Okay, I’ve got a few things to cover here so bare with me. This is going to be a long post. There have been some confusion over certain rules and guidelines that I want to clarify so everyone is on the same page.
Now, I want to preface all this by saying that I am in no way, shape or form singling anyone out. With the issues I’m about to address there have been multiple players involved, not just one or two. Both veterans and newbies have made mistakes in the past, whether recently or further back in time. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. We all do it, including myself. I’m not trying to pick on anyone. I am simply trying to enforce the rules and use a little common sense to help make the RPG a better experience.
First, location tags are required in character posts to keep things organized and easy to follow the action. A long time ago, there was an original mod directive about location tags. Unfortunately, during one of the prior server crashes the rule was lost and due to an oversight no mod had noticed its disappearance until more recently. That has now been rectified as the location tag requirement has been added to the end of General Rule #11, which talks about maintaining a coherent story. I'm not reposting the entire rule (it's pretty long), just the new last sentence.
11. *snip*
Furthermore, use location tags in all character posts so that other players know where the action is taking place.
My apologies for this oversight. However, every mod here has enforced the location tag rule on several previous occasions over the years with many different individuals. This is not something new and when a mod consistently makes something like this a requirement then it becomes an effective rule even if it’s not written down in stone yet.
Second, I have noticed that some are having a hard time in the way they write dialogue for their characters whether it be open talking, inner thoughts or a private transmission. I am reposting the rule regarding character dialogue below:
10. When your character is speaking, separate this from the main action text by breaking it off using "quotation marks" also separate thoughts by writing them in italics. This will make it easier to read and follow the posts. If you want a certain character to respond to your post, put their name in bold to attract their attention...it helps. Use << >> to mark transmissions.
Again, this is not one or even two people who have had this problem. Many newbies coming into the game aren’t aware of things like this. Therefore, the above re-post is a benefit for everyone who might have been confused over how to write character dialogue in the proper format. This rule also makes mention of how to bold a character’s name if you want them to respond to you. While there is no mention of font color, it’s generally assumed that the standard black be applied.
Now, I see no need to make a new rule, or add to an old one, regarding font color. I think common sense can be used here depending on each situation and how the colors are utilized. I personally would recommend not overusing different colors, but that is more of a guideline than an outright rule.
One last thing I want to address. The rule regarding sigs has been updated to reflect how the mods have been enforcing it for years now:
15. No signatures AT ALL in any RPG forum. That means IC ("in character") or OOC ("out of character"). This is because signatures dramatically increase the download time of users with slow connections and are a nuisance to the flow of the story. It's simple to do, just unselect the "show signature" box when you post. Please note that RPG moderators may use sigs from time to time because of the links to RPG rules and other important areas within their signatures.
There was apparently some confusion recently which is why I’m posting this. Apparently, the old rule stated that sigs were allowed in discussion areas but not in others places, which was something I never knew as the mods have always said that sigs were not allowed anywhere, and I’ve been apart of the RPG since 2007. Therefore, I felt it was best to simply do a small update to reflect how it’s always been enforced.
In conclusion, I want to once again stress that I am not, nor are any of the other mods, trying to place blame on any one or two players or even group of players. There have been issues across the board involving multiple people. We all make mistakes. It's human nature (or even robot nature for that matter
). We're not trying to hassle anyone. We are simply trying to provide the best gaming experience we can here and make things as easy as possible for everyone without coming across like we are nit picking. That's a hard balance sometimes, but we try.
Now, it’s entirely possible that more rules may be updated in the future. We mods really haven’t gone through them in quite a while, but if anything further changes, no matter how small, we will let everyone know right here in the chatterbox.
Ultimately, we just want everyone to have fun here. It’s a game, but at the same time people put a lot of heart and effort into the stories and posts here. As a result, we have to have rules and guidelines to maintain a certain level of quality that we have all come to expect. I hope you can all understand that.
Anyway, thanks for listening, everyone. Have a great day.
Also the only character I have currently is Bonecrusher, and I can't do but so much with that character. XD
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