I recently started a new Star Wars roleplay and have been actively trying to recruit more users to join. Besides just bumping the interest check - I'm curious what else I can do to make the thread more attractive to a wider range of users. I've been thinking on a few points of concern that I'm eager to hear people's thoughts on...
1. Pre-Determined Roles - Typically, pre-determined roles make it a lot easier for me as a GM to world build and plan out a general plot arch for the story. However, I know pre-determined roles can also hinder the creative freedom of character building which may be a turn off to potential applicants. What are your preferences?
2. Discord OOC - I'm aware this one has been a hot button topic, but I use discord for most of my OOC plotting and chatting. Because of this, I usually opt to make discord mandatory for my threads so that non-discord users don't get left in the dust trying to plot on RPN when everyone else is essentially instant messaging and plotting on discord. For this one, I guess my biggest question is why there is such a divide on discord vs. non discord threads. Would it be better to make discord optional and let people fend for themselves when plotting with other users?
3. Fancy Posts/Coding - I used to find coding and fancy posts SO intimidating, but once I got the hang of them, I fell in love with them. For my interest check, I used a fancy post that admittedly can be a little tricky to navigate if you're not familiar with fancy posts in general. I never require fancy posts for any of my threads, but a lot of my applicants use them. I'm curious if this scares non-fancy post users away or if it's a relative non-issue? I've debated adding an uncoded version of the interest check below the coded version for ease... but am unsure if this would make much of a difference.
4. Writing Sample - so this one's been a personal grapple of mine for a while. For most of my threads, I request a writing sample be submitted with the application to ensure that the user is writing at the appropriate level (i.e. they're capable of the post length requirement, it isn't littered with confusing grammatical errors, and that I can read it and remain engrossed in their story telling without feeling like I'm proof-reading) Admittedly, I've turned away a couple applicants because their writing sample was not up to par, but at the end of the day I'd rather have high quality writing with fewer users than sacrifice the integrity of the posts for more members. When you see that a thread has a writing sample requirement - does it make you more hesitant to join the thread?
Anyways - would love to hear feedback on any of these topics and would be willing to link the interest check if anybody has constructive criticism to offer!
1. Pre-Determined Roles - Typically, pre-determined roles make it a lot easier for me as a GM to world build and plan out a general plot arch for the story. However, I know pre-determined roles can also hinder the creative freedom of character building which may be a turn off to potential applicants. What are your preferences?
2. Discord OOC - I'm aware this one has been a hot button topic, but I use discord for most of my OOC plotting and chatting. Because of this, I usually opt to make discord mandatory for my threads so that non-discord users don't get left in the dust trying to plot on RPN when everyone else is essentially instant messaging and plotting on discord. For this one, I guess my biggest question is why there is such a divide on discord vs. non discord threads. Would it be better to make discord optional and let people fend for themselves when plotting with other users?
3. Fancy Posts/Coding - I used to find coding and fancy posts SO intimidating, but once I got the hang of them, I fell in love with them. For my interest check, I used a fancy post that admittedly can be a little tricky to navigate if you're not familiar with fancy posts in general. I never require fancy posts for any of my threads, but a lot of my applicants use them. I'm curious if this scares non-fancy post users away or if it's a relative non-issue? I've debated adding an uncoded version of the interest check below the coded version for ease... but am unsure if this would make much of a difference.
4. Writing Sample - so this one's been a personal grapple of mine for a while. For most of my threads, I request a writing sample be submitted with the application to ensure that the user is writing at the appropriate level (i.e. they're capable of the post length requirement, it isn't littered with confusing grammatical errors, and that I can read it and remain engrossed in their story telling without feeling like I'm proof-reading) Admittedly, I've turned away a couple applicants because their writing sample was not up to par, but at the end of the day I'd rather have high quality writing with fewer users than sacrifice the integrity of the posts for more members. When you see that a thread has a writing sample requirement - does it make you more hesitant to join the thread?
Anyways - would love to hear feedback on any of these topics and would be willing to link the interest check if anybody has constructive criticism to offer!
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