As of late I've noticed an abundance of role plays within the streets, now while I enjoy a well thought out role play as much as the next person I'm finding that a lot of them just have no substance to them.

They're introduced with a hefty introduction, full of description and detail on the first post and then afterwards we see one or two lined replies in an attempt to carry on the role play, only to see it diminish rapidly and what started as a promising role play is then turned into a farcical attempt at winning some VIP points.

Clearly just a way to abuse the VIP ranking system and I think it's something that should be looked at, not just by those with street sweeping abilities but by the leaders too. After all, it does affect you and your crew if some turd is constantly throwing up shit RP's for the sake of gaining VIP for his district.

I'm not saying trying to get VIP rankings for your district is a bad thing but fuck a duck, at least make it worthwhile and have an actual story planned out, providing characters with roles instead of the:

Joe Nobody lit his cigarette and noticed some cunt talking

"Oh hey, I'm Joe"

And then onto the next response which is equally as shit.

Sort it out people, we want Role Play not Shmole Plays!

The problem is no one wants to read 600 words without an assurance that it will be worth it. This means that good rp posts barely get the attention they otherwise would and people get discouraged from actually putting in the effort to read and respond.

Is there no place for telling a story in the streets by inhabiting the role you're playing? I agree that a balanced back and forth is more perfect, but I don't view a more "single player" story as invalid- even if they are less than ideal, since there's an ample opportunity for people to respond and build on it however they wish (assuming it's within reason).

I agree with you that reading and responding to a longer story is not everyone's particular cup of tea, but I'd also point out that no one is being forced to read or respond to anything.

If the world has changed so much that telling a story in the streets is no longer admissible, then perhaps I'm in the wrong place. My understanding was that in character stories- particularly ones where people have the opportunity to react and it doesn't just cut to black- were perfectly acceptable. The forum guidelines define the streets as "for IC dialogue that references IG materials. The STREET forum is the ultimate forum for street debates, RP adventures and stories, and IC announcements". Emphasis mine, which would seemingly allow for a story even with zero RP potential since it distinguishes between stories and RP adventures.

Honestly, you're entirely entitled to your opinion. I've not been around for a long time, but people have enjoyed stories like this in the past. Other people see them as "shit RP's" by "some turd". To each his own. The only thing I'd correct you on is your line about "Clearly just as way to abuse the VIP ranking system". You absolutely have a right to share your opinion, but I don't believe your opinion can extend to defining anyone else's motivations.

Role plays should be more than just a thread, they should be a story that can be followed between characters and they should inspire others to build their own history. If someone took the time to look into my history, they could follow a Web of ties between characters and family members.

Me too but ultimately no one really cared to read it as it wasn't related to the mechanics of the game, didn't contribute to the power politics and was just too damn long.

I even planned out a full structure of how it was going to develop and how it would eventually end. But again, if you write a huge plot out on the forums literally no one cares unless it affects them or they can somehow know it will be worth investing the time to read. (Which they don't because the forums have a lot of, to be frank, garbage) 

Writing.. just for example "lolol Karmen's a massive bitch I hate her and might shoot her soon lolol" will get you significantly more activity than a 3 post series that develops a character as part of a larger narrative that demonstrates the nuances of conflict in family, money and relationships.

Because again, case in point, no one cares.

Some people read the longer threads; I've been surprised to find out how many silent readers I actually had in the past. And sometimes the number of readers can increase over time.

Even if they're too damn long for most people, it doesn't mean there isn't a smaller group appreciating it. The other factor, I think, is whether you're writing to gain the response of an audience- or whether you're writing with an idea to explore your character. 

or whether you're writing with an idea to explore your character. 

This is precisely why Fitz's argument is as annoying as the "shitty RPs" he protests. Last I checked, not a damn one of you (with Keats as the practical and historical exception) endeavors the construction of a unique character through which you play the game.

For nearly anyone except Keats to make the argument that Role Play is lacking is laughable. It's not lacking, it's nonexistent. What floods the Streets are stories by players, not actions by characters. Until we get to that point, discussing or arguing the "quality" of the posts is stupid.

Someone needs a nap, I think.

It's impossible to truly know someone's motivations behind making several role plays that fall on their face, all I can do is take a stab in the dark and say it's most likely to gain VIP rankings.

If someone were to write out a well thought out piece which is then responded to with a couple of lines, I'd want to carry on the standards I had set and bring as much quality to the next post, rather than continue it with a "Hi mate" and it's done. I believe that someone who'd put thought into their piece would want to do the same, I can't speak for everyone but to have that kind of response would annoy me, especially if I was truly trying to get the ball rolling on something I'd put effort into.

I agree Gato that role plays should have more depth than just a story told out in the street but as the angry Aristides says, people can't seem to actually take on board a character and run with it, and instead they act in the same way their previous 379327932 accounts have. So these RP's that we see pop up are all we have for now and as mentioned in my original post, they fall at the first hurdle more often than not. Again though it seems as if it's not a problem to the original poster and they're wiling to go on with these minimal responses, hence my comment regarding the VIP ranking.

I would argue that as long as it contains a decent standalone adventure, a "role play that falls on its face" could also be known as a story, which is entirely appropriate for the streets. Again, I agree that a more "single player" story is less ideal than multiple people contributing and building on each other's ideas, but I also think it can be a good tool to establish and develop a character.

Regarding VIP rankings, I don't think a story that someone puts effort  into should be classified as "shit RP" or ineligible spam on principle just because it didn't receive a raucous, extended response. The action is the writer's- the reaction is not.  I hope to plan out some more balanced, group narratives in the future, but I also think it's okay to just throw something out there without knowing what the reaction will be, and going with the flow.

I also agree with Aristides point that it seems counterproductive to be overly critical of preferred types of roleplay, when there's a general lack of authentic roleplaying on the whole. Again, stories aren't perfect- but I don't want to make perfect the enemy of the good, as the saying goes, and I think they have a place here. 

I can't speak for other writers, but I assure you that if I received a response  of a well thought out multi-paragraph piece, I would respond in kind. I didn't think it would be appropriate to launch a new multi-paragraph adventure after someone made a short response, so I responded in kind there as well. If you'd like to contribute an extended response to one of my existing RP stories or a future one, or perhaps start an RP of your own,  I'd be happy to demonstrate a longer response. 

It seems that you're just not a fan of stories that may or may not lead to extensive, planned roleplaying- which is totally fine. The Romans had a saying: "De gustibus non est disputandum", which roughly translates to "In a matter of taste, there can be no dispute". I don't know if it's productive to have a discussion of "I don't like this" vs. "But I do like this" (which seems to be 90% of cable "news shows" , but now I'm getting off track). I happen to like a good story, and other people do as well. If they aren't your particular cup of tea that's fine- but stories are present in the site forum guidelines, so they're objectively valid. 

Last I checked, not a damn one of you (with Keats as the practical and historical exception) endeavors the construction of a unique character through which you play the game.

Why would you? 90 percent of the community are not interested in narrative nor character development and will ignore anything that doesn't relate directly the the mechanics of the game. I mean, I did:

http://mafiareturns.com/comm/thread/762479#11951421

 http://mafiareturns.com/comm/thread/779516#12215162

But ultimately, no one's interested in this unless it relates to game mechanics or isn't so damn long that they risk wasting their time reading hundreds of words for a plot that's poorly thought out and lacks foresight.