Official Shara Thread

[Marit]

I'll be up at the cabin all weekend, and back late monday.

[Bella]

So, amendment: my son and I both have strep throat. It's the first time I've ever had it and it's been really miserable. I've pretty much been catatonic in bed for two days straight, and I'm really only just crawling up out of that whole. Slowly, at that. So, I apologize to everyone who has been waiting on me and for being quiet. Hopefully, I will be able to catch up over the weekend.

Feel free to send me a PM if you want to remind me of anything you're waiting on me for.

[Stasia]

Peeking back in on the site. I miss you guys.

I got into a car wreck in January and earned myself a concussion and a three week backlog in school work, but I'm starting to get a grip on my life again. Hopefully I'll be back and writing again soon.

[Craig]

I'm highly likely to be bereft of the internet from Friday afternoon to Sunday night, as I'm going to be at a group meetup of all of my old friends from University. Normal service should resume from Monday.

[Teddy]

Sooo yeah, I haven't been around much the past week...

Sorry to everyone who I've kept waiting, but I've been sick for most of the week and that, combined with an unprecedented peak in my studies, has kept me from writing. I'm working on catching up now, should be done soon!

[Paradoxical]

This is a semi permanent Shara. I will be back but I don't know when, probably when I feel like it. I'm not going on Shara because I'm ill or overworked. I'm going because I personally feel ignored here. Now I'm sure that this isn't intentional but it has happening. My posts in open areas go unanswered eg my request for an RP of any nature and my posts to other RPers go unanswered even when they are active on side. I understand that people are busy and don't always have time but frankly I feel that it is unreasonable to the level at which this is happening. Now before they complain and say I could have spoken to them let me say that I am aware of this but choose not to talk as I felt that if it is happening in the first place talking wont fix it. That may be unfair but that was my choice not to fix it and I accepted it. Truth be told I'm leave (at least for now) because I can stand the disappointment of not being responded to when it really doesn’t take that much. So goodbye, for now.

P.S To another newbies, good luck and I hope you have a better time than I had.

[Jenny]

I'm sorry that you feel that way, Dox. Sometimes I think that finding a roleplaying community that suits your needs is like matchmaking. Each roleplaying site has its own "tempo" and culture, and it's all about finding the best fit between writer and the site. With several months and over 400 posts under my belt, I have always felt welcomed and acknowledged. This site is about having fun; and while I'm sorry to see you go, I hope that you find what you're looking for.

[Chris]

I replied to your Wanted ad on Thursday the 11th (click me) and that offer still stands.

My own personal experience is that it is never easy to join a new site, and it can be daunting to jump in and meet new people. I know I have found it difficult sometimes. But the people I have spoken to so far have been so friendly and helpful with me when I've gone to them about things, that I'm sure reaching out to others would do no harm. That's what the mentoring system is for too, so if you don't have a mentor already I would see about getting one. It can take time but everyone is here for the same thing, and in the beginning you have to work at it a bit to get results. So don't be disheartened, if you enjoy writing then the rest will come together.

[Sunny]

If a slow pace does not suit you, there is not much that we can do to resolve that, unfortunately. That is simply the nature of this type of RPG.

Play by forum is very writing/plot oriented. In fact, in my opinion it is actually less "role play" and more "collaborative fiction." Many of us can spend hours crafting a single post, and get upset/stressed out when forced to write under pressure. In addition, many of us have full time careers, long commutes to and from work, children to care for, administrative duties (here or elsewhere) to tend to, and other obligations and activities that must be met.

Sometimes all those things together mean we cannot respond to threads that we would like to as soon as we would like to. Patience can lend good results under those circumstances! However, sometimes the stars align as such that many people are not able to respond to a thread. When that happens, typically what I would recommend doing is reaching out to a specific person who attracts your interest. "Hey, I made this thread, and I noticed your character is ____. Would you like to join me?" Sometimes the answer is no and you have to keep looking; sometimes it is yes. At that point, again, patience is important.

Edit to add: To put it into some perspective: I made Jaryd in 2012, and he did not get involved in a major plot arc / have a regular partner to play with until 2014. At the time the site was MUCH smaller (less than 10 people active), so the timelines were much more extended, and many threads ended prematurely or never got responses. I just kept trucking though, because I knew eventually I would find something. And I did!

For the record, I do not think it could, should, or would take two years to get the same kind of results these days.

[Roan]

Hi Dox. I am sorry you haven't felt welcome here, though I think it might be important to stress some of what Marla hit on. . .

Things are not always very fast-paced here, and I know more than one of our active people have been hit by the real life monster and are over their heads with work or school or other real life things.

You said yourself that you haven't approached people because you think if they aren't approaching you, then you talking to them won't make a difference. . .in actuality, it can make a huge difference. I have a Novice who hasn't been super active, and I approached a few of our newer members to RP with her when I first got her started. If I hadn't, I'm not sure the characters she RP'd with would have interacted.

I know that Bella, Trent and myself will always make ourselves available for RP if someone asks, and I think most of the admin team do as well. I may not always keep track of what someone posts in the 'wanted ads' section, but if someone sends me a PM and says, "Hey can we RP?" more often than not, I will say yes.

Know that things don't always happen fast here. . .I have threads where it has taken a while for me or the other person to reply, but it is usually because Real Life butts its ugly head into things. I always try to respond to threads within a week, but I'm not always successful. We have some members who have iffy internet and reply once every couple of weeks. . .we also have some who can be very quick to reply.

I know some of our admin have been currently swamped in RL, and thus may not be as active, but RL often takes priority...it doesn't mean they are ignoring the site, you or us, but they are taking care of other things (family, work, school) which have to come first.

I'd say be patient and give it another shot, but that's just me, and I tend to be ever the optimist in such situations.