Posting Frequency Expectations

Hi everyone.

While I know that this ultimately boils down to the individual group and their upfront agreement, I do find myself wanting to ask: what is a good expectation for posting frequency in a game?

Previously, I've seen games where once a fortnight or week was fine, and at other times I've seen games where people would post daily. It seems like it could swing in either direction.

That said, I'm curious whether this site tends to find itself catering to players and games where a certain baseline frequency is desired/expected. I wouldn't want to pitch a game with something counter to the norm and find I've lost interest before I've even gotten a response.

Thanks in advance.

4-5 time pr week is my sweet spot. That keepes a daily check in, with room for real-life commitments

4-5 per week is a good recommendation - and an encouraging one. I found once a week to be far too slow for my liking, so something a little more involved to prevent stagnancy would be a good base. Thanks for your reply!

I think a post per 24-48 hours, or 5-7 posts per week, are the best options for me. PbPs generally suffer from not enough of a plot being played through before the likely sudden demise of the campaign, and taking too long before/between the real fun parts, so less than every couple of days feels too slow to me. I found that even under tight timing constraints, visiting the forum once a day is usually doable (e.g. when I pulled 14-hour shifts daily, I still dedicated somewhere from 30 to 120 minutes per day to 'decompression', i.e. leisure).

But it's difficult to reliably expect more than 1 post per 24 hours in light of differing timezones (it can happen a lot with a good party, but it can't be relied upon even with the best one), and the allowance for some days being too busy to get a post in is good to have, and there's the fact that sometimes player A waits for player B to react before making a post of one's own . . . so 1 post per 24-48h seems like a more practical expectation that balances those concerns.

Still, such a pacing is not for everyone.

The main thing I'm picking up on is that the posting expectations are higher than what I'm used to, which isn't a bad thing - if anything, it's one of the big appeals of a place like this.

I've also found that slow, non-commital posting kills a game, and I would like to avoid that where possible.

Don't rush to conclusions when a bunch of daily posters respond to your thread on the same day you made it. ^_^

Valid. I think my enthusiasm is showing through. Either way, I won't be throwing together a game proposal until I've had a chance to look over the site, so plenty of time to get more input.

Something to keep in mind is that not all posts are made the same. You could churn 5 or even 10 simple "Grumpy the Dwarf swings his axe full force, trying to split the orc in half! *Rolling attack!*" , no problem. But if you're involved in a more narratively complex game, where each post might be a small essay on the mental state of your character or a comprehensive, exhaustive answer with all arguments detailed, as your character takes part in a heated political debate.. You're unlikely to hit your weekly quota. So you might want to think what sort of commitment you want from your players and what would suit the game you want to run better.

That's a very good point. I personally prefer the latter, so that's worth keeping in mind. 🤔

I've been thinking about this as well, in possible preparations for running something myself and what I settled for now would read something like this: "Posting rate: varied, with at least 2-3 weekly posts. If the scene only calls for short input - like combat - then daily posting is encouraged. If the scene requires large, chunky posts then falling back to 2-3 responses a week is acceptable."

That's not a bad recommendation. It allows for quicker posts in more action-focused scenes, but also places an understanding on the need for more involved posting outside of it.

Yep! You need to be keeping the pace way up! Even at 5-7 posts a week, certain genres suffer in PBP. You drop a clue in a mystery that only becomes relevant weeks down the line.

The more posts, the better. I feel like the site average is 5 posts a week, minimum.

I generally try to post as often as the players or GM do, but there are times when I simply can't post. My wife is blind, so I have to be on call for her, and if she has an appointment, she needs me to take her. Add to that my clinical depression, and some days are just too much. If I expect to be gone for an extended time, I generally try to give warning in advance.

Thank you both for your input. It's appreciated.

I find games that are active have a stronger chance of survival. Not to say you can't manage a slower pace, but I personally would get really bored waiting upwards of a week for somebody to reply to something.

I'm the same. Especially if the replies you've been waiting on are one-liners. It's why I've relocated, and checked about posting frequency upon arrival.

It exists here. Not often, but I have seen it.

Better it be an occasional thing than the norm.

As a GM, I aim for 3 posts/week. Like Gearspark, I find that active games have a stronger chance of survival. However, if the GM has buy-in from the players, then less frequent posts are ok. For instance, I was in a The One Ring game that recently concluded where posts were typically once/week. But the GM did such a fantastic job with the story that we were all hooked and didn't mind waiting for him.