A l e x 16 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Like just about everyone else, that'd be a no from me, dawg. When I'm considering a new site, I look through the played canons, site and actual. In most cases, a character I'm interested in playing with materialize in my head. So if I can't check apps for taken characters I won't know if my character concept fits. And if I can't read past threads, I won't know if the players of relevant characters would fit with my concept from an ability standpoint either. Really I probably wouldn't even look past the home page of a site like that. Everything locked and unviewable? How could anyone actually think that's going to help them build membership? 1 LOVE REMAINS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorem 219 Share Posted March 29, 2019 This is like the password hidden in the rules trick, except several extra layers of insanity added on top. I don't think making all new potential members go through some sort of test is the right thing to do. What's the trouble with identifying a problem member as it arises, and then deal with it accordingly? If it means ban them and remove their content from the site, so be it. That's an admin's job. With this rule it seems like they're trying to streamline the entire process and micromanage everything in an attempt to avoid any trouble ever. Not in the right mindset to be an admin, because drama and problems can arise even among the most mature of members. If they're so scared of that potential then maybe admin of a site isn't for them. Honestly I'm amazed that sites with these draconian rules manage to get any members. 1 1 ☩ FORGE - GUNPOWDER FANTASY ☩ ☢ VECTOR - CYBERPUNK / SPACE WESTERN ☢ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormWolfe 557 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Encouraging people to join a site's Discord for OOC chat, getting questions answered quickly, and just getting a feel for the site is one thing. Mandating that prospective new members join the Discord for a review sort of process is a big NO! My sites fall into the former category. The sites are open for people to browse and join, but we encourage guests and new members come to our Discord because that is where all the OOC action is. Our OOC boards on the sites are pretty dead by my members' choice. They like Discord for plotting, planning, and chatting. However, each community does things in a manner that suits them. If that makes you uncomfortable, give them a pass and move on! 1 1 Someone somewhere went to sleep and dreamed us all alive. Dreams get pushed around a lot, and I doubt if we'll survive. We won't get to wake up, dreams were born to disappear. And I'm pretty sure that none of us are here. ~ None of Us Here by Jim Stafford ~ *your one-stop RPG resource site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sage 289 Share Posted March 30, 2019 I see a lot of hard no's here, and I think this is exactly the kind of member base those admins are trying to avoid building. To me, it sounds like any private site that's tentatively opened up to some new blood. They like having a closed community of friends. They have certain expectations of everyone involved, and some people like that structure. It's not for everybody. That community isn't for everybody. And it sounds like they know that. Serious rpers only. So is it worth it to you to jump through their hoops? Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on what you're looking for. But if I was really interested in what I could see there, and could keep up with the expectations they present, I'd probably give it a shot. It doesn't sound necessarily like a bad experience. 1 2 a dark, urban fantasy; inspired by sailor moon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Operations Mod Dragon 673 Operations Mod Share Posted April 3, 2019 On 3/30/2019 at 1:57 PM, Sage said: They have certain expectations of everyone involved, and some people like that structure. It's not for everybody. That community isn't for everybody. And it sounds like they know that. Serious rpers only. I bounced back and forth on this topic for a long time, reading the new replies and peoples views. Here in the end, I think I agree with @Sage, at least on what is quoted above. My initial reaction to OP's post was to flinch back and assume "elitist assholes". Stepping back some, I don't see that so much. Now, maybe they are just elitist. Maybe. However, I think what they are really trying to do is find members that are actively social. Members who will actually participate in the community. Members who interact with others, talk about their characters and/or ideas, and actively seek out plots. Maybe they don't want to waste their time on flakes. Let's be real here. How many of us, both member and staff, have dealt with the person whining that their characters don't get enough attention, no one wants to RP with them etc - but they won't engage the community in chat. How many times has some asshole turned up, acted all excited, completed their app and then *POOF* gone to the wind - never to be heard from again. All that talk and pre-plotting wasted. The more I think about it, the more I see a lot of sense in taking time to gauge whether or not a new member meshes with the community before getting to the IC stuff. It saves everyone time and wasted effort. 1 3 1 Icon & Profile set by The Inquisitor of Dragon Age: Absolution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post msfoxtrott 25 Popular Post Share Posted April 4, 2019 On one hand... that's valid. It's like an interview. If you're gonna be sitting down and playing, I don't know, D&D with them off and on for the next year or so, you wanna know who you're playing with, right? You wanna get a feel for this random-ass dude you're bringing into your social circle? So it'd make sense to talk to them first to see if they'd be a good fit. On the other, it's poorly implemented. Blocking the whole site from view is bleh because what if I want to see what I'll be heckin RPing in the first goddam place. There's much better ways to do an exclusive site. I'd have people put up an RP sample or write a little "about me" section in their app. I'm having a hard time figuring out what kind of person they're trying to keep out of the RP with this method, though--drama llamas don't really reveal themselves within 24hrs. Everybody else (power gamers, dickheads, writers who aren't on the site's level) you can catch in the app process. P: 1 2 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Frost 196 Share Posted April 5, 2019 I've been following this thread with interest. On my board we have the applications hidden. You can see all the RP and the basics, the starter guide, the who's who and face claim etc. But you cannot see the completed and approved applications. We have it set that way because we've had issues with people stealing applications, changing the name and moving them to another board; face claim and all. But our board also has a discord window that lets you actively watch us chat with each other if we're talkative. We're a small board at the moment so we have quiet spells when nobody is talking. So you don't even have to join the discord to chat with us. You can do it as a guest using the widget. I find that works a lot better because people can see that you're an active board by looking at the dates the posts were done and they can read the stories to get an idea of what kind of characters are in play. They can see the want ads if they want to start with ready made plotting. But I just think I'd be too anxious to join a board where I couldn't see the RP or the discord without joining. It would be like standing outside a club. The names of the characters are listed; but all the people are wearing hoods and you can't hear the music. It would just be strange and daunting for me as someone with anxiety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammiie 40 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Mmmh.... I think it'd pique my interest to know what makes them have this level of "security" on new members. Though, if their RP boards are private and I can't even see at what level the current members are writing at, I likely wouldn't waste my time. Chances are, people making these absurd requirements probably have drama / beef with other people, can't handle drama all that well, or something else to make them feel as though they need to "screen" people. Perhaps they haven't realized that they are the problem, and not other people. Just my two cents. Probably better for all parties if you avoided this site and any other site with weird stipulations like this. Too much effort for such a small gain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyemoondancer 6 Share Posted May 23, 2019 I feel bad for the admins that feel they need to do that since something clearly happened that got them to that point, but it would pretty much guarantee that I would never join that site. I want to be able to see the IC posts happening as that goes into my decision to join or not and I think its just a hassle to have to join a discord and basically make them like you before you can even get to any of that info. That's just far too much work to get to a point where I can even make a decision about whether or not I want to join. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadling 14 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Not my cup of tea. Even though I like joining discords and talking to people, clearly the site has already had a lot of drama with those rules. 1 The Myst of Avsolom is a medieval high fantasy role play forum set in an original world. It has an easily digestible Lore & Plot Overview page to help new members learn about the setting and jump in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divinity 24 Share Posted June 27, 2019 On 3/14/2019 at 8:43 AM, Anonymous said: How does everyone feel about: This site has a rule, everything is pretty much locked. I can see the rules, plot, species, so the basics. that's fine I can't see any of their RP so I have no idea how active the site actually is. However, instead of just an application template it has a message for new members. This message in summary: Welcome to the site, before you can join you need to get into our discord and talk to us, because we don't want OOC drama. Talk to us before you have access to making a character and within 24 hours of you joining and chatting with us in the server about how you write and what you've written int he past, and we'll decide if you can join. So, in my thought process, I have to INTERVIEW in order to become a member? Anonymous poster hash: f8443...d3e I just had this occur to me this last week! I loved the site and the lore was extremely user friendly. However you had to join their discord and do all of the things you just quoted above. It was more like an interrogation. On top of that they wanted to change everything about my character and then decided to inform me I had to write a lesser charactre until I could 'purchase' via points or badges the right to have the sect. First off...I have never in all my years had to earn and spend points to create the very basic character I had. Next it took me two seconds to leave that discord. Wow...maybe I just did not read the rules enough but they were extreme 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorem 219 Share Posted June 27, 2019 6 minutes ago, Divinity said: I just had this occur to me this last week! I loved the site and the lore was extremely user friendly. However you had to join their discord and do all of the things you just quoted above. It was more like an interrogation. On top of that they wanted to change everything about my character and then decided to inform me I had to write a lesser charactre until I could 'purchase' via points or badges the right to have the sect. First off...I have never in all my years had to earn and spend points to create the very basic character I had. Next it took me two seconds to leave that discord. Wow...maybe I just did not read the rules enough but they were extreme Right? I get what they try to do with points systems, but I don't think they work for play-by-post style RP. Character bio: He's a 50 year old knight, but he only wears underpants and nothing else, because he hasn't got 300 posts on the forum to earn armour yet. I will nope right out of that. Lol. 4 ☩ FORGE - GUNPOWDER FANTASY ☩ ☢ VECTOR - CYBERPUNK / SPACE WESTERN ☢ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divinity 24 Share Posted June 27, 2019 I wonder how much the underpants cost LOL Yes I get some forums do a point system that I frankly try to avoid. It seems really weird to me too. Or more precisel how does a knight protect his lands naked? I am so overthinking this and having a Monty Python mind 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanSoulo 15 Share Posted June 29, 2019 (edited) This idea, to me, is terrible. I understand, Admin goes through some crazy shit. But, that just seems so... intimidating and uninviting. Not to mention, if you have to do that, then that kinda screams, "We are a beacon for drama. Run away." I'll run in the other direction. Nope, nope, nope. Edited June 29, 2019 by HanSoulo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Legends Are Lessons 9 Popular Post Share Posted June 30, 2019 This isn't so much a "weird site rule" so much as it is a "weird site procedure." I applied to a site a few years ago and while I was in the middle of updating my character's profile I got an error message. The admin just DELETED my account without ANY warning. I hoped into the chat and voiced my complaint, saying that it was very hurtful to just have one's writing deleted without any warning or even being informed of WHY it happened. The only reason I got for the deletion was that my character was rejected. To say the least, I bounced after that. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts