When it does come, or if it is delayed and the forum has to be expanded as an interim measure, I suggest that a looking-for-GM/looking-for-character-players split might be a little bit awkward, since that would force everyone to post in one place and to search another. Every GM looking for players is going to look for players looking for groups, no? Every character-player looking for a GM is going to look for GMs seeking players. These are participants in the same market, and ought to be brought together and not kept apart. Whereas not everyone by any means is indifferent to game system, language, or schedule, so there are separate markets defined by those.
Now that there are over ten thousand users something better will be needed than having everyone open and read scads of discussions, with nothing to go on but what chances to be in the discussion title. Obviously we're going to end up with some sort of matching system like on a dating site. It'll probably be opened to the public in alpha condition and get features added to it as a result of user feedback, but the better start it makes the better. What is obvious from the outset that it going to need to feature?
• The GM/character-player/troupe distinction.
• Language. There is no point matching a monoglot English-speaker with a group that plays in French, German, Spanish, or Icelandic.
• Schedule constraints, taking automatic account of time-zone.
• Game system, which will often be single-valued, but in a player-looking-for-group entry might well be a range of games.
• Genre, which might be single-valued or multi-valued as for game system. I don't think we want players looking for games to have to make separate entries for each genre they are interested in.
• Setting, as for genre and game system.
• Something about preferred play style, probably.
What else is obvious?
