Idea
The Pun Tyrant
So, as most of you who go on the "looking for partner" section at all are probably aware of, one of the labels that was introduced for that section is named "Multiple Settings", essentially giving a more accurate label to search threads that do not just have one specific roleplay in mind and of those roleplays there may not be a specific setting that is predominant, or the RP they are looking for itself has potential genre blending or setting variability that makes it unclear which one it should belong to. Thus "multiple settings" removes the expectations that it should be this or that genre of RP for obvious reasons.
On the other hand, however, there doesn't seem to be anything with a similar function in the "looking for group" section. I can imagine there may be a few reasons for this, a new subforum is probably harder for staff to manage than a new label is for instance or because it might create a "go to" subforum for group RPs that doesn't reflect the actual RPs. That said, creating said subforum is what I'd like to bring to the table today for anyone interested to discuss, argue for or against it, in a civilized manner of course. Of course, there is no guarantee even if the opinion is majorly in favor that it will be impleted, and the reverse is also true, but I still think it's worth discussing this notion.
So, here are a few reasons why it might be a good idea:
1. There is a market for it
Something like a year ago, I started up a superhero-type RP that blended several genres together. The idea was to have this blend of heroes from all kinds of genres and the setting reflected that. Some aspects were ultra-technological, while others were pretty much modern cites, enchanted castles and "wild west" salloons. I'm cutting a lot out obviously (in fact one of the reasons it died is because of my tendency to overcomplicate), but the point is this setting didn't fall strictly on a single genre, and while this one specifically was purposely blending genres, other types of settings would also not be specific. A magitech city could be viewed as either a magical medieval city or an advanced futuristic city. Seeing as how the genre criteria in RPN is based on setting, I'd argue there is room for the idea it belongs in both genres. A tad more on this latter.
Furthermore, every once in a while a player posts in a thread in the "looking for group" subforums which contains more than one potential RP, which they will kickstart depending on interest. If this happens, then it's possible someone might want to do this for potential RPs that do not fall on the same genre.
2. Some people looking for groups more than roleplays
While this was never and still isn't any sort of trend, there are people who out there who do post interest checks just for the sake of finding a roleplay group, not a particular roleplay. They might want to work out the details of what the roleplay's specifics, including the topic, will be about with the group. Of course, as mentioned, one can do this currently, but doing so ties the person down to looking for this group within a specific genre. You may post the thread in fantasy, but if you do, people may assume you are looking for said group for a fantasy roleplay specifically rather than a group in general, and you will miss potential members as a result too.
3.There already IS a "go to" RP location, fantasy
Earlier I mentioned that one potential reason why this isn't already a thing is because of the risk of the "multiple settings subforum" becoming a go to RP location, which expanding a bit more, would be one people would randomly go to without thinking because any little uncertainty would tip the scales for them, or because of the sheer amount of traffic it might get.
However, I would argue that this is not a problem, because it would be a better location for that to happen than where it currently does. Yes, currently the pratice of purposely posting RPs on the wrong section for the sake of obtaining more views on those RPs is something that happens, and those RPs get dumped into the fantasy setting. Usually it's justified with a "technically it's a fantasy", though the "fantasy" element is usually something like unexplained superpowers - which given the modern settings they usually take place in and the fact superpowers aren't exactly magic half the time, makes this rather contrived logic. Even if this wasn't true, some people make their roleplays into fantasy (legitimately this time) to get that extra traffic as well. In other words, the problem wouldn't be appearing anew, it would just be transferred from one subforum to another. Furthermore, I would suggest that the "multiple settings" subforum, due to it's lack of being tied to specific genre expectations would be a better place for this to occur, not forcing players to pointlessly look through threads that don't belong in the section, freeing up space for roleplays that do belong there, and not forcing GMs who just want more traffic to bend their roleplay to fit a specific genre for it.
Still, I understand one might be skeptical. It's a big claim, that there are is a widespread "go to" RP subforum. And well, I wish I could point out a few examples right now, but frankly I'm speaking from memory of what I was told by RP creators and that I witness when I myself was looking for new roleplays, over time here on RPN, not from a specific recent instance. Plus I wouldn't want to be ratting people anyway. I presented my reasons, feel free to believe, not belive me or just simply check for yourself as you see fit.
So, in any case, I'd love to hear you guy's opinions on this subject. Do you think this would be a welcome addition to the site's layout?
On the other hand, however, there doesn't seem to be anything with a similar function in the "looking for group" section. I can imagine there may be a few reasons for this, a new subforum is probably harder for staff to manage than a new label is for instance or because it might create a "go to" subforum for group RPs that doesn't reflect the actual RPs. That said, creating said subforum is what I'd like to bring to the table today for anyone interested to discuss, argue for or against it, in a civilized manner of course. Of course, there is no guarantee even if the opinion is majorly in favor that it will be impleted, and the reverse is also true, but I still think it's worth discussing this notion.
So, here are a few reasons why it might be a good idea:
1. There is a market for it
Something like a year ago, I started up a superhero-type RP that blended several genres together. The idea was to have this blend of heroes from all kinds of genres and the setting reflected that. Some aspects were ultra-technological, while others were pretty much modern cites, enchanted castles and "wild west" salloons. I'm cutting a lot out obviously (in fact one of the reasons it died is because of my tendency to overcomplicate), but the point is this setting didn't fall strictly on a single genre, and while this one specifically was purposely blending genres, other types of settings would also not be specific. A magitech city could be viewed as either a magical medieval city or an advanced futuristic city. Seeing as how the genre criteria in RPN is based on setting, I'd argue there is room for the idea it belongs in both genres. A tad more on this latter.
Furthermore, every once in a while a player posts in a thread in the "looking for group" subforums which contains more than one potential RP, which they will kickstart depending on interest. If this happens, then it's possible someone might want to do this for potential RPs that do not fall on the same genre.
2. Some people looking for groups more than roleplays
While this was never and still isn't any sort of trend, there are people who out there who do post interest checks just for the sake of finding a roleplay group, not a particular roleplay. They might want to work out the details of what the roleplay's specifics, including the topic, will be about with the group. Of course, as mentioned, one can do this currently, but doing so ties the person down to looking for this group within a specific genre. You may post the thread in fantasy, but if you do, people may assume you are looking for said group for a fantasy roleplay specifically rather than a group in general, and you will miss potential members as a result too.
3.There already IS a "go to" RP location, fantasy
Earlier I mentioned that one potential reason why this isn't already a thing is because of the risk of the "multiple settings subforum" becoming a go to RP location, which expanding a bit more, would be one people would randomly go to without thinking because any little uncertainty would tip the scales for them, or because of the sheer amount of traffic it might get.
However, I would argue that this is not a problem, because it would be a better location for that to happen than where it currently does. Yes, currently the pratice of purposely posting RPs on the wrong section for the sake of obtaining more views on those RPs is something that happens, and those RPs get dumped into the fantasy setting. Usually it's justified with a "technically it's a fantasy", though the "fantasy" element is usually something like unexplained superpowers - which given the modern settings they usually take place in and the fact superpowers aren't exactly magic half the time, makes this rather contrived logic. Even if this wasn't true, some people make their roleplays into fantasy (legitimately this time) to get that extra traffic as well. In other words, the problem wouldn't be appearing anew, it would just be transferred from one subforum to another. Furthermore, I would suggest that the "multiple settings" subforum, due to it's lack of being tied to specific genre expectations would be a better place for this to occur, not forcing players to pointlessly look through threads that don't belong in the section, freeing up space for roleplays that do belong there, and not forcing GMs who just want more traffic to bend their roleplay to fit a specific genre for it.
Still, I understand one might be skeptical. It's a big claim, that there are is a widespread "go to" RP subforum. And well, I wish I could point out a few examples right now, but frankly I'm speaking from memory of what I was told by RP creators and that I witness when I myself was looking for new roleplays, over time here on RPN, not from a specific recent instance. Plus I wouldn't want to be ratting people anyway. I presented my reasons, feel free to believe, not belive me or just simply check for yourself as you see fit.
So, in any case, I'd love to hear you guy's opinions on this subject. Do you think this would be a welcome addition to the site's layout?
