Roleplay Management - Importance of the OOC Forum

[Syren Song]

As the author of a role play, you will have the greatest influence on the story's success. Your active participation, leadership, and social skills will be vital. All of which can be learned and improved upon through study and practice.

Let me start by saying that anyone among you can start their own role play. That’s half the fun of the site, but there is a bit of work involved. In a nutshell, your responsibilities aren't all that dissimilar from the tasks Hollywood producers are charged with. You create, coordinate, and supervise the conditions that will allow a creative idea to flourish.

All of this begins with the OOC, where you'll first post your idea for a role play. You don’t necessarily need to have a complete idea of what your role play is going to be about in order to make an OOC thread. Well thought out ideas are sure to attract posters, but when others can contribute to the development of a role play, they are much more likely to get involved and be devoted to your role play. Though you are entitled to have the final say on all creative decisions, it's fun, rewarding, and just plain courteous to include your posters in brainstorming sessions.

Others can build upon your ideas and work with you to take the role play in positive directions you might not have thought up on your own. Always keep in mind that role playing is a social, and interactive activity. You're trying to tell a story but it's not as straightforward as writing a book.

You're all part of a team, and if you're going to work well together then there has to be communication between everyone involved. This is another vital function of the OOC section and one of your most important tools as the author. You will be able to exchange ideas with your posters and moreover, you will be able to plan with them.

Planning means deciding on and outlining events that need to happen. This is kind of a to do list of plot points that are vital to the story you're trying to tell. Usually, posters use their characters in the IC/the role play itself to communicate their intentions, as is often the case with free form RPs, but it's important to step into the OOC frequently so both you and other posters have a clear idea of what's going on and what’s going to happen next. When you keep your posters well informed, they will always be able to know what their next move is, and will be fully aware of their importance to the progression of the role play.

All of this adds up to flexibility, and flexibility, perhaps more than any other tool at your disposal, will be able to help you overcome obstacles that can arise to complicate, slow, or endanger the continuation of a role play. These things have a way of happening, but they can be beaten through the kind of group thinking and coordination that all takes place in the OOC. Remember this, and I know you'll do well.