Need some advice on how to interpret something about this community

[deleteman900]

Is it just me, or is it singularly hard, as a new-ish user, to get into any kind of pbp on this forum? I've been trying for roughly two-ish weeks now, and have had less than stellar luck. Just a bit earlier I went to apply to a recruiting thread, and the OP just shut everyone down and said "I've played with X user before, and know how he plays, so I'll take him." (para-phrased, but that's the essence of it). Like... does this mentality pervade the entire community, or is it just a one-off bad example? I don't feel like I'm a bad RPer, and I'm pretty active, but nobody on this forum knows who I am really, so I can only imagine that every would-be DM looks at my post, goes 'Don't recognize him' and just picks someone they do recognize!

This seems pretty unhealthy overall, since it leads to a 1 percent that has no problem finding games, and the other 99 applies over and over, and either the game dies on the vine, or they get passed up for better-known users. I can assuredly understand the logic of wanting to bring a user that you can trust to not flake, but how am I supposed to get my shot to get in the door and show people that I'm not a terrible random, and that I can be a decent player?

[Grinner]

It's the same as anything else, really: music/arts, employment, higher education. People like known factors, so it's hard to get your foot in the door. Also, I should point out that, because PbP games require a steady "momentum", all it takes is one slacking participant to bring the whole game down. Thus, these games can have a pretty limited lifespan with the wrong selection of players, making it even more critical that the GM understand who he's dealing with.

That said, I'm a bit surprised you can't find *anything*. I registered for these forums specifically to play PbP and had no trouble getting in. That might explain why it ended so quickly, though...

[deleteman900]

It's the same as anything else, really: music/arts, employment, higher education. People like known factors, so it's hard to get your foot in the door. Also, I should point out that, because PbP games require a steady "momentum", all it takes is one slacking participant to bring the whole game down. Thus, these games can have a pretty limited lifespan with the wrong selection of players, making it even more critical that the GM understand who he's dealing with.

That said, I'm a bit surprised you can't find *anything*. I registered for these forums specifically to play PbP and had no trouble getting in. That might explain why it ended so quickly, though...

I mean, I work 8 hours a day, but I sit in front of a computer with internet, and have loads of downtime to do whatever. So I'm pretty active and what have you, and have a ton of experience with Roleplaying on forums. It's just that I have yet to be able to find someone who will give me a chance, and it's getting kind of annoying, yo. I mean, 2 weeks of fairly actively seeking a campaign and I've got little to nothing to show for it... D: I'm a mature, level-headed person, so I'm fine with not finding the perfect campaign immediately, but it's starting to seem increasingly like a waste of my time if I'm just going to keep getting passed up for these 'known factors'

[Lethologica]

You're in one PbP game and one freeform roleplaying group and waiting for another campaign to start, I wouldn't say you're that badly off.

Regarding the example you gave, you posted in a thread after someone had already chosen a player for their ongoing campaign (which places the recruiter under special time pressure, which means they're more likely to revert to heuristics like "I know this player" or "this player already has a character ready to go"), so don't be surprised if that, well, doesn't work. But it's not universal or uniform by any means, and you know that, because you've had different recruiting experiences in other threads.

All in all, I'm not sure what there is to complain about. Your luck has technically been less than stellar, but it hasn't been bad.

[deleteman900]

You're in one PbP game and one freeform roleplaying group and waiting for another campaign to start, I wouldn't say you're that badly off.

Regarding the example you gave, you posted in a thread after someone had already chosen a player for their ongoing campaign (which places the recruiter under special time pressure, which means they're more likely to revert to heuristics like "I know this player" or "this player already has a character ready to go"), so don't be surprised if that, well, doesn't work. But it's not universal or uniform by any means, and you know that, because you've had different recruiting experiences in other threads.

All in all, I'm not sure what there is to complain about. Your luck has technically been less than stellar, but it hasn't been bad.

True, I did exaggerate perhaps more than I should have, I'm used to being an extremely active poster from the last forum I was on, so I get a bit antsy when I don't have SOMETHING to reply to, which is probably entirely my fault.

[Lethologica]

Ah. I feel you, I can be like that. And it is true that the funnel from recruitment to sustained campaign can be dicey.

(Of course, one way to be sure you're never without something to do is to make a campaign of your own but that's a massive commitment by comparison.)