Fluctuating Popularity

[serter]

I'm sure this happens to most of us from time to time but i often wonder about things i already probably know the answer too but does anyone else go through massive peaks and valleys in prospective partners?

I'm assuming it has alot to do with your own presence on the forums contrasted with the turn over rate of people going on hiatus or simply quitting, and the people coming from other sites or getting back into roleplaying. How active you are, along with how many people are coming to the site at any given time, it gets you some sort of ratio you could probably math out if anybody had the interest to do so.

A few months ago i had TOO MANY partners and my quality of writing took a nosedive, one or two paragraph replies and only chugging through a fraction of my pending roleplays i needed to respond too per night leading to two or three day wait times for responses, which is likely what females and roleplayers who advertise as female deal with on this site all the time xD. Now however it's the opposite, i can't find any partners in the forums who are requesting a roleplay that suits my tastes, and bumping my threads have yielded hardly any results which tells me i've exhausted all the people interested in my kinks.

I've gone through high and low points, from a dozen active stories to a couple and back again, that's normal, but for the first time ever i have no active stories and i'm not actually sure what to do here. Obviously it's just a matter of waiting for my partners who have gone on hiatus or just not logged on in a while to come back, or for new players to roll in as they do with time. I've become so accustomed to coming home from work, writing out a couple replies, sending out a few applications to threads, replying to the responses i got when i get up in the morning, and going about my day. The site has become a part of my routine and with this unprecedented drought in roleplays i'm going through i'm not sure what to do.

Should i perhaps take some time off myself? to put a metaphor on it i feel i've farmed the earth to the point of being barren and i should probably take some time off to let the land rejuvenate.

Or should i just keep my hopes up and bump my posts every day and wait for the drought to end?

Anybody been in this position before? how did you handle it? did you handle it well?

 

[Revelations]

It's just a roll of the dice sometimes. Sometimes you'll get a lot of RP partners you just click with approaching at random. Other times, it can be the opposite where there's a drought. Obviously things like a good request thread and stuff really help with that, but sometimes it's up to having the right potential partners reading your thread at the right moment. Maybe take a look at your request thread and try sprucing it up a bit? Some new ideas, a different presentation, stuff like that. Sometimes a fresh looking thread works wonders!

 

[CindyHarrison]

I agree with Saber.....playing here has it's variables as well as the ups and downs, but I think most roleplay sites are like that.
I have a habit of checking out potential partner's profiles and catch a glimpse of their writing style, if they have been here long enough. If they interest me--and they have a plot request---I'll message them.
But sometimes nothing looks interesting and I'll wait until something does.....have patience and things will happen

 

[Zeegen]

Not only what they said, but people tend to have life get in the way sometimes. I myself have been mid plot with a few others when either they disappeared for a month due to IRL problems, or I disappeared for a month for the same reasons.... so the amount of people logging in changes constantly, tomorrow there could be 5 people back from a month break...

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Simply put, if whatever you're doing isnt working, try changing it up....

 

[tempest]

I've had stretches where I've written with a dozen partners at once, and other stretches where I've only had a few partners. You can never control the events in other people's lives, and there are a thousand valid reasons why a partner might drop off for a while. It's best to just really appreciate those stretches when you've got good stories going, appreciate the privilege of writing with a good partner when you have it, and be patient when you don't.

 

[Esoterica]

I have been roleplaying for years and years now, and I have found that your popularity waxes and wanes much like the moon. Sometimes you have more requests than you can handle, other times, you are dry like the desert. It just takes patience, and perseverance to find a good balance.