#forum guide

So, it has come to my attention that forum roleplaying isn’t as straight forward as I thought it was. If you’ve never played on forums before, the scope of it may seem very daunting, especially if there’s no one around to tell you what to do or how to act. This guide is to try and help you acclimatise to the change of platform, and maybe assist you in your endeavour to try out forum roleplaying, even if it’s just the one time.

FINDING A ROLEPLAY

So where do you even start looking for a forum roleplay to join? On Tumblr, you have the RP-designated tags that you can scour, but how does this work for forums? It’s a lot simpler than it seems. Most big resource sites have an advertisement section and some sites are there for the sole purpose of giving you a place to advertise your forum roleplay. Some of these sites are:

RPG-DIRECTORY: A directory for forum roleplays. I’ve been a member of RPG-D since May 2006, was a graphics mod for a while back on their old site as well. This is a great place to find a large variety of roleplays, on many different hosts.

A THOUSAND FIREFLIES: ATF has been around for a very long time, and while you need to register to view much of their content, it’s highly suggested to do so if you want to play on forums, since a lot of the resource the community provides can really help you.

CAUTION 2.0: A site not unlike ATF, I’m not sure which one was first (I believe Caution, though, with a previous reiteration), but like on ATF, you need to register to view their content. They also provide a lot of coding, graphic help, guides and, of course, advertisement.

ALL THINGS ROLEPLAY: ATR is a Tumblr dedicated to the advertisement of Invisionfree and Jcink forums (a particular forum host). They also provide other resources, and for the user that is more familiar with Tumblr, this may be an excellent way to start looking for your first forum to play on.

For the sake of this guide, however, I will use The Esoteric Agenda, an old, old forum I used to run, but has been dead for five years now. It’s on Invisionfree, but Jcink and Invisionfree are from the same people, and it’s essentially the same thing, except for some minor differences that I’ll talk about at the end of this guide

RULES AND REGISTERING

When you’ve found a roleplay you like, the first thing you need to do is read the rules. The rules are often found in the first category you come across [here], labelled as “important information", or something to that effect. It’s highly suggested that you read all the information provided there, because it goes a long way to answering any question you might have regarding the roleplay.

The rules will tell you not only how the admins wish you to conduct yourself, it also gives you information regarding activity, graphics, and, most importantly, how you should register your account. Most RPs allow OCs even in the face of board canons, though it’s always a good idea to check the canons if the RP has them. The canons you can often find in the second category [here], along with the application, and the face claim and member directories. Once you’ve decided what character you want to play (whether canon or OC), you should register your character [here] in the manner that the rules stated.

APPLYING AND THE FORM

The application you usually find in the same place as you would any canon characters (if the site has them), which is the registration forum [here]. Before you fill out an application, however, you should look at the face claim thread [here] to make sure the face claim you want to use isn’t already taken. If it’s not, then you can go to the application [here] (usually there’s also an option of a “freestyle” application [here]).

To start, you copy the code provided. You have two choices from here on; you can work on your application off-site (via GDocs, a text-program like Word or Wordpad, or even a text post on Tumblr), or you can do so on-site. If you’re sure you can finish your application in one go, you can start a new topic in the Finished forum [here] - make sure to put the right format into the topic title and topic description, which is usually indicated in either the rules or in the application thread. When you’ve finished your application, you simply post it and wait until you get a response from an admin. It’s bad sport to pester admins to look at your application in the cbox, so I highly advise against such behaviour.

If you’re not sure you can’t finish your application immediately, or aren’t in the position to, you can start a topic in the Unfinished forum [here]. While admins will probably check your application every now and again, they will not touch it or judge it until you say you have finished. You can edit the topic at any time you want, though it’s suggested to finish the application within two days of posting it in the Unfinished forum. If it’ll take longer, you can always contact an admin saying so. Once you’ve finished your application, you add a reply to the topic, stating as much. It’s only then that an admin will judge the full work.

CLAIMING AND PLOT PAGES

In the event that you’ve been accepted, you should go to the FC thread and register your FC. You can do this by copying the code provided and changing what the code asks you to in context of your character and FC. You then post the reply to the thread. An admin or mod will add it to the list and your FC has been registered.

After that, you need to post a plot page. A plot page (or plotter/shipper, as it’s also called) is essentially a summary of your character, and the type of plots you can see for them. You can also add a section about friends, enemies and lovers - describing what it takes for another character to fall under these categories and what they can expect from your character, etc. The plot pages are usually found under one forum [here]. To respond to someone else’s plot page, simply go to their plot page thread and reply to it with your thoughts and ideas [here]. If other people respond to your plot page, you can respond to them there with your response ideas [here].

ACTUALLY ROLEPLAYING

When you’ve come up with the outline of a plot with someone, usually you can offer to make a starter, or they offer to. In the first case, you can start a thread in one of the IC boards [here, here, here, and here], depending on the type of communication and the place the thread will play at. When you’ve posted your starter [here], you need to “tag” a person in the topic description, if you are making the starter for someone else (this is usually done by typing “tag: character name/player name”). If you are making an open thread, you simply put “tag: open” in the forum description. In this case, it’s anyone’s game and another person may reply to your starter, regardless of who they are.

When you’ve posted your starter, you wait for the/another person to reply. This is done by choosing “add reply” within the thread [here]. When you’ve read the response, you reply to their post within the thread with your response. This is done until the interaction comes to an end.

OOC TALK AND WANTED ADS

Any OOC chatter can be done in the cbox on the left. It’s a good way to get to know your fellow players, it’s a good place to ask questions, and since it’s guest friendly, anything you’re not clear on you can put there. Usually members, or admins, can help you or simply chat with you there.

If you want a specific character to be played, you can start a thread in the Wanted Ads [here]. Here you give a short description of the character(s) you want, your character’s relationship with them and what you have in mind for them. If someone is interested, they may apply for the character you asked for. Usually you can tell someone you’re thinking of filling their request within the topic they opened for the request.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INVISIONFREE AND JCINK

While my preference is Jcink, The Esoteric Agenda was started on Invisionfree simply because Jcink is a relatively new thing. Jcink gives you a couple of added things that is both ease to the admin and member. For instance, it allows for the admin to edit the way board is actually shown as, as well as something one calls “mini profiles” [here]. On top of that, the main difference is that, aside from the fact it’s high responsive to HTML and CSS, a member can use a “root account” to create several “side accounts”, which means you don’t have to log in and out whenever you’re switching between characters, and can simply choose the character you want to post as from a drop-down menu.