Membership Your preferred activity expectations

[Rivfader 76]

Thanks for all the replies so far, guys! It seems most people (on initiative anyway) prever no activity requirements. I'm just so used to having something that none whatsoever boggles my mind - how do you make sure the roleplay keeps going? I mean I know it's a hobby, but for me, I like it to be something I get to do fairly regularly. (I'm a student as well so I get pretty busy, but it's nice to be able to dedicate half an hour or so every few days to relaxing and writing.)

 

Maybe it's just down to finding members that match my posting habits even if there are some on the site too that take things slower!!

[Kit the Human 759]

1 hour ago, Rivfader said:

Thanks for all the replies so far, guys! It seems most people (on initiative anyway) prefer no activity requirements.

 

We're just weirdos around here.

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My activity requirements are: one IC post a fortnight. Post with one character, they're all safe.

 

BUT....not something I strictly enforce.

 

In my view, once a fortnight just sets up an expectation for the pace because I don't want anyone's character plots to get left behind. It also gives everyone a clear time frame to move on with their plots. Honestly though, if someone is posting less frequently but kind of staying in touch? I'm going to keep them on the loop. Like I said, I'm not strict.

 

Going forward, because the venue I'm making is super relaxed, I'm going to go with one post a month. But being marked inactive doesn't penalise your account at all, just marks you as someone people probably shouldn't approach for plots 😉

 

1 hour ago, Rivfader said:

how do you make sure the roleplay keeps going?

 

People who like what's going on just keep on writing. If anyone ghosts, you do some creative problem solving and non-destructively (and fairly) write them out. A non-destructive and fair creative answer will allow them to rejoin if they wish.

[Jaxx 317]

I'll be the weirdo who says she needs activity requirements! I haven't been on a site that doesn't do monthly activity checks (actual "yes I posted" checks not "I haven't posted but want to sit on this character" checks). Somehow, whenever I found a board without activity requirements, shit went sideways. While I've realised that I simply had horrible luck and that my experiences probably represent the minority of boards without activity reqs, there's still a bad taste in my mouth about it all and I just won't do it.

 

On all of them, people would take months to post and then get angry with me for not wanting to write with them any more. A lot of the time, someone would take characters that board plots hinged on, then disappear for months. Either the admins would either let things stagnate or the person would get angry when their characters were NPCed or taken away from them. And on a few, established members were allowed to ignore threads for months while newer members were told to leave because they weren't being posting quickly enough. Plus, I lose interest very quickly when others' absences constantly hold up my threads, or I always have to drop or retcon threads because the players have changed or left. 

 

How do you judge what constitutes as inactive when someone playing an important character vanishes? If there's been dead silence from you OOC and IC, or just IC, your character gets archived and the position reopened after missing one activity check. Or after two checks if you had a LOA for all or part of the previous month. If you're around but not posting, I'll send a quick message asking why, and my response to that depends on what you tell me. If you're busy irl, no worries mate, happens to all of us, but go post a LOA. Any other reason, I'll remind you of the site's activity rules and that I don't make exceptions but you can post a LOA if you feel you won't be able to post for a while. 

 

How do you judge what constitutes as inactive when someone playing your wanted ad vanishes? Two weeks with no OOC/IC talk means you've ghosted on me. Two weeks with OOC talking but no IC posts and I'll send a quick Discord message or something asking if you saw the tag, especially if you've been posting everywhere else. A full month with OOC talking but no IC posts will get a more politely worded version of "I've been waiting on this for a while. Post in the next two weeks or I'll reopen the wanted. You can keep them as an independent character if you remove the details of my character from their history. I don't care either way but I didn't request this character so they'd never interact with mine." 

 

How do you handle ghosted/definitely inactive characters? As a player, depends on the connection and whether or not i want to go through the effort of re-requesting. Work friend quit or got transferred and isn't mentioned again because I don't care enough to hunt for a replacement or get closure. My character got busy and hasn't been talking to that family member or close friend as much, because I do want them around again but I don't want to make a future player take responsibility for the slow period. For the most part, it doesn't come up in threads so I don't need to have a reason, and sometimes it's more in character for whoever I'm playing to just shrug and divert the conversation anyway. 

 

As an admin, for minor characters, I just archive their apps and threads and let people post wanteds for them if they want to. For major ones, I would NPC if there was a plot that needed that character. Like if my vampire head ghosted and there's a site event where a rogue vamp nest is killing people, I'll do a post where the head puts emphasis on his clan behaving and mentions the steps he's taking to stop what's happening. But I'm not going to actively thread with that character, or NPC if there's no site event where that character wouldn't be able to get away with not being involved. If my werewolf head goes missing during that event, well, no need to NPC a werewolf dealing with a vamp's problems. 

 

How do you make sure the roleplay keeps going? None of the characters on the site I run are so important that an event or plot will grind to a halt because someone poofs. 1x1 threads will, yeah, but usually that doesn't make a life-shattering impact on the other person in the thread. When I'm playing elsewhere, I take on a bunch of threads at a time so that I have plenty to keep myself busy even if someone leaves. Most of the time there's no reason to mention the character IC, for me anyway, and I can just re-request and pick things back up from where we left off IC. 

[Jones 177]

5 hours ago, Rivfader said:

how do you make sure the roleplay keeps going?

 

3 hours ago, Kit the Human said:

People who like what's going on just keep on writing.

 

That is really just the best answer. The roleplay will keep going as long as there are people interested in telling their character's stories in your setting. So be passionate about your own site and you'll find like-minded members in due time. If you are excited for your plots and threads, you will write as often as you possibly can. So will your members.

[Shades 676]

6 hours ago, Rivfader said:

Maybe it's just down to finding members that match my posting habits even if there are some on the site too that take things slower!!

 

This is pretty much the key for everything regarding creating and maintaining a roleplay site! Most of what we consider rules are subjective ones, and we all set and find the communities we belong with! So basically think about what you can't do without, and go from there, and like-minded people will find you!

[Beanie 27]

We have an IC activity requirement that people post at least once a month; ACs are held on the first Saturday of every month and handled entirely by staff. This does mean that some AC periods are longer than others, but we didn't see any shift in deactivation #s when we started doing Activity Checks this way instead of simply on the first day of every month. (Also, Saturday is way easier for staff!) This is to clear up claims that aren't being used, etc. etc. etc. We have almost 300 active characters so this is the system that works best for us.

 

As a member, I've been on sites where activity requirements are more strict/more lax, but I personally prefer to have activity check-ins! 

[River 57]

One thing that a site I'm on has started doing in addition to monthly activity checks is offering incentives for finishing threads. I personally think that's a better way to keep the action moving than by activity checks, because not only does it encourage people to post so that they can finish those threads, but it encourages posts that develop the plot, again so the thread can be finished and the reward claimed. Cuts down on a lot of fluff.

[Jones 177]

2 hours ago, River said:

One thing that a site I'm on has started doing in addition to monthly activity checks is offering incentives for finishing threads. I personally think that's a better way to keep the action moving than by activity checks, because not only does it encourage people to post so that they can finish those threads, but it encourages posts that develop the plot, again so the thread can be finished and the reward claimed. Cuts down on a lot of fluff.

 

I second this as an awesome way to inspire people to finish threads. Witchlight gives .08 'marks' (OOC currency to buy character perks from the shop) for every word written, and then when a thread is finished you get a bonus amount of marks depending on how long the thread was. Everyone seems to enjoy the 'pay off' and it keeps threads moving. 

I still write a ton of fluff though. 😁

[nyx 164]

We have passive checks on wicked. Canons are expected to post roughly once a month while originals get two. If people are going to be away or slower at posting then we have a place for them tell us so we can pass them over. Honestly, I'm so glad we stopped doing active checks, that was such a headache for staff when it came to canons.

Edited August 22, 2018 by wicked

[Prophetess 137]

I'm a bit of weirdo here as I have varied ideas. 

As to actual checks, requirements, and so forth on my site we have it loose on at least post once a month. My work keeps me busy so I don't always have the luxury of a set work schedule. I'm not going to make demands on people that I can't even reasonably keep myself. Everyone also gets the case of the blahs and cold and flu season is nearly upon us. Real life prevails. So it isn't enforced but it is there. 

 

On the flip side of the coin, we do have positions. This one is the one that is the exception (slightly) to the rule. To have a position, we like to see activity first. A genuine want to stay before we hand them out. The positions have functions and they aren't Halloween candy to be passed out. Just show a little planning to stay and then ask for a position. 

 

My personal thing is to answer as much as I can in a week when I have free time with the understanding that there's that chance I won't have any. Since we're small there isn't any real rush. I used to be the power poster that pumped out everything owed in one night without missing a beat. I found that left me stressed, focused only on the site/posts. and missing the outside world. Since giving that up, I've felt a lot better so while I can do something like checks/requirements it's not for me any more. 

 

Don't hate me because I'm weird.

[Honorem 219]

I have a 'post IC once per month rule'. But to be honest I prefer it when people post at least once a week. If everyone sticks to that minimum, you have several cool stories ticking over which is good to see.

[Sage 289]

I hate deadlines - I have them at work and I never meet them bc my editorial team consists of 3 people, including myself, so I'm always stressed over deadlines. If I know there is this looming deadline where I need to post something, not only does it take the fun out of it for me, but I will actively stress over it and not post my best work. It's terrible. 

 

I'm actually really into the behind-the-scenes activity checks that seem to be getting popular. Passive checks, like @wicked mentioned. Like, at the end of the month, the staff will go through accounts, sort them into active/inactive, and clear out claims of inactive chars. There's no fuss, you don't have to post proof of anything, they just do a wide sweep and categorize things accordingly. Does this make more work for staff? Yes. But does it keep stress off the board? Yes. And I gotta say, it's made rping with my insanely busy schedule actually manageable now that I don't have to worry about checks!! Like I'm an adult - 9 times out of 10 I'm communicating with my writing partners anyway so they know what's going on and can write around me if they need to. I don't need the site staff babysitting my activity.

 

On 8/21/2018 at 1:35 AM, Rivfader said:

how do you make sure the roleplay keeps going?

 

You don't need activity rules to keep the rp going. You just need to keep your players engaged and coming back. Do things that make them look forward to participating. That's really how anything works in the real world - you keep your customers engaged and excited. 

[Pallas 14]

Since I'm disabled and currently unable to work, I am "POST TO ALL OF THE THINGS" right now to basically anything I can get my hands on. With Fibromyalgia, I feel like I gotta get it in while I can. Some of those threads will fall through or just not get tagged and I guess I'm okay with that.  I don't think either of my sites have an activity check, which is really nice. I was once at a site that wanted 20+ activity threads in a month, 30 if you wanted extra shit/points/powers and you had to thread with a new character once a month. Thinking back to that, yikes. I wish I had the energy for that now.

[Hypester 28]

As always, it depends on the site and genre, but I think a low post per month, like 4-6 works really well on a fandom site with events. I've done with none, and that can be pretty weak in terms of people actually showing up for movement on the board as a whole or in the large factions fandoms tend to have.

 

I think one way to get the best of both worlds might be to have zero activity requirements for OCs while canons would require different levels of posting based on tiered importance or something.

[Arizona 1]

I prefer a set amount of say 5 or 6 posts a month for minor characters and like 8 or so for major roles.