User blog:Ckohrs0221/Lack of Something...

I totally thought I was the only one who saw it. I saw it in several different forms, but after a few conversations recently, I'm realizing that I'm not the only person who's seeing it. For a role-playing wiki... there seems to be a lack of actual role-playing. And as second-in-command of Activity Implementation... it makes me sad.

Now, before everyone gets up in arms with me, I'm well aware that there are people who do role-play. I know that our wiki still has a heartbeat, and I'm not looking to put a time stamp on the death certificate, not at all. I'm saying that perhaps, we've grown a bit sluggish. It has its signs everywhere: we've seen blogs from Bond about how teachers aren't posting, but it doesn't help that students aren't posting in classes either. Even the last Quidditch games went at a sluggish pace, due to lack of players posting. Nothing really seems to be occurring in the Ministry lately... it would appear that a lull has settled over the wiki.

I've got my own theories about why this is occurring, and I'll lay out some of them. The first is over-planning. I'll be the first to admit and join Over Planners Anonymous (Hi, I'm CK, and I'm an overplanner....). I don't think that there's anything wrong with looking into the crystal ball of your character's future and doing a little planning of what you'd like to see in the future. However, when we talk and talk and talk about our characters' futures in chat... and never actually RP the here and now, well, the futures are hard to come about if you never RP the journey. Have a destination, by all means, but don't forget to RP the journey it takes to get them there. Have a little spontaneity in your RPing. It can be fun!

The second one I'll put out there is fear. Yeah, spontaneity can be fun, but it obviously comes along with "what if people think my ideas are stupid" or "what if this doesn't pan out how I want" or "what if my character is actually really stupid" and a host of other reasons. Friends, there is so much to be fearful of in real life in this day and age. From what I've seen, this wiki is full of lovely, accepting people who aren't going to squash down your ideas, unless it's wildly OP or something. If it's quirky, or might stir up a cool new plotline, by all means stop polling your friends about it and just go for it!! Even if it falls on its face, it can be something we laugh about together. I've noticed lately that there are some users who create characters on top of characters, and they all seem really interesting... but I've never seen one RP with them. Creating characters is fun; RPing them is what keeps the wiki alive, and interesting. So don't forget to do that too! Instead of being afraid to RP your new babies, get excited about them! I've read some old RPs of when I first created my characters, and it was god awful. Yes, it takes time to get to know a new character, and things will change. My first few RPs with Renee, apparently her English was mediocre at best. Whelp, now she speaks it like a pro. Oops. It just shows progress for your character, and you as an RPer at the end of the day. So don't be afraid to just put yourself out there!

Third, and I know this is also a big one, is obviously real life gets in the way. It's a busy time of the year for all of us right now as we hustle to buy last-minute holiday gifts, and finish up exams for those of us still in school, but I've seen this activity sluggishness happening for awhile now, so while I think it's a contributing factor, I don't think it's the tallest hurdle we have yet to conquer.

So what do we do with all of this? 1. RP more please!! There are loads of characters that aren't mine that I stalk the RPs of simply because I'm involved with that character in some way, or I'm just super interested in the story line (and I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this.)

2. Put yourself out there a little more! Branch out, find someone new to RP with, or perhaps dust off that old character you haven't used in several months for whatever reason. Get to know them again!

3. Please answer the poll so that the AI folks know how to better serve your needs!

What prevents you from RPing more? Lack of time Lack of confidence Lack of ideas

True or False: An expansion would give you a new way to participate, and it's something you would want: True False

I would be interested in participating in expansions in the following ways: Creating a character Using my present characters

(Yes, I'm making you pick one. This will help us.)

So... while I don't particularly have any fantastically encouraging words to finish off this blog... I really hope to see RPing pick up! It's what we're about here! Now go have fun! (Or leave comments about your ideas about what you'd like to see, or your own encouraging words! Yay encouragement!!)