PLEASE READ: Mod announcement on Sorting procedures
For some time now, the mod team has been aware that a number of applications have ended up stalling in the Sorting process, either because the Hat never appeared or dropped the tag in the middle of the conversation, or because the apped character stopped replying to the Hat. We also recognize that in recent months, the Hat has generally taken several weeks or longer to appear in an application. In an effort to make Sorting a more efficient process for both the players and the Hat-muns, the mod team has put together a set of guidelines on Sorting:
(1) The mods will place the Hat in a new application no later than a week after the timestamp on the application. If you are still RPing other threads within the application, do not feel pressured to wrap them up; existing RP within an application can still be carried out after the applicant has been Sorted, since in gametime, it is all considered to have transpired before the Hat comes in. There have even been instances in which a character has appeared in an app after the Hat initially tagged -- for example, if the character's mun was busy in real life and didn't have a chance to have his/her character enter before the Hat came in. This is OK, too. The point is that the Hat's appearance should not pressure you to close out a new application. We simply want to make sure that the Hat appears in a reasonable amount of time. However, please understand that the mods are only human, and we do make mistakes. If a week has transpired and the Hat has not appeared in your application, please e-mail kahnooloo@gmail.com to let us know so that we can get the Hat in ASAP. Similarly, if the Hat stops tagging for over a week in the middle of a conversation, please e-mail kahnooloo@gmail.com to let us know. Sometimes LJ notifications fail, and sometimes real life swamps us. If the Hat is being negligent, it is perfectly OK to poke us via kahnooloo's e-mail account. However, please do not poke any of the mods in IRC. This results in the possible annoyance of the poked mod (who may not even be the Hat-mun in the particular case). Further, it is important for the entire mod team to know about a dropped Hat tag, so that the Hat-mun is reminded to tag back and so that other mods can know to take action in case the Hat-mun is tied up in real life.
(2) Applicants are required to respond to each Hat tag in a similarly timely manner. If you drop a tag to the Hat for over a month, the mod team reserves the right to automatically place the character in Qanonreip so that a more interested, responsive mun can re-app him/her. (Of course, please try to tag back as quickly as possible, because the longer you wait, the more likely it is that your app will slip through the cracks.) If, in the middle of the application process, some sort of extenuating circumstances arise that necessitate a hiatus, please e-mail kahnooloo@gmail.com so that we can make arrangements to extend the deadline if need be. If you believe your character has been unfairly Qanonreip'd (e.g., in the event of an LJ notification fail -- although really, if you were interested enough in apping the character, you probably would be doublechecking the app to see if the Hat had responded to you or not), please e-mail kahnooloo and we will discuss the matter.
(3) In order to clean house a bit, the mod team went back to March 2009 in our application archives to see which applications were still pending and to address the situation. So, if you suddenly see activity in an old app or find that an old app is listed under Qanonreip (including some that date back to well before March 2009), this is why. (The latter situation would happen only to unSorted apps, so don't worry, we're not moving any Sorted characters to Qanonreip.) If we missed an old app that you know of or are unhappy with the decision we made on a particular old app, please let the mods know via kahnooloo@gmail.com.
(4) Unrelated to Sorting, but still an important reminder: When you RP in a post, be it an application, an open RP, a closed RP, a compy post, or whatever, PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO ADD YOUR CHARACTER'S TAG TO THE POST! Not only are these tags helpful to you and your fellow players when you want to find an RP, but the mods also use them as markers of activity/inactivity when dealing with tasks such as autopopping. Do not assume that the original poster of an RP is going to maintain the post's tags, and definitely do not assume that the mods will deal with it. You are responsible for adding your characters' tags.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns in the comments to this post. Thanks!
The Mod Team
(1) The mods will place the Hat in a new application no later than a week after the timestamp on the application. If you are still RPing other threads within the application, do not feel pressured to wrap them up; existing RP within an application can still be carried out after the applicant has been Sorted, since in gametime, it is all considered to have transpired before the Hat comes in. There have even been instances in which a character has appeared in an app after the Hat initially tagged -- for example, if the character's mun was busy in real life and didn't have a chance to have his/her character enter before the Hat came in. This is OK, too. The point is that the Hat's appearance should not pressure you to close out a new application. We simply want to make sure that the Hat appears in a reasonable amount of time. However, please understand that the mods are only human, and we do make mistakes. If a week has transpired and the Hat has not appeared in your application, please e-mail kahnooloo@gmail.com to let us know so that we can get the Hat in ASAP. Similarly, if the Hat stops tagging for over a week in the middle of a conversation, please e-mail kahnooloo@gmail.com to let us know. Sometimes LJ notifications fail, and sometimes real life swamps us. If the Hat is being negligent, it is perfectly OK to poke us via kahnooloo's e-mail account. However, please do not poke any of the mods in IRC. This results in the possible annoyance of the poked mod (who may not even be the Hat-mun in the particular case). Further, it is important for the entire mod team to know about a dropped Hat tag, so that the Hat-mun is reminded to tag back and so that other mods can know to take action in case the Hat-mun is tied up in real life.
(2) Applicants are required to respond to each Hat tag in a similarly timely manner. If you drop a tag to the Hat for over a month, the mod team reserves the right to automatically place the character in Qanonreip so that a more interested, responsive mun can re-app him/her. (Of course, please try to tag back as quickly as possible, because the longer you wait, the more likely it is that your app will slip through the cracks.) If, in the middle of the application process, some sort of extenuating circumstances arise that necessitate a hiatus, please e-mail kahnooloo@gmail.com so that we can make arrangements to extend the deadline if need be. If you believe your character has been unfairly Qanonreip'd (e.g., in the event of an LJ notification fail -- although really, if you were interested enough in apping the character, you probably would be doublechecking the app to see if the Hat had responded to you or not), please e-mail kahnooloo and we will discuss the matter.
(3) In order to clean house a bit, the mod team went back to March 2009 in our application archives to see which applications were still pending and to address the situation. So, if you suddenly see activity in an old app or find that an old app is listed under Qanonreip (including some that date back to well before March 2009), this is why. (The latter situation would happen only to unSorted apps, so don't worry, we're not moving any Sorted characters to Qanonreip.) If we missed an old app that you know of or are unhappy with the decision we made on a particular old app, please let the mods know via kahnooloo@gmail.com.
(4) Unrelated to Sorting, but still an important reminder: When you RP in a post, be it an application, an open RP, a closed RP, a compy post, or whatever, PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO ADD YOUR CHARACTER'S TAG TO THE POST! Not only are these tags helpful to you and your fellow players when you want to find an RP, but the mods also use them as markers of activity/inactivity when dealing with tasks such as autopopping. Do not assume that the original poster of an RP is going to maintain the post's tags, and definitely do not assume that the mods will deal with it. You are responsible for adding your characters' tags.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns in the comments to this post. Thanks!
The Mod Team