Does any one else feel like RPG threads are WAY to constricting?

[PanthraDion]

Hello fellow muppet fans! Have you ever wanted to join a RPG only to discover, after reading through the rules, that if you were to join you would have no freedom? Or have you joined a RPG only to discover just that? I know how frustrating this is, I've been through it myself with a thread that I thought that I loved. Why do people have to make RP's this way? Why can't they just make them more open and free? Why can't they make them more like Crystaldawn?

What isCrystaldawn? Well, and I hope that this does not sound like I am trying to sell anything, Crystaldawn is just a RP site where the rules are more lax. You have more freedom to develop a character to his or her fullest. The site can be found at crystaldawn.forumotion.com for anyone who's interested.

 

[Vicki Fraggle]

We also have a chat box for interaction and storyline development. All characters welcome as TBS says! I also take request for forum threads,

 

[Misskermie]

Yeaahhhhh~!
(I'm only a co-signer... XD)

 

[D'Snowth]

Well, it helps to have SOME rules and/or guidelines to RP threads - it's easy for the entire story/plot to be thrown off and disrupted by newcomers just randomly popping in and not being too familiar with the plot. No, it's not always the case, but it's been known to happen.

 

[PanthraDion]

We do have rules and guidelines, it's just that we allow more character freedom.

 

[Vicki Fraggle]

It's not chaotic, but we discuss things as a family

 

[Misskermie]

Yeah, there's a chat for it...
(~Sorry for that title...~!)

 

[PanthraDion]

Crystaldawn is just...well...different. As Vicki said, things have more of a familial feel to them, a warm familial feel.

 

[Misskermie]

Not that any other RP doesn't.
But yeah, it's really nice there.

 

[D'Snowth]

Here's the thing, based on experience:

Character freedom is nice and all, but one has to keep in mind the an RP is a group effort, so with that in mind, one has to keep in mind any kind of development or growth a character experiences should be done within the consideration of the other participants, particularly if the RP is done fanfic style where the participants write the story as they go, and no one individual character or characters are assigned to one individual participant.

Again, the key thing to keep in mind is consideration. An RP isn't just your thing, it's everybody's... there may be one or two or so who are unofficially "in charge" so to speak to kind of keep things from getting out of out, but even then, it's all for the consideration of everybody involved. I've been in an RP that spawned well over 100 pages, and with a few minor continuity errors here and there because it was all improvised and we made it up as we went along, it was mostly very consistent with whatever plot or subplots we got ourselves into... then a couple of newbies joined up (and we did allow them to), and the whole flow was absolutely derailed and completely thrown off because the newbies wanted more attention drawn to their characters and their situations, and as a result, we really lost focus of what was going on. Then more people were wanting to join too, but by that time, I was the only one of the original group who was still RPing on a semi-regular basis, and I couldn't handle it alone, so the RP was eventually closed.

So again, the point is, everybody has to show everybody else some consideration, and that's part of the reason why sometimes rules and guidelines need to be established, because too often, egos can get in the way, and sometimes certain people will try to turn the whole RP into "their show". Remember: an RP is a group effort, and needs to be treated and respected as such.