Staffing Should staff attempt to RP with all members?

[Kit the Human 758]

Since no one else has started the topic....I will 😄

 

Do you think that a staff member should endeavor to RP with all members? Why/why not?

 

If yes, does this extend to attempting to having some kind of plot with all members? So going beyond the initial first thread.

 

Things that are self-evident: large RP sites where it's not humanly possible to RP with literally everyone! If you're in that scenario, do you instead make an attempt to RP with most incoming members in addition to your usual crowd? Why/why not?

 

If you're a member, do you think that staff members should make an effort to RP with you regularly?

[Uaithne 543]

Yes, I believe that staff should make an attempt to RP with all members.  (Aside from very large sites, of course.)  It does not have to be all at once, and it doesn't need to turn into long-running plots with everyone.

 

There are a couple reasons:

 

1) Staff members set the tone for the site.  Encouraging RPing with everyone (or nearly everyone) is really important on most sites.

 

2) Staff can then gauge how individual members write and interact with others.

 

3) Staff can learn more about the individual members at a personal level.  It's very welcoming to have a staff member offer to RP with you.  In fact, it's one of the most welcoming things one can do.  It's more than just "Hey, welcome to the site, here's your starter kit," but "Welcome to the site, I value interacting with you as a person, so let's have fun."

 

Obviously there are times when it's not possible such as when the staff members' plates are full, or when the characters are in different parts of the map, or whatever.  But it's a kind gesture to at least RP with every member every once in awhile.

[Gothic 307]

I think there should be attempts made although limitations in regards to the staff members personal preferences and time dedicated to rping. 

 

A few years ago when AeRo was much larger I used to try to do this. What ended up happening was I was stretched too thin and it would take far longer than necessary for posts. I still like threading with all the members, although I try to limit myself and only create more when a thread has been concluded. The good side was; people felt welcome and included in the community. Like @Uaithne said. 

 

As a member, I like when a staff member shows they want to RP with me beyond the initial welcoming thread. (I reach out to members, etc for other plots and things to.)

[ObiWanJabroni 17]

Uaithne hit the nail on the head. While it's not always possible to do it constantly or all the time, the attempt SHOULD be there. Lead by example and always set the tone for your members. If you can't be inclusive, why should your members be?

[Kazetatsu 263]

I don't really think that every member of staff need rp with every member who joins a forum, but I do think that  at least one member of staff should rp with any newcomer who joins early on, or at the very least get the new member involved in plotting. As staff we know what's going on around our sites better than many, and even if we can't rp with a member, ourselves, we can get a sense which players have characters who  would be a good fit, and spitball some plots.

 

I find it even better when long term members are involved in engaging the new members. The staff blanket sometimes makes staff participation seem necessary and token sometimes. I've sometimes been scared of frightening new members by being too present in their introduction to a site, especially during slow seasons.

As a joiner though, I'm the shyer type. The sites I used to be on were too big to give newcomers special treatment so I'm used to just throwing out a thread or two once I've made a character, and making do. I might even feel a little bit paranoid if I knew that the first person to jump in to one of my threads was a staff member, and prefer not knowing who staff is over getting newbie treatment.

[Elena 546]

I agree with @Uaithne. Staff is the one to be an example first to the members, so if they aren't welcoming, all including and trying their best to integrate the newcomers into the story, who else would? Besides, who knows  the ongoing story better than the staff, to know where the new character fits and in what roles? If the staff can't do it in an overwhelming moment (because they are human too) then the faction leader of the faction the new character belongs to, should do it.

 

Yes, I agree to whole plots together - but preferably not merely together, but in collective threads which would give the new character opportunities to get acquainted with and establish relationships with several other characters. (Workmates, friends, enemies...)

[Kajes 40]

I agree that staff members should attempt to rp with a wide range of their forum's members, if not all of them. An' I agree with the reasons stated, especially Uaithne's second point, "Staff can then gauge how individual members write and interact with others." But, I've seen this back fire.

 

Indeed, it feels very welcoming to have someone jump into your first couple of AW threads on a new forum. But if the staff member who is charged with welcoming newcomers, or just takes it upon themself to rp with everyone, is the only person showing any interest in your character and threads, you can feel left out of the community even while gettin' some attention. It gives you a strange feeling of being patronized or...a vibe of dishonesty from the staff or community...as if the staffer does not want to thread with you, is not really interested in anything you're offering, but feels obligated to because they want to be seen as a good staffer on a good site wit' a good community. That feeling is also fed by a lackluster first thread with the staffer. Lackluster in the sense that...your character is talking and doing things, but they're is just sitting there...staring at you, doing nothing. The replies are a long wait and their other threads seem more lively...so what is wrong with yours? It all makes me squint. I know this may sound like I have a chip on my shoulder, but the experience I'm drawing from is a 4 to 5 month long stint on a forum in which, I'm pretty sure, my character was ignored or excluded because I chose an unpopular species...and the game had mechanics in place that were supposed to encourage characters of the same species to thread, but seemed to be more discouraging characters of different species to thread. Nothing about my character's character or me was seemed to be unwelcome, but hey... Faulty mechanics.

 

So, I agree that staff members should try to keep their range of rp partners on their forum as wide as they can, but with the caveat that they should only do so honestly. Out of a true interest in the character or thread, and not just out of a sense of obligation. Cuz' obligation alone can produce some really boring threads and doesn't, always, come with the feel goods this welcoming practice should.

[StormWolfe 557]

It appears that I am the lone dissenter.

 

I think it all depends on the characters. Is it logical that Staff A's character would interact with Newcomer B's character? If it makes sense, then by all means, they should go for it.

 

My sites are very small and I am the only Admin (not by choice). I make every reasonable effort to be welcoming and encouraging to new people. Fortunately, most of our members also leap in and look for connections. In the course of a plot unfolding, I usually manage to RP with most of my members.

 

However, I consider my admin duties separate from my RP duties. My job as an Admin is to keep the site updated, and running smooth. My job as Game Manager is to oversee the main plot and see that there are opportunities for everyone to join in that wants to. My job as a member is to write posts, respond to tags, and look for new writing opportunities.

 

Be welcoming, encouraging, and offer writing opportunities when and where they make sense.

[Jones 177]

I am not at all sorry to still  be an odd one out on this subject. No I do not and I have never felt that staff is bound by any sort of responsibility to write with everyone. Nobody should ever have the fun of rp sucked out that way. No one has to write with anyone they don't actually want to write with.  Forced threads are usually quick to fall flat and become boring. When it comes to game play, my expectations of staff members are exactly the same as they are for other regular members. Not everyone is going to want to play with me, or have time to play with me. This a hobby! Its meant to be enjoyed. Burning out on self imposed obligations is not fun.

 

Be welcoming. Help your new members plot. Love your game so much that you would gladly still write there if you were the only person. It will show, people will join, they will be inspired by your enjoyment of the game. They will find a way to participate. 

 

I'm not saying it's wrong, or a bad way to admin. To each their own. I do think its one of those things that could make some not very happy admins happier though.  I have been a part of plenty of sites in my 15 years of forum rp and not a single one of them has exploded or died because the admin said no to a thread with a new member. I like the way @Stormwolfe put it: 

 

28 minutes ago, Stormwolfe said:

... I consider my admin duties separate from my RP duties. My job as an Admin is to keep the site updated, and running smooth. My job as Game Manager is to oversee the main plot and see that there are opportunities for everyone to join in that wants to. My job as a member is to write posts, respond to tags, and look for new writing opportunities.

 

[nyx 164]

Yeah, I'm going to go with a no on this one. Sometimes characters just don't mesh together and I'm not one to force interaction if it doesn't make any sense even if I am the admin. I used to do this, I used to feel like it was my duty to do this but I had to stop. I quit rping for three years because I was doing this and spreading myself too thin, the muse and love I had was gone. When I came back I set limits for myself and honestly since I do that it's a lot better. On the flipside, if it does make sense I'm all for plotting. 

 

I'm always welcoming though and we do point them towards the plotters and our open thread listings which is always active. Members get rewarded for interacting with new folks/posting with them and it's been working out very well.

[Jones 177]

1 minute ago, wicked said:

I'm always welcoming though and we do point them towards the plotters and our open thread listings which is always active. Members get rewarded for interacting with new folks/posting with them and it's been working out very well.

 

^This. There are a LOT of ways to make members feel welcome and appreciated. I straight up hate the implication that a site is less welcoming if the admin don't make an effort to write with everyone. It's just not true. 

 

In fact, I think the behavior can even be misleading. If an admin is writing thread after thread with a member that doesn't really fit in for the sake of being 'welcoming and setting an example' that member is less likely to move on to a place where they can be happier.  You wouldn't force your other members to play with that person, would you? 

[featherstone 69]

I'll help people find a thread, create events where they can meet others, I'll play NPCs whenever needed, however I won't force interactions if they don't fit (or if I don't have the time for so many threads). RPing should be a joy, not a chore. Add that I'm a solo admin and I also do other things sometimes. 

[memoria 37]

Surely, it is nice for staff to make an effort to roleplay with newcomers, but I think it also largely depends on the staff member's time, if there are other events going on, what is the population of the board, etc. There's a number of factors that could make it possible or not possible to plot with newcomers. A board shouldn't be criticized for not reaching out if they have other things going on within the board already. I feel as if storytelling is a commitment between both the staff and the players.

 

2 hours ago, featherstone said:

I'll help people find a thread, create events where they can meet others, I'll play NPCs whenever needed, however I won't force interactions if they don't fit (or if I don't have the time for so many threads). RPing should be a joy, not a chore. Add that I'm a solo admin and I also do other things sometimes. 

 

Similar to @featherstone I always enjoyed engaging with new people by using NPCs. In this way, you do not really need to be committed to throwing a more fleshed out character into a story with some one who may or may not stick around. Or, if you feel that the newcomer may have wanted to find their own footing, it's easier to withdraw a NPC... or just kill the NPC off. 😄

[Icewolf 258]

If the site is small and there are few members, then I do think that staff should endeavour to rp with everyone, but it's not always possible - there are limitations.

 

- You have to consider how the characters will mesh together - if it makes sense that they would have an interaction. For instance, if you have a fandom site and the new member creates a character that is family to the staff's character, then they should always rp together. (That's just one example, there are others.) Sometimes it doesn't or it can be difficult to come up with an idea to get the characters interacting.

 

As well as RL commitments, staff also have duties on the site which might not always make it possible to write with everyone and that's something members have to bear in mind. I know that when I've been working on maintaining the site, I then don't want to have to make IC posts - I need a break from it, so it'll no doubt be the same with staff and admin who are running other sites. I don't want to be the grumpy admin because I'm tired trying to write out IC posts and have that grumpiness shine through with how I write the posts, or how I interact with members, so having a break is a good thing to recharge and get back the enthusiasm for writing IC posts - I'm more likely to have muse when I feel like writing.

 

I do think it's important though that staff don't make the site feel cliquey with only rping with the same people all the time. If they can branch out and write with all members then they should, even if they only do so once.

[Huskerdust 625]

I mean, I make the attempt because I want to RP with all the different people. Sometimes I'm busy and I feel so bad when a new member joins when I'm in a busy spell but my intention is always to RP with all the members. This is also why I make a whole lot of different characters in as many (if not all) factions I can so that I CAN jump into almost any thread out there. 

 

As a member, I don't really mind if staff doesn't RP with me, as long as SOMEBODY does. I mean, I joined to RP, not to sit and look pretty.