Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » For the new People.

Honestly I am unsure if this should go under "suggestions" or "new roleplay" considering it is kind of both, but since it is a suggestion for a type of roleplay, I decided to play it safe and post it in here.

I am new to this site, but not new to roleplaying in general. A lot of people are though, so I was wondering about an area for new roleplayers to king of learn the ropes? Like, have four or five people in charge of creating simple roleplays for people who are new. Each roleplay would only have two or three members, and as posts are made feed back could be given. This would be mainly for things like giving examples of how god-moding (do you call it that here?) is poor roleplaying, or helping someone improve their post descriptions, things like that. Definitely not a requirement, but a place for people to go to improve? Again, I apologize if this is in the wrong place.

This is the best place to put this topic, yup! And we also call it godmoding, indeed.

My personal opinion is that assigning specific people for this won't work out. Experience tells me that volunteers of this kind quickly get drained, either because there's too much that needs covering, or there's not enough to do. They wouldn't be getting a compensation yet be upheld to certain standards in dealing with people, and having an obligation to roleplay with newbies. 99% of volunteers would drop out, vanish or have all the fun taken out of it because it'll end up feeling like a chore. That's not something I'd want to put anyone through.

I think perhaps a better idea would be to start a group specifically aimed to help newbie roleplayers out! This means every player on RPR can join and help out, rather than a restricted handful of people. It'll give you a place to detail out some tips and tricks on nicely organized group pages and several forums where the focus lies completely on helping newbies get started!

In fact, I like the idea of such a group SO much, I may just feel inclined to start this group myself if you don't have interest in bearing the responsibilities of being a group owner. And if such a group is setup, I'm definitely joining.

You get ten cookies for an AWESOME idea.

I don't feel like I have enough experience with making groups (considering I have....zero..haha..), but if you do decide to make it I am definitely on-board!
And your points make a lot of sense, I didn't think about the severity of responsibility that would cause. Having an entire site of teachers is an amazing idea.

And thank you, I love cookies!!!!!

This has definitely crossed my mind, and two factors prevent me from putting together an official volunteer core:

1. There are SO many styles and cultures of RPing I am very very hesitant to endorse a single variety, and
2. I want the public forums to be a very welcoming and open environment, and sometimes feeling like you are being watched or critiqued without invitation is just scary and demotivating and deters people from stepping outside of their comfort zone and making mistakes on the way to learning new things. I'm NOT saying that the teachers would behave like this or be bad, but even the perception or the wild fear that it could happen can be a huge wet blanket.

However, there's definitely a need for helping out newbies, and people who are really dedicated to story craft do welcome feedback. That makes this a perfect candidate for groups -- people who want the help can get it, and people who don't, well, don't!

I know there was a group or two devoted to this at the outset, but as Sanne guessed, most of the teachers eventually burnt out, got busy, or otherwise needed to stop. If someone came up with a way to make it stick, or a tag team, or a way that an entire group could do critique/discussion together with just some moderators or discussion leaders rather than out and out teacher, it would be totally fantastic.

As far as making groups, I wouldn't be too daunted. If you set up a character profile, you already know 90% of what you need to know to start a group here!

Making a group is pretty easy on here. But I understand it may be daunting to launch such a project as your first group! You can create a new group and play around with it for testing purposes, see what features are there and what you can do with it. As Kim said, it's not very different from creating character profiles. And if you get stuck, we're just a topic or a PM away to help you figure things out.

I'm in..

Point me in the general direction you need me.. drown me in copious amounts of caffiene and I will help out as much as I can.

There could be several very basic set ups for the three main roleplay settings. For example, in a fantasy setting have a Tavern, a Lake, and a Forest.

For modern maybe a Cafe, a Train, and a School House.

For Futuristic perhaps a Space station, a City, and a third setting. I do not roleplay Futuristic or Science Fantasy as often so I'm unfamiliar with the basic settings.

These basic settings would be where the roleplaying itself happens, and those interested in coaching (or anyone who simply notices something and wishes to point it out) could make comments before their own posts?

There could also be topics in the group with an example of what God-moding is, and example of what a strong opening post is, the basic rules of what role playing is, ect.

Maybe?

One word of warning; empty forums that stay empty for very long tend to ALWAYS stay empty. No one wants to go to a party that's dead. For groups, I always advise people to start with the smallest amount of forums possible, and expand as they become necessary. Then the forums look more busy and attract more participation.

You could also consider having a guest writer every week, and use the group announcements like a blog where people talk about tips and techniques for better RP? Comments on announcements are coming in the next update, so you could use them just like a blog and as a focal point of discussion for different topics.

That's what I was thinking for basic starters. Though, let's not forget to ask the newbies what they want to learn, too. I can imagine they need something to start with as far as setting goes, but perhaps they need something even more basic first: how does roleplay work? Why are these settings so important? What do they contribute? How should a character fit in there?

It can quickly become very complex and dazzling to starters. Perhaps before the settings are touched upon, it could be wise to start even simpler: action and reaction posts. Character detail. When or if they already understand that, then the action and reaction and character detail can mesh with a setting. Explaining why certain characters do or don't fit. Not being afraid to go perhaps create a different character for a specific setting.

I think that it'll be difficult to get everything properly written down without flooding their poor minds with too much information at once. It'll be a challenge!

You know me. I'm always up to help a new person out. Count me in among the quote unquote instructors for this mission.

After a bit of PMing with Luulu, I'm going to start the group and get it set up!

Now all I need is a good name for the group! Anyone got any suggestions?

Fluttershy is a good name for a group - ANY group, in fact.

If we had a Fluttershy course, then I totally would. But since that's not the case, for now I've temporarily named the group "The Roleplay School". If people like it I will stick to it, otherwise we'll go with a different suggestion.

I'm down for helping, even if it's in a limited capacity with my whole internet situation. I think something like this is a good, proactive approach for new/newer/newish people to get into the swing of things. The key, however, will just have it being able to sustain it's momentum in a fun and flexible way.

I'm almost done getting some basics setup for the group. There are still things to add and some appearance edits to be made, but everyone can start joining if they like!

As I've not received more suggestions for a group name, I'm going to stick with the simple "The Roleplay School" unless something betters comes along.

http://www.rprepository.com/g/rpschool