1. Original characters only. You may use a celebrity likeness as a Play-by for your puppet.
2. IC and OOC are two separate spheres.. Keep OOC feelings from affecting your pup and the game. Remember that players are not their pups and pups are not their players.
3. There is a currently no pup limit. However, be realistic about how many pups you can handle. Pups that are not used regularly may be retired from the game.
4. All new pups must be submitted to the mod for approval. NPC pups that will be used regularly and may affect the game as a whole must be approved by the mod, as well.
5. To keep a good balance between master and slave pups, no player may have more than one slave pup without taking a master pup as well.
6. Puppet deaths are allowed. However, this must be cleared by mod first.
7. Pup activity is expected at least every (2) weeks. More often would be preferable. Please do not join this game unless you plan to be active. New members are welcomed but we want members who plan to play and post in a timely manner. If you are not going to be able to play for a period of more than (2) weeks, please let the mod know.
8. This game is rated NC-17. It is slash, smut, and BDSM friendly. Must be at least 18 to play. This game is full of adult situations, violence and sexual acts. Although your pup is yours to play as you see fit, I cannot imagine why you would join this RP if you don't wish to read such things.
9. No godmodding. If you are controlling another pup's actions you should have permission from the player. If you wish to write about something that was not RPed out, get the other player's consent. Complaints of this nature will be taken seriously and may lead to being banned from the game.
10. No one is perfect. Your pup shouldn't be, either. When developing you pup's character consider their strengths, weaknesses, wants, needs, upbringing, and beliefs.
11. Read the posts about the game setting and information. It's critical to know the alternate universe and setting of this game in order to play. If in doubt, read the above posts. Still in doubt, ask the mod.
12. Special events (riots, escapes, ship-wide parties, port docking, etc.) and environmental circumstances (weather changes, etc.) are controlled by the mod and will be announced as they occur. (If you need a storm for your plot, consult with God I mean, the mod. heh)
Writing and Editing
1. Spell check is your friend. Please use it.
2. When chatting, replies need to be of a length that they give enough info to play from. No one-liners, please. Replies should be detailed and provide your playing partner with enough for their pup to do or say something in return.
*Suggestions for lengthening your replies:
-Describe feelings, thoughts, surroundings. Consider all senses and variables in order to help the reader to 'see' the scene you have created.
-Explain reasons for the way a character feels. Grace us with insight into the internal struggles and insecurities of these people we are getting to know.
-Reread your writing before "tagging". Consider if there's enough for your writing partner to respond to and where it would lead the chat. Think of it as a game of chess. Each move your pup makes will lead your partner's pup to make a complimentary or counter move.
-Also ask yourself if you progressed the storyline. Don't just follow your partner's queues but make those of your own.
-May chats will include non-consent and other unpleasant situations. That's the nature of this game. However, this does not extend to player/player interactions. Players should collaborate as equals to produce the chat. Control-freaks and push-overs are both annoying. Play nice. :)
3. Posts in the IC comm should be written in 3rd person present tense.
4. The OOC comm is where you put any OOC notes, feedback, request for chats, announcements or questions you might have.
5. Each main community post will begin with this heading.
6. All posts need to be public. (Unless you have a very good reason for why it should be otherwise. Please consult with mod if in doubt.)
7. Like spell checking, proper grammar is a well appreciated consideration. Here are 10 common grammar mistakes:
- Your vs. You’re “Your” is a possessive pronoun, as in “your car” or “your blog.” “You’re” is a contraction for “you are,” as in “you’re screwing up your writing by using your when you really mean you are.”
- It’s vs. Its “It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” “Its” is a possessive pronoun, as in “this blog has lost its mojo.” Here’s an easy rule of thumb—repeat your sentence out loud using “it is” instead. If that sounds goofy, “its” is likely the correct choice.
- There vs. Their “There” is used many ways, including as a reference to a place (“let’s go there”) or as a pronoun (“there is no hope”). “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, as in “their bags” or “their opinions.” Always do the “that’s ours!” test—are you talking about more than one person and something that they possess? If so, “their” will get you there.
- Affect vs. Effect “Affect” is a verb, as in “Your ability to communicate clearly will affect your income immensely.” “Effect” is a noun, as in “The effect of a parent’s low income on a child’s future is well documented.” By thinking in terms of “the effect,” you can usually sort out which is which, because you can’t stick a “the” in front of a verb. While some people do use “effect” as a verb (“a strategy to effect a settlement”), they are usually lawyers, and you should therefore ignore them if you want to write like a human.
- Then vs. Than "Then", an adverb, is used with descriptions of time as in "Then, suddenly, Mr. Perez shouted." "Than", a conjunction, is used to compare things as in "I’m a better diver than you’ll ever be!"
- Who vs. Whom Never use "whom" incorrectly just because you think it sounds more educated. Wrong: "Matt, whom is a Duke fan, wants to see a Carolina/Duke rematch." Right: "Matt, who is a Duke fan, wants to see a Carolina/Duke rematch." Wrong: "Matt, who I am married to, was one hot soccer player in high school." Right: "Matt, to whom I am married, was one hot soccer player in high school." Hint: Loosely rephrase the sentence using he/him, she/her, we/us, they/them: "He is a Duke fan." "I am married to him." If you would replace "Matt" with he/she/we/they (as in the first example), you should use "who" in that sentence. If you would replace "Matt" with him/her/us/them (second example), use "whom."
- Less vs. Fewer Generally, use "fewer" for individual items and "less" for quantity. Wrong: "I wonder why there are always less people at Jersey Mike's than at Subway." Right: "I wonder why there are always fewer people at Jersey Mike's than at Subway." Wrong: "The amount of rain we've gotten this year is fewer than we got last year." Right: "The amount of rain we've gotten this year is less than we got last year."
- To vs. Too Yes, they sound the same, but they are two (ha!) different words. Don't use them interchangeably! Wrong: "Carolina won the ACC championship, and I think they're going too win the NCAA tournament to." Right: "Carolina won the ACC championship, and I think they're going to win the NCAA championship too." Wrong: "I drink to much Coke." Right: "I drink too much Coke." Hint: "Too" means "also" or "overly." "To" just means ... "to."
- Could of vs. Could have You should never use "could of". It sounds a little like "could've" which is probably where the mistake is made. However, "could have" or "could've" is the appropriate usage of the word. Right: She could have taken that necklace, but she didn't. Wrong: She could of taken that necklace, but she didn't.
- Hear vs. Here "Here" refers to a location as in "Come here, Junior". "Hear" refers to the sense of hearing as in "I can hear the music through the wall". "Hear" is easy to remember because part of the word is "ear". </font>
Note: This post borrows heavily from soc-mod. Thanks for the ideas.