RULES
Introduction
[/b]. Keep sex out of threads - either keep most romantic interaction tasteful or fade to black. Violent detail is allowed, but not to an extreme extent. Any language is fine as long as it's not repetitive.
If you ever have any questions, just ask! We love to answer questions, so long as members are using good judgment and respecting themselves, other members, and the staff.
[/ul]
Registration and Application
[/b]. ZACK FAIR, not zack fair or Zack Fair.
There is no character limit. That said, there is a limit to some members' tendency of taking everyone you want all at once. Please take two characters, then ask the staff for any characters you take beyond those two. Activity will determine whether or not we say yes or no - members just scraping by in terms of activity are far less likely to receive access to subsequent characters. Also, be mindful of fellow members, and don't hog up characters.
Be diverse. Try not to take more than a couple of main characters from the same game but feel free to have at minor characters.
You must audition before writing your application. It doesn't matter if your character is a canon or an original character, you must show us you can write before writing up an application to take the character. Make a lengthy character audition that shows a grip of the character's way of speaking, thinking, and acting.
[/ul]
In-Character
[/b]. Just because a character is rude and obnoxious, it does not mean the player is as well!
No drama. We are here to roleplay and enjoy ourselves. Remember: it's a game and everyone is here out of their love for writing! We're here to enjoy ourselves, not deal with mountains of issues.
Canon continuity will be important. One may find the "Thread Masterlist" forum among the character-related forums, for good reason. Canons taken on the site will have a consistent, advancing history. That means that if a canon was played previously on the site and someone new takes said canon, the new player needs to be aware of the canon's history and account for it in some way. While we understand canons will be played differently from player to player, please, do not ignore your canon's on-site history and, while not all of it has to be canon, do try to follow it to some extent.
[/ul]
Posting
[/b]. Give your partner the chance to respond to your posts appropriately.
No size zero fonts. This is a writing site; we cannot make proper replies if we cannot read your post!
Do not harass members to reply to your thread. It'll make them even less inclined to reply! A simple nudge to let them know you posted should be plenty. That said, if a member is being difficult about posting or, for example, failing to start a thread they promised, feel free to mention it to a staff member.
Try to be detailed with posts. We won't require any exact word count for each post you make, though members should strive for a word count in the two hundred and fifty to three hundred word range. Posts of this size, however, will be in the minority - five hundred words is much more common. Detail is a good writer's friend, and we hope you strive to improve on your characterization with each new post.
Inactive thread partners. When you set up a group thread (more than two people posting), there is always a bigger risk of someone stalling the thread by not posting. To prevent group threads from suffering due to a single person not posting in time, you have the staff's permission to skip an inactive thread partner if they have not replied within
ten days since the last post. If it happens more than once, you have permission to write that character out of the thread in whatever way you see fit, including comical ways. It is up to you to let your thread partners know when you are going to be away, and it's your responsibility to provide them with a way to temporarily write your character out of the thread, so it can continue on. If you fail to show these simple courtesies, you will have to accept the consequences.
Use a spell-checker. You can use a word processor with a spell-checker, an online tool or download a dictionary for your browser. Firefox and Google Chrome have a spell-checker built in to the browser.
Use proper grammar. Understand the differences between your and you're and similar grammatical issues. Try to challenge yourself to
improve your grammar; you'll be glad you did! Also, please, please always post in third person, past tense. If you don't know what that is, that site can help!
[/ul]
Out of Character
[/b]. Even if you dislike someone, you can still be polite.
Talk to the Staff. If you have a problem with a rule, another member, a thread, or how an event is progressing, please contact an Administrator. The Staff Team is here to help! Please, keep such conversations to PM, however. Spreading problems onto the whole of the site is a quick way to get banned.
Be friendly to guests.
We are watching, and we will harm you. Give guests the proper attention and respect they deserve - they'll be members like you eventually! We hope.
[/ul]
Graphics
[/b]; please have something in your profile that represents your character, preferably an avatar. Staff members are more than willing to make avatars for you if you have no image manipulation program, and occasionally you'll have an avatar in your lap once you finish the character anyway.
Avatars should all be 200x300 in size. Please don't go smaller, so the site can look more streamlined and consistent. If you do have a smaller avatar, a staff member will likely make you a new one to your liking.
Signatures and tables/ post templates should not stretch the skin.
No offensive or hateful material. Avatars, signatures and tables/ post templates should not contain anything that is vulgar or disrespectful of other people's beliefs.
Did you read these rules? If you did, please tell us your favorite dessert somewhere fairly obvious in your application.
[/ul]
Activity Requirements
[/b]. We want you to be active, and we will be monitoring every individual player's activity with each character. While there are no requirements set in stone for how active you should be, if you are motivated and consistent enough with your posting, you'll be fine. Typically, the activity of administrators is a good indication of how active members should be. If we determine that your activity is not up to par, the staff will ask for a quick chat and give a warning, but only one warning. If activity remains low for no particular reason, we'll ask that you drop characters to allow more active players to take them.
Post in the Absences Forum if you are going away! Also, please let us know if you are experiencing anything that will hinder your ability to post, such as internet problems. We don't want to delete you by accident! However, if you start taking advantage of these absences or they last an indefinite amount of time, we will unfortunately have to open your characters for new players who can afford to devote the time needed to these characters.[/ul]
