Viewpoint RP veterans, what have you observed has changed over time in roleplays ?

[A Sparkling Zombie]

I don't think the question was derailing the thread.

Nah, you're good. I'm a mouthy brute. I won't shut up about lit/semi-lit without imposing the constraint, when the topic is about how the scene has evolved, not about why that particular nomenclature is or is not flawed. I was imposing it more for myself if not anyone else, lol.

 

[Darling_Canines]

WOOP I FORGOT TO ANSWER TO EVERYTHING KUFDHBQSKEUHFN SORRY. But yeah ZombZomb don't worry about deerailing the convo. What y'all were talking about is interesting and I'm super down to read your ramblings. That counts for all of you, please. Ramble and explain and over explain al you want. I can't speak for everyone else but in my case, I'm always going to find it interesting worth the time to ponder over !!!!

 

[Rayder]

The fandoms that are most popular tend to change over the years.

 

[Darling_Canines]

The fandoms that are most popular tend to change over the years.

That surprised me actually! I was thinking people in roleplay forums tend to stick to written works that they are super familiar with, to really explore the weird crevices and sides of an already written story and twist/spin it with their own takes. And that usually takes a while to develop! Even for finding people that you are compatible with would probably be easier with older fandoms right?

But on the other hand I can kind of understand the thrill of "the next shiny new thing" inciting people to want to explore newer stuff even if they aren't familiar with it.

 

[Rayder]

That surprised me actually! I was thinking people in roleplay forums tend to stick to written works that they are super familiar with, to really explore the weird crevices and sides of an already written story and twist/spin it with their own takes. And that usually takes a while to develop! Even for finding people that you are compatible with would probably be easier with older fandoms right?

But on the other hand I can kind of understand the thrill of "the next shiny new thing" inciting people to want to explore newer stuff even if they aren't familiar with it.

Not only that. Waves of new roleplayers arrive to the scene every few years with new fandoms that are valid for their generation.

 

[chaotic cat cutie]

Oh good, I'm really glad you don't mind people discussing it because I did like touching upon that topic.

The use of language and class systems shouldn't ever be used to make people feel inferior. Either way around.
It shouldn't feel disrespectful seeking people who communicate at a level, frequency, abundance I do and sacrifice my own creative worth for fear of offending someone.

That just makes me sick to my stomach. The fact that the way language is used. The fact that someone can't say they are more well read or literate then you because that offends you personally. It truly baffles my mind.

Achievements are not used to make others feel inferior.

However, if you feel inferior. Perhaps you should work harder to get to a place you want to be or just stick to the roleplaying you enjoy. To complain about other people's way of roleplaying is rather futile.

It's language. People use it in different ways to be creative and communicate to people.
There is no vendetta with it. It's just is a class system. And it's free to do so I mean it's not like your paying for an experience here.

So, as you can tell. I just woke up from a nap. *rubs eyes*

 

[Caroline1539]

Even for finding people that you are compatible with would probably be easier with older fandoms right?

Absolutely not! I've got a handful of older fandoms I really enjoy digging into no matter when or why or how someone wants to explore them, but finding compatible partners is nearly impossible. And since no one wants to do crossovers, I'm out of luck until another blue moon passes by.

I will say, though, that it's much easier to make friends with niche and obscure fandoms, simply by virtue of you liking the same thing! So it's a double edged sword. Great friends, extremely low chance of finding said friends.

 

[davy]

I'm "literate" by any measure, but I'm also not a huge fan of the word as used for RP planning. Everyone involved can read just fine, and the vast majority can write as well as they talk if they really wanted to. No one is illiterate, and it feels kinda crappy to people who actually can't read much to borrow the word for a new meaning like that.

Not RP, but I made a few fast friends over A Tale of Two Cities as a teenager because so few people actually want to do fandom stuff about that book. Good to know that rare fandom friendships are still going strong

I wonder where the Neopets/Gaia pickup games for kids and teens happen these days. I'd guess probably social media and MMOs? I was only ever in a couple (90s/09s kid, parents afraid adults would sneak onto the forums and kidnap me so I was only brave enough if they went out and left the dial up on), I was completely unprepared when I joined "we're half-animal became we were experimented on" on Neopets and someone's having their character get shocked by an NPC scientist with a cattle prod. I think I was expecting if to be more like when some neighbor kids would say "let's play cats" or "let's play wolves".

I guess I LARPed and used miniatures without dice (beanie babies, plastic animals and barbies count, right?) way more than I did casual text RP.

Do friends still force OCs and favorite canons into settings they don't belong in so they can RP together without being in the same fandoms? I had some good times doing that.

 

[A Sparkling Zombie]

Oh good, I'm really glad you don't mind people discussing it because I did like touching upon that topic.

The use of language and class systems shouldn't ever be used to make people feel inferior. Either way around.
It shouldn't feel disrespectful seeking people who communicate at a level, frequency, abundance I do and sacrifice my own creative worth for fear of offending someone.

That just makes me sick to my stomach. The fact that the way language is used. The fact that someone can't say they are more well read or literate then you because that offends you personally. It truly baffles my mind.

Achievements are not used to make others feel inferior.

However, if you feel inferior. Perhaps you should work harder to get to a place you want to be or just stick to the roleplaying you enjoy. To complain about other people's way of roleplaying is rather futile.

It's language. People use it in different ways to be creative and communicate to people.
There is no vendetta with it. It's just is a class system. And it's free to do so I mean it's not like your paying for an experience here.

So, as you can tell. I just woke up from a nap. *rubs eyes*

To be clear, speaking only for myself, I don't care if someone has preferences. I care about how the "lit" nomenclature might be influencing those preferences, how it might be shaping someone's perceptions of other people who have different styles or preferences, and how it suggests this idea that writing the most words is the golden standard for roleplaying. Because the impression that I've always gotten is that the terms are really more about word count, that grammar and vocabulary are secondary requirements at best, particularly when someone is distinguishing themselves between lit and adv lit.

As I kind of mentioned before, I went from one forum that uses the nomenclature to one that does not. On the latter, at least when it comes to groups, there is rarely a mention of length requirements, except from GMs, like me at the time, who came from communities that did place emphasis on length and hadn't spent much time in that site's culture. Since having become more ingrained on that particular site, I...

• Improved more, because I could then focus on the actual quality of my writing, not on meeting an arbitrary minimum length.
• Learned to stop having a knee-jerk reaction, or assumptions about a player, when encountering a small post, and, again, instead learned that there can be great roleplayers who choose to write less.
• Stopped caring as much if people wrote more than me, since people were no longer being comparatively labeled based on the sizes of their output.
• Reduced my anxiety over whether I was giving someone a big enough post.
• Came to appreciate flexibility in post size when another partner can be on that same page, because 400 words aren't really needed when two people are just sitting and talking, or when there's a combat scene.

I've been doing play-by-post for nearly two decades. I've seen the sentiments in bullets 2-3 in other people, both from the forum I started on and here on this board.

And, like, I'm so tired of the notion that people who write less must be insecure or intimidated (a descriptor I've seen in another thread) of players who write more, or that they must be newbie. Yes, sometimes those things are true, but people might choose small posts because...

• They are more about the gaming aspect of roleplay and not about the writing aspect.
• They want to focus on details that are of direct value to the game; they are more plot- or action-oriented, not literature-oriented.
• They favor roleplays that move quickly. Short posts complement speed best.
• They may exercise a condensed style of writing over a more verbose one.

It is true that there can be just as much mud-slinging from shorter-post writers, and I feel like the "lit" classification system exacerbates the issue. Both camps are working within a system that assigns merit based on post size. How does that not tempt people into slinging mud? Lol. Also, how would you feel if you were a highly imaginative person, who writes well with good grammar, and your posts are dubbed as being beneath "literate" status because you only write a paragraph on average?

In general, I don't think a length-based classification is great. I think it emphasizes the wrong aspect of roleplaying. It prompts people to focus on quantity over quality. RPN's old scheme sounded wise, based on Nerdy's description. But if a length-based classification scheme had to be used, "short, medium, long" at least removes the connotations that someone must be better or lesser than someone else based on how much they write. It doesn't imply that someone is a more advanced roleplayer just because they choose to write several hundred words every post.

 

[chaotic cat cutie]

Thank you for the quote and input

 

[A Sparkling Zombie]

Or if someone is set on having such a system, then maybe "literature" would be the better word over "literate"? The model still creates an echelon in which people will kick down or punch up at others, and it still makes it sound like one style of roleplaying is superior to another, but at least then the implications are more around artistry and less about an alleged level of competency/experience in the written language.

 

[Hyde.]

To avoid sounding like a cranky ol' person, I'm gonna name off some of the positives I've noticed.

I think Roleplaying as a whole has become more acceptable than it was when I was a kid. When I was younger, I had to repeatedly explain that the RP I partook in was not the NSFW kind, but that I just liked writing about people who had powers and went on journeys together. Nowadays, it seems like everyone and their mother has a D&D group, so it's much easier to explain. It also feels like Roleplayers as a whole are getting better at communicating, planning, and setting boundaries for themselves. Nobody warned me about Creepy McCreeps in the Roleplaying space when I was a bab, so I was taken advantage of more than once, but I see forums like these nowadays that not only seek out to protect Roleplayers, but also openly discuss these issues. I won't say that the hobby is completely safe, nothing really ever is, but it's getting safer, more acceptable, and more accepting, which I think is great.

 

[sukaithemoonlord774]

EDIT: Sorry Mods! It seems I've posted this in the wrong section at first. Thank you for moving it to the right place!

Greetings to you! Thank you for stopping by!
Last time I joined a roleplay community and actively did collaborative writing was in the 2010s and only decided to come back to it recently. And wow things have both very much changed...and also not at all? I haven't started rolelpaying with anyone on here yet, I have just been observing and lurking to understand the current linguo and such. And I thought that it would be fun to talk about how roleplaying online has evolved!

Here's what I've observed so far:

-First off holy shit did RP site rules change and become SO SAFE it's amazing! Back in the day wherever I went, every group roleplay I used to partake in always seemed to turn into an ERP, it might've been just a thing in the communities I was a part of but MAN is it refreshing to find so many cool ideas that only focus on the lore and have fully fleshed out characters that aren't just created with the intent of having them bone.

- Still about safety but people seem to be so much more open about their boundaries !!! Back then I used to only see someone say "No godmodding and no one liners" and that's all. It's so cool how people know exactly what they like and don't like in an RP partner, AND COMMUNICATE IT. Hell I'm so impressed by so many adult roleplayers openly state that they feel uncomfortable roleplaying with minors. Which is so godamn reassuring to see because man, roleplaying used to be like playing a weird game of russian roulette where if you were a kid and RPing with other kids it was so likely that you'd end up talking to some creepy ass people.

- Idk if again that is specific to the communities I used to be in but I miss people referring to character sheets as 'skellies' (short for character skeletons) and other cute names and abreviations for different parts of the RP setup. I was honestly expecting that to have evolved into some whacky terms, but I understand that using less niche language makes rolpelaying more accessible to everyone so I'm not critiquing or anything.

- It's heartwarming to see that theres so much more options out there to customize and 'beautify' an RP thread. Like what you can do with a little bit of coding on here is so godamn cool and I can't help but feel so happy for the writers that love curating aesthetics to go along with their writing. Back then I never came across a website or a place that could do more than allow you to add pictures, and even then it was so hard to size pics correctly you'd often cross a post with a very obnoxious signature at the end or way too tiny pictures you couldn't see jack shit of.

- While looking around this website I can tell when someone's been writing with one specific OC they've had FOREVER. And usually they've evolved and have been so very well fleshed out, but I can just SEE what they might've been in the past when that OC was probably just a knockoff Sasuke character written by an angsty teen with an overly used anime picture as a reference and it cracks me up but also kinda fills me with pride to see y'all sticking to your craft for so long. Kudos to y'all, stay determined.

-I'm so glad post signatures are still a thing. And that there are rules to discourage users from making them too flashy/obnoxious by using gifs or huge pics. But they still have that good old cheesy nature to them with quotes and funny shit. I'm so glad that's still a thing.

-Even after all this time, SCPs and creepypastas are still alive and thriving. I did not expect that lmao.

I think one good thing that I've noticed is that with the safety you mentioned that RP websites are healthier and easier for people to get into. As for one bad thing, I have to agree I've seen some other people's OC's (not on this website, mind you) that aren't that impressive. But, I also think we should give people with OC's more space to flesh them out. They might start as a Sasuke knockoff, but they have potential to become so much more. Just my two cents. Thanks for listening to this.

 

[ValidEmotions]

This might just be due to different websites:

When I first started in an RP community over 10 years ago, a majority of OCs were girls/women. To the point I felt I needed to constantly make male characters (which funnily led to the members of the website thinking I was male myself). Now, I regularly see a more 'balanced' rep of various genders. I think it alludes to the growth of the online writing community as a whole, and a growth in inclusion of different gender identities. ^^ It's lovely to see.

 

[chaotic cat cutie]

This might just be due to different websites:

When I first started in an RP community over 10 years ago, a majority of OCs were girls/women. To the point I felt I needed to constantly make male characters (which funnily led to the members of the website thinking I was male myself). Now, I regularly see a more 'balanced' rep of various genders. I think it alludes to the growth of the online writing community as a whole, and a growth in inclusion of different gender identities. ^^ It's lovely to see.

I noticed this too !

 

[BuggaBoo]

And I thought that it would be fun to talk about how roleplaying online has evolved!

I been rping for like over a decade now. Some things I notice changed:

1) - badges and achievements. Like not really popular but I remember profiles with them listed in several sites including this one? Yeah I think RPN had them
2) - walls greetings and followers. This one used to be big back in the day where you'd lurk and love bomb your followers and friendlies walls with just pages of rando goodness lol. I think RPN used to have followers too.
3) - about page and noob greetings! I remember eeeeeerybody had their abouts filled esp with cravings, ships, fandoms, etc. And when you did your public forum greeting you'd list it there too lol. And like I remember mods used to greet bomb noobies too. Just crickets now lol
4) - mood boards and pics of all your charries clothes, accessories, playlist etc lol
5) - JUMP-INS! Aka 'Opens'. Put up an RP premise. No lore, no CS even. Anyone can join. Drop in, drop out no committments.
6) - Discord. Not popular before but like a mainstay now for lore and OOC
7) - HAREM! HAREM! yes there were harem rps but like I'm talking more like a term when all rpers are chicas and make female charries with only one dude to round out the RP roster. I loved it. Cuz lez-be-honest lol
8) - forcing RPers to use your effin coded CS for apps and having us break them and annoy you with asking for help to fix them lol. Don't miss that at all hell naw
9) - speaking of "skellies" yeah that went around and so did "apps|appies" as in application form to join. Basically a CS. I still say it sometimes too "Hi!! Can I drop an app?" lol
10) -posting orders. Kinda miss it but not really? Like it was nice to know when your turn was coming but sometimes when you the last in post order you kinda have the most to react to so double edge sword lol. But yeah not too popular

 

[nerdy tangents]

BuggaBoo RPN still has followers and badges.

You have to sign up to patreon to get the badges now but they are still a thing. I am pretty sure you also get a nifty change to your username color too.

Followers - if you follow someone it shows up on their profile. Just click their icon first button is (follow) then (ignore) then (start a conversation).

 

[chaotic cat cutie]

Google Docs is an amazing place to organize roleplays and roleplay.
I was convinced I was the only person to do this but nope it's really catching on!
I love it when things are organized in a doc or like your roleplay experience is separated into organized chapters.
I've noticed some using notion as well. Which is equally as great for organization.
No tiny text or high contrast to fight with. I'm considering experimenting with notion

Some small observations I've noticed.

 

[yikespsychology]

I'm old—I don't remember the first place I RP'd, but it went from chatrooms (MSN, Yahoo, Aim) to forums and now seems to be going to chat (Discord).

Because the Yahoo chatrooms were active with RPers, the group RPs were really well done and actually went somewhere. However, I notice on forums (I'm not sure about this one) that they tend to die relatively quickly or don't start at all.

Back then, it wasn't always about the extra details. I was new to RP, but I remember a lot happening in just a few paragraphs. I love a good long post nowadays, but some of the quick back-and-forth replies and the plot to them really stuck with me!

Super detailed planning, too. I don't do a lot of detailed planning now unless I'm gushing with my partner over chat or something like that, but basically RP it in chat before writing up a post on it. It's not my favorite thing to do anymore, but planning is still fun, and gushing is extra fun. Lol.

 

[StrixDesmodus]

I've noticed the tried and true "generic" roleplays are mostly gone aside from the academy ones. Like, no more animal packs or herds, no more biopunk laboratories, no more broad-spectrum mythical creature rps.
This kind of makes me sad.


What I actually do like, though, is that I'm seeing phrases llike "literate rpers only" a lot less and instead people are actually articulating their length, style, and formatting preferences in ways that are non-judgemental and that I can actually understand.
Back when people used only one or two words to describe that kind of preference, it was often impossible to know what they meant, except for the choice individuals who used it as a method for bullying. The inconsistencies between different circles on what they mean by "semi-lit' still gives me pause.

 

[SkyGinge]

* Between Gaia and RPN, since the former's heyday, there has been an increase in the complexity of the window dressing for posts. The incorporation of css into bbcode results in some cool things, but has made roleplaying more inaccessible, since many coders, and the roleplayers who use their designs, don't account for usability. Like, poor font color and size has always popped up, but now there are tiny boxes, a lack of scrollbars in said boxes, and camouflaged/not-easily-decipherable buttons to also contend with.

* The roleplayer demographic has aged. Minors, at least here, struggle to find roleplays as the older demographic keeps them out and indirectly buries minor-friendly groups/1x1 requests, which will probably contribute to the decline in forums as a medium, if not maybe the hobby as a whole. I mean, RPN'S design is a culprit in the issue, too, but yeah. (Edit: I tacked on the last sentence as an afterthought while on my phone, and it's a poor choice of words. RPN isn't at fault, but it would be nice if more could be done to give minors space to enjoy/get into the hobby.)

I agree with basically everything you've said, but these two resonated strongly with me. My best years in RPing were all done as a minor (14-18). I was never interested in doing sexual or even romantic RPing, and I found and created several group RPs which were purely about the storytelling experience. These years not only solidified my love for writing, but drastically improved my writing technique and gave me the chance to write alongside some wonderful people - no doubt it was also the same for countless others. I understand being uncomfortable with RPing with a minor in a 1x1 setting (because predatory weirdos exist even here), but the amount of group RPs nowadays that straight up ban young writers makes me sad.

I've also never been a big fan of heavy BBCode - its implementation created a sort of pandora's box which only seems to have gotten worse over the years. Accessibility is becoming less of an issue because the most prominent coders account for different site themes/mobile version. Rather it's the fact that it creates a barrier to entry a lot of the time, both for aspiring GMs trying to sell their story and sometimes for people just getting a post up full stop. You can't simply rock up on the site with an idea and a dream - now you also have to make sure your interest check stands out in the crowd through basically teaching yourself basic code. I understand that visual design helps to inspire some people, but frequently my experience has been that coding has acted as a distraction which has made what should be quite a simple task of writing a paragraph or two of response turns into an arduous journey to make immaculate coding.

On the whole 'literate' debate, I've always hated this nomenclature - I hated it even when I was somebody who was snobby about post detail. My attitude has always been quality>quantity, but because the nomenclature is still commonplace and has some usefulness in terms of prescribing certain expectations, I've always felt somewhat pressured to assign the language everybody else is using to my own RPs. It's usefulness comes from how widespread it is, but I remember debating back in the day when there were the three-tiered detail categories that it's very difficult to come up with alternative language/groupings.

Finally, it feels to me that over the last 10 years (at least in the pseudo-'detailed' circles I tend to keep) everything has gotten a lot more focussed on planning, with Discord revolutionising OOC conversation. There are certainly a lot of advantages to this. The RPers I've been blessed with in my current RP have embraced my longing for writers to come in with different plot and worldbuilding ideas, which adds so much interest and depth to the world and the narrative we're striving to create. Even things like having a rough character arc in mind weren't commonplace among even very detailed circles here back in the mid 2010s. However, this also makes it feel like it's way more of a commitment to join and be involved in a group RP than back in the day. Back then it felt like you could approach an RP with a half-idea for a character and just dive in to interacting with others. I also find myself getting stressed out because Discord makes it harder to 'compartmentalise' RPing.

I've been away from the scene for too long to notice too many other trends. Appreciate a lot of the insights in this thread, but especially everything Zombie said. Some of the writing, worldbuilding and pure storytelling that happens nowadays is miles ahead of what was common back in the day. But it all just feels a bit heavier to me, which might just be because adult life and depression sucks, but I can't help but wonder if it all makes RPing more intimidating to get into in the first place.

 

[A Sparkling Zombie]

Some of the writing, worldbuilding and pure storytelling that happens nowadays is miles ahead of what was common back in the day.

What you said about Discord is true. I wonder if roleplayers being older is part of it too - maturity slowing people down, developed minds needing more enrichment/accuracy, that we have more years of experience and knowledge to create deeper stories. I would wager that most teens, wherever their games may exist, plot and create much at the same level that we did, at least when there is not an adult guiding hand.

 

[SkyGinge]

What you said about Discord is true. I wonder if roleplayers being older is part of it too - maturity slowing people down, developed minds needing more enrichment/accuracy, that we have more years of experience and knowledge to create deeper stories. I would wager that most teens, wherever their games may exist, plot and create much at the same level that we did, at least when there is not an adult guiding hand.

This is definitely at least a little true, but even back in the day I was often RPing with people in their 20s - the RPer I had probably the best character interaction with in an RP was herself at least in her 30s, if not older. Similarly I had some very fruitful plotting conversations with a 17 year old on here only a couple of months ago, and whilst my ideas are perhaps a bit more refined now, I honestly think I was on the whole far more creative as a teenager than I am now. None of this is to disparage the hard work and the creativity that did exist back then, but it feels like as a whole the 'detailed' side has shifted to expansive lore and a far greater depth of worldbuilding and character-crafting than was commonplace a decade ago. Maybe this comes partly as the general age of RPers here has gotten older, but I wonder if there are other cultural and societal influences at play. I suspect that some of it has been a side-effect of standards of communication increasing - trigger warnings and 'no-go' areas are often clearly outlined, and Discord itself means that it's far easier to get to know your fellow writers, to plot in real time with them, and even to iron out issues. Having immediate access almost all the time to your writing buddies means you view more as proper people, which helps you to write and plan more considerately.

I also don't think it's necessarily true that more mature RPers tend towards deeper stories. Certainly we've had a broader experience of life's ups and downs to draw on, but for many people RPing is an escape, and they simply want to just have fun playing around with a fictional character. I may now value deeper themes and have a clearer idea of the importance of conflict in character writing, but to an extent I think age has made me less inclined towards really thorough, 'deep' RPing worlds. I used to be obsessed with writing and being part of 'truly original' stories here, as if anything is really truly original under the sun. This expressed itself, like you've written out, in looking down on other writers, in judging them for not writing as well as others or as long posts as others. Now I recognise that for basically all RPs, familiarity is the key ingredient to success. A broad yet simple set-up which plays into clear and well-defined genre tropes is enough to inspire creativity and get willing partners on board - you don't need a full wikipedia page of lore and worldbuilding notes. It's supposed to be a hobby after all, and if something takes a lot of time and effort to both understand and contribute towards it can quickly become a slog.

 

[Metro]

As someone who has typically Roleplayed on forums designed around an overarching theme and never like on facebook or tumblr where the site itself is designed within a media platform, the style used has DRASTICALLY changed. I remember when proboards was the most common one used, and they were simple with minor cosmetic and functionality updates. They were fun, and looking at them now, very nostalgic. But now I'm on boards that are Jcink or an equivalent, and they are SOO customizable that every site is supremely unique and I love that so much. It makes creativity and writing one these sites feel even more genuine and original.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Might be tomorrow before I get a reply up. Mom is volunteering today so I gotta watch the pups. And they’re being little turd blossoms