Membership That's a deal breaker...

[bordeux 0]

When i sign up and the admins want a full documentary on your character on the application. it's like your writing a novel. or the members already are established and plots and you feel like an outsider.

[Dusty 55]

People who don't or won't research things on a historical site.

[Honorem 219]

"Register in ALL CAPS"

There's a code that can fix this.

 

And especially now that Jcink has a feature that forces usernames to conform to either:

- all lowercase

- ALL UPPERCASE

- Correct Capitalisation

 

Any site that still has this archaic rule in place, GET RID OF IT.

[Vermin 3]

Tiny, tiny fonts, especially when coupled with bad contrast... this is such a widely spread deal breaker I'm honestly floored there's still so many boards around that don't fix this. Apart from me not being able to read it, which is always what I want when I register on a roleplay forum, I may just not be hip and with it or whatever but it also just doesn't look good, at all. 

 

Any kind of word count. I'm also starting to hate 'hidden' word counts, eg "we have no word count, but". 

 

Activity checks that require more than one IC post a month. I usually do more, but I never know how much time I'm actually able to expend, and if I wanna create more than one character, I know for sure I won't be able to keep all of them equally active. I got stuff to do, and I don't wanna stress over losing my characters.

 

Sites that aren't LGBTQ+ friendly OOC, concerning both community, character restrictions and site structure.  

[Icewolf 258]

When a site requires you to have an audition or 'training' period before you can start posting properly. For three reasons - I'm an adult in my 30s and I have a degree, so I don't think my writing requires it. I don't know how active the admin is, so what if I'm stuck in that newbie limbo for a week or more? Finally, it makes it seem like work, or school, and want to enjoy myself, not feel like I'm being judged or taking some kind of test.

 

Picky, picky posting formats - like you MUST include this, you MUST include that, ad nauseam. I don't want to worry about getting posting formats right - sometimes, coming up with ideas, making sure that you write it in an interesting way that avoids accidental god-modding, is enough pressure. To me, it just seems unnecessary nit-picking. 

 

Unnecessary posting templates that not only make posts difficult to make, but also make the site difficult to read, combined with small fonts and narrow posting areas.

 

I don't mind filling in character sheets/profiles/apps if the fields are relevant and feel natural to me to fill in. I think admins need to look at these carefully, ask on resource sites if there's anything in it that will put members off filling them in, or if there is anything at all in them which potential players might find hard to fill in because it's difficult to put things in there.

 

Sites that appear to make a fuss over the political views, religion, gender, race, or sexual orientation of potential members. I'm put off sites that appear to all right wing ooc and I'm also put off by sites that appear to go too far the other way, too. (I think what I really dislike are labels and don't want to see people defined by labels because from experience it just seems to create splits on boards.)

[Rune 1,099]

Similar to @Icewolf's political fussiness - But sites that put a weirdly large amount of emphasis on how they're LGBT+ friendly. This should be the norm, having a giant announcement saying you are strikes me as trying too hard.

 

Also if they put a lot of emphasis on how you don't talk about religion/politics/whatever. Having it mentioned is fine, having two paragraphs about how you're inclusive is weird.

[xexes 108]

I... I don't really care anymore.

 

I have one deal breaker now, and only one:

 

that the site has made it clear it's not the place for me. Maybe their site says it wants players with the playstyle the oposite of mine. Maybe the rules are harsh and degrading.  Maybe the chat is super hostile. Maybe no one responds in chat, ever. Maybe the lead admin names their account "The Big Fat Bitch" (true story, bro). Maybe the application password is to listen to a music video that annoys every fiber of my being. Maybe the skin literally gives me a headache or otherwise grates on every nerve that I have. Whatever. I'm tired of being beaten like a dog, so if a site shows me the door, I'll take it - whether I've joined or not.

 

I used to super, super struggle with this "I like it but I don't love them, so I won't break up", and I made a bunch of silly rules to help me guide those decisions. Site must be at least 5 ft tall. Site must treat people respectfully. Site must not kick my dog. And the list went on and on and I'd start to doubt rules and revise rules and throw them out and compromise boundaries to try to change my rules so that the site fit. And then I adopted this one rule and threw out the rest.

 

Now that I think about sites as whether they have told me whether I should stay or not, there's no more internal struggle and I honestly find my horizons growing.

Edited April 14, 2017 by xexes

[Jacob 58]

A board which lacks a high word count, detailed lore, and a detailed application is a deal-breaker.  If the forum overall works like such, I may peruse.

 

Games where third-wave feminism runs amok, I can't stand at all.  I'm not a politically correct individual, so I must tread gingerly around there.

 

Openly vulgar chat boxes, handles, et cetera, make me question how I'd converse with a locale's populace.  Though I am twenty-eight, come now.

 

Required implementation of the above communication methods, instant messengers included, won't work for me.  I'm a sickly man needing sleep.

 

Preposterous activity checks surely turn a physically disabled man like myself away.  I do as best I can to keep up, but I expect reasonable staff.

 

No players under 18 years, please.  "Mature" threads are not anything I'd pen; however, the immaturity of past foes has forever altered my viewpoint.

 

My paternal grandfather was historically minded.  Mine trait differs concerning time periods, accurate portrayals, and injection of fantastical elements.

 

I turn down sites riddled with sharp personalities.  Rougher men and women may trigger the low frustration tolerance I sadly own.  It is unhealthy.

 

Finally, I still desire to house a specific original character.  Should he not fit, then like my parents raised me, I respectfully cast the venue aside.

 

Edited April 14, 2017 by Jacob

[Nox 3]

This is a follow-up question to the other topic - What makes you stop browsing and join a site?

Many people said that one of the first things they look at are the Rules section to decide if they want to join a site or not. What rules are deal-breakers for you and why?

[Kit the Human 758]

In addition to the above (and this is petty):

 

Having to register in all uppercase or lowercase. Not because I don't know how to, but because it's a pointless rule. Do it with CSS folks!

[Claire 18]

Forced face claims are always a deal breaker with me. I don't want to go looking for face claims, I add them if they feel right to me and sometimes it takes a while to get to know my character in game before I can find the right one.

[Uaithne 543]

Word counts. Definitely. I will only join a site with word counts if they understand that I'm not going to make the word count every time and they're okay with that. Which no one is, or they wouldn't have the rule in the first place.

 

Rules where the play by has to be within a certain age bracket relative to the character age.

 

Strict activity rules. (Ironic because part of my site has strict activity rules, but that's to actually keep it alive. The rest doesn't.) But I don't like rules that have you post a link to a thread for each character every X amount of time to be active.)

[Blondie 98]

I have to agree with the Word Count bit. As well as too many or too strict rules... Also making thread templates mandatory. I don't mind using them, and I do, I just don't like the idea of them being required.

[Morrigan 1,826]

We have a confessions thread for this too:

As I stated over there I hate rules that say "everything is allowed "but". Especially word count rules. "We are a no word count site BUT we want you to do this (like must post more than 1 sentence)". This makes it a word count people. Stop trying to fool your perspectives into thinking you're open and just be honest with them. What do you want/expect from them.

[firefly 36]

I can't think of any particular rule that is on its own a deal breaker for me. If I found an otherwise great site, I can roll with a rule or two that I don't find necessary. What I'm generally looking for in the rules section is the overall tone of the staff, and multiple red flags throughout. My red flags include:

• Condescending language
• Contradictory expectations
• Overly complicated, jumping through hoops-type requirements
• Any reference to how much the site hates drama