RolePlay Forum suggestions

[Nitro]

I'm not talking about you, there are some people who know they're not going to be active or are too busy for forums, and still join RPs.

[Mike]

I think that we should scrap the tier system and replace it with a simple two-board division between [Open] and [Closed]. That should help more new members find what they're looking for as quickly as possible. I also think that the RP plots and stories need to be more loose-ended than they are at the moment. An "Open"RP that focuses around the romance of two very active posters, isn't really open. It's not significantly affected by new members joining or whatever. There needs to be enough flexibility, and enough patience by the principal posters to allow new guys to start on their own story within the existing RP.

This ties into Kevin's point that a lot of RP plots are just unoriginal or simple, and there's a need for motivated, creative writers who know how to nudge a story along without dominating it.

[KopsTheTerminator]

I think a third issue I know some have had with the RP section is that many of the RPs' storylines are not very inventive... i.e. they're boring, cliched and sound like all the others. But there's a pretty easy solution to that one: create your own that isn't any of those things.

That's one of the reasons I quit RPing.. Most ideas have been used and it's hard to come up with an interesting plot. The only ones that really take off are OC RPs, TLK RPs rarely take off.. Well, nothing can be done about it, I guess. It's a shame.

[DGFone]

The fundamental problem with RPs is that they are made by multiple people. Just imagine: You have a great idea. You really have 2 options to express it similarly: fan fiction and an RP. If you write a fan fiction piece, it will be entirely your own, and you are in control from the start to finish.

The other option is the RP. Other people get involved and bring their own ideas in. Sometimes, the end product is a masterpiece (by the loosest terms, TLK is a large-budget RP), but often, someone (or everyone) accidently bring the RP to a dead end. This is because there are multiple people, of which all want their own ideas in. And if the ideas don't match, there are problems. A way to avoid it is to take a path that is tried and true (unoriginal), or not as risky (plain/boring). It takes a lot of determination to create a truly good RP, and a lot of skill and planning to keep it alive and on track.

I actually have an idea that I thing is really good, but I don't see it working in an RP. I will think about it while I will do my current RP, and maybe start it when I finish with the current one. But because of the reasons above, most likely it will not manifest as an RP, but as a fan fiction piece.

[Zeke]

I agree with mike in that the rp section should not be separated into tiers because it could actually be discouraging to those who aren't categorized as advanced rpers. Many may begin planning their rps and end up dropping them because they don't have the "right" people to preform an advanced rp. I don't know if that is completely true, but its my take on what could be happening. What is also true is that the rps on the forum are not quite open. I am pretty much repeating Mike's post but I also believe that there should be more liberal posting where the main posters ease up and allow for new members to join into their rps instead of keeping the whole story focused around their characters unless a background role is a role the new member wants to take. And even though it is easier for people to find good rps to read by looking at the tier system, I don't think that it is totally necessary because you can simply judge how in depth the posters are by clicking on the rp and seeing one post.

Another suggestion I would have is that there be an "open" and a "private" roleplay section of the forum so it is easier to keep track of roleplays you can join and those you can just standby and watch

[KopsTheTerminator]

I agree with mike in that the rp section should not be separated into tiers because it could actually be discouraging to those who aren't categorized as advanced rpers. Many may begin planning their rps and end up dropping them because they don't have the "right" people to preform an advanced rp. I don't know if that is completely true, but its my take on what could be happening.

Yes, I actually had this problem back when I was RPing too. Maybe the OP needs to mention somewhere in his posts that he needs advanced RPers?

[FlipMode]

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone! Of course some things are out of our control, like people leaving an RP but we can at least try to implement stuff that reduces the chances of such stuff like that happening.
Rest of the points raise sound good and relatively easy to implement which is nice.
So, keep them coming in!(^_^)

[Moka]

Like DJFone said, ideas can either be put into fan fictions or RPs. When a member has a great, original idea, it would be safer to put it into a fan fiction rather than risk it on an RP. And I've also seen RPs made into fan fictions after they die out.

The tiered system is probably going to go away in favor of a more welcoming setup for newcomers.

I'm looking forward to reading more ideas and cheers to Flip for making this topic.

[KopsTheTerminator]

A practice board for newbie RPers would be a nice addition IMO, with RPs with really simple plot and a page limit with about 5 pages a RP, and with someone judging everyone's RPing and telling them how to improve their RPing, or something similar so we can have more skilled RPers.

[Nitro]

That would be a good idea. But maybe no page limit, just a few big RPs in which anyone can jump in at anytime and already having characters beforehand so when they leave, another can take over as them.