Thoughts on Discord RPs?

[Juls 8]

Yep, Tupperbox is the one!  :)

 

https://tupperbox.app/

[Orion 33]

Few things I've noticed myself:

- Discord's word limit

- There's no privatized/closed off threads/areas for personal interactions

- I like separation between chatting and roleplay if necessary, but I know it can be essential to many 

- Only a bot like Tupperware can use multiple 'profiles' for characters
- Little to no customization

- Organization is... often messy?

- Larger servers seem to have more conflict, so usually smaller servers thrive

- The rapid-fire type of RP

[Kazetatsu 263]

^ some of those things really vary a lot from server to server. I've seen bad examples where all those things are true, and better examples where there's a lot more of a forum-like atmosphere.

My server is intended emphasize public interactions and was set up accordingly. over time members often segregate themselves depending on whats needed for plots. There's always a chance of overlap or interactions being noticed by others but that is something that people are encouraged to keep in mind and plot about rather than barging in on one anothers interactions.

Its easy to dedicate channels for chat vs rp. its all about having an effective naming/permissions system so it is clear what is to be used for what.

I am against multiple profiles as I like having an extra clear idea of who plays who and be able to address concerns of character actions with the rpers quickly rather than having to filter things through a bot. that said I have seen no issues from members in differentiating when they are chatting, when they are roleplaying and which characters they are using when so.

Organization and customization largely depend on the creativity of staff. I have had no problems sorting channels by not only info, ooc, rp, and fun, but also into separate rp categories. My approach to my server includes sections like Player-made-lore where members can share info on their own custom species and lore; character-creation for developing, submitting and keeping track of ocs; and rp channels sorted by their in-world proximity to one another. Other servers organize things differently but its primarily on the server staff to set up a system that works for what they are trying to acomplish.

Handling conflict is an issue with the server rules and how they are moderated. A strong set of rules and a well-developed culture where members can address conflict without drama is something that is built by the staff and members, not something that is platform specific. I've seen plenty of drama on forums and chat platforms alike, sometimes even worse on forums. Its true that things can blow up fast on discord but they can also be handled fast with a good staff team.

to prevent rapid fire posting, I have worked to establish a low-ping server standard with a paragraph-writing minimum for my own rp community. I also set the expectation that members should prioritize real life, go at their own pace, and wait for one another. some can rp fast. some can't. its all about communicating the expectations and having members communicate with one another.

There are also servers that are more 'advanced' than even that. Its rare for me to see posts that regularly go over the 2000 character limit, but I know there are servers where doing so is the norm. Just write multiple posts if needed is what I tend to say. Its not too hard to tweak things, though rpers who average multiple pages (think word or google doc pages) per post would still find this hampering.

Edited June 26, 2021 by Kazetatsu

[Jamester 0]

There is nothing against Discord RP, I just find it odd since I am so used to the forum that there are times where I can get confused with the whole discord thing and who is talking to who if multiple people are in the same topic at the same time you and someone else are RPing with one another.

[Maddiffer 1]

My biggest issue with Discord writing is the character limit. I rarely write so little that I don't hit it. And it's not intentional, I just have a lot to say. 

 

Otherwise, I wouldn't mind either way. I do a lot of writing in GDocs, though.

[Gereth Yaztromo 1]

I find Discord rp just goes too fast for me to keep up 😞

[kira 1]

I regularly roleplay with a close friend of mine on Discord if we don't have a site we can play on at the time. We do short replies and it makes for easy and quick posts. Sometimes I crave more, but that is when I seek out a site to see if there is one we like, but we always come back to discord because it allows us to play a variety of scenarios, genres, and generational characters. I really like it, but of course I still like forum rping more.

[Faux 3]

I've tried out a few Discord RPs before, but they were always a bit too fast-paced for me to keep up with 😞 All of the ones I tried out had really unique and well-executed concepts, though!

[Xochiquetzal 9]

I belong to a Discord RP hub known as Grand Central, as well as it's branch for writing and RP sources, Grand Central Library. It is a doozy, in a pretty cool way. The Stationmasters have set a standard for Roleplay, and Discord servers can apply to join the hub and in a sense get "interviewed" to see if their server qualifies. The Server is Read Only, but it's also organized into RP Genres such as "Realms, Casual, Story, Fandom, etc." Even if the server does not qualify, they offer really good feedback on what the server admins can do to improve their chances. It helps servers that suffer from disorganization get more organized. 

 

I think there's about 52 active servers, and over 2K users that participate. It's neat because it allows you to browse Discord RP servers grouped all in one spot and you can freely travel between them. Each server has its own channel that it uses to advertise for like give updates on events and current happenings. Server admins sit at what is called the Round Table where they can discuss things like Disboard Raids, how to handle problematic users, how to use certain features and general information sharing to help support each other or share important security information that may affect their servers.

 

It...somehow works beautifully, honestly. The Library is neatly categorized and is user-submitted, cited content to help improve RP and writing. I would consider a lot of the servers to be pretty primo. It's not without it faults, a lot of which people have already mentioned before. Done carefully and with consideration, it can be a pretty powerful platform.

 

Personally? I have no interest in Discord RP. I helped run a couple of servers, but have since dropped from them to focus on my own RP forum. For me, I began in chat rooms in the early 90s and graduated to forums. So for me personally, going back to chat-based RP feels like going backwards and I honestly felt almost juvenile when I tried Discord RP. It's strange because Discord is only six years old. There are some people where Discord RP is all they've known and haven't tried Forum RP. Discord is the new AIM/YIM/MSN Messenger.

 

I think as older generations that began in chats and moved to forums that are now busy with families, jobs and lives are moving on, newer generations have stumbled across forums, found them overwhelming, and prefer the instant gratification of a platform like Discord. The quality standards have changed with generations, I think? A lot of people suffer from crippling anxiety, depression and self esteem issues where--in terms of RP--they feel too much pressure to make their posts "look nice" for others. They are so wrapped up in how others perceive them and their writing that the idea of posting on a forum seems publicly daunting and so...they simply don't. Discord RP eliminates that formatting conundrum and can almost exclusively focus on content and brevity. It's very good as a no-frills option with super basic formatting.

 

For me personally, how I format helps carry my writing style, so without it, the writing feels underwhelming and watered down. I don't think lesser of people who can pull of Discord RP and even admire it! It's definitely not for me, for a multitude of reasons. And honestly, I'm sad that people shy away from forums more and more now--it makes me question if beginning this journey to create my own RP Forum was worth it or not? I guess I'll find out in a few years. I often wonder if it's a lack of know-how? The pressure of posting? Just being shy/anti-social/prefer personalized or private roleplay? Or that newer generations of RPers are simply knee deep in instant gratification. Do users live on their phones more and simply don't have access to a computer? I have a much younger user in my server who actually hates using a computer and exclusively "lives" on his phone. It kind of terrifies me, honestly. <.>

 

I often wonder, if Discord and Discord RP didn't exist, what would the state of the forum roleplay community be in?

[Naya 2]

insert confused_guy.meme here

Maybe because I've only ever been on fourm RPs for absolute eons, but I echo everyone who says "how does that even work" unless its a small group of people who wont rail road over one another?? But most of my rp groups have been 50+ people and I cannot imagine how that would ever work in a discord without lots of chaos, confusion and hurt feelings!

 

Its also, probably more suited for the type of RPs I don't like anymore; ie chat/script rps. Give me a novel to read not a Name: -action- words!

 

I've tried RPing on discord and it just got... messy. 0/10 not for me

[Bel 0]

I've never tried it so I wouldn't like to comment but also don't think I'd been keen to try it. To be honest I've never even used Forum roleplay, only live text based ones and it's so different being in the moment posting backwards and forwards, compared to making big posts and then having to go back and check for replies etc.

[Kitsunesweetheart 0]

I'm not crazy about using Discord to roleplay.

 

I set up discords for the sites (I own) and use it as a way to communicate with my staff and members. 

 

[Herald of Andraste 5]

 When it comes to Roleplay, I have never, and doubt I ever would, be able to get into roleplaying on it. I do enjoy it as a place to communicate with my rp partners. That and Guilded are nice for that. I just feel like for me - discord feels to chaotic to be where I RP. Any time I have attempted just gives me to much anxiety.

[Erin_ 1]

I use Discord rp to supplement my forum writing. I like doing little ICCs that feel too minor to fit on the site in Discord threads, but I would not write characters on Discord that were not fully fledged out on fourms already.

[Shaw 4]

I've been a part of groups that use Discord for purely planning purposes, which it worked out pretty well for, but for actual RP, I have yet to see it in a functional community. Wouldn't mind checking out how someone makes it work though.