Open Threads Are Fun

As many of you have probably noticed, there is now an Open Threads List in the Roleplay Request section. This list is mostly for people who don't know where to start or want to be involved in the site plot but aren't quite sure how. It's constantly updated and includes seasonal threads as well as age groups for Students (AKA Hogwarts Threads), Adults, and ones that invite any age to participate.

I, personally, have noticed that folks on PA avoid open threads at almost all costs. Honestly, it surprised me. Open threads give way more opportunity than planned threads ever could. Your character interacts with someone they probably have never met (for it's always more fun to write in open threads with characters you don't know or your character doesn't know). You can meet a new handler and see how they write.

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Things to remember when approaching Open Threads:



The thread would not be listed as "OPEN" if the handler wasn't interested in someone new replying. Anything you write can be drawn from, and as many people are invited as are interested. If you can find a way to put your character in, go for it. You'll probably give the starter ideas and the characters can learn about each other or become friends/enemies or whatever.



The whole fun of an open thread is the fact that you have no idea what will happen. You don't know where the characters will end up or what the driving force of the thread will be. There is no point in sending the person a message with a suggestion of the thread unless you're worried it won't work at all. I mean, that's what I always have trouble with in a usual thread. Planning ahead means you know exactly where the thread will end up, and then the fun of it is taken away. Why not try jumping into the water without sight of the bottom for once?



The only time I've seen open threads truly fail is when someone comes in and tries to change the plot that's already going. If you join later, and a couple people are already writing, put your character into their ideas, their plans. If you change things, the posts will almost definitely slow and possibly dwindle to a stop if ideas are thrown away or original plans are ignored. It just frustrates the other handlers, who then don't know what to do.

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I'll undoubtedly edit this post or add on later with other things, but for now I challenge you to pick a thread on the Open Threads List and just dive in. The starter will appreciate someone replying to the post they took the time to write, and the experience will be helpful for everyone involved.

One point I'd like to make about your third point is I almost always lose interest in someone's reply in my open thread if you don't somehow interact in the thread. If my character has just flopped down crying in an empty corner of the library, have them trip over them, or hear them, BEFORE you just have your character walk into the library. That puts so much pressure on the first player.

Does that mean you have to force the characters to intimately connect in the first post? Of course not. Take THIS POST as an example. Amy did not jump in and force a conversation, but she provided enough information to form some form of interaction. She took the more subtle approach, but the important thing is that I had something to respond to.