Notes

One of the appeals of group roleplays is that [you] can explore a new world and environment, as well as interacting with strange and wonderful faces. [You] can explore the day to day life in the place, or how people might feel or act in such an environment. Sometimes people join together in groups, but more often than not it's just one or two people that join a group and barely know anyone. These people become friends with the others through interactions in the chat and roleplay. In a linear story, where you are playing narrator every turn and are also playing as ocs, it can feel hard for someone knew to feel like they belong. When people sign up to a group roleplay, they sign up to be put into a setting where they can write and interact with others, not waiting to be pushed along and react to a script. Sure, everyone could be heading in the same direction, but they shouldn't have to wait or ask to know when they should jump in and write a starter. Sure, maybe they can ask to see who's doing what or where everyone is in the story, but that should be it. People should be free to write a starter to interact with their environment, and another person, it shouldn't matter whether they're already in an interaction with someone else or someone completely new as well, should be able to say "What's up?" to the starter. Sure, they might have some limitations, such people being in different kingdoms or different factions, but that shouldn't bar people too much from being able to roleplay with those from the same faction. If everyone is in Y kingdom but [you] are in X kingdom, you shouldn't have to say "Aww... The plot is over in Y kingdom. Guess I'll have to wait until the story comes over to X kingdom." You should be able to say "Well, the plot is over in Y kingdom, but let's see if there's anyone else that might be in X kingdom that may want to interact with me." And it just so happens that the starter has [you] being tackled into the fountain by a runaway horse, and now there's a new interaction that people who feel isolated or that [they] may not be be in that place at the particular time have a new interaction where the silly and the wild may go on. It can also work in reverse too. Everyone might be ushered to the dining room in a dark and moldy manor after waking up unless they want to meet a certain doom, but that doesn't mean that [someone] can't trip on their toes while in the doorway of the room, or that [someone] could say "I don't quite like that chandelier" and slash it down with their pocket knife. People can be interacting in a large landmass of four kingdoms when some of them are suddenly whisked away to a small clearing of trees while others stay behind. As for time skips and new objectives, remember that it's always better to ask the chat to see if it's alright than to go ahead without warning. Where a group was once just inactive due to one reason or another, you may have just killed by setting something new that nobody asked for. And if you think that nobody will mind, then go for it! However, you have to keep in mind others' feelings too. After all, it's as much their group as it is yours, as, without them, it would be better to write a story in your free time than go through all the trouble of making spots, forms, and rules just for no one to join.