Next Incantation

I did have some good experiences on this site, which is why I didn't give it one star. I think it's just a shame that it seems that the same patterns with staff abusing their powers, playing favorites, or overall not appreciating the fact that MEMBERS make the site seem to repeat over and over again. The site owner is, at the bottom line, a coward, which leads to a lot of conflicts that could otherwise be avoided if she found her backbone for members as much as she finds it for her toxic staff members. Definitely not a site worth investing your time, characters, and effort in, in the long run. You'll just end up with wasted time and sour memories. There are MUCH healthier places to write.

Only to add a note to the others voiced here. The crap that goes on with and among the staff here is not worth your or anyone else's time.

"But wait," you think. "Some of the plot and writing is pretty good, and I like writing with some of these people. I can just keep myself to myself and not get involved with staff."

Okay. Possible. But you should know, then, that how the staff operates is going to affect you no matter what. Because the staff does not respect or bother to uphold the site rules if they do not wish to do so. They WILL censor your writing. You will be told directly, change or remove this material or you will not be allowed to post. Rules meant to keep everyone agreeable and moving along will be totally disregarded in some circumstances and applied unjustly in others.

Can you keep out of the petty, immature interpersonal stuff? Maybe. But don't fool yourself. At TNI, you would be operating under the direction of a group of selfish autocrats for whom freedom, justice, and simple harmony are not priorities and are often disregarded inconveniences.

... Is that when you're part of them, things seem great. Until you open your eyes and realize that you're hurting other people. At one point, I would write good reviews of this site everywhere I could find. I was drinking the koolaid. From the inside, TNI's staff is like a cult. You don't have friends outside it, you prioritize staff first, and you don't believe anyone who speaks out against it. And you know, that makes it impossible for this place to be fixed, because as someone who thought this way myself, everyone who speaks out against it is a toxic liar who is out for themself. Any proof that this person is human is proof that they are bad.

I left eight months ago. Recovery is rough, and TNI is one hell of a drug.

I've been active and invested in this site for years(I was even on staff for a bit). It's a decent place if you're seeking literate RP with plenty of creative freedoms. About the only content limits that exist on site are whatever the individual writers are uncomfortable with. That is a definite pro. They also have their own site plot which is a long-term thing. Because it is long-term it does make certain factions appear as overpowered, but having been behind the scenes I know that everything in the site wide plot is well thought out.

About the biggest con of the site is the extremely cliquey nature of it. It can be difficult for new members, or even long time members, to be fully accepted into the social side of things. In fact, some members will not even write with those outside their own clique at all; say one thing wrong and they will also turn against you. It may be advertised as 18+, but in reality a lot of the members do not act like mature adults. This even occasionally goes for staff.

Speaking of staff, though, it does seem a good chunk of them are selected on virtue of being friends with the founder of the site rather than actual qualifications or merit. THAT is a definite problem, but over all I do not believe it seriously defers from the quality of the site.

The final verdict? If you want quality writing and storytelling then I would recommend this site. However, if you're not particularly gifted socially then it's probably best to stay away.

There are two other reviews for this pbp rpg site that say IT ALL. I first joined TNI back in 2013 and at first things were awesome. I met great people and started making wonderful friends. Hell, I even got lucky and met the love of my life.

Here's the rub; the administration sucks. Back in the day, they were rather nice people glad to help. I've tried to go back a couple of times since I had to leave for a long while back in late 2013, and let me tell you; the new co-admins are the worst.

They are very cliquey and of you don't suck up to one of the more active ones, you could wait several days to have your application approved. And that's before they of course find fault in it (especially if you are new and don't have a hundred charries like they all have), making it take even longer to get approved. The admin doesn't respond in a timely manner anymore, if at all, and this is coming from someone they were friendly with way back.

In all; unless you want to dig through the cliques to try and find the very few real people on there who I want to rp and have fun, don't bother joining.

Just don't.

Please note, this is not a review of The Next Incantation's positives or negatives, but instead a summary of why this RPG has run its course and why I strongly dissuade you from joining.

TNI's members, staff and owner need to accept that the best thing to do for TNI and everyone associated is to permanently close its doors. In its place, I strongly advise the owner create a new, invite-only RPG into which the invitees could bring their characters (or make news ones) and start afresh.

The merits and entertainments of TNI don't matter any more because so-called "internet drama" has seeped into every inch of the site. Nothing is untouched. The effects of drama don't vanish just because some of the people involved have left the site. Drama stains, and you can't scrub it away. Members can't steer clear of the stains because they are so big. Newbies see the stains and are too scared to ask what they are. Game instructions are written from the perspective of someone who already expects you to aggressively screw up. Everywhere is faked smiles and forced pleasantries. Paranoia is the order of the day. Everyone is exhausted. That will never go away.

The drama itself is not important because it will not or cannot be solved. What's important is that, as a result of it all, the memberbase has been through trauma after trauma to call it "drama" is to cheapen the real human feelings at the forefront of all this. Mental health issues have been caused or exacerbated as a direct result of TNI. Anxiety, depression, PTSD more cases than I can count. To prevent this from continuing, TNI needs to wrap up and stop. It is a destructive force.

There is no other way to solve the problem, because the problem is the very core concept of the site. The owner has come out and explained that TNI is intended to be her personal space, but TNI can never be that. This is because it is treated by all parties not as personal space, not as a community, not even as an RPG, but as a court of law. When it comes to game rules, game mechanics and any kind of disagreement, those involved discuss the situation as if they have their lawyers firing official declerations back and forth. Complaints about this game, complaints about the complaints (and so on) read like messy divorce filings. Again, that does not make for an RPG, a community, or a personal space, it makes for an extremely uncomfortable atmosphere.

There is only one reason I can think why TNI is still open, and that is simply because it's lasted this long. Some wear their site's ancient birthdate (in this case 2003) as a badge of honor. But longevity does not equal quality. TNI's captain is proud of keeping her ship afloat, but it's already at the bottom of the sea.

Let it go before it drowns you. Go and find a beautiful island somewhere new. Invite your friends. Be happy at last.

An assessment of their own advertisement.

"Active!
You won't get swept away in rapid fire posts (usually) but we have lots of members on every day with many threads being posted to. And if you DO happen to find yourself facing a quiet moment, we have IC chat to keep you occupied."
- Accurate. There's usually at least 10 posts a day, sometimes more.
"Self Hosted
Being self hosted means we're not slaves to the dreaded downtime and we have much more freedom with our ratings, allowing us to be a true 3-3-3 site, although that doesn't mean smut features predominantly, but we don't censor your creative freedom."
- There is downtime, and when there is, it can last for over 12 hours. They do censor creative freedom, as you'll see when your plot idea threatens the Brotherhood being overpowered.
"No word count
We firmly believe in quality over quantity, but this doesn't mean you'll find one liners here! Most write at least a couple of paragraphs, giving you plenty to respond to."
- Accurate, they do ensure no replies are at 99 or less words.
"Traditional App
Not so long and tedious that you want to give up before even starting, but long enough for you to give us plenty of information about your character, helping us to come up with great plots for you!"
- Recently the app was given an update so it's not expected to be so long, which is good.
"Mature members, all 18+
Maybe that should read mature at least in age, because we're a crazy, fun bunch, more like a family than anything else and we love to bring new members into our fold as well. No-one is excluded. It's in our rules! Ohana"
- People are absolutely excluded. Just try messaging the founder on Discord. Spoilers, you can't unless you're friends. Most members do try and help people, but the staff, not so much.
"Literate, advanced roleplay
No, this wasn't added to intimidate you in any way. This just means that you will find a quality site with passionate writers who want the same as you, to be part of something wonderful."
- 'Literate' means being able to read, though reading comprehension is never going to be perfect. There are lots of different writers who write at different levels, not always advanced. It's personal preference of finding people who you can write well with. Don't expect total perfection.
"Original Characters only!
Yes, we may be set in a fandom, but we're also set 50 years past the books and so our story is focused on our original characters and plot and not on what is already set in stone. Or paper. Or pixels."
- Accurate. Though it's nearly 60 years past the LAST book now.
"Play a student or adult. Your choice!
We love our student characters as much as we love our adult characters and there's a place for all of them, with plots and threads available for all as well. We don't let anyone sit idly by and watch others have all the fun."
- A lot of members do NOT love their student characters as much, and publicly will comment in such a way that suggests you won't get any plots. Or any 'meaningful' plots. You can, you absolutely can, and it's all down to preference. Staff do not adhere to the last point - while they shouldn't be getting totally in your face all the time, they often just let you wait for you to put in the most effort to get plots (which would be ok, if you know where to look, which isn't clear to new members), and you often have to wait 12+ hours or even days just to get permission to start posting.
"Very realistic and involved lessons
Perhaps our most unique twist, one that was started ten long years ago and still remains today. We give real lessons several times a month for those who wish to attend them, but they're not compulsory."
- It's not unique or realistic. Lessons are fun, especially when more people interact with them. Each subject posts maximum once a month.
"Easy to get involved
I've said it before and I'll say it again. No-one gets left out. We have Open Threads, and if no-one has replied within 48 hours then a staff member is guaranteed to. Plot Pages are never with no replies AND we hold a regular thread roulette just to make sure you have plenty to do!"
- Staff are happy to leave people out, especially if they're new by not giving them directions, or you don't fall over yourself to please the founder. Staff are NOT guaranteed to reply to any open threads, this is a total lie and used to be in the rules as well, even though none of them ever did. Plotters often get no replies, but there are members who try and welcome new member plotters. Thread roulette isn't as fun, and threads on it are often dropped.
"Dark characters encouraged!
You read that correctly. You want to play a badass? Do it! While we have an established 'dark wizard' group on the site, they are ACTIVELY looking for new members so you would be more than welcome to join in on the plot! Want to challenge them? Bring it on."
- Good luck trying to challenge the Brotherhood ('dark wizard group') because you're not allowed to set up your own organisation, or threaten them by getting them caught or weakened since the staff like them to be overpowered.
"Regular Quidditch matches
Ask any member, new or old. These are and have always been a big hit. Regular matches (trivia nights) for all to earn them points for their teams. You have to sign up to the teams fast, though, as they're popular!"
- They're fun trivia matches, but quality wavers. You don't have to sign up fast, most teams don't have full members.
"Intricate story with regular site wide plot points
One thing that happens when you have a site running for a very long time is that you make mistakes and you learn from them, making our new revamp much better than the original. Our story is seeped in history but new things are always happening so even a brand new character on the site can feel like a part of it."
- There's no timeline or even summarisation of what happens in their plot events, so getting lost is very easy. A lot of characters don't even know or weren't affected by an attack at King's Cross Station, which is the most public event of all.
"LGBT friendly
What sort of people would we be if we discriminated? All races/religions and sexualities are welcome on the site and we have a quite large group of them to keep our site spiced up. More are always invited!"
- 'of them'. Of who? Every single minority? Minorities aren't there to 'spice up' any site, we are people too. We are not little tokens you get to carry around with you. Half of the staff is transphobic or borderline. They use the wrong pronouns for members they've known with those pronouns the whole time (pronouns are also found on the Who's Who list), and don't correct transphobic behaviour unless confronted. One time is a mistake. Every month is not.

I joined The Next Incantation Incantation (TNI) four years ago. When I wasn't known by the staff my experience was fine. I was just there to write. I started to get involved with staff about a year into being a member. Many staff had left and the site was growing. I was passionate about my characters and I wanted to help. Once I was on staff, I realized why the previous staff had left. The head admin of the site refuses to let go of anything, be it site responsibilities or a grudge. She micro-manages and, in my four years, no new person has been given the title of admin (only co-admin). The staff has become less like the runners of the site and more like an elite club. Part of this has to do with the admin only promoting people if they don't disagree with her. She surrounds herself with people that will stroke her ego and will fire anyone who disagrees (and also go as far as fire people associated with the fired staff even if they hadn't said anything on the matter).

To make matters worse, the staff tends to be transphobic. They do not respect the pronouns of members and refuse to make simple changes to the website to make it more affirming to trans identities. And this is coming from a site that advertises itself as accepting.

More details with proof can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OM850H99kqbAZJDlIl9TtRKiph9N7MGdKBfROJ5CMLY/edit?usp=sharing