Membership Which of these matters most to you on a site?

[Kieran 15]

A few specific questions to answer/discuss, if you will:

*If you feel like not joining an RP if there hasn't been activity/game posts for a few weeks, do you just x out immediately or do you check if that just happens to be an exceptional situation at the moment?

* Does the number of members on the site matter to your decision when you consider what's active enough for you? Like, do you consider it in relative terms?

* How likely are you to be the first to join a new site? Or even the second or third to join?

* Do you prefer simple small skin/layout that's easy to navigate or a fancy big and complex layout that sucks you into its hugeness and seemingly gives an impression of a gigantic game?

* Does the admin's activity level on the site's development/updates matter to you? On a site that already has many members? On a site that has a low member count?

* How crucial is the forum host to you?

* Do you have absolute deal-breakers? Or is there always something that might have you join a game anyway?

* * * * *

I come from a different kind of RPG culture in certain terms, and I'd like to do this bit of research as a new-comer and as someone who's trying to get an RPG site on its wings - so comments on the subject matter would be brilliant but I'd of course appreciate even simply picking one of the poll options. If you'd like you could maybe list those options in their importance order?

I'm not asking anyone to review my site or even look into it if it doesn't interest you as a game. I'm simply asking you to tell me what is most important to you personally out of the aspects that make an RPG in general so I can get some sort of statistics.

I've been here in the international RPG community for seven months now.
 

I haven't yet come across another RPG that would recognise also non-game post character development methods as valid activity towards not getting pushed aside in the activity checks. It seems it has to be game posts and nothing else will do. In addition to the vast majority of games I've looked through having more or less high game post requirement per week per character and specified as a rule. While some site's affiliate requirements include at least one post per 24 hours or else the affiliate will be removed...A triple culture shock right there.
 

And read that some won't join an RPG if it's been inactive for three weeks. And hence the first mentioned general game post love, I'm assuming it means they won't join if there hasn't been a game post for three weeks. RPG'D's activity colour code button system seems to support that theory. I do understand those choices basially, but it's left me with some questions.

 

And many analysis/reviews (on other sites too and not just here) seem to focus a lot on the skin/outside appearance matters unless the admin specifically requests the focus on an aspect X, which has confused me a bit though on one hand I do understand that "the wrapping" is important...Just not that important where I come from.
 

And I'm not saying anyone's opinions, preferences or values would be wrong - on the contrary, it's important that you know what you want from and for your RPing experience and that you'll find a site that meets your needs. I just want to know what kind of preference statistics I'm facing here, as in just how much different of a culture I have stepped into.

Thanks a bunch in advance! <3
 

My personal ranking:

 

1. Active admin.
(Because no matter what, that way a site stands a chance of living a long life.)

 

2. Game posts' quality.
(I need most of the members to be similar level writers seeing to myself, in order to enjoy RPing.)

 

3. General activity - any at all.
(I consider any activity an essential part of an RPG's life.)

 

4. The amount of lore.
(Rather more than less.)

 

5. Graphics/skin.
(Need to be easy to browse and read.)

 

I never really look into the cast of characters apart from Wanted ads because if the site's idea/plot appeals to me chances are the characters do too, and the game post count per week and number of members don't matter at all as long as there's clearly life in the game from the admin's side.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Kieran

[Honorem 219]

*If you feel like not joining an RP if there hasn't been activity/game posts for a few weeks, do you just x out immediately or do you check if that just happens to be an exceptional situation at the moment?

I join if the staff and at least a few members are active, because serious bouts of inactivity happen to any site. I think as long as the staff are active, then it's still alive and has a chance to take flight once more. But I realize this is a minority opinion; that many people will only join if there's X amount of posts per day, which is a shame. It won't ever get there because they aren't willing to make that happen. A site is only as active as its members. Staff can only do so much to promote it.

* Does the number of members on the site matter to your decision when you consider what's active enough for you? Like, do you consider it in relative terms?

I always liked smaller sites, so it doesn't factor in much. Like I said if there's just a few people active at least, then it's a go. Besides, you feel like you belong to a family when you're on a smaller site. A fast site that gets 10 members per day, I tend to just get lost in.

* How likely are you to be the first to join a new site? Or even the second or third to join?

Not very likely, because honestly I rarely join sites now days, but make my own.

* Do you prefer simple small skin/layout that's easy to navigate or a fancy big and complex layout that sucks you into its hugeness and seemingly gives an impression of a gigantic game?

I like a nice, professional skin but not overly complicated with hovering and non-static effects. Something that looks great but is also functional and avoids all the aesthetic crap that make it tedious to navigate. So in short, it has to look reasonably neat and the colours have to contrast well enough for me to read, but I don't want to have to hover over a board just to see the description.

* Does the admin's activity level on the site's development/updates matter to you? On a site that already has many members? On a site that has a low member count?

Always. If the admin is not around, I'll question who is going to approve my character, how is the site going to evolve? The answer is often that it won't.

* How crucial is the forum host to you?

Pretty crucial. If I join a mature game I'm not going to do it on Proboards or some other forum where they are breaking their TOS by doing this. I'm going to join Jcink or Icyboards, who I know allow mature content for premium, so there is no danger of it all just getting deleted. I think it's irresponsible for someone to make a forum on a hosting platform that doesn't allow the kind of content they are providing, just assuming they will never get caught.

* Do you have absolute deal-breakers? Or is there always something that might have you join a game anyway?

Absolute deal breakers in regards to members themselves. If there's even one tactless prick I am not joining. Dealt with too many of them as an admin and they just make me irrationally mad. The kind of people who will openly post in the CBox with stuff like 'your post was bad'.

In terms of the site, as above the skin has to be moderately neat. If they are using comic sans or a really bright colour that hurts my eyes, then I'm probably not going to join. It would be self-entitled of me to ask them to change the skin just for me, but also I don't want to squint trying to read.

Maybe the approval process too. I hate RP samples or RP trials, where the staff treat you like a baby who needs to be kept an eye on. It's like, aren't they grateful people are joining? Just have an app and that's enough, but don't make members jump through hoops.

 

My ranking is almost exactly the same as yours!

1. Game posts quality. If the place is full of what I like to call 'passionless RP' where people are posting just to flaunt their own characters, have no development or feeling, then I won't join.

2. Admin Activity. As you said, without them, it goes nowhere.

3. Amount of lore. Needs to cover all basic things, not be half-assed.

4. Colourful cast of characters. If I make a certain character type, is there anyone they can play with? No fun having a bunch of clones which are essentially the same role/trope.

5. Graphics/skin. As I've said like a broken record twice before, has to look neat but can't be cluttered with useless features.

[Morrigan 1,826]

37 minutes ago, Kieran said:

1. *If you feel like not joining an RP if there hasn't been activity/game posts for a few weeks, do you just x out immediately or do you check if that just happens to be an exceptional situation at the moment?
2. * Does the number of members on the site matter to your decision when you consider what's active enough for you? Like, do you consider it in relative terms?
3. * How likely are you to be the first to join a new site? Or even the second or third to join?
4. * Do you prefer simple small skin/layout that's easy to navigate or a fancy big and complex layout that sucks you into its hugeness and seemingly gives an impression of a gigantic game?
5. * Does the admin's activity level on the site's development/updates matter to you? On a site that already has many members? On a site that has a low member count?
6. * How crucial is the forum host to you?
7. * Do you have absolute deal-breakers? Or is there always something that might have you join a game anyway?

 

1. For this it depends. I won't x out immediately but if I don't get a response from the staff in a contact area within 24 hours I won't come back a third time. Normally this impatience actually boils down to 1-6 hours (especially if I see an active person show up in the recent activity).
2. For the most part yes. I consider the amount versus the amount of posts (most APC sites have more members that actual people that play).
3. Not as likely anymore but that's primarily because I don't join sites a lot anymore.
4. Neither. I like something that is easy on the eyes, the font is properly scalable so I don't have to zoom to read it and everything I need is somewhere I can find to access it.
5. Depends on the site but admin activity is pretty important. I know that I wouldn't have been able to stay on some sites if the admin wasn't active.
6. Not crucial. I need something that loads fast and works well on mobile.
7. Rules are often my top deal breaker but it's all dependent on the site.

[CovertSphinx 710]

*If you feel like not joining an RP if there hasn't been activity/game posts for a few weeks, do you just x out immediately or do you check if that just happens to be an exceptional situation at the moment?

If there's a couple of members still signing in, I'll give it a deeper look; maybe bookmark the site to check back if the rest of the board really interests me that much. However, if nobody's been on in the last 24 and the last post on the board was an advertisement from 2/3 weeks ago? Nope, moving on.

* Does the number of members on the site matter to your decision when you consider what's active enough for you? Like, do you consider it in relative terms?

If people sign in, and at least communicate if not necessarily in-game post each time, then I consider it active. Normally sites with like, 20 people signing in every day and 175+ members scare me. Like cable TV - so many to choose from, nobody to RP with.

* How likely are you to be the first to join a new site? Or even the second or third to join?

^ If I'm pretty stoked to try it, doesn't matter if there's just the admin or a half dozen people to be.

* Do you prefer simple small skin/layout that's easy to navigate or a fancy big and complex layout that sucks you into its hugeness and seemingly gives an impression of a gigantic game?

Simple, easy to read, quick to navigate, doesn't hurt my eyes. I hate overly fancy skins.

* Does the admin's activity level on the site's development/updates matter to you? On a site that already has many members? On a site that has a low member count?

If there's no admin, the board is dead no matter how many people still sign in.

* How crucial is the forum host to you?

I honestly prefer Proboards. The way its set up, the administrative layout/functions, etc. I LOATHE that their terms of service don't let you go into the "level 3" for sexual conduct. I'm not particularly big on RPing sex scenes themselves, but if I grab a darker character I like to be able to have the freedom to get descriptively nasty when plot appropriate.

 

* Do you have absolute deal-breakers? Or is there always something that might have you join a game anyway?

Snooty Staff - normally I can get a feel of the Admin's attitude by the way the rules are written. And activity mandates - I just don't have the time to be constantly on anymore: I'm a funeral director by trade, we pretty much have the same crazy hours as first responders; fiance and I are putting a lot of work into our house; and a baby on the way. I'm at the stage of life where I go "F that Shit".

 

 

 

As for order of importance... for the sake of vote I chose "colorful cast of characters". Give me a handful of unique and interesting characters and I will run amok on your site with threads and plots and adventure. The characters I can interact with are usually a big source of muse for me. Overall? I tend to just poke around and weigh everything as a total of neat and ew.

[Huskerdust 625]

7 hours ago, Kieran said:

A few specific questions to answer/discuss, if you will:

*If you feel like not joining an RP if there hasn't been activity/game posts for a few weeks, do you just x out immediately or do you check if that just happens to be an exceptional situation at the moment?

* Does the number of members on the site matter to your decision when you consider what's active enough for you? Like, do you consider it in relative terms?

* How likely are you to be the first to join a new site? Or even the second or third to join?

* Do you prefer simple small skin/layout that's easy to navigate or a fancy big and complex layout that sucks you into its hugeness and seemingly gives an impression of a gigantic game?

* Does the admin's activity level on the site's development/updates matter to you? On a site that already has many members? On a site that has a low member count?

* How crucial is the forum host to you?

* Do you have absolute deal-breakers? Or is there always something that might have you join a game anyway?

 

So, first, I voted for an ACTIVE ADMIN because of all those choices, that would definitely be number one for me. Without admin interest, I rarely ever see a site keep moving. 

 

As for the questions:

 

1. I won't join a site if there haven't been posts in weeks. How am I supposed to know if I'll get anything off the ground if nobody seems to be around? But if I'm a part of a site that goes quiet for a few weeks, I'll probably still hang around if the admin checks in regularly. My site falls into lulls all the time so I understand it. And I mean, if a site is cool enough, I'll bookmark it and check back in later.

 

2. Nope.

 

3. Very! I love helping new sites off the ground. I wanna be OG, yo!

 

4. Small, simple. I mean, I like it when a site is well thought out in terms of layout, so things don't seem shoved in just because they "can" do it. 

 

5. The admin's activity to me is the most important, regardless of the number of regular members. If they're not loving it, the site's gonna flop.

 

6. Not crucial at all. I prefer SMF because of the bookmark function, though. It's really annoying trying to work with free hosts that don't have them. Not a deal-breaker but definitely a frustration of mine. 

 

7. Word counts. Mandatory templates. "You don't have to give us much" but when you write a short history, they force you to give more because they can't get a feel for your character. Apps in general piss me off and bore me but I wouldn't say they're a deal-breaker... yet. 

[Morrigan 1,826]

2 minutes ago, Zozma said:

"You don't have to give us much" but when you write a short history, they force you to give more because they can't get a feel for your character. Apps in general piss me off and bore me but I wouldn't say they're a deal-breaker... yet. 

OMG! THAT IS THE WORST!

[Elena 546]

I commented on your site, rather than actually reviewing it. I like you and I think we have a lot in common as writers, even if there are some things which we have opposite opinions on, too (but even in families this happens). The fact that I am into historical fiction and you into Harry Potter, which I happen to moderately like (I read 3 or 4 books, I watched a few of the movies, they are OK, I like Hermione a lot) makes me not the best critic for what the lovers of Harry Potter would like seeing in a site they want to join.

 

But I am ready to answer and discuss various aspects you have approached hereinafter.

 

*If you feel like not joining an RP if there hasn't been activity/game posts for a few weeks, do you just x out immediately or do you check if that just happens to be an exceptional situation at the moment?

 

I might check it later, if I like the story and I am inspired to further it (because this is my first and foremost reason to join a site. I can’t join it if I am not inspired to further it, even if I like reading the story written by others – and there are members of RPG-D, not sure if members here too, who know I am lurking their sites whenever I have time, for years, reading stories or – for a Harry Potter site which I love the way it is organized, and it is 9+ years old – mostly their chronicles and their special events, sometimes commenting with one of the administrators on FB or e-mail a thing or another.)

 

But usually, if a site is actually dead for 2+ weeks (ie no posts from anybody, not even from the staff), it won’t resurrect anymore. It is a sign the administrators and members lost interest, or that someone is building another site they all flew to, or that it is the result of a drama having blown out on the site.

* Does the number of members on the site matter to your decision when you consider what's active enough for you? Like, do you consider it in relative terms?

 

No. I measure activity in the willingness to post vs waiting 10+ days for a reply, not in the number of members.

* How likely are you to be the first to join a new site? Or even the second or third to join?

 

I am the first to join a site if I know the administrator and I want to help her site take off. I have done it before. Also, the second or third in the same circumstances (because usually the second is the co-administrator or moderator).

* Do you prefer simple small skin/layout that's easy to navigate or a fancy big and complex layout that sucks you into its hugeness and seemingly gives an impression of a gigantic game?

 

Simpler better than fancier, but there might exist a middle point too.

* Does the admin's activity level on the site's development/updates matter to you? On a site that already has many members? On a site that has a low member count?

 

On any site, the administrator’s activity level matters, because if the administrator isn’t active and interested in his own game, then why would we be? The administrator is the one setting the pacing and the example for the community.

,
* How crucial is the forum host to you?

 

I prefer jcink, I don’t like proboards and forumotion. But I have joined, in the past, proboard sites because the story interested me. Don’t ask me how long those sites lasted, though….

* Do you have absolute deal-breakers? Or is there always something that might have you join a game anyway?

 

I mentioned below in my comments my deal breakers: activity request of more than one post a week, word counts higher than 200 words, post templates, dohtml, inactivity, tiny fonts.

 

Now, top ranking:

 

1.Active admin – if the administrator isn’t active and invested, the site will die. And I was among those left to switch off the lights too many times.

 

2.General activity level – because I don’t want to be stuck in the same battle for one year, and to have people’s inactivity block for months important plot threads, on which outcome other plots are based.

 

3. Game post count per week and Game posts' quality, at tie – it shows the expected level of activity. One post a week in each thread you owe replies to, if it is your turn, it is reasonable. One post a day – no way. Post count of 100-200 words, acceptable. Anything above, not acceptable, because my regular post length might vary, in the same thread, from 70 words to 700. No one liners and no rapid fire, either. Rapid fire puts too much pressure on me. I want to have my time to research for each post, and because I have always lots of threads ongoing, if I have time to write 3 posts, I prefer to have them in several threads, because all the chapters of the story deserve pushed forward. (I see each thread as a chapter in the story we are writing together).

 

4. Graphics/skin! – if the skin is too dark and the letters don’t contrast enough, I can’t see it properly. If the font is too small, I can’t see it properly. If I am forced to use post templates or dohtml – no way, I am too technically challenged for this.

 

5. The amount of lore! (A lot of it.) – Yes, I need to know what works and what doesn’t, what to include in my posts and bios.

 

6.Colourful cast of characters – Important, but I’d say less “colourful” and more “appropriate for the setting and for the story the site wants to tell.”

 

7. Character development activity, (not just game posts) – it is OK it exists, but it shouldn’t be used instead of posts, only complementary to posts, when waiting for replies. (I think it is about journals, IC games and surveys). Because the actual story is the one written in posts, and everything else is just topping on the cake.

 

8. The number of members – not very significant. A few dedicated ones might be better than many flaky ones. And I also know the number might vary. My site is five years and a half. We started with 6 members, we had 40 at our highest, now we have 9 active members with about 56 characters, to which NPCs are added. But it doesn’t mean that if we have only 9 members now we are going to close shop. By contrary, as long as we have stories to tell, they can continue even in 2 members. Only that if fewer members, there will be more NPCs to be shared between them.

[Kieran 15]

11 hours ago, Elena said:

But usually, if a site is actually dead for 2+ weeks (ie no posts from anybody, not even from the staff), it won’t resurrect anymore. It is a sign the administrators and members lost interest, or that someone is building another site they all flew to, or that it is the result of a drama having blown out on the site.

OMG, really?! That is so not the case in my country. Two weeks fly by so very fast in life, that especially sites which have only a couple of players in addition to the admin the forum may be silent for two weeks without being considered downright dead or coming even close to the whole game being doomed. A site is only sleeping at that point.
Now, if a game was completely abandoned by everyone including the admin for a month without any absence notification, then we might have doubts about its future. But two short weeks, not a problem. Then again as I've stated somewhere else - we've never had those "X game posts per character per week" requirements either.

But darn good to know that it's so different here in the international community. But then I don't think it'll become a problem for my site, most of the time. Though our culture in general is way less demanding about constant activity - still for years I have updated Nevermore's Finnish version on average from 1 to 3 times a month, and especially actively if all the other players seem to be on a break for whatever reason. Indeed in an attempt to make sure that any visitor, no matter what their personal experiences, would know that the game is not dead as I have not abandoned it. And if I know in advance that I can't contribute for 1+ weeks I always post an announcement about it, in case the site gets applicants during my absence.

I say 'most of the time'' because being only human I may not always be able to keep up that adminning activity or know in advance about all my absences. I just hope that here in the international community such possible two-week periods don't happen to be those that also other players are silent or be periods when the site gets most visitors. o.O

[Elena 546]

@Kieran, I saw that you have said somewhere that you take 30 - 60 minutes for one post. It is all right, this is my average time too (which can get up to 2 hours if I get interrupted often or if I need to research something in order to continue the post - and you know one can get lost for hours in research sometimes  if the topic is interesting.

 

But you have said also that sometimes 3 weeks can pass without a post at all - in this case, how can you keep the story going? Isn't your lack of posting blocking the story for several other writers/ characters? Aren't they going to get bored and leave, for being stuck for 6+ months in a battle of 3 pages or more, just because every writer (or only you) get 3 weeks between posts? And isn't the outcome of the battle (or tournament/ ball/ other event) important for the other threads of the people too, so they can't do other threads while waiting for the details?

 

This is why sustained activity is necessary, to avoid such situation, even if I don't mention also what most writers say about writing discipline and trying to write regularly and make time for it on purpose, if not every day, at least every week....

Edited February 19, 2016 by Elena

[Kieran 15]

3 hours ago, Elena said:

But you have said also that sometimes 3 weeks can pass without a post at all - in this case, how can you keep the story going? Isn't your lack of posting blocking the story for several other writers/ characters? Aren't they going to get bored and leave, for being stuck for 6+ months in a battle of 3 pages or more, just because every writer (or only you) get 3 weeks between posts? And isn't the outcome of the battle (or tournament/ ball/ other event) important for the other threads of the people too, so they can't do other threads while waiting for the details?

 

The keyword in that statement is: 'sometimes'.
It doesn't happen very often from my side and it can't happen very often from anyone without something being done about it. Part of the activity rule in Nevermore is that if a player is frequently inactive for many weeks at a time - especially with game post activity - I'll contact them with a friendly e-mail about it and give a week to respond & if there's no signs of interest in that time, I'd delete their accounts and temporarily archive their characters and game events.

As in I attempt to give players stress-free space and time to work with their creativity in bigger plot points and/or during times in their personal life when things happen that prevent them from posting weekly but when they don't necessarily need or want a full-blwon break. While at the same time I attempt to make sure no one constantly slows down game events for weeks at a time, because such frequent long freezes indeed would begin to hurt other players' ability to develop their characters.

 

In the Finnish version of Nevermore that part of the rule is unwritten as reasonable game-posting activity should go without saying, but I chose to write it down anyway for Nevermore because our activity requirement is significantly lower than most english language RPGs seem to have and I wanted to point out that it doesn't mean it's going to die, as I do care about keeping it active.

On both sites I'm enforcing that rule in a case-by-case manner, as in I would not remove a player who is frequently inactive for weeks because of depression or because of having a small child to care for or having a family crisis etc. - while I would ask them to announce and take a clean break until they've gained more energy or time to play, so that other players can develop their characters freely. And that if at the time of their return there was no more room for their original plans, they could always cook up new plans.

This has worked fine for years, in my country's community.
Because...

"How can you keep the story going? Isn't your lack of posting blocking the story for several other writers/ characters?"

Easily, and no it's not. My sites don't have over-arching/site-wide plots but they're individual character/relationship driven. While time doesn't move. as in players are free to set game events to any point of the timeline at any time OOC and have one character in multiple game events at once. (Which is why individual character trackers are mandatory & I have a site calendar which pulls together all game events in chronologal order. At the time of writing this the calendar's not yet up at Nevermore but will be soon.)
Thus, occasional weeks-long freeze of a game event usually doesn't effect anyone but the co-player in question, while it never completely blocks their characters' story what with them still being able to develop other parts of their story with other players.

"Aren't they going to get bored and leave, for being stuck for 6+ months in a battle of 3 pages or more, just because every writer (or only you) get 3 weeks between posts?"

No, they're not.
Just because everyone has the right to take a few weeks to reply it doesn't mean that anyone/everyone is doing so between every post. Exactly because most people realize that a social interactive writing requires a higher activity level, realize that such right is meant to be taken advantage of only if a game or life situation for some reason demands it.

And also because of how anyone is able to write multiple game events at once with any of their characters - as in they can always have something interesting to write and/or they are free to start up something new if such unlikely situation happened that all of their current co-players became inactive. While there's always the multiple other fun and interesting ways to develop your characters while you wait for someone to reply, ways that can be just as helpful than game posting.

Also, if a player started to feel like a specific game event is taking too long to wrap up - they could simply contact the co-player and politely make a deal with them about skipping ahead in it so it will wrap up sooner or wrapping it up at whatever point it is currently by just deciding the end result OOC. In most cases that's not hard to do, as the ice has already been broken between the players when they first planned the game event.

"And isn't the outcome of the battle (or tournament/ ball/ other event) important for the other threads of the people too, so they can't do other threads while waiting for the details?"

Not really. I mean, yes the outcome has an effect but it doesn't have to prevent the players from doing other threads.
As said, on my site you don't have to RP your character's life in chronological order and you can keep open multiple events at once. If you have an essential event going on setting to February 15th 1987 and you think or know that something's going to happen in it that has a significant effect on the events that set after it...Then of course you better not set any events to a later point before you've either reached or decided on the outcome of that particular event. Even if that advanced slowly, you can still do game events set to an earlier day of that year or to any point of any earlier year.

Even for those who prefer writing their characters in chronological timeline order, it would be recommendable to keep open at least two events at once with at least two different players. On any site. Because if you really think of it; just because a site requires X game posts per character per week or has a monthly activity check, it in no way ensures constantly active co-players. You can still end up with a game event frozen for weeks. Because not everyone who joins a "X game posts per week per character" site is actually able to keep up with it constantly.

I believe that the main difference between those and my activity rule is that I have minimized the preassure aspect, while obviously targetting my site for the type of players whose creativity flow doesn't demand constantly fast-paced advancement but who are comfortable with and even need occasional few weeks periods to vision their next reply or to let their brain breathe/rest.

While still I have executed the site so that everyone at any time has something to play or do with their characters if only they want to; from Solo RP to general fanfiction to character surveys to character extras and art corners. And hopefully, when we some day will have more players there will always be someone you can plot and plan with.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Kieran

[Elena 546]

It isn't how I had read that comment, and I am glad it is this way. <3 Everything you are saying above proves that you are a good administrator.

 

We have a siteboard calendar too, but this makes, for us, trackers optional and only very few people had them in all these years. And yes, my perspective comes always from a plot-centric story, where one absence matters (if not already discussed in order to make an arrangement, in that case everything is OK).

Edited February 20, 2016 by Elena

[Kieran 15]

Thank you! Yeah, I don't really remember how exactly I phrased the statement or where I said it but surely in written format misunderstandings and interpretations can be many. I'm glad if I was able to clarify something this important.

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that the trackers are mandatory also because our timeline is broad - a little bit over 12 years. Even if you chose not to make use of the full timeline (which is totally okay), in a long run it'd still be easy to mess up your character's cause-effect matters and life situations in general if you didn't keep track of them. Also, it makes it faster for me to make sure I have all events updated to the calendar when I can just look through organized Trackers and not have to surf through multiple boards where topics' orders keep changing with each new post.
As in they're really useful and helpful for all participators on my site. But then again, I have considered to and may make them optional anyway as those who really don't like keeping them for whatever reason aren't likely to keep them up to date anyway (as I don't actually have any requirement for how often they should be updated.)
I've never actually heard of a person who'd absolutely oppose to keeping a Tracker, but just in case...

[Rune 1,099]

*If you feel like not joining an RP if there hasn't been activity/game posts for a few weeks, do you just x out immediately or do you check if that just happens to be an exceptional situation at the moment?

If there hasn't been a post in a few weeks (especially in the cbox) I assume the board is dead. 

* Does the number of members on the site matter to your decision when you consider what's active enough for you? Like, do you consider it in relative terms? 

Yes and no. I don't mind small sites. Having a handful of people is great and makes it so you can get involved. But I don't mind large sites, either. More options to RP with, more chances that you'll find someone you mesh with. I've seen both sites go either way, small sites that you can't get involved with because everyone knows everyone and you aren't part of that, large sites where everyone already has their plots so you're left by the wayside... It depends on the board, honestly.

* How likely are you to be the first to join a new site? Or even the second or third to join?

I've been a starter member several times. I like doing it, but I like helping so that gives me the chance to do that. I don't have anything against new sites, but there are people that do (there are also people that hate old sites, so who knows.)

* Do you prefer simple small skin/layout that's easy to navigate or a fancy big and complex layout that sucks you into its hugeness and seemingly gives an impression of a gigantic game?

Ugh, give me simple. If I have to go digging to figure out where information is I'm going to lose all interest. 

* Does the admin's activity level on the site's development/updates matter to you? On a site that already has many members? On a site that has a low member count?

I've never seen a site survive an inactive admin. How often do you see in dead site's cboxes someone going "Well, the admin vanished..." Especially on a site where they require character approval, etc. I don't expect a site to be updated monthly with a new skin/new plot/new everything and I've seen a trend lately where sites feel the need to "reboot" every few months and I don't get that, but maybe I'm an old fart in that regard. If a site has a ton of members or a few members, it makes no difference to me. It all depends on how my presence is received and how they are about threading with new people. If I have a thread going with someone on a site with few members and it feels like they're doing it out of obligation, but a site with a ton makes me feel like I'm home I'm going to pick the bigger site.

* How crucial is the forum host to you?

I harbor a weird hate for proboards. I'm not even sure why.

* Do you have absolute deal-breakers? Or is there always something that might have you join a game anyway?

Gender/sexuality ratios. If I have to play 1 male for every 2 females but there's no rule in the reverse, I'm probably going to dodge the site. I'm not a fan of character limits, but I get them. I just don't get the point to trying to keep the gender ratios even. Not everyone is straight and people want to play what they want to play... Whats it matter? Also, having to date posts. I don't know what day it is IRL much less your special timeline.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Rune

[Cardea 0]

Honestly the thing that makes me least likely to join a board is ridiculous rules.  Or information topics that have no paragraph breaks.  You could have the greatest game in the world but I don't have time to squint my way through that.

[iReadYerMind 2]

There have been times when I liked the premise of a site, the lore, etc. and noticed that only the admin were active - and joined that forum simply because it needed more active members and I wanted to be a part of something awesome, and get in at the "ground level", so to speak. 

 

It's a pet peeve of mine when I see someone interested in joining my forum (which has active threads, open threads, adoptable characters, etc.), but decide not to join because "this site doesn't have enough members". How can it GET more members if you don't join us!?  lol

 

In regards to active admin: not only should they be active, they should be polite/courteous, willing to answer questions, and available to RP.  There have been sites I've considered joining, but tried to ask questions of or interact with the admin, only to be treated like the scum of the earth.  Admin who look down their noses at guests or prospective members are a huge turn-off to me!  I always try to make everyone feel welcome, whether they've been RPing for weeks or for years.

 

EDIT: One more thing --  I've also seen sites where there are, say, 10 members -- and 9 of those members are admin.  That's also a turn off for me, because it appears to be more of a clique than a welcoming RP group. A forum with 10 or fewer members does not need more than two or three admin, in my opinion, and being the sole non-admin on a forum sometimes feels like the admin could gang up on me or ignore me for not being a part of their clique.

Edited July 22, 2016 by iReadYerMind
added more info