Talon:
1) Do you prefer longer or shorter want ads, does longer make it seem like the GM is more invested or too long winded?
Depends largely on the overall context of the game. A Star Wars game, for instance, set during the time frame of the original trilogy, doesn't need to say much to tell me what to expect, where something in, say, Pathfinder's game world would need a bit more, just because I'm not as familiar with it. The example mentioned above about considering your ad to be a 'trailer' for your game is apt...you want enough to give a solid indication of what's going to be involved, without belaboring it.
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1A) Do you prefer the Want Ad focus on flavor to give you a glimpse into the game you'll be playing or would you prefer the ad be 'all business' and focus on crunch/mechanical expectations.
Well, let's put it this way...I've joined games simply because the description of the setting and general timeline/expectations of the game sounded intriguing. I've never joined a game because of the mechanics involved (but I have opted to pass on many games because of mechanics...and that is important, too, because you don't want to get a bunch of RTJs from people who then find out what the player expectations and game mechanics are and say, "Uh, no, thanks...I didn't know about all that." People need to know enough to make a semi-informed decision. That said, I feel it's best to hit the highlights in the ad, but have more detailed information available on an in-game thread that prospective players can look at. Keep the ad concise.)
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2) How likely are you to apply for obscure/niche games (Not D&D, GURPS, Pathfinder, etc) What would make you more inclined to consider a system outside your wheelhouse?
Depends entirely on two factors: Does this setting intrigue me enough to be willing to try and engage in learning a new system? And/or, do I know the GM (or other players) well enough to trust that the system they want me to learn is going to worth learning? The first weighs more heavily than the second, because I've got some really good friends who run D&D games, and have tried to invite me to join...I've even tried it a couple of times...but I just can't get into D&D again. I played a lot in high school, and there was just so much chemistry in that group...nothing else I've ever tried with D&D has ever come close to feeling the same way, so I just don't bother anymore. But I tried Burning Wheel because someone wanted to use it for a Middle Earth-set game that really appealed to me. I picked up Scion because someone had a very fun and engaging setting for it. One of the freeform games I'm in had a moderately intriguing setting and I'd been in a different game with the GM, but it could easily have gone the other way and I could have walked away from it without a second thought (glad I didn't, it's been running for over 5 years and 75k+ posts). The only two 'mainstream' systems I've played since joining RPOL are Shadowrun (started out 4E, adapted to 5E over the course of the game) and WEG's D6 Star Wars system...everything else has been something a little off the beaten path.
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3) Do you just glance at the system the system will be using and move on ("Oh, not World of Darkness, nope!") If so, what could an ad do to possibly help mitigate that, I know it can't be overcome entirely, some folks love their systems. A sexier ad title, comparing the style in which the game will be run to more popular systems?
No, not generally. I mean, naturally, I prefer games in systems I already know, because it's frustrating for me to be sitting there saying, "Now, how do I do this again?" I'm not as young as I used to be, and I have plenty of real-world demands on my time that make it difficult to find time to sit down and bone up on a whole new set of gaming rules. And I don't spend a lot of time shopping around for games. I'm in two that run pretty consistently, one is moving along at a brisk pace (usually getting one to two dozen posts per day, depending on the day and whose characters are involved in the current action) and the other only updates a couple of times a week, but it's consistent. I run another one, that's currently on an extended hiatus while I sort out some RL situations. So, getting me to look in the first place is a challenge that's completely out of your control.
But, when I WAS searching around for games, familiar systems got first look--assuming their headline had enough to attract me beyond the name of the system. If I couldn't find a familiar system that got my attention, I'd go back through the list again, and look at the settings (again, those headlines had to grab my attention...I didn't just start opening every game ad to see what was going on). A title doesn't have to be 'sexy', but intriguing is a big help. And, frankly, I'm not supposed to use the kind of language that accurately describes how little impact comparing an obscure system to a common one would have on my decision (but it rhymes with 'cat's rash'...)