Mod!post of d00m
Ok, mutant lovers, big mod post is big, so settle in!
First off, there are going to be some emails issued to inboxes for a few of you. We are handing out seven activity notices for this activity period, and that number is rather high. Your mods are not exactly happy about that. We do and will enforce this rule if necessary, but please do not make us. We have several new faces in the comm and have noticed some extra energy coming in with them so we are very happy about that and have no doubts that the next activity period will be much more successful!
Secondly, we want to announce a "move it or lose it" policy on threads. Activity checks take place every 2 weeks, and as such, we see no reason for threads which are not of a MAJOR import to a character's development to drag on longer than two weeks. This is basically put in place to give characters closure, and to eliminate the need/worry about tagging on a thread which is a month old. If a thread has dragged on past the two week mark, consider it over and done with. If it is nearing the two week mark and you do like where it is headed, feel free to remind the other player 'Hey the 2 week mark is up--move it or lose it!' This is intended to help out when real life gets in the way or a scene is just not sparking, please be aware that letting this happen after a tag or two will not count for a full status under an activity check. This should allow players to focus more on specific plot lines and allow for a bit of complexity, please do not use it routinely to play limbo with the activity checks.
The next order of business, we need your feedback on! We would like to propose that if you are in a group thread (three or more characters involved) and one of the parties in the thread does not tag within a set time period, you should be free to skip the inactive character's turn. This keeps threads from dragging and the person whose turn was skipped can pop back in later if they still have the desire. While some will likely find this "rude," we believe the majority of our players will agree that having a thread sit deadly still for days at a time is far worse RP manners. We would like to ask you all, the community, how long you feel like this set period of time before skipping the turn should be. 24 hours? Two days? Where do you feel a player steps over the line of 'real life can be a pain' to 'holding up a scene'? Feel free to comment here or email the mod account if you do not want your answers public.
Lastly, we would like to remind everyone that not all scenes have to be threaded out. Playing via email, Google docs, IM threads and log posts is more than acceptable. Write whichever way works best for you and your scening partner at that time. Be aware that not every thread has to be posted. If you do a fun/quick/silly hang-out scene to get a feel for interaction, a log of it does not have to be posted. Please do share scenes which are major to character development with the community so that others can keep up with developments. Remember to do enough 'major' scenes to keep your activity level up. This community does run "storybook" style, so please avoid posting any "asterisk" style threads in the community. Do feel free to run scenes anywhere and in whatever style helps you stay connected to your character. We will accept any and all items, but the more plot heavy and important they are for your character's development, the more interesting they are to read.
Thanks for reading all the way down to here, you all get a cookie! Keep on being awesome! <3 -The Mods