rpanons | I'm bad at this

Rundown:

rpanons is an anonymous community for role-play related topics. This place serves as a forum for game discussions, canon discussions, RP solicitations (ATP, game ads, open memes), and advice. The occasional off topic comment is inevitable, but please keep heated social and political topics to their respective communities. Posting them here will only get them frozen. Subsequent threads made to bypass a freeze will then be deleted.

Rules:

Do not post pornographic or shocking images.
Do not share private entries, plurks, chat logs, etc.
Do not use this community as your social/political/hatespeech soapbox.
Do not be redundant. One page does not need three or more threads on one topic/theme. Your unfunny, forced memes also fall under this rule.
Do not treat this comm like your personal therapist. Threads about nonfictional suicide, self injury, rape, and abuse will be deleted. There are better resources out there for you.
Do not treat this comm like your personal Plurk or Twitter. Off-topic happens, but it should be open for discussion and not just a play-by-play of your life. No one cares.
Shut up about Tumblr. If it's not a discussion about Tumblr RP it will be deleted.

CONCERNS | RESOURCES

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I really want to get into fandom rp and games on bakerstreet. could anyone explain to me how it works exactly? or give me some tips? I know it probably seems pretty straightforward but I simply don't want to make any mistakes. ^^;

> ^^;

you've already made a mistake

i'm joking but only sort of. dreamwidth rpers can judge very quickly based on first impressions and on shallow things, like icons and OOC typing style.

if you want to just get started, find a character you want to play, make a journal with icons that don't look like complete shit, and start tagging around. a lot of people won't tag back and/or will drop the thread within a few days, but it's usually not personal. most RP is in bracket format, with actions and narration in brackets ([]) and dialogue outside of them. if you can write semi-engagingly and play a character people are familiar with, you'll get a thread going eventually. DWRP can be hard to break into because people are insular and tend to stick with people they already know and RP with, but it's possible. do you have any questions that are more specific? "how it works" is answered in the RESOURCES link up above.

seconding what anon said above me.

bakerstreet can be a bit of a crapshoot but it's a good starting point. look through the test drives posted on here too and just use those as free easy threads too since they are commitment free. people are more willing to tag out/around on test drives as well.

otherwise just cast a wide net, tag out to people you want to play with on memes, and hope for the best. and just have fun without being pushy or taking it too personally and you'll be golden.

go the resources link up there, it has some guides

Echoing the above anons, and adding a suggestion to post to the "RP with me" thread here on rp anons if you haven't already. Make sure to be clear you're new to DWRP and want to learn, and hopefully you can find someone who is already familiar with the style and all of that who will rp with you a bit and answer questions until you've got the hang of it.

+1 to the RP With Me suggestion! aside from politely pm'ing your meme thread partners, that's the best place to try and get a psl going. again, it might take time to get it off the ground and/or it may flounder shortly after the fact. unfortunately that's a symptom of dwrp. like above anons said, don't take it personally. you'll probably click with someone eventually.

as a meme tip: if you're tagging someone else's top level, it's on you to write the starter, even if you hash some things out oocly with the other person first. unless they offer to do it themselves, they will expect you to take that responsibility.

and some anons suggested using good icons. that can get pretty subjective around here but the general guideline you can't go wrong by: no borders, no text, 100x100 pixels, and clear/sharp enough that the character's expression is visible. if you want someone to make you some, many icon makers offer free requests up to 10-30 images in the HTML/GRAPHIC HELP thread, and you can commission (pay with cash or DW points) for more than that if necessary

hope you have fun!

You know what, as someone who doesn't quite play by the unspoken rules, DWRP can be challenging at times but I find that if you're willing to watch before you act you can judge your cues from whatever game you're in; they're all a little different.

The best advice I can offer is to laugh off mistakes and keep things positive and friendly. Sometimes misunderstandings happen, but it's all cool. If you can handle critique, ask for it, and if you find that something isn't working for you (the game, the thread, etc.) it's no big deal to try something different or to drop and try again with some other combination of character and game.

People here get all het up on anxiety, so if you can keep a calm head, you'll do great no matter what you play or how your journal or icons look.

Agreeing with the above anons, but a good alternative to RP With Me is

app_this_plz and their PSL threads! Skim and PM people. Being excited is fine, but just remember that text doesn't always convey tone, so sometimes there is such a thing as being "too excited". I would suggest controlled enthusiasm and, if possible, coming to people with writing samples. If someone doesn't reply or isn't interested, don't be discouraged. People like all kinds of things and no one is entitled to everyone's time nor does it mean they'll be closed off to future interaction!

I'm bad at this

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