I'm not trying to point any fingers Fans, so kindly don't point them back at me. I'm just stating a fact. GG has changed from what it used to be, to what it now is, over the course of time.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Changed or not... I am still very fond of GG's...
Even though my toons haven't been checking in lately 
.
And the lapsitting is fun! 
The place is too familiar to not to RP at.
*everybody* knows what happens at GG's...
That concept is too awesome to quit RP at GG's.
And of course it changed. Everything changes... evolves... has ups and downs. But GG will get through!
It has for many many years now 
*votes for GG*
CoH Fan-Art Sale still several slots open!
Read my in-game stories and check out my DeviantART page.
- coXso - It was a memorable time filled with art!
Read my in-game stories and check out my DeviantART page.
- coXso - It was a memorable time filled with art!
Fans does have a point, FFM. I'm not going into my earlier days 'Gawd Rikti are attacking why are you all staying here chatting while bombs drop' thing, but more than once I too have see RP plots offered and ignored.
And in this I strike my chest three times while saying mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
In the beggining I was oooh, super hero RP!! From someone who loved comic books being in a super hero RP content was great.
But as time went I find myself doing the 'this plot wouldn't affect my character, I don't like this person's RP, I don't like drama, I don't want the hassle, why bother since it will peter out anyway, meh'.
I probably have a very idealised idea of what super hero RP would be because of comics and also NWN spoiled me with a GM who could spawn enemies, use NPCs to talk, put problems down that would not require just bashing things.
MA does solve part of this but it's still not fluid.
The whole 'I don't know that character very well so I won't interact with them despite them being a new person and/or making several attempts at getting attention from people' is very prominent and it's very difficult to get to know anybody as a newcomer.
As such it becomes quite an inbred community as less people go due to not actually getting to RP because they haven't had a chance to talk to anybody yet.
Considering everybody is a superhero and it's a not particularly widely known hang out spot, you'd think new people finding it would be something people noticed!
As for Ds, at least things happen there! You stand around in either bar, people talk to you! They make conversation over the bar, offer you a drink, EVEN (shock! horror!) ask you what you're writing about when you stand at the side writing in your notebook not drawing attention!
I hate to break it to the GGers out there, but they may not be the cream of the crop when it comes to roleplaying, but at least they actually do some. It' not perfect, but it's something.
*goes to get flame resistant shield*
..*finds he has to agreee with Emp ...of late i have been dropping into Pok D with my Brute ..and have found it more welcoming that GG ..yes there are some tools there but less than i remember ..GG ok if you are "in" but other wise you get a hello and thats about it .... unless your a catgirl of course . 
The thing is, people turn up with new characters. Who have absolutely no inquisitive nature about them or anything interesting to say. I don't mind meeting new people, but they have to actually make me want to talk to them. Turning up as 'Strong Silent Type Man' isn't very endearing.
Now in PD, this isn't a problem since 99% of the time the person you're talking too is going to go on a big rant about themselves after getting you a drink and you are in fact just a pair of ears. But at GG usually people are already talking about something and unless people make an effort to get involved with the conversation or actually bring something interesting to talk about you won't get much of an in.
I never have a problem introducing new characters any more and it's not like I'm better known that most people there. I just bring a story even if it's just about how hard it is to clean ectoplasm out of spandex, relate it and then bug people about thier lives/city/factions/powers. It seems to work pretty well.
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The thing is, people turn up with new characters. Who have absolutely no inquisitive nature about them or anything interesting to say.
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I've turned up a few times with my little inquisitive fairy character, she was running around everyone, flying around a few people, peeking around the corner and even asked for a cookie when someone had pulled out a box of them and was giving them out.. She was completely ignored by everyone there, so she left as she got bored. I was expecting at least a "Hey, look at that little thing whizzing around." or something.. I was trying to attract attention.. I guess she was invisible. 
I even brought a friend of mine to GG so they could see what it was like.. It kinda felt like we were the new kids on the estate and the local school kids that hang out on the street corner just didn't want to know because we weren't 'one of them'..
Help Dirk Knightly the freelance detective solve a case in Arc ID:368097
We have different experiences then, Emp, but then you prefer PD and I prefer GG.
Several times I've gone to PD and I stood there watching others doing what I'd dubiously call RP and certainly very few approached to say anything (two so far) or even responded when directly adressed.
On the other hand at GG there are several characters who make an effort to greet and introduce people. Red comes to mind first off, Fans in whatever character, myself.
But if you, for example, comes to GG and sits down in silence without making an effort, or doesn't *try* to interact in a simple manner, to then leave after an hour of being bored, then it's not going to work.
I, personally, have slowly gone into the 'if people haven't come around a number times yet, then is it really worth the bother?'
So so so many times I see alts coming over, greeting, talking, mingling well, and suddenly gone. It's become a running joke, the 'those who come and disappear after two weeks'.
Kallie, if you stand around, saying nothing, how are things supposed to work? You showed with Kallandra, Lea remembered her and greeted. Why not come over and interact? Instead you took her to the side and stood there watching the group interact with your friend.
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Kallie, if you stand around, saying nothing, how are things supposed to work? You showed with Kallandra, Lea remembered her and greeted. Why not come over and interact? Instead you took her to the side and stood there watching the group interact with your friend.
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Kall was actually stood talking with Lady Grey IC, so was a bit busy to pop over and say hi, she'd not seen her for over a year. Kall did acknowledge Lea's greeting. Plus i'd got so many OOC tells going on i didn't know whether i was coming or going. I'm not that good at multi-tasking 
. I might try again at some point.
Help Dirk Knightly the freelance detective solve a case in Arc ID:368097
The same with your fairy, really. I well remember her. She came, she fluttered about, but naugth much more. Even with graphics RP is still served by a text medium. Fluttering around saying nothing tells us nothing as well. Is it a shy fairy? Is it a fairy high on fairynip? Is it a non-RPer floating around and trying to make head and tails of those strange talking people standing around and not killing things for XP?
Emoting dispells these doubts and gives an opening.
Now far from me saying GG stands for 'God's Gift' for RPers. I still remember my very first Lea (and I've 12 of them now), when GG was packed with people, and it took me up to level 30 to finnaly be aknowledged and slowly integrated.
And then it took my third Lea taken to level 50 (just to show the measure of time involved) before I started to be aknowledged/mingled with the left GG group (yes, because we are a shallow RP pool but on top of it we divide ourselves in groups that don't interact with each other to further thin said pool).
But there you have it, at the time I wanted to have a RP main, someone who would be recognized and who could be approached, I still maintain my wish to know people and what they can do IC so that when people have problems that need to be solved I can say, 'Oh, X can help you, X does that kind of thing' so that instead of using NPCs we can get RP between people.
What I see here is a bit too much of 'I went there, I said hello, no one payed attention to me so I left and don't think I'll bother coming back'. Commiting to a character means time spent on it. The character begins to be known, quirks are shown, motivations are known.
These kind of things can't be all dumped in the first meeting.
Ellie's going to take the Position defense. "It's all grey to me, no RP." (That's a joke, btw)
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I presume you mean the "Positron Defense", FFM.
On what appears to have become the main topic... way to derail a thread. But, since it's been utterly derailed, I've changed the thread title and I'm going to add my two penneth to the discussion.
Firstly, anyone interested in RP would be very well served to check out the sticky about Hints, Tips and Tricks.
Yes, we (I use the term to refer to those of us who frequent GG for our RP fix in-game) can seem cliquish. No, it's not intentional. No, we're not unwelcoming.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that if I'm on my main and your toon isn't female, my main is unlikely to strike up a conversation - but that's the way he tends to be. Conversely, my second character is very likely to start a conversation with practically anyone.
The hardest part about breaking into RP at GG is that the interactions and relationships there tend to be long-term. As such, it can seem that there is an unbreakable wall, where people don't want to have "intruders" joining in. This wall is not real! Many, many, many of the toons that frequent GG are extremely friendly and open, and quite willing to talk to new people, as long as they're not tied up with something else (and it's that last part that seems to create the "wall"). My best recommendation for anyone interested in "breaking in" to GG RP is to get there for 9. There tend to be fewer people around, and those that are tend to interact with whomever is present. I know that if (rare these days, but it does happen) I get there before or at 9 o'clock, then I often strike up a conversation with whomever is present.
Once everyone has turned up, old conversations, relationships and discussions tend to take over, making it a lot harder for a new character to inject themselves into things.
We are not interested in shutting people out - quite the reverse, in fact - but RP in a social setting such as GG is a joint effort between everyone involved, which means that the people already there are as likely to make the first move as a newcomer - if a new character makes no effort to talk, then nobody there will make any effort to speak to them.
A further recommendation for someone new, though, is this (feel free to copy/paste it):
/me strolls up to Shadowe and taps him on the shoulder. "Umm, excuse me... is this the place where the heroes hang out?"
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise ; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
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I presume you mean the "Positron Defense", FFM.
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Umm, yeah.. That... 
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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I presume you mean the "Positron Defense", FFM.
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Umm, yeah.. That...
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Well, Ellie is all about the position. We assume.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Big thanks for everyone who joined in on the IC rescue Twiligher mission, got my 25 people played badge and also enjoyed the RP.
Brawling Cactus from a distant planet.
No problem CB, was fun!
[Union Roleplayers]Kiken: Tick the off in your Observer Book of Lesbians
[Union Roleplayers]Nitro v. IV: we need a perma-man feature
[Union Roleplayers]Nitro v. IV: I'd trust you more if you did it in front of me
Gotta love dem dere RolePlayers
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It's only in the last couple of years where it's become a lap sitting borefest with nothing of any substance happening.
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I'm sure this is entirely our fault. I mean its not like you turn up, refuse to really engage with anyone you don't know well and then leave without a goodbye. Or that your hero is a fashion designer with a dislike for actually helping people she hasn't known for years, who trashed several attempts on my part to actually get her involved in a plot when Rhiannon was about since it was beneath her notice as it didn't directly affect the character. Now this may well have been IC, but you can't then act surprised that any plots that do happen for in-mish RP or investigation or the like don't include you. You flat out ignored Horizon's requests for help too before.
I'm in a few small plots at GG and ran some small ones. I've literally stood next to the people complaining here yelling for help and they've ignored it. Sure it was nothing epic and grand scaling, but really my characters aren't geared towards that anyway. They turn up with a story every other night and will happily let something come from it. Done quite a few nice IC things since I've been there some of which led onto bigger things, some didn't due to the aforementioned lack of interest. I was enjoying doing IC mishes, but sadly exams have put that on stall for a month or two, it'll be back! The people complaining about it becoming generic seem to think it is in fact our duty to entertain them with more epic and exciting RP every single time they pass by the statue otherwise it's not worth the 'effort' of turning up. Well sorry, but if you find it going through a boring spell, start something. I'm not your monkey! Especially if you don't even pay attention when I finally do try to dance for you!