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What makes you accept/pend/deny an application?


Sage
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In my experience as both a site admin and a member, different sites have different philosophies about accepting, pending, and denying character applications. So what is it that you look for when reviewing an application to your game? Do you just look for grammatical errors and continuity? Or is there something more that you look for?

 

I think one of the biggest things I look for is direction. I can usually get past some typos and wrong use of there, their, and they're if there is a solid character structure and a direction that the writer wants to take their story in. I usually pend an application if they just give me the basic character with no inspiration for them to grow or move forward, because to me that says A: that there's really nothing that this writer wants to accomplish with either this character or the game and B: this writer will probably end up ditching because they don't feel engaged with the story and their characters because they already applied with a complete story instead of growing into one. And the whole point of roleplaying is to write a collective story and challenge your abilities. 

 

I will rarely deny an application - I usually fall back to pending. I always try to give someone a chance and will actively try to work with them to join my community. But there are a few instances where I would consider a straight up denial: if the character is directly ripped from another writer/publication (I don't do canon fandom sites so this isn't an issue for me), if the writer has been disrespecting my community, or if the writing level is in no way up to par (or even close) with the rest of the community. 

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My main criteria for accepting an app is if when I read it I feel like I somewhat know the character.  I pend an app if I feel like I don't have that.  As for denying applications I think I only ever had to do that once and I don't actually remember why that was, it was a while ago.

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The first thing I look at when I get an app is if the player seems to have complied with our rules. Things like training requirements, species limitations, and some knowledge that isn't avaliable to new players. Most players have no problem with this because it's clearly outlined in the rules, but I've had to put a few apps pending with notes on what doesn't work because the changes could require fundamental changes to the character to work.

 

Then I look at what the overall feel of the character is, how they'll potentially mesh with the rest of the crew. Since my game has to run a little tighter than seems to be the norm on a lot of your forum games just because we're on a crew together and normally on the ship, and I run with a smaller crew than a lot of the Nova based star trek games I've seen, one person out of sorts with everyone else can make things frustrating for everyone. Thankfully I only really had one person come through like that, and in hindsight I probably shouldn't have allowed their character, so if I get another dramatic loner character, I'll probably consider pending or rejection. Most people get that our setting isn't really the best fit for a character like that, where a character like that might work out okay on a larger Starfleet vessel on an exploration mission instead.

 

There are a few players I've had bad experiences with on other games, and if I recognize them I'll just reject them outright. It's become very clear that they either don't like me, don't like the way I write my characters, or they don't like the way I feel a game was run, so it's just better for all involved if we don't cross paths.

 

Other than that, I'll try to work with pretty much anyone that puts in an app.

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Accept: Specific reference to the site lore. Specific references to other characters. For example another character has mentioned their own custom battle campaign, and the new app makes mention of that and ties their own story into it. YES! I love this, and it really makes community cohesiveness. Absolutely awesome. You get automatic brownie points for doing awesome stuff like this. No power trip red flags like wanting to control armies right off the bat is also nice.

 

Pend: Pretty much everything else. Usually it's just simple stuff like not following the account per character thing. Everything is fixable.

As Death Kitten said, the overall feel of the character does come into play. For example on my cyberpunk RP there are certain nuances to the universe, such as the fact that real animals are virtually extinct and very expensive. The regular citizen would own a fake android animal. If there's some average street punk with a real life dog in their possession, I'll usually ask them to remove it, or provide a very good justification and reason why the animal wouldn't just be taken from them by the first person seeking to get rich.

 

Deny: Demigod characters, and members who simply cannot take direction or cope with being told their character doesn't fit. I've done this about three times with particularly troublesome apps, and members who refuse to change them. Here's an example:

- Character was CEO of a custom Corporation (they weren't allowed as per the rules, had to pick one from the lore).

- Custom Corporation overshadowed the accomplishments of every established company in the lore.

- Member had gone through the timeline, picked out every bit of technology invented over the past two hundred years, and claimed that her Corporation had invented it then sold it off to those other peons.

- Character was born in 1900, despite the RP happening in 2187. Member had asked me when human cloning became widespread in the lore. I replied 2060s, so they'd have to be born within a time expected to survive until then, if they wanted to prolong their life via cloning. Still went ahead with 1900 birth date regardless.

- Used the 1900 birth date simply so they could say character fought in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and every conflict of the 21st Century mentioned in the lore (apparently all on the front lines even when over 100 years old at this point).

 

The entire app had overpowered issues, so it wasn't simply a matter of asking a few things being changed. Literally every line of it had to be altered, so I told them they'd have to start from scratch with an entirely new character.

 

And I should also note that every single point here was discussed prior to app being posted for review. And I told them a crystal clear 'no' to every single idea. They were still shocked when I denied the app, threw a public fit about how I was a bully, etc. At that point I asked them to find another site.

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I will pend and work with the writer in rounding the character and making him in line with the portrayed times.

 

I am looking first and foremost at the way how the person understands the historical times, from clothes (give me a lady with short hair and mini-skirt in 1700s and surely she won't pass!) to general life attitude and historical details (why would a character bear a name specific to an enemy country - enemy when the character was born- if he has no ancestors from that country? The explanation "the parents must have liked that name" is valid for our global times, not for those, when the names given were either the grandparents', or the godparents').

 

Then I am looking at the contradictions between personality and history, at the correlation between character's age and experience (no ship captain at 20, but a young lieutenant yes), overpowering (nobody can be the best at all range of weapons) and I ask to remediate them.

 

All together, if the writer is willing to work for a better character, in order to be better integrated in the story, we can do it together.

Edited by Elena
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I used to be a little picky with my acceptances on a multi-anime fandom site myself and a friend ended up running (we were the third admin team over the course of about 10 years). We made sure each OC character actually FIT into the anime they were choosing to base their character off of. If it was a phenomenally written app, we'd allow them multiple anime bases if they could justify one way or the other how to make it work for their character individually. We'd outright deny demon ninjas for Naruto bases, or strange goddesses for Inuyasha, etc. And the character couldn't change any of the cannon lore, no auto-ships with canons, unscripted children of, have powers out of line with everything else, carbon copies of cannons but renamed/redrawn, etc. Back then we were looking for quality, not just another "anything goes slightly-styled in" mesh.

 

Now though, I'm far bit lazier. And my current site allows me to be by design: As long as it doesn't outright contradict anything in the established Lore, and I have a feel for the character's workings (bio doesn't create a 180 from the personality, or powers/experiences that are completely impossible when the rest of the profile's information is taken into account) I usually stamp an approval on it. Mainly because my favorite profile apps are the ones where the character is "half baked" and there's room for them to grow within the site.

 

If anything doesn't work, or there's missing information that I feel is needed in order to get a "feel" for the character, I place it pending and inform the member what exactly I need them to change, and why. When I can, I like to list a few suggestions in case the member needs a brainstorming session. If we can find a middle ground, the profile will be put through - I only deny a profile if there's absolutely no hope for it.

 

Also, when I approve profiles, when able to I usually try to hint them in a direction that would introduce them to an existing character or plot I think the Newbie would do well with. After all, I know MY biggest problem is deciding "what do I want to do? Where do I want to start" after making a character.

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I'm more technical and less emotional when it comes to approving applications. I recognize that what I have in mind for an "ideal character" might not be what the applicant has in mind, and sometimes writing the app for the first character on a site can be overwhelming since the member doesn't know what exactly the admin is looking for or how a character will mesh with other characters.

 

To approve, I make sure that the character fits the setting, isn't a walking cliche, and is consistently written. As far as "fits the setting", I mean that the member must write the character based upon the rules and plot. Age, name, education, and skills must be appropriate for the world. In addition, powers, skills, and history need to fit the character individually so that we don't get ten year olds who are assassins or people with horrifically traumatic backgrounds who show no current sign of a problem (and no serious therapy to justify this discrepancy).

 

I also check for grammar and how well the member follows rules. If I have to hand hold, I won't approve the character and I'll talk privately with the member.

 

My general attitude is that denial of applications should be rare, but when it is used, it should be done in a professional and private manner. Denied applications shouldn't be publicly posted. I might attach the "pending" stamp for the sake of the member's privacy and then PM the conclusion to the member. (Or PM first and pend/archive after they got the message.) As you can see, I don't have anything set in stone because I do it so rarely.

 

I found what @sage said re: direction to be curious. I've never thought about taking direction of character into consideration when looking at applications, probably because it requires having a deeper knowledge about the rp than I'd expect a new member to have. It's also a difficult concept for me as a writer to wrap my head around since I lack the skills to be able to plan efficiently for the future. Sage, how do you encourage people to create development goals and room to grow for characters they may never have even played?

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My answer is a bit different because on our site we have the apps PM'ed directly to an admin, so there's not really a "pending" status. Basically just wait for the admin to go over the app, if there are corrections we deal with that over Discord. First thing I look at is, does everything in the app make sense with site lore. If that's all golden, next thing I check is history. If they haven't filled that out (it's optional on our app) we ask them for the highlights, how the character got to the city the game is based in, when they were switched to the night cycle (if they were switched), etc. We put all the apps in the staff section because the players have the option to hide/have their characters lie about their past without the other players/characters knowing, so that way we have the "real" version of events somewhere. We pretty much always have to review a few things with new players when the apps are initially sent, so most apps are in a way "pending" while we discuss things and make the changes that are needed, but otherwise I've never outright rejected an app or said no to a character concept. Worse thing that's happened is if the player didn't understand the site lore so they made a character that just didn't really make sense with the site, so we presented them with options on how they could have a similar character but that fit the site a little better. 

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@Uaithne I guess when I say "direction," I mean more...motivation? Drive? I'm not looking for a specific storyline or plot for a character to follow. That will happen organically over time as the writer integrates themselves within the community. But when a character joins into the rp, it is, essentially, their entrance into the story. And you don't start a book with the ending. You wouldn't read a story where the main character just piddles around, accomplishing nothing, caught in a development that's already complete. They should have room to grow and develop from that starting point you give them. They are on a journey, and they should be actively moving through it, as opposed to stagnating (unless that is a part of their journey). You should be working toward a goal with each character, though that goal may remain unclear. You can play a cookie cutter college kid, but don't just leave it at that. Give them goals to work toward, or a past that's driving them toward something. Give them an obstacle to overcome or villain to defeat. Even if that character just wants to stay by themselves and be alone, give them a motivation to want to be that way and an obstacle for them to face, even if that obstacle is something as simple as social standing or family expectation.

 

It's less about having a deeper knowledge of the rp and more of a deeper knowledge of what's driving your character. More experienced writers in an rp can get fancy with it, but for a beginner, keep it simple. For instance, I've seen a lot of applications where a character is created, but they have no drive. They're x, y, and z with  a, b, and c having happened to them. That's it. These could be really interesting things, but they don't necessarily create an engaging character that people want to play with. So when I see a sort of "blank" character like that, where they just kind of exist in the universe of the rp without really trying to affect anything, I try to ask leading questions. Like how has A affected them in their current aspirations? Or are they happy with where they're at in life right now? What do they want to do with the job that they're in? If they're X, how does that affect them in regards to B? These kinds of questions have been very helpful with our new members, and so far they've been very responsive to them. And their characters are all the better for it.

 

You don't have to plan the future plot for your character to give them a direction and chances are, if you're a good writer, these are things you're already doing. But because the site I'm on now is very plot heavy, which needs heavy character development to create meaningful plot developments, this aspect of an application is very important. 

 

 

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I'll pend applications if I notice that there's something off about it. Maybe there's a contradiction in their history (they were born in one city then later on they say they were born elsewhere) of if their application interferes with the world lore in a minor way. I mean if they say they were born in a kingdom and there are no kingdoms in the lore... they get pended until they fix things.

I also see no problems pending applications if they're a mess in terms of spelling and punctuation. I'm not asking for perfection here, however given that it's a writing site I also think it entirely fair that entry level stuff (periods with proper capitalization and quotation marks) be used. And if the app itself is a mess then I wouldn't expect any better for actual posts. As an aside, I don't accept English as a second language as an excuse because many languages (French, Spanish, German, Italian, etc...) use very similar rules.

 

I'll deny any application if I notice it's been stolen from somewhere. I will also deny any application if the player refuses to make changes. Either if they actively refuse or they tell me that they have made the changes when in fact they haven't. (Not to be rude about this, but if I've said something needs to change for <reason> then it's really not up for debate or argument. Fighting about it is not a wise decision.)

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We don't really have a "deny" option on our site, though we do have a character concept thread where certain species can be denied, but that's before the application process. For my site the biggest things I look for are correct rewriting of the powers, establishing weaknesses in those powers, adhering to the lore in their history, and then explaining how long they've been in the city and their relationship with their member group (if they're a species that has one).

 

I will say that there are some bios I ask for edits for that are *technically* done right, but lack...detail and emotion in their history. The ones that read like an outsider's account of just the important events in a character's life. They always leave me feeling completely unsatisfied and I feel like if I don't have any insight into their character after reading their entire history, then maybe they don't either. So I'll generally prod for more detail and more emotion from them for their history. I'll usually give them questions to answer in their history so they don't feel completely lost when they try to edit it. 

 

As far as powers go I do the same thing - I tell them exactly what's missing or wrong, and I tell them how they fix it and why it works that way. I feel like one of the most important things is for members to really understand the powers their character has so we don't have to deal with any confusion later. So I really drive the point home in regards of powers. 

 

As far as the actual character (like their personality or *what* happened in their history) I generally don't say anything about that at all unless their personality doesn't really say much at all about the character or the history has an event that *couldn't* happen that way because of the world my site is based in. 

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It's very rare that I'l deny an application. If there's an issue, I'll pend it and speak to the player about what needs to be corrected. The only time I've denied an application has been when the player turned out to be under our acceptable age limit.

 

As for what I look for, really my only thing is comprehension of our lore. Being that we don't have a set length each section has to be, I don't look for length or even depth. To me, sometimes a character isn't always fully formed in your head and sometimes you need to write them out to get a better idea of what they're like. So there's some short profiles on site but usually, our members end up going back and adding to them as time goes on.

 

I don't micromanage personality at all (some of our members have a few "outlining" words in their characters' personality field and that's it), and unless they're a certain species I really don't micromanage history either. Doing applications this way makes it not only easier on the player, but me too, while at the same time keeping all characters on site true to the lore and the way we do things.

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Acceptance: the app is well-rounded, with a clear but not predictable goal; good representation of game world / facts / canon / whichever, and an amicable ooc personality (if an app is good but the player is argumentative, they're not getting in)

 

Pending: app needs some revision, usually cutting out superfluous details that are jumbled; closer review of canon or game lore ; triple checking for suspicious content, ala plagiarism.

 

Denied: unsalvageable app, typically due to theft, hostile player attitude, stereotypical/cliche character (one that's purely tailored for canon/oc smut, etc), unwillingness to follow game lore (catgirls =/= real life settings). These are the only major reasons that are common, I'm sure some other staff would have a longer list of 'reasons to deny', but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Run your game the way you want.

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I rarely deny applications unless it's obvious that even with edits that they simply aren't understanding the lore and such. Or if they've been told the concept wouldn't work prior to the application process.

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I have never flat out denied an application (although I've come close) but I do not accept apps if it is clear that they have not read any of the provided lore, rules, etc. One of my sites is pretty heavy on lore, and I understand that this isn't for everyone. Some people love heavy lore, some hate it. However, it's stated in the rules of nearly every site I've seen to read plot/genre/setting stuff before creating a character, so I don't think that reading it is asking too much. 

 

If it seems like too much, don't join. There's no harm in that, either. 

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