How to keep the scroll down and keep the posts clear.

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Hi guys. We've got a ton of stuff going on, and there are so many posts and really long threads that it's getting hard for people to keep up.

Here's how it's normally handled:

Open your favorite text editor (word/notepad/whatever macs use)
Start a post.
Copy and paste the comments to that post into the text editor.
When you get more than, say 10, comments, post "Pausing" and edit the original post by cutting and pasting the text into the original post.
Delete the comment thread.
Start a new comment thread.

Wash, rinse, repeat. That keeps the amount of posts down, allows people to have one place to catch up on things, and allows for better and more consistent gameplay.

If you have an IM client, I highly suggest using it. It makes it easier to keep track of what's going on and who's posting, so there are no crossing threads. The general rule is: When commenting, announce "Posting" and when you're done, announce "Posted". That way, you can keep the comments in one thread.

Please remember, when doing this, to use lj-cuts.

This will help alleviate the amount of posts happening, and the amount of comments building up per post.

Thanks.

Comments

[prof-methos.livejournal.com]

Or... not. That sounds unnecessarily complicated.

[jerusalem-s.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's the format used in every multi-player game I'm in. Which is, admittedly, only four, but it is easy and works very well indeed.

[prof-methos.livejournal.com]

Different philosophies of play, I guess. I've played in games where it was far easier to just put together a new post with a a link to the old, so someone coming in at the top/most recent could either back up and catch up, or jump in and start.

I do worry that if tonight is anything like last night, 10 comments on a post are going to be literally happening any minute, and anyone who created that post will spend all their time editing it. Plus, we had different threads going at different times, and pulling those threads out into the top-level post makes it difficult to continue an ongoing conversation (no one would get comment notifications any more but the original poster.)

My 4 ¢s;, FWIW.

[soldtoarmenians]

Not that I'm playing in any of the highly insane threads that wuold be really affected by this, but I gotta go with you --

Deleting original comments a) loses the icon commented with, which is sometimes part of the RP, b) takes too much time at the speed the comments fly around here, c) affects players getting comment notifications, d) affects the sort of threads that happen when conversations branch as new lpayers approach them and reply to someone else's comment. Granted some folks might *want* to cut down on c) because it creates confusion and often ends up with a character carrying on two different conversations at the same pretend time, but I think it would lose a lot of spontenaity if the comments were essentially frozen after having been made, due to being immortalized in the main post and deleted from the messageboard section.

[soldtoarmenians]

*headdesk*

Some people might want to cut down on D; the simultaneous conversations, not C, the comment notifications.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

I'm completely behind what you said.

[littleluck.livejournal.com]

I don't think I could have said it better myself. Yes, the threads can get messy, but this would just be MORE messy. Plus, you're saddling the poor person who started the thread with that responsibility--and they might not even be involved anymore.

Also, some people don't have IM/can't use it at the location they're posting from/don't want the hassle of having to talk with other players. A lot of people are multitaskers who might have something else going on.

[aka-vala.livejournal.com]

Just have to agree here... I'd be *lost* in these monster threads without getting all the comment emails because I'm usually commenting in at least 3-4 different subthreads at once, with several more that might pop back up if other characters arrive to respond.

And since not everyone's real-timing it, you lose a lot of playability if you're going to essentially "freeze" earlier comments shortly after they're made by making them text.

I can see how this would work in a slower game, or one with far fewer players, but in the insanity we've got going here -- and speaking as one who's been in the thick of several of the mega-posts-from-hell -- I just don't see how you even could practically do this. (Multiple threads *will* diverge -- once last night in the heat of the library I refeshed, saw a new post, hit reply, slammed out a two-word reply, and when it refreshed again *6* other people had commented to the same post in that same 10 seconds!)

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

I think this is a splendid plan, but only really works well when there are five or less characters involved. The library thread, for example, would be almost impossible to condense.

[2ls-in-oneill.livejournal.com]

I'm with Rogue, I'll try to condense a bit but if it gets out of hand I apologize. I've got like ten+ people in my thread alone.

[katielockley.livejournal.com]

There's also the fact that comments aren't always linear. Reading it all in one post can get quite confusing--you'll have to backtrack a lot.

People also won't be able to edit their comments afterwards. Which I personally do a lot, because I'm anal that way.

[2ls-in-oneill.livejournal.com]

Exactly.