Suggestions and Thoughts

[Andromeda]

Since there seems to already be a far amount of objection to the term "Freeform" I change it to a placeholder name until we can find something that everyone is happy with it. I will try to illustrate what I thought was the original idea and we can leave behind "Freeform" and move on.

Anyway, other names suggested:

New RP Forum Names
Basic
Relaxed
Unrestricted
Beginner
Fast Paced
Action
Informal

Old RP Forum Names
Advanced
Strict
Restricted
Rules Centric
Structured
Slow Paced

Do keep in mind everything is still very fluid so just because I make some change doesn't mean its permanent in anyway.

The current vision is as I said before.

The original RP Forum, a structured and rules focused setting for roleplaying. All settings and styles are open so long as they follow the rules. Meaning anything from serious RPs (i.e. epic fantasy, sci-fi, etc) to casual RPs (i.e. comedy, parties, TFF Ball, etc.).

The other RP Forum (Fast Pace), an unstructured environment for quick paced rolelplaying where brevity is favored. These can be asterisk or just short posts that can be anything from serious RPs (i.e. epic fantasy, sci-fi, etc.) to casual RPs (i.e. comedy, parties, etc.).

Do we agree on this or is there disagreement on that? I think this is the best place to start since there is where it mostly began anyway.

[Victoria]

Fast Paced sounds good.
Rules Centric sounds... weird. How about Slow Paced?

Or something else. I'm not really sure what, but Rules Centric at least sounds kind of off to me.

[Andromeda]

Well at this point I'm just eating a thesaurus in trying to find words. ^^; That's why I just keep adding to the list as I come up with suggestions or I see suggestions from someone else. I probably missed one or two and if I did call it out so I can add it.

Now so sure about Slow Paced ;p even if it is the direct opposite and unfortunately accurate in many cases.

[Xithor]

I like Fast-Paced for the Free form RPing and Structured for the Old RPing forum. I think that communicates that it is more rule based and has a purpose.

[LocoColt04]

I'm going to ask that you don't eat the thesaurus. That might make it tough to read.

I believe "Structured" best suits our traditional RP forum, but even then, those can move at a fair pace. I feel this title is appropriate, but we still need something for the... less-structured category.

I like something more along the lines of "Informal" to convey our point.

[Merlin]

I believe "Structured" best suits our traditional RP forum, but even then, those can move at a fair pace. I feel this title is appropriate, but we still need something for the... less-structured category.

I like something more along the lines of "Informal" to convey our point.

That sounds best to me. Most of the others are pigeon-hole descriptors. The more generic the better. Things like "Fast Paced" imply things that do not hold true for all.

[SOLDIER #819]

So given the silence, it seems that "Informal" and "Structured" (or whichever were agreed on thus far) are favored. Let's run with it before we forget?

[Lunasa]

I'm going to go for Informal/Structured for the names, but I'm still questioning the standards of each, especially with all of the varying styles.

Oh and another thing is that I've been seeing a lot of this "RP revival discussion" from the same veteran members over and over again- but I feel like some newer member input would be necessary to guide this as well as stuff from veterans, to be no offense any of you.

Another point with RP boards is that it is usually a VERY good idea to get knowledge of the person's personality outside of the RP and the forums. In other words, get to know them in more personalized matter, such as IM or something, so that you can give material that they will respond to, you can discuss what type of style you should be posting or what style you agree on, etc... Maybe a contacts compendium for the RP boards?

Though, I think my major discretion when it comes to roleplaying on this board is the intimidation factor... True, one may not RP as they speak, but some of the replies and attitudes on rping and rping discussion make it seem like you have to be part of some clique in order to post. In this example, if you are not a veteran, most people are not going to be likely to go into your RP. And same goes for newbies joining new RPs. The seasoned RPers will usually overdraft the discussion with those that are also seasoned, and usually overlook what a new member would bring up- and the newbie garners no responses from his or post, and loses interest in the RP. I think a huge thing on this board is openmindedness from those who are already seasoned RPers. Rather than stick to your old basics, try to join other new member's RPs, and be willing to participate in RPs with newer members, or they'll just run for the hills.

I've been surfing the RP boards and trying to find newer RPs to join, because I'm absolutely LOST with all of the other things the Vets seem to post, even after diligently following threads such as Memories of a Shinigami. It's just something like this: Veteran members and new members have to work together to get an RP board to work. Sadly, this may come from more work from veterans, but veterans are the ones who try to keep the newbies around, and since I'm more lurking on this board, rather than posting on it, there is no success otherwise. True, new members haven't been doing anything, but that means the seasoned memberbase has to create something that new memberbase would be interested in as well.

Creating boards with loose standards isn't going to attract a great band of RPers or any members at all, because you might as well ditch the forum if the seasoned RPers aren't going to use it. What attracts other members is the existing member's willingness to RP with newer people. Whether incredibly seasoned or not, you're writers, and if a new member has a structure that doesn't suit to your skeleton, you should probably try and go out of the ordinary. Some RPs call for more internalization, some call for action/conversation, and some call for a mixture of the two. That being said, seasoned RPers should have the versatility to change between those extremities and not be stuck in their usual. Thus, comes the ability to join in different RPs.

Well, those are my thoughts on RPing here. Hopefully that's not too late.

[Merlin]

I'm not sure where that is coming from exactly. There really isn't some "vet" group here to speak of, since there aren't that many RPers at the moment anyway. And really, how can anyone be a vet of a slow forum? Riddle me that.

[Andromeda]

There is a fair bit of isolation from all sides I think. Which was why I wanted to create this forum here. I wanted it to be a place people could gather and form new groups and RPs with people they may not have thought about. If I have to I'll go around looking like an idiot making threads here to try to get people inside to start talking and discussing.

Well I guess for the time being at least until there's a major up roar over the namiing I'll rename to the two forums to reflect the minor/silent consensus that we have.

[DragonHeart]

I don't think it's about us 'vets' not excepting new members as much as it is that we've all learned from bitter experience that any time a newbie makes or joins an RP there's an immediate unknown factor added into the mix. It's basically a gamble. I'm not even talking about quality but about activity. When a newbie joins the forum then immediately starts posting in RPs, you can't be sure that they'll still be around in a year or a month or even a week. If you look at TFF's long-term stats, very few members actually stay long enough to become regulars.

Most of them don't realize how RPs work here, particularly how slow they tend to progress. So a newbie joins an RP, expecting it to take maybe a few days or a week, but a week later and there's only a few posts in the RP, if it's even started yet. So they get bored, lose interest and leave with no warning and everyone else is stuck wondering what to do now that a member has disappeared. Multiply that by several newbies in one RP and, well, you know the rest.

When someone's been around for a year or two or five (or ten), you can be reasonably assured that they won't disappear randomly without some sort of notice. Sure it still happens, but not nearly as often.

~DragonHeart~

[Lunasa]

Oh, I know, Dragonheart... You get your wins and your losses when it comes to new people, but you cannot deny that every once in a while, someone new will be interested in RPing and want to stick around and that people would end up keeping to their groups, anyway. It sort of works from both sides, and it lies on the older members to make it comfortable for the newer members.

@Merlin. I'm talking about what I've seen from the past here, and in that, asserting why it died in the first place.

@Andro. I'm developing something in the process, where it will probably be up by tomorrow afternoonish for me. It won't be rules lax, but it will be slightly relaxed, with acceptable grammar, that is, without the grammar-nazism. Though, I REALLY hate asterisks with a passion, so, no way I'm touching that lax forum. As long as I get a few participants, I'll be happy because this forum was one of the reasons why I stuck around here to begin with.

[Meier Link]

So if someone was wanting to open say an RP bar where members could congregate and carry on conversations and RP while "sipping on a few brews" would this be acceptable?

I guess what I am asking is how lax are you willing to be with the rules in the lesser content RP forum?

Could there be RPs at TFF that are actually casual with no real relevant story line (like the bar exampled above)?

Sorry for being an RP noob but I am trying to keep up while offering some fresh ideas?

:edit:
Sorry this is off topic from the current name conversation but I was just curious.

[Merlin]

Yes, stuff like a bar or Quistis Ball (this should be moved there) are examples of stuff that could go there.

Lunasa, the RP forum didn't die from vets running off new members. In fact it was the other way around. All the newbie RPers ran the original vets(besides me) off of TFF entirely. Some have since returned but it has never been the same. So yeah, I really can't sympathize with the whole "poor newb" thing. I've heard that song and dance before. Nice try though.

[Lunasa]

Not trying to go for a whole "poor newb" thing, Merlin. I'm not looking for a sympathy vote. Right now, you're here, and new members are not. I'm not looking for word semantics, either, because obviously, we have neither new members or veterans, and that should probably change. The RP forum is dead. Let's work a way to fix it. We have us and everyone else who participated in this RP revival discussion. We need to work to get new members. Thus we must appeal to them for now.

[Victoria]

Those new members don't really care, otherwise they would be participating in this discussion.

Right now, they're all content with being in their cliques in the social groups. Even Meier tried to get one of them to participate, and he said no, he'll stay in the SGs. >.>;

[DragonHeart]

We can debate factors and gimmicks to make the forum more active until we're all blue in the face but the single biggest contributing factor to RP's death can be seen any time you look in the main RP forum. I can count the number of active RPs on one hand. If we want to lure people back then we need to increase the number of active RPs.

Sadly most of the archives are gone but even looking back on what is in there currently, the longest-running RPs were either club run or fan-based. So if we go by what worked in the past, we could try introducing more fan-based RPs.

Empty forums don't get many views either, so starting some basic/free-form/whatever RPs, like Meier's bar idea, would probably be a good idea. I think the advantage to the less story-oriented types of RPs is that the thread starter doesn't necessarily have to do anything past that first post. I'm only comfortable with running one RP at a time but I'd start one or two of these types of RPs to help get things moving.

~DragonHeart~

[Merlin]

Yes indeed it is an endless loop. The RP forum is dead so we need to get people to post. Well they don't want to post because it is dead. The problem is really quite simple. No need to point fingers... we are all guilty of the same TFF curse. The problem is really how to overcome it. I think Dragonheart's on the right path here. Start up small stuff like the Bars or Pool Party type things to build up momentum. It gets people's feet wet in the RP world. Once they get a taste of that, they just might move their way into deeper waters and explore the more detailed RP style.

[Rocky]

well not only that is what I was thinking merlin, but maybe bringing back something along the lines of club RPs as well? I remember those were pretty popular back in the day, but I thought the rules got changed so they were not allowed anymore.

[Andromeda]

Club RPs have always been allowed. There is currently the Bleach Club RP going on in the forum. The lack of Club RPs have been primarily due to the lack of Clubs in general and not a rule restricting them. I would welcome club RPs to come back with open arms. Like you said they were very popular back when and would generally make up a sizable percentage of the total RPs going on at any one time.

[Imposter]

I honestly would suggest something light hearted. I mean Strong Bad's old rps where pretty comical and foolish and they did pretty well.

I mean recently all rps have been serious and whatnot (unless I'm mistaken) so maybe perhaps a change in pace like that might be good? I know not everyone still kickin' around would particularly be fond of an rp like that too though. Just a thought.

[DragonHeart]

That's why I didn't mention club RPs, because clubs is a dead forum too lol. One revival at a time.

Atma, the basic RPs would probably end up being mostly, if not entirely along those lines. Uber-casual, not serious at all, little to no plot involved. The kind of thing you can pitch a few posts in for fun when you're bored and got time to kill.

I'm not fond of the style but like I said, it's not something the thread creator really has to manage at all so I'd be willing to set a couple of them up just to get things rolling. The Basic RP forum is an empty one; we need to put something in there to get people to check it out and start using it.

~DragonHeart~

[SOLDIER #819]

I'm assuming that since the Informal RP forum incorporates RPBs into it that the Role-Playing Battles forum is structured. I would change the name to reflect that to avoid confusion. Also, the rules thread in Informal is still titled Freeform.

So when's someone starting an RP? I need people to push me to do things!!

[Andromeda]

Ah, thanks for reminding me about that. I'll edit up the thread so it reflects the new name. And yes, the RPB forum is the structure version. I wasn't too sure how popular the Informal RP Forum would be so I put RP and RPB together for the time being. Once it gets it's own feet and becomes active I'll re-evaluate that decision. For now it should be fine though.

Please feel free to use this forum and make threads for whatever. If you want to brainstorm ideas or organize work or just find out who's got the same interests as you. Please make us of it however you need.

[DragonHeart]

I started one awhile ago S, go join it.

Seriously though, I don't think we should go nuts and introduce a ton of new RPs all at once. If we can get 2-3 more going in SRP for variety's sake I think we'll be okay there for awhile. IRP is totally empty so I'd think we should focus there and aim to get, hmm, around half a dozen or so threads to get things rolling.

Of course, if activity spikes and we get more than that it would be fantastic, but I know not everyone here (myself included) likes running RPs as much as just joining them.

~DragonHeart~

[DragonHeart]

Well, do I get a prize for posting the inaugural informal RP? I had planned on getting it up earlier but of course the one day I had available for such things, passing thunderstorm said "denied!" and knocked my internet out for the evening. But now internet is back and 7th Heaven is open.

I can think of several other Final Fantasy-themed informal RPs but I don't want to do all of them myself, heh.

~DragonHeart~

[Andromeda]

You get a tasty Rolanberry cookie. ^^ I'll see about doing something informal when I get a spare moment. I have some ideas, but I don't know which I want to pick from. There was a fun little comedy that I wrote for an actual test for Royalty. I have wanted to bring that back and I think it could fit in nicely with the informal stuff.

[DragonHeart]

Comedy's pretty tough to pull off in an RP. I think. >_> I've never tried it myself since my sense of humor is, err, odd. Sounds interesting.

I'm thinking of perhaps a series of informal RPs, one based on some part of each FF game and perhaps Kingdom Hearts or something as well. VII's covered and I have ideas for VI, VIII, X and XII. I'm blanking on the rest though.

[Andromeda]

It's no harder to do than in literature, Hitchhiker's Guide managed it. ^^ But if you're like me something different and outside of your comfort zone will be a challenge and I love challenges. The best humor that I think works for writing is stuff that is just so random and ridiculous it is funny. Doesn't have to always be funny, but trying is part of the fun.

I would definitely imagine that you'd get people to join up for FF based RPs. They are always popular and regular.

[DragonHeart]

That's the point. =P Fan-based RPs historically do the best in terms of sheer numbers, of both participants and posts. And of course since VII is quite popular all around, well it made sense. Debating whether the Gold Saucer would be a good idea too.

Anyways, I'm thinking the opera house for VI, Luca Stadium for X and Clan Centurio for XII. And I forgot what my idea for VIII was. It'll come back to me eventually. Of course if anyone wants to help out and start one of these that would be grand. >_>

~DragonHeart~