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 Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:56 pm
This can be a very difficult skill, even for those of us that have been at it for a while and are considered good. The skill, when to know to post and when you shouldn't post. Like I should have posted this one up here a LONG time ago. rofl
Some of the best reasons to post can seem good, and generally posting is a good thing. However there are times when you actually can post too much, or too fast. I myself have been guilty of doing this from time to time.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:21 am
Problem one, you post so fast that everyone keeps over posting each other.
This is actually very common when there are enough people all together in a role play at the same time. One person makes a post, and then another reads it and starts typing their post. By the time they're done with their post, someone else has now posted.
This new post between you reading and finishing typing your post makes it so now you post seems very odd and doesn't fit within the role play anymore.
This is very common when a role play is just starting, and there are a few solutions you can do to fix this.
1: Before you post, preview your post. If someone else has posted, it will appear as part of the thread you are about to post in, and appear bellow your typing area. Now, you can change your post to react better or decide not to post for a while longer. You might even find your safe to post your message. This can still backfire and still get the posts being posted seconds after each other, but it does help prevent it. One of the downfalls for this is, unless your very good at remembering to do it, if you don't preveiw, it doesn't work.
2. You can edit your post to better match the ones before you, even after they change. This is usually frowned upon, as editing your post can mess up someone acting to it, or can change the feel of a role play. Some people might even change a post a few pages back just to iritate people. (has happened to me before in a 1v1 battle with someone else. They changed their post so I looked like I did something wrong. Thankfully the Moderator in charge of the role play knew what had happened and things got straightend out.) The best solution to prevent that problem is to say that you edit, and maybe use a little strickout on your original post and place your edit bellow with the words EDIT: before it.
3. You can also do something about this yourself, and only post when you have an action to do. When you post, wait a while to see if anyone else has a reaction to your post, and wait for anyone to react to someone else's post. It is alright if a role play doesn't get more than three posts a day. It doesn't need to be powerblasted 13 pages in one day. Give people time to think about what they want to type and how they wish to phrase things. Think before you act is really key here.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:32 am
Problem two: You have so much to say, you have to make another post to respond to what was posted just before your post.
Alright, your post that was tossed after the person you wanted to react to still works, but now you have a response to that post between your post and the one you acted with.
When you do this, it is called double posting, or making two posts by yourself one after the other without anyone else posting between them. Though it is frowned upon by most role players, it does still happen, either by you posting, someone deleting a post of their own, or whatever. Maybe you had an OOC comment you didn't want in your post so it could be deleted later. As I said, it happened sometimes. Don't worry about a few double posts from time to time.
There are also a few solutions for this problem as well, and here they are:
1. Don't post again for a few moments. Take a 5 minute break. Get up and stretch your legs. Write your intended post on paper if you feel you might forget it in 5 minutes. Just wait on posting.
2. Though frowned upon still, you could always edit your last post to better fit the story, like if you had to respond to that fireball being thrown your way in that unintended post that came up while you where typing. Just make the edited parts so people can see later on that it was edited. If anyone gets angry, just ask if they would have liked you to post twice in a row. Most will quiet down with that. Editing can be your friend, but if done incorrectly, it can really backfire on you too. Just clearly mark what is edited so all can see and there shouldn't be any complaints.
3. If you have no response, no action to go with, no nothing to really post about, then don't post. Sometimes it is better not to post than to post something that doesn't match the story and will only get in other's way. If you haven't posted in the thread for a while and it still hasn't moved, maybe make an OoC post saying your still alive at least. If you must make a post to keep your character at least still in the role play, then maybe make a comment on some internal thought or observe something around you. Maybe you make eyelashes at that boy across the room you are interested in as your filler post. Keeps your character in the story and alive, progresses your character's growth, and might end up having some unknown reason that becomes expressed in the story. Who knows what might happen, but give your posts thought, don't just post for the sake of posting.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:38 am
Last remark I can think of for this subject at this time... DON'T POST EVERY OTHER POST!
Nothing can kill a role play faster than a person posting every other possible postings. Unless your managing the role play, unto which you may need to post this much to react with all the players, you should have no need to post that much. Wait a little while. Give someone else a chance to post between you.
When you post between everyone else's posts, you almost start to shove your way into the forefront, and although your character is the main character to you they might not be the main character in that story. Also, when you post that often, it is almost like constantly saying it is your turn for the computer. When you have 3 people and 1 computer, and you are on the computer between the other two people, guess what, you on twice as much as they are. Your hogging the thread to yourself, share a little.
Trust me on this last point, I use to do it myself... a lot. It has taken me some time to develop the control needed to only post when I have need. Don't force a post or reaction from your character just to post. Post if you truly have something to react to.
If you really must post something, maybe it is something that could go into a character journal instead. Maybe it is a thought or small comment that doesn't affect everyone else. Add it in your journal so it is at least someplace.
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Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:21 pm
teacher, what do we do if we can't keep up with others posting before we can reply to the post to them two pages back?
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Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:39 pm
That is a very good question. There isn't much you can do to stop them from posting that much, and it does tend to push those that don't post so often, or are not on at the same time, to the side. There are some ideas that might help here. If you notice it is a certain couple of people that do this (as in they 'hog' the role play) maybe a polite PM to them will help them realize that they are making it difficult for others. If it is everyone doing it, and you just can't get on as often as them, maybe you need to find a slower moving role play? Posting an out of character comment on the speediness of others posts and asking them to slow it down some might also help. If you are in any kind of position within the role play, you might even be able to try and enforce a rule that people can only post number of times a day. (Might even be able to contact the moderator/creator of the role play to ask for this rule. Might help, might not.) Only other suggestion I can think of (depending upon the circumstances of these events) is to just read all the posts and react to them all in one post. This can be difficult, but it will catch your character up to their point. You will need to word your post carefully, so as to work with all the events already there, and without having them need to 'take back moves' or edit their posts. If you are truly pushed so far back that you aren't even in the role play, you may wish to look at this thread for more advise: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=6929263If everything else fails, and you have lost interest, then it might be best if you just left the role play and had your character fall into oblivion. It just might not be working for you. (Last resort, as I hope your still involved in the role play and interested, but getting out posted too often.) I hope one of these things are helpful to you. There are just so many different approaches to this problem, and not all will work with every situation. It all depends upon what is happening at the moment within the role play. Hey! Maybe this will give you a chance to make a huge come back and save the say! Make a grand entrance! Who knows.
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