239: how does one become popular on dreamwidth rp?

[ryanongosling]

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Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I miss rp!s. It's too bad no matter how much it got revived, it'll just crash and burn.

[(Anonymous)]

same, anon.

if i didn't already know it would die once the novelty wore off for people, if not immediately, i'd consider giving it a shot.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah. Not only it brought us beautiful wank, I stumbled upon reading a lot of good threads from the positive secrets.

[(Anonymous)]

rp!s was great for making me chill the fuck out. there were so many times i got mad at something miniscule and started to make a secret, and along the way i'd realize it wasn't a big deal and go do something else

+1

[(Anonymous)]

Fr this made it easier for me to calm down or decide I was too lazy to make a secret as opposed to shitting out comments per second on anoncomms when I get salty

[(Anonymous)]

there is something about the image-creating process that forces introspection.

[(Anonymous)]

how to make rp!s survive for at least several months if not years

1. start rp!s comm. do all the things people will expect to already be done. copypaste previous comm rules and adjust them to your liking. include a rule right at the top, rule #1, that says that the comm runs on shared secrets and they should not come from the mods. pick a number (probably 3x the minimum number of secrets you want to post each day) and say if the secret count drops below this level, the comm closes.

2. include a "resources" page on your comm that links to several meme generators. try to find a variety. if you have any ability with photoshop, you may also want to make some template pics that people can just take and use - like a postcard back that has a 100x100 space for the stamp so people can put an icon there.

3. prior to opening, advertise once a week on rpanons for 3-4 weeks. solicit secrets. if you dont hit your minimum number, decide if you still want to run the comm. you will have to make secrets yourself.

4. dont be shy about making secrets yourself. you dont have to follow your own comm rules. the secrets dont have to be your problems or about people you dislike. just use the game/player threads from the last couple weeks on wg and make shit up when you dont know all the details.

5. very important: there are a handful of topics that will make rpers seethe. if you want to know what they are, look for long wg threads where new replies to the top level are still trickling in days or weeks later. dont make secrets about these blind, that's too obvious. wait for rp!s commenters to make comments that get anywhere near the spicy topics, screencap those, and make secrets out of them.

6. as a mod, spread your favor visibly but judiciously (say something nice to a commenter every now and then), and try to establish a few regular bits that people can look forward to. maybe you always post a silly knock knock joke at the first person who comments. maybe you have a catchphrase you use when youre telling someone to cool it in public. maybe your mod account has memorable icons that you use to communicate something about each post, like the number of secrets in the post, or a sad lilo and stitch icon when most of the secrets are sad, a happy one when they're happy, a fangy one when they're aggro, whatever you like.

the themes are REGULARITY and IDENTIFIABILITY. people like regular posts, regular joviality, and surprises they can understand. try to post at the same time, whatever daily/weekly schedule you set up. once you establish a bit, try to do it every time it comes up (for this reason, advisable to pick something where you control the reason when it comes up, like number of secrets in the post, or nobody does, like first reply. that way people aren't trying to game you all the time, which a handful will absolutely do because they are lonely and bored.

7. remind people of the minimum secrets rule in every post. give the backlogged secrets count in every post. if you're short, include a message and feel free to make it bold red text that says "we need X secrets by the end of the week to stay open. please help!" give the comm 3 consecutive chances to meet the minimum. on the third failure, enforce the rule and close.

8. if you stay open long enough that you have a few weeks of posts in the tank, consider advertising on twitter, tumblr, insanejournal, other rp sites.

[(Anonymous)]

im hungry

[(Anonymous)]

words.

[(Anonymous)]

i aint reading all that

i'm happy for u tho

or sad that happened

[(Anonymous)]

it isn't going to work because we're all too lazy now hth

[(Anonymous)]

nobody is lazy. everyone is overtaxed. it's more than just jobs and responsibilities, it is that we're living in genuinely unstable and dark times. if you talk to any honest boomer they will admit the current moment is as bad or worse as anything they have lived through.

we're all trying to deal.

that's why regularity and identifiability are important. people literally don't have the brain space for things that they can't attach to and find predictable for a while. what people really want is "set it and forget it" type activity right now. if you can make a space where things happen pretty much the same way every day, and there are some reliable serotonin nuggies in there, people will show up.

i use some of the things i described in the post to run a long-running community elsewhere (used to use them as a mod in some games here). i use others to start big wanky threads on wg for my own entertainment. when i say this is how to get and keep engagement im not talking about a theory i have, im telling you what ive done to get the result.

+1

[(Anonymous)]

I agree with you. Dwrpers return weekly to long running, easy to start memes while new games/memes rarely catch on. Probably because figuring out anything new comes up against 2 huge hurdles you pointed out: the effort it takes to learn a new thing, even if it's simple in the long run, and the discomfort of getting into something unfamiliar.

[(Anonymous)]

ok do it then. ill wait

[(Anonymous)]

1. already running a comm
2. not interested in running rp!s but interested in participating
3. in grad school and receiving chemotherapy so not really in a position to commit to charity mod work

post was pointed at individuals who are interested in an rp!s revival, so i have already done as much work towards bringing back rp!s as i have the time and ability to do.

now you do as much work towards bringing back rp!s as you have the time and ability to do. would love to tell you ill wait and be real smug about it but im on a different clock than you are.

[(Anonymous)]

good luck with chemo anon

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

you're right, no boomer ever had to deal with the threat of nuclear war with russia, environmental crises, polarizing and violent political upheaval, racism, sexism, and economic problems.

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

is as bad or worse

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

thank you for giving me the opportunity to say this unironically:

ok boomer

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

that's .... that's literally the point. things are now as bad as they were in the peak of the panics of boomer days.

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

given boomers themselves are the ones responsible for most those things both then and now it's not quite the same

[(Anonymous)]

How to make rp!s happen

1. Get people to read first

[(Anonymous)]

enjoying all the "i'm too stupid and i need you to know that" responses to this

[(Anonymous)]

send this to the mod of rpsecrets

[(Anonymous)]

tbh just go through castlists and pick something random thats baseless it'll be fucking funny