Discuss Too many....

[Drizzt Do'urden]

This prolly isn't the right place for it, and I'm going to apologize to all the mods right now. But there is a big problem with people just quitting RP's. I understand that things happen sometimes where you can't get to a computer for a few days. Thats happened to me, I apologized and jumped back into the RP's. I think we need to initiate something as to where if you just quit an RP because you lose interest in it, you should be banned from participating in any more RP's for so long or something. And if you're absent for a long time during an RP, before you can participate in another one you should have to PM a mod explaining why you were absent. Well again I aplogize since I'm sure this is not the right place for it. But something had to be said about it....

Thank you

[Dragon Warrior]

Banning sounds a bit harsh. In fact, any punishment does. There's not much that can be done to avoid the type of people who quit RPGs. Some RPGs are even capable of moving on while lacking one of their characters. But if someone quits RPGs, they gain the reputation of doing so and therefore should be recognized as such and not be let into RPGs that you make. That's what I think you can do. Besides, how can you stop them from posting in the Adventure Square and allow them to post elsewhere?

[Arcadia]

[size=1]There are a lot of reasons a person might drop from an RPG, and sometimes it's because of outside factors. Personal problems, family issues, school events, too many hours at a job, etc.You can't blame a person for quitting when it's completely out of their control.

And sometimes, an RPG doesn't turn out the way you thought it would and you just lose interest in it. If you're not having fun and posting becomes a chore, then why should you be forced to stay in?

We all hope that in any case, the person at least sends a PM to the creator and explains what's going on, but the fact of the matter is that it's out of anyone's control. The best you can do is to pay attention to who on the boards posts consistantly and hope that if worst comes to worst, they'll be decent and let you know why they have to leave.[/size]

[Drizzt Do'urden]

I totally agree with the sometimes things happens part, I addressed that in my first post. But what I'm saying is when that person comes back they should have to send a PM, if not to a mod since I realize they have other responsibilities, and even they sometimes have things going on to where they cannot fullfill their duties 24/7, at least to the person whose story they could very well have ended just by leaving.

And as far as the Losing interest, I can see if several people lose interest and they all agree the story has lost some sort of edge. Or I can even see a couple, but they should at least have to send a PM to whoevers in charge of the RP explaining that the stories lost the edge and they're going to quit....

[Epsilon]

[COLOR=SlateGray][SIZE=1] I, personally, don't think it's need.

If people did this, what would be the point of "Arena Underground"?

Many RPG's have threads in this forum, to converse. about the RPG in the Adventure Arena specifically. So from my understanding if the RPG dies, it would be better to provide feedback in their Underground thread. Having a thread and posting "a bit more publicly," would allow you to know what went wrong. Or what the plot lacked, why they lost interest, etc. Doing this would also let you know what those out of the RPG thought about it. Also let you know what they think went wrong.

Or if one of the RP'ers has to go away for awhile, wouldn't it be better to let everyone in the RPG to know how long you'll be go for. So that they don't just go and kill of the character the person is absent.

It'd probably be less hassle and stress worrying about what will happen if your not able to post.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Hevn]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][SIZE=1][B]The truth is, some people could care less.

Banning is a harsh punishment. Say I post loads of sensible stuff then failed to post in an RP for so long. I'll be doing a stupid protest against OB/Arena, then, if I get banned, lol. PMing the creator of an RPG is a good point. But really there are lots of reasons why people quit an RP and we cannot hold it against them if they don't tell us those reasons.

I think you just have to be flexible and know how to get back on the track without that person affecting too much of your emotions or your RP. Sometimes, there's really nothing we can do about it but let ourselves adjust to the situation. A good example that I have seen recently is how our loving admin, James, adjusted to the fact that some members of KA2 seems to be missing in action. Of course he was worried that some members don't show up or post for days or weeks but to keep the RP moving, he changed things a bit and allow other more visible members to post. Still, the RP is open whenever a missing member comes back and if a member truly doesn't show up after all considerations have been done, then he just need to pick another member who signed-up for the RP and replace him.[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Shy]

[size=1]I really don't thinking banning a member from the forum is the best way to handle the situation. Members should be somewhat well-informed about the people they are letting into their RPG; if they have a history of dropping out of RPGs then there is no reason they should be let in. Although I do think that quality should be put first before activity in a thread, it is bad when the creator puts an awful lot of effort into a project and nobody decides to post.

As others have mentioned before, we all have other activities and responsibilities that should be the priority over OB. Things come up, and that's completely understandable -- but if you aren't able to post in an RPG you should let the creator know right away so they have a chance to replace you, or work around your absence.

Before the schoolyear began I saw that my online time was going to be severely diminished, so I was forced to drop out of two RPGs that I was very excited about. I didn't think it was fair to take up a role in an RPG if I was unable to devote a fair amount of attention. Signing up for an RPG is a commitment -- it's not a contract. If someone fails to post in an RPG they sign-up for it only speaks poorly for them as a member, and shows a lack of responsibility.

In 'hero' one of the players, who had a very important role in the story seems to have completely disappeared from the boards. In this case I chose to remove his character entirely rather than replace him. While I'm annoyed that he has disappeared from the face of the Earth and slowed down the activity of my RPG, I'm more angry that he did not give any type of warning before leaving.

So yeah, we're not banning anyone. The best advice I can give is to create compelling RPGs that people will want to post in, and select RP-ers for the project that will stick around until it ends.

-Shy[/size]

[James]

[color=#707875]I would have to agree and say that I believe the most rude thing is to leave without giving any warning or notification. Leaving itself isn't a [i]huge[/i] deal at all, because the creator can either omit your character or select someone else. Arena Underground allows you to make these adjustments mid-RPG, should you choose to. And remember that sign-up threads don't have to die -- you can re-open them if you like, at any time.

So, I think it just comes down to being courteous. We all have reasons for needing to quit sometimes, and that's okay. They're only RPGs on a forum; not a huge deal overall. As long as people are courteous to each other, it should be okay.

Unfortunately, people pulling out (and any number of other concerns), are always going to plague RPGs. It's just the reality. In that environment, we simply have to make sure that we create something interesting and fresh enough to attract an audience. Half the challenge -- maybe more like 90% of it -- is to keep the RPG fresh and interesting over a period of time. If you can do that, I think you have a better chance of survival in Adventure Arena.[/color]