When reaching out...

[RestlessPanda]

I get that sometimes "hi" isn't good enough. Trust me I know that some people need a little more to feel engaged. But question, would receiving a full on post "Hey there, I saw your stuff and would like to RP, ABC are my limits and XYZ are my posting styles, please message back if you're interested" be any better. I mean, I'd like to be as up front in the shortest amount of time possible, but I don't know if others would feel the same way.

 

[Virginia Greene]

I think the additional information is a ton better, personally. I want to immediately know what my potential partner is looking for from me and what they're into, otherwise I can't identify if we're actually a match unless I find their search thread/f-list/see their posts. I'm usually willing to take the leap of faith if they send me a really brief and impersonal first message, but it's hard to know if my partner and I will be a match if they're not telling me what they're into and what they want. And there are definitely some dealbreakers that can pop up later on in planning and I'll get a little frustrated that they're things that, if brought up earlier, would have saved us both time.

 

[di moon]

I prefer the additional information as well. If nothing else, I'm assuming someone reaching out has seen at least one of my request threads, and there are times I have a good 5/6+ plot ideas on there. I've already been fairly up front with my expectations and what can be expected from me. At least knowing which plot they'd be interested in, and their f-list or kinks/limits lets me know quite a bit with that first introduction on if I think we can get along or not for a roleplay.

 

[Laa]

I'm totally fine with messages like that. Doesn't waste anyone's time and gets straight to the point. You can get into all the interesting stuff later.

 

[obieblu]

It's always conditional, and I get a lot of negative reinforcement for what vocal people usually profess as being preferable.

More often than not, I contact someone because of their tone and general themes of their stories like the types of characters they play and the archetypal relationships in their plot ideas. Sometimes I do a short email saying I think we may be compatible according to what they say they're looking for and what I'm looking for. I then reference at least a plot or pairing idea, or even something like "your darker coercive ideas". I also gently suggest they read my RT. I'm determining our compatibility to collaborate, not begging for their attention. I hope they bother to check me out too, instead of blindly dashing ahead or expecting me to retype my RT in conversation. I've had the most luck with this approach, even if most threads like this suggest typing more or being specific.

What I frequently get ignored for are my longer more detailed contacts. In those, I write a lot about how what they're looking for sounds like what I want. What I can offer, and I sometimes even type 3 or 4 paragraphs about their plot ideas or some of mine (if they asked in their RT). These contacts get ignored more often than not. So, while I theoretically would like that sent to me, and I try to live the Golden Rule in most areas of my life, I've been taught not to do this for the most part. I spend more time on this than I appreciate wasting, so for a number of reasons, I don't do this much anymore.

The only problem I get with the shorter contacts is when someone replies with a short, stark message asking me specifics about what character I have in mind for their plot. I'm not about to spend the time doing a full character creation before I know if someone is going to ignore my contact or not. So, those don't usually work out after I reply that I'm trying to determine compatibility. But overall, I waste fewer keystrokes than my long detailed first contacts. And, for a little reciprocity, when someone replies with one line like "What are you into?", I roll my eyes because I literally wrote what I'm into and conveniently linked to it. But it tells me that's probably not the right partner for me.

But, I currently have too many partners to keep up with, so my short contacts seem to be the way to go.

 

[Faebianna]

I like the simple upfront approach as well.

 

[Corvid]

I don't mind a simple approach, but I like that they let me know up front what their posting style and preferences are. Makes me waste less time figuring out if we would be a good match, really.

 

[Myren]

I have to agree that at least knowing posting style and limits is always helpful. It gives information that's going to be asked for anyways, and saves more time for hashing out ideas.

 

[skyfetcher]

I like a two-part approach. One checks out the OOC details and verifies the partner is compatible at a basic level, the second is what gets flowery with ideas. Less wasted time more often than not.