I have been reading some of the threads here, but I can't figure out how one would go about running a game here.

Can somebody give me a summary and maybe a few tricks of the trade regarding how this is done?

You generally have three threads, for organizations sake. The recruitment thread, where you explain our game, get players, and get set up. Once you've got the game ready to go, you start and IC, and OOC thread, and let the recruiting thread die. The IC thread if where the characters get to live, and all the action happens. The OOC thread is where all the behind the scene talking goes on, and the dice rolls are recorded etc. As for the actual mechanics, it's just like a regular game of Shadowrun, ecept everything is written out instead of spoken. How you handle dice is up to you. Some GMs roll everything themselves, other have the players roll.

The game I'm running, I turned the recruiting thread into the OOC thread. I made the first post IC, then had each of the players post their character sheets, and then had the game start in earnest.

I'd suggest a thread with:

[Recruitment] : Name of Game

In that thread, describe what you want in characters.

Good stuff, keep it coming

Ah, I assumed you meant how to get it started, not how to run one.

How to run a game 101:

1) Keep the action moving. Any post by you that ends with the players not having to make a decision of import, ends up being a week long delay before anyone posts. Unlike group-rpgs, a PBP game needs a ton of action, and even more combat. Avoid at all costs roleplaying a "meet", those require quick verbal exchanges between parties, and slow the game down beyond comprehension. What takes 5 minutes in group-gaming, takes weeks in PBP. So cover as much area as you can per post. Ie: Your group heads to the meet, plans in hand on how to handle things. At the meet you work out with the Johnson that you'll need X amount of nuyen for the job, and the job is this: ... (try to answer questions in OOC since they were most likely asked at the meet, keeps the game going).

2) don't post 2 or 3 lines. Players want to hear a story, if you're anything short of a full paragraph, players aren't going to post story in-kind. It ends up looking like: GM-Ok, 4 drones attack you. Player-I attack back while ducking for cover.

3) Play by the 0.5 rule. Ie: encourage players to re-tell your story as they saw it themselves, and explain how they will react. Then you re-tell those reaction, and add some more to the story. By always covering half of the other's story, you get a more fleshfull story, and give players who don't know what they would do a chance to at least re-post what they did in their own eyes (this time with their feelings).

4) Daily posts. Even if players don't post, daily posts by the GM. Players catch on quickly that the story goes on with or without them, and it's funner with them. I give weekly karma awards for daily posts.

5) Karma. What is worth 5 karma in a group-game will come out as worth about 20 in PBP if done correctly. Reason being that it takes so long, and trust me, waiting a year to get a little karma to advance your character ruins half the fun in the game (half the fun is character development, the other half is character advancement ), I also recommend ignoring learning-time rules for karma spending. You really don't want to lose a game because it dies as players are "AFK" to learn their new skills, etc.

Those are my 5 rules I live by as an online GM. If a game has no posts for a week, you can pretty much consider the game dead. People lose interest, forget what was even going on in the story, and aren't motivated to post anymore. Never let a game idle. I'm in more than one game right now where my character (if it were a local game) would have nothing to say other than "He stands there". Don't let your game get that slow. Cover many minutes per post, Heck, I cover hours per posts often. "You stand in a pipe", "Ok you're on a boat" or "You sit at a table" aren't good enders for GM posts, keep there some action. If they're not in battle or trying to solve a major problem, move them to the next scene. Basically, if you look at your post and feel a player might post any of the preceeding lines, it's time to keep posting the story.

"Ok, I do the same thing I did last panel"
"Ok, I wait for <one specific person> to make a decision" (solo gaming sucks)
"I <stand/sit/etc> and wait."

Last comment, promise , It's always the GM's fault if a game fails. Never argue minor things with players, just nod and agree, after all it's about having fun, not about being right. Don't have snobbish NPCs who refuse to listen and would rather leave than talk. And read the old IC Earth's Dawn for what I consider to be good storytelling.

Sphynx