Is it just me or does it seem like everywhere is quiet? Did everyone exodus to another MU and not tell me? I feel like the fat girl at the school dance.
I think places are getting quieter but I think a big part of that is the time of year people are getting geared up for the holidays, thanksgiving in two days then the craziness of the Christmas season. Also I think games in general are trending towards the smaller right now which while the RP is still there tends to make less chatter which makes places seem quieter then they really are.
I mean there is nothing right now that approaches the number of connects that the Reach or HM even had in their heyday, but tit does seem like there are more choices.
Once the holidays pass and its freezing and miserable and its never going to be shorts weather again, people will be more active to avoid going outside.
"...and a single tube of glorious MAC Russian Red lipstick because I am a fancy motherfucker." - Muffy Bolding
Also, Nano. Also, finals. Also...
I switched meds again. Also been trying to limit my MU* time on account of crazy. I also found keeping the house clean, preparing for a part time job, attending various doctor and appointments keeps me busy.
Fallout 4
Fallout 4 has been occupying a lot of people since it came out but most of that craze has died off I think. I know on our site a lot of people are on vacation for the holidays/visiting family and there are still a few checking in to chat about Fallout 4 every so often. ^.^ Most of them are back to RP though.
When is it that activity is supposed to go up?
Because every time of the year, I hear reasons why activity is down. During the holidays its: people are busy doing holiday stuff. Then after the holidays its: people are busy going back to work and school. Then before the holidays its: people are busy wrapping up stuff for the holidays. Etc.
Is there a time of year when activity is actually up?
I have noticed a certain amount of sparser than usual activity in the last year or so. (Kingsmouth seemed to be the exception, at least for me)
I do think that the pool of mushers has consolidated/shrunk a bit, but that now that there are a handful of GMC games open people are stretched a bit thin. I've also noticed that maybe because of that, there's less people willing to start/engage in activity/PrPs, and it does seem to very much be a culture shift now where even staff relies upon active players running things to breathe life into a place. (I don't think that's horrible or wrong, BTW, just my observation).
So what happens is largely the same players are tapped into running things (or the people who would run things see this happen) on mutiple places and they burn out quick. When staff is busy and the usual suspects are not running things, it means that there's no activity. I think most people don't idle around to chat really these days because there are other things like Fallout, non-MUSH games, family stuff, ect.
I know I personally have been feeling kind of blah. I like running small group things, but when there doesn't seem to be much real chance of reciprocation so I worry about getting stuck never really getting to play my own PC, it makes me reluctant to invest a lot of time. (As opposed to TR where for all the other valid and glaring faults, there did seem to be a lot more people I knew running the type of things I liked--Nakesha and others in the Law sphere kept my energy going for other stuff because I had a soft place to fall as far as getting to enjoy being part of another person's scene they were running that wasn't a staff plot with 15 people in attendance because people were so desparate for any kind of thing to do that wasn't social).
Usually I'd be fine with investing more effort up front (typically at least for me, it does eventually come back around for me), but to be really blunt I've been plagued with some pretty serious health issues starting with complications postpartum from my oopsie baby almost two years ago that seems to have morphed into some kind of autoimmune thing I've been struggling to get answers for (looks like maybe there is some hope soon, keep your fingers crossed), I've picked up a second job, and I'm trying to balance once more being a parent to a young child and the increase in household stuff that needs to be done alongside that after enjoying a handful of years of just parenting preteens/teens. It may be since the MUSHing crew seems to be aging a bit (when I first started mushing there were a ton of teens/early 20 somethings--many of us are still around and...not anymore) I bet that there are quite a few people in the same boat of needing to balance more life stuff. (From friend chatter, especially needing to pick up a second job, it's the decades where more health stuff happens, and then there's family stuff like children/divorce/ect.)
I have not noticed a huge amount of actual activity decrease--just less public chatter because people are doing things other than hanging out ooc chatting on windows. But every year that I've mushed there is a dip in November/early december (used to be family centric breaks or huge work increases/finals) with a bump up a little during the holidays when people were home and off work/school, with another bump mid January when people were bored and it was crappy outside. I think that's still true to a certain extent.
For me it's a combination of being busy with real life, and there not being any games out there I'm really enthused to play at the moment. I'm mostly interested in Mage, and the majority of the current World of Darkness games don't offer that particular sphere, which doesn't help my prospects.
I'm sure I'll pick up again. Maybe a new game will open, or maybe I'll suddenly get jazzed about Changeling or something, or a different genre, or whatever.
For me it's pretty simple - many of the people I know and like are spread out across different games or not even playing, and the nWoD fare I usually go for tends to be either stagnant or cliquish for my tastes. On top of that few establish MU* really make a thematic pitch where I obsess about a concept and go roll a character there immediately.
Having said that... be the change you want in the world and all that. Since I've a RP itch to scratch again I'll put some feelers out. 
NaNoWriMo, worrying political changes in my country, Jessica Jones, end of the year syndrom, work-related exhaustion, a severe drop in my overall mood (which happens), and stress.
some of those are reasons, some of those are excuses, some of those are the way I cope with the reasons.
I'm hoping to pick up again in December/January.
I don't know, there hasn't been a new game in 66 days. We're slacking.
I've tried, but after RfK I just can't get into anything else.
Work has picked up. My partner has been in and out of the hospital. I've been ill. But, most importantly, I haven't been able to get excited about playing a character.
Until recently, I guess, but I'm still in the approval process.
From my experience, I have noticed what @mietze about the same actual activity, and no real problem getting rp with I page people or ask on channels but the various ooc and channel chatter has really fallen off.
Def Fallout 4 here. TO THE COMMONWEALTH.
Sick, work, holidays, work, tired, work, Destiny, work. That time of year I guess... you know, like every time of year >>
In general I've noticed that the average age group (as far as I can tell) is really getting to that point in their lives where RL is eating them alive. Kids, family, careers, etc. A lot of down time is likely not spent MUSHing these days, unless for special occasions, which I suspect would make for being quiet on the idling and ooc chatter, because they're "on a mission" to get things done. That's the trend I've noticed, anyway. In general.
Work work work work work fallout work work work no sleep because of fallout work work the end.
Work and Fallout 4. That's about what my life revolves around at this point.
NaNoWriMo, worrying political changes in my country, Jessica Jones, end of the year syndrom, work-related exhaustion, a severe drop in my overall mood (which happens), and stress.
some of those are reasons, some of those are excuses, some of those are the way I cope with the reasons.
I'm hoping to pick up again in December/January.
