I've been doing more PbP (specifically, the Gameday VII & VIII conventions); in every single game, player/GM posting frequency plummets on the weekends. This happens with uncanny consistency, even in games where the stated requirement is to post at least once every 24 hours.
I plan on GMing a bit more PbP (PFS), and personally prefer to see players posting every 24 hours. Should I curb my expectations here?
Overall it's not a really big deal; I just like to be clear about the assumptions made when involved with a game. I'd rather just say "weekends off" or "one post on the weekends" instead instead of having some tacit understanding that the game won't move on Saturday and Sunday.
Most PBP GMs state their expectations in the recruitment post. If yours didn't, then it's fair to ask about it in the discussion.
I've played in PBP games that primarily happen on the weekends, and I've played in games that primarily happen during the week.
It really depends on the schedules and availability of the particular group of players.
I post a "every 24 hours" expectation in the discussion on my games; the other GMs I've been in games with have as well. However very few players seem to actually follow that rule on the weekends. Hence the "unwritten rule" question I have here.
Granted, I haven't done a TON of PBP outside my immediate group of friends; this patten may simply be a small sample size!
If you see it happening after the game starts, then you've got a team-management problem on your hands.
How do you want to handle players who don't keep up? That might be worth stating in your recruitment post as well.
I bot as outlined in my expectations thread.
However, it's not just me; it's a pattern I've noticed as a player in almost every single other PFS PbP game as well.
I think it's just something people assume everyone's on board with. A lot of people unplug on the weekends, go out of town, spend time with their families, etc. so it seems obvious to them that there will be no updates on the weekend.
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I wouldn't call it an "unwritten rule" per se, but yes I've been in a lot of groups, player and GM-wise, where frequency of posting decreases on the weekend.
Myself I always think I will do a lot of updating on the weekend as a GM because I have more time; usually what happens is I check in the morning and I find I'm waiting on a reply (and it may not have been 24-48 hours since the last person posted, which is my campaign's rule, so it's fair and within my rules to wait), so I don't post; then I go out and run errands and the like and the day passes, and I don't think to check till Sunday after other obligations. I think a lot of working folks who have lives end up focused on their obligations on the weekend and aren't online as much; a lot of folks who have internet access at work can post more freqently on a week day as well if they don't have Web access restrictions.
As an aside I find it harder to enforce the once every 24 hour expectation (even with botting) more than it should be, just depending on the time of day I can post vs others. I always feel like I should be able to crack down hard and can do so in some circumstances, but reality is often more complicated (e.g., I'm in a scene where a player even said they'd be gone for a couple days and to bot them and I've realized I'm not sure if they have a certain item in their possession or not so am not sure what action to take, and under the circumstances its affecting how I'd bot the scene). But given the frankly unexpected struggle I've had enforcing my own posting rules, I have little advice on that end to any other GM in the same boat.
As noted, my official rule in my game is every 1-2 days which feels easier for my part to enforce and live up to. This also gives leeway when everyone's busy on the weekend.
Certainly if it seems like people are less available on the weekend and it feels better for commitment's sake to be clear on expectations (which is often a good idea), discuss it with your group to make an official rule of either not posting on weekends, or only once in the Sat-Sun period.
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^Pretty much this. I've lost track of the number of times I've had some free time on a Saturday or Sunday where I planned to post but then had someone hit me up unexpectedly to go do something - and as much fun as PbP is, I try very hard to make sure that I don't let RL relationships and such fall by the wayside in favor of staying home and posting.
I've seen a few GMs have a "1 post/day and 1/post during the weekend" sort of rule which seems a little more feasible if enforcing posting frequency is important to you (general you).
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I'm in New Zealand, so my weekend starts early and ends before everyone's does (with the exception of my Aussie comrades). Posting frequency has been a bit squiffy at times, but I often have "breaks" in some of my long-term PbP games that coincide with weekends (both imposed by my players as well as myself).
I keep tabs on my gaming crews via Discord and Google Hangouts, so it's not like I don't have ways of contacting people via social media venues that aren't plagued with outages (*ahem*). I can often poke them or check in with them if silences go on too long and vice-versa.
GameDay games - specifically multi-table specials - are the one exception to this rule on PbP boards. I am strict about posting frequency here. It's not just your table that's slowed down by that one player that constantly plays the slow hand - it's others' tables as well. I don't tolerate it.
I have a rule of 1/day post on weekdays and post when you can on the weekends. RL should take precedent over gaming and I don't want anyone to feel like they need to prioritize a PBP games over RL. I will push our momentum as much as I can so we keep our story posting rate high during the week days.
Even if you have people in different time zones it is not a big deal as long as you (GM) stays on top of it. I also like to give a heads up to everyone if I plan on posting during a weekend or if I am going to be completely offline during a weekend. Same for any weekday I can't make a post I give the group a heads up.
It's good that I saw this before I decided to join or run something. I definitely want to be sure that GMs and players I game with can commit to 1/day posting assuming everything is normal.
This was the most confusing part of PbP when I first started. My job keeps me tied up 10-14 hours a day during the week, and I am especially free on weekends. Like too many people, I assumed my experience was normal. I guess most people in PbP games have the ability to post from work, which is pretty tough for me. The result is that most of my games crawl.