Why so many RP's now?

[OwlLover]

Its not as bad as it used to be either; used to be that's the ONLY thing you could find in the GJF section so it could be much worse. Some of my RP friends are PM RPing instead of RPing on the threads too so the threads won't be too much of a problem soon.

 

[Symphony]

I really don't understand this part at all. How is anyone being "blocked"?

The reason for a lot of the RP and stories, is that there is a fairly large group of young people on this site, who have active (some might say over-active) imaginations. They generally have interest in poultry of some type, but they enjoy just "socializing" with each other, as well. There are lots of threads that aren't particularly chicken related, that adults post as well - this forum and Family Life are popular areas where the threads are hardly ever chicken-related.

Because New Posts covers the entire forum, it will naturally contain a certain amount of material that won't interest you. This is such a diverse community, with such a variety of interests, it's inevitable that not everything would be about raising or eating ducks and chickens.Do you want to read threads about, say, emus or peafowl? Even if the kids weren't posting their games, there are still people that would be chatting about their other hobbies, sharing their personal joys and sorrows, or discussing recent news stories. Every forum that I have ever been on involves an area for that, as well as sub-forums that are dedicated to specific aspects that are so narrow in their scope, some members are bound to not be interested in them. Why single out the kids?

Though I dislike the fact about there being so many Role Play games.

 

[Symphony]

Its not as bad as it used to be either; used to be that's the ONLY thing you could find in the GJF section so it could be much worse. Some of my RP friends are PM RPing instead of RPing on the threads too so the threads won't be too much of a problem soon.

That is very good!

 

[yomama]

Lol! I had no idea there was even an RP thing going on! I've been a BYC member for a few years now, and it wasn't until last year that I even ventured outside the actual "chicken" section. I've popped onto the GJF section just to see what it was like. Didn't interest me, so I don't spend time on there. Never has interfered with me getting to info I need. If I'm understanding correctly, the op is frustrated when looking for new threads, and the majority of the ones that come up are sometimes the RP threads? Maybe you need to tweak how you go about finding what you want on the forum. I usually start with my profile, see if anything is going on in the threads I'm subscribed to and interested in. From there, I'll pop onto different sections, depending what I'm looking for. And I'm not always looking for answers. I'll go to different threads, seeing if there is anyone I can help or give any advice too. Sometimes it isn't always the newest threads that need replies too. Hope this makes sense, my brain kind of hurts today.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Ya, I have the same experience. I visit the site a ton of times every day and never bump into topics to which I have no interest. I don't care much about meat birds, and I don't think I've seen a meat bird topic in months (even though they are being posted to daily).

The RP threads and the state "where am I" threads come up a lot when I'm searching for recent posts, or hot topics across the entire forum, but it's rare that I want to see all the active topics cross the entire site at the same time.

What I usually do is go to these pages below. Each is a category level view and shows the forums in the categories, but more importantly, it shows the active / recent topics list that just applies to that section:

Forum Information and FAQs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/68/forum-information-and-faqs
Raising BackYard Chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/64/raising-backyard-chickens


Since I spend most of my time there I rarely (if ever) see topics I'm not interested in, but see all the topics I am interested in.

 

[Kelly G]

Nifty - I think the O.P. might be a troll. *shrug* The statement just seems kind of ludicrous.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I don't think anybody was trolling. I think this is a valid concern, one which a very small % of our members have. With that said, I also think that avoiding topics you aren't interested in is pretty easy to do. BYC has a lot of tools, features, lists, pages, etc. that will get you right into the info you want while avoiding stuff you don't want.

I believe in most cases, it is just an issue with learning where the tools are and how to use the features to improve one's experience.

 

[Kelly G]

That's what makes me think it's trolling....It's so simple to avoid what you don't like!

Anyway...Put me in the column of appreciating this site...I love it.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't think the OP was trolling either. Folks that come here for the chicken info don't really expect to see so very many RP threads...they dominate the new posts board, like the OP states. I don't really care about their presence, they are easy to avoid and skip past, but it's a puzzle as to why they are here. Sort of like finding a giraffe in the Walmart parking lot...ya wonder how in the heck it got there.

I'm glad, though, that so many of the young people here have imaginations and have learned to do group efforts without a lot of discord and fighting. Better than other activities in which they could be engaging in, so I don't mind their playing. Kids playing nice games ain't all that bad.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

It's not a surprise to me at all. We have a wonderful and friendly community where people like to hang out. The social nature of our community isn't just represented in RP games... check out some of the other social areas of the site and how much comradery and friendliness take place. Some of my favorites are the state specific threads where very little chicken related topics are discussed, but people still enjoy themselves and have a great time with one another.

Here's the real bottom line: The more people we have here enjoying one another in social discussions that aren't chicken related, the more people will be here to answer chicken related questions.

Believe me, there is a method in the madness. I've seen other communities (online and off) that strictly adhere to "no off-topic discussions"... and those communities tend to wither on the vine and eventually die.

I don't know about you guys, but I love BYC and look forward to it being around for another 12 years, and maintaining a social and friendly environment is part of that strategy!