I have seen these on numerous boards. They have a section for journals, emails, phones, relationships, and so on. I just can't decide if it's worth making them on the board I'm working on. So, I'm curious... are these preferred? Are they actually useful? Or is it just a trend?

Well, I don't know about all the rest, but I definitely like journals and think they're useful. I have a section on my board for in-character journals and I find that writing your character's thoughts and experiences can really help with developing them fully, giving them more personality and goals and it makes them seem more real. I think a lot of good personal plot ideas have come from the journals. :)

Yep, that pretty much is what I feel, as well.

It doesn't take much space, and it's strictly for the members... I see no problem with it. Hell, maybe it might even up the drama?

I don't have any problem with them, but I personally really don't like to use them, and I tend to avoid sites that require it.

I don't have a probalem with them, and I even agree with jorunals for developing your character.

But those plots for characters? Where people sign up to be your best friend or enemy or the love of your life? Yeah, that I have a problem. Because some random person can sign up to be your best friend, and then you have to make a whole history on the spot with no sort of introduction of the characters.

I'm sure it is fun coming up with random ideas and histories, but I don't see much point into it...

I don't mind either, though I don't think they're absolutely necessary. And what Megtastic said about having random people join as best friends is very true.

However, looking at it from a different perspective, the relationship pages can be very useful, especially if it's a high school RPG or something of the sort in which the characters have known each other for a while. My one suggestion is that if it is so--a high schoolish RPG, that is--you should make a thread which lists the social status of all of the characters. This way you don't post that you're best friends with the most popular girl and also best friends with her rival. It just puts everything in perspective.

On my RPG, we don't use the relationships or journals. But of course it is all personal opinion.

With regards to plot pages, I like them in order to keep track of relationships but they're not essential, and what I've started doing to stop people randomly signing up for a position is to require some basic ideas and threading before updating certain positions.

not essential, but fun

Most of the RPs I'm on have journal, e-mail, and phone forums on them. Some of them have the plot pages and I think they're all pretty useful.

Journals can help develop your characters, like everyone else said, and help everyone else get an understanding of your character as well, since they'll be putting things in there that they might not have told any other characters.

The e-mail and phone boards I just like because they separate those things from the regular RP so it doesn't get too confusing, and they also help make it more realistic since pretty much everyone talks on a phone or e-mails someone at some point. And the plot pages I like, sometimes, when the characters on the site are in a situation in which they wouldn't all be complete strangers. Random people signing up for things can be a problem, but usually on any of the important positions I tell people to PM me or something before they sign up for that, so that we can talk it out.

I think they're all just fun to do, but they definitely shouldn't be required, as they're not completely necessary. I've been on plenty of sites without them that have been perfectly fine without them. They're just fun add-ons.

Well, I would never recquire someone to do either Plots or Diaries, but I do have both on my RPG. The plots are easy enough to make, and people enjoy them. It helps a lot with new members and sort of creating an instant bond with another member's character.

As for Diaries, I've never had one, but my members requested it. I agree with it helping out some people to further develope their own characters, so there's no realy harm in it.

I would never require people to do any of those things but I employ all those on my boards. I myself am not really into the idea of a journal but I know that a few people on my site really enjoy them so I added them to the site.

As for plotting pages. I find them to be quite useful. The way I feel about it when someone posts in your plotting that does not mean you have to accept it. My main character that I play is a very mean person and therefore she wouldn't have a ton of friends or people that she gets along with quite well so I make sure to let people know that I will and can change plottings to what I want.

In most instances I think the plotting forum helps to get people better aquainted and want to rolepay with each other. I know I generally talk to people before just posting in their plotting and making things up.

My board is a Harry Potter board and so I employ the use of owling which I've seen done at a few places and find it to be a nice little stop for when you want to say something small to a character without having to roleplay it out. I think some of the funniest things come from that type of forum.

I agree with what appears to be the popular opinion here - journals are useful, but not really needed.

Personally, I don't use them because my members wouldn't be very into it, but if it were asked for I would definitely implement them.

As for everything else, I have a pretty standard medieval/fantasy forum going, so phones and e-mail wouldn't make a lot of sense. I aslo think that they would be better off incorperated into the threads if it were a high school roleplay or something like that.

I think journals are kind of a good idea. Sometimes they're good if you don't have anywhere else to post or whatever, and sometimes they're good for finding a 'groove' for your character.

But I have to agree about the relationship things. It's hard to RP with random people and you have no idea about them OR their character. And there's something to having an RP with someone, introducing your characters and such. It's like building a bond; a real friendship instead of one you're just making up as you go.

I have a section on my forum for journals, letters, etc. and it's been a great hit on my forum. I would say it's worth it, but I wan't to remind you: It's YOUR forum. You decide what she be there or not. If you don't like the idea, you don't have to use it. I suggest using the idea, but that is me.

I use journals and stuff because it opens up the character, so we understand them more in role playing. They will tell stories about themselves, and so we understand more who they are. For example, I put up a story for my charrie about how she got from the Salem school in America, and then got to Hogwarts. This makes people understand more why she transferred schools. I told about her parents, and who they were, and this made people understand more.

Well the cellphone part to me, is just another way to ask for a roleplay. Because that's actually all I use it for. Is to ask for a roleplay. The journals are good. But, I dont update my alot. It's writing down your feelings and actually giving away secrets to the readers. Secrets that the others are questioning about.

Relationship/Plot pages do seem to be quite useful, but certainly not necessary. I've never actually been on a non-canon RPG where I encountered them, actually. But I do know that I prefer them because they help you to know where you stand with certain characters. If you don't like what they put for you, you can always ask them to change it. Better they make a request rather than just walk up to you and know you in an actual RP, right? Sure, that's unlikely...but still.

As for the phones and e-mails? I find those to be generally useless, but they do have their uses. Sometimes people just feel like having their characters communicate in different ways. Honestly, I've never seen a conversation over telephone on an RPG.

i love journals. i'm a big HP RP fan so i like having the journals and owls and stuff. in the journals i have on my board we can actually post comments on other peoples photoalbums and whatnot, i just think its fun and less 'time-consuming' (or whatever) than writing out big threads to say the same things. idk, i like them.

For me, a journal is not necessary... I mean, if other players read it then there's a possibility that they use the info in your chara journal during your roleplay. They might metagame or something. I don't know, but that's how I view it.

And about the relationship journal (or whatever you call it really), I think it's just better to PM the person you want to have a relationship with. =)

I think the plots are very important. Not everyone is going to go around reading every single roleplay, so it's nice if they want to see where your character stands with someone elses. I do agree with the instant relationship thing though, that's why I never add anyone to my charries plot until we've roleplayed a few times.

I've seen a variety of those all around on different RPG boards.

I personally dislike the 'relationships' bit. Fine, you want to plot something, fair enough. But it seems a bit... unrealistic. It is almost as if you're setting your character up too perfectly and you have surprise left in what could happen naturally if just didn't decide before you even RPed, you know? If you want to list your relationships as they happen, great! But half the time you're spending most of your time updating the damn thing rather than RPing... or fretting over why know one wants to plot with you so you post in everyone else's.

Now, the IMing/Phone calling/etc. That is ok with me because it's like you're in real time talking to someone and just being a normal through your character which I think is pretty cool.

As far as journals go, I never ever keep up with one like I want to however I don't see a problem with them. Often times however it seems like they're a waste of time and energy especially if your RPG dies out or you make it and the person doesn't even use it, you know?

I'm a big fan of the plots. As most of our members have found a way to interact and plot with everyone through those. The journals are a nice touch but not necessary. Now on photo albums, I think it's a must but this is comming from the rpg owner who has 658 replies in her photoalbum forum. XD

Your best bet would be to ask your members what they want and what they wouldn't use. I found it's the best thing to do -- question your members about what can be improved on the site.

I think it depends mainly on the kind of RPG you're playing, and the owner's own tastes. I'm playing in a naruto RPG in which you can do your profile as simple or ellaborate as you want, and the relationship table is an entirely optional feature that few people use (some older players and a rare case of an Academy Student, incluiding me). We players must update our profile very often, since we've got training posts, classes, new justus, etc, that are needed by the mods to make the game go fluently. So having a relationship table as an extra doesn't affect me in an important way (plus, this table is based on a Template suggested by the admins, so all you do is copy-paste, then edit).

As for journals, they can prove to be fun and handy for your fellow players to get to know your character, or simply to give him/her some love. There should not a canon for that sort of things, because sometimes they're a major part of your IC life on that site, and sometimes they're just there to take memory from the server.