Corgerus said:

I do not mean to be rude when i say this but what do you think new rp hosts can do to make better rps that actually start?

What do you suggest could help this issue?

I`m genuinely curious when i ask this so i can improve when i make my first rp.

Advertising does a LOT for roleplaying and I highly suggest doing that. Not spamming chat with it, if I remember correctly the rules are you post an ad (in either sales or general) once until it falls off the chatbox, then post again.

Malenge said:

Crazydayz said:

I've started a series of polls. I'll be uploading the second one today. It is to check what people want most in rps. At the moment people seem to be wanting posts of 150-300 words mainly but also some people seeking longer 300-500 word posts. I'm hoping to design a rp that I'll enjoy hosting as well as one that other people will enjoy roleplaying in. If anybody has any advice at some point, please, let me know!

Maybe since a lot of people seem to want 150-300 words and 300-500, maybe you could try doing like 150-500?

sputnik said:

I would say limiting yourself to a certain amount of RP's that you consider personally easy to maintain and upkeep. If you're first starting, then just one. It gets complicated and hard to upkeep multiple at the same time because not only are you remembering plot, plot secrets, characters, planning for relationships between characters, etc, you're going to want to advertise your RP consistently to get more joiners.

Advertising does a LOT for roleplaying and I highly suggest doing that. Not spamming chat with it, if I remember correctly the rules are you post an ad (in either sales or general) once until it falls off the chatbox, then post again.

Something I always liked to do in my prime of roleplaying here was to establish secrets in the plot and between characters. Even for roleplays I wasn't hosting, I'd direct message every person also participating in the roleplay with a proposition for our character dynamics/bond. I think our characters would hate each other and here's why, our characters would bond really nicely over this, here's a secret about my character yours can know, etc.

Adding substance to a roleplay can do so much to keep it interesting. It's like when you finish a story video game, you feel upset because now you know everything and it's not as interesting to play it. For roleplays, you can always keep adding plot to keep it going and vibrant.

Corgerus said:

I do not mean to be rude when i say this but what do you think new rp hosts can do to make better rps that actually start?

What do you suggest could help this issue?

I`m genuinely curious when i ask this so i can improve when i make my first rp.

Corgerus said:

so like in a family rp, add secrets between the parents (like money problems), add different dynamics between members and add things like, for example, marriages to the plot.

Also do smaller rps do better in your opinion?

I feel like they do as it`s less people, less roles to fill which means faster starts so the sign up just doesn`t start because no one wants to join.

Been skimming the posts and I agree with a lot of this. Especially with keeping some roleplays smaller, alongside some other things Sputnik and some others advised. Matter of fact in my older days I used to roleplay lots. Occupied my time greatly with it, and some of the best roleplays were ones where everyone participating ended up becoming close to one another. One of my first roleplays I ever actively engaged in was not very literate, semi at best, and while open to any newcomers it was mainly dominated by people I ended up becoming friends with at the time. Approximately a good 6 people tops. That roleplay exceeded 1k pages and 10k posts, and lasted well into a year I'd say before we chose to conclude it. Some other ones, even if they might've died off before being concluded as hoped, were some of the best I've been in. I myself used to host roleplays a bit. Not many, but a good three or four. Only one of them actually holds a place in my heart and I've continued to expand on the universe for it even to this day, however I keep it as a group project for my friends and I since many of them also participated in that specific roleplay.

If you start a roleplay definitely make sure you've got all your things mapped out. It is definitely going to take up some of your time, needing to be the one in control of things. I speak from experience. Having to change the time, control the pace, advertise, actively engage with all members, make sure you've updated all forums accordingly (unsure for now but back in my day 3+ years ago we used to have approx. 3 forums to manage per roleplay), advertise, and so on. Busy busy busy. Truth be told I enjoyed making them more than maintaining them. If you're starting off, absolutely stick to just one. I also usually advise to start off semi-literate. It's easier to maintain, in my opinion. I would also advise on having a co-host if you find you may need some extra help. Never any shame in those. They can be lovely. Ah, going back quick to my earlier point in this paragraph: don't make roleplays on a whim. Trust me, it's usually no good. Take time to really think it through. That's how many die off as well. Always write down your ideas though, it's good to hold onto them.

Definitely don't recycle. Well, you can, but not too much. If they don't take off after 3 tries tops, it's just beating a dead horse. It's no good. And definitely don't recycle too many at one go. One at a time, pour your energy into them one at a time. You're less likely to get any results if you keep making and don't give attention to the ones you already have. I've seen this in the past, and it sucks especially if the roleplay is genuinely interesting.

As much as I adore originality, not all roleplays need to be original. Everything has been done once before. What matters is how captivating it is. How much you're able to hook in readers and make them want to join. This is especially important for new hosts. Don't worry about originality, especially for your first. Have fun with it. Once you become more seasoned in the hobby you can start working on much more serious content. Roleplaying should be something fun for you, not a job or chore. It's better with friends as well. And never force yourself to roleplay or keep maintaining one. You're allowed to take breaks, to transfer ownership to someone else, or even drop out entirely. Just remember to always communicate these things. Ghosting is something I advise against.

Also, tips I've learned for advertising: keep it short. Nothing long. Too many words makes it boring. Shortly summarize the plot and then always add a hook at the end. Usually a question of some kind to invoke mystery, depending on the theme. I've never done good with advertising but this is something I'd seen many others do. Usually works good enough.

Quite late on my end so hopefully my sleepy rambling is somewhat understandable

I've been thinking about this a lot, and people have had a lot of interesting things to say. I have very little opinion on recycled plots, except that I myself won't join an RP the second or third time if I didn't join the first.

Froggy brought up the fact that new players aren't as literate or dedicated, which is true - they do seem to be harder to find. Which means, I suppose, that we have to make them. I wasn't literate or dedicated when I started out. It was only from RPing with those types of players that I became inspired to be a better roleplayer. I've seen other people grow and develop their writing skill. Literacy is no longer as important to me as it used to be. I trust that I'm talented enough to extrapolate what's needed from their writing. I want RP partners who are enthusiastic and creative. If they're really interesting in roleplaying, they'll develop their writing skills. And I'll get to help that happen.

I've grown rather jaded about RPs, sadly. So I only join specific types of RPs. Here's what I look for (and remember, this is just me): 1. No pages of excessive lore I have to read through, 2. Less then ~twelve character slots, 3. Reasonable literacy, 4. A somewhat original plot.

Here why: 1. I no longer have the patience for excessive lore, knowing the RP probably won't start. If I'm assured it will take off, I love lore! 2. Waiting for characters to fill up is a nightmare, and RPing with so many characters makes the plot lose direction. I need a driven plot. 3. Again, literacy doesn't matter as much to me, but I do need somthing to work with. 4. I get tired of throwing my characters into the same plots that wind up going the same ways.

As someone who's RPed recently on various other sites, I have to say, this problem isn't unique to WP. Group RPs are often woefully under- or over- explained, and the hosts have no idea what they're doing. Most players on the sites are barely literate. RPs die out like flies.

Regarding what everyone else has said, I agree with many things. Short descriptions with good hooks are best for RPs. It's important to listen to your players, and keeping the discussion going. You can try to hold players accountable for posting and staying active, but I've tried and it's nightmarishly hard. It's good to have people post regularly, but not neccesarily frequently. I usually find it best to host only one RP at a time, but that's just me. Advertising is essential. Creating character connections with every single character is one of the most important things to me. I contact everyone before the RP as a rule of thumb.

Regarding the discussion, there's a technical aspect I often find coming into play. When people get 100+ notifications in one night, they tend to unsubscribe from the forum. Then they forget to check the discussion, which contributes to them dropping out of the RP. It's a silly thing, but it seems to cause problems. What I do is bookmark instead, and constantly check my bookmarks to see if anything's new.

Now, take my advice with a grain of salt, because I haven't created a roleplay in years. When I did, we all seemed to enjoy them, and they almost always got off the ground. But they rarely lasted long, of course.

Edit: (Sorry this is so long) I had an idea for keeping RPs going, but I've never tried it. I call it "checkpoints." If your RP has a driven plot (and honestly, that's usually much better), have the characters working towards smaller goals, instead of just one big goal. Make it clear to your players what your doing, and think of it like chapters. I'm not sure if this would work, but it might be worth a try! Thoughts, anyone?

Also, it's true. I don't like joining large group roleplays. As an individual I get lost in large groups in real life and on here. Here, I forget the characters and the players involved, and you tend to wait forever for roles to fill. Momentum is very important in most roleplays or regularity. It's normally not a good thing when people are posting 10x a day for the first few days even though it's because they are so invested because then others get lost and drop out and you want to keep everyone interested for the long haul.

I think someone recommended not having roleplays where every role needs to be filled. I think that's fair especially since roleplays seem slow to fill. But also "not important" characters can become important if you get them enough connections.

As a person who reuses roleplay characters, I'm not bothered by reusing roleplays. However, if it hasn't gotten off the ground with the last recent try or so then I think you either need to wait a long time or give up.

Also, yeah making affiliations between characters is really good. It adds depth, for me it makes me more committed because I'm making a bigger impact in the roleplay if we have plot ideas or relationships between characters.

I feel like it's fair to say that if you know you are the type to not have the time or lose energy then you should host one roleplay at a time. I've hosted probably max two at a time, but it was because one of them was dying or I was co-hosting. Also, I've never done this, but maybe consider letting someone take over if they are interested in the roleplay and you aren't. There have been a few where the roles filled, and the host disappeared and it's just a sad occurence.