Hey guys, I'm a new member but I've got a ton of experience with e-feds, having created a pretty successful one myself on a different site. Figured I'd chip in some thoughts about this discussion.
First off, on the issue of characters... while many e-feds definitely do use existing WWE and TNA characters, this is probably not the smartest route to go. WWE in particular has been known to go after websites that use their characters or trademarks without permission in things like eFeds, so creating original characters instead would probably be a good "better safe than sorry" policy. Besides, when you create your own original characters, you can grow much more attached to them, as they can pretty much act as extensions of yourself. You give them whatever gimmick and character you want, and have a lot more freedom with how they would talk or act. Let's face it, anybody writing for someone like The Rock would feel tempted to lace his catch phrases in promos, and while it'd be fun to do that, there's nobody who does it better than Dwayne Johnson himself.
Second, I think it's worth mentioning that there are different varieties of efeds, each with their own merits. The one that (I think) is being discussed most here is the most common variety, in that you role play as a wrestler and compete by writing interviews/promos. Feuds are carried out mostly through words. There are different ways that winners can be determined. Sometimes there are set judges who pick the promo that was better. Sometimes it's set up for a popular vote. But whatever the case, feuds are carried out through these promos, and people who win enough promo battles become champions of the efed.
The type of efed that I run involves more work, but is a more accurate simulation of a wrestling federation, which is why it's called a "sim fed." In this type of game, there is a group of members that act as the game's creative team, and they carefully plan out storylines among the various characters that people have created for the game. The game, then, becomes a text-based version of a real federation... people write out matches between their characters, they write out promos, etc, all based on what the creative team has booked on the card for that week's show. Any member who is assigned a match or promo works with the writer(s) for the other character(s) in that match or promo to complete the assignment, then they turn it into the bookers, who compile all of the completed assignments to post in one show. So this requires a greater time commitment from writers and particularly bookers, but deeper storylines can be created as a result.
It's a bit hard to explain I guess, but if people are interested I'd be willing to give an example of a match or a promo from this format. Let me know.
It all comes down to what you want to get out of your efed experience. If you're looking for a quicker, simpler and more accessible type of federation and one that's easier for new members to jump into without much of a learning curve, the type that's being discussed in this thread will be a lot of fun. If you're looking to really channel your creativity and writing skills and be a part of in-depth stories, then the sim fed will provide that.
That's my $.02 for now! And also, if you're interested in researching a bit more what ewrestling entails, the following link is an e-fed wiki that tons of different fed creators use to keep track of their histories. http://ewrestling.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
And, here's a bit more about the different types of efeds: http://ewrestling.wikia.com/wiki/E-federation
