Here's what I voted for and I'll go through them individually. I will admit I am about to come off cutting on some of my points. But they are my opinions and how I take RP;
Actually I find the slow, more than the boring to be one of the reasons why a roleplay doesn't succeed. I opt for a Once a Week posting speed, that gives 7 days out of the week to post. I find people lose interest in a plot that does not move. Like two weeks for one post every month is way too slow and it cripples a cohesive story writing.
The other aspect of this is people need to stop doing The First Mission RPs or the Group Just Met RPs. Because it slows down the plot significantly when the characters are part of the introductory phase. I feel like nine times out of teen, introductory my name is Bob and I do X skill, bores an otherwise good plot out of existence.
Not much to say this, but one thing. Location. Location. Location. I have seen it countless times, GMs forgetting to add setting, time, season, weather, architecture and over all design into their RPs. A plot can easily be cleared up with a more defined setting and background. [not every time, but it does help]. Remember Setting is a Character Too
I don't mean too stereotypical in a traditional way. Most of the time, when I think too stereotypical I mean poor execution. Like they have an interesting setup, but ruin it by going the easier route instead of the route that take risk and ask questions.
I have said it before and I'll say it again. A GM has to be flexible enough to give their members the creativity to roam and take risk in the world the GM creates. But a GM should also be able to say No when they have to. It's a balancing act. Not overall too much freedom, but not too much control.
I mean there isn't much I have to say about this. Other than I do believe GMs, that includes myself. Have to be accountable for their actions as well and take responsibility for their actions as well. There's nothing more gob shite than a GM and you having a clear lack of miscommunication and it end up turning into something bigger because a GM and a member couldn't take a step back and say they were making mountains out of molehills. Poor communication is a killer. Member or GM.
Warning; Major Rant about to go on. Disclaimer: Let me Clarify something before anyone says anything about this. This is not directed at anyone. I have text based RP'd for over 12 years and this is an Experience I have Had Over the Whole Course of my RP existence. And is Directed at the Behavior. Not a Specific Person.
This is my biggest pet peeve in Text Based RP community. I do not understand what it is about the Text Based RP community that allows people to put down excuse after excuse for not posting. I come from a place of DnD tabletop RPs. Where I know men in their 40s and 50s, or even guys in their 20s and below. Who can manage to come down to a physical tabletop once a week, and play a damn fucking game.
It's not that hard to manage your time and get a post up at least once a week. You have 7 days. When I was working and doing text based RPs, I posted or half posted when I was either on my lunch break or when I was taking the public bus to work or too home.
Find the time to post. While I understand, work, school, and all of that. It's still an excuse. A believable, excuse, but an excuse. To join a RP means you're going to put the god damn fucking effort into posting. Just because you don't sign a contract, or say anything in words. The moment you put down a character and put in the effort in the OOC with a character that gets accepted, you are saying "yes, I will try to make this an obligation in my life"
I get emergencies. But everyday things everybody else has to deal with too. No. It just won't cut it. Either post. And find a way to manage your schedule. Or don't bother to put a character up.
Because when someone doesn't post. It doesn't just affect You the Person Not Posting. It Affects EVERYONE. It affects the GMs schedule, it affects the members schedule. And you inconvenience everyone in the whole of the RP because you can't seem to put a post up.
Worse is when someone writes me a neat 2 paragraph excuse of why they couldn't post, and they have a back and forth of 6 messages with me. And instead of writing, that 2 little paragraph of why they couldn't have posted, maybe they should have taken that time to write a post.
I try to be lenient, but this is my biggest pet peeve.
Its sad when in real life, the DnD tabletop guys, who got up early, took their kids to school, went to work, and still managed to come to a tabletop RP game that night. But no one bothers to put that effort into a Text Based RP.
Sorry I told you I was going to have a major rant.
This kind of falls into poor writing, unclear or confusing plot, and slow posting speeds. I lose interest if say everyone's posting once every four weeks and the writing is just horrible because everyone's rushing a post instead of putting some time into posting.
I don't know if people are rushing their post. Or if people actually do have poor writing skills. But I have dived into this a few times. People seem to forget to flesh out their characters. What I hate the most, is when a GM has like a 2 paragraph;
Angela walked into her house. And looked around at all her friends. Her friends stared up at her, and she clapped her hands. They gave her even further attention.
"Listen up guys, if we're going to murder someone, we're going to do it right," Angela tells them dramatically. She flips her hair and gives them a cute smile.
^And that's the introduction. I have no sense of who the character is. I have no sense of the plot. It just dives straight into the Plot. With no background information. No fleshed out settings. What city we're in. What Angela's house looks like, etc. Etc. Etc.
And everyone else just follows suit
Tony sits on the couch and smiles. Angela is pretty, always thought so. So of course he was going to go along with it. He just crosses his legs, "All right Angela."
^why does Tony find Angela pretty? Did they have a fling? Did they date? Are they flirting? Who's Tony? What did he do before he got to Angela's place? How did he get to Angela's place?
Basic Writing 101 - Answer these question
Who
What
Why
When
How
And no one ever does it. And it gets a groan out of me sometimes.
I don't have much to say to this. I just wish people knew how to handle situations a bit better. Than drastic over dramatic displays of behavior.