Membership Changes in the RP World

[RavenFlame 10]

We all need a little Nostalgia every once in a while.

[Lawman 88]

Well, I can't say I've personally changed much as a RPer - then again, considering that I started RPing at the ripe old age of 26, I think I'm already at a point in life where I know what I want out of a site. Can't really say I'm pretty picky or particular though - I mean, sure I have my deal-breakers but as long as a site has none of those things I consider a deal-breaker I'm generally quite easy to please.

 

I mean, hell, my personal motto is (and to date has always been), "As long as you're having fun, then so am I." Provided said 'fun' doesn't come at my expense, that is.

 

Still, I noticed some changes over the past 8+ years or so I've been RPing. Some of the things I noticed include-

• Jcink gaining popularity as the preferred forum software
• The prevalence of mature/adult-oriented RPs. Used to be that PG-13/family-friendly sites were the norm, but now it seems the former are more commonplace, and family-friendly RP sites have become a rarity. Call me a conservative prude, but I remember a time when people wanted to find an adults-only RP, they'd need to trawl the dark, kinky corners of the internet for one. But these days, it seems the RPing world as a whole seems to have embraced them as mainstream. But I suppose it goes hand in hand with what was said earlier about how RPing is no longer predominantly the domain of high-schoolers and stuff.
• Enforced faceclaims. I recall a time when most RPs are "anything-goes" (as long as they're not pornographic in nature, that is) with regards to visual representation for characters. But these days most RPs are either illustrations OR photographs, but not both.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Lawman

[Icewolf 258]

I tried tumblr out once because I got fed up of the character count on twitter, but I find it's very difficult to gain a following on there because you never seem to be notified that people have followed you. In the end, they just became a place where I put solos, character profiles and other info which I couldn't fit on to twitter. (Some people use weebly for that, but I hate the layouts and have a little bit more freedom with tumblr.)

 

I think tumblr rp will die eventually because of the curse of SJWs on there and the difficulty there is in getting the word out about your game/profiles, etc. (I still use it for advertising, but not for rping, however.)

 

Twitter rp will die eventually because of the character count, the difficulty of putting info about your character and how you rp on there and the toxic bullying that goes on. (People mentioned that forums are more peaceful these days (I can't comment on that, because I didn't start out on rping on forums) - I wonder if the trouble-makers went there!)

 

Pan/multi-fandom forums are around now. I don't know how prevalent they were previously, but before I started my own forum I went on those for a time.

 

I have come across social media sites for role-play that have been set up by role-players for role-players. I think these have potential, if they can be focused on a fandom, or genre, rather than trying to be a jack of all trades which they seem to be now. Pan/multi-fandom sites and these social media ones have a weakness in that if there aren't members who are in the fandom that you're wanting to rp in, there isn't anyone to write with. That's why I think social media sites might have potential if they are better focused.

[Robmin 10]

I've noticed that proboards got less prevalent and seen as the 'noob' and 'kiddy' genre host, and recently seems to be making a comeback with the animanga community. I've also noted that the animanga community seems to have a level of chill and maturity that I wouldn't quite expect but I'm quite happy with in the same breath

[Jacob 58]

First, hen I was younger, Invision Free and Pro-Boards were the usual hosts.  I liked both in different ways, primarily coding wise.  My first board, an original high fantasy setting, lived briefly on the former.  That in mind, I agree wholeheartedly with @Blackjack Bart.  Personification has remained commonplace, though it wasn't to the extent observed by me since 2003.  If a person desired a non-human character, their chance(s) were better back then.  High word counts, long applications, rich lore, et cetera, caused much giddiness.  

 

Next, I admit I wrote Prince Florian (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (1937) at animated film canon locales most of the time.  He was fun till I dashed him several years ago.  What personal characters I crafted had places to roam, even if I compromised upon dialoguing with various administrators.  Physical disabilities came over me at age sixteen in late 2005.  Their increasing severity yielded online love and support which my minute-elder twin sister alone showed offline.  Nostalgia quickly set in, preserved to this very day,

 

Finally, from December 2013 until now, collaborative writing hasn't resurrected for me.  People are broadly lackadaisical.  How they've tried pressing guilting traditionalists like myself.  Sites without sheets and/or word counts pop up all the time.  One Role-Playing Game Initiative member advised me to try them; however, the idea has always made me shudder. Historically minded as I am, most users cannot separate candid figures against generic stereotypes  Every other venue even opens and closes like a revolving door.

 

Postscript:  @VirusZero and @xexes hit other key points I did not specifically give.  Much respect towards them.for that.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Jacob