Kieran 15 Share Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) To me Cboxes and Discords and other such are irrelevant. Especially on a new/young site or one with very few members. OOC activity is equally valuable to me as IC activity but it doesn't have to happen in a box. In fact it's much more promiseing if it happens more on the public forums of the board as then it's at least clear that the community actually cares about being on the board and not just chatting in a messenger or cbox. And in the end, all I need to be willing to join a site that fits my interests and other needs is an active admin who is showing that they still have strong interest in running the site for a long term. An admin is the only one who can truly kill a site, by losing interest. Edited April 1, 2020 by Kieran 1 3 CHILDREN OF MERLIN - HARRT POTTER 1980S RPG | Small app | Fluid time | Lots of species | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxx 317 Share Posted April 1, 2020 I judge it by IC activity. I want to know there's things happening with characters, that if I post I'll get replies, that if I start a plot it will finish. Because if there's not posts happening, well, it's not really a roleplay site any more. And I don't have any reason to stick around if there's nothing happening, because in my experience, eventually all the OOC activity dies out if there's no IC activity to sustain it. OOC activity is more of a bonus. If people chat with each other and there's movie nights and forum games, hell yeah, I'm down for that. I freaking love building a community and engaging with the people I write in the day-to-day. But if people prefer to keep to themselves most of the time, I'm cool with that too. Especially because, like you said, with small or new sites, there's barely anyone to talk with. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huskerdust 625 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Recent posts. That’s all I need to know if they are actually writing or not. 2 Reality is an illusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liv 13 Share Posted April 5, 2020 IC activity for sure. It helps me get a feel for posting frequency as well as which members appear to be more active as well as their style. OOC activity can be fun and engaging, but if people are ultimately there to write it should not be drowning out IC activity. Discord, C-boxes and the like are completely irrelevant to me as a means of judging activity. 2 Come and join us in Ancient Rome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieMegs 107 Share Posted April 15, 2020 A bit of an oddball here, but I usually check the discord and cboxes just to make sure I didn't miss any announcements. I recently found a site that I was an affiliate with, checked their 'today's active topics' and found a few IC threads. But when I checked their discord, they had an announcement about the site closing. So I check 'today's active topics' and the discord or cbox. Just to make sure that I have everything covered and haven't missed anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limn 1 Share Posted April 22, 2020 For me, it's definitely the IC activity - what was the date of the last IC post, and how many IC posts they've had over say, the last week, the last month. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dylzoe 4 Share Posted April 24, 2020 I think it's absolutely crucial to make sure that there is at least one admin going strong. As long as there are two or three people willing to keep things going, I think its safe to say the site will be active for awhile. From there, more IC and OOC content can help determine the level of excitement and passion of the site 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivfader 76 Share Posted May 4, 2020 Definitely IC activity! I join rp sites because I want to roleplay with people, not chat. OOC chat is obviously a bonus and I enjoy it, but it's not the reason I join an rp site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padfoot18 4 Share Posted May 4, 2020 It was helpful to look through these comments. I just opened a new site and am trying to gauge what others are looking for, so I found the input helpful. I think our IC activity is what is hurting us right now because a lot of members are focusing on character creation. I'm glad, however, that most people don't seem to put a ton of weight on OCC chatting. To answer the question, I do usually check the activity, how many people sign in on the site, and take a quick look around to see when the last posts were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunarScorpio 5 Share Posted May 26, 2020 On 5/4/2020 at 10:47 AM, Kao said: It was helpful to look through these comments. I just opened a new site and am trying to gauge what others are looking for, so I found the input helpful. I think our IC activity is what is hurting us right now because a lot of members are focusing on character creation. I'm glad, however, that most people don't seem to put a ton of weight on OCC chatting. To answer the question, I do usually check the activity, how many people sign in on the site, and take a quick look around to see when the last posts were. I'm in the same boat as you. My site has just opened too and no one has really gotten to the point of IC activity, we're all still working on character development. When the last posts were is generally what I look at, whether it's IC or OOC.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sage 289 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Definitely IC activity! I always check the recent topics (bonus if there's a recent topics list on the index). But if the recent topics are mostly ads, that's a turnoff to me. I'll also check what accounts have logged in today, but depending on time of day that's not really reliable. I don't really pay attention to ooc boxes, because ooc chat is just a bonus to the ic stuff for me. a dark, urban fantasy; inspired by sailor moon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DivineRabbit 64 Share Posted June 7, 2020 For me its not the cbox or discord. I dont usually have time to titter about in them. I want to see stories, that people are posting and engaged. I want to see depth of characters and know that if I join and tick up on a thread that it actually is going to be moving along and not dead. The amount of writers or characters are irrevelant. I have been on sites with five typists and it rocked. Its the quality not always quantity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brie 51 Share Posted June 8, 2020 The first thing I look at is users online today. A lot of log ins from a variety of character groups tells me people are showing up to have fun and there’s potential for plots for all these character groups. Next I look at latest post For IC forums and pending apps. I want to see lots of new activity to back that online today list up. Lastly, I look at the cbox and/or discord. I like a chatty community that’s comfortable, open, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilythe 12 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Personally for me, I feel I judge it similarly to the original poster. While OoC chat in the CBox/Discord is great to see if someone would be available to answer a question immediately, I like seeing posts on the board within the last week or so. The more Subforums with posts within the last week, the more active I feel it is. While activity isn't a major factor for me as to whether or not I'll be joining a site, I definitely don't join one that looks like it hasn't had many posts in the last month because I presume it's died and they forgot to take it down or something equivalent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle 53 Share Posted June 10, 2020 I always check the forum activity first. It doesn't necessarily have to be IC threads; especially with new boards, you don't expect to see a whole slew of IC threads in the first week. But there should be signs of character creation, intro threads or plotters, or whatever mechanism the forum uses to get players interacting. If there's nothing at all, or just advertising, I assume the board is dead and don't bother investigating further/joining the discord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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