From what I've seen so far, the playing styles differ both from player to player and from adventure to adventure. A guide on how to roleplay is something I would not approve of as it will limit the adventures to a certain style of play, without developing new and refreshing ideas. It's much more fun to discover and develop your own style than it is to copy that of another peson.
On the other hand, a number of different examples listed in a single post would show everyone there are many ways to play, and will encourage them not to copy anything.
The rpg's themselves differ as well, some are almost social chat, others follow the dnd rules strictly. And there's a wide variety inbetween the two of course.
A few simple guidelines can help beginning dungeon masters out, but a two page long topic on how you should organise your games will limit the freedom they manage to create with their games.
One of the strongest points of this forum is the avaliability of different kinds of RPG. Newcomers to this forum should be able to join in on a number of different adventures. This will help them determine what type of games they like best. It's hard to do so however, as you'll want to tell a story as DM, and as players, and more and more people suddenly appearing from nowhere can make the adventure more chaotic than you'd like.
An example of what I think is a good thread for newcomers would be Mistral's Hazardous Times RPG. You've probably seen it, but the idea is that your character is just passing through the world, going on the adventure he/she wants, if he/she wants, with the players of his/her choice. As long as the player's actions fit in with a recent reply to ensure the post makes an interesting part of the whole.
The adventure in each thread is to keep it interesting. The adventure on te forum is to create a diverse amount of roleplaying games and giving everyone a chance to take part.
There are of course exceptions, clan related RPGs and quests that are well under way are not very open to new players. But even this can be solved. Just look at 250's threads. One party of adventurers was on it's way to a great adventure, yet other players wanted to join. So Leo made a second thread just for them. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing he's planning on weaving the two together. That's an effective technique, as the new players won't be daunted by the posts of the older ones and get to explore the world at their own pace. Later on, the two groups can be adapted to fit.
Just a few major guidelines here:
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Everyone should have fun
-Powerful characters are usually not considered as interesting as more
mortal, unsure ones
-Big battles where everyone can do as he/she pleases will turn chaotic
sooner then you think-The DM is like a moderator: He/she has the final say in any matter
-The DM is like a moderator: He/she can be argued with as long as you
remain polite
-If you've got a new, refreshing idea, please do start a new adventure
-It often pays off to create a character complete with history. You can of course use that same character in other adventures for the sake of
convenience, consistency and fun
-Keep in mind what the DM and other players expect from the game, and
try to live up to it
-If you're short on players, PM me
-There's a DM rental just around the corner
That's what I had to say at 1:30 a.m.. Maybe I'll come back during the day and make even more sense