How to be a Good Member

[Abbie Chalk]

Taken from RPG Collection.
Written by AcidcorE.

How To Be A Good Member


Well obviously you have opened this thread because you want to be a good member of one of the sites that you regularly visit. Well this little thread is more aimed at new people, who are new to RP’ing or joining a site, but you old vet’s can listen up too.

Now I have learned quite a few things in my time RP’ing and hanging around a lot of sites and I wish to share the things I have learned with you. So all you need to do is, pull up a chair and listen.

So here goes:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Number 1 (and in my opinion one of the most important): Before you join the site, look everything over. Look at the amount of members, when the last post/topic was made and look over the rules. Mostly people just join a site, without looking at anything and soon realise the site is dead or is not what they are looking for and so this leads to an angry admin emailing inactive members to post and so wasting your inbox space and the admin’s time.

Number 2: When you have joined the site, read the rules carefully. The reason for this is because you will either not get what is going on at all, or will get the admin and members very annoyed, which is not a good way to make your first impression. You probably won’t read the rules because it will simply take too much time. Well think about this, if you don’t read the rules you will not know what is going on so you will most likely make some posts in random threads asking for help, which will cost a lot more time than just reading the rules in the first place, because the members and admin will just tell you to read the rules . So just read the rules, it WILL save time. If you don’t have time, wait until you do and make sure your character’s profile fits the required rules or you will spend more time repairing the profile when the admin tells you that it isn’t accepted. READING RULES SAVES TIME!

Number 3: You don’t always have to make an opening thread (although a lot of people prefer to do this.), but if you do make an opening thread this is what you should include:


- A description of the area, the weather and what your character is wearing.
- A few paragraphs of what your character is doing and thinking.
- And lastly, an ending that let’s another person reply.

Try and refrain from making very short posts as it annoys the other members as they have nothing to work with. You are not giving them anything to reply to really. Here is an opening thread I made for my character. It isn’t perfect, but it has enough detail to let the other member reply:

Vincent walked down the empty street, his cane making a tapping sound when it tapped the ground with every other step, breaking the nightly silence. The streetlights were casting a soft shadow of him on the walls of buildings as he passed by, his sensitive hearing picking up any sort of disturbance in the silence of the cold, wet street.

Vincent had his top hat tipped over his brow slightly which shadowed his eyes. He walked past alleyways without glancing down them, dead fixed on the sidewalk in front of him. As the wind swept down the street, Vincent's light, white scarf rustled softly on his neck and his hair swept behind him. The coldness didn’t affect him, he liked it, and it fitted perfectly with his cold and black heart which was full of hatred against anything, which resembled a werewolf.

He loved walking at night. It was so relaxing, so peaceful and so lonesome. As Vincent turned the corner at the end of the street another gust of wind blew, rustling the trees near by.

What a beautiful night, he thought to himself as he passed the trees and shrubbery. He stopped suddenly and took a few paces backwards, then looked down at the small plants. He kneeled down and extended his arm out towards the Rose and broke it off at the neck. Vincent gave it a quick sniff, letting the fragrance travel into his nostrils and inhaling the goodness of the scent. With the Rose still in his hand, Vincent stood up and began walking on his path again past the greenery, his cane making the taps on the cobbles once again, breaking the surrounding silence.

As Vincent was turning the corner again, he heard a rustling in the trees he had just passed. The rustling was not of the wind’s doing, as there was not a gust of wind passing. Vincent pocketed the Rose and tightened his grip on his cane, as he turned back to face the shrubbery, his eyes wide in anticipation.

You see what I mean? This topic has an ending that gives the other person something to work with. Also keep in mind, that you should try not making your character be friends with everyone. If I came up to you and said some cuss words in your face, would you still want to be friends with me? Try and be realistic about things. I know I highly get annoyed when people try to be friends with everyone. So just keep that in mind.

Number 4: This is when you should start to get to know a lot of the members. Start posting in the OOC (Out Of Character) areas. Get to know them, this will mean you have more chance of people replying to your threads and not getting ignored. This is also when you should start helping other members. If you are good with graphics, then offer to make signatures of avatars for people, they will be very grateful. If however graphics is not your forte, then don’t fret. Start by maybe showing people you’re poetry or stories. If you don’t do that either then why not make a topic on your interests. If you are on a board with a lot of members, the chances are that they will share the same interests. This is also a time when I myself ask for opinions on my character. This is a good way to improve your character.

Remember these key things when getting your character or you’re role playing rated:

- Don’t take it too seriously. The people are only trying to help you. They are not out to get you in anyway.
- If they make a comment, which you don’t agree with then tell them, but make sure to back up your claim with evidence. E.g.

Member: I think your character is really dull sometimes. Maybe you can liven him up a little.
You: Well, I don’t know about that. My character is supposed to be dull. His parents were murdered and so I don’t think he would really be lively at all, as such a traumatic time would stick with them forever or most of their life.

Lastly Number 5: When another member’s character insults your character, don’t fall out with the member. They probably don’t mean to offend YOU personally. They are just role playing. Another thing to remember is, if you’re having a bad day (like we all do sometimes), try and not let that get in the way of role playing. Remember that your character is not in the same time zone at all. One moment you could be all calm and wise, and the next you could be having your character go on a killing spree, which isn’t real at all (unless you are playing a suave physco killer ).