Long or Short? Application Process!
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Inspired by the discussion in another thread.
Do you prefer lengthy/intensive application process? Or a shorter one where you get into play quicker?
I’ll go first

Back in the day I didn’t mind a longer application because I thought that meant that the STs would use some of the information from the 100 paragraph novella they required to get approved. However, in the 20-30 years I’ve been RPing, STs using stuff from my character’s background (whether in plot or even a SINGLE scene)… I can count on one hand.
So, I like shorter. I just want to get into the action and focus on the plots the game is offering.

How about you?
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My main concern when it comes to application processes is whether the effort I put in will be returned to me. If I put in a great deal of effort in an application so that it takes days to complete, the least I expect is that staff, in turn, put in some effort to tell decent stories.
If you expect players to put in days of effort for an application, and also expect players to be your primary source of storytelling, that seems to be an unreasonably uneven workload.
That and the usual “if I’m expected to write a novel, I expect that information to actually be used” thing that you mentioned. Which happens so infrequently that we may as well say it never happens.