anonymous letter to the general public.

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no. this is not the tea that you wish for. (# no proof reading, we d!e like men)

anyway, here's the deal as to why people may not be joining these rps that are coming out.

i won't go into detail and i'm not about to point fingers to anyone. this is just from a perspective of an rp-er who joins rp quite a lot while being picky about it.

 

1. preference. this depends on what kind of rp they feel at that very moment. is it au? non-au? -based? crack? abo? the reason why they aren't joining is because they do not cater for the taste they have at that moment. 

 

2. visual presentation. yes, this one is a huge dealbreaker (for me). may it be the title of the rp, the main page of the rp, the title rooms of the rp and even the masterlist of the rp and how you type the member's name. this is a huge part of how you'll attract future applicants. i actually want to be able to read the rp's title name. if there's a bunch of special characters there with odd-looking fonts added for no reason, i will not give you a time of the day. simplicity is always the key. don't half- or overdo everything if you want to get the place booming with people. same things go with the rp layout. i know it's hard to do when it comes to tweaking, but people actually look into and read it. make it look appealing as much as you can. that's literally your welcome mat for your rp. (capitalisation on names don't look attractive by the way. i said what i said.)

 

3. the vibe from the outside. if you look dead from the outside, how would you actually entice anyone to join inside? :I if i don't see you talking within half a day, how could i trust you that you're not dropping the rp within a week? interactions within the rp is a great way to gauge the overall feel of the place. if no one's talking to anyone (have your characters to talk to each other if you have to), then i ain't gonna be talking there either.

 

which would be the point i will make for number 4. the importance of cliques (or well-known rpr members). did you eyebrow twitch? blood ran cold? bout to pop a vein? hate them or love them, they are your golden ticket to success if you attract the right crowd. ya think ads on walls work anymore? why do you think most of them had their walls locked or are warning you not to post on them? this is not the golden age of rpr anymore where your copy + paste will work. the word of mouth is your way of gaining traction. friends inviting friends over or recommendating this place and that. your comment section plays a big part as much as your masterlist does. if an applicant sees their friend in there, they're more likely to join. if this member ends up making a blog reco about your rp, there's a possibility that those that like that user would also join along. yes, there is still preference going on, but that's how you get the trust of a future applicant if they decide to join on a later date. and the cliques? love them or hate them, they're actually the ones that would attract a crowd. the louder they are, the easier for your rp to be visible for potential applicants to join. it's that simple.

 

and lastly 5. your username and the rps you managed are your social credit score. this is pretty easy. look into yourself and look into how you manage your rp and then wonder why no one is joining the ones you make. are you responsible enough to keep your rp open despite how it's dwindling? are you approachable? problematic? inactive to the point that a simple tag on the request room is going to be ignored for two days? did you open the rp when you're ready to? did you actually get your members trust for delivering great work in the community you built? if you know the answer, then you'll figure out why people are either joining your place or not.

 

 

anyway. that should be about it. if you guys have anything more to add, go ahead :shrugging: we're all members of rpr, after all. 

 

j, over and out!

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themis 1 year ago
i agree w this, it's unfortunate but true. the point you made about the comment section is really true. i've noticed that people tend not to join if there hasn't been a comment in a day+ or people just tend to not join even though the chat might be popping and the rp is generally active. rpr is interesting in that way since it's not algorithm based and works entirely around an individual's attention span, which is dwindling due to the state of the internet. this was a very good blog!
konamocha 1 year ago
I felt compelled to write something (strictly my opinion and not anyone elses btw) in light of the current state of rpr since not very many people seem to be talking about it. I'm what some would call a seasoned rper, been here 10+ years, writing since I was in high school, left and came back more times then I can count and i've gotta say, as someone starting to lean more into admin territory, that we as people have evolved but continue to follow a dated set of rules when promoting rps and trying to rally new rpers for rps so i'm appreciative of the fact you brought up a lot of good points and will make note of them when I'm promoting mine. 

notwithstanding, I'd like to point out that one key factor that affects roleplays today is the life expectancy of rps which, unfortunately only lasts as long the writer's muse does for an rp which we've learned varies but is probably no more than 3 months give or take. I've seen so many rps headed by seasoned rpers only to dwindle after the fomo's died down and then it's on to the next. slowly but surely some of us are getting out of the vicious cycle of joining and dropping rps rather than cultivating an adding to an environment. but this of course also depends on the person and their interests. mine are aligned with the statements I've just made.

as you've stated, preference is also key to joining and given the season, it's either abo, apartment aus or crack rps that dominate the activity charts. but one thing that stands out and i'm still discombobulated by, is how little recognition some rpers are given after going out of their way to establish a unique rp and on the same hand have a group of people or cliques promptly join a regular rp trope's status and toss the former to oblivion because no one knows the admin or what they're capable of. it kills creativity, it instills and enforces poor writing habits. 

I cannot stress how much i've seen an admin /and/ been in the position of an admin who brings up a good idea only to have it shot down or ignored because 1. people ask for it and then don't back it up by joining. 2. people don't have the attention span for it, 3. time to invest and develop a character or, 34 because they're friends aren't in it. I say this knowing full well i've had that avoidant mindset one too many times myself. though more particularly to do with mental health reasons and just needing a writing outlet right then.

but I feel if we all figure out how to network and support each other in some way we can have RPR continue to be a creative space that caters to everyone and also start promote longevity rather than recycling ideas and running our muse dry till a better idea comes along.

just wanted to drop my piece on this. this blog really caught my attention.
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