New Sites

What kinda things do you guys look for in a site in general? Does it need to be shiny? Does it have to have a lot of members even if it is only just opening?

 

It doesn't need to be shiny. It just needs not to burn my eyes with neon colors. Needs a nice readable font that I don't have to copypasta or zoom in to read. And it doesn't need a lot of members. Two is nice, but if there's already one person there and I join, that will make two. As long as that first person is active so that I have someone to thread with. Its a domino effect. As long as one is willing to join a new site, others will eventually come too.

 

As above, the actual number of members is irrelevant so long as there is activity. I tend to lurk and poke at the cbox when looking and if people aren't talking, if the admin isn't engaging with people and posts aren't being made, then you've lost me. Show a real interest in your game and people will follow your lead and take an interest too.

 

Echoing a lot of what other people have said. Also, I shouldn't have to click around a lot to learn the basics about your site. I hate when there are 25 different rule pages, or when there's a splash page with tons of information except the fact that it's a forum-based RP. There needs to be a character list, and the characters have to show some obvious thought. Nothing turns me off more than seeing a 9' tall human character, or a character sheet ThAt Is WrItTeN lyk dis. Both of those writing styles are hallmarks of immaturity. The page needs to lad quickly. I can't tell the number of forums I've visited and it took forever to load because of enormous graphics, a song that auto-plays, a special cursor, etc. If I get involved in the RP, I'll want to check it from my mobile, so that needs to be functional too.

 

you just have to advertise like crazy. If the story is good and its not overwhelming then it should get members in theory. you just have to make sure it is seen by those looking for a site.

 

Some people enjoy smaller boards so if they like your concept they will join.

 

If I like the setting, that's really all it takes for me to join a board. But I'll be honest, the community means a lot to me as well. If I see people on a board that I know I won't get along with, I'll X out. If I don't know the community, I will lurk for a few days to figure out if I'll fit in. If I'm not going to feel at home in the community, I'm not going to enjoy myself on the board.
I like to make friends with my RP buddies so I know what they're okay with and what they're absolutely not okay with. Get to know each other's boundaries. It makes writing with them a lot easier and funnier.

 

I don't care how many members it has. Well, that's not entirely true. I _might_ not join if it had 50 members as I prefer smaller communities. But the point is, I would gladly join a site that had currently no members apart from the admin.
Somebody always has to be the first but above all, bcause it's the RPGs idea, lore and rules that matter to me.

The idea needs to be interesting but not overly complicated.
There must be enough established lore, especially if it's a fandom game that advertises itself as au to any degree.

I want laid-back rules and reasonable activity requirements & checks. Too many times I come across sites with rules restricting or prohibiting the strangest of things that I can't see any harm from if allowed, and even more often there is a way too high activity rule, ie. "3 game posts per character per week". Really? Can I have a life, please? I mean, I can produce multiple game posts per week but it shouldn't be a tying rule + I likely don't feel like playing all my characters every single week. ;)

Also, the skin/lay must be easy to navigate and not too full of detail, and have reasonale contrast between text and background colours, as well as a normal 12px font size. It's bad enough that most don't fit my standard 1024x768 resolution without zooming out a lot and then it's nearly impossible to see the texts.
Point being; I would recommend admins to think also of people with eyevision problems and/or small computer screens. We are not that rare. :)

 

Top three things for me:

1. Active membership (hint: a bunch of forums with 0 posts looks inactive, so start with only a few)
   
2. Interesting plot/setting concept (does this seem cool to RP?)
   
3. Well-set-up forum software and theme (should be nice and readable - look at RPGfix for an example of a board that is easy to read).

 

Firstly, let me just say that this thread has been very helpful. And very encouraging. I've recently recently put together a new game and am about to start spamming those advertisement boards like crazy. I've been putting it off for a little while because I fret that it's not ready to go or not active enough etc. etc. I've one other member and together we're starting to get the ball rolling. And that's been the trigger for me to start putting it out there for the world to see…

I agree with so many people above. I think it's that initial momentum that you really need. As soon as we started to think up some character driven plots it was like fireworks started going off.

Now, for the possibly controversial bit; I'm going for a soft opening first. I don't know if people will go for it and it's not something I see all that often. My reasoning has been that it's an original plot and a wholly invented world (thanks nanowrimo). I'm almost certain that as people with fresh eyes start poking around they will find flaws in my information forum.

I've done my best to keep things simple, but with a whole constructed world in your head it can sometimes be difficult to spot the gaps. So, I'm going for a soft opening first and kinda relying on the first handful of players that are interested (and kind) enough to ask questions.

It might be the wrong way to go about it. I'm guessing it will mean the game will take longer to get off the ground. And I'm thoroughly expecting some people to be put off by the notion of a 'soft' opening. But I'm in it for longevity and to make things as clear as possible. So, softly softly is the way we're going...

 

When I first look into a site I look for three main things:

1) readily available, legible, and easily understood setting/plotline information.
2) I always check the c-box for activity first.
3) I look at time stamps on the posts themselves to see if there has been recent activity.

I've spent the last while working on my own new forum, which I'm intensely excited about. I'm going for a directly character/player driven environment and story development. I think it should be fun, and me and my own partner have been working at it diligently. Just wrapping up all the finer points. :P

 

I just look for, interesting topic, small amount of activity, and if the sites not a large cluster of things (aka has an area for everything to be put in and stuff isn't thrown around at random).

 

I like a large amount of people to rp with but I would honestly join a site with 3 people if they entertain me and can keep up with me. I can write like 15 posts a day averaging 300 words per post. I juggle 24 characters as well... They call me inhuman so it puts some people off but I like it as it keeps me busy. I look for activity big because I don't want to have to rp by myself.

NINJA!:
We are currently coding our cbox so we have to use an irc off site but it can be pretty awesome to find rp partners that way.

 

I like a site that doesn't burn my eyes off with color I don't really care about member size as long as it active

 

A good plot and the colors of the site aren't too bright that they would bother my eyes. A good plot is a definite must though.

 

Can I find things easily? Is the entire forum easy to navigate? If the answer is yes, then I will look further. I am sorry to say this, as I know many of you use it; but I find sites on Jcink the worst of them all. I have had one experience playing on a Jcink hosted site and I have to say it wasn't a pleasant experience either.

 

That's funny, because I find jcink the easiest to navigate.

 

Quite possible its all what you are used to. To me they're not very straight forward with many of the familar tabs and links I am used to on a forum either hard to find, or not there at all. My daughter tells me Jcink is a pain in the arse to set up for the novice as well.

 

argh! I hate it, honestly I do. I have a migraine from trying to work out the most basic things. Give me SMF or phpBB any day.

 

Simple navigation and fonts. I kind of hate sites that are slathered in images and extra bits like chatboxes, calendars, clocks and other widgets that come with site software.It's also important to have a clear explanation of the site and how to get involved without overcomplicating it.