Reviving a dead roleplay that is NOT yours

[Yuuki_Tatsunohi]

Maybe this goes in this section. idk if not feel free to move it in it's proper place with a better prefix!

Okay, so we've all had those roleplays that have died. Things happen: replies are too slow, no one know what to do next once something happened, real life happened. The list goes on and on. We just have to move on from there.

But what if you can't move on? What if, somewhere in the story, you got really hooked to the rp and it dying was one of the worse things to happen? Revive it, right? Repost it again, make an interest check, a banner (off topic question but what happened to those?), tag people who were in it previously to see if they're still game. It's that easy.

BUT WAIT. What if the rp was not originally yours? And added twist, what if the person behind the idea left the site? Maybe they just disappeared, or deleted their account, or got banned? D: So then what would you do then? What are the ethics to reviving a dead rp that was not yours to begin with? Especially with all the circumstances I mentioned?

 

[Diana]

Official Iwaku Stance:

If the member is still active, and you want to continue/restart the roleplay AS IS, you need to ask their permission first. With permission, you can copy-paste stuff as you please, use all their content, etc.

If you want to rewrite the roleplay using the the old roleplay as inspiration and create your own version of the content, can go ahead and just do it. (It would be wise to credit the old roleplay though if your version of the roleplay is almost exactly the same.)

If the member is GONE. Lurker, banned, etc. It's a little trickier:

If you want to continue the roleplay from where it left off, you'll need to start a new thread and link back to the old one giving credit. You will not be able to copy-paste the old roleplay stuff, and you can't take over their old thread. But you can CONTINUE and all content from the new threads and then on is yours to manage. Because the old GM is not there to give their permission, it's not right to copy-paste and snatch their stuff. You dunno what they might be planning for it elsewhere and if they ever came back, they could have a hissy. D:

If you want to remake/rewrite, it is pretty much the same as if they were here. You're writing your own version, so you can do whatever. And if you're mimicking the old one a looot, crediting is the best.

 

[Yuuki_Tatsunohi]

I really wish I could give two ratings, like Love, but Useful is the best thing! Thanks!

 

[Nemopedia]

I'm currently in the progress of reviving an old role play idea that I fell in love with when young but died early. It was on another site that I had joined, but that unfortunately died prematurely. Fortunately, I could track down the original creator of the role play and asked her if I was allowed to take the idea over. She gave me permission and now I'm writing and adding in my own ideas while keeping the base of the story the same. Or trying to.

It is like Diana said, always credit and try to ask for permission. If it isn't possible to ask for permission, because the member is gone, banned, etc... then it gets indeed a little trickier. All you can do is provide as much credit to the original as you can by linking back to the old threads and such.

Another role play that I'm in, and that has been running for a long while, also started under the rule of another. Two others actually (or more, I wasn't around for that), before finally coming under the care of the current GM (shout out to @Wicked) who is doing an amazing job. In her case it was a fandom role play, but she still has a whole section that tells the story of the growth of the role play and gives credit where it is due.