Jump to content

Leaderboard

  1. Morrigan

    Morrigan

    Admin


    • Points

      1,772

    • Posts

      27,249


  2. Arceus

    Arceus

    Initiate


    • Points

      1,067

    • Posts

      1,254


  3. Rune

    Rune

    Initiate


    • Points

      1,050

    • Posts

      1,358


  4. Kit the Human

    Kit the Human

    8-bit Patron


    • Points

      721

    • Posts

      934


Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation since 01/02/2014 in all areas

  1. New Person: I want to play Col. Jack O'Neill. Me: Did you check our approved characters? O'Neill is already in play. New Person (a bit later): I still want Jack. You shouldn't allow Canons to be played only by Admin. Me: Jack's player is not an admin or mod. New Person: Well, if you're only letting admins play Canons, I quit! Me: Uh - you haven't joined yet. No bio/app = not joined. New Person: Where's the information on the wiki about elves? Me: There are no elves. New Person: So, I just write up my character however I want? Me: This is a 1980s style action-adventure, there are no elves. New Person: OK, do you care if it's a dark elf or.... Me: THERE ARE NO ELVES ALLOWED IN THIS GAME! New Person: I don't see the app for playing a horse. Me (blinks): This is an old west game. There are no horse characters. New Person: Well, there were horses in all the westerns. Can I just modify the app that's here? Me: No. You cannot play a horse - or a dog, cat, beaver, chipmunk. You have to play a human person. New Person: I guess I could do a skinwalker that's a horse. Me: No. New Person: How long before you add elves to the lore? Me: *throws computer in trash can*
    21 points
  2. If all you are going to do is emote in the chat don't bother posting in it at all. Fuck, the amount of hate I have towards *rolls* *flops into corner* and the like is only growing.
    16 points
  3. You know what? Fuck you. Yeah, you. Mr. High and Mighty that thinks that setting your name as Guest and going on to people's cboxes to complain that their ad broke your rules is worthwhile. How the fuck are we supposed to solve the problem if you don't indicate where you are from? Bonus points: The ads you are complaining about? You said yourself that there were MONTHS between them. Rule of thumb is ads dropping once a month. Two weeks in some cases. So what if you're a fucking resource site. You allow guests to post... And you "pend" their ads if they don't follow your rules (which, by the way, no one ever reads those.) You literally clicked the link, and took the time to type out a paragraph (with no capitalization or punctuation, real professional,) to complain about how we've posted three ads. Total. Over the course of several months. Because we weren't in your "directory" so any future posters didn't know you had some magical "pending" stamp on us. Probably because we posted as guests. Over the course of several months. Advertising - And this includes on your precious resource sites - should be simplistic and easy. Fucking delete the goddamn ads that break your rules. Who the hell has the time to track down everyone that might or might not copy your fucking form? The form that, by the way, varies on every resource site and contains absolutely no useful information that can't be obtained from a good ad or a click of a link. For fuck's sake. At least tell me which site you are from so I can potentially fix the issue. But you won't. Because you don't want the problem solved. You just want to complain. Which is why you opted for "guest" in the cbox instead of something more helpful. Fuck. In four YEARS CW has had fewer than 500 views on our ad rules thread. No one fucking reads them and for good reason. They're pointless and stupid and all the same.
    16 points
  4. I'd like members to plot and post more with each other and not just with staff. It puts a lot of pressure on me and honestly, I love to read other plots, too. I don't necessarily want to BE in every plot, though.
    15 points
  5. Here's a thing to think about, because while your first instinct may be to run from it and hide and that, it's actually a pretty bad idea, and here's why (barring the fact that means they won). You're not as think as you ninja you are. They will be able to tell that's you sooner or later, and then you get deception tacked onto your already bad rap. So here's the deal, don't pussyfoot around it. You'll have to dodge hate. Deal with it in the same manner you'd deal with any other hate. Move on. Ride the wave. Sooner or later, it'll die off, other sites will pop up that don't know, we all know sites come and go like crazy, anyway, and some people may even get curious what your side is because you're not disappearing and give you a chance. The truth is, if you run from it every time something like this happens, you're gonna be running forever. Don't start the cycle.
    15 points
  6. I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but... no, I don't think you were maliciously treated unfairly. Like you said, you have only just joined the site. You have only one post with your first character, as you say. And in getting told no about something you wanted, your reaction was to stop participating. I feel that's exactly what the admins feared. As admins, we deal with that a lot. People taking on important positions and then leaving without a word, or staying but not really 'using' the position. Many sites have, then, either a specific rule set in stone ('You need to be a member for a month/have 20 posts/what have you') or admin discretion before they grant important positions. Exactly because they can't tell if the new member will stick around or leave and they will have to do a lot of rewriting and cleaning up. Now, if every time you ask for a position it is denied and given to someone else, yes, I'd say they're being unfair. But not in this one instance. I have had people eagerly take up important positions before and not make use of them. And it generates a lot of stress and juggling for staff. So I see where they're coming from. And they did offer you a position that was a leadership, so I don't feel they were actively targeting you. As for player X, they probably don't even know of this mess, but you have zero obligation to write with them. I would just privately contact them and explain that, due to this situation, you don't feel comfortable. It's better than just ghosting them, and, if you do want to be on the site from now on, you don't have to feel like you can't post with other people because you didn't post with them. But after a week only on the site before you ask for the position, I do feel you may be looking at it through hurt feelings over the way admins look at these things. And that's not a problem, you are entitled to your feelings. This will only be a problem for you on the site if you can't move on and enjoy it. In that case, as a player, I would post a polite message in the away board saying I don't feel I'm a good fit for the site (without drama or accusations), thank everyone for their time and wish them well, and go on my merry way to find a place I feel more comfortable in. Regardless of your decision, better luck moving forward!
    15 points
  7. Yoooooo That's messed up. I'm following along with your story, and then all of a sudden it takes a turn for the crazy. And the more you're going on, the more it sounds like an abusive relationship. - Your concerns are being minimized. (Laughing at your concerns about keeping up while piling on more work for you.) - You aren't being consulted about the work load. She "knows" how much to give you and she gives it to you without asking. - She's allowed to have other RP partners but you're not. That's like saying that she's allowed to have friends but you're not allowed to have friends. - Intense jealousy. - Perfectly normal things such as branching out and going to other sites as an independent person are now secrets to keep your RP relationship intact. - She prioritizes other people over you, but expects you to prioritize her over other people. - You aren't allowed to have characters who are not tied to hers. I mean, you are, but then she'll figure out a way to make herself the center of your characters' world, thus limiting your ability to have characters connected with other people's characters. - She makes you not want to write anymore. That's why you're here - to write. And you're losing that joy. And yet you still want to hang on to her because she has that sort of influence over you. I'm not saying you're in an abusive relationship, but . . . oh, heck. You're in an abusive relationship. Whether you separate from this person or not is up to you. But let me tell you this: when I give advice on RPG Initiative, I oftentimes come up with ways to increase communication / fix things rather than separating from things. In this case, however, I give you no advice to try to fix your relationship with her because I see no benefit to you from what you've described. Here's my suggestions: Tell her no. Next time she tries to make a thread without permission, say "I already have X number of threads with you. Let's focus on those before we make a new one. I'm feeling pretty bogged down and I don't want to take on more work." Next time she laughs at you when you voice a complaint, say "I've decided to set a new goal to communicate my needs more. This is my complaint and I will not be taking on any more work." (Or whatever.) Next time she tries to make your new character related/friends/etc. with one of her characters, say "No. We already have X number of characters who are related. Let's work on those relationships before we make new ones." Next time she makes an underhanded remark about you posting on someone else's plotter, say "I'm going to play with everybody." If she throws a fit, let her. Do not back down. Do not give in. Keep your word. Do not threaten her, do not compromise yourself, do not try to explain yourself to her. If she threatens to take away threads or characters or relationships, let her. There are thousands of us you can RP with across the vast expanse of the interwebs, and you don't need to cater to her selfish, narcissistic needs.
    15 points
  8. That the site was discriminatory because it didn't list lesbian as a gender. ...Yes, I'm serious.
    15 points
  9. Wow this is spectacularly on point with my never again... Never again will I morph the views of my site to appeal to potential or new members. I always thought that in order to gain a member base you had to reach into and develop with your member base. WRONG. So wrong. Your site is your own. They knew what they were joining, "should have gone elsewhere if it didn't appeal to you".
    14 points
  10. Never again will I give in to something I don't want to do on my site to attract potential members or appease a current member who is complaining. The site was like this when you joined, should have gone elsewhere if it didn't appeal to you.
    14 points
  11. The idea that people can "poach" members makes zero sense. If people want to play somewhere else they're going to whether people "poach" them or not. Who cares? It's like demanding commercials for McDonald's stop being shown because Burger King is going to lose business because regulars might eat somewhere else.
    14 points
  12. I don't use them, I don't require them on my sites and never will, and I don't join sites that require them. Do I understand people have real triggers? Yes. Do I think everything is a real trigger and not just a dislike? No. I don't believe in including trigger warnings all the time for threads people are not even participating on. And I don't believe we can reasonably account for everyone's every trigger - and I say that as someone who has some specific triggers. It's MY responsibility to take care of my own mental health. In my experience - and I want to clarify that this has been my experience across multiple places - the people who require those are very quick to place the burden of their mental health on people who probably don't even know them and who are writing threads they're not taking part in. I'm 100% for partners to know and abide by each other's limits, including triggers. I'm NOT for people who are not even writing with someone to have to think of everything on their text that may cause problems to that person. I will note that I have been banned out of groups when I USED the warnings, the person with the trigger went ahead anyway, got triggered, and demanded they ban me because it was still my "fault" that they got triggered. Sadly, I have seen it used much more as a tool to control other people than a tool for people to protect themselves. May I have had a string of bad luck? It's possible, but once all your experiences with something are negative, you tend to steer clear of that one thing. Note: I don't care what other people do on their sites and I'm not going on anyone's cbox or discord to attack people who require trigger warnings. I just don't join their sites. So I ask that if anyone disagrees with me, which is very likely, they express it without any attacks if at all possible. Thank you.
    14 points
  13. People who have no ideas. Come on, it's your character, how can he not have an objective, something? Why have you made him? Not to write a story involving him? "Throw any of your characters at him". If I wanted to throw anything, instead of write a story, I would have played fetch with a dog...
    14 points
  14. I uh, hate to be the Debbie Downer, and Idk how new to adminning you are, but I'd just like to say, people are flaky. Role-players are worse because RP's pretty low on most peoples' priority totem poles. So, you know get used to not snagging every guest that comes by and even if they do convert from guest to member, there's zero promise they're going to stay. There may be a legit reason like something you did wrong, or it may just be that you're not their cuppa for whatever reason; maybe you just do things differently than they prefer, or they realised they don't have time, or something happened outside anyone's control, it doesn't even have to be something outright wrong. And that's *fine*. Accept your site isn't for everyone early. You'll save yourself a LOT of pain and hardship. No matter how few members you have, it is not worth sacrificing your site's integrity and the vision you have for it to hook one or two more players. Trust me. You just end up with a site you don't like, and 9 times out of 10, those members you get that way won't stay anyhow. This has been Loving Yourself: A PSA with Arceus. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programme.
    13 points
  15. So; I had an issue come up between a player and a new member. They apparently knew each other from previous boards. This has happened before and we generally say "don't RP with them, don't talk to them, be adults and move on." But in this instance there were some very serious accusations that threatened the safety of other players. So; I spent nearly 5 hours this afternoon attempting to ascertain the truth of the stories I was getting. It turned out the accuser used to go by other RP names. The more I dug the more discrepancies I found. The story didn't make sense. It also turned out that 2/3 of my player base knew the accuser under their OLD Rp name and when they found it out there was very concerned. To the point of feeling unsafe themselves. So I made the decision to ban those involved. The board has a very low tolerance for drama. I banned the accuser. The person being accused politely offered not to RP on our board if it made people uncomfortable. I made a list of names to watch for in case the OTHER people involved tried to join so they could be removed as well. I assumed this was the end of it. Basically every drama-llama was banned. That's when my phone rang. The accusers mother called to yell at me for banning their child. Their 39 year old child.
    12 points
  16. To see real world building collabs between players and staff. It's more than just the staff creating a world and plots and driving story-line. But a deep investment on both parts to build a world together. I feel like it's become too 'us vs them' and so many people forget that the staff create characters and write alongside players. The only difference really is the behind the scenes 'staff' stuff to run the function of the game. We're still players at heart. Also less "MY GAME" BS from admin. Both as staff and player, that shit irritates me. If you want to control every aspect the world and everyone in it so bad, go write a book.
    12 points
  17. My major problem is with the term "trigger warning" itself. A trigger is something very specific. According to Psych Central, a trigger "... sets off a memory tape or flashback transporting the person back to the event of her/his original trauma." Some people interpret it slightly differently, but that's more or less what it is. Triggers are not things that make people feel a bit uncomfortable. They are not a topic that folks don't want to read because they don't like it. These are things that will cause real and painful memories, sensations, and re-living of traumatic events. Unfortunately, I think many RPers have desaturated the value of real trigger warnings by claiming everything that makes them feel uncomfortable is a trigger. And, unfortunately, this means that folks don't really take real triggers and trigger warnings seriously. It doesn't help, of course, that many triggers are very weird and specific. Like @firefly mentioned, they don't always make sense to most of us. You could be fine reading about armed robbery, but the moment you read about Taylor Swift, you lose it. Because triggers are so personal and elicit such reactions, they can be serious problems and it's understandable that folks want warning if any content will contain such things. But, as @Shades mentioned more eloquently than I could phrase it, so often the burden of responsibility is put on the writer rather than on the person who has the trigger. From what I have witnessed in RP culture over the past couple years, on many sites that have trigger warnings, it is the responsibility of the writer to get things "right" and tag everything appropriately. The term most of us are looking for is "content warning." This is more like what movies, TV shows, and video games do. At the beginning of the program or on the back of the box, they give us a head's up that some general topics will make an appearance. I try to be respectful of my writing partners, and I'll tag something or avoid writing something if I know that they do not want to address that topic (be it an actual trigger or a matter of comfort). But I'm not going to tag a thread with "trigger warning: bears" because someone out there who may or may not be reading it is triggered by bears. Nor will I skip over a topic entirely because someone not involved in the thread doesn't like it. (I like @Kazetatsu's suggestion about having limits be listed in a profile.) The other problem I have with trigger warnings is just a personal thing that I don't expect anyone else to agree with: I like the element of surprise. If a character does something shocking like pulls bees out of his pants and throws them at someone, it would be totally ruined if the thread is suddenly tagged as "warning: bees." (I know that it's pretty much what everyone with an actual trigger is trying to avoid - random topics thrown at them - but it's something that I, personally, like.)
    12 points
  18. Honestly, I think the way your community acted to this new player was wrong based on the fact there isn't a spoken rule. And you as a staff member requiring them to change their FC again based on something that is not a site rule was also pretty bad from a member perspective. In this member's place, I would have done the same. Thanked you for your time and asked for my character to be archived, because what else would I be called out on that was not in the rules? And no matter how much you like someone's character concept, they don't owe anyone being on a site where they feel uncomfortable or may even have felt attacked. And if nobody would write with them because of their FC? That's a pretty bad message for a new member, I don't blame the person for leaving. Now, with that out of the way, I would address it with your staff and make it into a spoken rule, since your members feel that strongly over it that they're willing to turn a new member who doesn't know the site's culture into an outcast instead of approaching them on the matter. There's nothing wrong with a community preferring/feeling strongly about something. But if it's something the community can't do without, it needs to be in the rules/documentation, so prospective members know whether or not the site is a fit for them.
    12 points
  19. Coming from a slightly different, but also not, perspective, I'm likely going to echo everything said here, but. I run a rank-heavy military-centric board, and have for the last 12 years. The sheer number of people that have come on, posted maybe once, often not at all, and wanted a leadership position off the bat... if I had a dollar for every one, I'd be richer than Facebook, I swear it. Not once has one of these ever been a good idea. Either they flake out right after, leaving a mess behind in terms of having to retcon and rearrange a bunch of stuff, and dropped plots left hanging, or they turn out to be power-hungry gits. It is also relatively common that, even someone that may not be a power-hungry git right off the bat, and display red-flags consistent with such mentality, may become one later when given power, and that is such a nightmare to deal with. If you are new, I do not know you. I have no idea which one you'll be (general you, really), and giving you that kind of power is risky business. A rushy attitude is also a red-flag to me; nothing good has ever come from someone in a mad rush to Mach III their way through the baby steps. These are often the ones that attempt to systematically destroy the board. A former member that I do know is more likely to gain a leadership position. I have also taken leadership slots away from my friends, because I know they are losers that habitually bite off more than they can chew and can't handle leading a faction. Because the thing is, especially with a major faction on a site, you're not just tossing in some extraneous, side-note stuff. This is real stuff going on that affects the board and has other players involved. You can't just wear the crown and ignore the politics, you know? So what you do, and how well you do it, impacts the site, and more often than not, if one faction is dragging behind the others, that reflects bad on the staff and the site as a whole. That's a big deal. I know that sounds really doomsday, but have a peek at some of the 'what makes you x out of a site' type threads, and you'll find some stuff in there that's even pettier than that. You have to prove to me that you can handle it, before I will consider it seriously. As a member, tbh, having the experience I have, I'd never ask for a leadership position as soon as this. Not only because I know the staff should not under any circumstance allow me to have it, because I am a wildcard, but also because I don't know if this is my jam. I've joined plenty of boards only to leave within weeks, because we were just dancing to different songs. Things that I don't like in a board aren't always apparent upfront. Other times, the novelty just wears off. Sad, but true. They really did you a favour, here, because you really don't know for sure if you're staying for real or not. That can change still. That's a variable, still. They're right. Slow down there, speedy Gonzales. Good things come to those who wait.
    12 points
  20. This isn't unfair treatment. Looking at this from an admin perspective, people come in and ask for special treatment/exemptions all the time. New people especially do this. (Often times a new person who asks for a special thing is an indicator of trouble. Either they haven't read rules, or have read them but don't care and want to be special regardless, or think they're above the rules. I'm not saying that this is you here, merely that in my experience this is what I've seen.) And in many cases these people have nothing that would warrant them being given such a status. (I mean maybe if someone was new to the site but had written with the admin before and was kinda known then yeah maybe.) Also it's far too soon for staff to even tell if a person would make a good fit for that role (or even the site itself). I mean when you're new no one knows if you get along with others yet, how the writing meshes, etc... (Sad part is that some people can make great applications for characters but once they go to play them it turns into a hot mess. Characters that are nothing like what was apped.) Another concern of admins is that new people tend to flounce out pretty quick, usually because they have no connection to the community yet. Which is why many admins don't like giving positions of power/importance to new people. If they take a role and vanish, it can be weeks/months before staff can open that role up again (depending on activity check rules of course). And that can hold up plots for others in the interim. So honestly I think the admins did the right thing. I know you probably don't see it that way. But sometimes staff have to make decisions people don't like because they need to consider more than just what one person wants. And maybe this other member was already in talks to take the position but they didn't want to say that. Or maybe it's just a coincidence that they told you to hold off and this other person picked up the role right after. It's impossible to know for sure. I also think, and please don't take this the wrong way, but the staff here was right to reject giving you the role simply because you wanted to rush into this position. You didn't want to wait. You wanted it right now. And when you didn't get what you wanted you lost all interest and are on the verge of leaving. (Which is just going to further validate why you shouldn't have been given what you wanted. I mean suppose they said yes to giving you a role, but no to something else you wanted a bit later on, would that also have killed your interest and made you want to leave? Do you see how this behaviour might be a problem?)
    12 points
  21. This one is a new one for me, but I've seen it a whole lot more lately and it's left me scratching my head and feeling irritable. I'm so tired of...people having to apologize for the type of characters they play. "Sorry I play mostly female", "sorry I play mostly assholes", "sorry I play (insert whatever here)". Everyone has a preference, even authors of books or the people who create a lot of tv shows. They have certain character types they love to see played out. They don't apologize. Why are you having to? Listen, as long as they aren't the same character with a hundred different faces, go on and play whatever the hell you want. Stop apologizing to people who should not matter in a hobby. Unless you ask for constructive criticism to improve your style or develop those characters, don't let them make you feel bad about what you enjoy writing.
    12 points
  22. I’d like to thank the people of RPG Initiative for being really awesome. For quite some time, I was struggling to find a forum (non-roleplay) community to be a part of, and I’m constantly impressed by the discussions and responses that people provide here. The content of the discussions are solid, and for the first time in a long time, I find them engaging and thought provoking. I never get the impression that people are trying to be “cool” and jump aboard bandwagons. Further, I appreciate that people have differing opinions and as far as I have witnessed, people have respectfully stated their own and questioned others’ without being pushy or using a condescending attitude. One of the things I’ve found most important over the years as a roleplayer is learning that different people come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives on everything from writing to life in general. I won’t delve too much into my personal life, but there have been times I’ve been talking to people only to realize that the ways in which we view the world are so fundamentally different from each other because—quite literally—our brains don’t process information in the same way despite having similar upbringings. It’s something that people online seem neither to understand nor to care about, and yet it is so imperative that we understand this when we try to communicate with other people both IRL and over forums. I imagine that RPG Initiative will be growing larger over time, so I ask that people keep having respectful discussions, bringing new ideas to the table, and understanding that we don’t all have to follow a trend, nor is a trend always a bad thing. Sometimes as you add more people this becomes challenging, especially when people begin to form “groups” or “cliques” of likeminded folks. Disagreeing with someone doesn’t automatically mean that they are wrong, for example, just as agreeing with someone doesn’t mean that they are right. People who speak different languages might disagree over how to pronounce, say, the letter “A,” but it doesn’t mean that either is inherently right or wrong—they are only right or wrong in the context in which they pronounce that letter. I’d like to have hope that as this corner of the RP world grows older and its members more experienced, that we can figure out how to treat each other with respect. Anyhow, with that out of the way, continue on with your discussions.
    12 points
  23. The second any of my characters is mean to another character even though it makes sense for them, I kind of have a mini-panic attack because I'm afraid they're going to flip out OOC and think I, the player, hate them. Doubly troublesome in admin roles, and I kind of really hate everyone that's done that in my past and made me like this. I'd like to be able to play my characters true to how they are without way stressing myself out. It's just so unnecessary and now I have a mild trauma reaction to it, so freAKING THANKS.
    11 points
  24. The oh so common: creates super grouchy unapproachable type, writes an open about them being in a bar alone drinking. And god help anyone brave enough to venture into this open, for their character will expound in detail how they want to be left alone. ffwd a few weeks: Player: No one ever writes with me, this game sucks. ... If it didn't happen so damn often...
    11 points
  25. Unless I'm directly involved it's none of my business and I don't need to know. Any public announcements or lists just reeks of drama to me. I am however, very nosy and enjoy a bit of gossip 😁
    11 points
  26. 11 points
  27. Compared to any other hobby I've ever engaged in, I've slowly come to the conclusion that as an over arching group role players are some of the most toxic people to associate with. Even browsing through resource boards, the majority of topics are negative in tone - someone always whining, bitching or moaning about something they don't like. They outnumber positive threads about ten to one. In the couple of years I've been involved on this site alone I've watched formerly decent/good people turn into complete and utter shit heads in their behavior and cliquey BS, turning uppity and beginning to bully others even as these same people will rail against bully behavior. I've seen their behavior slowly stomp out the passion in others who have poured themselves into creating something to share and bring joy to their peers, and they do it with an astonishing sense of arrogance in a perfect example of people who think their own shit don't stink. I have even caught the hobby bringing out the worst in me recently. Its like a cancer - by the time symptoms are actively manifesting you're already fucked. There are a lot of great people to be met, but the rampant shit headery, assholery and stupidity are slowly drowning out the positive aspects of the culture and its really no damn wonder at all that so many formerly large and successful resource hubs have shut down recently. Anonymous poster hash: 5c541...eab
    11 points
  28. There's two more certain kinds of OOC tones that ring alarms for me, and ironically they are exact opposites. The guy who's excessively interested in weapons and military history. Either he's going to completely forgo plot for a battle simulator and get pissy when no one else plays along, or he's an insufferable know-it-all who idolizes (in my experience) a conservative or far-right regime and has six anime waifus (four of which are rifles , tanks, or bombs) and also feminism is completely unnecessary because is a fancy word that exists and libertarianism is the One True Path. And it always turns out to be a guy??? I've not yet personally run into a female specimen of this kind of user. The delicate uwu flower who never capitalizes a single word in an OOC post, uses a lot of ellipses and has a hipstery aesthetic that screams "I rolled right off of Tumblr". Which, Tumblr is awesome, BUT - there is a non-zero chance of such a person ending up being Too Delicate for Human Interaction. They are exhausting, because I'm constantly getting roped into soothing them because god forbid someone uses capital letters and it comes across as Stern Serious Yelling and now they're having a panic attack on the other end of the world because someone didn't decorate their speech with enough flowers and emojis. I lied there's a third. The user who comes in, explicitly announces that they don't know if they'll stay or leave, and announce their departure, thereby creating A Scene. Just. Fucking. Go. No one here likes you enough to fucking chase you.
    11 points
  29. This is actually a big reason we have the anonymous feature here on the Initiative. We not only enforce the anonymity in written posts but we also allow for complete anonymity through our "Post as anonymous" feature which removes your identity completely. We think that it can be a pain in the ass when you want to talk about something that involves you but you don't want to hurt the other people or yourself in the process, anyone that knows you or the other people will get defensive.
    11 points
  30. Apologies if I'm misunderstanding, but what I'm getting from this is Admin A asked you to wait, but you didn't want to wait so you took your concerns to Admin B? Was there a specific reason for that? As it is, it sounds like a situation of staff jumping. That's a red flag behavior, and I think an admin would be fair in denying a rank to any player for that reason alone.
    11 points
  31. The idea that saying 'no' or 'I don't like this/not my cup of tea' means you're passing judgement on people who like it. Sorry, if I say 'I wouldn't be a fit for your site', I mean exactly that - i wouldn't be a fit for your site. I'm not saying your site is bad, or that there's anything wrong with it. Does it have things I don't like? Obviously, otherwise I'd have joined. But I'm not saying these things make your site bad, leave it alone. Same goes for roleplay styles. I don't like medieval fantasy. So what? I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just saying I, one of several people, happen to dislike it. /end rant
    11 points
  32. I had a girl join, she used Kristen Stewart's face and named her character Isabella. She then had her friend join the board using Robert's face and you can guess what his first name was... Edward. I pmed her about it and she proceeds to tell me that they are going to rp out the plot to Twilight on the board as it's canons. I remind her that she can't do that, we're a Post Potter rpg and we don't do multi fandoms here...ohh she lost her shit xD "So? We're not going to interact with anyone that's not a vampire or wolf!" It took me a minute to collect myself because I was in shock that I was having this debate. In the end, they both left after saying we had falsely advertised ourselves. I guess putting Post-Potter on all our ads, button and board wasn't enough. I mean really, we have you pick a wand when you register xD Sorry girl, ya'll can't sparkle here xD
    11 points
  33. The curious case of the bored RPer that never, ever starts a thread or plots with anyone- instead they just complain about their boredness on chat box.
    11 points
  34. Here is a thread that focuses on the positive elements of RP. I noticed someone felt burnt out by the stream of negativity, so why not try and rectify that a little at a time? Not sure if it'll catch on, buuut it's worth a shot! I'll start: 1.) Community - I like the sense of a community RP has. Lots of people, lots of backgrounds. Get to meet and befriend all sortsuv people. 2.) It feeds stimulates my brain feeed meee, Seymooour 3.) Reading my partners' posts - it's like... the ultimate reward. *w* ♪ 4.) Exploring new worlds through other perspectives - much like reading a book 5.) The challenge - be it making a new site, coming up with new ideas, and/or putting in little self-challenges to make one better at writing, the challenge is really satisfying sometimes. Now you try!
    10 points
  35. Having been a part of several writing communities for more than half my life, I think I've finally got a pretty good grip on what makes an enrapturing roleplay experience. The people I have met in the PS community have introduced me to a largely plot-free play style - and that has honestly changed this hobby for me for the better. The writers here consistently supply immense inspiration and compelling characters and stories, and half the time none of us have any idea how a thread is going to end, and I freakin' love that. On top of having extremely rich and vivid in-character happenings, the OOC community is absolutely the kindest, funniest, most thoughtful group of people I have ever met, online and otherwise. The folks here communicate openly and lovingly, are inclusive and engaging, and I have learned a whoooole lot - about writing and real life situations in general - from a lot of them. Here's to PS being around for a long time to come. 💖
    10 points
  36. 😬 I'm a little nervous to jump into this conversation. But I use free-style apps because I don't expect my members to know everything about their character. I use them to get a feel for their writing style and as a means of introducing their character on site. I'm not overly picky by any means unless it's a major canon and then I am a bit more selective. But I feel like that's within my right as an admin. I've had people submit applications that are in the form of a letter or a diary entry. Those get accepted just as easily as someone who writes me a 10k word history.
    10 points
  37. I love internal monologue, and sure, a part of it can definitely seep out through body language, but I also think people should be able to have it and not have it reacted to unless the person writing the post makes it clear in their post. This thing the other person was doing isn't productive to anyone, and I see how this could become annoying very quickly. I did roleplay with someone once who used this 'technique'. So you'd have 'James was a writer' in a character's bio, and their internal monologue might have them worried about their latest novel when they were talking and doing something unrelated, and you had this character 'wondering if he was worried about his crappy novel' when nothing indicated either that they were worried or that they were 'crappy' writers, but it was the way the person found to make themselves superior. I talked to them a couple time, and ended up dropping the threads we had together. TL;DR: Inner monologue is great and relevant, but characters aren't mind readers, and shouldn't have free reign to decide that their character knows something just because it's in the post and use that to put their characters above others. As a player, I'd react the way I described above. As a staff member, I might take a look at my rules and remind the offending member that what they're doing is not okay. Sometimes people do whatever they can get away with.
    10 points
  38. Honestly, I saw a transgender animal on an animal RP the other day and laughed aloud. Yes, I am a terrible person. I really don't think realistically that animals give a hoot about their gender or another animal's gender until it comes time to mating. Heck, my roommate's dog will try to get away with getting any of our cats when she's in heat and we have both male and female cats. It just seems unnecessary to make an animal transgender to me. They're not going to give a shit if they're a boy wearing a pink bow, they're going to act exactly the same as they would otherwise. Besides, what exactly are traditional "gender" norms in animals, anyway? It just seems... stupid to me. Sorry not sorry. I think you were right and I don't think you were discriminatory. If they want non-realistic fantasy transgender animals, they can make their own site. They don't have to ruin yours.
    10 points
  39. "Well the rules didn't say anything about bad cbox behavior" Dang you got me, that "don't be a jerk" rule didn't specific the cbox which as we all know is some kind of independent city state within the realm of this forum. You have bested me.
    10 points
  40. Them: Hey, lets plot! Me: Sure, what do you have in mind? Them: Um....Like....Um...Our characters could like, um meet. Me: Yes - and? Them:...Oh who do you play anyway... -deep sigh-
    10 points
  41. Mmm, I see the other side of this, speaking from personal experience. There have been times in my RP life where I have gone on hiatus on one site, but meanwhile joined and was really active on another. It wasn't because I was disinterested in the other game, or done with it, or planned on leaving it--I just needed a break, and needed some time away to play elsewhere (even if it's in the same genre/fandom!) for a change of scenery. Sometimes, when my anxiety/depression/stress kicks into high gear, I just have to withdraw from the people I know for a bit. I usually phrase it as being "busy" or stressed or whatever, which is true...I am busy on this other game. Saying I'm "busy" is just easier than going into all the psychological/mental health reasons, which is info I may not want to disclose in the first place. And saying, "I need a break from this game so I can play elsewhere for a bit to recharge!" might not go over well with some admins who will freak out and go "OMG BUT YOU'RE PLAYING ON ANOTHER GAME!!!" Which, well...is kind of what our reaction here is. Not saying that in a mean or accusatory way, because I can understand the other perspective of feeling ditched and betrayed, buuuut a lot of people worry about getting a bad reaction by telling the truth. Alternatively, other reasons I have done this in the past have been because plots are getting super intense and real on one of the games, so I become temporarily more invested in one game over the other. So I take a break from one game so I can pour my focus into the other and scratch that itch. So yeah, busy! But busy on another game. Which is something else admins might not take kindly to hearing, so it's just easier to be vague instead of saying, "I need a break from your game so I can focus on the cool shit happening in this other game right now because it currently has all my attention and is thus taking priority right now." I guess what I'm saying is...don't think too deeply about it. Chances are, something about this other game has their attention right now, but since they're just "away" right now, it doesn't mean they want to give up your game. If anything, I might ask them, "Hey! So I was checking out another game and saw you were there. No worries, there! I know sometimes you need a break from one game to focus on a different one. I just wanted to check in on you--do you still plan on coming back to mine? If not, that's cool! I just need to know so I can handle loose ends. Just keep me in the loop!" Because yeah, the other possibility is that maybe they DID lose interest. And that happens. Don't take it too personally, because it's a common thing in the RP world. Not everyone will tell you they've moved on. People will ghost. But the fact that they didn't ghost and instead just say they're busy instead leads me to think they still plan on coming back. Just ask them non-confrontationally, and show that you're chill, and they'll hopefully be more comfortable telling you the truth. Because a lot of why players lie is because they're afraid of the bad reactions they'll get from admins--and often that comes from a place of experience. If you show you are understanding and safe, then even if they have decided to quit, maybe they'll return later on because you would have shown you're someone that isn't going to demonize them for something like that. Life happens, interest spikes and wanes. We shouldn't punish that. It's disappointing, yes, but accepting it will lead to a lot less stress and drama all around.
    10 points
  42. Players that don't ;like any actual plot development! They want their character to suddenly be dating yours without any build up whatsoever!
    10 points
  43. Once someone is no longer a part of my board, what they do with their lives is not my business.
    10 points
  44. In this thread, I've learned all my roleplays are dead and I just don't want to admit it.
    10 points
  45. Sounds like Amy and Tina need to go. Hard stop. Amy violated your trust adding a new admin without permission, and Tina isn't contributing anything and was added under shady circumstances.
    10 points
  46. Personally, I feel pretty shitty for the person who was playing the gender fluid character. We change up sexuality and hometowns/birthplaces all the time. Sometimes people change up ethnicity. So what's the problem with changing up the identified gender of the character? The avatar/face claim is--to me, anyway--a guideline telling us what the character's general appearance is. "Here is an image that tells you what they look like"--regardless of their real life identity. Where is the line for those complaining? Where is the line separating a totally made up character with the visual representation? I use a gender fluid model for a male identifying character and I've never gotten shit for it. Personally, if I did, I'd feel uncomfortable on that site. So yeah, I do feel for this person. 😕
    10 points
  47. I NEED to RP with this beautiful creature (if you decide to risk the existence of vampires ever again I want to kidnap you pretty please). My buddy is a little too softhanded in his villainy sometimes and I'm normally left with self-referencing off screen incidents instead of actually RPing the bloody fun in-depth. Anyhoo, on the main question: I don't think dice/stats and creative-freedom actually have anything to do with each other. It sounds like an excuse for somebody who just wants to Powerplay and doesn't want to start at the bottom of the "food chain". I also fully agree with @Deep Sea's statement that True "Creative Freedom" doesn't actually exist unless you're writing a novel with yourself and thus have full control over every aspect of the plot. Simply because, well, I believe in the idea that your right to throw a punch ends the moment it lands on my face. That being said, I shouldn't go around taunting you either, because that's how I'm going to get punched in the face. Which brings me to the nut I'm going to throw in to chew on: I adhere to the philosophy that there are two kinds of consent vital to a good RP. Direct Consent: I don't want my character killed (except for when I do of course). I don't want to do a plot where my character gets jumped in an ally, kidnapped, and tortured by a crazy psycho murder (sometimes I do, but not as a surprise). I don't want some Bloodlusting Vampire or uncontrolled Wolfmonster crashing my thread unannounced and have the audacity to rudely expect that I let them kill/maim my weaker human character just because "evil". Implied Consent: If I agree to thread with a character who is known to be a violent drunkard; I should expect that character to at-some-point come at mine swinging in rage. If I decide to thread with a dangerous ruthless criminal, I should expect my character to suffer violent consequences if I act like a Jerky McJerkface and go about Agro-ing hate. I think that people who use "consent" to make their characters completely invulnerable to everything that comes their way, and people who think "villain" should mean they get to do whatever they want to whomever they want, when they want, are both Powerplaying. There's a finesse to Threading that requires an ability to skirt the middle ground. At the end of the day; you are NOT the only writer, your thread partner deserves just as much say/control as you do, and nobody likes getting Spawnkilled by Jerks in ANY game, why should RP be any different? Especially if that character dying means you loose them (and your hard work) forever.
    10 points
  48. I'm so tired of trying to plot with someone and hearing 'well, just do whatever you want' several times. If I wanted to create the story all on my own, I would be writing solo.
    10 points
  49. This is a little more personal and specific, but damn, I'm really sick of it, it has happened in like the last 3 sites I've joined with this character. So, character is a womanizer, a piece of shit, and in every bio I make a point of listing that he has children he doesn't take care of or pay child support for. It's written everywhere he's a deadbeat. Character enjoys one night stands, but I make a point of telling people OOC that he is what he is, and that's it. Still, every single time he's fooling around with someone, the player has the brilliant idea of springing a pregnancy into the plot (without talking to me) and then throws a massive fit OOC because he didn't drop to his knee and proposed to the character, to the point where I end up leaving not to deal with the bullshit. So I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm tired of people who think they know my character better than I do, or that their character is so special I'll play him out of character just to satisfy their craving for a plot they didn't discuss with me. No, dude. Stop. That's ridiculous at best, and god-moddish at worst. When people tell you who their character is... believe them. They created the darn character, after all. /end rant
    10 points
  50. This topic has been floating around in some way, shape, or form in various threads recently, so let's talk about it. While I like that the roleplaying community tries to be inclusive and understand that people have different experiences and lifestyles, I find the overwhelming "trend" of political correctness tiring. (Why, then, did I start a thread about it? Because talking about things is good, okay.) People have taught me many things I wasn't aware of years ago, and sometimes I sit there and go, "Huh? I didn't think about that. Neat." But more often than not, I find myself rolling my eyes because there are so many hypocrisies associated with it. Hypocrisies such as "Be who you are because you're wonderful . . . unless I don't like who you are, then you're a bigot." If you don't believe exactly what these "inclusive and accepting" roleplayers believe, you're going to be labeled as being hateful and mean. I have seen conversations in which these so-called accepting folk gang up on someone who has very similar beliefs--but not exact--and tear this person to shreds. I have seen people not give a new member the benefit of the doubt and destroy him within his third post on a site because he said something that didn't fall into the "politically correct" sphere of acceptable speech, even though his post did not break rules, nor was it offensive by general standards. As for myself, I remember a thread in which people who claim that all sexualities and lifestyles are acceptable turn around and rip out my throat because I stated that I wasn't attracted to [insert sexual preference here]. To me, it seems to be a trend of aggression and arrogance, and it's a bit upsetting to see that people are using such tactics to bully folks into believing what they believe to be correct. (Which may or may not be, depending upon the situation and one's personal beliefs.) Unfortunately, people are giving into this bullying and are changing their sites and their ideologies to match the ideologies of these "politically correct" people in a couple of ways. The first is that we've seen a trend towards catering to everybody's specific sexualities and pronouns and whatnot to the point where people are treading gently on glass in an attempt to not offend people. You can't assume somebody's pronoun because that's apparently offensive; instead, you have to ask for others pronouns and outright state your own. You can't get pronouns wrong, either. You have to think about the folks who might be offended, even though most people would be like, "Hey, you called me 'he' but please call me 'she'" and that's the end of that. The second--and the one that I, personally, find more problematic--is the political correctness that has to take place in character. Characters can't be racist or sexist or whatever-ist, even subtly, because players don't know if other players will find it offensive. And because people have trouble separating IC from OoC (which is an issue not related to political correctness), you really risk having people think that your character's beliefs are actually your beliefs. And if somebody does have an -ist character, it's usually a big -ist that's noticeable and comprises the personality of the character. Such characters need tags and warning and whatever else so that other people can avoid them if they want, rather than having characters find out through gameplay that they don't like the behavior of the other character. I know that there is a character I wanted to play, but I couldn't ever really play him because joining a site and making a racist character right off the bat freaks people the hell out. So I'd have to water him down, which really just wasn't the character I made. The third issue goes along with the hypocrisy. It's disheartening to find people who say, "I'd never roleplay with somebody who voted for [insert politician here]!" And if you say, "Well just don't talk politics," the response is along the lines of, "But they're horrible if they voted for that person and I just don't want to be around them." What the everliving crap??? You, who claim to be so inclusive, have just excluded half the country. You, who ask people to understand your struggles and to be sympathetic to your concerns, are unwilling to understand that people have their own concerns and their own reasons for voting for a different political candidate. You don't try to be sympathetic to the reasons that person voted as they did. You don't want to know about the struggles they have. Instead you call them all hateful bigots and shut them out of your lives. What a dangerous attitude. People pressure diversity and inclusion, but they're not really willing to help out. I've always scratched my head at the whole "We need more black characters!" and if you ask how to play a black character, they say, "Oh, they're just like playing white characters, duh." But then at the same time there are conversations going on about how white people don't understand the struggles that black people go through, and how white people can never understand even if they tried. But if you try again, you'll get the same "No, really, they're just like white people. Play them all the same." That said, I really like some of it, too. I enjoy people telling me about different cultures and lifestyles and disorders and whatever. It makes one realize that people come from such different background and have different experiences, and these help form why they make the decisions and live the way they do. I've learned so much about people's religions and cultures and societies by spending time with a variety of folk and asking questions (when people are okay with it) to find out more about their lifestyles. Discussions about PB race made me realize that while most people use white PBs, some folk do want to variety, so I try to include more diversity in site adoptables. I've been made aware of different topics, and I'll go and look up documentaries about different lifestyles or situations to learn more about these topics. I just fear that people are so concerned with being politically correct and not offending people that they are unable or unwilling to open themselves up and explore different topics and ideas and experiences. And that's why I made this thread. What are your thoughts and experiences?
    10 points
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use, Guidelines and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.