Ok, so I did a thread to find interest on a few ideas.  There was enough, but those interested were split up into different ideas.  I made new threads in the 'seeking players' forum and there has been no takers in two days.

I'm not complaining.  My question is, how long do I leave the ads open? When should I just admit there is no interest and cut bait...close them off and move on?

Depends really, definitely wait for weekdays as weekends don't see much activity. Otherwise it is kinda up to you.

That said, if you are looking for a sizable and quick forming group and you don't get a bunch of interest within 2-3 weekdays, then you should look for another concept (or accept that you'll have a flagging game with only a few players to play, if any).

Strangely, you have the popular stuff that loads of folks flock to, and everything else where you need to hunt players down and drag them to the table by force. :)

Hey Sarge, RPOL differs from other PbP sites in a few key ways.  I'm new here too ... still learning the ropes as well.

One of the big differences from other sites you may be used to is in the recruitment threads.  Pretty much, the only thing that will get posted there is the GM giving the sales pitch.  The prospective players won't really respond there ... instead, they take it straight to a thing called an RTJ (request to join).

On this site, each game you participate in will have its own separate private message inbox (one of the links in the top right).  These messages are separate from the rMail inbox ... which is the more traditional PM inbox you may be used to.  If the post count on your landing page has turned a funny color ... then you have a new post and/or a new PM on that particular game to review.

I mention all of this because it took me a little getting used to when I first started gaming here, and because I sent an RTJ to your 0-level game yesterday.  :)
This message was last edited by the user at 11:26, Tue 07 May 2019.

Thank You Ski-Bird.  It is quite different from the other sites.  I have to focus more on those game threads instead of looking in the general forums.

Sarge?.. I have  been here  a while..didn't even running games until  , maybe  the 3rd year I was here.

 Games  run with the 'tried and true"  systems...you'll see  jumps in games..EX:...Vampaire Movie  comes out..while bunch of Vamp Games....Surperhero   TV or Movie..whole Bunch of them..ect ect.

  You'll see  GMs who have   dozens  of   games on thier  list..and most of them are deleted..because they lose interest.

 for My part?.. I post my games everyweek..I might not get a new player  for weeks  at a Time..but  I post..there are always new folks  coming in, so your game  might  just appeal.

 It doesn't cost you anything to Bump your  Ad.  I always delete some of the Old  ads  Just to save the site  room..I do like to keep  old  ads up, so serious  gamers  can see the progession  of years/posts they have.

 anyway?..if yo have  a game you love and Believe in, keep putting  up ads..sooner or later    some players   interested in your  game will pop up.

In reply to Sarge67 (msg # 1):

In my short experience, RPol moves slowly. I'm in games that took a month or longer to get a full complement of players, but then I mostly look for niche favourites rather than anything D&D/D20 (I'll make an exception for Pathfinder on the merits of their incredibly well-developed world; I'd still rather jettison the D&D derivate and use Fantasy Hero... hell, maybe I'll do that one of those days). You don't seem to have that problem (though I wouldn't know about the Star Trek game per se, but ST remains a popular franchise so I'm assuming it should be popular enough). Still, people are different. Some just pipe in with their interest, others like to have a character concept beforehand, not everyone checks the new games every day etc.

I'd definitely give it a week or two. If nothing happens by then you might want to consolidate your efforts and advertise that game somewhat more aggressively.

Hello and welcome to RPol.  I've been here for a long time as well and see the trends.  What the guys above are telling you is right and you never know when your game might take off.

When you post in Wanted: Players though, you must remember that you can only post that game once a week right down to the last minute.  RPol has an automatic block so you can't over post and until you can pull your ad up and it says available to post.  So only posting it once a week is a slow process in getting new players interest but don't give up.  If you like your concept and want that game then as they said above.  Keep bumping weekly.

NEVER delete your first ad post as that is the one that folk see.  I make changes in my 1st post and then copy it and create a new post when the game says it is available.  I too delete the last post by just putting the word bump in it by editing it, then delete it, then post your new bumping post.

Remember that a lot of new players don't realise how to go to a game and either RTJ (Request to Join) or to turn on and use the Rmail system to contact someone about a game.  It takes everyone time to get used to the site and feel their way around.  Don't give up too soon and one of the best things you can do is tell your friends about this site.

There are over 3,000+ games but each and every single one of them are as important as the others.  Hang in there my friend and you'll make it by testing the waters, trial and error, but there are always those here ready to help you in every way so you are not alone.

 what Lady said...

 bump the  ad every week?  why?.. because you'll have  'gung ho' players  who will get bored  and  leave..so?.. you always  Bump until you reach  the level of Player your comfortable.

 a lot of  folks will send you  PM feelers?.. that's good, if they aren't sure its better to find out, right away.

 My most active game  just past 83k posts... most folks there are like family.. they welcome new  folks in and they become family...some folks who 'want to do it thier  way"..or ..don't really fit..don't last long.. as for the weekly Posting?..I think I may have picked up 7 or 8 new players last year... 4 stayed..those  four  are   a solid  fit and add a lot to the game.. the others?.. didn't like it..or  'have other  things to do"..which is fine?

 I guess what I am saying, all  games  are for everyone...but  when you find  the 'good ones' for your   games, it  is very rewarding.

 I have even had  2 players come back after  RL stole them away for a couple eyars., which speaks  a lot for thier  interest in the game.

 hang in there.. the  player swill come  in waves   as the ebb and flow of gamers wash over us.

Speaking from the standpoint of a player that was contemplating one of those games of yours (although I see it's filled now, because apparently I waffled around for too long debating if I had time - Whoops!) sometimes there's a bit of a 'wait and see' approach. Particularly for certain settings - like 3.5, for me, I assume that everyone and their brother is going to RTJ for it (because that's my experience), so I spend sometimes too much time thinking of what would be a 'good enough' pitch to get in... and obviously take too much time.

Also, like other people have said, weekdays are SLOOOOOOWWWWW sometimes - although I've found that as summer starts, it becomes the other way around. Either way, give it at least a week and a second bump before you decide that there's really no interest. Happy gaming! :)

I looked into your game threads and was pleased to see that you had a big surge of interest. You're on your way!

I'll make two suggestions.

Make allowance for people who have never played the system your using. A lot of people on Rpol like to try things they haven't done before. Provide those folks with a little more character generation guidance. That is, unless you only want players experienced in the system, which is a legitimate choice.

Make more use of the RTJ, inste3ad of just a blank screen. Rpol lets a GM customize the RTJ message to get more and the same information from each applicant. It can be like a job application. When I solicit players, I typically ask for a name, a concept, and a bit of backstory. Some GMs want a writing sample, a full character sheet, etc. You can get exactly what you want to help make your selections among all the applicants.

Best wishes.

In reply to Gaffer (msg # 10):

Thank You everyone for sharing such outstanding information.  Thank You Gaffer about the RJT.  I'll get to that one.

I didn't put much into the 0 level, requirements.  Just a story because their starting skills and equipment were going to be based off of their story.  That story had a great showing almost immediately.  I chose 3.5 ed because to be honest, 1st and 2nd editions of my generation have sadly fallen the way of the dinosaurs.  Now it is hard to switch from the newer editions to the old ones because things were opposite.

My OWoD started slow, but this week it picked up and we started our first scene. (though we've already had two rush out into the early morning sun).  I don't get the new stuff, with the new clans and stuff.  So I stick to what I know best.

The Startrek story is the one lagging behind.  Two players and both want to be captain of the starship.

One of the reasons I was asking was that I've got two or three more ideas I think would make good games.  I really like Startrek, so tossed it up first to see if the interest level was there.  I tried two times before on another site...One didn't last long due to a couple crazy players...The second didn't attract a single person.


So, it was mentioned.. Never delete the posting.  Do I just tag 'not looking' and move on with a new game (I know I'm only limited to 3 and the ST takes up one of those three) does an inactive game still count against the limit?


Once again thank you to everyone for the input.

Sarge..if  you  clock  on the 'start your own game".. it will tell you how many games  you have 'earned' to run..it goes up, as you are active...

 There are a lot of   GMs  that, when you click on thier add  you will see dozens of games, and it will say '' 'x' amount  active...'x' amount  delted'

 so? the only restriction you have  as far as the Number of games. is what that  number on the link   says.

 I think I am allowed  15?.. 3 is plenty for me.. when I see a long list of games, I just move on.. I don't thing twice  when I see a long list of deleted games.

 To save a  game 'slot'  you could  jsy   cover  one of  the games you are less then happy with..change the name.. and go on from there.

…………

  there are plenty of  2e  and 3e players out there, by the way.. I  use both 2e and 3e in my game, but...I do almost all the rolls   so I can make adjustments... my games  are built  for  RP, with  framework.

……………

 In the end? you are the one taking time to run the game..build it so you are happy with it... you'll  always  find  players.

It is worth mentioning, though, that no matter how many games you are running, you are not allowed to post new game ads (or bump existing ones) more than three times in any 24 hour period.

And yes, the number of games you can run depends on an arcane calculation that (reportedly) takes into account how many games you have run, how long they lasted, how active they are/were, and how long you have been on RPoL.  Possibly the phase of the moon, the number of letters in your cat's name, and your mother's birth date too... but I'm a little less certain about those.

Hmmm... I can currently create 20 games, in addition to the 9 I already have set up.

I just checked.. my says  " runnign   3. may create up tom 16..so?..I gained  one more!

still?  I run  3, each one  differant..one very active.. onbe  average, and one niche  game that is  kinda slow compare to the other two.

 I am in like..2 game..one is almost useless, but I have been there for  a while so I try to keep it alive.. and  a couple more semi-active ones..I always check for possible games..but a lot   of them doesn't hey past.. " runs 100 game..99 deleted'

hate  joining  games  that die right after the 'table setting'

In reply to donsr (msg # 14):

I get you on that.  I have to wait until the 19th to RTJ the two games I'm interested in. due to the new guy parole.  :D  As long of a wait as it is, it isn't worse than your commander standing you in front of 300 people and talking about how old you are.

Do you think providing my AARP card, retired military ID, and a slice of 8 month old birthday cake will convince the admin I'm old?  Didn't think so.

::chuckles:: I have  some old hand  drawn maps  I use in on game, I tell most of the payers, mthe map is older then thier parents.

Man, hand-drawn maps take me back. The very first DM I ever played for had literally covered an entire wall (like, the whole thing, in graph paper pages pieced together) in his dorm room with incredibly detailed hand-drawn maps for his world. Never had I seen anything like it, nor have I since.
This message was last edited by the user at 18:50, Sat 11 May 2019.

Sunruant… in the  early 80s  my brother  and I were laid   off, him from the mills  and me  from a factory.. we made  money  by ferrying  hearses  and   deleivrs  coffins.. I got this  big roll of paper form one place.. laid in on my kitchen table and made  my who  city on it in a night..my late  wife thought I was nuts..but.. its  too  big tp think about putting it in here... I have a  spial  binder with  the   busniesses  ect ect ...the map I have  for the 'land' game  map is on one sheet of graft paper.

In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 17):

Setting a 3 pages x 3 pages of graph paper and then......scotch tape or laminex.

I hardly used them, I used to die every 5 minutes.

Unearthed Arcana was my first and the fiend folio was my death knell.

When I was in my teens, long before the internet, I ran an alternative history wargame. I couldn't afford maps, so I spent months cycling to the local library and painstakingly tracing contour maps of Europe from a large atlas.

Kids today, don't know they're born... etc, etc.

Man, now that's dedication!  That wasn't War Between The States, was it?

I seem to remember from back in the late sixties ordering contour maps from the USGS for about $3.00 a map (I used to be active in Scouting).  That was a little less than I charged for mowing one yard, but so worth it.

In the mid-sixties (when I was in Okinawa as a child) the scout troop I was in was sponsored by a military unit, so we got (for free!) military topo maps of the entire island in 1:50,000 and in 1:10,000 scales!  What I'd give to still have one of those!

Many players, in order to avoid having a 'deleted' game show up on their GM information, will 'retread' a game, rather than completely starting over.  They'll keep the game they created, but change the name, all the information on it, etc, so that, as far as the system is concerned, they're still running the same game, but everything is different than it was when they first created the game that originated that particular slot.  It's especially helpful for people who've created games that either didn't attract enough attention to really get off the ground, or games that sounded like a good concept, until they started getting into the details of making it work and realized it was either an unworkable game or it was going to be a LOT more trouble than they'd originally anticipated.

But, if you're too busy to rewrite the entire game concept from the ground up, yeah, you can just change the flags to 'Not accepting new players' and leave it sitting idle for a while.  It will count as an inactive game, but if your other games are really busy, it shouldn't be a huge issue.

Yeah, that was before life ground me down. I've joined the new kids now - anything takes more than five minutes, I can't be bothered!

No, it was a homebrew.