|
Post by redox-kun on Aug 27, 2014 16:04:19 GMT -8
honestly i think the solution should just be
for people who want to just rp with their circle of friends, they should just make a private board
like if your site was not meant to live very long then no amount of exposure will really save it
|
|
A seadog looking for crewmates
|
Post by Elena on Aug 28, 2014 22:59:06 GMT -8
this is actually something i've been noticing lately, so i'm glad someone brought it up. cause whenever i mention it people just roll their eyes at me and say to 'get with the times, this ain't 2006 anymore.' as admins, i think we should fight to keep our creations open. i hear people say 'but the audience is too fickle.' well, so what? we are the ones who cater to the audience. site-owners are the ones who set the example and create the sites in the first place. equally, as members, because members are just as important if not more so, i think we should try to pledge some loyalty. pick a few forums and give them all we've got, instead of joining too many and having to progressively drop more. it's sad, because i've seen amazing sites with so much potential be closed, and maybe i care too much about rp, but if stuff goes on this way i don't know how long the community is going to stably hold up. I agree. My site is 4 years old and I;ll close it only if I remain with no writing partner. As long as I have at least one, I will keep the story going.
|
|
|
Post by Ginger on Aug 30, 2014 18:24:29 GMT -8
The problem still stands, and we may wanna try and talk with each other about it, like what ★SIRIUS suggested. There needs to be something other than just quit site hopping as much, to solve the problem. Should there be a secret system or something between rpiers to discourage site hopping, like reporting site member/admins who have joined/dropped 4 sites within 2 week period, to be weary of those members/admins? Though once again no pointing fingers, hmm how about a symbol or award for admins/members to put up somewhere on their siggy/board to show others who know the system that they are against site hopping and are willing to be active as long as there is someone to post with? *face desk* Coming up with nothing, this is probably why users seem to create cliques or rp groups with themselves, to prevent getting close to new members and losing plots/heart.
|
|
THIS HAND OF MINE IS BURNING RED
|
Post by middy♥ on Aug 30, 2014 19:32:05 GMT -8
There are a few people I could name that make sites and drop them without telling anyone why or what happened. Then again, I admit I did this a month or so ago with my site, since summer school was incredibly taxing and I also had a vacation and car troubles and just all kinds of things. But, I came back and since then, have been waiting for people to come back. So I don't want to lump myself in the category of "site hopper" or "abandoning admin" or whatever because I am trying to get my site off its feet again. To me, my sites only ever die if I do not have the right kind of staff. That's what happened with my site. In my site-making career, I've only really made a few sites, and they've all lasted at least a year, if not more. The reason being because I had a good staff team to keep me motivated. Once the staff goes all wonky, I lose the drive, I guess, because it becomes like work to me. Like SIFR, I also work with customers, so the last thing I want to do when I get home is deal with a bunch of stuff. I just want to RP and have fun, man! Though things like redox-kun does, abandon a site when it seems like it's "dying," I think that is contributing to what we see today. Rome wasn't built in a day; not even a few months. If people would stop abandoning ship at the first sign of a lull ("OMG THE ACTIVE USER LIST IS ONLY AT THREE LINES!" or some shit) then I think sites would be better. The most fun I've had on a site is because I stuck with it and focused on making plots with people. You can't get the full experience of a character or plot with only a few days of RPing. And it's bullshit that if someone really likes a site, that they'll abandon it like that. @.@ Just remember, to all those people who site-hop: You are potentially hurting an admin's drive to run a site (IE ME!) and cause them to think there is something wrong with a project that they poured their heart and soul into. To those who keep making sites, only to abandon them: You are taking away potential members, tbh. A member will ditch a site to go to something new and shiny, only for that site to close, meanwhile I have a site that I'm trying to revive and now no one will look at it because it's not "new" but it's got heart and soul poured into it. >>;;; Anyway. Sorry, mini-rant over. But I really hate this stupid RP epidemic thing. I RP to take my stress away, not stress about it and worry if my game is going to die. Ugh.
|
|
|
Post by redox-kun on Aug 30, 2014 21:13:41 GMT -8
Though things like redox-kun does, abandon a site when it seems like it's "dying," I think that is contributing to what we see today. Rome wasn't built in a day; not even a few months. If people would stop abandoning ship at the first sign of a lull ("OMG THE ACTIVE USER LIST IS ONLY AT THREE LINES!" or some shit) then I think sites would be better. The most fun I've had on a site is because I stuck with it and focused on making plots with people. You can't get the full experience of a character or plot with only a few days of RPing. And it's bullshit that if someone really likes a site, that they'll abandon it like that. yo, at least i have the BALLS to admit it in public discussion, and you don't know what i consider to be a "lull" so it would be cool if we stopped pointing fingers, capisce? capisce. like dude i love long term plots as much as the next person but there's a point where i'm tired of plotting an elaborate month long plot but then a site dies too fast for like the tenth time in a row. and i think that's perfectly understandable! it is nobody's responsibility to keep up activity!! sometimes you don't need a reason to drop other than "i got bored"!! i've been on many sites over the years that practically hounded people for activity and let me tell you nothing gets people unmotivated faster than that just putting it out there: i just want to have fun and honestly if a site isn't fun and i get left in the dust then i'm not about to torment myself over an admin's ego kthnx
|
|
|
Post by darth vader on Aug 30, 2014 21:27:24 GMT -8
honestly we should all just quit rp
|
|
|
Post by Starry Neko on Aug 30, 2014 21:30:14 GMT -8
Since seeing other people's views, let's see if I can actually contribute to the topic. Being old as dirt in the RP community (Or so people tell me, most people have been in it longer than I have, but that's besides the point) - I have...seen so many people create sites and then they just die a few weeks later. I mean literally- bouncing with activity then about twenty or so days later, Maintenance Mode is staring you in the face and you can't get your profiles or anything back. I have actually had this done to me /several/ times and it really is frustrating. - This further tells the community that their excitement means nothing. Their profiles and hard work mean nothing. As soon as something goes a bit slow- it's apparently 'dead'. However the problem is that so many people have experienced this that it leads to site hopping if something goes slightly inactive in THEIR opinion. Also I know this isn't exactly popular- ...but I actually don't like these really simple apped sites. I gain no connection to my character and I like writing detailed parts of my personality and history. It's become a thing on several sites that I've noticed is "Don't give us a novel" or "Don't give us above this certain amount." I cannot personally gain a connection to a character. If I want to write that much, it's my choice to write that much. Since activity wanes and people jump ship, there is no actual THREADS or POSTS to attach you to the character or I wouldn't mind a simpler app. The inactivity for that leads me to just kinda go 'eh' and not want to join a site with a simpler app. When I write that novel or I spend the extra time filling it out- I feel more connected and knowledgeable about them. Of course this is just me, not everyone. But like katya said...putting up standards is kind of a bad thing. I like having standards, I like having that slightly more detailed app. But it turns off so many people simply because it's not as 'easy'. Well...while rp's not a job, it's not exactly easy to write most of the times. I don't see it as drama or stress personally but that might just be me. I created a site to write characters and plots...and generally want to get inside their headspaces until their little heads explode. That's how I've designed all my sites because to me- even I myself /can/ improve. Even if it's quality over quantity or whatever...we should all be able to write what we want to write. I don't care if it's a no word count site or 900 (Which I actually was on before and it was actually pretty fun.) as long as I'm having fun. I have personally offered some of my older sites to people but often times it's rejected because they don't want to put up with it either. Ginger - The problem with that in my eyes is it becomes too petty and personal. People would report members/admins they simply just hated. I can tell you in my past years a few mary sue writers might want to murder me in my sleep. The system has too much to be abused. I put hours into coming up with my lore, I put hours coming up with all kinds of different systems and tried to create new ones. Like middy♥ said- "I have a site that I'm trying to revive and now no one will look at it because it's not "new" but it's got heart and soul poured into it. >>;;;" (Quote button is being screwy, sorry.) it's like this. I put all my heart and soul into it. But people will still skip if the app isn't easy enough or if it's supposed inactivity. What if it's a lax site? Where people know THEY HAVE LIVES but they still get on there and post their hearts out when they have posts? It's just depressing for site admins to put all that work in and get told since they're not in the newest fad, easiest to get into, or newest shiny thing then bam, all of our work is for nothing. However as Fritz previously said, yeah. There ARE reasons to up and close your site. There are reasons when life just gets too hectic and you don't have time. However there's also a part to where, you have to be a bit more realistic. Running a site is a responsibility. While yes, that sucks, and even with the amount of staff of great numbers it's still a responsibility. Even if a small internet one. I also understand when the rp just isn't fun anymore and they leave. That's fine too. I just don't think it's really great for either side to point fingers or blame one more so than the other. I just think that rp really is a radically different beast than I started in. I'm not really sure how to handle it sometimes.
|
|
|
Post by redox-kun on Aug 30, 2014 21:31:13 GMT -8
honestly we should all just quit rp that's like saying that you should quit drinking sure you should but can you?
|
|
|
Post by Starry Neko on Aug 30, 2014 21:36:13 GMT -8
honestly we should all just quit rp that's like saying that you should quit drinking sure you should but can you? I don't know myself. I've tried. So many times.
|
|
THIS HAND OF MINE IS BURNING RED
|
Post by middy♥ on Aug 30, 2014 21:42:59 GMT -8
yo, at least i have the BALLS to admit it in public discussion, and you don't know what i consider to be a "lull" so it would be cool if we stopped pointing fingers, capisce? capisce. like dude i love long term plots as much as the next person but there's a point where i'm tired of plotting an elaborate month long plot but then a site dies too fast for like the tenth time in a row. and i think that's perfectly understandable! it is nobody's responsibility to keep up activity!! sometimes you don't need a reason to drop other than "i got bored"!! i've been on many sites over the years that practically hounded people for activity and let me tell you nothing gets people unmotivated faster than that just putting it out there: i just want to have fun and honestly if a site isn't fun and i get left in the dust then i'm not about to torment myself over an admin's ego kthnx I wasn't meaning to point fingers, I was just stating that this reason right here is why admins like myself get distraught and then the site suffers because of it. It's things like that that keep admins from committing to a site and instead of working out the kinks or fixing it, they just close it and move onto something else... and then the cycle continues. If people put as much faith in the staff as the staff put in them, I think a compromise could be made and things could run smoothly. If people abandon ship without so much as a reason, then they'll lose hope. Or at least that's how I feel. >>; It sucks knowing something you love a lot is not "fun" or is "boring" and without the proper knowledge, it won't get fixed and BECOME something a member could love also.
|
|
|
Post by redox-kun on Aug 30, 2014 22:04:16 GMT -8
I wasn't meaning to point fingers, I was just stating that this reason right here is why admins like myself get distraught and then the site suffers because of it. It's things like that that keep admins from committing to a site and instead of working out the kinks or fixing it, they just close it and move onto something else... and then the cycle continues. If people put as much faith in the staff as the staff put in them, I think a compromise could be made and things could run smoothly. If people abandon ship without so much as a reason, then they'll lose hope. Or at least that's how I feel. >>; It sucks knowing something you love a lot is not "fun" or is "boring" and without the proper knowledge, it won't get fixed and BECOME something a member could love also. tbh i have a lot of things to say to this but i'm also not sure about my ability to put it really nicely all i'm gonna say is that maybe observe sites that have been successful? bc not every site is as dreary as what you've just described. i've been on some fantastic sites run by different people and they generally know what works for them. ok im gonna be slightly mean ab this but i would like to emphasize that running a site isn't about catering to a person's ego and sites die really fast if the founders aren't willing to compromise with their vision. and i mean the "proper knowledge" as you mentioned isn't actually that hard to gain over time as long as you're willing to take away from what you see fuck ok i'm gonna stop now before i sound like a jerk lol
|
|
|
Post by Ginger on Aug 30, 2014 22:32:12 GMT -8
Ginger - The problem with that in my eyes is it becomes too petty and personal. People would report members/admins they simply just hated. I can tell you in my past years a few mary sue writers might want to murder me in my sleep. The system has too much to be abused. Good point, any suggestions? Would have been probably be kicked off every community, within first two weeks. *this problem is an unbreakable cycle, isn't it? With everyone's hearts and time on the line.*
|
|
|
Post by OJOUSAMA on Aug 30, 2014 23:33:39 GMT -8
wow why didn't i see this five days ago when it was first posted.
i've been rping for nearly a decade now. personally i feel as if my interest in rp has slowly been declining for several different reasons, the big one being that sites die/close before i can develop a character or plot. as a member and past admin/staff, i've always asked myself "why did this site die? what could have been done to save it? why do people leave in such a short amount of time?" i've always thought the community played a huge role. for about the first four years of my life on proboards, i was simply a role player. i never chatted with others or tried to get to know people or even plot. granted this was because i wasn't actually familiar with the whole 'community' and cbox thing back then, so when i finally decided to step out of my comfort zone and join the animanga rp forums, i found myself immersed by the people there. i honestly spent more time talking in the cbox than i did rping, and i remember a few years back that this had been a reoccurring problem for most people i met on a site. everyone was generally active and got along well and we all just wanted to get to know each other better. but alas, drama happens. wherever you go, something happens. members get into a fight, people don't like the way staff conducts business, and i could seriously get real specific and detailed about the kinds of things i feel start drama (but i won't), but this damages the community. members end up leaving or things just get tense because people can't make up. i do agree that fickle members contribute to inactivity, but honestly i feel a broken community is what really hurts a site. especially nowadays when a common trend is for people to invite their friends to a site, if one person ends up having beef with the site or another member, if they leave, their group of friends could end up leaving, too. i'm not saying this is always the case, but something that i've noticed happened before.
drama is what really kills a site imo, and we're all social beings that simply want to have fun with each other. members are fed up with being treated "unfairly" or being on a site with cliquey members. staff gets tired of having to deal with their shit and end up discouraged. guys, it's hard on staff. for anyone who hasn't staffed before, i'd like you to realize that they have to stand on a medium ground when solving conflict, and unfortunately, you can get a lot of jerks that will provoke them still. all this said, unfortunately i don't have a solution to offer. it'd be great if everyone could just get a long, but that's just not the case.
long story short, people want to feel belonged and appreciated on a forum just as much as they want to rp, possibly even more so, but when conflict sparks, they feel discouraged and uncomfortable, and why stay on a site that makes you feel that way?
i feel like maybe our generation is starting to die out as well? not as in we're all ready to quit rping, but we've been in this game for a long time and we're just not as young and sxc as we used to be yanno what i mean? maybe i just don't get around a lot, but if i see a new person, they're my age or older, meaning they're not about to dedicate the next ten years of their life to rping like perhaps some of us other people have. just an observation, but i could be completely wrong on this.
maybe i'm not getting around much like the rest of ya'll so my thoughts may not be as impacting idk. hopefully i made a contribution and didn't simply repeat what someone else said.
|
|
|
Post by redox-kun on Aug 30, 2014 23:47:13 GMT -8
oh my god OJOUSAMA u make me feel like dinosaur bones i'm not even old!!!!!! but nah girl i think you're pretty on point and i do think that things are a two way street but i'm also really annoyed by the idea that "fixing" things is a magical process that can be achieved if people simply did "x" or "y". from my general experience i believe that members genuinely want to see a site work out and if they knew that there was a magical solution then they would have solved the problem ages ago. like i love the community (75% of the time) and i believe that they're not all in some weird agenda to see sites die like wildfire? like reading this thread has been kind of rough for me ngl because most people whom i meet are really nice about plotting and figuring things out. i had other thoughts but i forgot them oops
|
|
MOTHER OF THE MAGICAL GIRLS
|
Post by SIFR on Aug 31, 2014 3:38:11 GMT -8
Whoa guys. I go enjoy my birthday and fingers get jabbed in people's eyes? Not cool; don't point fingers, we're here to discuss this, not call people out.
Get specific about a person or a situation again and I'm gonna have to archive the thread.
|
|