Post by Ollie! on Mar 12, 2009 20:42:49 GMT -5
Rules. We all love them. We all hate them. It's a fact of life that rules are necessary, and we must put up with them. Without rules, society would be chaos! Follow these rules, and you shall be rewarded. Break them, and your admins will go bananas on your head. So, with that fresh in your mind, here are the rules.
Out of Character Character Rules
01. Respect is a necessity to be a member of the site. Respect your fellow role players, respect the guests, and of course respect your staff. Disrespect will result in a level two punishment![/size]
02. Any negative -ism will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Racism, sexism, and prejudice attitudes in general are not allowed. If this becomes an issue, this will be a level six punishment! Maybe that will give you some time to grow up.
03. Got petty problems? Don't take it out on other members. That's not only rude, but it is also flat out annoying. No arguing is to be seen in the Cbox or the Chatter section of the OOC boards. If you have something to say to another member, take it to PMs. Someone on the staff will be more than happy to mediate. If there is any arguing, this is a level one punishment.
04. You can chat in the Cbox, you can fill a request, you can ask questions... But do not role play or claim anything until your application has been accepted! I can't possibly stress this enough! Failure to comply will result in level one punishment.
05. Plagiarism. Will. Not. Be. Accepted. Don't steal someone else's name or their history or personality...whatever. If it's not yours, don't take it! This is a level six punishment!
06. Your display name only needs to be your character's name in all caps, like this: BOB SMITH. That's it. Ñø speçiål çhå®ça†e®s, none of tHiS lEtTeRiNg, and no all lower case. Guess what? First warning is level one punishment and someone on staff will change it. Second warning is level two punishment and the staff will change it. Third warning is level five punishment. This is just a pet peeve of mine and I want to see the rules followed, got it?
07. Just one character per account. This rule applies to everyone. If your character is a twin or something, find someone else to play the sibling. Just one character and I mean it!
08. This site has a rating of R. That's right, R. Be mature here. The drama isn't situations like "Sue took my purple crayon!" No. We're talking about actual adult problems. Write like it, please. (Just remember that when the pants are off, so are the lights!) Language is allowed. Just keep it to a minimum. There is always a word better than f*ck, so break out that thesaurus! Be careful, children.
09. We ask that all site members be thirteen years or older. This is not only a rule for this site, but it is also in the Proboards Terms of Service. It's also a law in some states. Be a good person. Follow the rules.
10. Enjoy yourself! Role play is supposed to be fun! So feel free to plot and post! This site has lots of boards and tons of places to role play, so please keep yourself active.
11. What the staff says, goes. Got it? I pick my staff because they are qualified and they prove to me that they are mature enough to handle this sort of responsibility. Any argument from you will get more than just a slap on the wrist. I'm talking level six punishment because we don't need back sass. Save the drama for your llama.
Application and Character Rules
01. No magic, no super powers, none of that. These are regular people. Be sure and keep them that way.[/blockquote]
02. No Mary Sues or Gary Stus. For those who are not familiar with this term, A Mary Sue is a character who is perfect in every way. For this site, Mary Sue would be gorgeous, rich, able to ride unnaturally well, and be perfect in every aspect. A Gary Stu is the same thing as Mary Sue but in masculine form. Keep these away because they simply do not exist.
03. Follow the application exactly. It is your best friend. This application has been carefully created to require what is needed, so don't ask if you can skip this section or that.
04. Whether your character is boarding his own horse or using a school horse, you must complete the horse biography! Simply make it a reply to your character's application. You cannot be approved until the horse's application is there as well.
05. **NEW SHINY RULE** With the horses, here is how it goes: any staff member or trainer can have up to four (4) horses. Advanced students can have three (3) horses. Intermediate riders can have two (2) horses. Beginners can only have one (1) horse. In the event of a foal, you can keep it to age three but then it must be sold, unless you have gone up in status and have room for another horse.
06. If your character is using a school horse, simply check the claims to see the horse that isn't being used currently. If there is an available horse for your character's riding level, jump on it and make the application! If not, PM the admins and we'll see about making another horse or something.
07. Once you are accepted, we ask that you get a signature and icon for your character to keep the boards looking pretty! Remember that we have lost of members who are more than willing to help with graphics.
08. When you are accepted, make a relationship plot. This is required. It keeps the site flowing with plots and posts. If you don't know how to do these, take a look at some of the others. If you're still confused, PM anyone on staff for help.
09. Characters must be at least thirteen. No five year olds running around. They have to be thirteen years old to get an account. You can make references to younger siblings, but you cannot role play them.
10. If your character wants a stallion, they have to be at least sixteen or have been riding for seven years, preferably both. It's a safety issue for the horses and for the riders and the trainers. You don't see beginning riders jumping on stallions, do you?
11. Don't constantly pester and beg for your application to be approved. It's really very annoying. The staff will get to it when they can get to it, so chill!
12. If you have the same violation three times, your application will be denied. For example, if you use a taken play by three times, your application will be denied because you obviously can't read. I don't mean to sound rude, but that is just ignorant.
Posting Rules
01. The minimum is two hundred fifty words. That's right, we expect at least two hundred fifty words. A word counter has been provided for you. It's not hard to post that much, really. I frequently find myself posting around four hundred words. But I also find myself making only one hundred sometimes, so it's okay every once in a while. But if anyone on staff finds you posting under par frequently (as in every post you've made within a week), it's going to be a level five punishment. After that, if you're still posting under par, your punishment is shot up to level six.[/blockquote]
02. We prefer that you do not have any images in your post. The only images allowed are a maximum of five 100x100 images at the top of your post.
03. Remember that this site is rated R, not NC-17. As I said before, when the pants come off, so do the lights. That's right, just fade to black. We simply do not want to see that. If you want to continue after you fade out in the post, feel free to take it to PMs.
04. Absolutely no power playing or God-moding. What's power playing? Well, power playing is when you control your character and everyone else in the situation. The password is allamericanhorse. God-moding is when your character is untouchable and can never be hurt. Neither are acceptable.
05. Because this is an intermediate to advanced role play site, proper spelling and grammar are an absolute must. There is a spell check button provided by Proboards, so you have no excuse for improper spelling. Proper grammar can be hard, so if you can't phrase something right, simply ask someone for help! We'll be more than happy to assist.
06. Posts are to be done in third person. This should also be taken into account on the application. What is third person you ask? Third person is when you write your posts using pronouns like he, she, it, him, her... I trust you follow. Failure to comply will result in a level one punishment and a continuation will elevate this punishment to level four over time, hitting the others in between.
Image Rules
01. Signatures and avatars are required. It looks good, and it helps people see what your character looks like.[/blockquote]
02. Signatures are not to exceed 500x250. This keeps the board from being stretched. If it is too big, someone on staff will remove it and put this in its place.
03. **NEW SHINY RULE!** If you would like a graphics shop, PM the admin with some graphics examples. If your pictures meet standards, then send a shop name and description. Then you'll have a shop. Your rules rule there.
Money Rules
01. Every character has money. Earn it through posting. Every post is $4. The site staff members get an automatic starting bonus of $500, while regular site members get an automatic starting bonus of $150.[/blockquote]
02. You can spend money on clothes or animals in the shops. Also, if you take a trip to the hospital, it will cost you... And the food in the restaurants? Yup, that'll cost you as well. That's what happens when board for your horse and lessons are free.
03. If you choose to sell a horse to another site member or sell it in the auctions, simply PM a staff member–the best two to PM would be Ollie! and Masque–to let them know a transaction has occurred. Make sure you link us to the thread where it happened. Same goes for buying horses.
04. If your character would like to open a shop, PM Ollie. It'll cost $800 to open. If you have the $800, then PM a staff member with a shop name and description. You will be responsible for telling the staff when a transaction has occurred and keeping the shop updated.
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