Post by Acantha Ivory Storm on Jul 11, 2014 23:08:18 GMT
Rules of RPI
I reserve the right to edit and change rules as necessary.
Edit 8/8: Additional section added at bottom.
The Basics
1. Keep swearing within reason. You're allowed to swear, just don't let it get out of control. Some people don't want to see the f-bomb dropped every other word, so please respect that. Just use some discretion. You'll receive warnings from the board moderator if s/he thinks you're out of line.
2. There are certain places for sex RP. Make out wherever you want, but anything beyond that is considered sexual. Pornographic pictures are not allowed anywhere. The strip club also requires that sex be in a separate thread as a courtesy to the other players.
3. Be literate. Text speak and consistently poor conventions are not tolerated. No one's grading you on your grammar, but other players shouldn't have to stop and reread your posts three times to understand what you're trying to say beneath the terrible spelling. Double-check what you wrote before you post it.
4. Do not insult other players OOC. Your characters can fight, but targeting another player in an OOC context is not cool. Harassing a player out-of-character will get you nothing but quick and sharp disciplinary action.
5. You may make multiple accounts. The only restriction is that you cannot control two canon characters from the same fandom; i.e., you can control both Bella and Katniss, but you can't control both Katniss and Gale. Although why anyone would want to control Bella at all is beyond me.
Canons and OCs
Canon Characters
Canons are any character pulled from a book, TV show, movie, comic, play, mythology, etc. Only one player is allowed to control each canon character; so, for example, having two Katniss Everdeens in the forum is prohibited. Once someone has a certain canon character, it's off-limits. A list of unavailable canons will be posted in the Information category once someone takes one. A post will also be made in the Announcements once a character is taken.
Because there is competition for canons, all players controlling a canon are expected to remain active or risk losing the character. Anyone who has been inactive for more than a month is in danger of being removed. If you are going on vacation or are otherwise not going to be online for more than a month, arrangements can be made.
Original Characters
OCs are characters you create yourself, whether they're related to canon material or not. These can be human or supernatural. RPI does not lay down rules for how supernatural characters should function, so you're free to make that up yourself. For example, if you make a vampire character, RPI doesn't specify anything about how often you need to drink blood, whether your fangs are always visible or not, how your skin handles the sun, or anything like that. You make your vampirism the way you want and we'll leave you to it.
Special RPs are the exception to this rule. Those are structured and have the worldbuilding already laid out for you when you join. More information is below.
Courtesies and Conveniences
Power-playing and god-modding are two bad habits that I'd like our players to stay away from. Power-playing is the act of controlling someone else's character in your own responses, especially during a fight. Example:
Gavin: Gavin threw himself to the left, avoiding the jet of fire. The bruises on his hip smashed against the floor, but he was too high on the adrenaline of battle to feel the pain. Recovering quickly, he leapt to his feet and charged her again; his sword swung out almost of its own accord and sliced straight toward her chest.
Acantha: Acantha ducked under his sword and fired a blast of air from her hand, hitting Gavin squarely in the chest. The air current propelled Gavin backward until he hit the far wall. His sword clattered to the floor and slid away, much too far for Gavin to reach. He coughed weakly and made no move toward the sword, curling up into a ball in a feeble attempt to protect himself from her next blow.
I've had this kind of thing happen to me during fights and it's extremely irritating. Never dictate what another character does in your own response. Another example of this:
Acantha: Everyone turned to look when Acantha entered the room. With her long claret hair and delicately carved features, it was no wonder that they all found her so beautiful.
Don't ever say that. It's very annoying and will not make people like you.
A closely related action is god-modding, which encompasses a number of things. The most prevalent is the act of making your own character invincible in some way: never getting injured, avoiding all blows, instantly recovering from debilitating hits, etc. Other examples of god-mods include mystically appearing in a new place without having moved, being able to read minds and know every action the other person will take (unless there's some sort of catch), or simply ignoring it when a hit connects with your character.
Quoting to Reply
When replying to another person on a thread, it's always better to hit "Quote" rather than type in the Quick Reply box. Quoting the other person causes a notification to pop up on their profile letting them know that you responded. To keep your post looking clean and neat, instead of just hitting "Quote" and then typing your reply, try this method. The text below is an example of what might come up if you quoted the post above.
[quotes author="@acantha" source="/post/28/thread" timestamp="1401596340"]Everyone turned to look when Acantha entered the room. With her long claret hair and delicately carved features, it was no wonder that they all found her so beautiful.[/quotes]
All of that complicated-looking code stuff needs to stay, or else the quote won't work, but you can safely delete the text in between the tags. Erase all of that, then hit enter and start your reply. So it should look like this just before you hit "Post":
[quotes author="@acantha" source="/post/28/thread" timestamp="1401596340"][/quotes]
I am immune to your mind control.
Note: I had to tamper with the tags slightly to make them show up. Normally it's going to say "quote," not "quotes."
For Underage Players
Legally, no one under eighteen is allowed in sex RP boards. But, well, I'm seventeen and my character works in the strip club. So I'm not going to be a hypocrite and come after you for entering the sex boards if you're underage. You can judge for yourself whether it's okay for you to be active in those forums, but if you do decide to go in there, I relinquish all responsibility for you and what you see. Please do not complain about the posts. Sex RP boards are clearly marked. Sex threads are supposed to be separated in the strip club, however, so you have the right to inform a moderator if one isn't.
Special RPs
The Special RPs in RPI right now are the Athena Academy for Gods and Goddesses and the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation and Defense, or the BPID. These are organizations which require an acceptance from the controller to get into. They are ongoing RPs with an evolving storyline and a tightly knit cast of characters. (They will be, at any rate.) Participants will be expected to stay active, like canon characters, or face removal from the SRP.
The controller is the person who owns the SRP, in a sense. His or her character holds the highest possible position within it -- the controller of Athena Academy plays the Headmaster/Headmistress, for example, and the controller for the BPID plays the Director -- and the player has the same powers as a moderator within the board. The controller also has the ability to accept or reject applicants for the SRP.
Due to limited population, I currently control both Athena Academy and the BPID. If you would like to join either or both, you'll have to message me and ask for a place. I will ask for a sample of your writing, so have it prepared; I and any other controller who comes after me reserve the right to reject you based on literacy. Special RPs require high-quality writing, but they are rewarding RPs to have a place in.
If you have an idea for an SRP, send it to me (Acantha Ivory Storm, Skylar) and I'll see about using it.
Houses
There are two types of houses, as you may have already seen: public and private. Public houses are, as the name suggests, open to everyone. They act like any other board on the site, and are easier to use. However, sex RP is not allowed. Private houses shut out everyone except the people you allow in, which can be more of a hassle, but sex RP is allowed and you have more privacy.
Your private house can work a couple of different ways. I can set it up to only allow certain users inside, no matter what. This is the most secure; however, if you want to allow a new person, you have to speak to me and wait for me to change it. I can also set up a password for you, so you can just give the password to the new person. They only have to enter it once -- after that, the site remembers and lets them in automatically. Less secure, but much easier. It's up to you how you want to set it up. Tell me how you want it done and I'll take care of it. No other staff member has enough access to do this for you. Only speak to me (Acantha Ivory Storm, Skylar).
You're allowed to have both a private and public house if you want. I advise you to have your personal board set up at the same time. Again, I'm the only one with the power to give you boards.
Rules may be added onto at a later date.
I reserve the right to edit and change rules as necessary.
Edit 8/8: Additional section added at bottom.
The Basics
1. Keep swearing within reason. You're allowed to swear, just don't let it get out of control. Some people don't want to see the f-bomb dropped every other word, so please respect that. Just use some discretion. You'll receive warnings from the board moderator if s/he thinks you're out of line.
2. There are certain places for sex RP. Make out wherever you want, but anything beyond that is considered sexual. Pornographic pictures are not allowed anywhere. The strip club also requires that sex be in a separate thread as a courtesy to the other players.
3. Be literate. Text speak and consistently poor conventions are not tolerated. No one's grading you on your grammar, but other players shouldn't have to stop and reread your posts three times to understand what you're trying to say beneath the terrible spelling. Double-check what you wrote before you post it.
4. Do not insult other players OOC. Your characters can fight, but targeting another player in an OOC context is not cool. Harassing a player out-of-character will get you nothing but quick and sharp disciplinary action.
5. You may make multiple accounts. The only restriction is that you cannot control two canon characters from the same fandom; i.e., you can control both Bella and Katniss, but you can't control both Katniss and Gale. Although why anyone would want to control Bella at all is beyond me.
Canons and OCs
Canon Characters
Canons are any character pulled from a book, TV show, movie, comic, play, mythology, etc. Only one player is allowed to control each canon character; so, for example, having two Katniss Everdeens in the forum is prohibited. Once someone has a certain canon character, it's off-limits. A list of unavailable canons will be posted in the Information category once someone takes one. A post will also be made in the Announcements once a character is taken.
Because there is competition for canons, all players controlling a canon are expected to remain active or risk losing the character. Anyone who has been inactive for more than a month is in danger of being removed. If you are going on vacation or are otherwise not going to be online for more than a month, arrangements can be made.
Original Characters
OCs are characters you create yourself, whether they're related to canon material or not. These can be human or supernatural. RPI does not lay down rules for how supernatural characters should function, so you're free to make that up yourself. For example, if you make a vampire character, RPI doesn't specify anything about how often you need to drink blood, whether your fangs are always visible or not, how your skin handles the sun, or anything like that. You make your vampirism the way you want and we'll leave you to it.
Special RPs are the exception to this rule. Those are structured and have the worldbuilding already laid out for you when you join. More information is below.
Courtesies and Conveniences
Power-playing and god-modding are two bad habits that I'd like our players to stay away from. Power-playing is the act of controlling someone else's character in your own responses, especially during a fight. Example:
Gavin: Gavin threw himself to the left, avoiding the jet of fire. The bruises on his hip smashed against the floor, but he was too high on the adrenaline of battle to feel the pain. Recovering quickly, he leapt to his feet and charged her again; his sword swung out almost of its own accord and sliced straight toward her chest.
Acantha: Acantha ducked under his sword and fired a blast of air from her hand, hitting Gavin squarely in the chest. The air current propelled Gavin backward until he hit the far wall. His sword clattered to the floor and slid away, much too far for Gavin to reach. He coughed weakly and made no move toward the sword, curling up into a ball in a feeble attempt to protect himself from her next blow.
I've had this kind of thing happen to me during fights and it's extremely irritating. Never dictate what another character does in your own response. Another example of this:
Acantha: Everyone turned to look when Acantha entered the room. With her long claret hair and delicately carved features, it was no wonder that they all found her so beautiful.
Don't ever say that. It's very annoying and will not make people like you.
A closely related action is god-modding, which encompasses a number of things. The most prevalent is the act of making your own character invincible in some way: never getting injured, avoiding all blows, instantly recovering from debilitating hits, etc. Other examples of god-mods include mystically appearing in a new place without having moved, being able to read minds and know every action the other person will take (unless there's some sort of catch), or simply ignoring it when a hit connects with your character.
Quoting to Reply
When replying to another person on a thread, it's always better to hit "Quote" rather than type in the Quick Reply box. Quoting the other person causes a notification to pop up on their profile letting them know that you responded. To keep your post looking clean and neat, instead of just hitting "Quote" and then typing your reply, try this method. The text below is an example of what might come up if you quoted the post above.
[quotes author="@acantha" source="/post/28/thread" timestamp="1401596340"]Everyone turned to look when Acantha entered the room. With her long claret hair and delicately carved features, it was no wonder that they all found her so beautiful.[/quotes]
All of that complicated-looking code stuff needs to stay, or else the quote won't work, but you can safely delete the text in between the tags. Erase all of that, then hit enter and start your reply. So it should look like this just before you hit "Post":
[quotes author="@acantha" source="/post/28/thread" timestamp="1401596340"][/quotes]
I am immune to your mind control.
Note: I had to tamper with the tags slightly to make them show up. Normally it's going to say "quote," not "quotes."
For Underage Players
Legally, no one under eighteen is allowed in sex RP boards. But, well, I'm seventeen and my character works in the strip club. So I'm not going to be a hypocrite and come after you for entering the sex boards if you're underage. You can judge for yourself whether it's okay for you to be active in those forums, but if you do decide to go in there, I relinquish all responsibility for you and what you see. Please do not complain about the posts. Sex RP boards are clearly marked. Sex threads are supposed to be separated in the strip club, however, so you have the right to inform a moderator if one isn't.
Special RPs
The Special RPs in RPI right now are the Athena Academy for Gods and Goddesses and the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation and Defense, or the BPID. These are organizations which require an acceptance from the controller to get into. They are ongoing RPs with an evolving storyline and a tightly knit cast of characters. (They will be, at any rate.) Participants will be expected to stay active, like canon characters, or face removal from the SRP.
The controller is the person who owns the SRP, in a sense. His or her character holds the highest possible position within it -- the controller of Athena Academy plays the Headmaster/Headmistress, for example, and the controller for the BPID plays the Director -- and the player has the same powers as a moderator within the board. The controller also has the ability to accept or reject applicants for the SRP.
Due to limited population, I currently control both Athena Academy and the BPID. If you would like to join either or both, you'll have to message me and ask for a place. I will ask for a sample of your writing, so have it prepared; I and any other controller who comes after me reserve the right to reject you based on literacy. Special RPs require high-quality writing, but they are rewarding RPs to have a place in.
If you have an idea for an SRP, send it to me (Acantha Ivory Storm, Skylar) and I'll see about using it.
Houses
There are two types of houses, as you may have already seen: public and private. Public houses are, as the name suggests, open to everyone. They act like any other board on the site, and are easier to use. However, sex RP is not allowed. Private houses shut out everyone except the people you allow in, which can be more of a hassle, but sex RP is allowed and you have more privacy.
Your private house can work a couple of different ways. I can set it up to only allow certain users inside, no matter what. This is the most secure; however, if you want to allow a new person, you have to speak to me and wait for me to change it. I can also set up a password for you, so you can just give the password to the new person. They only have to enter it once -- after that, the site remembers and lets them in automatically. Less secure, but much easier. It's up to you how you want to set it up. Tell me how you want it done and I'll take care of it. No other staff member has enough access to do this for you. Only speak to me (Acantha Ivory Storm, Skylar).
You're allowed to have both a private and public house if you want. I advise you to have your personal board set up at the same time. Again, I'm the only one with the power to give you boards.
Rules may be added onto at a later date.