One of my main issues with Discord resource hubs is this:

I had no idea how much I needed "historical story-RPG set in 1905 Warsaw about a ghost detective investigating and solving supernatural mysteries that also happens to have Persona-like combat" until it existed and I listened to a historian talk about its portrayal of history and the particulars of the time. And it has  a very well-measured disclaimer. I have been thinking so much about magic lately and seeing an uncommonly-represented version of it that isn’t just drawing from ideas/aesthetics but attempting to portray how people actually interacted with it at the time --

I relate to this so much.

It sucks when I would possibly join a site but there’s just some things about the layout that makes it difficult to do so. It’s great to include as many options as possible, if possible. 

There’s something so funny when you know your friend took your low level pawn through all of Bitterblack Isle when they just start naming off enemies like “be wary Arisen, that’s the Voracious Devourer of Everything You Love. Tis weak to fire!” and you just know that your pawn just spent the entire time being used as fodder

Personally I use LibreOffice www.libreoffice.org/ ! It's free open source software, and a successor of ol' OpenOffice

The support for phones is currently experimental, unfortunately, but it's incredibly robust and gets new features at a pretty decent rate

Automatic activity checks are so ideal to me too. Some forum software have things like this built in but others take some tinkering to make it possible

it’s been a while since I’ve looked at the jcink admin panel but you can automate parts of activity checks even on it

there’s a bunch of scripting things that are capable with the IBStore and the fact that you can make items that switch member groups, therefore making a lot of member group things auto with scripts (I don’t know how to do this since I haven’t tried, just know that it’s possible since I’ve seen it done)

staff could also sort characters into an “inactive group” manually but keep IC board posting permissions and then use the “number of posts” ranking/promotion thing located at the bottom when editing a group to change member group to active as soon as a post is made? I may be remembering this incorrectly, so don’t take my word for it

I’ve gravitated towards soft stats for a while. When done well, it can serve well to aid character development, or balancing in some scenarios, or just give ideas!! When I think of soft stats, I think of anything ranging from magic power levels to game relevant weaknesses and strengths. Magic power level systems were heavily ingrained in some of my early RP forums, so I still have a soft spot for them when they’re the only thing. I also like the “nobody is special and everyone is unique” approach.

Statless is good with me too. I generally trust people not to flippantly powerplay. As long as everyone’s on the same page and explanations make sense. I can see the problems that arise doing this, it’s some sword of creative freedom vs. accepting the possible conflict that can range from simple misunderstandings to intended maliciousness. So, I can understand the shift towards soft stats or some other kind of conflict resolution system. Even on sites without stats, I remember there being dedicated judges and reviews for any in-character fights, usually consisting of a combination of members and staff. Sometimes those judgments were anonymous.


If we’re talking dice rolls, or coin flips, those can work in any context, I don’t really bind the concept of them to the existence of a stat system. They’re fun. And I’m indecisive!!! So they help me decide what actually happens, even for mundane things. Adds spontaneity atop my already-preferred spontaneity. 

It’s been quite a bit of adjusting. I started with RP with my friends, small niche sites I ran mostly-solo, and with Animal RP, which means the way I approach things and the way I think of RP is a bit different compared to what those expect with more history in AM. People have expected me to act/think in ways I wasn’t even aware of were the commonplace expectations, which has lead to confusion. I’ve realized that a lot of people are quite cautious based on terrible experiences, and I can understand that, but I'm also someone with my own unique experiences -- just like everyone else, regardless of shared community or not.

I’m still not really used to the concept of shipping and how it’s treated in the RPC. I don’t tend to call them ships since I’m simply not used to that lingo (I’ve had to get used to a lot of new terms), and I don’t have any concept of written-in-stone finals for characters. I’m willing to be considerate for others, but I don’t like someone feeling any sense of possession over my characters. There’s a difference between attached and being possessive, and I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt. I don't think attachment and enthusiasm alone is a red flag, nor is the perceived lack of it either since I prefer to trust that people will communicate when something is wrong, or that they should learn to. As I like to say: reading between the lines is for the writing, not for out-of-character communication.

just realized that I haven't drawn anything in a while...