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Character Groups, Yay or Nay?


Morrigan
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So as a member and as a staff member I've never cared for character groupings. Yes it is a visual way for you to tell the difference between groups but I find that groups can be too black and white for some things. Unless you do it by race or class but even then, if you want secret groups, this doesn't work. Also what if your character spans two groups. They are a Rebel and a Government worker so they are double agents? Do they pick the one that the character feels more in tune with or the one that they will be doing the most? Doesn't that skew numbers technically?

 

I personally use "Active", "Inactive" and "OOC". It's easy on staff as you don't have too many things to sort through and it's easy to tell what characters are active and which are not.

 

So, I've been around RP for a while and it's been a long standing staple to have individual groups for things. Is this something that attracts you to a site as a member? Does it make you feel like there is diversity when you see a bunch of character groups and characters within those groups?

 

As a staff member is there something to this method of organizing that I just don't see?

 

I'd love to find out if there is something I'm missing by having the many different groups for a roleplay.

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I like the groups. It's not just about diversity, but allegiance matters. Or, in other cases, being an islander vs. a seafarer.

 

On "Before the Mast" I have French Navy, British Navy, Privateers, Pirates and Civilians, on one side, and Fleet Admirals (Administrators), Pilot (Moderator), Landlubber (OOC member account), Inactive, Deceased and Banned.

 

If a Navy man happens to spy for the pirates, it's his business, but he is on the Navy roster and he is sorted as such. One doesn't ask him if he loves pirates and if he supports King James the Pretender ;)

 

On "Caribbean Dawn" the groups will shift a little, since we will be less seafaring -centered (but not entirely colonial either): Seafarers, Islanders, Wanderers, Writers (OOC account), Staff, Inactive, Deceased and Banned.

Edited by Elena
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As a member - 6 eggs vs half-a-dozen to me. I couldn't really give two sheep's worth of attention to what color(group) my name shows up as.

 

As staff - several times I've tried in the past to add flavor by groupings. Usually I ended up scrapping the entire idea after not being able to decide HOW I wanted to group the accounts. In some cases it was because members had multiple characters per account. In other cases, it was because of crossovers. However, I know Proboards has now where you can put a member into multiple groups which so far seems to be convenient.

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I have always done groups on my sites but that has mostly to so with what I have always seen done on sites.  I don't even know why I like it just that I do.

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Usergroups, for me, can add another element to telling the story. Quite often and quite naturally, people do judge characters and sort and categorize them. Honestly said, this can be used to mislead the reader- and there's nothing I love more than doing that. Aside from sleeping. I like that more than everything.

 

Say, for instance, you have a character working for the Resistance as a spy who is trying to infiltrate the First Order and go deep undercover. Most sites would want to mark that character as a member of the Resistance, and in fact the whole application process could entirely ruin that element of surprise also. But I would suggest mentioning literally nothing that would blatantly point to the character being a spy (because, after all, people are far more than their occupations- and as someone going deep undercover, they would have to find a job within the First Order anyway, so just use that if a job needs to be described), and having the character sorted as a member of the First Order. Unless they're paying close attention- no one suspects a thing. It makes the grand reveal that much more exciting, and everyone's reactions to the character much more genuine also.

 

But that requires a certain kind of atmosphere and freedom on the site that, in my experience, a lot don't offer you. It also helps if members are allowed to pick and sort characters into groups themselves, and are encouraged to pick the group which most applies to their character. If that ever changes, then they can change the group themselves.

 

So on my own sites, that's how I approach it. When I join other sites, I really just don't care that much but don't expect the usergroups to be another tool in the story.

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As a member, I don't really care one way or another.

 

As staff, I use it as a way for characters to declare their allegiance publicly. Their private allegiance? Could be a different matter entirely, but the public allegiance is the one they sort themselves into. If I have a forum where factions aren't that big of deal, I'll only sort to separate OOC and IC accounts.

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Nay. They were never my thing. I hated the way the colors half the time wouldn't match the skin or that they were funky and strange. It was just never anything I used or cared much about.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like to have a couple.

 

Being in the Hunger Games genre for many years, I saw sites that would have separate usergroups for each district (12), in addition to groups for Capitol citizens, avoxes, peacekeepers, and rebels who ran away and hid in the forest.  So we're talking at least 16 distinct character usergroups.

 

I struggle to find 3 decent colors to use. . . . How the heck do people come up with sixteen?

 

But I enjoy having between 2-5 usergroups for members based upon the board's need.  If the site didn't need usergroups, fantastic.  But I find that it's good for members (especially new members) to be able to figure out what characters have something in common with their own characters, and a common usergroup is a good place to start.

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I personally like member groups- but I don't like when they are strict- especially with comic book characters who may span a wide arrange depending on the story arc/plot or even universe the member/site has chosen. 

 

Personally, for me, the member group is a description- it's the team thing. I don't like when a character I want to play is forced to be on a team - especially automatically. I don't mind if it's plot wise, but I don't really like having a character with so much potential being sent into a designated corner. 

 

So basically- I like members groups as long as they don't force players into only one plot for the character.

 

I feel like I'm rambling. Just pinch me. I'll stop. lol <3

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like having a few general groupings. Something that loosely groups people together and is still open to interpretation. As Staff, it helps me place people and keep things organized. As a member, it helps me plot with people I might otherwise have no idea on what to do with. If I know group A is this way and group B is that way, that can give the basis of a plot when I'm completely drawing a blank. Instant friends/enemies/etc. can form that way in my mind, and I find that really really useful.

 

That said, when member groups get super specific (outside of species or age or something obvious) or don't allow people to move from one to another over time and growth, I tend to shy away from them. I also find it highly unnecessary to have a bajillion member groups!

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I've only ever ran boards that have benefited from them, though I can see how not having them would be dramatically easier.

 

CW is split by species. This is easier than splitting by group.

Previous boards have been split by rank, when rank was determined by a massive part of the character's life and there wasn't really any rank swapping. (Pern.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've never really thought about groups too much till I was part of a Disney personification site. I liked how it was heroes, damsels, villains, and neutrals because it wasn't easy to know their spirit by their name. In real life games, I think it depends on how the groups are set up. I could go either way with them.

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I personally love groups, and not just for the pretty colors (but those never hurt, right?). My site uses them for factions, so this may not be pertinent to other sites, but it's a great way to place your character in a group with similar values; and, even if your character is secretly working for another faction, they obviously still have to front with one side to keep their head on. I also find it useful for plotting in some cases being able to pick out other similarly grouped characters and shell out some ideas that might be faction specific. Of course, the use of groups would never deter or encourage me to join a site. Although I enjoy them and use them on my own site, they're in no way a deal-breaker by any means.  

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  • 2 months later...

I love being part of a group. It's a chance to make friends, and some do really cool group stuff. Also, I feel like I really fit in. 

Edited by disneyfangirl
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On CC, user groups are there for specific jobs. Houses and occupations. That's it. Outside of that, the character does what they want to do.

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