What makes you stop browsing and join a site?

[Rune 1,099]

53 minutes ago, Morrigan said:

 

That's too bad with the start of the movement into Discord over cBox.

 

Yup. I don't want to have to download extra things to be able to participate. Nor should I have to.

[Morrigan 1,826]

Just now, Rune said:

 

Yup. I don't want to have to download extra things to be able to participate. Nor should I have to.

 

With discord you don't have to download anything though. You can but it's optional.

[Rune 1,099]

3 minutes ago, Morrigan said:

 

With discord you don't have to download anything though. You can but it's optional.

 

Except that even then not everyone uses Discord. There's also Slack, Chatango, and a million other things that aren't built into the site and are, generally, clunky and poorly implemented IMO. 

 

I'm all for it, if its what floats your boat have at it. 

 

Though, I do find it super weird when a board has a Cbox solely to tell people not to use the Cbox, to come join their whatever server.

 

Edit: Basically what gets me is taking aspects of the board off the board. Sure, having them is Nice. I love me some Discord and AIM and such, but eliminating the quick and easy method of chatting/getting newbies involved strikes me as moving backwards. Arguments could be had that it makes for sites bonding better. Just my weird opinion.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Rune

[Morrigan 1,826]

Just now, Rune said:

Though, I do find it super weird when a board has a Cbox solely to tell people not to use the Cbox, to come join their whatever server.

 

Yeah. At that point it's redundant.

[Nox 3]

We have a superhero board, so people some play villains, and the players also like slipping into impromptu IC conversations and interactions with each other. We recently added Discord, to take these IC conversations away from the main board, so that potential new players didn't get the wrong impression and think that some players were just being jerks and picking on other characters. 

 

We left the site cbox for G-rated non-confrontational IC interactions and greeting new players and answering questions.  So far, it's worked out really well. 

[Yume 99]

There was a time where I would join every site I could find in a particular fandom and let them weed themselves out (in the particular fandom sites dropped like flies, so I'd join a bunch, post, and see which ones lasted.) I had time, I didn't mind spending it on things that I knew were going to fall apart.

 

But then I grew up a bit, you know? I got a job, and suddenly things were a bit different.

 

These days I'm actually pretty picky. It's a wild combination making it through all the documentations without being put off by staff attitude or specific rules, and then looking over the application process to see if it's something I can stand, and then a test run in the cbox, sometimes (not always) to see if I get along with the members there. Whether I do this depends on how active the cbox is during my lurking and what time it is (compared to the time when posts are usually up, etc).

Being engaged well in chat and finding the members are people I get along with (at least shallowly) are likely to get me to stay, as long as the plot is interesting and I can see comfortable openings for a character. Because that's what gets me to stay, ultimately - do I see a place for a character I will like (or a canon I want to play). Is there a story I can see myself writing?

[Rune 1,099]

15 minutes ago, Yume said:

Being engaged well in chat and finding the members are people I get along with (at least shallowly) are likely to get me to stay, as long as the plot is interesting and I can see comfortable openings for a character. Because that's what gets me to stay, ultimately - do I see a place for a character I will like (or a canon I want to play). Is there a story I can see myself writing?

 

Oh god. Adoptables are my bane. I'll get sucked into them so badly and have to actively resist joining sites because I love the idea of one of them. 

[Morrigan 1,826]

I have that problem too Rune! This is why I have a new policy of not looking at wanted ads when I know I can't join a site.

[Indio 11]

I look for a plot and lore I can click with. If I click with it, I'll bookmark the site and see if I wanna come back to it later.

 

Assuming I want to come back to it later, I read over it more. Read the rules, any optional reading, some shippers or something.

 

If I'm really starting to get into what I see, I'll pop into the cbox. What members/staff say in the cbox will be make or break. I don't expect a welcome parade, but I like to feel welcome and acknowledged. I've had quite a few sites where I would feel invisible and those are the ones I leave. The ones I've joined have always had helpful, friendly, and encouraging people talking to me in the cbox. (I really don't like the Discord movement because sites look dead to someone like me)

 

If they have a canon/want ad that my muse clicks with, I'm done. I always leave those for last since they will always cloud my judgement, but they have always been excellent ways of getting into the site's story as a new person.

 

Overall it'll take about a week to two weeks before I join a site with intention.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Indio

[Rivfader 76]

On 5/18/2017 at 5:40 AM, Morrigan said:

 

That's too bad with the start of the movement into Discord over cBox.

 

This is actually something I'm not liking that much because I've yet to join a site that was using discord that also had an active cbox. In one case the cbox was so neglected it made the entire site look dead. I also find it waaay more convenient to be able to post in the cbox/keep an eye on it while I'm replying to threads, etc. Constantly changing tabs or looking at my phone to check discord can be a pain. So tbh if a site uses discord it tends to be a turn-off for me.

[Morrigan 1,826]

A lot of people that are moving toward discord no longer even have cBoxes. I know that I don't on my site. I understand where you're coming from though. On the flip side I find discord far more convenient as I can take it anywhere since it's on my phone and I get push notifications which cBoxes don't do. As an admin that means a lot to me because then I'm far less likely to miss a guest if I get a notification on my phone that someone posted on my discord server.

 

@Mephala

[Rivfader 76]

59 minutes ago, Morrigan said:

A lot of people that are moving toward discord no longer even have cBoxes. I know that I don't on my site. I understand where you're coming from though. On the flip side I find discord far more convenient as I can take it anywhere since it's on my phone and I get push notifications which cBoxes don't do. As an admin that means a lot to me because then I'm far less likely to miss a guest if I get a notification on my phone that someone posted on my discord server.

 

@Mephala

 

That could be useful actually, but imo I prefer to be cut off from my site completely whenever I step away from my computer to do other things. I think it'd drive me crazy if I was constantly being notified of chat posts and checking them all. 

 

 

[Morrigan 1,826]

Well that's what is cool, it's not constant. It would suck if that were the case especially when people get chatty. It'll give you like 3 notifications and then stop for like 30 minutes (or some number like that) three more and then stop etc. You don't HAVE to be notified at all but as a solo admin I need to know if someone is poking around and that's the way I can do it without chronically refreshing my browser on my phone. @Mephala

[Guest Archaic Cyborg]

An uninspiring premise; I keep finding the same bloody  plot in panfandoms, ala science-fiction where 'alien gods' kidnap characters, drop them on board a ship, and rotate the fandom environment every month.

[Marin 14]

For me, the first thing that makes me stop and start *considering* joining a site is the ability to play the character I want. I read the rules to make sure none of them particularly put me off as well as the premise. Honestly the rules are a bigger deal than the premise for the most part, but it's usually there so I read that--as well as any other important looking guides or systems. The story is down there below the community in terms of things that make me like a site. It's a noteworthy factor, but not the deciding one.

 

The other thing I like to look for is, of course, the community. Will they be welcoming? Can I make new friends? This is extremely important to the overall experience, as no matter how great an RP is designed it can't survive without a community.