the only question i have then, and i mean this in the most diplomatic way possible, what even are the preferred application styles? i suppose it also depends on the context of what kind of RP it is. obviously a panfandom will have a different style from an original concept. that distinction should be made because i think some people get confused or misconstrue what other people are saying when this topic inevitably crops up now and then.

personally - i don't think RP apps should be too in-depth, regardless of the genre or style. my personal preference is for OC roleplay but just give me a personality section, an abilities section, and a freeform-esque backstory section and i'm good to go. i hate when i'm forced to go into the littlest of details of my character just to submit an app. don't make me put every individual trait that you can possibly think of in my app, that's what development boards are for.

however i do also think i need to reiterate something someone said in a earlier post, you are joining their site. obviously there are instances where there are red flags though. staff members are only human and humans are susceptible to all the human flaws that their community members are too. there are extra issues that come with being a staff member, i don't even need to go into detail about those because that's not what i'm here to talk about. what i will say on that matter is that a good staff member will work with you and make sure you are happy with your product while maintaining some control over the roleplay they created.

at the end of the day, if the site/server doesn't vibe with you, you don't have to join that site/server/whatever. no one is holding a gun to your head and making you joining or not a life or death situation. if staff outright reject your app without asking you to discuss possible edits or compromises, it's obviously not the site for you because that is a hella major red flag and you'd have to be colorblind to not see that by that point. but... if i'm honest... i haven't seen sites outright reject apps since i came back to animanga rp back in 2020...? that may just be me but i literally haven't seen it.

; w ;

edit to say: forgot to mention that i love when all sections of an app can be freeform (to a degree of course). give me the creative freedom to show off my skills >:3c

I haven’t rejected any character so far on my site and it’s full of stuff like an eldritch horror and a person basically made of bugs. My own ideas aren’t so creative and out there but I actually enjoy seeing it. The site concept itself is open to that kind of thing so why not just let it happen? We’ve had people ask about combat too since our current event is a tournament.

For me, characters and narration come first. So if it can make sense then sure, let’s have it on board. And the battles should be narratively fun for the writers, too. The whole point of the site is to be creative and have fun. I’m not there to micromanage or nitpick every small detail. I have been there as a player and it sucked the fun right out of me. I came back to rp to just chill and have fun.

So for me, the only thing I really ask for in the freeform bio is “how did you get here?” Everything else can come in later. Add it to your bio or not. I just need to know how your character got here.

And I’m not knocking other people’s styles. I truly think there is a place for different admin styles. We all offer different things. That’s the fun of it!

i'm totally fine with the "general" app process so long as it makes sense for the site (e.g. i expect to detail my character's strengths / powers / etc in a combat or pve-oriented site, but i admit to getting a little :/ when i'm expected to write it all out on a site that's 99.9% slice of life with zero plans for it to come into play in the future). after so long, i definitely prefer at least a space for freeform (i'm not so sure if making it mandatory is something i'd like? but it depends on what else the app asks for) because i think there are a lot of things staff + fellow members can gauge from that sample alone, but i also agree with the fact that if there's something off, you won't be able to pick up on it just from that.

it also 1000% depends on the nature of the site, so i feel like it's an extremely subjective topic. a character with literal apocalyptic levels of power should probably detail that, but if it's just John Television... ? i also feel like some finer details can/should be conveyed when plotting with others, so again: really just Depends, to me.

also, Asu i wanted to say (even though i'm late, yippee holiday i don't care for) that your reply was very kind and made me feel a lot better about things. i'm definitely enjoying myself, so that's a plus! i'm just also feeling like that picture of sabrina the teenage witch surrounded by pancakes. i think part of my problem is someone will pop up in moderation or our help channel on our discord, and i'll immediately shift into people pleaser mode even if i'm like, Mid longform reply. i have the power to end these patterns...

this || close to deciding to forego fcs entirely and re-enter the era of physical description boxes all because fc hunting is driving me insane (i won't do it, but it's still a tempting thought)

do it

let’s say my last way of thinking was not good

pls vet your players
even if you’re not a nitpicker
just be careful out there

I used to hate a certain RP trope, but I've recently come around. Every GM should have one edgy, overpowered, self-insert NPC. One. No more, no less. It is the law.

i made a lot of mistakes my first go around as staff on my project so we've gone into soft hiatus mode to try and clean things up and basically start fresh with most of it.

ngl it felt kinda good to purge the toxic stuff tho

i've been on the fence deciding if it's worth making this site with a friend, especially as someone who's never ran a site before. thankfully i got a friend who has some staff experience so here's to hoping i don't screw this up qwq

First post and I hope this is where it's supposed to be... but...anyway, here I go!

When it comes to beta-ing a site, I've had to live and learn to not have friends be the beta testers. I've gotten so exhausted over people trying to pull one over on me or even trying to bend what lore I specifically created to the extremes. It's almost wanted to make me run from forum roleplay all together. And honestly, made me realize how much these friends didn't really give any respect to me as a person at all. Live and learn, I guess.

At least until I have the urge again, maybe being a player instead of a staffer will do me more good in the long run for now.