Any site feature to do a passive response?

I have been in situation when I want as a player to tell DM I don't have anything important to post, but hey don't need to wait for me fore continue the game

Just go a similar from my player
Am I missing a way to do this?

One way I've seen this done is via fliptokens. You as GM would have to set those up at the end of your posts, but it would give people a chance to just flip one of them to let you know they've read the post and don't have anything to add.

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This code:

[color=";background-color:#f2fff2;display: block;padding: 1rem;border: solid 2px #88ff88;"]Players Waiting:
[fliptokens=4][/color]

Produces this result (You can try it out in this thread)

Players Waiting:

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(Technically, all you need is this following part. The rest is just for formatting)

[fliptokens=4]

Oooooh, that could be useful.

I like the fliptoken idea. I've also used a poll with the question "click here to continue." However, the GM might need to add them after every post to get the functionality you're looking for.

I've thought about the idea of setting up an away from game thread. In this thread, each player could have one post that they update periodically with their default behaviors when they can't post for some reason. Maybe you could ask the GM to set up a similar thread titled "Don't wait for me"

A post in the "Don't wait for me" thread might look like:
When the player is ready to continue they could update the post or delete it.

The flip tokens thing is cool and so is the poll. Both great implementations

As SpiritualSocket said it can be as simple as: and/or add a simple action that has no consequence. Say that you stand outside a cave. you could say:
I stand ready holding my mace to enter the cave.

It lets the GM know to continue, Making polls or adding flip tokens it just one more thing for the gm to add or watch on a regular basis. I would rather them roleplay they are ready as it give the gm something to build on when explaining the next action or scene.

Agreed... In theory. That is what I do, but it has been hard to get players to actually engage with such a mechanism without needing to constantly remind them to let us know, even if it is only to say they have nothing to add. :(

Mostly this comes down to social contract. Live at the table this is an easy thing, the GM just catches each players' eye and knows they can continue, but PbP asks for a bit more explicitness, I worry that these 'passive' solutions are a bad thing since more passivity is not what PbP needs, but it is an ongoing struggle, so try all the options and see what actually works for each group.

This conversation has made me want to try experiment with something different: encourage a group to post at the agreed frequency, no matter what, even if it doesn't fit or feels like it's interrupting the flow. This might result in a lot of "Bob sighs and leans against the wall" and "Sally picks her teeth with her sword," but it might also keep everyone engaged.

I think it requires players to think like writers.

Writers tell us what each character is doing in a story at all times. No matter the scene, if the writer isn't advancing the plot, they're working on character development so that the reader can get a better sense of who they're rooting for (or against) and connect with said characters.

No matter what style GM you are, you're crafting a story, and the players contribute to that story with the actions of their characters. At one extreme, you have the minimalist type of player: They're only going to provide the basics of their character's actions and roll some dice when prompted to do so by the GM. The further players get away from that minimalist approach, the more they contribute like quips of dialogue, idle mannerisms, and small actions to pass the time. When they believe that they're involved in the writing of the story, even if it's just their character's part in the tale, then they're fully engaged.

I've seen the buy-in from some players here on GP (I sometimes read along on other game threads) and it's amazing what some players contribute (probably helps that they're GMs, too, so they know what their GM is going through) to these stories.

I don't know how to cultivate that in players though. I've had players for decades who are content with the GM doing all the storytelling, who I have to ask if they're doing something. But it's the ones who contribute more that make it worthwhile.

We used to do that decades ago, with most games having both minimum and maximum posting rates. It was widely believed
hat too fast posting would be detrimental to games, but thankfully that idea has mostly fallen away.
Yeah, that is an interesting idea, my concern is that sometimes people can not post due to real-life, so we would need to be sensitive to that, but having players work with the expectation that they will post even if it is not to add anything could go a long way to avoiding 'everyone waiting for everyone else syndrome'. This will also keep people in that habit of posting rather than waiting and letting things slide.

For the last few years I have mostly played play by post campaigns on Discord.
I am used to be able to Thumbs up a post to show players I acknowledge it and it is good to go.




I was just suggesting something simple like that. Being able to Thumps Up a Post to let the DM know you understand or you understand as a DM.

This is discrimination against me personally 😄
Yes, I've asked for / suggested the same thing before. But since it doesn't exist, I was trying to provide an alternative instead of just saying 'No'.

Yeah, we foresaw your coming and had to do something. :)

I also think it works to just post…or the like. And indeed, depending on the game, the scene, the aims of the group, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to explore the scene / character / moment a little as well, even if the PC isn’t right in the thick of the action. I’ve seen in one Knave gave I’m running that one player doesn’t want to post in the middle of someone else’s set of actions, kind of interrupting the flow of their moment. Kind of strange, but I get it and just use occ / Discord to manage that.