Forum Rules

by **Seretis** October 31st 2017, 20:59

Main Forum Rules, applicable to all sections:

1. Forum Admin has final say in all forum matters.
2. Forum Moderators have second-to-final say. This means that unless contradicted by an Admin statement, they count as having final say.
3. Any begging, arguing, and/or pleading for "one more chance" when called to task about habitual rules violations is grounds for summary banning.
4. Mature behavior is expected while on this forum.
4A. The following behaviors are considered immaturity by the forum's staff: Being an "expert" about everything; trying to (intentionally or not) disguise ignorant mockeries as "cute", "popular" or "joking"; deliberate mangling of non-native languages for any reason other than lack of knowledge on proper pronunciation or usage.
5. The following topics are banned from discussion for their historical propensity towards causing flame wars: any game's "meta".
5A. The following topics are subject to summary thread closure for the same reasons: Politics and religion. If a thread is closed due to an admin or mod taking action because of flaming, then the topic is DONE. Obviously, any discussion of those two topics in-character during an RP will likely require close scrutiny to ensure that it is just in-character and not an attempt at rule circumvention.
6. Hate speech is grounds for banning. However, each reported offense will be reviewed by staff, as there will be no coddling for "special snowflakes", as that kind of behavior is highly immature.
6A. "Special Snowflake" behavior is defined by the forum staff as being any excessive display of non-proportionate outrage, particularly including any such displays that are deemed to have been made solely for the purpose of drawing attention to the outraged individual or their particular worldview.
7. Any questions about any of these rules should be directed towards the Forum Admin or Moderators, either through the Discord Server or Private Messages.

Rules for running RPGs:

1. NO EXPLICIT CONTENT, NO ERPING. Implying that things happened is fine, but No Descriptions. This is mostly due to the Hosting Service's ToS.
1A. Do not even imply anything with regards to underaged characters. It is an absolute no-go, post(s) will be exterminatused (possibly even the thread) and you will be permabanned. As well as reported to the proper agencies.
1B. This means that "inviting your players into your magical realm" is a no-go.
2. In-character inappropriateness is permissable to a certain degree, as determined by the RP's Gamemaster, with a few overriding exceptions laid out by these rules.
2A. In short, any content directly stated by these rules to be forbidden on the forum are forbidden regardless of Gamemaster intentions or wants. General Rule 4A may be given some leeway, however the player, game's GM, and an admin or mod must jointly discuss the matter prior to character approval.
3. Elitism with regards to systems, editions, and character builds is banned.
3A. If a GM has an idea and is actively soliciting opinions, you are allowed to politely state your opinion. Saying "X stinks, use Y!", "X is the only choice.", or similar statements are not being polite. Stating "I tend to prefer using X because of the following reasons..." is the more acceptable route to take.
3A-I. If the reasons given, after review, seem as an elaborate dodge-around of Rule 3A, post deletion will occur and a warning sent out. A temp-ban may be issued if the admin or mod deems it necessary.
3B. There is one system that shall not be named on this forum, due to extreme violation of Hosting Service ToS, as well as apparently some laws. Any threads attempting to run this system shall be summarily exterminatused. Posts mentioning this system shall be edited or deleted.
3B-I. If you don't know which system it is... Consider yourself lucky. If you have too much curiosity, ask the Forum Admin or Mods in the Discord server.
4. Should there be complaints of notable severity or frequency about a particular GM, the staff will post a notice in the relevant RP(s), and will consider those games suspended for the duration of the review.
4A. The player(s) responsible for the report(s) will also come under review in the event that the report(s) be viewed as frivolous.
4B. In the event of discovery of valid complaints of GM misconduct, that GM's RP(s) will be permanently suspended, and the offender will have GMing rights removed until improvement.
  4BI. Upon said improvement, the user in question will be allowed to present new RP ideas, and allowed to co-GM one of them under a staff member. This will determine restoration of full GMing rights.
5. Due to hosting service's ToS, we can not allow sharing of links to PDFs. This extends to Private Messaging on this forum as well.
5A. Any questions about this rule should be directed towards the Forum Admin and Mods on the forum's Discord server.
6. Unless publicly asked the player and approved by the GM, do not try to build another player's character for them, or bombard them with "suggestions" on how to do so.
6A. Offering to help players build their characters is acceptable.
6B. If you wish for help in building a character in an unfamiliar system, ask for help in the appropriate thread. Either the GM or an appointed user will give you assistance.
6C. Do not insult a player's choices when they build a character for an RP. This is immature behavior and also somewhat rude.
   6C-I. Bringing a potential issue with math on a system to the attention of the player and GM is acceptable, however. Make any such alerts in a polite fashion.

Rules for GMing an RP:

1. Do not try to see how many player characters, or their connections, you can kill off.
2. Part of being a GM on this forum is actively trying to be a good one. Part of being a good GM is to not be actively antagonistic towards your players.
3. Be willing to work with players, but don't let them steamroller you into allowing options you'd rather not have. It's your game.
3A. That being said, try not to force them entirely on to your predefined script, also known as "railroading".
4. Don't be afraid to put your foot down if a player is being disruptive or excessively argumentative.
4A. Also, don't be afraid to veto a character if the concept goes counter to your planned story.
5. If you are going to allow exemptions in your character creation setup, clearly state all of them within the appropriate thread, especially with regards to any players that have unique constraints/allowances, preferably within the opening post of the thread.
5A. In addition, if you are using a published system, please keep an up-to-date list of all system materials that players are allowed to use for character creation in the first post of the appropriate thread.
5B. Also, try to keep an up-to-date, easily located listing of whatever house rules you may be using in your game.
6. The RP should be about the player characters, not your DMPC self-insert.
  6A. This means no going "Rocks Fall" if said character gets upstaged or outsmarted.
7. Where available, please link to publicly available System Resource Document (SRD) site for any system you intend to use in the opening post of the thread.
7A. If a player or other forum user shares the link with you to one you were unaware of, please credit them with the find.

Rules for playing in an RP:

1. Always check the GM's post as to what materials are allowed for character generation before starting work on a character.
2. Actively communicate with other players and the GM while building characters. This will help to alleviate conflicts between players over character niches.
3. Do not assume that the stated character creation rules within the proper thread for a particular RP do not apply to you. The GM will post notice if they do not.
4. Do not create a character specifically counter to the GM's planned story.
4A. Also, unless publicly given special permission, do not create a character that deliberately clashes with the party.
5. Always bear in mind that unless you are doing a solo thread/game, you are not the sole person involved in an RP. Do not obsessively "hog the spotlight".