Sorry for replying to this super late, but this is really interesting! I'd love to see your numbers, if you'd be okay with sharing them? I'm a maths student and way too into stats 
How large a majority are female? Are we talking a small percentage difference or is it quite overwhelming? And how are the ages distributed - is it strongly within those age brackets, or is it fairly scattered? Does it vary between sites, and does it vary between genders?
I don't know how in depth you've analysed the data, but is the decrease from last year in the number of adolescent RPers or teenage boys stastically significant, or is it possibly purely because of chance in the participants who responded this year compared to last year?
Regarding the majority favouring emails/PMs, is it possible that that was strongly influenced by where the survey was posted? Without necessarily revealing where else you posted them (I don't expect you to breach confidentiality or anything!!), did you post them to RP sites where Chatroom RPs are more common, or was it predominantly to sites like this where Chatroom RPs don't really exist, and there's a strong preference for PM/private RPs (especially, potentially, among the demographics of the sample who responded?)? Basically, could that be purely down to where they were posted, or were the sites you chose (assuming a representative sample size) theoretically representative of the internet's RPing styles? Out of interest, how many sites did you post the survey to, and what was the average number of responses from individual sites?
What were your stats on the preference for vampires/pokemons/werewolves/cat-like characters - how did you compare those to humans, and where did your data come from on how popular the former characters are?
How strongly were modern romance/medieval fantasy preferred over the other genres? Did you find that different sites had different preferences, or was your data pool too small to make any judgements in this regard? Has it different since last year/any other years you might've carried out this survey?
Also, are you considering changing any of the survey in the next year, assuming you're intending carrying it out again? Although it seems to be a generally robust set of questions, is it possible some of them are too narrow - the question, for instance, about the genres doesn't cover a wide range of genres, so would it perhaps be considered a somewhat biased question (what about, for instance, those who like medieval realism or modern fantasy? How did you choose the genres you included in that question?)? And would you consider making further clarifications on questions that seem to have caused confusion this year (such as the actors/animations question), to improve the survey's validity?
Have you considered carrying out the survey over something like Google docs next year? It'd allow for more confidential (and much easier for you!) data collection, and might encourage more people to participate (potentially, more male or younger RPers) who'd otherwise feel uncomfortable posting to a public forum! A larger data pool is only ever a good thing!
Also, perhaps it would be interesting to leave it open longer? A large sample might be collected if it's open year round, with the data collected at the end of the year and summed up as the next survey is opened?
I'd be very interested in seeing the results of that!
I'm sorry about how long this is! It's just a very fascinating idea and I'm super interested by it!
How large a majority are female? Are we talking a small percentage difference or is it quite overwhelming? And how are the ages distributed - is it strongly within those age brackets, or is it fairly scattered? Does it vary between sites, and does it vary between genders?
I don't know how in depth you've analysed the data, but is the decrease from last year in the number of adolescent RPers or teenage boys stastically significant, or is it possibly purely because of chance in the participants who responded this year compared to last year?
Regarding the majority favouring emails/PMs, is it possible that that was strongly influenced by where the survey was posted? Without necessarily revealing where else you posted them (I don't expect you to breach confidentiality or anything!!), did you post them to RP sites where Chatroom RPs are more common, or was it predominantly to sites like this where Chatroom RPs don't really exist, and there's a strong preference for PM/private RPs (especially, potentially, among the demographics of the sample who responded?)? Basically, could that be purely down to where they were posted, or were the sites you chose (assuming a representative sample size) theoretically representative of the internet's RPing styles? Out of interest, how many sites did you post the survey to, and what was the average number of responses from individual sites?
What were your stats on the preference for vampires/pokemons/werewolves/cat-like characters - how did you compare those to humans, and where did your data come from on how popular the former characters are?
How strongly were modern romance/medieval fantasy preferred over the other genres? Did you find that different sites had different preferences, or was your data pool too small to make any judgements in this regard? Has it different since last year/any other years you might've carried out this survey?
Also, are you considering changing any of the survey in the next year, assuming you're intending carrying it out again? Although it seems to be a generally robust set of questions, is it possible some of them are too narrow - the question, for instance, about the genres doesn't cover a wide range of genres, so would it perhaps be considered a somewhat biased question (what about, for instance, those who like medieval realism or modern fantasy? How did you choose the genres you included in that question?)? And would you consider making further clarifications on questions that seem to have caused confusion this year (such as the actors/animations question), to improve the survey's validity?
Have you considered carrying out the survey over something like Google docs next year? It'd allow for more confidential (and much easier for you!) data collection, and might encourage more people to participate (potentially, more male or younger RPers) who'd otherwise feel uncomfortable posting to a public forum! A larger data pool is only ever a good thing!
Also, perhaps it would be interesting to leave it open longer? A large sample might be collected if it's open year round, with the data collected at the end of the year and summed up as the next survey is opened?
I'd be very interested in seeing the results of that!
I'm sorry about how long this is! It's just a very fascinating idea and I'm super interested by it!
Hello jolybean! Nice to meet you. Let me see if I can answer some of your questions. 
Q - I'd love to see your numbers, if you'd be okay with sharing them?
A - I buried them somewhere, so I'll have to find them again.
Q - How large a majority are female? Are we talking a small percentage difference or is it quite overwhelming?
A - The statistics were based only on submitted entries, so they in no way account for the total # of RPers worldwide. This also assumes a level of honesty, since there's no way to prove that players are actually male or female. I do recall that overall, it was a close call, but in the end, we counted more females.
Q - And how are the ages distributed; is it strongly within those age brackets, or is it fairly scattered?
A - The statistics were very scattered. There were a lot of younger players out there who did submit an entry. But overall, most submissions were made by mature adults.
Q - Does it vary between sites, and does it vary between genders?
A - The results do vary between sites, but not by very much. Perhaps it's because female players tend to be more likely to reply to such surveys. Or maybe there were just more female RPers active at the time when the survey was conducted.
Q - Is the decrease from last year in the number of adolescent RPers or teenage boys stastically significant, or is it possibly purely because of chance in the participants who responded this year compared to last year?
A - That's very hard to say. There were more teen RPers last year, and more boys, it would seem than this year. Enough so to mention it. But statistics are statistics, and do not account for all chances or possibilities. I would say it's probably because more adult RPers submitted entries this year, but who's to say? The results did show a gradual change from 2015->2016->2017->2018, however. I do know that, so maybe there's a legitimate reason for that.
Q - Regarding the majority favouring emails/PMs, is it possible that that was strongly influenced by where the survey was posted?
A - That could be. We never sent out any emails to get those statistics, so who knows? I did count a lot of results from players who did vote, and said that they actually preferred Email/PM rpgs.
Q - Did you post them to RP sites where Chatroom RPs are more common, or was it predominantly to sites like this where Chatroom RPs don't really exist, and there's a strong preference for PM/private RPs (especially, potentially, among the demographics of the sample who responded?)?
A - The survey went abroad to several sites, of various types where some had Chats, some had Forums, some had both. We tried to target RPG sites that were popular on Google and Yahoo.
A - Could that be purely down to where they were posted, or were the sites you chose (assuming a representative sample size) theoretically representative of the internet's RPing styles?
A - I'm going with theoretically representative. Again, there's no way the survey could account for absolutely everyone and everything. Nor is that really the overall point of our statistics. These are estimations, to give players a general idea; as opposed to an exact answer.
Q - Out of interest, how many sites did you post the survey to, and what was the average number of responses from individual sites?
A - I conducted the survey on 10 different sites. If I recall correctly, I got an average of about 10-12 votes per site. Some more or less. I believe I counted 130 votes, maybe? In that time, I do believe.
Q - What were your stats on the preference for vampires/pokemons/werewolves/cat-like characters - how did you compare those to humans, and where did your data come from on how popular the former characters are?
A - I'm not sure. For that, I'd need to find the results and look over it again.
Q - How strongly were modern romance/medieval fantasy preferred over the other genres?
A - Modern Romance is like #1 right now, on every RPG site really where this study was conducted, closely followed by Medieval Fantasy; and in a lot of cases, players said they liked Medieval Romance which wasn't even an option lol. But it was strong.
Q - Did you find that different sites had different preferences, or was your data pool too small to make any judgements in this regard?
A - I would say we had a small data pool, yes. But I'm fairly confident in the statistics I saw. Different sites did have different preferences, yes. But the overall # of players who chose Romance and Fantasy was higher, even on sites with a Steampunk or Sci-Fi theme where the survey was conducted.
Q - Has it different since last year/any other years you might've carried out this survey?
A - Yes. I started conducting surveys in 2015, and there were many more teenage boys than there are now. Pokemon was also much more popular then. Vampire RPGs seem rather consistent with a slight increase in 2016 and slight decrease in 2017, but is still holding strong today at about the same pace. Every year since 2015, however, there has been an increase in the # of adult female RPers and Romance stories.
Q - Also, are you considering changing any of the survey in the next year, assuming you're intending carrying it out again?
A - It will likely continue into next year again. I may or may not edit some of the options on the survey. I haven't really put much thought into it yet.
Q - Although it seems to be a generally robust set of questions, is it possible some of them are too narrow - the question, for instance, about the genres doesn't cover a wide range of genres, so would it perhaps be considered a somewhat biased question (what about, for instance, those who like medieval realism or modern fantasy? How did you choose the genres you included in that question?)? And would you consider making further clarifications on questions that seem to have caused confusion this year (such as the actors/animations question), to improve the survey's validity?
A - I would like to improve upon the survey's validity. The questions were rather vague. Um, again though, it's just a survey. It by no means accounts for the opinions of everyone in the world. So, it is biased, just like any other survey. Um, it... I would like to see it become a more useful tool over time. But, to be honest it just isn't really at the top of my list of things to do right now. So, as of right now I haven't thought about it.
Q - Have you considered carrying out the survey over something like Google docs next year?
A - That sounds like a good idea. I have no idea how to use such things, however lol. Not that I haven't been shown how to before. But if it's not something I use on a daily basis, it's not something I remember how to do. I'm a very busy player. But it does sound like a good idea.
Q - Perhaps it would be interesting to leave it open longer? A large sample might be collected if it's open year round, with the data collected at the end of the year and summed up as the next survey is opened? I'd be very interested in seeing the results of that!
A - The survey I use is only conducted once a year for a very short time, about 2-4 weeks. No longer than a month at best. It would be interesting to see results like the ones you're asking about. As for myself, personally, I have no desire to take up such long-term projects. So it would be cool to see, yes, I agree. But it's probably not going to be done by me lol.
Thank you.
Q - I'd love to see your numbers, if you'd be okay with sharing them?
A - I buried them somewhere, so I'll have to find them again.
Q - How large a majority are female? Are we talking a small percentage difference or is it quite overwhelming?
A - The statistics were based only on submitted entries, so they in no way account for the total # of RPers worldwide. This also assumes a level of honesty, since there's no way to prove that players are actually male or female. I do recall that overall, it was a close call, but in the end, we counted more females.
Q - And how are the ages distributed; is it strongly within those age brackets, or is it fairly scattered?
A - The statistics were very scattered. There were a lot of younger players out there who did submit an entry. But overall, most submissions were made by mature adults.
Q - Does it vary between sites, and does it vary between genders?
A - The results do vary between sites, but not by very much. Perhaps it's because female players tend to be more likely to reply to such surveys. Or maybe there were just more female RPers active at the time when the survey was conducted.
Q - Is the decrease from last year in the number of adolescent RPers or teenage boys stastically significant, or is it possibly purely because of chance in the participants who responded this year compared to last year?
A - That's very hard to say. There were more teen RPers last year, and more boys, it would seem than this year. Enough so to mention it. But statistics are statistics, and do not account for all chances or possibilities. I would say it's probably because more adult RPers submitted entries this year, but who's to say? The results did show a gradual change from 2015->2016->2017->2018, however. I do know that, so maybe there's a legitimate reason for that.
Q - Regarding the majority favouring emails/PMs, is it possible that that was strongly influenced by where the survey was posted?
A - That could be. We never sent out any emails to get those statistics, so who knows? I did count a lot of results from players who did vote, and said that they actually preferred Email/PM rpgs.
Q - Did you post them to RP sites where Chatroom RPs are more common, or was it predominantly to sites like this where Chatroom RPs don't really exist, and there's a strong preference for PM/private RPs (especially, potentially, among the demographics of the sample who responded?)?
A - The survey went abroad to several sites, of various types where some had Chats, some had Forums, some had both. We tried to target RPG sites that were popular on Google and Yahoo.
A - Could that be purely down to where they were posted, or were the sites you chose (assuming a representative sample size) theoretically representative of the internet's RPing styles?
A - I'm going with theoretically representative. Again, there's no way the survey could account for absolutely everyone and everything. Nor is that really the overall point of our statistics. These are estimations, to give players a general idea; as opposed to an exact answer.
Q - Out of interest, how many sites did you post the survey to, and what was the average number of responses from individual sites?
A - I conducted the survey on 10 different sites. If I recall correctly, I got an average of about 10-12 votes per site. Some more or less. I believe I counted 130 votes, maybe? In that time, I do believe.
Q - What were your stats on the preference for vampires/pokemons/werewolves/cat-like characters - how did you compare those to humans, and where did your data come from on how popular the former characters are?
A - I'm not sure. For that, I'd need to find the results and look over it again.
Q - How strongly were modern romance/medieval fantasy preferred over the other genres?
A - Modern Romance is like #1 right now, on every RPG site really where this study was conducted, closely followed by Medieval Fantasy; and in a lot of cases, players said they liked Medieval Romance which wasn't even an option lol. But it was strong.
Q - Did you find that different sites had different preferences, or was your data pool too small to make any judgements in this regard?
A - I would say we had a small data pool, yes. But I'm fairly confident in the statistics I saw. Different sites did have different preferences, yes. But the overall # of players who chose Romance and Fantasy was higher, even on sites with a Steampunk or Sci-Fi theme where the survey was conducted.
Q - Has it different since last year/any other years you might've carried out this survey?
A - Yes. I started conducting surveys in 2015, and there were many more teenage boys than there are now. Pokemon was also much more popular then. Vampire RPGs seem rather consistent with a slight increase in 2016 and slight decrease in 2017, but is still holding strong today at about the same pace. Every year since 2015, however, there has been an increase in the # of adult female RPers and Romance stories.
Q - Also, are you considering changing any of the survey in the next year, assuming you're intending carrying it out again?
A - It will likely continue into next year again. I may or may not edit some of the options on the survey. I haven't really put much thought into it yet.
Q - Although it seems to be a generally robust set of questions, is it possible some of them are too narrow - the question, for instance, about the genres doesn't cover a wide range of genres, so would it perhaps be considered a somewhat biased question (what about, for instance, those who like medieval realism or modern fantasy? How did you choose the genres you included in that question?)? And would you consider making further clarifications on questions that seem to have caused confusion this year (such as the actors/animations question), to improve the survey's validity?
A - I would like to improve upon the survey's validity. The questions were rather vague. Um, again though, it's just a survey. It by no means accounts for the opinions of everyone in the world. So, it is biased, just like any other survey. Um, it... I would like to see it become a more useful tool over time. But, to be honest it just isn't really at the top of my list of things to do right now. So, as of right now I haven't thought about it.
Q - Have you considered carrying out the survey over something like Google docs next year?
A - That sounds like a good idea. I have no idea how to use such things, however lol. Not that I haven't been shown how to before. But if it's not something I use on a daily basis, it's not something I remember how to do. I'm a very busy player. But it does sound like a good idea.
Q - Perhaps it would be interesting to leave it open longer? A large sample might be collected if it's open year round, with the data collected at the end of the year and summed up as the next survey is opened? I'd be very interested in seeing the results of that!
A - The survey I use is only conducted once a year for a very short time, about 2-4 weeks. No longer than a month at best. It would be interesting to see results like the ones you're asking about. As for myself, personally, I have no desire to take up such long-term projects. So it would be cool to see, yes, I agree. But it's probably not going to be done by me lol.
Thank you.
derp
Step One - Female/ 27
1 - Started on forums over ten years ago. Those or pms are usually my thing now.
2 - Sometimes neither romance or violence and sometimes both. It's usually good if there's a mix.
3 - Real Actors, Animations, depends on what my mood is at the time. Sometimes it's easier to see my OC in a model or an actor because they've got the right face, other times only an anime character can more closely convey what I'm going for.
4 - I've never been one to rp fanbased stuff, or I guess a better way to say it is if there was a pokemon roleplay, I wouldn't choose to play ash or misty, I'd rather make my own trainer in that universe.
5 - Realtime/Speedbased or Turnbased? No real preference for either.
6 - Luck of the dice or Skillful strategy? Either, really.
7 - Medieval fantasy, Modern realistic, Sci-fi futuristic, or None-of-the-above? I'm down for any of those if they're done well.
8 - Humanoid character or Mythical creature? Either.
9 - Horror, Comedy, or Both? Depends on the level of either but I enjoy both.
Step Three - What is your favorite RPG of all time? Pokemon
Step Four - Who is your favorite RPG character of all time? I don't think I could decide.
1 - Started on forums over ten years ago. Those or pms are usually my thing now.
2 - Sometimes neither romance or violence and sometimes both. It's usually good if there's a mix.
3 - Real Actors, Animations, depends on what my mood is at the time. Sometimes it's easier to see my OC in a model or an actor because they've got the right face, other times only an anime character can more closely convey what I'm going for.
4 - I've never been one to rp fanbased stuff, or I guess a better way to say it is if there was a pokemon roleplay, I wouldn't choose to play ash or misty, I'd rather make my own trainer in that universe.
5 - Realtime/Speedbased or Turnbased? No real preference for either.
6 - Luck of the dice or Skillful strategy? Either, really.
7 - Medieval fantasy, Modern realistic, Sci-fi futuristic, or None-of-the-above? I'm down for any of those if they're done well.
8 - Humanoid character or Mythical creature? Either.
9 - Horror, Comedy, or Both? Depends on the level of either but I enjoy both.
Step Three - What is your favorite RPG of all time? Pokemon
Step Four - Who is your favorite RPG character of all time? I don't think I could decide.
step one- Female/24
step two-
1- PM
2- Romance
3 -Animations
4- Inspired
5 -Turn based
6- Skillfull strategy
7- Medieval Fantasy
8 -Humanoid
9- Comedy
Step 3
Legend of Zelda
Step 4
Link...and Beedle
Step 5
Oooo so curious~. Just an FYI, I literally bought a WiiU console for the sole reason of being able to play Breath of the Wild when it came out. No lie. That's how much I love LoZ
step two-
1- PM
2- Romance
3 -Animations
4- Inspired
5 -Turn based
6- Skillfull strategy
7- Medieval Fantasy
8 -Humanoid
9- Comedy
Step 3
Legend of Zelda
Step 4
Link...and Beedle
Step 5
Oooo so curious~. Just an FYI, I literally bought a WiiU console for the sole reason of being able to play Breath of the Wild when it came out. No lie. That's how much I love LoZ
Unicorn wrote:
derp
I don't know why, but this comment just made my day lol. Thank you.
Step One
Male / 30 (31 soon as of time of posting)
Step Two
1 - Either
2 - Romance in small amounts (I have a recent bad history with it), prefer Violence more.
3 - Both
4 - Original/Invented or Fanbased? If playing within established universe, I'd prefer to create an original character.
5 - I am better at turnbased, although real-time is not off the table for me.
6 - Hmm... Both?
7 - Any of those, if done well
8 - Humanoid character or Mythical creature? I haven't had the chance to play as Mythic Creature, but I can't say I have preference here.
9 - Depends on the way it's done, although I lean towards Horror.
Step Three - D&D pre 4ed & Pathfinder takes the lead, but I like quite a number of other systems.
Step Four - I can't pick a favorite among all those))
Male / 30 (31 soon as of time of posting)
Step Two
1 - Either
2 - Romance in small amounts (I have a recent bad history with it), prefer Violence more.
3 - Both
4 - Original/Invented or Fanbased? If playing within established universe, I'd prefer to create an original character.
5 - I am better at turnbased, although real-time is not off the table for me.
6 - Hmm... Both?
7 - Any of those, if done well
8 - Humanoid character or Mythical creature? I haven't had the chance to play as Mythic Creature, but I can't say I have preference here.
9 - Depends on the way it's done, although I lean towards Horror.
Step Three - D&D pre 4ed & Pathfinder takes the lead, but I like quite a number of other systems.
Step Four - I can't pick a favorite among all those))
Step One - Male/18
Step Two -
1 - I do all four, but I guess Forum would apply more often.
2 - I do enjoy my fair share of violence.
3 - I have no idea what the heck this is.
4 - Always original. Forming something out of something already made up is too taxing on my imagination.
5 - Turnbased, because speedbased gives an unfair advantage and is generally just a horrible way to go about things in my opinion.
6 - Either or. I'm not picky.
7 - All of the above.
8 - Humanoid, I guess?
9 - Both
Step Three - There was this thing years ago that I played. It had something to do with space and involved a ton of spreadsheets...
Step Four - Tidus from FFX
Step Two -
1 - I do all four, but I guess Forum would apply more often.
2 - I do enjoy my fair share of violence.
3 - I have no idea what the heck this is.
4 - Always original. Forming something out of something already made up is too taxing on my imagination.
5 - Turnbased, because speedbased gives an unfair advantage and is generally just a horrible way to go about things in my opinion.
6 - Either or. I'm not picky.
7 - All of the above.
8 - Humanoid, I guess?
9 - Both
Step Three - There was this thing years ago that I played. It had something to do with space and involved a ton of spreadsheets...
Step Four - Tidus from FFX
Oh hell, why not lol- I'll submit one too.
Step One:
Male/34
Step Two:
1 Forum
2 Violence
3 Real actors
4 Original
5 Turnbased
6 Skillful strategy
7 Medieval fantasy
8 Humanoid
9 Horror
Step Three:
The Legends of Zelda
Step Four:
Link, of course!
Step Five:
Let's see what the results are again in 12 months.
Step One:
Male/34
Step Two:
1 Forum
2 Violence
3 Real actors
4 Original
5 Turnbased
6 Skillful strategy
7 Medieval fantasy
8 Humanoid
9 Horror
Step Three:
The Legends of Zelda
Step Four:
Link, of course!
Step Five:
Let's see what the results are again in 12 months.
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