Request Thread Shenanigans (Or Lack Of)

Started by Suiko, May 29, 2013, 11:36:38 AM

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Suiko

Alrighty. I'm not sure if this is the right area to out this in - maybe it would be better in Adult Socialising? - but I'm asking for some help so... Help section seemed okay. *Clears throat*

So. I've been having a lot of difficulty in finding writing partners lately. I have a request thread I update often and I used to think that it was pretty good. I was happy with how it looked and felt pleased... but the proof is in the pudding as they say, and I think since I revamped the thread I've had... one message regarding it. This is over months of it being there and updated.

Now I know that this might just be me whining so to make it not that I'm going to ask in general.

What do people think is the best way to present ideas? I have a few thoughts but they seem... I don't know. I can't decide.


  • Keep all the plots/pictures/etc in one post but chop out all the chatter between. So pruning.
  • Make a seperate post for each section, so there could like a contents page first with each secrion being a click away. (I like this idea but maybe it would be too fiddly?)
  • Have a seperate thread for each idea, and in the main request thread have a little description and a link to each one. (Again, too fiddly?)
  • Drop the idea of pictures and fandoms and extra things all together and just have plots, since I've never had a message regarding them.

So... Yes. Ideas. I have a few and they are jumbled but I welcome opinions since I'm getting grumpy with the lack of fun. *Coughs*

Don't want to make this just about me either - any general suggestions for request threads everywhere are welcome.
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Lord Mayerling

More than your content organization, I recommend a change in approach. You're using a strategy that relies on people looking for you and doing all the work to find you and contact you with interest. If you the one seeking a partner, you are the one that should be doing the seeking effort. Be more active on the site, get involved in the social areas, look for partners yourself and approach them with your ideas.


Suiko

Oh the majority of the stories I have are with people I approached or with good friends. I do seek people but... is it bad to maybe want some of my ideas peeked at?
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Lord Mayerling

Which results from enlarging your footprint on the site.

Suiko

Mm?  I'm not sure I understand... What results from that?
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NileGoddess

Quote from: Lord Mayerling on May 29, 2013, 11:48:21 AM
More than your content organization, I recommend a change in approach. You're using a strategy that relies on people looking for you and doing all the work to find you and contact you with interest. If you the one seeking a partner, you are the one that should be doing the seeking effort. Be more active on the site, get involved in the social areas, look for partners yourself and approach them with your ideas.

This is actually probably the best advice you can get. I for one am turned off by large idea threads; it involves having to sometimes go through dozens of ideas, and sometimes people are overly vague describing them, and sometimes they are overly detailed, and because my own personal preferences are fairly specific, I rarely have found and idea in an idea thread that intrigues me.

I would prefer to see (and prefer to post myself) a single thread committed to a single idea, with the detail necessary. That way, people know exactly what you are looking for, and you are taking an initiative in searching for players. If you simply add to a thread, then bump it to update it, players still have to search to find the exact thing. Even if you point it out clearly, you are still telling people to sort through all your things.

Quote from: Khoraz on May 29, 2013, 11:55:18 AM
Oh the majority of the stories I have are with people I approached or with good friends. I do seek people but... is it bad to maybe want some of my ideas peeked at?

People may look at your ideas, but that doesn't mean they will necessarily like them.

Suiko

Quote from: NileGoddess on May 29, 2013, 12:06:09 PM
I would prefer to see (and prefer to post myself) a single thread committed to a single idea, with the detail necessary. That way, people know exactly what you are looking for, and you are taking an initiative in searching for players. If you simply add to a thread, then bump it to update it, players still have to search to find the exact thing. Even if you point it out clearly, you are still telling people to sort through all your things.

I did used to do that when I first joined so I might go back to it... And I know that people mighr not like my requests at all; I'm just looking for people's opinions to try and improve them...
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- Current Status: Did someone say Dragon's Dogma 2? -

Oniya

Kho, even with all the plots I have in my thread, and all the views I get, I have the most success when I pitch an idea to someone directly.  It helps if I've seen that they have something that dove-tails with one of my ideas (I have one where someone wanted an historical RP, and I had something involving the Hellfire Club.)

And, most of the time, it's someone that I've chattered with about non-RP stuff.

Even if you just drop pretty pictures in the Finder/Seeker threads, that's another chance for someone to see what you like, and maybe hit your signature links.  That's one of the reasons I prefer a single list - it means that I can link a single thread of ideas so that people who have seen me around can do a little one-stop shopping.  I organize by topic, and then if I'm pitching a story, I can link someone directly to the post in question so they don't have to go sorting too much.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

RampantDesires

First of all I find your request and O/O threads visually well done which earns you immediate points in my book.  A thread that is well put together generally tells me that a potential partner shares my love of detail and pretty things and has put a fair bit of thought into the contents (not always true, but a good first impression goes a long way toward hooking my interest).

I too recommend the one stop shopping approach.  Using some spoiler tags as well as bolded and colored sections to clearly mark out sections makes it fairly easy to scroll through your thread quickly to see if something captures their interest while not necessarily overwhelming them with information right off the bat.  Chances are if I'm looking for a new partner I'm going to hunt through their posting history a bit anyway so I find that seeing how their request thread developed is helpful in my decision making process as well.

My own request thread is fairly long winded, enough that I give that disclaimer early on, and while it might be a bit laborious to rifle through it usually means that anyone still interested enough to send me a PM doesn't mind investing time and energy into the planning process, isn't put off by large blocks of rambling thought, and probably isn't looking for a quick fix.  Narrowing the pool of interested partners from the beginning isn't always a bad thing.

Having your ideas thread linked in your signature and getting that exposure in other areas of the forums is great and could possibly be aided by a quick note that you are actively seeking new partners.  I'm much more likely to click that link if I know that there is a chance of getting something out of it (selfish but true!) it is a bit of a downer to read through all that information only to see the notification that they're not accepting new stories.

They say best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most part, become much more the better for being a little bad...
Absences 11/10 ≈ BlindfoldsRequests ≈  On's and Offs
<THIS SPACE PRETTIFIED SOON>
Tentatively Open to a few more 1v1's but also come write with me in Grey Matters--->

Formless

Make your own style.

What makes browsing the request threads so enjoyable and thrilling on E is the variety.

You click a thread and you find someone uses a completely different way to present their ideas than the previous person. And it accents each person. So there is no best way. There is the ' right ' way you yourself approve.

It's your blue print , and you're the architect. Enthrall us with your creation.

GothicFires

Quote from: Khoraz on May 20, 2013, 05:13:21 PM
Update.

Damn my inability to write plots...

Here is a major problem. And it's not only in your seeking thread but I've read it on other places... you keep talking down about yourself and your inability to write. I've also read responses to that by your friends that you write well.

So who is a person to believe?

Displaying yourself in a negative way is not going to gain you partners.
looking for new games
discord: Agara#3507

Suiko

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RedPhoenix

#12
Keep in mind anyone who doesn't go looking for your thread specifically is just going to browse the title. Yours is "One Who Desires... [M/M Requests] May 30th: All New Plots Added!"

Other than M/M this says nothing at all about the plots, and "M/M" is very generic. Really the only people who are going to click this are people who know they want an M/M thread and don't have any better idea of where to look than to randomly click every thread they see that could possible contain an m/m pairing.

Speaking just for myself, I like m/f and f/f pairings but I don't go clicking every thread with that in the title because it takes way too long and I can get better results posting my own interest thread if I know what I want. After you get a couple games going you tend to spend most of your time worried about not being terribly behind on them and don't really go browsing for more and when you do it really needs to be eyecatching to grab interest.

I confess, I don't think I've ever read a thread that is titled anything like "So and so's Ideas" or "M looking for F" or anything like that, unless I knew already that I was interested in that person and was just digging around further to see what they liked.

I think maybe if you put your "always looking for" type wants in your o/o thread, and then used your specific cravings as individual threads with catchy, descriptive titles, you'd get a lot more nibbles.

That being said, I find nothing at all wrong with your thread itself or the way you are laying out the ideas. I really don't think the format matters that much as long as the ideas are accessible, and yours are. The only problem is they're hidden behind a dull title that isn't going to lure in anyone who isn't already looking for you.
Apologies & Absences | Ons & Offs
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Oniya

Actually, as someone who does browse for M/M pairings almost exclusively, I'm lucky to see one or two a day when I'm actively looking.  M/F?  You need something more to distinguish yourself from the throng.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Suiko

I might add a little bit more to the title...
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- Other M/M Prompts -
- A/As -
- O/Os -

- Current Status: Did someone say Dragon's Dogma 2? -

Beguile's Mistress

There is a reason publishers put a lot of attention into creating a dust jacket for shelf sales in book stores and use the front of the jacket in their online sales pages.  They want to catch your eye.

Your title can't describe everything in your thread but a phrase that grabs the attention will pull prospective partners in for a look.  Think of it as the headline for an article on the browser home page.  Try using a catch phrase from one of your descriptions such as:  "If you miss...I'll have to start over."  M/M NC Bond

Change the header up every so often to make it fresh.


Suiko

Mmm I don't really have any phrases like that though. It's a good idea... hmm...
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Beguile's Mistress

I took the one in my post from dialogue in your first story description.  Sometimes we just can't see the goodness in our own work. :-)

Suiko

... Oh yeah! <<

I did not notice. *Coughs* I think I'll try that then. Thank you ^^
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- Current Status: Did someone say Dragon's Dogma 2? -

Beguile's Mistress