisy.


From the sound of it though your playing with newer characters who simply might not know to contact people when they have real life issues come up or might not feel comfortable "confronting" people about their lack of interest or whatever.


In that case I follow the two week rule - or twice the expected length for posts. So if your supposed to post every day and two weeks goes bye then the thread is dead and you move on. If your supposed to post like once a week then maybe give it a month and if nothing happens then it's dead and move on.

 

[Idea]

Many people talked about what they think makes an RP live or die, and I myself have touched the subject on other threads, do I won`insist on that point.


One thing I believe helps is understanding other people`s viewpoints. For one, I know that in many rps I`m really excited about at first end up getting boring to me after a while, sometimes getting back up other times not so much. I stil avoid closing any rps I`m on, but it is an important thing to consider. Sometimes the rp just doesn`t go as one would expect, and if the people were newbies, maybe they didn`t realize that was natural.

 

[Gilzar]

There are tons of factors that can go into this, but I'm very glad you've asked this.


Dying roleplays just kind of goes with the business. I can't tell you how many roleplays that I've painstakingly put hours of thought into, only to have them die from inactivity. It's sad when it happens, but don't let it get to you! Roleplays can die for even the smallest of reasons, usually though it's a combination of things. Most of the time it's just due to a lack of interest or just inexperience in a GM.


Since people have done well on this forum to state the major reasons, I'm just going to skip to my opinion.


Now this part is majorly my opinion, but one major pattern that I often see is that some of the most successful roleplays have a very active OOC section going, and I believe firmly that if a roleplay is going to be successful a strong OOC chat is needed. Why? Because this is what makes roleplayers like each other, and gets them excited for the roleplay because they get to work with the wonderful players more! The more comfortable players feel around each other the less stressful posting is going to be, I mean once you know people you really don't have to worry about them jumping on them if you screw up with anything.


Now here's some of my GM advice: If you're having a problem with inactive players the GM needs to do everything they can to get things moving. Often times this usually requires PMing someone directly and asking politely what's up, and wether or not they're still in the rp. Be sure to message them, and not tag them in a comment or something. This is because you can see when they've viewed the message, and they're less apt to ignore. Also, if they're completely off the grid you can just politely set them aside and keep moving forward. Setting someone aside is basically saying that the character had 'business' to attend to or that a sudden family crisis came up and they had to leave ASAP. Always be sure though to make up some good reason why that character isn't interacting anymore so there aren't plot holes!

 

[Atreus]

Kind of already been mentioned, but for me a lot of RPs would die just because I honestly didn't know what I was doing and had bad or boring characters. I think communication before and during the RP is so important so that every is on the same page. I also now tend to gravitate towards 1x1's now and small groups (probably 3 max) which can help with some of the above problems. Just joining/making an rp you really care about and being confident you'll want to work a lot at it and stay excited can be a good step.

 

[ManicMuse]

I have seen this happen so much it kills me. Again it has been touched on but I really find it to ring true, the story/ characters. Sometimes a story has such good set up and then it just falls flat on its face right out the gate. Or at least that is the feeling I get. At times it is by no fault of the creator. It more plays into the characters that have been brought in or how they are played out. However, at the same time I really feel that sometimes it does fall to the creator. I as an RPer do not need the plot spelled out. Yet, having at least a common goal in the beginning or getting prompts from the GM can make a world of difference.


I often compare a group of RPers to a rowing team. If we are all moving in the same direction, things can be amazing and you get that wind in your hair feeling. At the same time too often we come in at different paces and just end up floundering, going in circles. This is why we need someone at the front of the ship calling out the pace, so we know when to put the dang paddles in the water. In the same metaphor that is also why we need a strong well rounded character to carry the paddle to row.