Our rules are simple and direct.  Please don't break them, it would make me cry.

Choose an appropriate registered name

Please do not use numbers or symbols or choose something tacky.  We encourage you to use your character's name for your registered name but this is not required (in particular for NPC accounts).  Your username is often what fellow players will call you so make sure it's a name you're comfortable with!

Respect your fellow players

Don't come in with an attitude and expect other people not to fight back.  Do not harass or honestly insult your fellow players.  I say "honestly" because sarcasm is allowed; if you are clearly joking and the other person knows it we won't nag.  If you are a jerk and/or we receive complaints, we will come after you with the fires of a thousand suns.  Also warnings and stuff.  I hate getting my Official Voice on and so does every other staff member; don't make us do it!

Act An Adult

We do not require players to be over 16 we do require them to ACT over 16.  We are more than happy to help you in any way we can, but do not expect us to lead you by the hand.  You are expected to take initiative and meet us at least half-way if not create your own thread/plot.  If you are frustrated, have patience.  Contact a member of staff if you are stuck, we're here to help you!

Be prepared for adult content

We do not set limitations on violence, sexual content, or profanity.  Your discretion is your own and responsibility for viewing and participating in threads on this board is also your own.  If you are uncomfortable with any of these elements, it is your responsibility to come to an understanding with your threadmates, not ours.  If the other player is not interested in toning themself down, you are free to not play with their character.

Do not auto or god mode

Give the other player time to react.  Do not write their reactions for them.  That is not role playing, it's forcing someone to do what you want for your own purpose.  We won't have it and we will get angry if you do it, as will your fellow player.  So don't!

Do not under any circumstances discuss real-life politics or religion

It never ends well.  Just don't do it and let's all get along.

Do not try to start drama

You know how to do it and we know how to recognize it.  If we think drama is starting, we will end it.  And we will spank if needed.  With a crowbar.

Do not skip a player

There is a basic turn system in place.  Please respect your fellow player and give them a minimum of 3 days to respond without notice.  After 3 days you may skip them if needed.  Players may organize skips amongst themselves as well; if the person skipped is fine with it, then we are too.

Play the characters you have before creating new ones.  Finish ideas you start.

If you would like to create dozens of scenarios or characters, we appreciate your enthusiasm but request that you play with what you already have first.  This is first and foremost a role play board, therefore every character a player is actually playing is highly important to the people posting with that character.  Don't leave other players hanging while you brainstorm a dozen other ideas.  It's frustrating for them to watch while their own story goes neglected.

Do not leave without notification

If you will be gone for a vacation or any other reason, please have the courtesy to let us know.  If you vanish I will freak out and assume something awful has happened to you.  I have been known to Google people's names (they told me their names, I swear) and search local newspapers to see if anything has happened to them.  Please do not make me worry, for I am a spaz of epic proportions.

Obviously emergencies happen and this cannot be helped.  But if you know you will be gone for some amount of time, please post in the Plotting forum to let your fellow players and staff know.

Exercise patience and we will do the same

If you have a question, ASK!  If you want to PM a fellow player, DO IT!  Staff is here to help and mediate if needed.  Use your resources and don't be so timid!  We promise we won't bite!

Play-by-post takes time.  People cannot drop what they are doing currently to rush into a thread with you instead.  Plots have been planned, characters set into actions.  There is a thread with currently available characters for the purpose of letting you choose whom you would like to play with.  Use this tool.  Post in plot OOC threads and ask what's available.  Ask ask ask!

Do not expect to begin posting immediately.  I cannot stress this point enough.  Play-by-post takes time.  It can be upwards of a week between replies.  People take vacations or absences, or feel uninspired.  Patience is not a virtue here, it is a requirement.

We cannot force other people to join you.  Please take some initiative and ask other players to join with you in a thread or plot.  PM people.  Email people.  Come to chat and ask people.  Be flexible on what you are or aren't willing to do with your first thread; this will ease any further delays in finding your character a home.  Do not demand that people play or don't play a certain way; they will be less inclined to play with you as a result.  Remember kids, freeform rp!

Guideline: Continuity

For the sake of continuity, a character should only be in one IC (In Character) thread at a time. This is so events in one thread continue into later threads.

Example: A character is in 2 threads at once, one covers events of the morning and one covers events in the afternoon the same day. If in the thread covering the morning the character loses a leg, that will have a major effect on the thread covering the afternoon.

If you want to play a character in multiple scenes at once, play them in the Writer's Workshop as Alternate Reality threads - and they can become part of an established plot once they are complete.