Thread RPs. What's the Deal?

[Wingshadow]

HellooOooOOoo theydies and themtlemen,

I've been roleplaying on BMR and similar sites for quite some time now.
I've only every conducted my RPs in PMs.
I'm a bit self-conscious in my writing, only because my own anxiety creates this irrational fear of judgment. Something about anyone being able to read my stories has always made my heart pound for some reason.
(I KNOW that it's not like people are perusing RPs looking for things to tear apart. That's not what I'm afraid of at all. I'm just plagued with the vicious beast of Imposter Syndrome, so sometimes my brain convinces me that everything I'm putting out sucks even when it's some of my most creative writing.)

It's definitely something that I'm a LOT better about now.
This bogus fear used to prevent me from even taking on partners I was worried about not being good enough for, but now it's mostly just... Stage fright? For lack of a better term? I dunno.

This isn't just me venting about my woes I swear.
I guess what I'm really trying to ask is:

- Aside from public vs private, is there any real difference in the two methods?
- Is there any advantages to threads over PMs?
- Which do you prefer and why?
- Do people actually read other peoples' stories and keep up with them? Or is it more so just a way to keep a repertoire of samples?

I would love to hear some input from you guys on any or all of these questions. ^^
Please tell me if I'm just being a psycho and overreacting. ( I do that sometimes :3 )

Much love to you all! Take care of yourselves out there.
𝖌𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖎𝖊 ♡

I tend to prefer threads in general, both because they act as passive advertisement of my writing skills, plus I can edit them later if I stay up too late and miss some embarrassing mistake (its happened far more often than I'd like to admit). In terms of judgement, I guess I'm just used to it, but really the only one whose opinion I really care about is my current RP partners. Everyone else might as well be potatoes.

Then again, PM's let me fire off quick replies when I can squeeze in some time, so there's that too...

I tend to read other people's stories when they have kinks or characters I really enjoy. Yeah, I come for the smut and stay for the story, got a problem with that?

 

[Sync]

I have no real preference one way or t'other for PMs vs Threads. It's just that most of my partners seem to prefer PMs.

The PM system is quite good here. I find I'm less likely to lose old PMs, as there's no competition with other writers pushing your stories to the bottom of the page (or beyond). The drop-down PM list holds everything active in the past 7 days, so unless you're insanely busy everything you're currently doing should be in one simple list.

For those who say that threads are easier to organise, I'd ask: how? PMs is just YOU, where threads is EVERYONE.

But, in the end, it's personal preference, and I have no preference either way.

 

[Neopyric]

Aside from public vs private, is there any real difference in the two methods?

uhm, the only difference I have noticed is that if you want to insert a picture in a PM you have to produce a link, vs if you want to put one in the thread and you just select from your computer. It makes it easier for people like me who like to add graphics to their stories. Also, you can bookmark threads and that makes it easier to find them, especially for people who comment and post a lot.

Is there any advantages to threads over PMs?

BOOKMARRRRKS. I do love them so.

- Which do you prefer and why?

I prefer PM's but I do like threads for group roleplay because then everyone can see the writing and see if that's something they would like to join in on. But just for my partner's privacy, I use the pm system.

Do people actually read other peoples' stories and keep up with them? Or is it more so just a way to keep a repertoire of samples?

I like to read people's stories. You guys are so creative and wonderful writers. I like to observe and if the person contacting me has samples I like to see if we would mesh.

 

[hades.]

For those who say that threads are easier to organize, I'd ask: how? PMs are just YOU, where threads are EVERYONE.

You can bookmark the threads. I've never been on BM's site, only mobile, but I just click my avatar > bookmarks and there are all my active RPs.

 

[Bunny]

For those who say that threads are easier to organise, I'd ask: how? PMs is just YOU, where threads is EVERYONE.

For me it's actually a lot harder. I can't speak for everyone and I do think I said this before too, but as a mod, I have a lot and I do mean a lot of PMs. I tend to open the rare few RPs I have in PM, read them and then lose them in the clutter.

For me, being able to go to my watched tab is just much more convenient for me. It lets me see where I need to post at a quick glance. If I owe a PM one and I have had a busy day? I have to go hunt for it, and honestly? I kinda hate it >.>

 

[Caramel Cooper]

I started to ERP using forum threads over a decade ago and it took me several years before I did any in private. I've had people read my RPs and some even compliment them. To me, ERP is kind of the same as writing erotic stories. I like to show my work to people.

 

[Alien]

- Aside from public vs private, is there any real difference in the two methods?
- Is there any advantages to threads over PMs?
- Which do you prefer and why?
- Do people actually read other peoples' stories and keep up with them? Or is it more so just a way to keep a repertoire of samples?

New here but not to RP. I prefer Threads I think they are neater and not as easily lost as PM's. I also have a crackpot theory that people who play via thread are less likely to drop because their track record can be checked.

I prefer Threads.

I like to check prospective partners threads yes. Just to see their style and what they like to write about etc. I don't tend to read other RP's for sheer enjoyment value.

 

[RedRose]

I do read a very few select threads...

I write both, but HATE the competing from some "you didn't write for me"... I used to do public, then stopped, then back to it because I want more cowriters.

 

[obieblu]

If nobody mentioned it, a technical difference is that you can set watched threads and PMs independently for receiving email notifications. As I drift around forums depending on where seems most fertile at any moment, I will sometimes set my PMs to email notifs so I know if I got some personal contact when all my threads are inactive. Thread notifs (as I've got a bunch of RT's watched) is overwhelming and kills my inbox pretty quickly. So, there's that if you use 'Watch Thread' a lot but don't want that function to bug you outside of the forum. As far as I've seen, all the Xenforo RP forums I'm on have the same convenient PM system these days.

I used to not want to play in threads because I'd taken a 10ish year break from RP and didn't want to be critiqued. The first partner that refused to play in PMs broke me of that, so I don't care about witnesses anymore. I'd be flattered if I knew others were enjoying my stories, but there's no way to tell if the view count is outside readers or my partner and I just view the thread more often than we post. As a UX designer, my curiosity craves better analytics than anecdotal testimony in threads like this that 'someones' reads 'someone's' threads.

As to reading samples, I actually don't do that much. I just judge the proficiency of someone's RT reply in most situations. However, I do go back and see if their public threads usually end with their last post or their partner's. It's one of the red flags in my checking for future ghosters. I used to think PM players ghost more. Now, I think it's pretty even ghosting between PMs and threads. However, those all locked down with private online statuses and stuff do seriously ghost more than anyone else. So, if someone has a bunch of threads that ended with their partner's post, I'll have a hunch they're a ghoster. If we were playing in PMs, the only hunch I may get that it's not just a pause is when they're always 'Engaged in Conversation', I assume they're playing or plotting with others. I appreciate when thread posters just keep posting in other stories because it gives me the clearest indication I've been ghosted. So, I still do prefer threads because I'm not shy about my writing, and I know most easily when the story has been ended.

I have never read another's story on BMR. That's 100% because there isn't a simple/obvious way of seeing what orientation the stories are. On other forums, I have read some stories set in 'Gay Male' subforums or that have MxM tags. Those are just too convenient if I'm that bored, I'm never going to go pecking through unsorted stories.