Tagging for Newbies!

[95-tan.livejournal.com]

[Now with 100% more being-in-the-right-comm... *facepalm*]
Because, judging from the occasional rants and all, this apparently needs to be posted.

Has this ever happened to you?

"Okay, I am a new player! I am going to make my first post in the comm and roleplay! *Posts*

...

...

......

Waaaah! Why is nobody playing with me?!"

Well dry those tears, kiddies, because Furikku is going to tell you the Secret Method of getting RP.

That method is called "Interacting."

You see, kids, all those characters that are racking up the comment counts? They're that popular for a reason. Either a) they are big name characters from big name fandoms that OMG EVERYONE HAS TO TALK TO, or 2) they have made Connections.

"Connections? What are these Connections, o wise Furikku?"

They are friendly acquaintances with others, my young apprentice. There are two ways to forge these all-important connections.

One, TAG THE HELL OUT OF EVERYONE. Two, get thee to the crackchat on AIM and start talkin'.

Some details...

Tag EVERYONE. Yes, even that guy. DO IT.
You see all those entries around yours? All the ones with "What'll it be?" by them?

Click that. Read the post. Reply in-character.

Most of the posts will have SOMETHING notable on there- a hook, if you will- to give random people JUST LIKE YOU a reason to tag them.

"Oh, but... I don't know any of these people? What if they don't want me to bug them?"
Logic check! This is a RPG, a game based on interaction. If these people did not wish to interact, they wouldn't be playing! (Or they would be Very Very Silly.)

The truth is, unless there's a note like [OOC: Plot Locked] or [OOC: Pup is in a foul mood do not tag if you value your life], they WANT you to tag. Look at them, the shameless hussies, waving their characters out there for all to see, just BEGGING for you to come and RP with them! DON'T KEEP THEM WAITING ANY LONGER, TIGER!



Getting by in crackchat
Crackchat can be rather intimidating at first. "WHO THE HELL ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE AND WHAT SORT OF MOON LANGUAGE ARE THEY SPEAKING?!" you will wonder, "WHAT ARE THESE NAMES I KEEP SEEING?! OMG I CAN'T TELL WHAT'S GOING ON!!!!!!"

Calm yourself, grasshopper. Breathe. It is a fruitless enterprise to try to keep up with all of crackchat; it is an entity made of severral different conversations all going on at once, generally from people who type at SIX MILLION WPM.

You don't need to remember everything. You don't need to keep up with all the conversations. Just grab onto a topic when you can, and comment if you have something to say. Ask questions if something puzzles you. We're pretty happy to help out newbies.

"Okay, so I can survive in the chat... how does this help me get roleplay?"
By hanging out and chatting, you are (hopefully) making friends and making yourself known. Now, it is time to pester.

There are two common methods of pestering:
"Anybody want one of mine?" (alternately, "Anybody want a [character name/description]?")
and
"Someone tag [character name/description]!"

Yes, that really is it. Just repeat a general call every five or ten minutes until someone takes pity on you.

"OK... so now... um, how do I get there?"
This can be tricky, since its name changes every once in a while. If you know someone in the game already who has AIM, ask them for an invite. Otherwise, make a post in the backroom asking for the name or an invite. (If it's the latter, be sure to post your AIM SN.) You should be in very soon.


That's really all there is to it. It's quite simple to get even an unknown character, played by a completely new stranger with no ties to the game, to go from zero to hero man/woman/other-about-town, who people will tag and talk to with a minimum of pestering.

How do I know this? Because I came in as a total noob with a character in a nigh-unknown, obscure canon, who now gets... sometimes two or three people tagging her when she's in!

That said, don't expect to go from no tags to A BAJILLION TAGS any time soon. Even people who've been playing since the start have had posts that NOBODY tagged, ever. As in, recent posts. That's just part of the game. The above is something you have to keep doing.

But do it, and I guarantee you won't spend your time wailing "Why won't anyone play with meee?"

More likely, you'll be wailing, "OMG I HAVE TOO MANY THREADS HELP I DROWN!"

Comments

[rajrr.livejournal.com]

Hooray!

[song_tra_bong]

Speaking as one who dragged herself up from total RP n00b-dom not too long ago, Furi speaks the truth!

Speaking from personal experience, tagging people you have no affiliation with whatsoever can lead to awesome results. And possibly crack.

But yeah, LISTEN TO FURI! We're all here to have a good time, so ANNOY US.

[jackdriscoll.livejournal.com]

iawtc

[song_tra_bong]

Because the mun is full of crack at 1 AM

o rly?

[jackdriscoll.livejournal.com]

Yes, surely, as the sun rises and sets, my lady.

[song_tra_bong]

Verily...

And yet I doubt.

[jackdriscoll.livejournal.com]

There need be no cause to doubt, as it is, in all, the truth.

[song_tra_bong]

Astounding.

One learns new things every day.

[jackdriscoll.livejournal.com]

lolz

[song_tra_bong]

XD

[buriedmybrother.livejournal.com]

You are love forever.

[lord-of-dreams.livejournal.com]

And if you can't make yourself tag randomly?

The Endless can be defined as "Walking Acts Of Character Development". I'm at twintailmadb pretty much everywhere online, so ping me if you want Dream around.

Security, bartenders, and waitresses, are all people who have made IC and OOC commitments to be available for anyone who wants play. If someone's post says "Security", "Bartend(er/ing)", or "Wait(er/ess)" ping them.

[wonderwhatif.livejournal.com]

I must admit, when Dream tagged Aeryn oh so long ago, I did not freak out.

But that was mainly because I had no idea who anyone is. So in cases of non-intimidation, sometimes it's good to be a newb.

[nitro-is-ace.livejournal.com]

You rule the internets, Furi. Just for that. *Loves*

[balletrat]

Word.

*bakes Furikku a cake* *does not even leave it out in the rain*

[killer-bride.livejournal.com]

Oh...yay!

As opposed to oh no.

[mark-of-samael.livejournal.com]

Huzzah for baked goods!

[loyaltyinmotion.livejournal.com]

You are truly wise, Furikku.
But for those who are of the shy, like myself (not my pup), I have found that making one friend who is willing to make introductions is WONDEROUS.
For introductions are love when you are shy.

That and having a pup who'll screw anything with tits.
Which by the way noobs, *ahem*
For a Good Time, Call Jason

[prone-to-panic.livejournal.com]

More like 'friend who hits you over the head ans says "Hey idiot. If you want to know, ping her, she's nice. She won't bite unless you ask."'

[loyaltyinmotion.livejournal.com]

Well yes, that too.


...prevaricating!

[wonderwhatif.livejournal.com]

I miss threading with Jason. Damn timezones!

[mark-of-samael.livejournal.com]

....yeah, probably. I am a bad person, in that my reaction to the shy is "TAG ANYWAY, GOOBER! I POKE YOU NOW!" Of course, that's as a shy person who had to eventually get over it to survive, so I figure, if it works for me... -_^

[whitest_witch]

You forgot one tip - start Huge Loud Argumjents in crackchat, and everyone will remember you. . . maybe they won't like you though. . . *ponders* hmm. perhaps not. *grin* (conciseprecis)

[piobaireachd.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, I can think of a few that use this method.

...*So totally not one of them. At all.* *So fucking shifty*

[innerbrat]

YAY FURI!

Also, Some people can be intimidated by people who generally get many threads. I know this kept me from tagging certain people for more than a year.

My advice in that case is: tag anyway! People like being popular! So they'll be slow answering, who cares? You can use the time between tags to tag someone else.

[nepheliad.livejournal.com]

That is what kept me from tagging you like forever.

[mark-of-samael.livejournal.com]

You see? They're just as scared of you as you are of them! XD

[innerbrat]

Hahaha I never even noticed I was getting that many comments. I only noticed recently in adding tags that my pups got so many comments.

I'd be scared of tagging me. I'm a freak.

[shelley_winters]

*Fangirls enthusiastically*

[djcati.livejournal.com]

FURIKKU WANT SOME IMAGINARY COOKIES?

[mark-of-samael.livejournal.com]

I WILL NEVER TURN DOWN BAKED GOODS AND YOU KNOW IT.

..unless it's like baked eggplant goods, because eggplant = yucky.

[wonderwhatif.livejournal.com]

I love the pity tag. I use it to my advantage often. *cackle*

[djcati.livejournal.com]

You pitywhore!

[wonderwhatif.livejournal.com]

I so am.

Me: Won't someone tag Kaye, she's cute and I'm sooo alone. :p

[perfectblue.livejournal.com]

Whee!

This always needs to be said.

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

*applauds, drapes laurels*

This needs to be carved into stone tablets and set by the front gates.

[bohemian-mark.livejournal.com]

You know, this makes me think. Milliways is big enough, we should have a mentorstaff. Or some sort of quasi-official group of people who go around and help newbies get introduced to the game. It actually is a Really Good way to get people RPing and less imtimidated by things. Just a thought.

*uses strange Mark icon*

[bohemian-mark.livejournal.com]

P.S. Mark would like to note that connections are a Very Good Thing. And he would sing at people if I'd let him. However, I'm not letting him.

[campkilkare]

I... really don't think this would work, because you'd have to standard RPing values for the whole game, which just ain't gonna happen.

Some people play for smut and romance or wish-fulfillment for a character they like. Some people are passionate about telling stories--recurring themes, foreshadowing, heavy plots. Some are in just for the crack; they want to laugh and make over people laugh. Some care more about interesting interactions than anything heavily-plotted, building in bar friendships and exploring the character.

Of course, most people switch between this categories from thread to thread or with different characters. But we all have things we value more in our RP, and things we value less. There are threads I never read because I don't care for the players's RPing values. I'm sure there are people who don't enjoy my threads, too. It's cool. Milliways is a broad umbrella for all kinds of play, and there's no rule that says you have to read and like everything.

But a mentoring staff would either have to draw from all the different play styles (which would mean a) codifying all the different play styles and b) a team that agreed on very little) or it would end up being represented entirely by one kind of RPer (and I think this is a lot more likely).

It's also not going to cut down on accusations that there's an elite clique if we designate certain people mentors, especially since whoever sets it up (the mods? more work) is going to be more likely, naturally to notice people he or she knows and respects as RPers.

--John

[mark-of-samael.livejournal.com]

I always figured that the entire playerbase was filling that function pretty decently. At least in chat.

It might be useful to, say, make a backroom post every once in a while for non-AIM noobs to comment on with questions and whatnot, though...

[agoodshinkickin.livejournal.com]

Yes. Please. Do. With the tagging of employees.
I know it's been said before, but I'm going to repeat because I have nothing better to say it's important!

And while I'm pimping Bartending threads, please...if you're bored, go through the bartending threads and tag the threads in the thread. These are people just standing next to a bar. Talk at them, to them, on them, pick a preposition.

[piobaireachd.livejournal.com]

Totally. I go through phases with this place. Sometimes, for a few days, or even weeks in a row, I'll get like 5 tags per entry post. Other days I get none. It happens. Other players go through them as well, so while someone may not feel like tagging someone new any given day, or feel overly intrested in your character right off, be patient, thread with who you can, and maybe they'll get over their slump and tag you. If not, tag them and they can deal. That's what this is about.

Give and take, mate. You can't post and only expect to RECEIVE tags, while never tagging anyone else's entries. People start to think that you aren't actually interested in threading with them if you never tag their posts.

I'm not the best at practicing this, I admit I'm intimidated as hell to tag the regulars, but it's still sound advice. Time for me to follow it myself.

That being said, I always love receiving tags. Tag me or ping me newbies. I like helping the new folks. *eyes Clare, Lorna, Miche, etc.* I dare you to contradict me. (ColsohPiper)

[minkhollow]

Also, one of the main functions of crackchat is following tags on a thread and announcing new entrance posts. Even if things sometimes get lost amongst the crack, throwing 'so-and-so inna bar' out there (or something similar) is bound to catch someone's attention.

[b-hawkins.livejournal.com]

I love you?