When looking for a forum RPG, is the host important for your choice?

I don't care what host a board uses so long as it gives me skins I can pick between. If I can't find a skin that doesn't blind me, I won't be joining, regardless of how much I like the host.

Maybe I'm the odd one out about that, but /shrug An old lady's gotta be able to see.

 

I've said this before and I will say it forever. I can't see what others can see in Jcink, to my eyes 99% of the sites I've seen using it look so amateurish in the way they've been put together. If you can do the work, SMF is one of the best out there.

 

Is this a problem with jcink, or with people using jcink without being able to code and/or using everyone the same pre-mades? I never used jcink, but assuming it allows customization, the end result depends on the admin, not on the host.

 

Not really, so long as the board is functional and allows the content I am aiming for.

 

So, from an administrative perspective, finding a host that allows for maximum customization is key. I've seen Invisionfree boards get completely overhauled into their own thing, complete with navigational tabs and custom fields in user profiles, to suit the theme of the RP they are hosting. I'm still tinkering with it myself, and the things I discover every time I do is amazing. Relearning the coding is a hassle, though. Being able to have that freedom helps with being an admin, this way here I can try to give players the best possible RP experience.
#GameDevMentality

From a player standpoint, so long as I'm able to easily navigate the site and find the items I'm looking for without having to type it into the inbuilt search engine, you'll most likely see my membership.

 

What matters most to me about a game is that it is actively staffed, easy to navigate, and has a friendly or at least helpful community.

 

That has to be about the most reasonable answer yet. Credos to you Antiel, I feel exactly the same way.

 

When it comes to hosting, I don't really care what host a site is on. I haven't quite stepped out of my comfort zone to join zetaboards and the like, but I feel a lot more comfortable with ProBoards and Jcink.

However when it comes to joining a RP, I look for an active, welcoming community and a plot that is interesting and unique. A lot of the time, I see sites that have very similar plot-lines. Sometimes I join sandbox-style RPs. A lot of the time, when I join another site, I'm testing the waters. Seeing how people react to my presence. If they're welcoming and friendly, I give them a chance. If they're rather neutral and don't really care but I like the premise, I'll attempt to stay. One of the biggest problems for me though, is when I try to join a tight-knit community that doesn't really like to share.

I have to admit trying to join a site that is extremely promising and looks fun, but has a terrible welcoming community isn't something I can stomach well. With these kinds of communities, it kind of hurts. Feeling left out isn't the best feeling in the world, especially when you're just trying to be friendly and not come off as clingy.

Ahah, sorry for my rant, but that's how I feel about it.

 

In my experience the board, that is to say the origins of the board such as Jcink, phpBB etc, has little to do with it. The most important factor is who is running the RPG and if that fails, everything else will. I've looked over some of the most appallingly set up sites, Nova are perfect examples here, yet I'd not hesitate joining some of them if I had the time. Well administrated and well written plot lines; that is all you need in the end.

Two areas I do find off putting and I have only noticed them on Jcink and one or two others such as Proboards, are the hovering mini profiles. They are annoying, childish and distracting. As writers we don't need that. Shipping threads, another waste of time.

 

What do you mean with shipping threads? If you mean plotters, they're actually very useful.

 

As a Player, I only care about whether or not I can read the font, and I tend to find that a lot of Jcink sites seem to have missed the fact that font size is free, and you can make it big lol. But that could also be because there are just so many Jcink sites, that the sheer number of them increase the odds of finding sites with shitty fonts.

As an admin, I spent the past five years on SMF, but recently migrated my site to MyBB. I'm finding it SO much easier to manage as an admin than I ever found SMF. SMF will always have a soft spot in my heart, and some of the things people are able to do with it are amazing, but I don't think I'll ever go back to it. MyBB is just so much more agreeable and less headache over all.

 

Nope! But when I see something I like, I go for it. I pick up on things pretty easy so learning a new site isn't that hard.

 

Sites that have threads whereby members are asking to be paired up for romantic connections with other player/characters.
As for plotting, that is generally in my mind what many sites have existing, a discussion thread pertaining to the story you're writing between you. Or if its a one on one situation, you can do that easily in PM.

That is rather distressing to hear Honeylove. As a long time user of SMF along with my daughter, whatever drove you to change?

 

I prefer jcink, but I have been to a few good proboard sites. Jcink just seems to have a bit more of a code flow and its a bit easier to add and edit codes in jcink. But if a site is good a site is good.

 

Not really, it's more about how the forum itself is set up. I like everything to be easy to find and read.

 

I'm an SMF user. So far, happiest with it. I've used others in the past.

 

Yeah me to. Tried a few of them, SMF is the best by far for self hosting.

 

Checked out your SMF site. You've got a pretty diverse set of forums. How do you like working with that frontpage portal?

 

Thankees :) Checked out yours to, nice! Looks cool.

I wouldn't be without the portal. I have used it on all my sites, now 4 on SMF. Its really great because with the portal you can do almost anything there, links, updates, message board, anything really. Love it. ^_^

 

There was a time when I'd say it really doesn't matter but I've been on the jcink train for so long that its now a bit difficult for me to not have some of the features I've grown used to. Maybe I'm getting old and set in my ways, I dunno. I've tried a few times to join games friends invited me to on proboards and zetaboards but it all never quite gelled for me.