Good morning, or whatever time of day it is where you live, everyone! I’ve just bought my turnips in Animal Crossing, and I wanted to talk about something that’s been on my (sleep deprived) mind lately. Normally, I’d post this later when I’m usually online, but it’s bothering me to the point of needing to get this out. So, to quote a Hamilton lyric: “Can I be real a second? For just one millisecond.”
That’s a concept I have been sounding like a broken record on for quite some time, and at the risk of sounding not only like a broken record but a cranky ol’ person, I’m going to talk about this again. And my hope is that this is the last time I have to because it’s frankly exhausting to post about this so much. But! I won’t stop fighting for it until everyone in this group feels like they belong not only on an interpersonal level, but on a character level as well. This is going to get a little long, so apologies in advance. This is something I feel rather passionate about. RP should be fun. And that means everyone here should be having fun.
We’ve all seen it in the rp community, characters and players getting ignored. Frankly, I strongly dislike seeing that thing happen. That’s why I hopped from indie to rpgs, and then from rpg to rpg until I found Boystown. So, personally, to see it happening here is disheartening. Especially with our cast of diverse characters and FCs. That’s why I post so much about this subject. NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE should be made to be feel ignored. Not now, not EVER. A, Kat, and myself want Boystown HQ to be an inclusive, safe, and fun place for people to write -- NOT a place where only some of the people are having fun some of the time while others are left out. As I have said time and time again, this is not okay! Please, let’s be kind and make sure everyone feels like they belong. Here are a few areas where I have seen people being left out the most.
First off, OPEN STARTERS. Players don’t just post open starters just because they feel like updating the tag. They post starters hoping to get interactions. It pains me to go through our page of liked starters to see open starters where only one or two others have replied while some other characters are getting loads of people interacting. Yes, I know that some starters seem more open than others, but this is not the problem I’ve been seeing. I’ve been seeing starters be straight up ignored save for the like on the post that the admins give so it can be on our liked by page to combat Tumblr’s tag system being a mess. (click on 'liked by page’ to be taken to the starters page, loves!) Please, let’s not do that anymore! Let’s make sure every starter gets some love, please! It’s discouraging to see that as a writer, and I can safely say from personal experience it leads to one not wanting to post an open starter because of negative experiences and can even affect a newer player who just wants to make connections.
Second, FACE CLAIMS, AGE, and PERSONALITY TYPE. I get it! It’s exciting to see your favorite face claims. But where this doesn’t sit well with me is the fact that characters with underused face claims are being ignored. This is not cool! A face claim is what the character’s appearance is, and not usually who the character is as a person. And as for personality type, it takes all kinds of personalities to make a great city! Some are more outgoing and friendly, while others are a bit more shy, and others can be kind of a jerk. And that’s okay! What’s not okay is seeing characters not getting replies just because of this. Age is a big thing I’ve seen as well. It’s okay to play a younger character, older character, or someone of middle age! In a city as diverse as Chicago, there are all different age ranges living together to form a community. Let’s see more interactions despite age of characters! Everyone puts a lot of hard work into their muses, and we should give characters a chance no matter if they look like a popular face claim or not! The same applies to personality as well as age of a muse. No matter the personality, age, or face claim, every character should be given a chance!
Third, RELATIONSHIP STATUS. We have seen characters go from getting a lot of love while single, then getting none after getting into a relationship--especially if the relationship is a monogamous relationship. This is not okay! Just because a character is not interested in sex outside of their partner does not mean that they’re not interested in a friendship or other platonic connection. Everyone could use more connections. Coworkers, friends, rivals, family, enemies, that guy you don’t quite know but you see while out running errands and such now and then who seems kinda cool when you talk to him --- these are all types of connections we’d like to see! It shouldn’t matter whether that character is interested in having sex with yours or not! And please, please, please! Let’s not drop replies when someone mentions they are in a relationship or turns a character down for sex.
Last, but certainly not least important. All of these points are equally important! ASK MEMES. Such great tools for character building and development. However, some people are getting lots of asks in their inbox while others are getting one or two.. or even nothing! Sometimes even because of points two and three. Not only is it good ask etiquette to send one or two to the person who you reblog from, it’s good reblog karma! If you see someone wanting questions for Honesty Hours or other AMA types of things, please send something to them before posting your own. If you’re worried about getting nothing back because you’re on anon, it’s okay to send asks off anon as well. And it’s okay if you hit ask limit. (Even if in my opinion, Tumblr shouldn’t have an ask limit.)
Feeling included is definitely one of the make or break issues for someone debating staying in the rp. So, please, let’s do better at making everyone feel loved!
TL;DR: Inclusivity is key. Let’s see more of it!!
