Frequently Asked Questions!
1. Are you guys real? Are you really the real celebrities??
No. These journals are all fake, some celebrities keep real blogs but we are not them. We don't even know them, and we know nothing of their personal or private lives. Anything we say in these journals is just fun, fiction and speculation based on the public personas of these people.
2. I am a celebrity or legal representative. How can I get the fake journal removed??
We are very sorry that our little game has caused you/your client any grief. Please send an email to the mbp administration (reachout2mbp at gmail dot com), and we will permanently remove you/your client from our game. If you want the journal deleted, please contact the journal owner directly or the LiveJournal.com Abuse Team.
3. What if I want to play??
Then go ahead and play. We would love to have you. You can read a step-by-step guide of how to get involved here. Please read and know the rules.
4. Do I have to give out of character information on myself??
NO, and it's actually recommended that you don't give out ANY personal information. If you give out information on other players, it will likely get you kicked out.
Let me restate that: It is dangerous to give away ANY real life information over the internet.
5. How do I find a celebrity to play??
We keep a list of current celebrities portrayed in the game at mbpmasterlist. It should be pretty accurate, save for "dead journals." A "dead journal" is a journal that hasn't been updated in over 4 weeks or has been given up. If you want to know if a certain celebrity is taken, check the list. If you don't know who to play, we have a community devoted to suggestions for who people can play called mbp_suggest.
6. What if I want to play a pop star who's already there??
We work on a system of first dibs. If another person registered first, they have been accepted, and you'll have to find someone else to play. There are still lots of options and lots of people connected to the current Must Be Pop stars who haven't been taken yet. We do not do overrides or holds, except in certain cases, which you can review at the rules.
7. Can I have more than one character??
Sure, but keep in mind that there's a limit on the human attention span and multitasking ability, and it's very easy to take on more than you can keep up with. We recommend to start with one, see if you like it, get a handle on what's involved and then see if you want to make another one.
8. So-and-so is bothering me and being bitchy to me and making my life uncomfortable. Can you kick him/her out??
Probably not. We have a rule that says you can't give OOC information about other people or expose their other characters, and in cases of extreme OOC harassment, we've removed people. By extreme, we mean constantly being abusive to someone over a long period of time after they have said to leave them alone, posting people's phone numbers, contacting them at home, etc. For the most part, it's a jungle out there, and it's a buyer beware situation. Don't tell anyone anything you don't want repeated to the world. If someone makes you uncomfortable, ban them, block them and don't look at them or talk to them. Completely disassociate yourself and it usually ceases to be a problem. Most cases like this are someone in a circle of friends not liking someone else in said circle of friends. We do not get involved in that, nor can we on any logical level.
9. What if the real celebrity finds me??
This has happened more than you can imagine. In the history of the game and what is now a history of a few thousand journals, no one has ever taken legal action. Most celebrities seem to have enough of a sense of humor and enough savvy concerning their public image to know that it's just a dumb fan. If you are a celebrity reading this, we hope you do.
Some celebrities do not wish to be portrayed, in that case we put a note on the master list, next to their name. Please respect that we won't allow anyone to play these celebrities.
To the portrayers: fly under the radar and use common sense. If you meet your muse, don't tell them about the journal as a neat conversation starter. Don't brag about it on fan forums, etc. Just be discreet and mind your own business, be absolutely sure your disclaimers are obvious, and you will probably be fine.
Most importantly, never, ever mislead fans.
10. What if I want to leave the game and give up my character??
Before you do this, make absolutely certain that you won't change your mind. Once you are out of the game you lose all rights to the role. Please check the rules. There is a section called "Abandoning a character."
11. Anything Else??
Remember that it's just a game and to switch off your computer every once in a while.
No. These journals are all fake, some celebrities keep real blogs but we are not them. We don't even know them, and we know nothing of their personal or private lives. Anything we say in these journals is just fun, fiction and speculation based on the public personas of these people.
2. I am a celebrity or legal representative. How can I get the fake journal removed??
We are very sorry that our little game has caused you/your client any grief. Please send an email to the mbp administration (reachout2mbp at gmail dot com), and we will permanently remove you/your client from our game. If you want the journal deleted, please contact the journal owner directly or the LiveJournal.com Abuse Team.
3. What if I want to play??
Then go ahead and play. We would love to have you. You can read a step-by-step guide of how to get involved here. Please read and know the rules.
4. Do I have to give out of character information on myself??
NO, and it's actually recommended that you don't give out ANY personal information. If you give out information on other players, it will likely get you kicked out.
Let me restate that: It is dangerous to give away ANY real life information over the internet.
5. How do I find a celebrity to play??
We keep a list of current celebrities portrayed in the game at mbpmasterlist. It should be pretty accurate, save for "dead journals." A "dead journal" is a journal that hasn't been updated in over 4 weeks or has been given up. If you want to know if a certain celebrity is taken, check the list. If you don't know who to play, we have a community devoted to suggestions for who people can play called mbp_suggest.
6. What if I want to play a pop star who's already there??
We work on a system of first dibs. If another person registered first, they have been accepted, and you'll have to find someone else to play. There are still lots of options and lots of people connected to the current Must Be Pop stars who haven't been taken yet. We do not do overrides or holds, except in certain cases, which you can review at the rules.
7. Can I have more than one character??
Sure, but keep in mind that there's a limit on the human attention span and multitasking ability, and it's very easy to take on more than you can keep up with. We recommend to start with one, see if you like it, get a handle on what's involved and then see if you want to make another one.
8. So-and-so is bothering me and being bitchy to me and making my life uncomfortable. Can you kick him/her out??
Probably not. We have a rule that says you can't give OOC information about other people or expose their other characters, and in cases of extreme OOC harassment, we've removed people. By extreme, we mean constantly being abusive to someone over a long period of time after they have said to leave them alone, posting people's phone numbers, contacting them at home, etc. For the most part, it's a jungle out there, and it's a buyer beware situation. Don't tell anyone anything you don't want repeated to the world. If someone makes you uncomfortable, ban them, block them and don't look at them or talk to them. Completely disassociate yourself and it usually ceases to be a problem. Most cases like this are someone in a circle of friends not liking someone else in said circle of friends. We do not get involved in that, nor can we on any logical level.
9. What if the real celebrity finds me??
This has happened more than you can imagine. In the history of the game and what is now a history of a few thousand journals, no one has ever taken legal action. Most celebrities seem to have enough of a sense of humor and enough savvy concerning their public image to know that it's just a dumb fan. If you are a celebrity reading this, we hope you do.
Some celebrities do not wish to be portrayed, in that case we put a note on the master list, next to their name. Please respect that we won't allow anyone to play these celebrities.
To the portrayers: fly under the radar and use common sense. If you meet your muse, don't tell them about the journal as a neat conversation starter. Don't brag about it on fan forums, etc. Just be discreet and mind your own business, be absolutely sure your disclaimers are obvious, and you will probably be fine.
Most importantly, never, ever mislead fans.
10. What if I want to leave the game and give up my character??
Before you do this, make absolutely certain that you won't change your mind. Once you are out of the game you lose all rights to the role. Please check the rules. There is a section called "Abandoning a character."
11. Anything Else??
Remember that it's just a game and to switch off your computer every once in a while.