How to encourage members to plot?

[psy 0]

Try as you will to keep an RP alive and kicking, ultimately it is up to the users themselves whether or not they want to/have time to participate. This is something especially true in newer forums just getting off the ground. It happens. Like others said, providing incentives for activity (ex: points/shops, contests, giveaways) is always an option that can rekindle interest.

On 5/25/2020 at 10:22 PM, ThriftStoreTeeth said:

This is why any site I've run/staffed on has always ended up having what I call the Roleplay Roulette. Post the characters you want to enter, and then every two weeks or so, staff come along and pair up characters randomly or based on some staff-determined criteria, providing a location to start in and a situation, premise, or even just a prompt to get the ball rolling. Offer some sort of encouragement/reward for signing up and getting things going, and just make sure the people you pair up don't typically RP together. We've also run roulettes with the option for canon or AU/crack RPs with some... hilarious results.

I've never tried this myself but this is an awesome idea! If you have enough people already on your forum that need an extra push to get in I can see how this can work well.

 

Overall regardless of the effort you put in there will be cases where plotting and overall activity is stagnant. Don't worry too much - these are perfectly normal periods.

[Aine 7]

I'm probably going to mirror what a lot of people have already said but I would also suggest trying to approach members differently depending on what cues they give off. Such as members who seem like they are hyped and reply positively to plotting requests but don't actually respond well to discussing plots. In those cases try to switch to a tactic of simply throwing the two characters in a thread together. Instead of focusing on detailing plot ideas, since this doesn't work for some members and does for others, ask if they'd like to throw the two characters together and you can whip up a starter. Most of the time you'll find those types of members are a lot more receptive to a less plotting, more rping approach. While others will be more receptive to plot discussions and with those members you probably want to take the approach of plotting something feasible and then getting the thread started.

 

I concur with a lot of peoples suggestions with throwing up a site event, usually an event that involves sign-ups and staff pairing members together to RP the site event. This also helps to encourage members to RP together when they might not have interacted prior.

 

Keep up the effort of RPing with your members via various means and I do think as time goes on and your site becomes more stable you will see your member base "mirroring" your styles. More people will start plotting and mimicking the tactics they see from the staff. At least, those are my experiences.

[ElusionRP 1]

There are some things that simply can't be forced. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. Also, sometimes being too overbearing or pushy will drive people away more. It's a difficult thing to balance. I recommend just chatting in discord at whatever rate feels natural, with whatever conversations that naturally come up, and check in with shy members every now and then, but don't try to push it too much. People who are interested and want to be active will usually participate and become active on their own.

[Herald of Andraste 5]

 I know it can be really difficult to get people excited about plotting. I know for myself I am the *worst* when it comes to posting on forum for plotting. But I do like throwing things in interest checks or a general plotting on our discord  channel. But I know I just try to reach out and make people know I'm available for plotting. But it is never soully one persons responsibility. You can do all you want, but really its up to the members to put themselves out there to plot as well. Just persist! Things tend to work out

[Hitokuchi Roleplay 3]

I don't know how your site is set up, but from experience and what I plan to do with my new site is to focus on boosting numbers. You can't force your only five members to rp with each other lol. BUT! if you set up a chat time, for discord or your onsite chatbox you can get players more engaged by offering an easy in character group chat sorta deal like a host club or something. Pick a time and a theme every week ie: Wednesday your characters are invited to the Pub. Players can interact without getting too heavy in the word count or plotting. Keep it easy and light hearted (unless your character is the drama lol)