Author Topic: New rules and guidelines needed?  (Read 16299 times)

Offline TheAbyssDragon

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #40 on: July 03, 2013, 11:40:18 AM »
We all have emails registered here. If there could be an option of sending a "Miss you" email, the missing player will know his postings are really needed. If he/she still doesn't show up to at least say that RL is crushing his/her skull in, say, one week, you can give him/her a warning of some sort (email too). And, if it still doesn't bring him/her back, then add a -1 to their Respect. With a negative Respect, any GM that receives this person's aplication to a campaign would know that that guy/girl isn't that good to have in the group.

Sending a "Miss you" email is a good idea, though I'm not sure how different that is from a PM. But as others have noted, it would be a lot easier/simpler to just act on their behalf, or even skip them outright.

Offline Melblen_Cairn

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #41 on: July 05, 2013, 01:07:14 AM »
I have frequently sent the "poke" PM in my games. I have also acted for the player to keep things moving in certain circumstances. You set the expectation what the pace should be when you start up the campaign and you may need to adapt as needed down the road.

I have had players drop due to limits on their abilities to post, I simply take over the character until a good time presents itself and we write them out and bring in new blood.

Two of the best PbP games I was ever in died due to the DM not being able to update so I feel your pain. It will mainly come down to working with the DM and the other players in each game to keep things moving at the best pace they all can accommodate.
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Offline dna1

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #42 on: July 05, 2013, 03:39:11 PM »
Two of the best PbP games I was ever in died due to the DM not being able to update so I feel your pain. It will mainly come down to working with the DM and the other players in each game to keep things moving at the best pace they all can accommodate.
What games may I ask?


Also I agree with what most people here have said. Its hard sometimes because unexpected and random circumstances pop up for people all the time.
You don't want to Blacklist someone from PbP's just because things got tough, and they couldn't pay the internet bill know what I mean?
I know I have had to quit DMing AND Playing in PbP's because of circumstances like that.. In my case, my wife and I just had Twins. I was stupid enough to think I could still have time to mess around and do PbP's etc. But I was wrong. Very Wrong. But now that my babys aren't newborns and driving me crazy I have returned.  :D
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Offline Concerned Ninja Citizen

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #43 on: July 05, 2013, 05:34:39 PM »
For some context for the people who are just finding this thread now:

Some time after the thread was posted, Oslecamo proposed the idea of a "faster paced" PbP which ended up as two campaigns, both using his super robot wars homebrew (the Phantasy Star Online game in the current games thread) and with a "in combat each turn takes a week max, if you don't post within that time, the DM advances the game without you" rule.

Thus far, the lv1 game has successfully abided by that rule. The lv12 game, not so much (though, we are on the 3rd turn of our first combat at the moment, which is pretty good for a PbP.)

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #44 on: July 10, 2013, 04:21:17 PM »
Yeah the lv12 one is pretty slow, its about one round update per 6 OOC pages. >.>

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #45 on: July 10, 2013, 04:35:19 PM »
I imagine largely because nobody knows half the rules for the damn thing, and general busyness at this time of year for the DM. Os runs way too many games. :lmao

Offline oslecamo

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #46 on: July 10, 2013, 06:14:58 PM »
Know what would motivate me to update my campaigns more often? Comment on my latest Let's Play! :P

Altough to be honest, Sirpercival is running way more campaigns than me. High Arcana alone has 9 separate parties!

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #47 on: July 10, 2013, 10:45:30 PM »
Altough to be honest, Sirpercival is running way more campaigns than me. High Arcana alone has 9 separate parties!
Yeah but he updates a thread once every 8 months and is currently asking for people to help him DM.

And he isn't the only one. Shiki hasn't updated the adult one in like 9 months and I'm not even sure Sleepy is still running the Low Tier game. On the reverse, Askewed has five people listed, and one or two of them are replacements on slow players, and yet only two of them have really posted at all. PbP games are so incredibly slow ;_;

Offline ShadowViper

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #48 on: July 10, 2013, 11:06:31 PM »
PBPs are so incredibly slow because people allow them to be.

If everyone would follow one simple rule, there wouldn't be a problem.

Don't join/start a PBP unless you are reasonably certain that you can update on a regular and frequent basis most of the time.
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Offline Concerned Ninja Citizen

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #49 on: July 10, 2013, 11:16:53 PM »
On the flip side of that, if everyone followed your rule there would be many fewer PbPs running on this site.

Personally, I'm not sure I'd prefer fewer options even if it meant they would update faster.

In particular, the smaller number of opportunities would make it much more difficult for new players to find games.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #50 on: July 11, 2013, 12:35:03 AM »
On the flip side of that, if everyone followed your rule there would be many fewer PbPs running on this site.
Realistically, High Arcane & Xethinix are not running. You cannot count them and thus adapting a you must be active rule wouldn't change anything at all in those threads. In fact, if the rule was implemented SirP's would you like to help me DM thread would be in the main PbP area gathering more views and when the planning was settled for restarting the High Arcane game it would move out of the Retired area and into the Current area. No harm done.

But, the expectancy that people whom said they want to play actually will do so will promote players to recheck the thread often for their turn to come up. And when it does, the other players know they won't have to wait long to see your actions. This promotes game activity, general traffic for the site to keep the owners happy, and no one gets bored or forgets what their characters did on their last turn over four months ago.

The only "loss" is people who are not around, who are not posting, who are not contributing, are expected to mention as much or get called out on it. Can you deal with that? If you're bitching, then no you can't. Obviously. But honestly, Mr Asshole SorO wants to remind you about something: No one gives a shit about your excuse of being too busy. You are seriously underestimating and insulting everyone else you play with whom are just as busy if not busier yet still manage to find the time to post when you claim you're far far far more busy than they are and thus cannot post. Man up to the real reason and try posting something like "I don't have time but would love to play, is there a way I can squeeze in?" I'm sure people would be willing to work with you on it.

Offline Amechra

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #51 on: July 11, 2013, 06:29:32 AM »
Considering I have spent the last... 6 months? considering what Sarai will say... (I want to get this perfect, damn it!)...

This is an awful idea. I have to go and post in there sooner or later, though...
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Offline Nanshork

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #52 on: July 11, 2013, 10:18:53 AM »
Considering I have spent the last... 6 months? considering what Sarai will say... (I want to get this perfect, damn it!)...

This is an awful idea. I have to go and post in there sooner or later, though...

Yes you do.  Go post now.  Then we can get back to playing and my character can get all creepy get even creepier become the creepiest!   :smirk

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #53 on: July 11, 2013, 10:28:28 AM »
The only "loss" is people who are not around, who are not posting, who are not contributing, are expected to mention as much or get called out on it. Can you deal with that? If you're bitching, then no you can't. Obviously. But honestly, Mr Asshole SorO wants to remind you about something: No one gives a shit about your excuse of being too busy. You are seriously underestimating and insulting everyone else you play with whom are just as busy if not busier yet still manage to find the time to post when you claim you're far far far more busy than they are and thus cannot post. Man up to the real reason and try posting something like "I don't have time but would love to play, is there a way I can squeeze in?" I'm sure people would be willing to work with you on it.

What the hell is that last part even trying to say? That if people unexpectedly get a lot more to deal with, they should drop everything else they could possibly be doing just to make a post on a PbP and that they're the ones being a jerk if nobody in the thread has enough decency to accept that precognition is not a normal human ability?

Also, misery poker is not a valid reason to say people should post if someone else on the thread is just as busy/busier than they are. Amazingly, different people do things at different rates, so the fact that one person can post despite having an incredible amount to do doesn't mean that everyone else should be able to. >.>

I've only ever actually seen one rapidly moving PbP type thing, and that was freeform roleplaying. Well, I've seen more but they were pretty much one or two lines that looked like text messages.

Offline Amechra

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #54 on: July 11, 2013, 01:17:16 PM »
Considering I have spent the last... 6 months? considering what Sarai will say... (I want to get this perfect, damn it!)...

This is an awful idea. I have to go and post in there sooner or later, though...

Yes you do.  Go post now.  Then we can get back to playing and my character can get all creepy get even creepier become the creepiest!   :smirk

It shall be a creepy-off!
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Offline VennDygrem

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #55 on: July 11, 2013, 01:24:59 PM »
I've got to agree with Raineh. Just because one person is capable of posting while under duress does not mean everyone has the same capabilities.  That's akin to saying that everyone running in a foot race should be able to come in first place just because they're all competing in the same race. It's possible and even likely that different people have different capabilities and levels of experience, even among supposedly similar individuals.

Besides, when has anyone who claims to have problems posting due to being busy ever insinuated that others aren't at least as busy? In all the times I notice it, the reason is always that the person is busy, not that everyone else is not as busy.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #56 on: July 11, 2013, 03:34:53 PM »
What the hell is that last part even trying to say?
"I'm busy" is not an excuse. If you think it is, try calling your job and telling them you're too busy to show up.

I suppose what I'm really talking about is human decency. The consideration of others and how you're wasting their time. Like you know what separates SirP from someone like say FlC? SirP had the human decency to pop in and say he'd be busy, he even recently defined it beyond "busy" to "I'm finishing my mother-fracking PhD and had a new baby." FlC right in the middle of a game takes off to another country for a month for his planned volunteer thing without telling anyone anything. We didn't meander around for four weeks wondering is SirP was even still alive because of that expectation that he would show up and play wasn't there any longer.

Like at this point I can't tell you if Pimpforge is laying in a hospital bed in a coma because he said he'd play in the Low-Tier thread then vanished four months ago. You mean to tell me Pimp is so f*cking busy that sparing 2 of those 172,800 minutes to post "sorry about being gone but won't be back for a while either" is out of the question? Thanks a lot buddy, I was being polite and waiting on you. But thanks for spitting on my face by telling everyone you game with they're not worth even a twentieth spare thought bouncing around in your head. Come again.
I do wish to point out I have no clue about Pimpforge, he may very well have an excuse that would make me I'd feel bad I used him as an example. But in that lays part of the point I think.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2013, 09:38:05 PM by SorO_Lost »

Offline Shiki

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #57 on: July 12, 2013, 02:37:04 AM »
Altough to be honest, Sirpercival is running way more campaigns than me. High Arcana alone has 9 separate parties!
Yeah but he updates a thread once every 8 months and is currently asking for people to help him DM.

And he isn't the only one. Shiki hasn't updated the adult one in like 9 months and I'm not even sure Sleepy is still running the Low Tier game. On the reverse, Askewed has five people listed, and one or two of them are replacements on slow players, and yet only two of them have really posted at all. PbP games are so incredibly slow ;_;

Which one would that be (bold part)? I know I'm quite inactive around these parts, but this rings no bell.

I feel you (underlined part). I felt a massive drop in interest when I first experienced how slow these can be...

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #58 on: July 12, 2013, 11:04:04 AM »
What the hell is that last part even trying to say?
"I'm busy" is not an excuse. If you think it is, try calling your job and telling them you're too busy to show up.

Actually, it is an excuse. Whether you're happy people aren't disgorging the details of their life to you so you know why is your problem; not theirs. Vanishing off the face of the Earth is rude, certainly, but not giving full details about something? Not so much.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: New rules and guidelines needed?
« Reply #59 on: July 12, 2013, 11:25:35 AM »
Which one would that be (bold part)? I know I'm quite inactive around these parts, but this rings no bell.

I feel you (underlined part). I felt a massive drop in interest when I first experienced how slow these can be...
Wait... *looks* geniussavant runs them.
Jesus, vanish for a week and what little I could recall on names is butchered.

Actually, it is an excuse. Whether you're happy people aren't disgorging the details of their life to you so you know why is your problem; not theirs. Vanishing off the face of the Earth is rude, certainly, but not giving full details about something? Not so much.
You'll note the second response centers more on consideration than simply the common representation element of "I'm busy", already moved on. :p

Though yes it does mention "I'm busy" is not an excuse, and I also pointed out if you think otherwise the person you should talk to is your boss (or teacher). Actually, did a quick google search then a really fast skimmed read. Try reading this: http://www.fastcompany.com/3008263/busy-new-lazy