Staffing Members who don't ... plot?

[Rivfader 76]

So this sort of thing might have been discussed before but I haven't seen it & I'm curious about other peoples' opinions! Especially since it has happened on numerous sites I've been on.

 

From a staffing perspective - how do you deal with members who join your site and appear to be really enthusiastic judging by OOC interaction in cboxes or discord, have their character approved, create a plotter and then ... nothing? They don't seem to reply to the plotters of any other members, start threads with any other members, etc? Sometimes they only try to plot with me, the admin, and nobody else, which I always find odd. It's like they're waiting for people to come to them rather than putting themselves out there a bit. I try to respond to every new member's plotter in the early stages of a site's life but that's not always possible. Or is this something only I've ever experienced? Lol.

 

From a member's perspective - do you ever find yourself in this situation, i.e, joining a site , creating your character and then not really plotting with anyone? If so, why? Especially if you've been welcomed OOCly by everyone and involved in OOC conversations via site discords/cboxes and all that malarkey.

 

EDIT: Rather than 'deal with', encourage is probably a better word.

 

Edited July 21, 2018 by Rivfader

[Huskerdust 625]

As an admin, I reach out when I have the time for another thread. Otherwise, other members will get to them or they'll toss up open threads. At one point, a member had to tell us she had open threads and I felt guilty they hadn't been responded to. As soon as I replied to one, the other two were picked up (so I guess people do follow the example of the admin!)

 

As a member, it's a little trickier. I always feel like I'm stepping on toes. I know that's stupid because I don't feel like new members on MY sites are stepping on toes when they plot or come up with plot ideas. I LOVE the members that come bursting with ideas. They inspire me. However, I'm one awkward bunny and I always feel like if I have plot ideas, they aren't good enough or don't fit in with current plots running. Unless I'm picking up want ads, tbh, I don't really feel wanted. My characters are like fluff--people can take them or leave them.

 

But hey, maybe that's a problem with ME, since it's been so prevalent lately. I guess if I'm afraid to step on toes, I'm not about to make indispensable characters. That and I'm flaky as hell so I don't want to let people down when I inevitably make an exit...

[Jaxx 317]

On the one hand, I don't think new players should be expected to go 100% of the way when it comes to finding themselves plots. If I joined a site and none of the existing players bothered to answer my plotter, it would make me feel like they weren't interested in writing with me, and I'd be more inclined to move on. So if this new person has a plotter and nobody has posted with it, maybe try to find out why your existing players aren't suggesting a few plots themselves? I'm not sure that that's what's happening with your site, but maybe it is. 

 

Going back to seeing things from a member's perspective, like you mentioned. Yes, I am going to post to other plotters as soon as I get approved. Especially if I app a character that has established family, belongs to a team, etc., because that's super easy plotting. But if my own plotter doesn't get any replies for weeks, that's going to raise a red flag for me. And it's going to give me the impression that existing members don't care about welcoming or writing with new ones. 

 

But there's also the fact that your new member is going to have to put in at least *some* effort to get threads for themselves, even if it's just posting an open thread. You could try sending them a brief message asking them if there's something that's stopping them from posting in others' plotters? On some boards I've seen a topic for open threads get pinned to the top of the plotting area, so you could direct them to something like that if you have it. 

[Dragon 673]

There are a number of reasons for this kind of behavior:

 

• Some players have a "creator complex". They join a site, get excited, create their characters - and then they lose all their steam, much the same way some admins love to build worlds but then never actually invest in getting the site up off the ground after the first few members join. These players usually end up ghosting the board, sometimes even before their app is approved.
• Plotters/Shippers are largely going out of style because of new innovations like Discord. Using a forum based plotter to get things going is slow and a little bit tedious - especially with those people that want to code every. single. reply. rather than just typing. Platforms like Discord allow for much more rapid and, most importantly, fluid plotting.
  • The best plots don't really come from forum shippers. They come from chatting with other members about characters. Talking about what those characters like and dislike, comparing their faults, histories, personalities etc. As platforms like Discord have become more prominent, many players have become more accustomed to this. For players who prefer this, sites that don't facilitate that kind of plotting are a turn off. 
  • Threads that come solely from forum plotters are often lack luster, because the length of time between replies to figure out what is gonna be done often causes a loss of interest in both parties. By the time the thread is made... eh. 
• Open threads are also falling out of favor for a number of reasons. Many people don't feel comfortable jumping into them, feel like the thread starter has expectations they won't be able to meet etc. This topic on Open Threads is very relevant here.
• The Admin Fixation: Some players feel that if the administration team doesn't show any interest in them or their characters, then none of the other members will. Unfortunately this is often true. Forum RP culture is very much a follow the leader affair more often than not.
• Social anxiety is rampantly pervasive in the RP community. People feel uncomfortable putting themselves out there. Its easier to have others come to them. 

Personally, I happen to fall into the category of Chat Plotters. This was true long before Discord was ever a thing, back when cbox, and aim/yim/skype were the best available, and it has certainly solidified that preference. I will make a plotter on the forum (sometimes, anyway) just to have that lure out there in case anyone wants to bite, but I very rarely reply to other plotters. At most I'll signal interest in one post, then move it to an active chat to spit ball ideas. Information and potential plot points that would never come up from a forum plotter turn up in conversation all the time. 

[StormWolfe 557]

17 hours ago, Dragon said:

Plotters/Shippers are largely going out of style because of new innovations like Discord. Using a forum based plotter to get things going is slow and a little bit tedious - especially with those people that want to code every. single. reply. rather than just typing. Platforms like Discord allow for much more rapid and, most importantly, fluid plotting.

• The best plots don't really come from forum shippers. They come from chatting with other members about characters. Talking about what those characters like and dislike, comparing their faults, histories, personalities etc. As platforms like Discord have become more prominent, many players have become more accustomed to this. For players who prefer this, sites that don't facilitate that kind of plotting are a turn off. 

 

Here's my Bad GM confession

I reach out to new members, do all I can to help them get their character created and approved, and if it makes sense to do so, offer an opening scene (we follow TV series format). If it makes no sense for my character to leap into a situation with theirs, I tag some of the others in the group and ask that they reach out to the new person. 

 

After that, I feel it's time for them to reach out and meet us half way.

 

Like @Dragon stated, my best plotting comes from chatting with my members in Discord. A word, discussion of a book, TV show, movie, anything might trigger an idea for a main plot, subplot or scene. I find trying to post to plotters, shippers, and all of those things tedious and uninspiring. Our forums offer a spot for plot requests but, to date, no one is using them.

 

In fact, when I came back to forums, I had no clue what a shipper or plotter was - still am vague on them tbh.

 

After a period of making the effort to bring a person into the fold and them just sitting on the sidelines like a lump, not responding, not engaging, etc., I give up. When they won't even say hello or respond to the main site plot updates on the site, I feel like I've run into a brick wall with them.

 

Sadly, I have no deep insights into how to deal with these members. The best I can offer is for people to make a genuine effort to engage them. The old adage of You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink is very apt for these situations. A friend of mine said it rather well the other day when we were discussing this very issue in regard to a site we're both members of, "If a person wants to write, they will write." I know that's true for me!

[Sage 289]

I have to agree with everything already said, and don't think I have much to add! But the site I just joined has an interesting solution to the problem. There's a "general plotting" discord channel, where you can pimp out yours (or other people's) character(s). We usually use it to tag people when we post a reply in their shipper, but we also use it to say things like "hey im looking for plots for my pirate/senator/librarian/etc. character!" or when a character gets accepted say something like "Meet Frank, he's an orphaned pickpocket with a penchant for stealing wallets and hearts!" and then linking to the shipper in question. That way, you're able to put yourself out there in a more informal way and open yourself up to things. Alternatively, as an admin, to help out those lacking in plots, you could also drop a link into the chat and some sort of encouraging line like "if you haven't plotted with frank yet you totally should bc he's adorable." That way you're helping to give them a lil push into the community and letting them know that they're welcome there.

[Hypester 28]

On 7/21/2018 at 6:46 PM, Dragon said:

• The Admin Fixation: Some players feel that if the administration team doesn't show any interest in them or their characters, then none of the other members will. Unfortunately this is often true. Forum RP culture is very much a follow the leader affair more often than not.

 

I'd never thought of this, but I think there's a lot to it. We have a couple of folks on our site like this, and we sort of poke at them to post and they always have an excuse. I think before I was a staffer they threaded with me and sort of let it languish, I wonder if it would be different now.