Things Everyone in the Community Should Know: The Master List
I’ve decided to combine all of my T.E.I.T.C.S.K. articles into one master article, for the sake of convenience to those who are in all parts of the community. So buckle up and get ready for information to come hurdling at you towards the speed of light. Here we go!
1X1/INDIE BLOGS
You don't have to compromise your character to fit everyone else's desires. It's far harder to be what you want to be in the indie tag, but it's better to stick to your guns and be the character you want than to degrade yourself into the character you think everyone else wants.
If you're a 1x1/indie blog and 90% of your content is personal posts, you're not really a "roleplay" blog. While I support everyone's freedom to post whatever they want on their blog, making your blog a primarily personal blog misleads other players and spams their dash when all they want to do is roleplay. Speaking of personal posts...
The roleplay community is not the place to be making political/moral statements. We roleplay to get away from real world issues. It's not as if we don't care, but we separate ourselves from the real world because for many players, it's their only escape from the issues plaguing us on a daily basis. I agree these issues need to be addressed and not ignored, but the roleplay community is not the place to be doing it (unless, of course, it's IC and part of a storyline).
Starting a roleplay and then just dropping it is a bad move. The least you can do is respond to the person supporting you and say: "Hey, I have this going on right now so it'll be a while before I can respond", or: "I don't want to carry out this story any longer." Your partner took the time to interact with you, so at least tell them if you can't (or don't want to) reply.
If you have NSFW content on your page, be sure to warn others and give them the chance to block it with the appropriate tags. I've had incidents where I've been on a laptop and surfing Tumblr only to have pornographic material pop up. I then had to explain to my family how it's not my blog posting it and I can't control others who do. Needless to say, it's embarrassing. I can hear some asking: "Why would you surf Tumblr with family nearby?" The answer is: Tumblr isn't a porn site, and everyone should feel safe with surfing it even with others around. It may be your blog, but others are following and viewing it, and if you want to keep those followers, you'll tag appropriately or mark your blog as mature.
GROUP ROLEPLAY (MEMBERS)
Don't take spots you don't intend on using. There's nothing more infuriating than someone who takes a character in a group and then posts the minimal amount just to keep the face. There are plenty other players who would appropriately fill the position, and if you're not into playing the character, you should let someone else have it. This goes double for those who have multiple characters and only use one.
Your character is not the star. A group roleplay is a collective work of stories and characters; no character should ever be more important than another. Attempting to steal the spotlight for yourself makes those around you feel as if they're unimportant. If you're constantly OOCly talking up your character when others are trying to discuss their own plots, or making dramatic plot-twists to make others' twists look less important, you're being detrimental to the group and are probably more suited for 1x1 RP.
Forcing ships is inappropriate. Ship-forcing can cause discomfort to the point where a player may leave because they feel pressured to do something they're not interested in. Asking someone to ship with you is fine-- forcing them to ship with you or trying to give "subliminal" messages (mentions in posts, photo manips you "happen" to stumble upon in the tags, etc.) when they've not agreed to this ship is not okay. You also need to accept when a ship sinks, and not become vengeful over it. This relationship is a fictional work, and even if we become strongly attached, it's in bad taste to act out OOCly when something goes wrong.
Being part of the group doesn't give you rights to control it. The admin has say over what's what in their group. Trying to backseat admin will more than likely just get you in trouble. No admin likes having their authority taken by someone else. Some admins won't mind this, but many don't like having their players handle their admin duties unless they've been asked to.
Cliques are rubbish. If you form cliques, you're just making others feel left out. You wouldn't like it if you joined a group and players didn't talk to you, so clearly it's not okay to do to others. By all means, you're allowed to plot and talk to your friends, but you also need to be open to plotting and talking to everyone else. If you're going to roleplay in a group, you interact with everyone.
Mary-Sue's/Gary-Stu's do exist. I keep seeing posts about how OCs are your own and if you want to make a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu, then you should do it. When it comes to group roleplay, Mary-Sues/Gary-Stues are detrimental. They make other players seem inferior or obsolete because they have all the power. While this is fine in 1x1/indie RPs, in group roleplays, no one player is absolute-- otherwise, the entire purpose of group roleplay is defeated.
GROUP ROLEPLAY (ADMINS)
If you have multiple admins, it’s key to be in sync. It’s frustrating to join a group with multiple admins who have to decide on matters together when they’re all on at different times. It’s best to either choose a time among the admins where they can discuss matters and tend to the group at the same time, or assign duties to each admin and let them cover a particular area of responsibility (acceptances, page maintenance, etc.)
Not all groups require multiple admins. If extra staff is only slowing down the process, there’s no point in having them. In some cases with smaller groups, having multiple admins does more harm than good. It’s particularly taxing when an admin has authority, but never does anything for the group, which leads me to my next point…
An admin who does nothing shouldn’t hold the position. If you contribute absolutely nothing as an admin, then it only serves as a title of authority, which players will come to resent if you don’t use your position for anything more than telling them what to do. An admin dedicates work to the group; they don’t shove their responsibilities onto everyone else and then take credit for their work.
It’s okay to be unique. Having a group with a crazy twist is okay. Having a blog that doesn’t look like the same five themes with the same flat gradients is okay. Having underused faces is okay. Be bold, try something new and unique; maybe it won’t work, but even giving it a shot and standing out from everyone else is worth at least trying.
It’s okay to not be unique. Having a tried-and-true plot is okay. Having a similar theme as other groups is okay. Having overused faces is okay. The key is making it your own and executing it in a way it hasn’t been done before. It doesn’t have to be trendy with some exotic twist, but it needs to be different enough to say: “Here we are, this is what we offer, this is how we’re different from other groups, and this is why you should join.” The trick is making it different enough that players will be interested and go to your group as opposed to the other numerous groups already established before you.
There’s a difference between doing a similar idea and stealing someone’s work. If you create a group out of inspiration from another group, but write your own independent plot, make your own characters and keep yourself completely separate from the pre-existing group you were inspired by, it’s not theft. However, you should at least give credit for the inspiration. If you directly plagiarize information or graphics, it’s theft.
Treat your players with respect. This should go without saying, but you’d be surprised to see how many admins abuse their players. It’s your group, but without players, it’s nothing. Your group is the brain, and players are the blood keeping it alive. Being disrespectful in any way is ill-advised. Always make sure to thank your supporters, and whenever an issue arises, be the most positive admin you can be.
Don’t keep players in your group if they’re detrimental. As said before, this is your group. If you’re the brain and players are the blood, bad players are an infection that need to be cleared up before it poisons the rest of the blood. If you have players who only post once a week to keep just barely above the minimum, or players who are being a negative influence, you need to do your duty as an admin and tell them it’s not working out. It’s tough to confront players, but if you don’t, it not only worsens the situation, but your players will become resentful to you for not keeping your group free of an uncomfortable atmosphere. In most likelihood, you’ll lose a plethora of good players before you finally get rid of the bad player, if you try to play impartial to the situation.
ROLEPLAY TALKERS
Acting the fool doesn't make you cool. RPTs who use insults or shock value to get attention are the equivalent of a schoolyard bully who has to make others feel bad to feel better about themselves. The only sort of loyal followers these RPTs gain are the ones who thrive on negativity and drama-- all others will get bored and abandon ship when someone "fresh" comes along. Attention isn't respect or loyalty.
Forming popularity blogs doesn't make you popular. What I'm referring to are blogs who encourage others to vote for their favorite groups, RPHs and RPTs. This is nothing more than a popularity contest, one which typically only serves to make lesser known members in the community feel left out. These blogs will not make the creator popular by any means. You gain a positive reputation in the community by being a long-standing member who makes worthwhile contributions, offers actual help to players, and works to make the community more tight-knit. Forming cliques and making others feel left out will just give you a Mean Girl reputation.
There's a difference between "reporting" and "exposing". Reporting is posting on one's blog about a group doing wrong in the community. RPTs who report tend to remain objective, strictly giving the facts (typically with sufficient proof) so others may make an informed decision. Exposing is posting on one's blog about a group doing wrong in the community, but going about it the wrong way. Exposers tend to be subjective, working off of their own bias or second-hand reports from disgruntled players (often times, this information is inaccurate or exaggerated). Exposers typically insert themselves into a situation they have no part in, for the sake of drama, and will not let it go. In extreme cases, exposers will send themselves anonymous asks to rehash the issue, or fan the flames. Exposers have no place in the community, as all they do is make matters worse.
The community is not your soap box. This applies to all roleplay-related blogs. If you are an RPT, you are talking about the roleplay community. The community is not meant to discuss and handle real-world subjects, only roleplay. It's great to stand up for something, but attempting to use the tags of the community, or a blog representing part of the community, to make your own personal political/moral agendas is wrong.
If you don't want others in your business, don't post it. Too many talk blogs get mad when someone picks up one of their posts and replies to it. If you're making it public domain, then it's allowed to be answered by the public. RPTs are not personal blogs, and they're certainly not private blogs. What you write is viewed by dozens (possibly hundreds). If you don't want a response, don't publicly post or tag it.
Not all RPTs are bad. For as much as I've said in this article, there are good RPTs out there who contribute to the community and can communicate properly. Like everything in life, there is good and bad, so don't write the entire RPT community off; don't let a few bad apples ruin the bunch. Support the good, and ignore the bad.
ROLEPLAY HELPERS
Opening and closing your help is a bad move. There's groups who play this game of opening their asks or submits maybe once a day or week, and it's just not a good move. It turns off players and will kill your follower count because no one wants to follow or support a group that plays around with its help.
The community is not your personal platform. If you're a roleplay helper, your duty is to help with roleplay, that's it. If all you post are your opinions on real-world issues and other non-RPH related junk, you're not being a helper and you're exploiting the community for followers, which leads me to my next point...
Respect the community. If you have players coming to you for help, treat them with respect. RPHs are increasingly associating trash-talking with helping, and it needs to stop. There's a tactful way to tell players what they need to change, and calling their page garbage or telling them no one will ever want to roleplay in their group is outright bullying. If someone asks you for help, don't ignore them just because you don't "feel like" helping them. The community is what's keeping your blog alive, and if you disrespect it enough, you'll lose followers and get a nasty reputation.
We all make mistakes. Yes, this includes me. I've made poor statements I thought were helpful at the time, and I've regretted some of my actions. Every RPH will at some point make a mistake-- what determines the kind of RPH you are is whether you learn from the mistake or you continue to make the mistake in spite of knowing it's wrong. There will be RPHs/RPTs out there trying to "expose" you based on past mistakes. Don't give them the satisfaction of a response. They're only doing it for the drama, and if you've made peace with your mistake and openly acknowledged it in one way or another, you don't have to justify yourself to them or anyone else.
Some mistakes can be costly. Sometimes an RPHer will make the same mistake repeatedly, or they'll make a mistake they're unable to reverse. Making the same mistakes over and over and then giving insincere apologies is not taking responsibility for your actions, and eventually players will stop believing you're actually sorry. As for irreversible mistakes, there are some you simply can't erase, due to the extent of its damage. This includes (but is not limited to) making bigoted remarks, bullying someone by telling them to harm or kill themselves, or posting others' personal information (real life photos, facebook, etc.) in order to get others to harass them. You can always apologize, but unfortunately the community is not likely to accept. You should always watch what you say, because even if you're just saying it for shock value or to hurt one person, it can turn an entire community against you and leave you with a stigma you may not be able to get rid of.
You get to decide what help you offer. If you want to be a predominately shoutout/promo RPH, that’s fine. If you want to just focus on photo manips and GIF hunts, go for it. Don't ever do anything you don't feel comfortable with doing just because "other RPHs do it."
Try to redirect. If someone messages you for help you don't offer, don't just message them back saying: "nope." It's in bad taste, and it'll cause players to not ask you for help in the future. Instead, post it on your blog and say: "I'm sorry, I don't/can't do this service, but if anyone on the RPH tag can, please like this post or shoot this person a message!" Not all RPHs can do what we're asked, but as RPHs, it's our goal to help however possible. Outright saying no and offering nothing to someone who takes time to ask us for help is counterproductive to what we do. On top of that, redirecting them to other RPHs will strengthen your bonds with other RPHs, and form relationships where you can send "business" to one another.
