Alright so what makes a good High Fantasy (or Fantasy/Medieval) role-play besides the obvious like member activity? My forum has been struggling for about three years now. Interestingly enough my oldest members are the ones who are loyal members, but we can't seem to hang on to new members despite our trying to go "new member friendly". We've added a lot of things to help new members such as quick guides and basic summaries of our plots. It's not that I want a huge forum because I don't think I would be able to handle moderating such a place with my busy schedule. But as most administrators will probably agree, I'd like a member base which rewards the amount of work I've put into this forum.

So in short, what kind of plots do you look for? What is the magic system like? Do you like to be able to role-play gods and goddesses? What kind of place descriptions do you look for? Do you like admin run plots or do you like to run your own? Would you prefer a world which has multiple descriptions that you can elaborate on? Maybe that's not short, but I could sure use some help with this.

Do new members sign up and then not post at all? Or do they sign up, post a few times, and disappear?

If it's the first thing, it may be that they're having trouble breaking the rp ice. Everybody seems to know each other and have things going on. They're just not sure where their characters can join in. Coming into a game that's been running for three years can be very intimidating, even for confident players. Everybody else knows each other, they know each other's roles, they know how to interact.

If it's the second, do they start their own threads or join in existing ones? If they start their own threads, do people respond to the threads? Or are their threads too far away from current in-game ones in geography and/or tone? If they join in threads, do they ever really seem to 'fit in?'

My suggestion would be to work with each new player from the very start of the character creation process. Making understanding the world and what's going on accessible is a good start, but you may have to do more. You, or an admin, or a veteran player should sit down with each new member and work out with them what they want to play and how that character can become part of the world. Maybe even set up a tinyplot introducing that character to some of the others so as soon as they're approved they can be drawn right into the swing of things.

Hope this is of help.

Everything you said is correct and it helps a little bit. Some join, post a profile, and never post while others try to RP but then get stuck. xD We've started another subplot where new members can meet each other and it will be absorbed into the old member plot so everyone can "meet" each other. I really wouldn't call us a clique, but the older members have to be guided more in a directed RP and tend not to branch out and start their own RPs. It's been a battle that's for sure.