Encouraging communities and outside RP

[Daquan Kingston]

I need me a Romanian gypsy neighborhood. 

[GambloTwitch]

30 minutes ago, ThatMuricanGuy said:

Ah yes.. One person talked about robberies and now it's a crying thread about robberies, which has nothing to do with the initial topic.

 

On topic, yes it would be nice to see folks just passively roleplaying in a few different areas, local government could go and attempt to setup minor events being anything from a small fair, to a farmers market, to some random event that celebrates a current holiday that's not an overly spammy EDM party. Even business owners could host minor events as well following some of the ideas above. 

I’m not one of them. I hate them. But, it’s sure, that more people talking about ‘we can’t rp outside because people dm or rob us’ will come through. It’s usual and sure. It’s like a Coronavirus.

[Jennie]

People don't create hubs because they are quickly branded as mallrats.

[MistaPink]

Lately I've seen the best RP/more community based in the country and I love it. Everyone has been friendly in the towns and at the businesses. 

 

It's been pleasant. 

[Topinambour]

6 minutes ago, Jennie said:

People don't create hubs because they are quickly branded as mallrats.

That's an important point, yeah...

 

Outside hubs are a pretty good place to thread RPs between people of different RP communities. Since those usually are the kind of place where *anyone* could have a reason to be, it's a good occasion for a mobster to meet a gang member, for a civilian to meet a potential employer, for a detective to hear chatter about something dubious, ... all of which facilitates RP a lot.

 

Problem is, each time such a thing is even talked about, you have people coming saying it's "mallratting" and sometimes trying to make the area as unpleasant as possible, which inevitably ends up in its disappearance :x 

Which sucks, some very cool RP started in places like those (yep - some very realistic, deep and cool crime RP started in the infamous Mirror Park parking lot 😛 ). Supposing "mallrats" are a real thing, I'd say they're not that much of a problem when you see the potential. It'd be like trying to close a restaurant because maybe someone someday will not like the menu. ^^' 

[Cadillac]

I like West Grove Community's thread.

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Safe + Sound

[MeowTheEpic]

Factions should encourage and assist RP hotspots in their respective areas and establish some sort of connection to the local population, consider it a pool of potential members, mallrats can be filtered by making it unhospitable for people that portray unrealistic characters in those areas, take it ICly and be aggressive towards these low quality characters that do nothing but flex their wealth in a neighborhood that they don't belong to.

[Paenymion]

Some interesting thoughts so far!  The views are quite broad...here is me summarising them as I understood them:

 

• Factions could/should be leading the creation of IC communities.  I think this is a valid view.  Perhaps a noticeable "bringing of life" to an area should be what's used to judge if an unofficial group progresses to official?  Group members roleplaying living/eating/socialising in the area they supposedly are based in.
• People who are putting a lot of visible effort into making communities run into blocks from property management.  I have no personal experience here and know PM always seem to be blamed for everything, but if it's true it would be something to work on.
• Communities should be less faction-based and more neighbourhoods for all.  Ideally yes, a place for all to mix and meet, create spontaneous RP that isn't planned for.  They would even be a natural IC recruiting ground for the "local factions".
• Anti-mallrat sentiment.  I think this is a shame and terms like mallrat should perhaps be done away with.  Somebody isn't a mallrat because they want to engage in some legal citizen RP that doesn't involve crime or crime fighting.  Also there is an important difference between hub and community.  A hub implies a single place where everyone gathers.  What I'd like to see is more, small little communities.

[Zoinks]

As someone currently trying to bring some sense of neighbourhood/community to the town of Grapeseed, alongside a few other RPers, I personally think the key to keeping roleplay in outdoor spaces alive is to make the area feel lived in, either with a range of businesses (varied businesses, not just several nightclubs and a 24/7) or a large playerbase in the area. Currently Grapeseed is extremely dead and it's rare you will meet another character there who isn't just passing through for the gas station or clothing store and that's because 1. there's a severe lack of property, housing or business related, and it's going to take time to set up businesses while staying true to our character development. 2. there's only a handful of us at the moment that are well-established in the area.

From what i've noticed, not as a member of that community myself but as someone on the outside looking in so take what I say with a pinch of salt, K-Town ticks both of the previously mentioned boxes and that's why you will notice a lot of people roleplaying outside. A lot of people roleplay there because of the appeal and the community created, and the several businesses cater to a wide variety of character types, whether it's a gang member, a regular citizen, a group of friends or just an individual grabbing a bite to eat. They also frequently do outdoor-based events. The RP variety plus the number of people in the area creates an environment where there is incentive to stick around and stay. The first thing people do when RP becomes stale/boring, is move to another part of the map to find good roleplay elsewhere. If the roleplay is already  good where you are, then you're more likely to stay in that area and interact. Then, in turn, this encourages even more people to stay as they notice that the environment is active both indoors and outdoors.

Therefore I do think it is the responsibility of faction/group leaders to create roleplay hotspots in the form of varied businesses but it is also the responsibility of other members wishing to roleplay there to have some patience and stick around and create roleplay in the area they want to be members of instead of going to another area to seek RP. I'd also encourage people to try and interact with their environment more in less obvious ways. Sticking to the grapeseed example; there is nothing stopping someone from standing behind one of the fruit stalls on the side of the road and roleplaying a fruit merchant, or starting a 2-3 man handyman business that is currently working on decorating/fixing the exterior of a building in the town centre. These are just two examples of outdoor roleplay scenarios while still having a business/group roleplay feel to them. 

TLDR; Being creative with the map that exists already as a way to create RP in areas that we wish to promote RP in. I also think there needs to be more patience and a willingness to RP in areas that are pretty dead instead of just moving to the next available business. Be the change you want to see I suppose. The more people in an area, the more likely that people will stay, and that's only possible if more than 2 or 3 people put the effort in. 
 

[Engelbert]

1 hour ago, GambloTwitch said:

I’m not one of them. I hate them. But, it’s sure, that more people talking about ‘we can’t rp outside because people dm or rob us’ will come through. It’s usual and sure. It’s like a Coronavirus.

I know, I used to be one of those preaching against roleplaying outside and there are still people, not willling to step out. But for myself I can say, that the trend of robbing everyone they see outside, has gone down a bit. Infact I noticed the opposite, now it's more about, I am caught, sometimes chased away and sometimes punished, by people I try to pickpocket or break into their car. Instead of, "Hey I am calling the police!", they always try to punish the thief themselves. Why is that? Cause I noticed, that nearly everyone is either armed, or is actually someone with criminal activities. Be it a club DJ or a bartender.