The phrasing regarding romance RPs and "adult content" has changed several times, but one thing hasn't - it's always been vague and, for the past few revisions, arbitrarily prohibitive. Kissing is listed as an adult action, for example, yet it's a staple of every Disney princess movie, and I would hardly consider that adult. Yet, I don't know whether my character could give another any sort of a kiss - no matter how chaste - or not if there weren't 5 posts separating the initial post from the reaction post. The rules post just says "kissing." You also note “no cybering” and “no explicit pornography,” but neither of these things are really defined, either.

The last time I asked for clarification on this rule (not this incarnation of it, mind you, but a previous one), I received no response. Even if I had gotten one, it would be really helpful if exactly what is and isn't allowed were to be expanded upon a little – there is no real guideline here. If I were to add a romantic element to an RP on this site, I have no idea how I would play it without even knowing if kissing or holding another character is allowed without the five post break, and I have absolutely zero idea what “adult” content does or does not constitute “cybering” or “pornography” in the eyes of the site. These terms are frequently used interchangeably.

The 5 post separation another issue. I can deal with requiring a quick conclusion (as in asking that the initial post be concluded by the responding character’s post and leaving it at that), but at the point of requiring 5 non-adult posts, this is just adding a lot of unnecessary hassle to the experience of RP. This is a huge turn-off to me and to some others I have spoken to. The harder you make it for your players to play their games, especially with something as natural and common as a romantic element in RP, the less interested they are going to be in your site. The justification is to keep RPGateway "smut-free," but if you really think so poorly of “adult content,” just disallow it. It does not have to be on RPG. That would be fine as well (though if something as simple as kissing is still included as "adult content", this still basically kills the romantic component in any game).

Requiring five posts between considerably slows the roleplay down (which can be fatal if it’s a slow RP or an RP with only a few players) and encourages filler so those involved in the content that must be separated (whatever that may be, exactly, given the vagueness) can actually get on with their game. It also comes off as “We don’t actually want this on the site period, but you can maybe do it if you jump through a bunch of hoops that might not actually contribute positively to your game.” It kind of doesn’t jive with saying “Adult content is allowed on RoleplayGateway.” Rather, “Adult content is sometimes allowed but only under some very, very rigid circumstances.” Again, if it’s that much of a concern to keep it out, I’d rather see it disallowed totally than implemented in a fashion that is off-putting and potentially damaging to games. It’s really a backhanded way to allow something.

I realize that this only applies to specific situations and that it might not seem like that big of a deal, but I love this site otherwise. This is just one of my few picking points. I don’t really feel that I can “roleplay my way” with vague rule phrasing, arbitrary restrictions, and an almost unfriendly tone coming out of the rules. I don’t feel welcomed when I read it; I feel belittled.

I enjoy how there is now a small black bar at the top of every Tab that follows me as I scroll, but I'd like it even more if there were additional options on it. I do not often need to go to the list of open roleplays, for example, but I do use the 'My Characters' list quite a bit, and that used to appear when I'd hover over 'Roleplays.' Also, things like 'View My Posts' are extremely useful, and needing to load an extra page to get to them seems more inconvenient than having to scroll to the top of the screen as I used to.

You know on the left hand side of the MV chat, well I was thinking, for people that MV RP and have a long list, maybe you could rearrange on your profile to have a 'top ten' that appear on that side so you can easily click the ones you want to use at that time.

I also thought of on your profile, to make this easier or available in all roleplays in case you do have a lot of character profiles. That on a users profile they could be separated into segments eg.

The multiverse:

Character A
Character B
Character C
Character D

ADV

Character A
Character B
Character C
Character D

Etc etc

I prefer the old way of roleplaying on the forums, and though we can still use it, new threads aren't advertised like they used to be. Which means that either nothing happens, or it is very short lived.

I'm by no means suggesting the old way replace the new. Just that those of us who prefer the old way have a 'new roleplays' advertisement on the top of the page just as the tab-based roleplays do!
The reason I have been coming to this site (which I used to adore and is my only roleplay site) is because I can't get my idea's up and running!!