RP and wait times.

[MagnificentBastard]

How long do you think it's fair/polite to wait for a reply?

[MagnificentBastard]

I knew most people would say depends on the roleplay.

I find that answer somewhat useless. But fair enough to each their own.

[Peculiaritree Deactivated]

Well, if it helps, I use a simple formula: twice the expected length of time for a reply. So if the person you're RPing with usually responds once a week, wait two weeks. If they respond withing the day, wait until the next day. It tends to work well for me .

Edit: It also depends on how much/how well they write. If they tend to write long, multi-paragraph responses, I usually give them extra leeway for editing.

[MagnificentBastard]

I find people don't have a candance, some people reply a lot one day then you don't hear from them for days.

I am fine with schedule, but it's hard to make one when replied are seemenly random.

[Peculiaritree Deactivated]

That's interesting; most everyone I've RPd with has replied almost like clockwork. Maybe we're just meeting different kinds of people lol.

[MagnificentBastard]

Some people do have a candance and some people tell you up front which is my preference.

But most people really do seem to random/unpredictable.

[IsabellaRose]

I am 100% random/unpredictable. It depends entirely on real life. Sometimes real life kicks my ass and I'm simply too exhausted to even bother booting up my laptop. Other days I am full of energy and ready to go and post a million things for no good reason. 

I always tell my partners up front that my posting schedule is unpredictable. It figure it's only fair if I'm going to be so hit and miss and all over the place to give fair warning first. 

My best answer to the question is: as long as we agreed upon. I usually negotiate with someone and set an expectation. If we agree to weekly posts, or every other day, or whenever we get around to it, I generally give them some leeway above and beyond the agreed upon time before poking them.

I also don't just give up. I always send a message asking if they lost interest or are still interested in continuing. I don't always get a reply, but that happens, too. A lot of people feel quite guilty about ghosting you without a real reason other than they just didn't feel like posting or replying, so they wait even longer since they don't know what to say, and then it's been so long they don't ever bother replying. I've just come to accept that 60-80% of my roleplays will never be finished.

[Kerzin Kalamond]

When I am off I try to get things as done as quickly as I can. However the rest of the week it gets much much slower with work eating up my time. After I however try to catch up depending on the level of exhaustion.

but waiting for reply’s don’t bother me. I always will tell people that if it ever bothers them XD 

[Buio Banned]

As a rule I won't assume that there is a problem unless it's been more than a week because people of course have IRL demands, and on top of that I'm hardly likely to be the only person they need to write out replies to.

 

As for how long I will wait beyond that, it entirely depends on the player themselves. If they used to post very fast and haven't replied in a week I will ask if everything is okay. If their normal speed is a bit slower I might wait a few weeks before checking in. Some particular long term partners of mine I am used to waiting on for over a month at a time on occasion because I know they have demanding school work and other social obligations that at times kick into overdrive and leave them with no time or energy to post.

 

This is one of the big reasons why I like making friends with my partners and having OOC chat with them. Insight into their personal lives helps to manage expectations, and plus people are usually happy to have OOC talks fairly regularly even when they don't have the brainspace to do IC. Helps in keeping the spirit of the rp alive during long breaks in between posting.

[Elena Ichinomiya]

i'm one of depend on RP tbh. Some writing length/style can overwhelm me so much that i take more than once to re-read just so i can reply correctly, resulting delay. When i said reply, it IS depend on how long it is. If it just one-two paragraph, it will be replied ASAP even when i'm tired. More? then it will be more longer or even next day if i'm too tired.

Rather than give them my schedule of reply, i'm more concerned if their writing style are too much for myself.

[MagnificentBastard]

Thanks for the info everyone. I think in the future I'll wait a week rather than a month.

[Alexander Bodide]

I can honestly resume an RP no matter how old it is, as long as I haven't forgotten some vital detail about how things were meant to unfold. I can definitely see myself resuming an RP suspended for ten years without missing a beat. It probably helps that most of my RPs have story as a secondary focus at best.

Most of the time it's just a matter of getting in the mood again, right? So it's pretty easy to do that just be re-reading what you have so far from the beginning. Works for me at least.

[Aura]

I reply whenever I get around to it. Maybe that sounds rude, but RP is far from my top priority. If I'm not feeling up to the RP, I don't respond. It's not worth stressing over when it's supposed to be fun and enjoyable.

Sometimes it can take months for me to get back, though I usually find that in that time my partner usually loses interest. If I've just come off of a long unannounced absence, I usually apologize OoC before continuing my reply.

It may come off as rude to just disappear without a word, but you don't always get the luxury of sharing that information.

You're never entitled to a response, so I never worry too much about being on the receiving end of such pauses. If they lost interest on the rp, I'd rather then just leave it open ended in case they wish to come back to it later on. I've found that a long pause can do wonders in revitalizing interest in the story!

[Neptune]

I reply when I can/want to, and quite often RL stuff gets in the way. I know that RP might not be the top priority for every person I RP with, so I am generally patient. Although I do prefer people talking to me first, if they're not up to posting or will be taking an extended absence. In that case, I am more than happy to wait. I don't need details or personal info. Just a "I don't feel up to posting" or "RL is swamping me" is absolutely fine with me. Whenever I'm like that, I like to keep my partners up to date so I just ask for the same respect in return. But I also have more patience for those that I'm more comfortable with, such as several of my long term roleplaying partners. So really, the amount of time it takes before I move on varies on not only the roleplay, but the person too.

I am less patient with new people that ask to RP with me, though. I'm unfamiliar with them, and I don't want to be strung along. However I will always send them a message, asking if there's anything wrong, before I move on. 

If someone deactivates their account, or leaves for longer than a month, and they don't respond to my messages, then I will move on. But if they return, I will give them one more chance. But if they waste it, then I'm moving on and I no longer wish to RP with that person.

[Hand Solo Deactivated]

I try not to keep anyone waiting too long. But at the same time am a little... Well if a person takes too long whatever that is too me, I tend to assume you hated or disliked my writing and moved on. A bit insecure sounding I admit but it's how I feel and my burden as a RPer.

[Imouto Kanna]

I imagine this is with no contact whatsoever. I like to keep my partners informed when I am not able to respond as quickly as desired.
So I will usually reach out if its been several days with no response when I'm used to a response within 24 hours. Then if I don't get a response back I'd probably give it another week. It depends if i see them online or not too.
But if its a really good rp.. I could wait a while.

 

[Tsuki]

It depends on the RP and the role players. I tend to wait, I can also recover an RP after weeks. However if I have to wait or wait too long I prefer to be honest with the other part, and I declare it either before or during with a message. The same thing applies if I want to leave an RP. To be clear I think it is respectful for everyone.

[Hand Solo Deactivated]

Regardless, leaving without some say so is hella rude. Especially if you're gonna be visibly active on the site, I think.

[Tsuki]

@Hand Solo

Sometimes it happens that I have long and Short rp going on. To answer the long one (like ours) I need some times and concetration...if I've short time I'm active on the Shor ones or I check the site.

I've one or two rp blocked from some weeks and I don't know why, because the other part is always active.

I prefer that the other part say to me "I'm bored or I don't like the rp" ecc., so I can move on. 

[Hand Solo Deactivated]

True longer replies take time, which is fine, I meant moreso just leaving a thread w/o apparent cause or notice to your partner then being active on the site elsewhere.

To me that's rude and RPers shouldn't treat each other like that.

[Peculiaritree Deactivated]

Oof, yeah, nobody likes a ghoster. The "good" news is that they tend to pick up a negative reputation in relatively small and close-knit communities like EcchiDreams. We're all a bunch of gossipy fucks and the offender will probably find themselves ostracised quite quickly.

[Azuria]

I try not to ghost people and keep them informed if I can't keep up the rp. It kinda saddens me but I feel like my brain can't keep up sometimes, I just feel tired writing and inevitably end up genuinely forgetting about some if IRL interjects between stuff. I've been trying to keep writing so I get used to it but so far haven't gotten too good at it. I end up doing short rps most of the time. Something I absolutely love and rarely get bored of is IC chatting with friends and just mixing in some rp in that. x) 

[Peculiaritree Deactivated]

What matters is that you make the effort. People are generally pretty forgiving if an honest attempt is made. Goodness knows I've benefitted from that a lot the past few weeks XD

[Hand Solo Deactivated]

Good!