The RPC and You: A Discussion

[cuideag]

So I am sure by now we've all heard about the summit that's going to happen. Check out the thread here, see what you think, hopefully everyone who participates will walk away with something productive.

 

I'm a little skeptical but hey, I'm a jerk.

 

The RPC is a pretty great vehicle for our lovely little community. We've seen people, FCs, plots, and stories come together for the rest of us to fawn over. We've seen how people feel about stock photos of fruit salad, or something? I'm really not sure.

 

What I would like to discuss (without whatever restriction) is: making and maintaining connections. Whether you are a single player, a part of a plot-driven LS, or an FC, you might have come through these parts to make a connection somewhere. Personally my biggest challenge due to several things, my own IRL schedule or lack there of being numero uno, is maintaining those RP relationships. Everybody has their own way of carrying on stories and whatnot but I am in the camp that those stories can't really exist if contact wanes for whatever, or is nonexistent with the case of smaller FCs or new individuals still trying to get their toes in the water.

 

What kind of experiences have y'all had with opening and maintaining communications with your fellow RP buddies? What kind of successes and failures have you been met with, and how have they impacted your experience? Do you think there are features or other means by which the RPC might make connecting things easier? Are there tools or features that LS or FC leaders might wish to see or utilize to help make events more visible? Are there certain resources folks might want to have on hand for coordinating, preparing, and executing said events?

 

Please forgive me if I dropped this in the wrong forum! Also please, let's keep this constructive.

[Brynhilde]

I was literally just talking about the RPC with friends in Skype. I don't think I'd be alone in saying that there's been some toxicity on the forums lately, some hostility, arguments and defensiveness.

 

Whatever, it's the internet. But we're fortunate to have the RPC. Without the RPC, there'd be no role-playing servers. Without RP servers, our experience of Eorzea as Role-players would be a lot quieter and far more lonely. I personally have found the RPC to be a wonderful and priceless tool for finding and improving RP and making connections (love dat wiki u guiz srsly), which is why I'm happy to pay for its upkeep over on the Patreon drive.

 

I'm a strong believer in community. I've been on both ends of the MMO-RP spectrum before; being in a lonely little RP LS in a game innately hostile to RP (FFXI), and being in an RP guild on a official RP server (WoW). In these cases there either wasn't an RP community, or the RP community had no wider organisation. Compared to our situation on Balmung at least, both sucked. I can honestly say that my time on Balmung has been the happiest, most fun and fruitful experience I have had with RP in MMOs, and that's due in no small part to the RPC.

 

Basically, I think it's obvious that we get the community we work for. I can't speak for Gilgamesh, but as I've said, I think Balmung is wonderful. But there's always ways to improve. To do that, we've got to pull together. Let's not forget that SE isn't making official RP servers any time soon; they never had any intention to do so. We're pretty much on our own. But Balmung and Gilg are the RP servers because we decided we were going to make them the RP servers. That was us, pulling together.

 

Anyway, the point that I'm trying to make in this TL;DR post, I guess, is that I've been feeling for a while that we as RPers could do a lot more to really strengthen our communities in ways that would benefit all of us. In particular I'd like to see efforts toward:

 

1) Encouraging greater inter-FC RP, and

2) Helping both those new to our servers / new to RP settle in and become part of our communities.

[Domri Blackblade]

I came back to Balmung for RP at the first of this month and I found the RPC was a huge staple in the levels of activity I've found. Not the only one, but a large one.

 

I consider myself a floater in RP. What that means is I try to integrate myself into other people's stories and help them progress theirs as well as mine. I haven't yet had the chance to host my own only because of how insanely occupied I am anytime I log in. But I'm very, very big on utilizing other players as much as I can for any story progression, so I am very big on approaching and doing my best to maintain an OOC and IC line of communication.

 

That being said, I'm FAR from good at it. I know there are people who reached out to me who managed to fall through the cracks. I made a thread in the Making Connections and got much bigger of a response than I anticipated. And I keep up with most of the people who I managed to get to. (Sorry to those that I didn't! Trust me, I didn't forget you.) Through that thread, I even managed to reconnect with someone I knew from around six years ago.

 

My RP is to the point where I have to block time for people, and I don't like having to do that. Mainly because I think RP should just flow fluidly, but I also don't want anyone to feel left out. To sort of combat this, I've just written it into my character that he is insanely busy so most people who know him know he is always out doing something.

 

The RPC has brought me to awareness of events, and of people I most likely would not have gotten a chance to meet. The only other thing that has brought me to a group of people whom I love most on this game is actually Party Finder. One of the linkshells I am in advertised their website on party finder and ever since I applied, I have been in skype with and actively engaged in activities with them on a daily basis.

 

I know one way people get me to their events is to post a thread here then shoot me a PM in game or on skype to let me know what's going on and that's how I block that time out to be free for it. So I guess my advice is to be proactive and not shy about putting your event out there. There are people like me who check that calendar on the top bar frequently. So, I know what's going on even if I have no IC reason to be there.

 

Bottom line, I find the less closed off and shy you can try to be, the more it becomes apparent how easy it is to just pick up RP at the drop of a hat. I have never had trouble finding people to RP with, even if it is slow. I have, however, noticed people are timid to brach out of what's comfortable, and that creates the illusion of 'dying open world rp' and the like. I rarely ever go to the Quicksand and I am never short on roleplay.

 

TL;DR: Put yourself out there, you'll find everything is healthy.

[Gegenji]

2) Helping both those new to our servers / new to RP settle in and become part of our communities.

 

I think this is a really good goal to work on. Especially to those who have never RPed in a MMO before. I think the scariest part of my first coming to Balmung was being completely unfamiliar with MMO RP. I still feel a bit sketchy on it at times, but being able to actually get some in-game RP under my belt helped a lot with that.

 

The Making Connections section, I'd think, helps a lot with that? If not, we should definitely promote more ways of getting people's feet wet and more comfortable with MMO RP. I think my greatest failing was saying I'd RP with a newcomer and getting caught up in all the other stuff that I was doing that she fell on the wayside...

 

I think she's still on my Friends List, too... and I always feel that pang of regret whenever I see she's online. Yet I'm also a bit too ashamed to shoot her a /tell out of the blue and see how she's doing too. I'm terrible.

[Aya]

Love, love, love it.  Its been a place where I've met people, engaged in RP, and overall enriched my experience in the game, and my life in general!

 

I just also want to point out that the RPC likely kept me in the game when I was thinking of quitting after my FC kind of fell apart.

[Verad]

I got my start in roleplay here in large part thanks to the RPC, my introduction post, and my wiki page. It's been a significant help in getting me involved in roleplay on Balmung.

 

Once I actually got rolling, I gathered most of my roleplay connections in real-time by working the Quicksand and having Verad do his job. I did, however, find my first FC here on the RPC as well once pitching dubious goods in the Quicksand alone became repetitive. The RPC was also a good place to house my first long piece of RP fiction - probably the longest work I've written in a while, really.

 

After leaving that FC and acquiring my own, I used the RPC as a means of promoting my LS, my roll system, and to a lesser extent my FC (which will change once my current plot is done). For the most part, I rely on word-of-mouth rather than active recruitment, and the strength of the posts in the RP itself. So far that's been working out.

[Aaron]

Was mainly a endgamer on Exodus server who figured "This game looks like a fun place to try to rp."

 

But that server was rp dead so I just kept endgaming. Then one day I was looking up something about how to change data servers and this site popped up. Told me Balmung was the most popular and interactive place. So here I came. 

 

It also helped me learn how to rp, improve my writing, and get me back into drawing. 

 

Also I have people who I actually can talk to about lesser stuff I like like fantasy stories, lore and all rather than my irl friends where all they talk about is. . . . 

 

You know, id just rather keep it censored.

[Tiergan]

I feel like we need to figure out a way to arrange actual meetings for brand new RPers posting in the Making Connections forum from a "I'm having trouble finding RP and could really use some! Halp!" standpoint.

 

Right now the way the forum often (but not always) works for some new people is that:

 

1) RPer who is completely brand new to the MMO/Community/RP needs help looking for RP and posts a thread.

2) Other people post that they would love to RP with that person! "Just hit me up in game sometime! I'm up for anything!"

3) ALL of the work actually finding the people who posted on their thread is completely laid at the feet of the OP.

 

I know everyone means well when they post on a thread saying that they'd love to meet with someone who needs help looking for RP. I've been guilty of it myself a few times, but I feel like a lot of new RPers posting in the Making Connections forum are either really shy folks or they just have trouble finding people -- which is why they wound up in the Making Connections forum to begin with.

 

I can also tell you as someone who had to spend a month literally hunting after 50+ people to stick them on my friend list so I could poke them later for a plot (that has completely stalled because real life is eating my face with jerb hunts :V), its REALLY hard finding people you've never met before who are of varying timezones and schedules when the game doesn't permit you to stick them on your friends list when they are offline.

 

Perhaps we can reframe the idea of the Making Connections thread from "Newbie posts thread. Onus is on Newbie to do all work finding the contacts who posted in their thread." to something more along the lines of:

 

1) If you don't have time right now to RP with them, but you definitely want to sync back up with them in the future when you do have more freetime - post when you're going to be more free or just post in the thread later when you have free time.

 

2) If you post in a new RPer's thread that you're totally up for meeting and RPing with them, actually send them a PM with your availability and figure out a time when the both of you can meet up.

 

These don't have to be rules - they can be suggested guidelines, but I definitely feel if more people did the second thing, all our newbies would gets much more use out of that Making Connections forum.

[Verad]

Related to Tiergan's post, one aspect of the activity guilds on AOL back in the day was the creation of a "Welcoming Committee," wherein some chosen players would actively seek out and interact with newcomers. It might be useful to have some people volunteer for such an activity, particularly the social and outgoing folks so their personalities needn't clash with the type needed for the activity.

[Tiergan]

^ THAT is a really awesome idea. When real life is no longer slaughtering the majority of my free time, I would totally be up for tossing Leilani Leilai into a Welcoming Committee-type set up. (Tiergan's way too anti-social :V)

[Domri Blackblade]

I think Verad brings up a great idea. I know I'd gladly reach out to new folks if needed and Domri is more than outgoing enough to work that into him. Reminds me of the mentor flags. Just have some individuals ready to extend the hand out and help others feel more integrated and have a person/place they feel comfortable around from the start.

[Telluride]

I've been wanting to organize a Pub Crawl for this sort of thing.

 

The idea would be that FCs with RP housing, and/or who would be looking for new members or to help new players get their feet wet in RP, would agree on a night and time, and a Crawl group would go from place to place, meeting new people, advertising membership drives, and giving people a chance to meet one another and show off.

[Melkire]

I'd suggest that anyone wishing to take initiative with a suggestion for improvement start a new thread specifically for that idea. That way, each new resource can have its own focused discussion and planning while allowing this thread to continue on with brainstorming, instead of getting bogged down in particulars.

 

Just a suggestion, though. :love:

[Domri Blackblade]

I'd be wary of turning a Welcoming Club into something that becomes a recruitment drive. Not everyone seeks FCs out the gate and sometimes I find it's beneficial to be more than a potential member. (Almost all of my rp partners, for example, are not in an FC with me nor would I wish to recruit them to mine.) Also, that can make it a lot more daunting for the new player than say having a friend or two out the door who can hep them establish before they commit to an organization out the gate.

[cuideag]

I think Verad brings up a great idea. I know I'd gladly reach out to new folks if needed and Domri is more than outgoing enough to work that into him. Reminds me of the mentor flags. Just have some individuals ready to extend the hand out and help others feel more integrated and have a person/place they feel comfortable around from the start.

 

I really miss mentor flags. Then again I also really miss just running around La Theine or whatever and just buffing/ressing everyone I saw.

 

That said, I worry about applying something like that to RP as I am sure there are folks who might worry that it could end up becoming a way to police RP.

 

Welcome committee sounds kind of cool. I wonder if that could be like a regular thing? Every few weeks or whatever, have volunteers set up a casual event somewhere and invite folks over. However I wonder how that might reach folks who might not be on the RPC? Would all the city-states be represented? What about time zones? That is, could this be something done for EU RPers as well?

[Brynhilde]

I think Verad brings up a great idea. I know I'd gladly reach out to new folks if needed and Domri is more than outgoing enough to work that into him. Reminds me of the mentor flags. Just have some individuals ready to extend the hand out and help others feel more integrated and have a person/place they feel comfortable around from the start.

 

I really miss mentor flags. Then again I also really miss just running around La Theine or whatever and just buffing/ressing everyone I saw.

 

That said, I worry about applying something like that to RP as I am sure there are folks who might worry that it could end up becoming a way to police RP.

 

Welcome committee sounds kind of cool. I wonder if that could be like a regular thing? Every few weeks or whatever, have volunteers set up a casual event somewhere and invite folks over. However I wonder how that might reach folks who might not be on the RPC? Would all the city-states be represented? What about time zones? That is, could this be something done for EU RPers as well?

 

We could always utilise /shout and party finder to advertise these events.

[Aya]

I've spent a lot of my time on Balmung trying to connect with and meet new RPers: its one of the main reasons for the barmaid RP that I do on Aya.  But there's only so much one person can do, and in the end I don't think you can ever fully remove the onus being on new players, that's just how it is when it comes to meeting people.

 

The more welcoming people we have willing to seek out, PM, contact in game, and chat with new people, the better; but I have a hard time believing that you can craft organization around the theme (with all of the constraints of real life, limited playing time, PvE, and the time consumed by existing relationships and commitments) that actually does much to improve the situation.  If anything you're likely to just eat up time and energy that could have been spent on actually talking to new people instead.

 

I'd really just encourage people to do it, rather than talk about it.

[Verad]

The most organization I'd suggest would be for interested parties to designate themselves as being receptive to new players and indicate where and when they tend to RP. That way new players can be pointed to them as an "in" for getting started, while also allowing the listed players to frequent their typical haunts.

 

The more organized form of committee I've seen worked because the organization had in-guild promotion as an incentive. We don't really have that here.

[Aya]

We could always utilise /shout and party finder to advertise these events.

Edit: What Verad said!

 

Okay, I'm going to modify what I just said in my previous post a bit.  I do think there may be a useful idea here in the realm of "Mentors".

 

If we could post a well maintained list of active RPers who are approachable and like to meet and help new players, that could be very useful to maintain in the introductions or making connections forum.

 

Just a half dozen to dozen people each with brief character descriptions:

 

Aya Foxheart - Ul'dah based barmaid.

 

Provided that everyone on the list is actually active and suited, and able to make the time for the new players who contact them, we could probably actually make it make it a bit easier for people to get into the flow of things.

[Melkire]

The most organization I'd suggest would be for interested parties to designate themselves as being receptive to new players and indicate where and when they tend to RP. That way new players can be pointed to them as an "in" for getting started, while also allowing the listed players to frequent their typical haunts.

 

This is something I'd definitely like to see. Search Info would be a good place for this in-game (it's already sort of used that way, when folks designate themselves as "Roleplayer, Walk-up Friendly!"), but something here on the forums to designate the "receptive" would be useful. Maybe a stickied directory of such people, to go up on the Welcome Desk board? Make a thread, provide a template, folks post to sign up, to update their info, or to request to step down?

 

I'm on board for making said sticky if folks think it's worthwhile.

[Aris]

As a roleplayer finding it difficult to break into the community, I love the sound of a welcoming committee.

 

Edit: ^ Such a directory would be very helpful.

[FreelanceWizard]

Long ago -- specifically, back when 2.0 was in beta -- the RPC had a Mentor Program, run by Ellie. The idea was that people would register to be mentors, then a new player could contact them via PM or tell to get mentored, brought into the RP community, etc. With Ellie stepping down as a mod, some other issues the program had (mentors using it to recruit for their FCs instead of mentoring, mentees disappearing, mentees asking for mentors rather than proactively selecting one, etc.), and the RPC's move under my leadership into more of a "community resource" role rather than a "community maker" role, we retired the initiative. So, one interested in starting such a thing up again might want to review that thread and consider any improvements or changes.

 

So, with that said, I'm happy to sticky any threads people have for long-term initiatives (whether constructed by a mod or not) and certainly don't mind, say, writing some guidelines for effective use of the Making Connections forum.

 

#magicAdminHat

[Melkire]

Looking over the Mentorship thread, I think a fundamental cause of its problems might have been that it was, simply put, too much.

 

I'm thinking just a listing of character names, their availability (days of the week/time of the day), and where they often be found in-game. That's all you really need to provide an out-of-character hook for new roleplayers such as Aris to get involved in-character.

 

I'll use Aya as an example, not because I'm volunteering her for anything, but because the barmaid concept she went with for a time had her character firmly rooted to a certain location.

 

"Hi, my character's name is Aya, I'm usually in the Quicksand (Ul'dah's Adventurer's Guild) on such-and-such days at such-and-such times. I play a barmaid."

 

That would be it; everything else that the Mentorship Program had seems, imo, extraneous. With this, though, you'd have a listing of social, available people who have volunteered themselves as potential starting-points for other characters. New members check the sticky, go "oooh, Aya seems like the kind of character mine could talk to, and so does ____" and from there it's a hop, skip, and a jump towards getting involved with this community.

 

...I know, I know, I went against my own advice and went into detail instead of making a separate thread. Whoopseedaisy.

 

I'll see if I can't draft up a sticky thread along these lines and give it a trial run.

[Aya]

I think it would be a great idea! My only real strong advice I've already mentioned, and I'll just re-iterate:

 

1) The descriptions should really be brief, easy to digest, to just give people a quick idea of who is out there for them to meet.  No paragraphs of detail

 

2) The list should be actively maintained.  Having a dead-end list of people who were once upon a time active and friendly but aren't any more is probably worse than no list at all.

 

I'm definitely happy to be on it, even if I only barmaid a fraction of the time I used to, its still a particular pleasure of mine to help new players get their feet

[Tiergan]

I've spent a lot of my time on Balmung trying to connect with and meet new RPers: its one of the main reasons for the barmaid RP that I do on Aya.  But there's only so much one person can do, and in the end I don't think you can ever fully remove the onus being on new players, that's just how it is when it comes to meeting people.

 

I think I may have worded myself a little weird, but I didn't mean to imply that we take away responsibility from new people to arrange a meet up. It's not anyone's job to hunt down and fish up RP for new people after all. I just think newbie and not-newbie should be meet each other halfway in terms of getting together for RP.

 

I feel like encouraging a community culture where if you post a new person's Looking For RP thread saying "Yes, I will totally RP with you." we actually take that one step further by either PMing that person with "Here are the days/times I am on and free. I'm pretty much always [x] location all the time when I'm RPing." OR "I'm online these days/times - if you are free one of these days we can totally meet up and do things." would be ideal.

 

Saying "I'm always up for RP! Hit me up if you see me in game!" - while kind (and I'm earnestly not trying to slam on anyone who's done this before because I have 100% done this in the past too), ultimately doesn't really help folks because it doesn't list what timezone they are, when they're free, where you can find them, etc.

 

I agree with Freelance that a mentor system may not work out as well as it sounds. It's great in theory, but every time I've seen an RP initiative for a mentor system in an RP community, or even in some guilds I've been in - it hasn't ever worked out with great success.

 

It could just be as simple a stickied thread like Osric mentioned that lists people who are up for newbie-RP, their day/times when they are usually free, and inviting folks to PM them if they'd like to RP sometime.

 

Though I do also think that if you sign up for that thread of "new-person friendly" you should also:

 

1) Not use it as an FC recruitment drive.

2) Sign up being aware that all the new people may have lore-beliefs that may not align with yours at all. You might have to just be very flexible and receptive at least for the first meeting. (AKA, you don't like WHM RPers. Newbie is a WHM RPer, etc, etc.)

 

[Edit: Whoops, Osric is already rolling with it. AWESOME o/]