Hmm... I have mixed feelings on some of the things on this thread. I suppose to each his own, though, right? We all have our preferences and whatnot, hence why not everyone works well together. But I suppose I'll put in my two cents anyway and share my opinions on a few of the biggies for me. This isn't an exhaustive list for me- just what I'm thinking about at the moment.
One Liners
I couldn't miss noticing that there's been a lot of debate over this on the thread. When I was younger I was in a lot of RPs that were pretty much all one-liners, and it was perfectly fine for me. There always stories and situations in which it will fit. However, those situations and stories are no longer the ones I prefer to write in. I myself am guilty of (and unapologetic about it) something else people have called out here- writing pretty long posts. I've written up to 10 paragraph posts. But this is usually at the beginning of a story when I'm bringing in introductory material and background information. My average is probably around three paragraphs. But the main thing I ask is at least one paragraph. And I even count that as the minimum 3 sentences I was taught when I first learned what a paragraph was. I understand that some people like one-liners, but if my partner can't stretch their posts to at least three sentences, it won't hold my interest. That's just part of who I am.
God Modding and Mary Sues
Another popular one on here. I don't mind people asking me if my character can do something they want them to. In fact, unless it clearly goes against their personality, I'll probably do it. But doing it without my permission is not okay. And perfect characters annoy me too. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far. We write about things that don't exist in real life- fantasy worlds, fantasy creatures, sci-fi elements, etc. But characters should still be believable in the context of the world you're writing in. No one in any setting is ever going to be perfect. They can't do everything, and they do have negative traits, etc. If your character is too perfect, or too flat (only one defining characteristic) I'm not going to like them.
Uninformative Request Threads
If I open a request thread for an idea that says: "Hey I want to write a war story in a medieval setting message me if you're interested," I'm going to click out of the thread immediately. Why? Is there something wrong with that suggestion? No. I don't mind if you have a vague starting point that you'd like to develop a plot from. If fact, that's sort of how I do things too. I want my partner and I to work together on the idea to flesh out a plot. But I want to know more about you, the writer. How long is your typical post? Are you interested in Romance? If so, what gender would you like to write as? What gender to you prefer your partner to write as? What do you not like in a partner (ie- I'd like the sort of things people list on this thread to be in their request threads.) This gives me an idea as to whether or not we would work well together. I don't want to spend a week plotting an idea together, just to learn that you write exclusively in one-liners, while I don't like one-line posts. I'd rather just take the time to read your thread, see you write in one-liners, and decide not to message you, because I know we wouldn't work well together. That saves both of us a lot of time.
All About The Ratios
This is talking about during the actual RPs. There are, as far as I'm concerned, four main parts of a roleplay. First of all, obviously, is the action. This is straight up verbs- what your character physically does. The second part is dialogue. What your character says out loud. Third is inner thoughts, motivation, decision-making factors. In other words, not what your character does, but why they do it (to help build up their character- I want to feel they're almost like they're a real person, and that I feel like I understand them.) And finally, the setting. What everything looks, sounds, hears, tastes, and feels like. Just like inner thoughts and motivations make characters feel real, these details make the setting feel real.
Each of these parts are important in a story, and thus, there should, in my opinion, be a relatively balanced ratio of them. If a post/story is all action, or all dialogue, or all thoughts, or all a description of the setting, I'm going to get bored. I need the story to have all four of these.
Time Specifications on Posts
This one is a huge thing for me. How often I post will vary drastically. I have a highly changeable work schedule, other responsibilities, etc. I may go from working a 20 hour week to a 60 hour week at the drop of a hat, depending on how many/large our orders for the week are. And I don't always know. I may not have time to get on to post, but I think oh, I'll get on tomorrow and respond. But then I'm busy the next day and can't post, but again, I think I'll get on tomorrow for sure. And the next thing I know I realize it's been two to three weeks since I last got on. That's how busy I can get. But at the same time, when I'm not busy, I may post four or five times a day. But again, that will also depend on my post length. So I won't write with anyone who insists their partner post within a certain length of time.
Communication, Communication, Communication
In case you couldn't guess from the title of this section, communication is very important to me. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect my partner to message me out of character every day just to chat, or to run every little idea by me before they write it. That would be insane. What I mean with this is that if I do/say something that bothers you, or you want my character to behave in a specific way, or you have a concrete idea of something you want to happen down the road, tell me! I want to know what you think about the story.
One of reasons this is the biggie is a specific event that happened to me on a different site (no names will be mentioned...) I was in a group RP with a GM and like seven other people (not including myself.) It was specified from the beginning that my character and one of the other writer's characters were in a relationship in the past (specified by the GM, that is, because she had certain "roles" that the characters were supposed to fit into, which included past relationships between the characters). Well, because we knew they'd been in a relationship, we made it so it made sense for them to be. Which meant they clicked very well, and it progressed in a way that we felt like they were naturally heading toward being in a romantic relationship again. And when the GM realized they were about to get together again, she flipped out on me and the other writer that we didn't consult her about them getting back together, because she wanted my character to be in a romantic relationship with hers. But she never told us she specifically wanted that relationship. And our characters didn't click at all. It wouldn't have made any sense for them to be together. And yet, when I wouldn't smash our characters together just because she wanted me to, she threw a huge hissy fit and ended the entire group RP because one thing didn't go her way...
And that's exactly what I'm talking about when I say communication is important. I can't read your mind. So if you don't tell me what you want, don't get angry if I don't magically do that. As soon as someone gets upset with me for not doing something they didn't tell me they wanted, I end the discussion and RP right there and then. You can say that was what you wanted and ask if I can go back and change it. But don't get mad at me for it. It isn't my fault you didn't communicate, now is it?
Ahem. That's probably more information than any of you wanted, but there it is. I'll Just go ahead and cut it off here...