Just being on some forums and looking at them just had me wondering about different types of ways the admins have people go about the application process. I was curious what everyone else does and what ways they like the best.

Most of the sites I've seen have the members fill out the application, then they post it in a new thread, and the staff will sort it into a declined or accepted forum.

I've also seen some where there's a thread and the members post their applications in there to find out if they're approved or not.

Third, on the sites my friends make they make it so you have to fill out the application then PM it to a staff member, who will then post it in a thread for all the applications if it's accepted, or just reply and tell you what to fix if it's not.

Finally, there's a few sites that don't require qpplications at all. You can just go, join up, and post.

So, what does everyone else prefer? I mostly lean towards the PM one that I mentioned, because then when you decline someone's application, you don't have to make it public, which would just make me feel bad lol. Plus, for me, it's more noticeable when I have a PM than when someone has posted an application somewhere, so I'd be more likely to see it if I were staff.

On my forum applicants start a new RP thread in a specific forum (called roleplay testing) and a staff member replies to that in-character (it can be any character they choose) and then the applicant replies again. Once that's done a staff member looks over their 'application' and decides whether the roleplaying is up to the standard we like on the forum. If it is we accept it and give a few points of improvement (and things we like) and if it isn't we PM the person and work through it with them until we can accept them.

Then characters don't have to be accepted or applied for at all. Members don't even have to post profiles if they don't feel like it. It's like an applicationless game except we look at the roleplayers first; or it's like an application game where the players are accepted rather than characters.

On Tribal Unity it's pretty simple, you make a new topic in the application forum once you filled out the application form. On TU we are quite free in what we accept, although it has to be within the limits of the game and be realistic of course.

When an application isn't up to standard (which is quite rare) or when something doesn't fit within the RPG, we ask them to change it and also tell them why it needs changing/editting. I don't like it when RPG's plainly deny something straight away without giving a second chance. If the person really don't want to understand why we need the changes in the character (occurs very rarely) we are forced to deny the application. But as said within the brackets, that's very rare, and almost never happens.

On my sites I have a thread that has the application which is kept pinned and closed. Then there are two sub forums: Pending Applications and Denied Applications. Aswell as a totally different forum called: Files.

Members fill out the application and post it in Pending applications. If they are accepted right away they are sent to Files. If they need changes Admins will tell them in a reply. If the member does not fix it up in two weeks it is sent to the denied forum.

However if the member would like to try again how many weeks later they can do so by fixing the one in denied and posting it back in Pending.

It sounds confusing but really isnt.

Haha...

i prefer none at all, as i develop my characters mostly by playing them, getting in their heads, etc. but that's me.

edit:
if you think they aren't up to sctarch, help them out in lessons via pm, the same as you'd help soeone with an application.

I do mine as a combination of what ShinLi and lara16croft do. We have two posts pinned that have the "application process" and the application itself. They read the application, which gives information on the lengths we expect and what-not, and then they copy the application and make a new post in the applications section.

Currently, there's myself, my co-mod, and one application moderator. The three of us come and either say yes or no to an application that's posted. Once the three of us have replied, it's moved to the accepted or rejected/desanctioned applications sections.

I do have to say that I kind of like the PMing idea...but on the other hand, I've had some experience where people will be directed to PM us (like applications to become application moderators) and instead of PMing a mod, they'll just reply to the thread that talks about becoming and application mod...or rather, that's what happened when my game first opened. And then when the kid who applied was accepted as an application mod, he didn't make another peep. :|

My co-mods and I are pretty laid back and open about this game, too, as long as people follow the rules and don't make these outrageous characters that won't work at all for the game. So far we have a ratio of 2/about 15 bad/good applications. Our second bad application was submitted earlier tonight. >.>

We have a pinned application template; they fill it out, then make a new topic. We have forums for works-in-progress and completed ones; one for WIP because we allow people to "challenge" other applicants, so up to 3 people all get 3 days to work on it if they get it up before an application is accepted... Then we read over them when they're completed, and either accept or deny. Usually we'll critique the application and give them a second or third chance. Sometimes we'll PM critiques to the applicant if it's just a tiny mistake that they can change after acceptance.

I would fully admit several things that I've seen that piss people off on RPG-D and try to defend them. First and foremost is that the template is good for three things to an Admin. Seeing who their character is, seeing how their writing is, and seeing if they can follow directions. Because of this, yep, I do think apps are essential and work better as a longer affair with lots of seemingly needless details. On the flip side of that, I personally think that post testing is just an unneeded step, as, really, you can see how things will go from how their app is written, all other problems can be dealt with as they arise.

As for how we deal with apps and submitting them, they go all in the same forum marked with accepted/in progress/complete. We leave the few denied apps up there if the person has expressed that they were going to try to fix it, if they don't we take it out of public view. I personally think it's kind of mean to leave it up >_>. For being accepted, I'll usually look over them, and if there's a problem, I'll have the other admin take a look as well. We send them a PM after that saying what we have a problem with and what we like, and then give them the chance to correct it. We never outright deny a person...it's up to them if they don't want to do the work.

It seems kind of mean, but nothing brings an RP down faster than someone who just doesn't want to put a little effort into it.... eee. Novel over!

I like me some application form. Pain in the arse to fill out, but I find it important for the type of game I'm running. Because the setting veers into AU past the 5th HP book and detours into its own history, I want to make sure people are aware of the current setting and you'd be surprised how many people I've had to send back to the timelines to read them through again because they assumed we followed canon through until after book 7. I would rather be able to sit with a player and walk them through any misconceptions they might have about the era in an application, rather than letting them play for months and then realise they've got the completely wrong end of the stick.

I don't expect minimum lengths and I don't expect everything to be perfect from the off. I use the application to look for an idea. Once I know they have that they are free to redo their application whenever they see fit. In fact, I encourage regular updates as the character develops and changes and the player discovers more about them. I do however, want them to have enough of an idea to be able to fill out an application form.

I find a lack of application forms a great idea but it wouldn't work for me. The same goes for RP based samples. It's a nice way to see how the player write and interacts but it wouldn't put my mind at ease about their understanding of the setting.

I dislike application forms that are longer than necessary--that is, a lot of different sections. There are people who dislike applications or who find them a necessary evil, so I like to give them the bare minimum of sections which can be filled out as fully or as sparsely as they like.

I don't like half-finished applications on my board because they take up unecessary space. My board has a 'save drafts' function which is incredibly useful so that unfinished applications don't have to appear on my board in any form.

I will also help out a player and answer their questions as much as they want before they post their application on the board. I'm up for putting a player's mind at ease and tackling their questions to the best of my ability. It even wins people brownie points. However, once it's posted, that's that. Everything is then dealt with on the board.

I have to agree with Joscerelle on the importance of templates. My largest and earliest game saw it as a complete democracy, where people just created characters and jumped right in with no tweaking or constructive ciriticism. It did not take long to turn into a madhouse.

Since then I've both played in and run a handful of games, and find that the application process is hugely important. It not only helps the moderators to gauge whether new players have actually read all the necessary game content (the rules, the backstory, etc.), but it shows interest level. The current game I'm running (see sig) uses an application process. We provide a template for all players to fill out to their fullest ability, and once submitted there is a reviewing process. Currently my co-mod and I are the only reviewers -- you need unanimous approval from us, which is not at all hard to do.

The big selling point of the reviewing process is that it gives us the opportunity to help players fine-tune a character. You'll get constructive criticism from a viewpoint that you may not have considered, and if there are any glaring errors then it gives us the ability to discuss them with the applicant in question. We do not, however, "deny right away", as that seems like kind of jerky behavior. Instead we try to make a point of talking things out with the player so as to come to the best possible compromise.

As someone who cut their teeth on 100% free-form RP, I was very uncomfortable with the whole "fill out an application and then we review it in public" process. But after spending some time with it, it seems like one of the best possible ways to open up conversation with applicants, as well as make sure that the heart of your game is maintained.

On my site, we have a forum called characters and joining, and in that forum there are two pinned threads: "the form" and "npcs".

"The form's" first post has our template for a character profile as well as instructions to post your completed profile in that thread. An admin will come along and review the profile, and, if two of the three of us agree that it's good, we'll repost the profile into its own thread. Otherwise, an admin will PM the prospective joiner with what needs to be fixed with their profile. So it's a mix of public/private.

It works well, but we haven't gotten any really sueish profiles yet, so I'm not sure how it'll all work out.

They aren't, of course :p Lots of boards work without them.

And for you that fully works ^_^ For me post testing is great because I don't care even a little bit what the characters on my board are like, so there's no point me looking them over. I just care what the writing is like, so it works way better for me.

Rhi-Rhi's games are a very good example of how successful free-form games can be. I think seven years with never an application process and the game still running strong is a pretty good testimony that a) application templates are not necessary and b) all hell does not break loose without them.

Application process is always a personal opinion thing though. There is probably a way which is more efficient than others but as everyone has different goals for their application process (or lack of one) then we can't really say 'yep, this is it. This is the best.'

Agreed, applications are not essential at all. xP

However, it is a preference thing. If people like 'em, they can use them. But I do dislike the stereotype that games without applications will turn into a mad-house. 'Tis not true! I've run game for over seven years and the other for six months and both have never, ever had an application process. They both run smoothly.

Similarly, if people like templates and keeping track of their characters, most application-less games I know of do have a "character profiles" section that works for that. it's like an application...without the applying. xD

But whatever works for someone, works for someone, whether it be applications or no applications. Personally, I much prefer no applications and figuring my characters out as I play them. I can't fill out applications in advance; it just doesn't work for me--at all. Sometimes, all I have on a character when I first start out is a name and a theme I want to explore with them, and that's it. No appearance, no personality, and history? You gotta be kidding! xD I figure out everything when I start writing that character. I have some characters that I've been playing for years and don't have a clue about their pasts yet. *shrug* Mainly because they just haven't been important yet. But everything works itself out eventually, and I often find myself having random epiphanies concerning characters' pasts and quirks and stuff like that.

I love figuring things out as I go. I can't do it any other way. x3 It doesn't make me a better or a worse RPer for it, either; it's all just different methods.

So yup. There is no right or wrong method. There are preferences, though.

...and I do wish more people would give the application-less method a chance! xD

Just a general response on that.

In my case, my first "real" game was a completely free-form AOL chat room that eventually spawned a group for seven years' worth of RP. We had no apps. We created on whims, as we saw fit and as the urge hit us. While this is just my personal experience, it was insanely fun. So I would not disagree with Rhi-Rhi when it comes to the topic of applications not being a necessary part of role-playing. They're not. They can be helpful, but they're certainly not necessary in every instance.

That said, the aforementioned app-less game was also 100% a democracy. There were no written rules, and the unwritten ones were mostly just common sense. Because it was unmoderated, one player's idea of adding multiple "timelines" ("Let's play our current stuff in the present, and then our current characters' children in the future! And then we can play a third generation, too!") was applied. Some players didn't get involved, and others did. We ran rampant, and some of us had over 80+ characters. Many of these characters was great, but there was nothing to temper and refine the creation process. We had a lot of 2-dimensional characters, or potentially brilliant ones which were never played.

So while I don't want to take this off-topic for more than a moment, that combination of no apps + no moderating influence is what I meant by "madhouse", and I apologize for being vague in my previous post. :)

Nowadays my personal preference is applications with a (friendly -- important detail, that) reviewing process. This is because I enjoy seeing people's thoughts on their own characters. It is also because I am a mild control freak, and have had too many of my games' stories derail due to character issues. But while an application can be massively important, it is definitely not necessary. Like anything else, that's just dependent on the game.

I don't really have an application process. I have a registration process. Members obviously register on the forums and the only thing that they have to do to fully join the RPG is post a character profile in the appropriate forum. I trust that members will follow the template and fill it out decently and if they don't I will not hesitate in deleting it. Maybe its a bit harsh, but it is expressed clearly that I will do so. Realistically, if they are interested in playing they will take the time to do it right and if they don't, well I'm not really sad that I'm letting them go.

I do this mostly because I have no use for multiple subforums... one forum is fine.

We don't have applications. They've never been necessary, and I don't really like filling them out, either. As previously stated here by someone else, I also do a lot of character development while I'm Rping - so, I begin to solidify their personality, figure out how to describe them physically, figure out new features to their history, and whatnot. I prefer not to have to have everything set in stone when I join, although we do have people post a profile before they start roleplaying. I don't consider that an app., though. I've filled out apps, but I'm not big on them.

StC doesn't have an application process. It does have a place for character profiles, with the basics of a character: name, age, rough appearance etc, which can be added to over time as the player becomes more familiar with the character. We ask for a writing sample, which doesn't have to be a thesis, but give some idea of what skill the player has.

One all that's up, the player can down to playing, which is why they joined. If there were any major problems with the profile, I'd PM the player and let them know.

I use them for people who are getting privileges. Basically any character who isn't starting out as an eleven year old school kid.

And then, I think the main reason is because it forces the person applying to think about whether they really need whatever they're asking for.

I used to do the PM thing when I first started out, but now I much prefer the idea of having them out in the open, in a specific forum. People make a new topic and post their apps in there. If there is an issue with a bio, I PM the member and ask them to correct it, so it is not made public, or humiliating.

I turned away from the PM idea, because if I took too long to repost it was ALL my fault, whereas with my other staff running about, they can help bear the load, and accept it, if I'm not around.

I do have an option on aBT, that if people aren't confident with their bio, they can PM it to an admin, rather than post in the forum. That hasn't happened yet, surprisingly.

I used to use applications that were "approved or denied" by the administrators, but lately my co-admin and I have been using a more profile-based method.

That is, new members fill out a basic profile and post it in a character directory. Once they do that, they're free to begin roleplaying. There's a lot of trust involved in the method, but it doesn't do to start off with new members feeling like they've got to prove themselves before they can be welcomed.

There are exceptions, of course: canons, special powers, creatures, etc., that require admin approval so the site can stay canon (for fandom-based sites) and the like.

My biggest pet peeve with applications is the massive ones that ask silly things like favorite food and least favorite band...trivial things like that should go in character development surveys, not applications or character profiles.

I also dislike applications that have length requirements. I like to go back, edit and add to my profiles as I roleplay, because the character inevitably changes...so churning out a bunch of nonsense to meet the 400 word limit for a character I don't know that well yet makes it harder for me to get started with my character.

Ditto. Mme. Everard and I share a brain. And a site. Heh. :pink:

I wasn't sure that system would work at first, but it turns out it does. Not only is it easier on established members, open application seems to have no effect on the quality of the RPers that join the site. I've begun to think that the "bad roleplayer" is repelled by any site that doesn't look easy...if that makes any sense. Or maybe there's just a virtual electric fence that shocks lousy RPers who come too close to AG. I could be mistaken.

The best thing about open application is that it's less work for the admin, and that means it's faster for the member. It's nice, being able to jump right into a roleplay when interest is still high.