Hi there. I joined fairly recently, and have starting running lots of free one shots for practice and fun. I've found at least one really old post about this, but it seems to still be an issue. I find the "New Players are Welcome" option ambiguous. The problem is the word "New." It is especially confusing for non-campaign situations. For a campaign (which I admit are more common, and kinda the goal for most players) this option sort of makes sense, but I find it is still worded in a confusing way. Campaigns sometimes lose players or want to augment the party. But if you are searching for a campaign to join, you are always a new player. Am I overthinking this? Assuming, then, that "new to campaign" is redundant - are they new to the system, or to the site? Or new in town? I don't mind helping people out creating characters and stuff - in fact, I sometimes go out of my way to do so because I like sharing the love of the game and want others to have great experiences because I know there are plenty of poor experiences going around. When I make a 1-shot, I generally have been checking the "Welcomes New Players" which seemed to make sense - I was actually afraid people would not join my games because of the confusion, so I consider it "casting a wider net." Even if they are new to roll20, any D&D player can figure out how to use the sheets UI in minutes. I also use the text description to clarify this stuff. (But I hate writing wall of text; people don't read it and ask the questions anyway, and I seem overbearing.) But the problem is: people sometimes join my one-shots who sometimes are new not only to Roll20, but to the game itself. Somebody did this the other day, and I'm not a jerk about it, but I did state that I assume if you are going to join a drop-in game 15 minutes before it begins that you should be somewhat prepared. This individual actually was polite about it. I said if he could google a tutorial real quick, no sweat, I could help him with sheets and stat rolls. But I also said I wasn't about to derail the game for the other players. I do on occasion get players who are rude, as if they believe I work for Roll 20 and am obligated to serve them. But for the most part, people who are new are really cool, just confused! May I suggest something like: - Help text that explains the purpose of the checkbox options - Split into possible multiple options: "New to the Story" and "New to Roll 20" and "New to playing the Game" or similar - Perhaps some guide rails in the form of a hyperlink / text bubble (like the dynamic lighting toast/snackbar thing) when you view the details page for a game that has "New Players Welcome" checked that offers players tips and links to resources such as: "How to build a Roll20 character" or "How to politely join a game" There is a bit of an art to the application process. It requires an awareness that some people are still developing, i.e.: don't be annoying, don't expect to get 100% of the attention, don't join at the last minute and derail the game for other adults who have set aside their valuable free time. There are enough hurdles for joining a game as a new player. I suspect there are other DMs who want to be able to both connect with new players, but also have the tools to better communicate expectations, and allow players to more easily find a game into which they will fit. I get the sense this has already opened and closed, but here I am, bringing a fresh perspective. Thanks for considering! UPDATE: I just listed a new 1-shot, and realized there is also a cool "i" icon that shows a tooltip when you hover it - but it is mysteriously missing for the New Players option.
