Posting on IGS beforehand, detailing what you are doing, as a requirement for your RP to be "effective", due to being seen and heard in advance, means only 1 style of RP "works".
On the contrary. I've done plenty of RP related to the Sansha invasions that was not prepared ahead of time; but then again, I didn't claim to be setting up planetside defenses. My example was specific to the situation, and how to best go about doing that.
Verone, Ghost Hunter, and a few others have had interactions with event actors that was not proceeded by specifically stated intents on IGS: it was their "alignment" and previously stated beliefs and faction alignments that helped them get the "foot in the door".
Which would be propaganda similar to various dictators in history. Boasting of how they've built an impregnable fortress, will unleash the mother of all battles, etc.
To be blunt, no one said anything like this. Again, The Cosmopolite didn't claim victory; he was letting the opposition know that they were prepared. Never did they state they were going to win, simply that they were going to put up what defense they could.
Deltole was a success, and Oruse had mixed results. What was the difference? IN-GAME interaction. Players putting up a defense IN SPACE. I would argue that the in space side of that was the most effective, though the IGS "politics" helped win the day.
Also, I may have nudged a couple people here and there to get the ball rolling. My super sekrit spai netwurk and all. I'm kind of sneaky like that.
In addition to this, it means it is not what you do in-space, in-game and in real time, that really matters, but what you post on forums, when you have all the time in the world to write.
If all someone did was post in forums, they'd have no time to do anything in-game. They wouldn't be able to interact in-game. How could they change the course of events this way? A combination is fine; sometimes that's not really necessary though. In-game actions can have profound effects. Drake Arson (I think I got that name right) didn't post on IGS his specific plans for a very spectacular player-driven event ahead of time, and I had more fun at that than I did at any one of the CCP created events. On the other hand, there are those who just plain can't keep ISK in their wallet, let alone have enough time to really play the game effectively (despite high SP counts), so they sit, listen, learn, and when the mood suits them and they have a plan, they set the wheels in motion.
::whistles innocently::
Point being, for
specific courses of action, IGS statements are pretty much necessary, but not
required. That is, in respect to interacting with CCP storylines that are getting Event attention. For everything there are in-game means to accomplish a goal as well; evemail, private messages, boat violencing, payments of large quantities of ISK, market manipulation...
...the list goes on and on. Like I said, find a point of interaction, and run with it. I've had plenty of fun interacting in events and not having a "public" role. I can happily say I'm enjoying it, but then I'm leaving the game here in a few days so as to be able to focus on some personal projects. I don't have the time to throw myself headfirst into what I'd really like to do in-game. So, until my account goes inactive I'll nudge, I'll watch, I'll listen, and I'll /sip to my heart's content.
That's my point of interaction.