Online RPs are better for crafting intricate narratives in which each player is not only proud of what they are a part of, but also feel that they had a real hand in crafting the story.
And tabletop rpg's aren't? You can still get intricate narratives with tabletop rpg's. All it takes is creativeity and imagination from the players. In other words, use your BRAIN.
Actually, from my experience, you end up with the DM being the main storyteller, and individual player choice is more like a vote in a poll, as opposed to an outright action. When you're online, it's MUCH easier to have a party split up or have characters drop in and out. It also usually gives each player quite a bit more freedom with what they can have their characters do. It's not impossible to do that in an in person RP, but it can be needlessly complicated to work out the details, particularity if the DM has a specific idea for how they want the story to go.
Additionally, since online RPs happen at a slower pace than in person ones, you have much more valuable time to refine exactly what it is you want to say.
Actually, I've seen the opposite of this. I've seen multiple times on Furtopia where RP's moved a little too fast and some members weren't given enough time to post and/or for their characters to do appropriate actions.
If that's the case, i'd say you've just been looking in the wrong places. In my opinion, a GOOD player wouldn't let that happen, and would pace their posts as to not overwhelm the other players. Besides, i believe in quality over quantity, and quality takes TIME and EFFORT... something that i feel many RPers i've seen here could use a bit more of.
Not true in the slightest Kobuk. RPing here on furtopia is how i got know Blades, Wise and plenty of others online. Since we live so far apart from eachother, it's pretty much the only we CAN get to know eachother. And while i would consider my friends online different from my in person friends, that doesn't mean we haven't all grown close over the years.
All I'm saying is this: Social intereation.......REAL interaction........is about getting out and actually meeting people. As I said, getting to know somebody through a computer screen just seems so fake to me. I'm not talking to a person. Instead, I'm talking to a computer with silicon chips, circuit boards, plastic and metal, etc. It's not the same. How do I know who you are? What do you really do? What do you look like? How do I know you mean what you say? This is why a lot of people are afraid/worried about kids, teens, etc. socialising through the Net. There's been too many horror stories of things going wrong on so many levels. But I kinda get what you are saying. You and the other RP'ers live too far apart, so being on the computer is the only way to get to know each other. Have you or others ever thought of going to a furry convention and meeting up?
Hardly any different than talking on the phone if you ask me. That being said, i'd always prefer text over phone because it means i can read messages more than once. Helps me remember details.
As for the convention thing...
None of my in person friends are furries, and honestly, i wouldn't want to drag them into something they wouldn't enjoy. Additionally i loathe traveling. It's hard enough for me to walk to the store if i don't have a friend with me, so going across the country alone is wholly ruled out until i at least get used to stepping foot outside my town.
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I want to make it clear that i thoroughly enjoy RPGs both on and off the internet, and that i do both frequently. Hell, i'm having all my friends over tomorrow specifically so we can work on refining our homemade RPG, and the wholly original world in which it takes place. In the meantime, i need to finish my post for Kings & Queens II, been holding that one up for far too long now.