Posted by Kim on March 19, 2016, 10:00am
On January 16th of 2016, more than 20 members gathered together in the Just Talkin' chat to discuss how to attract people to a RP, whether it was to be a one on one or a group RP.Of course, this topic was fascinatingly, wonderfully frustrating and fraught with grey areas and "it depends," which is exactly how it should be in a group of RPers this diverse. But some common themes emerged that are worth considering.
In essence, what we discovered is that to attract well-matched RPers, you first need to have a clear idea of what type of person you are seeking to attract, and then write an ad that appeals to that type of person. For example, if you want to play with someone who is super-detail oriented, you need a detailed ad. If you're looking for someone who likes creative flow and will be a creative partner, you need something else entirely. And if your ad for the detail oriented scares off those who prefer a looser style, that can be a good thing! Most agreed that it's often better to get no responses than wrongly-matched responses.
General principles for a great Looking For RP Ad
The devil is in the details
Include "just enough detail", which might include one or more of the following:
- A genre (fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, slice of life, modern, super heroes, etc)
- a starting point or a conflict point that would bring two characters together in a way that sparks further interaction
- a specific character or characters being offered for the eventual RP
- Possibly a sample post to show what the person is like as a RPer
- Options for setting
- Details about the type of character who would be best suited to respond
- Maybe even a basic plot
[...] each of my character bios come with little prompts for open-ended ideas how other characters could interact with mine - and so when people do approach me, I pretty universally find they've built on that in their own way to come to me with something unique we'll both like. -sland
You might not have an entire plot planned out, and that's okay. But some hints about who your characters are and how other people might best start interacting with them can go a long way. One format that was very popular was the simple formula: character concept, central conflict/action, potential options for other characters to become involved.
Doesn't necessarily have to be a plot, but a storyline - a starting point. How do these characters come across each other? Why? -Profane
"Panne is an octomaid - an octopus mermaid - who struggles making friends. One day she stumbles on a strange artifact someone lost. She doesn't know what it does or who lost it, but she's going to find out! Will she make a new friend through this quest? Looking for modern fantasy setting, one character, human, preferably a magician or someone who can have an interest in artifacts." -Sanne
@Sanne - I agree. It defines the character, plot, and what you're looking for, in a format short enough to be seen in the Find RP section. - Vermilion
You might also use the basic questions: Who, what, when, where and why as a starting point for drafting your Looking For RP post.
I personally find a lot of Looking for RP ads really difficult to want to join because I don't feel like I would like the brief setting description (or no setting description), but instead just give me character personalities only. Like, yes, that's useful, but I also want to know how to interact with the setting at hand. Probably why I can look at more fandom based stuff a little more easily and want to join those as opposed to more original things that people would like. -FreeJayFly
Organization matters
Personally, I would start with what the plot is so that people can see it via the Find RP tab. -Gamers
Keep in mind that the first few sentences of any post are the most critical! This is the portion that will appear in the Find RP search tool - and in the future, in many other areas of the site - and this is the portion that most people will read and then decide whether they are interested enough to keep reading!
Many people squander this opportunity by forgetting to answer that all important question: Why would someone want to join this RP? and instead start by rambling about how they are bored or their other RPs are on pause right now.
Presentation matters
Put your best foot forward! Online RP is a written medium, so take care with your writing.
This is a text-based medium. Typing in 'net-speak and acronyms and whatever--what I refer to as an epileptic Rhesus monkey having a fit on the keyboard--tells me you don't care about such presentation. And if you don't are about that, you probably don't care about the story. If you don't care about the story--that's totally fine, but that's a huge turn-off to me. -Thylonicus
Generally, presentation means that the person is interested and invested into whatever they are doing: especially when it involves writing and grammar. -Loren
Effort matters at any length
There's also something different between making a Looking for Roleplay about a character that the person wants to use in thus way than saying "I'm up for whatever, PM me" without even mentioning one of their characters or any particular plot. -Loren
Whether we were discussing ads for short, one-off scenes with very few rules, or ads for hugely complex group settings with long world histories and dice-based rules, one concept came up over and over and over: if the ad contained red flags regarding the amount of effort the OP would likely put into their RP, it would almost certainly be passed over by the majority of people.
Red flags might include:
- Poor spelling, incomprehensible grammar, or text-speak word replacements (such as using "u" to mean "you")
- Including no detail about what kind of RP is wanted -- such as not even specifying a character, a single idea, or even the genre or style of RP that the OP was interested in.
- Mentioning particular characters, existing RPs, or groups, but not bothering to provide the links to find these things.
On the spelling/grammar thing, it's mostly "will I be able to understand this person" and includes the ability to make what they mean clear. For similar reasons, I tend to avoid those who use super flowery language and rely too much on metaphor. Another part of it is, unfortunately, simple stereotyping. If they don't appear to write well, I start wondering - is it because they're lazy? Because they're too new to storytelling, and thus will be difficult to work with? Will they do it enough to bring out the peeves? -Novalyyn
So whatever type of RP you are wanting to advertise for, make sure you proof read before you post, and make sure you're doing your part to suggest some ideas for the RP -- even if it's just two sentences about the character you want to play as.
I'm far more forgiving of spelling and grammar if the player shows common sense on their characters and games personally. Like... if a character changes personality on a whim to be the best ever constantly and take the spotlight at all costs, it's an immediate no. If they're very flat, two dimensional characters who have no hopes or dreams for the future but only exist to play out little personal fantasies of being awesome, it's a no. -Sanne
What if you just want to RP, but you don't have a plot in mind?
Every single person who participated in our discussion said that they would rarely or never even consider responding to a Looking For RP post that simply said, "I'm looking for someone to RP, PM me ideas," because it indicated someone who might not pull their weight when the RP actually began. The only exception was if they had already been wanting to RP with that person anyway, based on other, more compelling posts they had seen from that person around the forums.
But sometimes, you want to RP really badly, but you don't have a plot in mind yet. Maybe you prefer to always build the plot in collaboration with your fellow player(s). If simply saying you want to RP often fails, what should you say in these types of situations?
Many members said that they had learned not to respond to this type of ad, because more often than not, the poster actually had specific preferences that they hadn't thought to voice. Perhaps the OP wasn't in the mood for sci-fi roleplay, or they didn't feel like playing some of the characters on their RPR list just then, but they didn't mention these preferences in their request to be sent RP ideas. So when they were PMed with ideas, they ended up turning most of those ideas down. It can be very frustrating to be asked to do work, with no guidelines for how to get that work right!
"I'm looking for RP/PM me" - I don't know. Me, personally, I'd waffle a bit. In my experience, that sort of person is still looking for something more specific, so if they don't actually say it, it usually doesn't end well. [...] I don't think it's as much that I think they're being deceptive, Kim, at least not consciously. But I do tend to find, in my experience, that they still have things they want and don't want, things to work toward or away from. - Thylonicus
Many members said that Looking For RP posts that offered no clues about what the OP wanted was a huge red flag that this potential partner would do less than their fair share to keep a story going.
"Does that mean an ad like "I'm looking for someone to RP, PM me ideas" would never get a response from you?" They don't, ever. I feel like this leaves all the planning to me and the other person is indecisive and doesn't really want to play or commit. -Sanne
Nah, not me. I find it shows that the poster is a little lazy, and even if they wanted to just talk it out with their partners, I'd at least appreciate if they would contribute something as well. Most of the time when someone sends me a message asking for a roleplay, 90% of the time they leave the brainstorming for me. I find it a little... Rude, and really takes my inspiration to write up epics and all away. -SINDragon
Most people agreed that even a small amount of detail was enough to assuage these concerns, such as if the OP includes a list of characters that they are interested in playing as right now, with one or two sentences about each character and a link to their profile to learn more.
Most of the time, no matter how vague you are feeling about what you want to RP, you will also know what style you want to play in: First person or third person writing? Paragraphs required, or no? Do you want to use dice to resolve combat, or do you prefer free-form writing? The inclusion of even these basic details can help you escape from the "looking too lazy to play with" trap!
Advertising for complex RPs, such as groups with strict settings/rulesets
Things can get more complicated when what you're advertising isn't just a plot idea, but a full-fledged world with its own history, character creation rules, and more!
The general guidelines posted above still apply in a big way. Providing details that let people know whether or not they'll be a good fit matters. Organization matters. Presentation matters.
But suddenly, the problem might become that you have too much detail to share, rather than too little! Remember that when you're posting to the Looking For RP forums, you are typically advertising, not laying out the entire book on character creation, lore, and group rules. That means you need to pick and choose what information will most help a person understand whether they are a good fit for your group, rather than supplying everything plus the kitchen sink! Someone who is hooked by your ad will be much more interested in putting in the work of reading the rest of your group's information.
Let's say that the perfect rp request satisfies certain criteria. A perfect rp request cannot waste time with details that aren't necessary [...]. It cannot drag on for paragraphs at a time (its likely to overwhelm most people). The perfect request would also feature lore information presented in such a way that a player feels like they can add to it, rather than just exist in it. -MasterDerpy
Here are some common problems with ads for detailed RP settings that our discussion group identified, and how to address them:
- So much world building information is provided, that some players felt that they wouldn't "matter" to the world -- ie, it seemed so fully formed, and the creator seemed so in love with their creation, that they didn't think their IC actions would make an IC difference. Giving players an indication not just of what the world is like, but of how they could fit into it and matter to it, can help with this.
- So much space used on repeating the rules in the initial advertisement that players begin to worry that the group leader will be overbearing, paranoid, or more interested in rules than in writing good stories - instead, express a few of the group's main values, and then link to your group's rule page if there are a lot of them.
- Sometimes a lot of information is required, and that's ok. But if it's poorly organized, you can lose readers before they even get to the juicy parts! Be certain that you start your ad with the most interesting setting or plot information, and how the players might fit into that setting. This ensures that your ad will look exciting in Find RP searches, as well as prevent people from losing interest and stopping reading before they get to the good bits.
- Pages and pages of information in a Looking For RP post can make many people feel that you don't value their time -- tell them what they need to decide if they are interested, and then link them to your group (or wiki, or wherever you are storing your RP info.)
- Many people, especially those who come from a primarily freeform background (as the majority of our members do), fear that they will not be able to join any group that utilizes any form of character stats, or dice systems. If you are willing to help people learn the ropes of creating a character and what to roll, be certain that you mention this prominently!
Here, the trick is to give people enough information to make them interested, without overloading them. Although it's true they may need to learn a whole lot of history or brush up on a ruleset to be able to exist in your group successfully, it's important to remember that most of that information is probably already posted and accessible on your group profile. There's no need to rehash all of it in your Looking for RP post -- instead, try to give people a taste of what it feels like to be part of this RP.
I would say one that gives us, the readers, an understanding of the situation and few of the rules and gimmicks you and your character should apply to and such. But when they give us too much information, I must tell you, I feel as if I'm reading the actual game/Group page itself instead of getting a little nice, juicy teaser of it. -SINDragon, responding to a question about what the perfect group ad would look like
Knowing how to use the site
Once you've written the perfect Looking For RP ad, there are some really simple tricks to getting that ad seen by more people around the site -- and this effect will be magnified as our featureset is expanded and RP ideas are offered to more people, in more places around the site.
- Give the post a descriptive title
- Make sure to set the genre sliders
- Make sure to check the appropriate "playstyles" boxes.
Check out this two minute tutorial video for a really simple walkthrough:
In Summary
Though almost everyone has a different idea of what makes the perfect RP, and therefore, what they look for in advertisements for RPs, there was a lot of common ground:
- Almost everyone wants to see effort put into the spelling/grammar of the ad.
- Almost everyone wants SOME direction to be suggested beyond "PM me ideas" or "I'm up for anything."
- Almost everyone feels that a lack of these things might expose them to a very frustrating RP.
- Including one or more items from the list at the start of this post (titled "the devil is in the details") can get you well on your way to more interested responses to your RP ad!
A proposed game that has had more decisions made about setting, play style, etc., is often most attractive because it shows the owner is invested, but it's still quite acceptable to most people for a RP ad to include fewer made decisions so long as it's clear that the OP will put at least an equal amount of effort in as those who respond.
Thanks to Copper_Dragon, Earendill, FreeJayFly, Gamers, Hudacious, Kim, Loren, MasterDerpy, Novalyyn, Profane, Reima, Rynh, SINDragon, Sanne, SeraphicStar, Slipcast, Thylonicus, Vermilion, linktheriolu and sland for actively participating in this discussion during the live chat, and to rat, Rigby, RinTengoku524 and Tate for contributing comments on this topic via the forums and news post comments.
If you'd like to read the complete transcript of this chat, you can find it here.
Comments
I definitely don't think that people who don't follow these guidelines are bad people, "wrong," or necessarily bad at RP or anything else. People do forget, or get so excited they post in a rush. But the question was how to write a really great looking for RP post that was easy and inviting for other players, and I think the community did a great job at answering it. But they're suggestions, not rules or condemnations. 
I agree with some of the quotes, but some I have to disagree with to be quiet honest not because I disagree with the statements but because actually making RPs for the Looking for RP forum is difficult. You make up the RP at the top of your head practically, but you forget things its inevitable we're human. That's why I don't judge people of what the post on the Looking for RP because some of us could be great RPs and just not be good at Summaries. I don't know maybe its just me...
Somehow, in some way, you managed to summarise this 
Well done, Kim! Here's to hoping this helps out Roleplayers everywhere~
Well done, Kim! Here's to hoping this helps out Roleplayers everywhere~
I am glad you think it is a good summary. I wrote and re-wrote this article many times. There was just so much information and so many ways of grouping the different points! But in the end, this seemed like the most concise (ha!) way of transmitting all the vast quantities of information you guys laid on me. I'm glad we'll always have the actual transcript as a reference as well, though!
I'm glad we'll always have the actual transcript as a reference as well, though!
I'm tickled that one of the quotes you used of me is one that can come off--less than respectful, let's say. 
Anyway! Man, this is a far better way to boil that insane talk down to its salient and relevant points than I'd have expected. That was--interestingly chaotic, I think would be a diplomatic way of putting the talk. If this doesn't accurately yet concisely reflect the points raised, I can't imagine what would.
Anyway! Man, this is a far better way to boil that insane talk down to its salient and relevant points than I'd have expected. That was--interestingly chaotic, I think would be a diplomatic way of putting the talk. If this doesn't accurately yet concisely reflect the points raised, I can't imagine what would.
Terminal-JSApril 14, 2016
9:45pm