RP Styles! Where did you learn that?

[Kui]

Hi, this is Tai.

Recently joined the website and very much liking the community, however I am still learning the differences between IM (Instant message) roleplayers, which often times lead to 50-100 responses in a day when a roleplay begins. However, with a forum roleplay, people only post 3-4 responses a day? Some even once or twice or thrice a week? Perhaps I have only discovered a few roleplays that follow through with what I am saying, I would love to hear the communities input of experience to give me a better understanding of forum RP. As I am currently hosting one at this time for recruitment, I have been told many things are odd about my RP.

 

[Brovo]

To quickly answer your pacing question: Yes. It's normal for most role plays to vary in pace from several posts a day to 1-2 posts a week. Some are even faster or slower, dependent on the players involved and content expectations. (Ex: Jump-ins are typically faster than traditional CS-based role plays, because jump-ins don't require a CS, you simply post'n'go.) If you're looking for chat role plays on this site, look here and inquire with @Arcadia as he seems to be a chat RP maestro around here. (Though I could be wrong. Chat RP's are generally not my cup of tea.)

#1: This is not meant to be offensive, but is English your first language? It'd be interesting to know if you knew other languages that might be influencing your grammar.

#2: I'm assuming you are talking about this role play.

• It's a lot of detail you're asking people to swallow about the world right away.
• The CS is difficult to read and copy/paste.
• Asking people to e-mail you their character sheets is odd.
• If you're seeking to include rape as an aspect of your role play in graphic detail, you may want to put it in libertine.
• You lock world content away from the players if they're not experienced with the system, but, presumably, since you're new on this site, most people would be new to the system. This will hurt your chances to recruit people.
• You use a stat-based system in your CS, but it's difficult to discern how strong or weak each point value is or means.
• There are a lot of stats. This puts off some role players.
• There's lots of world building (some of it quite creative!), but there doesn't appear to be a central conflict for player characters to attach themselves to. You may wish to add something along those lines, a draw, something for players to see and go "oh! So that's what my character is doing here!"

Beyond that I don't really have much advice.

 

[Kui]

To quickly answer your pacing question: Yes. It's normal for most role plays to vary in pace from several posts a day to 1-2 posts a week. Some are even faster or slower, dependent on the players involved and content expectations. (Ex: Jump-ins are typically faster than traditional CS-based role plays, because jump-ins don't require a CS, you simply post'n'go.) If you're looking for chat role plays on this site, look here and inquire with @Arcadia as he seems to be a chat RP maestro around here. (Though I could be wrong. Chat RP's are generally not my cup of tea.)

#1: This is not meant to be offensive, but is English your first language? It'd be interesting to know if you knew other languages that might be influencing your grammar.

#2: I'm assuming you are talking about this role play.

• It's a lot of detail you're asking people to swallow about the world right away.
• The CS is difficult to read and copy/paste.
• Asking people to e-mail you their character sheets is odd.
• If you're seeking to include rape as an aspect of your role play in graphic detail, you may want to put it in libertine.
• You lock world content away from the players if they're not experienced with the system, but, presumably, since you're new on this site, most people would be new to the system. This will hurt your chances to recruit people.
• You use a stat-based system in your CS, but it's difficult to discern how strong or weak each point value is or means.
• There are a lot of stats. This puts off some role players.
• There's lots of world building (some of it quite creative!), but there doesn't appear to be a central conflict for player characters to attach themselves to. You may wish to add something along those lines, a draw, something for players to see and go "oh! So that's what my character is doing here!"

Beyond that I don't really have much advice.

Thanks! The post is currently being repaired actually, another gave me critique based on that!

Also, on grammar. English is my first language, however . . . I passed High school without knowing what , ; ' " and many other symbols, I didn't even know how to use them. Which is why in college I had struggled to consistently remind myself how to properly word sentences. My lack of experience with the English language on a grammatical level resulted in a strange syntax error that I don't always correct, because in a roleplay environment, I wish to be me and not write like it is a college paper. Honestly, it truly sucks that I don't write like anybody else because people often times comment that I am trying to be arrogant when in reality, I had to teach myself English from grade 1-12 in my first year of college! On top of this, I have a form of dissociation that can chop up my sentences; at times my sentences could look like below

"And many other symbols, didn't know how to use!" (I re-read and picked this out of the sentence haha.)

I am looking for people who are willing to assist me with correcting my forum post though, perhaps you would be willing?

 

[Minibit]

There are as many different ways to roleplay as there are Roleplays! Keep experimenting with what seems fun / sensible, and you'll find the style that fits you.

What is it people are saying is odd? We can give you more specific help with that information.

In the meantime GAME MASTERING & ROLEPLAY MECHANICS has lots of guides and workshops on various ways of running a roleplay! (this forum works for your 'how to make an appealing roleplay' thread, too)

Some staples people look for in nearly all cases are:

• A BASIC NEED-TO-KNOW explanation of the story/plot (example: "this will be a roleplay about super soldiers fighting aliens in outer space!")
• BASIC NEED-TO-KNOW Information about the 'world.' The world is where the story happens, it gives players an idea of what kind of characters they can use and what circumstances those characters may face. (Example: "the story takes place in deep space, mostly aboard Earth-based space ships, but we will probably land on various fictional planets and meet alien species as well")
• An explanation of the rules. Define what is and isn't allowed in your roleplay. Can people create their own NPCs and introduce subplots? Can they play multiple characters? Can they double post? (Example: "players can have up to 2 characters each. I will be doing all the NPC work. Players should mostly stick to the main story, but some small sub plots are okay. Players can be any age so no sexy scenes. No power-playing or God-modding please!")

Once you've got a group and are ready to start, players will expect:

• An OOC thread containing another story/plot summary, and a blank CS.
• An IC thread with a first post that sets a scene the players can easily introduce their characters into
• Some kind of notice, such as being tagged or private messaged, that the RP is ready to start.

Finally, once the roleplay has kicked off, players will expect:

• You to know what is going on with all characters
• You to keep the story focused to some degree. (Example: In the space war example, you could create an Army General NPC who orders the cast to go on alien fighting missions, otherwise your space war story might devolve into characters visiting in the cafeteria)
• You to enforce rules. If someone breaks the roleplay rules, calmly and respectfully let them know and suggest a way to fix it. If a player breaks site rules (such as bullying another player, or spamming), report it.
• You to keep the OOC informed. Update the first post to reflect what is going on in the current story, and let players know what you're planning next so that they can prepare. (Example: "hey guys, General Sanders is gonna call everybody for an assault on the planet soon")

 

[Kui]

There are as many different ways to roleplay as there are Roleplays! Keep experimenting with what seems fun / sensible, and you'll find the style that fits you.

What is it people are saying is odd? We can give you more specific help with that information.

In the meantime GAME MASTERING & ROLEPLAY MECHANICS has lots of guides and workshops on various ways of running a roleplay! (this forum works for your 'how to make an appealing roleplay' thread, too)

Some staples people look for in nearly all cases are:

• A BASIC NEED-TO-KNOW explanation of the story/plot (example: "this will be a roleplay about super soldiers fighting aliens in outer space!")
• BASIC NEED-TO-KNOW Information about the 'world.' The world is where the story happens, it gives players an idea of what kind of characters they can use and what circumstances those characters may face. (Example: "the story takes place in deep space, mostly aboard Earth-based space ships, but we will probably land on various fictional planets and meet alien species as well")
• An explanation of the rules. Define what is and isn't allowed in your roleplay. Can people create their own NPCs and introduce subplots? Can they play multiple characters? Can they double post? (Example: "players can have up to 2 characters each. I will be doing all the NPC work. Players should mostly stick to the main story, but some small sub plots are okay. Players can be any age so no sexy scenes. No power-playing or God-modding please!")

Once you've got a group and are ready to start, players will expect:

• An OOC thread containing another story/plot summary, and a blank CS.
• An IC thread with a first post that sets a scene the players can easily introduce their characters into
• Some kind of notice, such as being tagged or private messaged, that the RP is ready to start.

Finally, once the roleplay has kicked off, players will expect:

• You to know what is going on with all characters
• You to keep the story focused to some degree. (Example: In the space war example, you could create an Army General NPC who orders the cast to go on alien fighting missions, otherwise your space war story might devolve into characters visiting in the cafeteria)
• You to enforce rules. If someone breaks the roleplay rules, calmly and respectfully let them know and suggest a way to fix it. If a player breaks site rules (such as bullying another player, or spamming), report it.
• You to keep the OOC informed. Update the first post to reflect what is going on in the current story, and let players know what you're planning next so that they can prepare. (Example: "hey guys, General Sanders is gonna call everybody for an assault on the planet soon")

This is very helpful, I am going to have to bookmark your response someplace I can access it easy! I believe that I am going to have to delete my post and re-work it to fit more along the lines of the benefit of the players and laws of Iwaku, I appreciate the feedback!

 

[Brovo]

Before you can learn what any of the symbols mean, you need to learn IC:DC. Which school doesn't teach you, so I will, real quick.

IC = Independent Clause. This is a line or sentence which stands on its own. "Johnathan likes to pick flowers."
DC = Dependent Clause. This is a line or sentence which does not stand on its own, and requires help from an IC in order to make sense. "Because they're pretty."

An example of a standard IC:DC sentence structure is, thus: "Johnathan likes to pick flowers, because they're pretty."

As a rule of thumb (though not always true), an IC has a subject and is a self-contained thought, action, or idea. A DC has no subject and is referring to another thought, action, or idea. A subject is an entity which is either acting upon something, or is being acted upon, and which is a proper noun: A person, place, or thing.

IC
DC
Subject

"Johnathan(actor)​ likes to pick flowers(acted upon)​, because they're pretty."

Knowing this, the rest of these start to make sense.

• . = Period. It is used to mark the end of a thought or idea. It is the end of a sentence. When reading: It represents a 1-2 second pause, where you take a breath.
• , = Comma. It is used to mark a momentary pause in dialogue. You can technically string these into an endless sentence, but that's improper. You usually use them to separate independent clauses and dependent clauses. When reading: It represents a half second pause, where you don't take a breath, but which you pause for dramatic effect, or to make the sentence structure more coherent.
• ; = Semicolon. It is used to connect two independent clauses together which were made to work together, but where a comma would be inappropriate. "Johnathan likes to pick flowers; his mother enjoys getting gifts from her son." Note: You should never use more than one semicolon per complete sentence, it throws the reader's pacing off.
• ' = Apostrophe. You use this primarily to conjoin words or denote ownership of a subject over another entity. Ex: "Johnathan's pets are adorable." "Don't you dare, you can't, I won't let you, you're incapable."

Beyond that? Yeah, go exactly with what @Minibit proposed. I have guides in my signature you can look up to help figure things out as well around here. If you have any further questions, simply ask them in RP Help & Discussion, and a half a dozen people will gladly pop up to help over about the period of a week. Also, nobody's grammar is perfect, so don't fret too much over it. I was just curious.

 

[Indabayou]

However, with a forum roleplay, people only post 3-4 responses a day? Some even once or twice or thrice a week? Perhaps I have only discovered a few roleplays that follow through with what I am saying, I would love to hear the communities input of experience to give me a better understanding of forum RP.

Some forum rps have a lot of members participating, usually in various time zones or personal schedules to deal with. In these cases sometimes the GM (the leader/creator of the rp) tries to make things fair for everyone and instates a rule that you can only post so many times (the norm that I've seen is having to wait for two other people to post before you post again), so that other members don't get left behind. Another contributing factor is that the amount people write for their posts takes a while to do, so they can only get in a few posts a day or week. For example, a partner of mine on here can bust out 5-ish paragraphs of good quality work in little more than an hour, but for me it takes a lot longer, which means we don't get a lot of posts in per day.

You can also discuss with your rp partners how long you want your responses to be, which can go a long way in determining how often people will be able to post. In everyone's roleplay resumes (you can view these by clicking on the tab under users' names in threads, or by going to their profile page and going to their information tab), there is a section where you can see the member's posting speed ( a few posts a day, a few posts a week, etc) and other details about the way they rp- there is even a section where you can put a writing sample so that others can see if they can mesh well with your style and post length.

So, if you want to rework your thread with iwaku forum standards in mind, you might want to consider putting in a section of your expectations regarding length and posting frequency. Just a simple thing like stating "I'm looking for people who can post every day with at least one paragraph" can be really helpful to people who are considering joining.

Hope this helped a little :)

 

[Kui]

Some forum rps have a lot of members participating, usually in various time zones or personal schedules to deal with. In these cases sometimes the GM (the leader/creator of the rp) tries to make things fair for everyone and instates a rule that you can only post so many times (the norm that I've seen is having to wait for two other people to post before you post again), so that other members don't get left behind. Another contributing factor is that the amount people write for their posts takes a while to do, so they can only get in a few posts a day or week. For example, a partner of mine on here can bust out 5-ish paragraphs of good quality work in little more than an hour, but for me it takes a lot longer, which means we don't get a lot of posts in per day.

You can also discuss with your rp partners how long you want your responses to be, which can go a long way in determining how often people will be able to post. In everyone's roleplay resumes (you can view these by clicking on the tab under users' names in threads, or by going to their profile page and going to their information tab), there is a section where you can see the member's posting speed ( a few posts a day, a few posts a week, etc) and other details about the way they rp- there is even a section where you can put a writing sample so that others can see if they can mesh well with your style and post length.

So, if you want to rework your thread with iwaku forum standards in mind, you might want to consider putting in a section of your expectations regarding length and posting frequency. Just a simple thing like stating "I'm looking for people who can post every day with at least one paragraph" can be really helpful to people who are considering joining.

Hope this helped a little :)

I see, I shall definitely keep this in mind! I appreciate the time you gave to post. ^_^

Oh . . . and uh . . . i couldn't find a way to delete my post! What do I do about that XD?

 

[Indabayou]

You can ask a mod to delete or lock your thread. Link to the faq here: How do I delete a thread?

While you can delete individual replies/posts on your own, a thread is harder to get rid of by yourself because doing so gets rid of other peoples' posts as well (which is why a mod/staff is required)