Social Creatures: Social Aspects of RP

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How important is out of character discussion in both 1x1 and group roleplay settings? I'd like to get your opinion! Also, what do you think fosters a positive social environment for roleplayers?

I've been wanting to make this thread for a while and finally decided to do so today because it came up in discussion in my little group of closest roleplay friends: the social aspects of roleplay. It's my opinion that free and open conversation between roleplayers is more important to the success and vitality of a roleplay than the storyline/plot.

During my time of roleplaying, which has been more years than I care to admit, I've been in a lot of successful roleplays. I've also been in about 10x more failed roleplays than I have successful ones. As I'm sure everyone is aware, there is a great number of things that can cause roleplay failure: roleplayer inactivity, disorganized plot, etc. etc. etc., but I'd like to make the argument that the social side of roleplaying, ie: OOC communication, is more impacting of success vs. failure than most other independent variables.

A socially competent leader in a group roleplay, a dynamic communication between partners, and free and open conversation gives a sense of inclusion and more importantly, a sense of commitment. Commitment and inclusion breeds roleplayer activity.

So, do you agree? Disagree? What are your experiences with positive (or negative) social environments in roleplay groups and what do you think fosters good and negative social environments?

 

[Kestrel]

How important is out of character discussion in both 1x1 and group roleplay settings? I'd like to get your opinion! Also, what do you think fosters a positive social environment for roleplayers?

Immensely.

Roleplays are inevitably going to have problems, but the will to overcome them is determined by the group. The stronger your social dynamic within the group, the greater the morale to overcome problems. It gives you something to do while waiting, it makes communication easier if something is bothering you, people are both motivated to write better posts and enjoy the written content more simply because they like the players writing it. etc. It also creates a sense of obligation. You have finals but never talk to anyone in the group? It's far more intimidating to tell people you won't post for a while, or maybe you simply don't care enough. Have a group you consider friends though? Of course you'll let them know! And if not, they're more likely to poke you.

I mean there's millions, millions of examples. You'll see morale being referenced in sports, office, etc. I don't see how anyone even slightly knowledgable about group dynamics and motivation could bring their selves to disagree.

 

[Celest]

I can't speak from a group setting, really. I've not don't it often. As far as one on one, I feel like depending on the partner and plot, communication isn't so key. I personally love talking to my partners. It fosters a friendship, and that makes things more fun. At the same time, though, I find that I don't mind just shooting my partner a quick message about the plot or my activity instead of staying in communication frequently. I haven't seen communication, or lack thereof, really determine the success rate of my one on one.

It may not be that way for everyone. Some people may require constant communication from their partner. In fact, I have a partner like that. We have a wonderful friendship. I have another partner who only talks to me when there's a question or to tell me when they'll be away.

As far as groups go, with my minor experiences, I agree with both you guys. A friendly and approachable GM can sway the entire social environment of a roleplay. They can keep the group in the loop, accountable (for the most part), and excited.

 

[Obsidian Miscreant]

Communication in roleplay is exceedingly vital for both 1x1s and Groups.
It establishes a rapport that can make rp go so much smoother if/when everyone is for the most part on the same page.
I'd say even more so for group settings due to the fact there are more people involved, and so by extension more personalities, ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and so on. If a group is not keeping in contact then things may slowly derail when it comes to plot updates, plot shifts, character relationships/social aspects, twists, activity level, etc.

News Flash: We can not read each others minds. Surprise, surprise~!
So if no one is really conveying things on an at least somewhat regular basis then how the hell will everyone else know where things stand or where things are going? A GM and/or Co-GM should be very present figures for the most part, and lead their groups by example.

In my experience I have also found here that when the OOC of a group chat slows down, becomes stagnate, or dies, the actual IC thread may follow a similar trend. Not always, of course. Because there are some cases where OOC may barely be used, but IC posts still occur semi-regularly. Or an OOC thread is constantly flooded with random chatting, but barely any IC posts are ever made. The latter will most likely die in no time though. It...depends on the people I suppose, but more often than not I have found the first scenario to be more spot on.

 

[Nebulon Ranger]

Agree, absolutely.

Roleplaying is, at its core, a social activity. You aren't going to get anywhere by doing nothing and not interacting, and I know this from experience, unfortunately. At the same time, you aren't going to end up a great GM if you can't occasionally show understanding if one of your players has a reason for not posting immediately after an update. Be too passive a player and you'll eventually get written out. Be too aggressive a GM and you'll eventually be written off.

As a player, the biggest thing to remember about the social aspect of roleplaying is to make your voice heard. Your character(s) are your voice(s) in-universe, and you speak for them out-of-character. You have to interact with the other player(s), their character(s) and the GM to make sure these voices get heard. If you've got something cool planned for a scene in the RP, show it. Don't just sit there rambling on at length about how cool it looks in your head, because we as players and GMs can't read your mind. JUST DO IT™ *​. This is the biggest hurdle a nervous player has to overcome, and it's hard to do it, but once you manage to overcome that hurdle, you really never stop improving.

As a GM, you have to be firm but understanding. If you've got problem players, don't be afraid to call them on it. If they lash out, write them out of the story if you want because chances are nothing was going to get solved anyway. You need to work with the players to write the story. The GM may hold the keys to the plot, but it's up to the players they're interacting with to open the door. If someone can't post immediately, don't be an asshole about it. Most people aren't like me and aren't able to be on 24/7. They have lives, school and/or work to attend to. Set a deadline, but don't be too overbearing about it or you'll lose players. You need to be flexible, but how far this flexibility extends is ultimately up to you.

(*​ this post sponsored by Shia Laboeuf.)

 

[Kagayours]

It's my opinion that free and open conversation between roleplayers is more important to the success and vitality of a roleplay than the storyline/plot.

I agree completely. Creating a nice OOC community keeps players around even when the plot slows down. It gives everyone a reason to stay, and helps players become more comfortable talking to each other so that they can more easily talk out plot-related ideas and get ideas flowing. It's the reason why I turn all my OOC threads into member lounges where off-topic chatter is allowed and encouraged.

Fun Fact: I can often use a player's OOC activity to get a pretty good indication of whether or not they'll stick around long-term. No, really. The players I've had who are active in the OOC and comfortable talking to everyone are the players who almost never drop out. But the players who seem to be afraid to use the OOC, despite my attempts at encouraging them to use it, and only ever communicate with me via PM's... those are the players who almost always drop out before long.

Getting a player involved in the OOC conversations just seems to get them hooked in a way that just doesn't happen when players don't get involved in that social aspect.

 

[Kitti]

I agree with most of the input that it's important, since we're doing collaborative writing when we roleplay. I think that there are different roles and places where communication is most vital in one on ones and group roleplays but they both need it. One on ones take more talking at the start, I think, than any other time. You discuss the plot, how you want to incorporate the characters, ideas for how they will begin interacting, all that stuff. Group roleplays usually have a more developed plot written up from the start and players work to mold their character to it rather than the other way around but discussing furthering the plot, what the aim is, and so forth helps the plays to put their efforts toward reaching the same goal.

And then there's things like others have brought up about keeping others updated about delays in posting and even if you're having trouble figuring out where to go with your post. If you mention that you're at a loss for what to do with your post, talking about it with your roleplay partner or group gives them a chance to help you with ideas or even try to work a hook for you into their post.

 

[The Mood is Write]

OOC discussion is the MOST important. All of my RPs where it hasn't been a priority eventually fall to the wayside as both my partner and I lose interest slowly and drift away. I try to encourage contact and chatter, but not everyone is open to it, and not everyone wants to interact beyond initial planning.

My greatest successes in RP come about when people are so excited they PM me often, even when they aren't actively posting in the RP itself, to talk about it. It can be planning, fangasming over the RP, or even just "Hey stupid, I found this while on the net and it reminded me of one of our characters."

OOC is the BEST way to keep the excitement up and avoid difficult times. =D Without it, the RP just kinda dies off.

Also, the fewer differences in hard limits, the better.

 

[Mami Tomoe]

For most roleplays, OOC communication is key. If no one communicates, then characters and plot points will be all over the place. I think it's mostly the GMs job to get people organized and chatting.m But it doesn't fall entirely on them. You can't force people to communicate, and its very disheartening as a GM when roleplayers don't talk in the chat a lot.

Planning is really important. Whether you're mapping out a new area, or creating a new plot event, it's very important to get input from everyone, or most of the people in the group. When people get into their characters and plots and get excited, then that's when the RP escalates to a completely new level, like @The Mood is Write said.

And like @Kagayours mentioned, it's very easy to see who will be active just by looking at the OOC threads. People who are excited about the roleplay and are taking part in planning should be more likely to stick around.

 

[Kagayours]

And like @Kagayours mentioned, it's very easy to see who will be active just by looking at the OOC threads. People who are excited about the roleplay and are taking part in planning should be more likely to stick around.

The way I see it, it isn't even a matter of just planning for the RP. I've had players come to me and try to plan stuff in PM's, but, if they aren't comfortable just casually chatting in the OOC, even they tend to disappear before long. I've also had players who are a bit more passive in regards to moving the plot forward, and who don't often take an active role in planning where the RP will go -- but, even among those players, the ones who stick around even for off-topic chatter in the OOC will still be the ones who stick around long-term in the IC.

Of course, a player actively planning things with others is a good sign -- but the way I see it, it's that community feel that really gives players a reason to stick together, even when things hit a lull or the players aren't quite sure what to do next.

 

[Rosedrachen]

Agree and disagree. Having communication doesn't instantly make one fit with another. I also have 1x1 partner that barely do OOC chat, and if we do, it is mostly about the rp. And our rp is one of those best one. MMMmmmmm...

In minecraft roleplay too, I got people I love to talk with normally, but on rp? I found interaction with theirs char is just so so.