[mod post; hiatus clarification]
We realized doing this last month's AC that our rules on 1) what counts as a hiatus and 2) what a hiatus should exempt you from were either too vague or not explained at all. So, here's some clarifications, as well as some new rules. Keep in mind that these new rules will not affect this month's AC. They'll go into effect for next month's (starting October 2nd).
What a hiatus is:
+ busy with school
+ busy with work
+ personal/family emergency
+ inability to access the internet/a computer
What a hiatus is not:
+ don't feel like writing/RPing
+ or similarly, would rather play video games, watch tv, etc
The last two are perfectly understandable, but they don't qualify as a hiatus and will not exempt you from having to meet Activity Checks. Also keep in mind that unless you are unable to access the internet, you need to inform a mod prior to your hiatus that you'll be taking one. You don't have to make a post, just shoot us off an e-mail. Retroactive hiatuses will not count towards lowering your AC requirements.
What a hiatus will exempt you from:
+ For every day you declare hiatus, you will have two comments removed from the comment substition count. IE, if you declare for a week (which most people do), you'll have the required count lowered from thirty to sixteen. If it's two weeks, we'll call that last lingering comment even and the substitution requirement will be considered "met". You'll still need to make either one ledger post or one log to meet AC.
+ If you declare hiatus for a month, the old rule will apply and you'll be exempt from having to meet anything.
Please, please don't abuse the hiatus policy. Do not declare hiatus unless you really are busy or unavailable. It's frustrating to see people declare hiatus and then either continue commenting/logging as usual, or see you very active somewhere else. It's just a game, but please be fair about it!
Some additional reminders:
+ Self-threading does not go towards your comment count. Self-thread to your heart's content, but AC is meant to encourage interaction with other players, not between your own characters. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE (and surprisingly I don't mean Guin).
+ Tag your posts! We say this every month but people are still forgetting. We go by tags when we check for activity, so if you haven't tagged a post that you've commented on, we probably won't see it and therefore won't count it. Get into the habit of tagging posts when you comment on them and we will love you forever!