Request Advice

[Astro-Girl]

For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to keep thing's short and sweet! Firstly, thanks for taking the time to read through my message! I hope it's not too much an inconvenience!

I'm contemplating posting a roleplay request thread and in the process of writing, I've come to realise that there's a lot more information required than I'd previously thought. I thought I'd take this opportunity to consult far more wiser and experienced minds on how I should structure my first request, any key information to include, and any information to avoid since I'm hoping to appeal and cater to as many of your beautiful souls as possible!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Have an amazing day everyone!

 

[Amante]

The best thing you can probably do is read other people’s request threads, get a feel for what’s typical!

Having read many, some key points I’d recommend:
- Meta info; the post length, narrative perspective, post frequency, etc you prefer. All the stuff you want a possible writing partner to have in common before any ideas get discussed.
- How you prefer people to approach. Are you cool with bouncing ideas back and forth? Do you want people to have well developed ideas before approaching? What’s gonna get you interested enough to reply to somebody messaging you?
- Kinks, themes, image references, etc etc that helps people connect their interests ad yours
- Any plot ideas you might have

That’s a pretty typical thread in a nutshell and should get you up and running

 

[Astro-Girl]

The best thing you can probably do is read other people’s request threads, get a feel for what’s typical!

Having read many, some key points I’d recommend:
- Meta info; the post length, narrative perspective, post frequency, etc you prefer. All the stuff you want a possible writing partner to have in common before any ideas get discussed.
- How you prefer people to approach. Are you cool with bouncing ideas back and forth? Do you want people to have well developed ideas before approaching? What’s gonna get you interested enough to reply to somebody messaging you?
- Kinks, themes, image references, etc etc that helps people connect their interests ad yours
- Any plot ideas you might have

That’s a pretty typical thread in a nutshell and should get you up and running

Awesome, I didn't even think of some of the meta information, but it does seem really important to have a partner congruent with such facets! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply, thank you for bringing them to my attention an sharing your experience! Have a great day

 

[Fruit]

My advice is to not over-saturate your request thread with information. You should definitely describe yourself, your writing, posting length and frequency, and what are you looking for in a partner. I'd follow that with plots or plot seeds that convey the type of stories you're seeking. Most people will not read big walls of text even if they were filled with really interesting ideas. Consider spoiler tags, tabs, sliders, or even splitting your first post into multiple posts to organize the information in there. I highly recommend taking a look at the BB Code Help Page to get some information on formatting your posts and making them look manageable and more aesthetically pleasing. I always recommend storing excess information (character spreadsheets, world building, settings, face claims) in a thread in the journals section.​

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It definitely helps to link your request thread in your signature for more exposure. I also recommend investing a lot more time in expanding your plot section in your RT because its definitely the 'eye-catcher' that sets you apart from the million 'sub f' and 'dom m' threads that get bumped every ten minutes. ​

 

[Astro-Girl]

My advice is to not over-saturate your request thread with information. You should definitely describe yourself, your writing, posting length and frequency, and what are you looking for in a partner. I'd follow that with plots or plot seeds that convey the type of stories you're seeking. Most people will not read big walls of text even if they were filled with really interesting ideas. Consider spoiler tags, tabs, sliders, or even splitting your first post into multiple posts to organize the information in there. I highly recommend taking a look at the BB Code Help Page to get some information on formatting your posts and making them look manageable and more aesthetically pleasing. I always recommend storing excess information (character spreadsheets, world building, settings, face claims) in a thread in the journals section.​

​

It definitely helps to link your request thread in your signature for more exposure. I also recommend investing a lot more time in expanding your plot section in your RT because its definitely the 'eye-catcher' that sets you apart from the million 'sub f' and 'dom m' threads that get bumped every ten minutes. ​

Wow, thanks a million for such a detailed, informative response! It really does help a lot, and I really appreciate your time! Thanks for bringing such details to my attention and I’ll be sure to bear them in mind whilst completing my first request! Thank you so much!

 

[Assassini]

My advice is to not over-saturate your request thread with information. You should definitely describe yourself, your writing, posting length and frequency, and what are you looking for in a partner. I'd follow that with plots or plot seeds that convey the type of stories you're seeking. Most people will not read big walls of text even if they were filled with really interesting ideas. Consider spoiler tags, tabs, sliders, or even splitting your first post into multiple posts to organize the information in there. I highly recommend taking a look at the BB Code Help Page to get some information on formatting your posts and making them look manageable and more aesthetically pleasing. I always recommend storing excess information (character spreadsheets, world building, settings, face claims) in a thread in the journals section.​

​

It definitely helps to link your request thread in your signature for more exposure. I also recommend investing a lot more time in expanding your plot section in your RT because its definitely the 'eye-catcher' that sets you apart from the million 'sub f' and 'dom m' threads that get bumped every ten minutes. ​

Just as a quick agree and disagree:

I do think it's pretty important to not be overly verbose. Put down the information that you think is important and try and do it neatly and concisely.

However, I personally think that having a well developed "plot" section isn't overly important. But it really depends on the kind the kind of partners and RPs you think you might be looking for.

That latter point also ought to demonstrate that there's disagreement even amongst the more experienced RPers as to what is and isn't important in your thread. So, with that in mind, another piece of advice from me would be to not overthink it too much. Say what you want and what you're looking for and you can't go much wrong from there.

 

[Fruit]

Just as a quick agree and disagree:

I do think it's pretty important to not be overly verbose. Put down the information that you think is important and try and do it neatly and concisely.

However, I think that having a well developed "plot" section isn't overly important. But it really depends on the kind the kind of partners and RPs you think you might be looking for.

That latter point also ought to demonstrate that there's disagreement even amongst the more experienced RPers as to what is and isn't important in your thread. So, with that in mind, another piece of advice from me would be to not overthink it too much. Say what you want and what you're looking for and you can't go much wrong from there.

I respect the disagreement. Just to clarify a point of potential misunderstanding, I personally don't think each plot should be fleshed out and developed fully. A lot of the plots would ideally be left incomplete, vague even, and more akin to plot seeds rather than complete scenes. I think that encourages the reader to bring forth their own take on the plot and participate in fleshing it out according to both people's interests.

I do think, though, that having one or multiple plots is much better than simply listing pairings that you'd be interested in writing. That's just my own personal opinion though and I understand its not a global preference.

I wholeheartedly agree with your last point though. Request Threads can always be revamped and rewritten. Don't overthink them, just go with you what your heart desires and improve from there.

 

[Astro-Girl]

Just as a quick agree and disagree:

I do think it's pretty important to not be overly verbose. Put down the information that you think is important and try and do it neatly and concisely.

However, I think that having a well developed "plot" section isn't overly important. But it really depends on the kind the kind of partners and RPs you think you might be looking for.

That latter point also ought to demonstrate that there's disagreement even amongst the more experienced RPers as to what is and isn't important in your thread. So, with that in mind, another piece of advice from me would be to not overthink it too much. Say what you want and what you're looking for and you can't go much wrong from there.

Thanks for taking the time to reply! It’s always really nice to include another perspective, so I really appreciate your input!

Sure, I’ll try to make my post as succinct as possible to maintain the reader’s interest!

My ideas are pretty vague at the moment anyways, and I agree that a lightweight synopsis might be a good approach as it leaves room for discussion and suggestions.

That’s actually pretty profound in a way. I suppose it’s a subjective topic and the aim is to meet a like-minded, congruent individual.

Thanks for your time, have a great day️!

 

[obieblu]

I have an extensive, multi-post RT. It's so long, I even put in jump links to sections. I don't get a ton of replies, but the ones I do are around 80% worth chatting with. I value quality over quantity. I'm also in the least popular gender arrangement on this site, so having a shorter RT and going for quantity then skimming the cream off the top is definitely a valid for others. While I'll talk to most applicants that aren't completely off the mark, I can decide pretty easily that I'm interested in playing with someone who comes at me in a way that makes it obvious they read my lengthy RT and tell me why they fit what I'm looking for.

Though, for those who don't, I have a TLDR at the top of my RT with the bare bones info.

After a while, you'll get a feel for the typical quality and amount of responses you get, and you'll decide what you want to do about it. If you get a ton of garbage, definitely go longer and into more detail with your requirements. If you scare everyone off, well.. maybe lower your standards or keep waiting for that diamond.

I agree with others that being really detailed on plot hooks is probably a turn-off for most. 'Plot in a Box' is frowned on by many, including myself. When someone lists so many specifics for their idea that I feel like they should be GMing for me, I back away. 1 or 2 sentences about the scenario should be good, and maybe 1 more if there's a kink or relationship type you want in that setting.