Membership That's a deal breaker...

[jenneral_jennson 154]

I don't mind word counts, I actually like them (provided they're not something outrageous like 600+) they're definitely not a deal breaker. Extremely restrictive character limits, think only one ever, if I see that I will exit out of your game and never look back no matter how much I might like the genre or even the game itself. Mandatory post templates, no thank you. Restrictive naming rules such as only one Jennifer or one Nikolas allowed (if it's a specific naming convention like names on a Pern site it's fine). Overly aggressive activity checks (multiple ones in a single month etc) or aggressive (in)activity rules will make me back away rolling my eyes so hard I can see the back of my head.

 

There are many others but I'm starting to sound jaded and picky so I'll stop there. 

 

As for things that will pique my interest and make me stay. Lore, interesting and well thought out lore is my favorite thing. No character limits will make me love you, lax activity rules will make me love you more. I love period RPs, fantasy/sci-fi, and slice of life so something along those lines will make me look. I'm also a researcher so if there are too many inconsistencies in your regency era RP I'll probably not join. Friendliness of the members and staff will make me look twice. I don't even care if the site is not overly active if the members are nice and staff are helpful. 

Edited December 15, 2017 by jenneral_jennson

[Taako 5]

I think the one thing that, without a doubt, immediately causes me to run the other way...

 

...Is forced celebrity face claims...

I can adore every aspect of a site, but I just...Like someone else said...No real life person is going to BE the person I see in my head when I'm thinking up a character. Maybe it's just because I'm a character designer and a concept artist, but I just can't imagine my characters as real people. I've tried so hard to get into real life face claim sites, but the characters never feel like MINE, it always just feels like I'm RPing as the actor playing a role, instead of the character I came up with in my head. It's a disheartening fact that 90% of RPs these days only want real life face claims, and I respect them for their decisions, I just wish there were more places where an artist like me would fit in...It ends up feeling like I'm not welcome anywhere, like I don't belong...

[Sadrienne 242]

5 minutes ago, Taako said:

I just wish there were more places where an artist like me would fit in...It ends up feeling like I'm not welcome anywhere, like I don't belong...

 

I have RL face claims mostly, but having an artist on board that drew their own would make me wet-my-pants kinds of pleased. If I had the skills, I would do it myself. 

 

Things that make me run: board plots that are locked down to certain characters. I like to know that if I create my own character, it's going to get as much  value out of the plot as the pre-created canons.

[Suzi 20]

The community - If the feel of the community is unwelcoming and exclusive that's definitely a deal breaker for me. Everything seems to work best when new members are fully embraced from the get-go and are approached by other members for potential plots etc. A friendly atmosphere is preferred! 

 

The aesthetics - I like a neat and organised site that has good functionality. If it's confusing to find needed information or the application process then I'd end up just not bothering and finding somewhere else! Colours that are easy on the eyes are often preferred.

 

Lack of applications - I definitely love applications as it really helps me get a feel for my character - especially a new one. This also helps me get to know the basic jists of other people's characters too!  

 

[Guest Parasite Eve]

I'm the only one putting in ideas. Big no no for me. I enjoy having a good time with a partner on a story so if I'm the only one to implement fresh ideas what's the point?

 

Being told what type of picture, if I use a picture, I should have for my character. Hehe, nope. 

 

Romance is the focal point of the story. I enjoy and don't mind romance as a side plot, but when it is the main focus over everything else it feels stale to me. Again, I don't mind romance just on the side.

[Rune 1,099]

When AU goes too AU.

 

Like, sure, add stuff and make things more friendly but there's no reason to change massive aspects of the world and still claim to be that world.

[Sammiie 40]

Finding an awesome site, but finding out there's a lot of economical / historical background information that I have to read and comprehend. No thanks! I am no economics major and I certainly ain't no history buff. 

 

Finding a cool site with a cool plot, but also finding out that if you miss a day, you're completely lost in what happened in the plot. No thanks! I want RP to feel fun, not like a chore. If I feel like I have to check in everyday and read up on shit or else be completely lost, 10/10 I'm not gonna bother. 

[Kieran 15]

* No public figure / celebrity play-bys allowed. I'm a very visual person, I much prefer a photo of mine as well as other people's characters' over drawn pictures or none at all. Not everybody needs to use play-bys or even drawn pictures but I personally want that option.

* No play-bys or characters under/over X age allowed. I very much enjoy creating and writing children; my youngest at the moment is 3-years old at the beginning of the timeline. But I also want to keep my options open for older characters; my oldest at the moment is in his 60s during the timeline.

* Family members of your character not allowed as separate characters. Never in a million years would I join a site forbidding that. I enjoy perhaps above everything else, family centered plots and RPing all the members of a family and often get inspired for two or more of them enough to turn them into full-blown main characters.

* Pretty much any unreasonable character limitation.

* Word count. (Or at least the site needs to be extra specially interesting for me. I have no trouble meeting most word counts, I just don't like to be tied to a specific minimum.)

* Players forced to take part in the site main plot. While sometimes I create characters for the main plot, I prefer creating characters to explore and bring alive the universe and life outside the main events.

* Very high activity requirement, especially if they only care about IC posts. I want sites that acknowledge and appreciate also OOC activity and other character development methods.

 

Edited January 16, 2018 by Kieran

[dusk 106]

Tiny fonts, tiny fonts, tiny fonts! 

 

Also all the lore so decked out in fancy shiny crap it actually breaks the layout of your own board. Goodness people.

 

TINY FONTS!

 

I have actually stopped replying to posts with tiny fonts in their html templates. Much less joining boards with them.

[Raven 18]

if they allow canon characters. I don't like it, it squicks me out. I don't like writing with them, I don't like writing them.

requiring a ton of posts per a relatively short period of time, per character

300+ word counts

requiring post templates (app or shippers are fine, rp posts, no)

 

and obviously anything that seems like a red flag

[StormWolfe 557]

20 hours ago, dusk said:

TINY FONTS!

 

I have actually stopped replying to posts with tiny fonts in their html templates. Much less joining boards with them.

 

This is a bear for me too since using a browser's zoom doesn't always work. I think I've set my new site up with a comfortable sized font (pretty much, I can read it with relative ease and I have severe sight issues).

 

Deal Breakers

• Lots of personal drama being played out on the site. Arguments and issues that should be discussed in private and settled either off-site or in a hidden forum. I'm not talking about story or IC drama. But actual fights between players or players and admins.
• Rules filled with extremely profanity. Admins using extreme profanity OOC when speaking to their players, etc. I am not against profanity (have a bit of a potty mouth myself). It's just an old person's thing. 

There are others, but are often things I learn after getting involved in a site.

[FriedKilamari 46]

Rules that will immediately turn me away:

Word count

Character limits

Mandatory face claims (I have a lot of custom art of my OCs and hate trying to find people who look like them)

Really strict activity rules, like posting once a day or something??

 

I don't mind "drama rules" so long as it's just something along the lines of "No drama! Please take disagreements to PM, and if the situation cannot be resolved, don't hesitate to ask staff for help." Because you'd be so surprised how many people don't do that...

[Kaaytastic 11]

I tend to echo the whole word counts rule. Let me right what I wanna right. I tend to match my rp partner anyway but forcing me to make 500+ words, not only makes it feel like work but I tend to full up the entire post with fluff that doesn't need to be there.

 

Other things for me:

 

+ Restrictions on Pregnancies/Illnesses.

+ Gender Ratios.

+ Not being allowed to use RL PB's

+ Strict Activity Rules

 

[Sadrienne 242]

Any rule that ends with "except for staff because X".

 

There is no good reason why staff should be exempt from a rule. Period.

[Blahblahbertha 8]

On 1/22/2018 at 5:40 AM, Mousie said:

Any rule that ends with "except for staff because X".

 

There is no good reason why staff should be exempt from a rule. Period.

 

I think the only time when this is okay is when staff are held to a higher standard.  Like "Activity requirements are two posts per month; except for staff, who need to post four times a month," just as a poor example.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Blahblahbertha