Shared Mod Jounral @ Citadel-Icons (xalted) wrote in xmen_ooc, @ 2009-03-14 04:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | !mod, !rules, faq |
Rules & Frequently Asked Questions
APPLY | PLOT | CONTACTS | THREADS ARCHIVE | IN CHARACTER TAGS | OOC TAGS | RULES | ||
APPLICATIONS HOW TO LABEL JOURNALS PLAYED BYS INTRODUCTIONS WANTED SCENES |
RETCONS NPCS/GODMODDING MARY SUES GRAMMAR/TENSES ONE LINERS DROPPING THREADS |
CHARACTER RESTRICTIONS THREADIQUETTE ACTIVITY & HIATUSES OOC TOPICS SECRETS |
TAG YOUR ENTRIES If it is an OOC entry, please add your name to the tags section before or after you post it. If the entry is IC, please add your character's codename (and any other characters that are involved) to the tags section before or after you post it. Here are the tag lists for each community: TAGS: IN CHARACTER, TAGS: OOC. They are also listed under our LINKS page. APPLICATIONS Please create an entry in a journal that is located on a website such as LiveJournal or GreatestJournal to post your profile in. It only needs to be temporary. If you'd like to post it in the journal you wish to use in this game, that's cool too (please read rule #2). Reply to the profile outline/application with a comment linking to your profile, wherever you've posted it. We will read over and approve it for you. Yay. Also, before creating an original character, please look through the list of originals to see if their abilities are being used already, if that would bother you. LABELING THREADS/JOURNALS Posting up new threads is welcome whenever you feel like it. But I must stress how important it is that threads are labeled properly. HOW TO LABEL NEW THREADS has a simple copy-and-paste text box that allows you to easily obtain all the information and coding needed to make a new entry. Your threads should be labeled and behind a cut. There is a page for JOURNAL ENTRIES, as well, with a similar copy-and-paste coding section. Each thread (on the main community) should have the following information: Who: Characters listed by codename, if it is an open thread or not. What: The nature of the thread, a brief discription. When: Day of the week, date and time of day if possible. Where: Obviously, lol. Status: In Progress or Complete - logs would be complete from the start, threads would need to be marked 'complete' later. Rating: G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. Tagged?: Yes or No, preferably Yes. The tags should be the codenames of all the characters involved, whether the thread is current or backdated, and a rating, listed this way 'rated pg'. There is also a 'fluff' tag, use it when you'd like. F-locked?: Yes or No, if No, the entry should be plot-changing or a major event. Most interactions and general threads would be marked 'Yes', then made readable by friends only. JOURNALS Please make one journal for each character that you've been approved for. Your character's profile and your wanted scenes page should be entries in said journal. All of your in-character activity should be posted to xmen_genesis (current in-character threads and logs) or xmen_etc (backdates, blogs, e-mails, private journals, etc). Or, an entry may be a personal letter to or from an individual outside of the school/their location. For blogs, other characters can reply if the entry is open for discussion. However, when creating/commenting on blogs or compiling chatlogs, please keep dates and times in mind - some things may not have happened or may be outdated topics. NPCS / GODMODDING Do not play another member's characters unless given permission by them or a moderator. So far as NPCs go, they are listed at the bottom of the taken page and most of them have journals. Don't feel obligated to use their journal when you need to mention or write as them. However, you can ask for passwords should you need them. BEHAVIOR Keep fighting off of the communities (unless it's in-character, then it's fun). Please be kind to each other. We will have to remove players for repeatedly disobeying the rules and/or treating other players with disrespect. GRAMMAR / TENSES Use spellcheck. Punctuation and correct capitalization are also highly smiled upon as well. Please do not switch tenses within your threads. In this game, we use third person writing perspective, only. For example: He looked down and saw that his shoe was untied. Bad example: He looks down and sees that his shoe is untied. MARY SUES & MARTY STUS If your original (or even canon) character has special/unique talents that surpass those of average mutants, students or teachers, that aspect might not be approved. There are height/weight match-ups here, which are also linked to on the application page. These characters are mutants - they're bound to have unique features/abilities. But please keep in mind that Marvel (generally) tries to make their mutations scientifically 'sensical. Of course, sometimes they just throw in the towel and give a character purple eyes and hot pink lips because they're pretty. But they're writing comicbooks for money, and we're creating stories through text, not for profit. (UPDATED 08/16/09.) ONE LINERS Please don't use one liners. Posts that are 1-4 sentences long are considered 'one liners'. They're fine for journals/comments, but in threads/logs, when you're writing in third-person and doing a narrative, please use full paragraphs. If you can't come up with full paragraphs, then you should speak with the other person(s) involved with the thread and come up with a change of topic/scenery. One liners don't provide an interesting read and they don't allow the person you're writing with to respond to their fullest capability. We're here to write with each other and build on ideas and everyone should do their co-authors the courtesy of putting as much effort into their posts as possible (within comfort/reason/time constraints). We (the mods) see one liners as a waste of character(s) and, frankly, time. Steer clear of 'em. Players that are warned about this repeatedly will be asked to drop their character(s) to the minimum in hopes that their time will be used to make the most of one character, instead of being spread over several. If the issue persists, the player will be removed. (ADDED 06/25/09, UPDATED 08/20/09.) CHARACTER LIMITS You may play as many as you can manage within reason. The more time you have, the more characters you can pick up. If you start to slack/lose interest, you'll be asked to drop some. It is encouraged to play more than one, so go ahead if you would like. The suggested canon-to-original ratio is 2-to-1. So, if you'd like to play an original, you should pick up at least one canon first. So as long as your canons are equal to or greater than your number of originals, we're all good. Please have your first character in play for one week or more before applying for a second (or third) character. There is a thread limit! Please involve each of your characters at any given time in only two threads. This will help to keep overexposure down and will allow all characters equal time in the spotlight. Logs, journal entries, etc. do not fall under this rule - only open, on-going threads. But try to spread your attention evenly over all of your characters. THREADIQUETTE When posting in a thread, please be courteous and wait until others in the thread that are involved have posted before you continue to reply. If someone is keeping a thread from moving, however, you should contact them and encourage them to post their reply if they haven't given any warning or heads up that they will not be able to post. Contact a moderator if they do not respond promptly. To post a new thread, see the guidelines here: how to label new threads. DROPPING THREADS If you're going to start a thread, know that we'll ask that you either finish or summarize it. I know threads can get boring or fellow players can disappear or become uncooperative, but I (as well as other players) believe it is courteous to finish a scene for the benefit of those involved, as well as for posterity. After one month, if the thread hasn't moved or if it is still 'dragging' on, you (one or all parties involved) will be asked to finish the scene or to summarize it (either with an OOC comment on the thread, or in the OOC community, with a link to the summary posted in a comment on the IC thread). Everyone who reads thereafter will then be able to find out what happens in the 'story'. All players will be following this rule. Hopefully this won't even be an issue. (ADDED 03/31/09.) ACTIVITY & HIATUSES You or your characters should post an IC or OOC message at least three (3) times a week, or come in contact (via e-mail or IM) with one of the mods once a week if you cannot post to the communities. After one week, you will be contacted via AIM or e-mail, and after two weeks, your characters will be added to the available list. If you did/do not contact us and return after two weeks, and your characters are still available, you can begin playing them once more. We will grant hiatuses to players going on extended vacations or for any medical purposes, moving periods, etc. Please keep in mind that these hiatuses will only last two weeks, beginning with your last active post and ending fourteen days later. Please let us know if you need to take a break from the game if there is an emergency or change that would disallow you to post for more than two weeks. (ADDED 06/27/09.) RETCONS Retcons should be approved by a moderator - either send an e-mail or IM. After approval, an involved party should post an OOC message to that community and explain the details and reasoning of the changes. PLAYED BYS You are free to change canon played bys. Please check the taken characters page to make sure your desired celeb isn't already being used. Played bys that seem out of character or outlandish (for canons) might not be approved. TIME Time in this game is moderator controlled. Please do not advance it without consulting a moderator first. If you feel the time period that posting has been happening in has run its course, post an OOC requesting we move on. Hopefully that won't be necessary. Time moves in the following manner: We will post several threads during a certain period in time (ex: mid-January, 2001), and when a new event happens or there is nothing left to write about in that section of time, a mod will post a thread with a later date labeled. So, your threads can be within a week ahead or behind that date. Anything earlier should be backdated, which is completely fine and encouraged. Backdate anything you'd like! But please post no later than a week in advance from the most recent mod-created thread. OOC TOPICS Please keep your OOC posts related to any of the following topics: X-Men, RPGs, your played bys, comic books. Personal items: hiatuses, vacationing, dropping or adding characters, and things that pertain to the flow of the RPG. Humor is great, but stay on topic! The OOC community is for information pertaining to the in-character community. (ADDED 04/18/09.) SECRETS If you're applying, you'll probably want to know how to title your application/comment. Please make sure that you've read all of this information - it isn't only the rules page, but it also serves as our "frequently asked questions" list as well - addressing 'time' and 'retcons' and offering 'how-to's', etc. Please label your application or your comment to the application page with the following: BAMF! INTRODUCTIONS Post to the OOC with an introduction of you and your character(s). We'll add a link to each introduction on the contacts page so new people can go read about you after your post gets buried. WANTED SCENES Wanted Scenes are semi-mandatory, in that all of the players thus far have created their own list for others to look over. We believe that wanted scenes lists help the players who create them to make goals for their characters and find potential story arcs, and they also allow for other players to see what you're into and how they can help you accomplish your goals. They serve as both an icebreaker and a useful RP tool for everyone. They should be placed in one journal, despite the fact that you may have multiple characters. Here is an example. If someone were to place their wanted scenes in multiple journals, it would be impossible to link to from the contacts page. We link to both your introduction and your wanted scenes, and list all of the characters you play there. So, wanted scenes should be in one entry. However you'd like to decorate them up is completely up to you, but here is an HTML outline with the basics - Wanted Scenes coding. You can make a text list for each character and it would be completely acceptable. C'est la vie. (ADDED 08/16/09.) Thanks! | ||