<sup>note;; you can choose more than one option. =3

I'm wondering what qualities people like most in a forum for them to join. XD

-- for me it's skin/graphics. I guess I'm one of those 'judge a book by it's cover' people; except it's a forum. And usually I go for a low number of members rather than a really popular forum..</sup>

When I look at a forum, I look for the plot that accommodates new members best. If I see a plot with every important character taken, I usually won't join it. Especially if those people taking the positions are admins.

A nice community is also good. I will often join an RPG with a low member count rather then high, but I'm not fussed.

Ratings, well I'm old enough to join any of them so that doesn't really bother me. I usually don't join G forums because... well... my characters are usually profane.

<sub>this might sound really ... snobby or something but oh well.

when i click a link and i see a really hideous skin and poor graphics, i go up and smack that little red X . yeah, without a program, i know it is hard to get good graphics, but you could at least try to request again, etc. i don't want to look at a site everyday with the default markers, buttons, and no header at all.

first impressions are everything in a site. most people (i hope) do judge sites by their looks and appearances. it may be more work to get decent graphics, but it is probably one of the best things that will improve your site and how many members you can gain.</sub>

-Glomps my loffle Sean-

Hiya. :] Anyways...To be honest, the first thing I judge a forum by is their skins/graphics. Even though that is, as you said, 'judging a book forum by it's cover,' I still think that the decency of the graphics/skin reflects on the dedication of the Administrators. Secondly, I check the difficulty level. That's just me, though. If it isn't Advanced, it bugs me, and I'm out of their. Equally important to me is the rating. I do not roleplay on forums with limitations. When I write, I let my thoughts flow...I'm unable to limit by thoughts an ideas, hence forth, neither can I limit my writing. That's pretty much it. Oh! Though I'm terrible when it comes to applications, I like a challenge. :]

I look for ratings first off. If the admins are mentioning a rating it usually means they are careful with the content of the site and its moderation. I'm huge on protecting the members because well, I don't want a 12 year old reading about rape.

As a visual person, I check the skin. If the skin is nice (not artsy and over the top just pleasing) then I am tempted to go in further. This does not mean I don't care about the writing -- I check that next. But as I said, I think visually and I don't want to go into a forum where I am staring at the skin and listing all the nasty things about it.

Oh and original characters. I am not against canon characters, but a character has to click with me and if none of the canon's do -- I want to have the option of creating a character whom I like.

Otherwise I am after writing style, originality, mythical elements, nice community and all the rest. Oh! And a friendly admin is great.

1. Story/plot
2. Original characters at least available
3. I run like the wind when I see a lot of negativity in the rules or the OOC forums.

Plot - Assuming that's what drew me in, via an advertisement or something.

Graphics - because it's the first thing I see. Whether it fits my resolution or not is also a biggie. I use 1024, so it's not a huge issue, but the 1280×1024 is gaining in popularity. Having to scroll horizontally is an immediate turn-off, as are eyesore graphics: bad color schemes, MS Paint banner, etc.

Activity - Member count is unimportant, so long as there's a decent size of individual players (10+)... and they're active. I usually go for small/medium sites than large ones though.

Members - As bad as this sounds, there are... certain people who I've vowed to avoid at all costs. The high school/real life genre is a small place, so I'll see them at several sites sometimes. That immediately makes me wary, because many of those people have stolen my applications, graphics, etc. Or they're just annoying for various reasons.

Difficulty - Usually I go for literate/advanced, but I'll do intermediate if the site is good and it seems like the admins are making an effort to read each application, rather than base on length.

Originals/Canons - If it's canon-only, and the PBs have already been chosen, I won't join. If it's canon-only with customizable canons, meaning you have considerable freedom with the PB, age, history, personality, etc., then I will likely join. Original/canon sites are the best, IMO.

I don't actually look for graphics but if the screen burns my eyes once I click a link, off it goes. If it passes that, I check the plot first because that's probably what got me there or if I'm looking in a particular genre, I want to find a site with a good one. Then I check a few of the posts to see if the people are posting at the level I'm looking for. The second one is usually the deal breaker.

<sup>I usually check the posts of the other members too, because I know a lot of people set the ratings of their forums differently.

And I know all about the trying to avoid certain people thing. Although it's only one or two people; and when I found a forum with them on I just thought up an alias for myself because I really wanted to join the forum. xP

But I don't think anyone's stolen any of my applications yet...</sup>

I'll check a number of things.

- Does the site setting appeal to me, and do I think I have a character that would fit? <-- most important.

- Activity check. This means looking over forums, OOC and IC, plus the CBox where applicable. Have people been online in the past three days? How long does it appear to take for applications to be accepted? Is it going to tank the minute I join, or will it survive and become great? Is it already great?

- If site is already large - do they have somewhere I can make myself known? Is there a way to find characters who are interested in playing with mine? What is available to ensure I won't get lost?

- Quality. Does the site live up to my expectations of an RP? Are there interesting plot options, and are people posting to them? Are the posts substantial, and good to read?

- Management. How do the Admins run the board? Would I be able to contact one directly if I have trouble? Is it likely I would be snapped at for doing so? Do they appear enthusiastic and interested in the board themselves? I refuse to join a board where I'll be treated like a child, so any overbearing admins are out.

What I"m looking for is an open, friendly environment where I'll be accepted not just as a character - but as a player as well. That's what I count most important, after my initial interest in the setting, of course!

1. A board that isn't trendy
2. Rating
3. Tight-knit community
4. CBox does not consist of 'lolz' and 'omg!!1!! i know!s'
5. More posts in character than out of character
6. Good management
7. A skin where I can actually read the text/don't feel overwhelmed by graphics
8. Interesting characters and premise
9. A place where I can become involved without selling my soul
10. Story, story, story!

I checked a lot of things!

1.) High member count. Doesn't have to be too high, just 20 or so registrations. It doesn't really matter in the end, but it does factor into my first impression, as I tend to be wary of games just starting out. I like the game to have a solid foundation first so I know it won't die. It's a little silly considering I have a game that's still got the New Game Smell, but it's hard enough maintaining one new game! XD So I want to play somewhere established.

2.) Rating. I won't play anywhere under PG-13. I prefer the rating to be PG-13 to NC-17. Now, I don't usually RP themes of an NC-17 rating, but sometimes I do (and I'm not even necessarily talking things that are sexual) so I'd like to be able to write without having to worry about restrictions or censoring myself. x3

3.) Simplicity of application form. I hate applications. With a passion. I don't know the ins and outs of a new character; I develop my characters through playing them. So I want an application that asks just the basic "personality, appearance, and background" thing. No application would be even more preferable.

4.) Whether the forum accepts originals/whether the forum is original only. I play original characters, and I've never played a canon character or a canon game (well, actually, I lie...I did play Riku of Kingdom Hearts for a short time among friends...). I might play an original character in a canon game. But over all, I prefer original characters and original settings.

5.) Other. The most important stuff to me!

• Setting and story. I want something unique with a fresh premise, not something that's been done a million times over (vampires vs. werewolves, high school, Harry Potter...>_>). If it's something that has been done a million times over, I miiiight consider it if it puts a new spin on an old idea, but it really better be a very unique spin because games like that are a dime a dozen. x3
• Friendly players/mods/admins. They can make or break a game. I like playing with people who are enthusiastic about the game and who are willing to play with new peopl, and who are willing to try new things. Cliques and feeling like an outsider suck...as do mean and snappy people who'll bite your head off for making a mistake.
• Flexibility. The admin need to be able to bend a little! x3 As an admin myself, I'm always willing to work with new ideas and players.

Skins and graphics really aren't important to me unless the color scheme is obnoxious and eye-burning or the text is tiny, glaring, or blends with the background. I don't wanna have to highlight text to read it! Gives me a headache. But I used to play on Expage RPGs back in the day that were filled with awesome RPers, so that should say how much graphics mean to me. Not all wonderful RPers are good at HTML or graphics.

Okay, assuming I clicked from an advertisement and not a banner, things I look for in order. If it passes through all my filters, then... well, it passes. XD

1. The basic plot. If I like the idea, then I click the linkie!

2. The skin. ...if I don't like it, I click off. I know, I know, a forum doesn't equal its skin, but I'm a very visual person by nature, and if I don't enjoy looking at something, I wont stick around. It will bug me too much artistically, I'd have to pick it apart every time I see it, and I don't want to do that. (neutral)

3. I check members/activity. If it's not at least active, I wont join. I don't care if it's insane active or not, I just don't want it so inactive it may die in the next day. Also, if I look at the C-Box and see it's all chatspeak, buh-bye.

4. Then I read rules and dig deeper into the plot. If I'm still feeling it, I continue on to look at the accepted characters and their threads. If I read the rules and the rating is below pg13, or they don't allow certain races/sexualities, I'm probably gone. Bigotry is not my friend.


I don't care if the application is hard, or long, as long as it doesn't seem to have a lot of filler junk and everything serves a purpose. And they aren't asking me to write more than a paragraph or two for appearance. >_> I also hate likes/dislikes lists (I took care of most of it in my personality already, damnit! Do I really need to make up twenty more so I don't feel like I'm just repeating myself?! (x.x)), but I can deal with it usually.

As far as accepted characters, I'm not really opposed to any of the types. Canon-only, Canon/Original, Original-only... It's all good, as long as the canons aren't so stuffy you can't do anything with them without fear your head is going to be bitten off.

The only thing I checked was other, because the only thing I look for in a forum is the plot. Call me stupid, but I don't care how many members, what it looks like, whether or not there are canons, if it's a good plot I'll join.

If I can't stand looking at your site, or can't read it, I won't be sticking around. But I don't need a masterpiece of coding, either.

- Activity. If there are at least 5 people with 2 characters apiece, I very may well stick around.

- A good story. One I can work with and be a part of.

- Rating. I don't have to play out sex scenes (omg it's been forever since I have) and I don't need to use all my favorite naughty words, but I don't like playing with children.

- Rules. If they are ridiculous, I'll laugh and leave. I once saw a rule that said you couldn't use Hilary Duff as a PB, not that I was planning on it, or would, but it still made me go O_O??!

- Community. A good sense of community? Not a lot of OOC drama? *joy*

- Writing style. If it is good, say, intermediate to advanced, I'm in. And it needs to be mostly literate, but I can handle some spelling errors, or errors in general. I make mistakes, and I don't proof read either, so I'm not too picky. But it has to be good.

Mostly, I agree with a lot of what Mousie said.

Mmmm...

1. Rating. I don't want to be restricted by petty options for my character plots. I might want some gore, I might want some shocking scenes. Then again, I might not. What I want is the option to do so, if I wish. Plus this is safest for me as I forget what people are 'floored' by and what they are not.

2. Premise. Does the premise allow for the character I have in mind? I don't tend to look for games sporadically. I have a character in mind and I find a game that fits it.

3. Simple application. The game has to be outstanding if you want me to fill out likes/dislikes/fears/crush/eyelashes sections despite already having a 'personality' and 'physical appearance' section. It's redundant but I am not above filling it in if I really, really like the look of the game.

Skin doesn't bother me, so long as its not predominantly green. It sounds silly but I would click out of a green skin. Baaad colour. Very unlucky. -Hides-

<sup>EXACTLY. XD i hate likes and dislikes. they're a waste of time and i don't really care about them. >.< and personalities for me in general are just difficult. if i'm making a brand-new character then it is, anyway. with characters i've used before but i'm just recycling, i can easily write a personality and the longer i've used that character, the better the personality description would be. it's because i make up a character's personality as i roleplay, even if it completely contradicts my application, 'cause i just change that later.

also, for some odd reason i just can't join a forum that uses a shoutbox. they annoy me because it takes so long for my browser to show me one message that someone's sent me. i prefer cbox's as well because, as i said earlier, i sometimes go under an alias and a shoutbox saves the username i use for every shoutbox, and having to go back and forth changing names is tiring.

and i have appearance sections. i just think "can't you see what he looks like in the picture?!" it's not as if no one knows how to look at a picture and see what colour hair a character has or what 'style' it is, or look and see what colour eyes they have - as if it's all that important anyway.

and as for the simplicity of an application, i actually found a forum where they had a good one, where you just posted a roleplay example of how your character would usually be in a normal situation, the character's name, and three icons of the character's appearance. the forum had a lot of potential, but unfortunately the admins decided that roleplaying with each other was more important than keeping the forum up to date or introducing new plots to keep members entertained or accepting applications...</sup>

The thing that instantly kills a site for me is if they fail the answer to this question: is the site useable?

I don't expect sites to have skinners who are useability experts, or have followed e-government guidelines, but a basic understand on what works visually would be nice.

Mainly this: if you use tiny dark grey text on a black background with a deep redgrey colour for the links (which I have seen! No joke!) I WILL NOT be joining your site. I have excellent vision, but when I have to highlight everything in order to read it, and up the size of the text in my browser in order to read it, you can be sure I'm going to click the little red X in the corner of my browser before the page has even finished loading. I won't look beyond the index page if my eyes start hurting at the very start.

Right... I'd be attracted by a site that has a strong plotline and is run by organised, confident admins who know what they're doing and can lead by example without coming across as patronising or, at the other end of the spectrum, completely nonplussed.

Application length, I'm not too fussed over. I love my detail, hah. But of course, aesthetics are nice to have, and an appealing board layout certainly helps draw the members in.

First I check out the rules for the basics like GMing and then I see if they’re literate, have a decent plot (generally Medieval Fantasy, Mythical Creature, or Gifteds for me.) I like a place that has twenty or less members, because I want to feel like I‘m a big part of it, not just another tally on the members. I want it to be some place I’d enjoy. I don’t mind chatboxes and OOCs or not. I think it’s good to talk with other members, but it’s also nice to be secluded in only role playing. Besides, it gives you less of a chance to argue with someone.

^{it seems that a lot of people depend on the skin. XD
a lot more than i thought would.
and for original characters, i'm not really that fussed, but if they're accepting canons only then i'd prefer a lot of flexibility with the canon character, so that they'd be slightly original.}

Good Graphics
Origanl Character Use
and Low-Member count (I like to start off at the beginning of a forum)

1. The Plot. I'm not going to join a site if It's something inappropriate to my personal tastes or interests.

2. The skin, (doesn't really matter to me, so long as I can read it. But too many of them are gray on gray blurs with microprint that give me headaches trying to dercipher.)

3. The members. I don't mind numbers so much, so long as the members (and mods/admins, especially) are at least receptive and open to new members. I've been on cliquey boards where no one spoke to me, even when I tried numerous times to engage them. And I've also been on boards where the admin drowned me in huggles and warmth and excessive praise - but would never RP. Kinda weirded out and saddened on both accounts.