I'm an 'old man' in forum RP -- I've been "in the game" for about seventeen years across various forums with various approaches. I've seen a lot, done a lot... but never quite encountered a forum with the openness, talent, and passion that I've seen in SotE. I'll say it plainly: this place is unique, it's members impressive, and I'm absolutely loving being part of the community. And I mean that from the depths of my heart.
In my years as an RPer I've been in my share of RP tournaments, usually on forums that had a strong focus on fighting and "Sparring", a way of saying structured (usually) judged (occasionally) character-verses-character battles as a frequent dish on the plate, sometimes the entire meal. I lost most of the time but it was always an engaging challenge, and frequently stretched me creatively and where my writing skills were concerned. But it's been a long time now... and I'm wondering if anyone here would be interested in such a thing.
Of course, we'd do it in SotE style instead of the (often conflict-raising and creativity draining) traditional approach. What I propose is a kind of judged "RP talent show" -- the contestants show us their stuff in a series of creative challenges meant to showcase their writing skills, creativity, and ability to write effectively with others, working in teams of two to impress a pair of volunteer judges (ideally staff or well-respected forum members) and climb the tournament ladder up to the top for the grand prize.
Yes, I did say prize. 8)
The winning teammates would each net a $20 gift certificate to the online retailer of their choice (of course this limits it pretty much just to sites that offer gift cards, but that's pretty much everyone these days). I would, of course, be covering the prize -- It's the least they'd deserve for humoring a crusty ol' veteran like me and showing us all just how awesome their skills are, I'd say.
So, just wanted to toss the idea out here and see if people are interested, and if so, any ideas they might have. In any event, long live SotE! ;D