Reviving the Roleplay Corner

[TrainerX]

I have never seen what I said attempted, and thats coming from someone who was logged in on IRC and PO 24/7. Though I did see the live RP come and go 2 or 3 times.
Though what I was suggesting isn't a full live RP only the battle / event. So it can get done and move on with the RP since that seems to be a big problem with people.
No one wants to wait 2+ days for a battle to end so they can continue, much less 2 weeks.

A simple time frame for the individuals that are participating in the event / battle to meet on PO / IRC / skype should suffice.

The people who tried it made their own IRC channels. I'm talking way back though; this was before the balance server was made accessible to everyone, and maybe even before the first group of balance testers was selected. It was quite a long time ago.

I either misread or misunderstood your post. I thought you were talking about everyone in the RP getting on IRC together for bigger events in the RP or something like that. If it's just one or two people, that's a way to do it.

I think most RP forums prefer that you do co-posts for fights and stuff. It's much easier, because you just RP back and forth in messages, adding on to the post each time you write. You tend to end up with a pretty big post, and then one of the players posts it. It's a slower process than doing it on IRC though.

[GrizzlyEatsKids]

Yeah, what Roloc is suggesting is that we use the live chat for battles, small events between a couple people, and small conversations between a small group. I could see this working when possible, and if not, it'll just have to be done in the forums. Blades presented me with the idea of splitting it up kind of like chapters in a book. Say there are two groups of characters, and these two groups are separate from one another. Group A would continue to post and work things out until they were finished, and then, after they were done, Group B would post and go through all of their event. Then, if the plot calls for it, they can all post and meet up afterwards. Yes, this could mean that if an RPer only has one character, or all of their characters are in the same group, they could be let not posting for a while, but I think this is the best idea that we've had so far. Also, I think this could be at least part of where goals may come in. Depending on the length of the event, the GM could set a goal, or deadline, for how long Group A has to complete their task, so let's say he gives them 3 days. At the end of the 3 days, regardless of where they're at, control switches over to Group B, for say, 3 days, and this would continue until the event is done. This way, no one is left sitting unable to post for too long, and it keeps events better organized and easier to follow. If an RPer continues to refrain from posting in their time, they would get a warning, or whatever the RP's rules mandate. I'd like your opinions on this, but I think it is the best option we've come up with so far.

The thing with the "The GM's Rule is Law" rule, is that you have to depend on the mods of the RP forum to watch and step in if things get out of hand, or to investigate if they're getting complaints. Right now, the only active mod of the RP section is Jerry, and he's busy, so he can't handle it all himself. I think we need to de-mod the inactive mods, and then find some people who are willing and capable of moderating the RP section. If we have enough mods, that should eliminate any of the issues you guys mentioned.

I'm still not entirely sure about the verification thing, but if it's just a 400 word story I guess it couldn't hurt.

I've always sort of implemented that rule in my own RP's, but when an RPer has had a problem with something I did, I was more than happy for them to step in and politely let me know. Now, if the GM continues to be unfair and ignore the RPers, then, whether that rule is in place or not, the RPers should go to the mods, who I do agree should check in on RP's more often. I do understand though, that it is just Jerry and that he has a life and can't do it all himself, but maybe I can at least get a conversation with he and some of the higher ups going about getting some new mods for the section, while definitely keeping Jerry and possibly losing the old ones. At the same time, it is the GM's responsibility to enforce the rules of his or her own RP, but I do think that another couple of mods would be of use.

As for the verification thing, think of it more like an interest check, to make sure that the RPer is indeed interested and dedicated to the RP. Maybe explaining it that way makes what I'm thinking a bit clearer.

A simple time frame for the individuals that are participating in the event / battle to meet on PO / IRC / skype should suffice.

Yes, of we went with this option, there would have to be a time frame. The only thing is, I know that people are busy and live in different time zones, and it may be impossible for everyone involved to get on at the same time. I think that we should allow RPers to get together and do this whenever they want in an RP, with the GM's permission, and otherwise we go with the "chapter system" that Blades and I came up with.

Live RP only works when people come online at the same time, every time. Then we have the problem with timezones. IF people from diffrent zones want to join. Before I joined actual RP, I had a lot of Live RP's on a chat service. But that chat was just for dutch people, so there was no time zone problem, and it was very consecutive by always starting at the same time.


An RP Forum I was once part of had a quite strict system about activity for RP.

All characters would be put in a certain order. Taking turns posting based on the order in the list.

You had one week to post your piece of story.

You are allowed to skip, this you did by simply posting "Skip" in the thread you're RPing.

Two days before the week ends you will be warned.

I didn't copy your whole post because of the length, but I did read through it all. We aren't looking at changing to live RPing completely, because, as you said, it wouldn't work for everyone, but smaller events might when possible. If not, again, I like our chapter system, but want to know what everyone else thinks. As for your other method, I think it's a neat idea, and I get it, but I don't think it would work here, and it wouldn't fit in all of our RP's. Interesting concept, though.

As an added note, through discussions I've held with both Blades and GBA, we all feel that it is best to have a limit to the number of RPers allowed to join an RP. On this site, RPs with many participants tend not to last as long as those with a smaller number of members. We think that it would be best to put a limit of no more than 6 RPers per RP, including the GM. There may be a few exceptions in which more could/should be allowed, at which point you would need to get a mod's permission to do so.

Lastly, I'll update the first post on this thread with all the improvements and changes we've decided on, as well as any other info we may need easily.

EDIT: We have also discussed on making debugs mandatory before the start of an RP.

[Roloc]

Yes, of we went with this option, there would have to be a time frame. The only thing is, I know that people are busy and live in different time zones, and it may be impossible for everyone involved to get on at the same time. I think that we should allow RPers to get together and do this whenever they want in an RP, with the GM's permission, and otherwise we go with the "chapter system" that Blades and I came up with.

Agreed, timezones are a pain, but with only 2 people needed for the battle / event it shouldn't be to hard actually. Now getting on up to 3+ people on at the same time gets to be a real big pain. So those larger battles and events would have to be done the chapter way you were talking about.

The people who tried it made their own IRC channels. I'm talking way back though; this was before the balance server was made accessible to everyone, and maybe even before the first group of balance testers was selected. It was quite a long time ago.

I know, I was there when it happened. I was on IRC before you don't forget.
And yes this was long before PO and the balance testers. I was merely saying what I suggested, never was attempted. Only live RPs were attempted.



On another note
Hopefully this has everything cleared up. I probably won't be posting in this thread again as I don't really care for RPs. xD Just had that thought and wanted to give it to foodonfloor.
I didn't plan on posting this many times I just had to clear up some things.

[TrainerX]

Agreed, timezones are a pain, but with only 2 people needed for the battle / event it shouldn't be to hard actually. Now getting on up to 3+ people on at the same time gets to be a real big pain. So those larger battles and events would have to be done the chapter way you were talking about.

I know, I was there when it happened. I was on IRC before you don't forget.
And yes this was long before PO and the balance testers. I was merely saying what I suggested, never was attempted. Only live RPs were attempted.



On another note
Hopefully this has everything cleared up. I probably won't be posting in this thread again as I don't really care for RPs. xD Just had that thought and wanted to give it to foodonfloor.
I didn't plan on posting this many times I just had to clear up some things.

I know you were on IRC before

I do remember at least one RP where they would meet up every so often on their own irc channel to discuss and plan stuff, but I'm not sure if they did any actual RPing on IRC. I can't remember for sure.

[GrizzlyEatsKids]

Well, if you do ever happen to check back, thanks for the help, Roloc. Even if not mandatory, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to at least let that be allowed, as an option.

And Toast, we actually used to have a Skype chat set up as almost our OOCC for a couple RPs, but I'm hoping we stick to the actual threads once RPs get going again.

And just so no one misses it, we discussed possibly having a limit of 6 participants to an RP, as well as maybe wanting to make debugs mandatory.

[TrainerX]

I don't agree with limiting an RP to 6 players. That should be the choice of the GM. If the GM wants to limit it, that's fine; but if a GM wants a higher limit (or no limit) for their RP, they should be able to have that limit. I suppose it would be okay to have 6 as a default limit, so long as a GM could request a higher or lower limit.

[GrizzlyEatsKids]

The limit could always be lower, but RPs with a higher number of participants, especially on this site, don't tend to make it very long. You'd need a mod's approval to bump the limit up for your RP, because in a few cases, you may need more people for your RP to work.

[TrainerX]

The limit could always be lower
...
You'd need a mod's approval to bump the limit up for your RP, because in a few cases, you may need more people for your RP to work.

That's what I was getting at with my last sentence. So long as an RP's limit can be adjusted with a mod's approval, I'm fine with it.

[Jerry]

Okay, so Amphi and Wailord have been removed as Moderators for the RolePlay section (should they request their status back, they will be given to them). I'm not sure why their names still appear on the sub-boards but that's not a big deal.

That was the first thing I wanted to say. Second, Cortex officially agreed to help moderate and Roloc has been given permission to do so as well. also officially agreed.

One last thing, I'll hold a little election for a new moderator, just to make things fun a bit!

[Tickles]

As a new mod for the rp section I promise to rule with the most iron of fists. Joke, I'm going to be helping redefine the rp section, and in the future, watch out for you rule breakers.

[Roloc]

And I plan to stay out of the way most of the time unless the other mods aren't on and something needs the attention of authority. Though I will help where I can.

[GrizzlyEatsKids]

Awesome, thanks Jerry for doing that for us, and as for Xetroc, I look forward to your new ideas. And Roloc, I know for a fact that we could have used that authority in some instances in the past. I like the whole election for another mod, too.

On another note, I know that while we aren't done discussing improvements for the section (and we should definitely keep it up), does anyone have any suggestions or questions about RPing, whether it be in general, about characters, or anything else of the sort? It could be helpful in putting together the Guidelines/FAQ.

[The-Blades-slave]

Another thing I think should be brought up is lack of detail in plot. Generally we are given a vague understanding of what is happening, but a lot of times they forget to include things such as cities. The most common is Rps that focus around some sort of war. The GM will focus on the war and how it came about, and that's good, but what about major battles of the war? What about the cities the war affected most? Factions that remained neutral?

Kinda just saying maybe make things less black and white.

[GrizzlyEatsKids]

I couldn't agree more .As an extension of that, GMs should provide a more in-depth description of different settings encountered throughout the RP as well. We aren't always given a clear description of the locations in which the RP takes place, and in my opinion, it can often make the world seem dull and uninteresting.

[TrainerX]

Another thing I think should be brought up is lack of detail in plot. Generally we are given a vague understanding of what is happening, but a lot of times they forget to include things such as cities. The most common is Rps that focus around some sort of war. The GM will focus on the war and how it came about, and that's good, but what about major battles of the war? What about the cities the war affected most? Factions that remained neutral?

Kinda just saying maybe make things less black and white.

^This

One of the things that caused me to stop RPing here was for this reason. RPs without detailed plots almost always fail (in my experience anyway), because everybody tends to lose interest. It seems that many people either forget or don't understand that the interesting stuff is in the details.