TLV - Rules

[bargemods]

RULES

1. You must remain IC and participate in HMDs. Participation in official HMDs is mandatory, and it is recommended that you also keep a personal HMD post in your journal, so that players may speak with you outside of official HMDs. Obviously, there's wiggle room for interpretation, and sometimes people slip up without realizing it, and that's fine. However, if you are called on incorrect characterization in HMDs, and you do not at least respond to criticism-- or you do not take any steps to either address or correct it IC-- you will receive a warning. You can't pull the "It's my ~interpretation~" flounce when somebody calls you on completely OOC behavior. Doing so will get you a warning or an official reprimand from the mods.
   
   
2. All players and characters must be ages 17+. By accepting a position in the game as a player, you are attesting that you are of proper age to play. We're not keeping younger players out to be mean; there are adult concepts in this game. If you'd like to apply for a younger character, we will look at 15/16 year old characters on a case by case basis, but absolutely no characters under the age of 15 will be considered. Please remember that the acceptance of one 15 or 16 year old character does not mean that we are accepting all of them.
   
   
3. All Hiatuses MUST be announced, and you will not be exempt from activity requirements for two consecutive months. In order to meet activity requirements, you must have at least two of any of the following: a journal entry (with tags responded to; an entry with tags ignored will not count), a log, or a thread consisting of 15+ comments in another journal. If a player can also show substantial activity in multiple entries (not necessarily in one 15+ comment thread), it will count towards their activity for a month on a case by case basis.
   
   If you are on a full hiatus for 7 consecutive days or more in the month, you are exempt for that month's activity. You are not, however, exempt from the next month's activity, even if you call a hiatus. In the past, we have had too many people abuse hiatuses to character squat indefinitely to allow this.
   
   If you fail to meet activity requirements for a month, you must post to the activity check to reclaim your character, as well as commit to three posts in the next month; otherwise, your character will be dropped.
   
   We also realize there are extenuating circumstances. If you are in good standing with the board, have shown good activity, and something very drastic takes a turn in your life, we understand. Please contact us if it means you will be gone for longer than the rules allowed, and we'll discuss where to go from there.
   
   
4. All players are equally responsible for opening and maintaining consistent communication with Moderators and their fellow players. Whether it is for plotting and ooc coordination or the resolution of problems, communication is held in high regard here. Everyone here is an adult and is expected to behave like one. If there is a problem, attempt to address it with the people involved. If discussion yields no results or degenerates into unfriendly behavior, involve a moderator. It is strongly recommended that you have AIM and an AIM name, as this will be the primary mode of communication for most players within the game and is the fastest way to get in contact with a moderator.
   
   
5. OOC harassment of other players will not be tolerated. TLV has a very low tolerance for wank. You don't have to like each other, but you should try to be respectful to one another, both in game and out of game. Don't abuse the "communication is key" rule just to be a dick. If you, in attempting to resolve an issue with another player, have pushed them to the point that they are unwilling to communicate with you and become upset when you try, it is past the time to involve a mod. Sometimes this might ultimately mean not interacting with one another if you can manage it.
   
   
6. If you feel like you cannot communicate with your players and moderators to settle problems and differences without the use of anonymous forums, then you should not apply here. Anon does not play at this game. We cannot stress this enough. If that is a problem for you, then it is likely you will have more fun somewhere else.
   
   
7. You may play up to six characters. No original characters are permitted.
   
   
8. IC actions have IC consequences. Remember that IC =/= OOC. Expect for people to respond realistically to the things your character does. Expect for unholy terror to come down on your character if they do wantonly stupid and destructive (or provocative) things. Also, do not assume that IC events have a bearing on how a person views you OOC, or how you should view someone else OOC. Don't act out against a person in character because of something they did out of character.
   
   
9. Every character in this game is your castmate. While we can understand that a panfandom game can be more fun with a few familiar faces around that your characters already recognize, that should come secondary to the premise you have come here to play. Don't ignore people simply because they don't play a character from your fandom. The moderators will place restrictions on fandom applications if they observe this manner of behavior in a given cast. Even if you don't know what movie/book/game a character comes from, treat them as a new person your character is meeting for the first time. Then their impressions of the person can be even more authentic. You're an inmate or a warden. You're here to help someone or to be helped. Embrace new people or annoy the crap out of them, whatever floats your boat.
   
   
10. Inmates' abilities must be significantly reduced. All inmates' abilities are reduced upon arrival. The basic guideline for abilities is this: if a human in top physical condition, of a similar age/build to you, does not have a chance at defeating you in a fight, then you are too powerful. This is not a game for powergaming and showing off how much your character can totally beat up everybody else because he's just that cool and XXXTREME.
    
    Passive or defensive abilities must also be weakened-- a shapeshifter may not be able to hold form for as long as they used to (or they may be limited in what they can shift to) and a telepath may find it more difficult to read minds at times. Also, if your character can do something totally cheap with their powers (like shapeshift into a roach and get under a door), be sure to get the other player's permission before doing it. It'll help prevent hard feelings.
    
    
11. Your character must fit the premise and must pass for human. Some characters wouldn't have a reason for being a warden. Why does the Admiral think your character would be useful as a warden here? What do they bring to the table? Regardless of their good/evil/neutral motiviations, do they have the capacity to help an inmate achieve graduation? If you're apping a warden, this must be explored in your application. Other characters -- even some villains -- have no need for reformation as by the time their stories end they come full circle. What does your character still need to change about themselves? How can working with a warden on the Barge help them? If you're apping an inmate, this needs to be explored in your application.
    
    Other characters that might not fit in the game are nonhuman characters. The gist with nonhuman characters? If they can't function in the world of the Barge, and if they can't pass for human when they stop in to port, then it's best you don't apply for them here.
    
    If the mods don't think your character fits the premise or can pass for human, then they will not be accepted. If you're unsure as to whether your character can pass or not, you are encouraged to post here. This will save you the hassle of writing an application that may well be rejected for not fitting the premise.
    
    
12. In the OOC and Spam Communities, put pictures and youtube vids behind LJ cuts. That way, the people who want to see them get to see them and everyone else's friends lists don't have to.
    
    
13. All moderator decisions are discussed on a separate community, and no moderator is obligated to disclose information about any given issue to ANYONE who is not directly involved. The moderators are not afraid to justify their decisions if directly asked -- whether it is drama within the game, a recent decision, the acceptance or rejection an application, or any other related things -- but it need be said that everyone one of them is made with the intent to maintain a fair precedent within the game, when they can. Just because they are not posting their explicit reasoning where everyone can see, it does not mean they do not have it. They will try to form a unified front on all issues in the public eye, and any deliberation made over rule changes, issues within or off the game, or in applications are discussed in a private community and will not be brought out in public for everyone to view. The players do not have a right to this information if they are not involved in the issue at hand, but no moderator will be obligated to alienate themselves for a given view or opinion stated in the private comm, whether a player was involved or not. As an example: Do you want to know why an application was rejected while one that seems familiar was accepted? Unless it was your application, it's not really any of your business, and it's a question that will not be answered in the public forum.
    
    
14. Adult content must be marked clearly with a warning and locked to the community. Remember, this game is for characterization, not porn, and smut for smut's sake is NOT allowed. The rule of thumb is basically: If your scene has no other purpose than to show your characters getting it on, then it doesn't belong in the game. Take it to private RP with your scene partner.
    
    Some examples of scenes that may need to be locked: extreme violence, explicit sex, rape, torture, etc. If you do not lock and/or properly mark a log with adult content, it runs the risk of being deleted by the mods, and you may receive a warning. Do not enter into logs or entries that you know will involve this kind of material if you feel going in that it may strongly affect you emotionally or psychologically. If it is necessary for your character's development and it may still affect you? Opt to fade to black and assume what happened, or try to look for something else as an alternative.
    
    Finally, sometimes players may come into IC situations that retroactively they may realize they find affects or triggers them. It happens to everyone. How these situations are handled will be determined on a case by case basis between the players involved and in more trying cases the mods as well.
    
    
15. Absolutely no explicit sex with characters under 18. Absolutely no bestiality. Yes, it's fine to play a promiscuous 16 year old, but it is not fine to write their sexual exploits out. Also? If your character is in 'werewolf' form or something, it still counts as bestiality.
    
    
16. No god-modding, info-modding, powergaming, etc. Slip ups happen, and it's fine if you get permission from a player to god-mod something, but if you persistently god-mod, info-mod or powergame, you will be warned. Fourth walling a character without his/her player's consent OR fourth walling when your character wouldn't know the canon counts as info-modding.
    
    
17. All major plots must be approved by a mod. If you have any port/plot/flood suggestions, please post them to the OOC Community or the Plot Suggestion page.
    
    
18. All plots must be posted to the OOC community. This is simply a courtesy to other players, as TLV occurs in a limited setting. While you may think a plot won't affect more than just two or three characters, that's not always the case.
    
    
19. Don't spam the OOC Community with videos, memes, personal stuff, and other things not relevant to the game. The OOC Community is to be used for: hiatuses, drops, introductions, new character announcements, plotting, canon updates, and mod announcements. If you want to post fanart, videos, memes, comics, potential character polls/discussions, etc. please do so in the Spam Community. Spam community posts must also be related to TLV, its characters, or its player-community somehow. Don't just post whatever you think is "cute" and "hilarious", and PLEASE DO NOT USE EITHER OF THESE COMMUNITIES AS YOUR PERSONAL LJ.
    
    If you post irrelevant content to either community, the mods are at liberty to delete your post.
    
    
20. Disciplinary infractions will receive one warning before further action is taken. Again: TLV has a very low tolerance for wank. If you're stirring drama, harassing players, breaking rules or consistently ignoring crit, you get an official strike/warning from the mods. After that, you will either be asked to leave or you will be banned from the game entirely. Especially egregious offenses (such as ignoring the mods, taking your aggression out in character, or other genuinely wanky behavior and NOT simple misunderstandings) may result in immediate ejection from the game. If you make a mistake, that's one thing. Accidents are accidents. We understand that. Players who leave the game on bad terms will most likely not be permitted to re-apply into the game at a later date.
    
    
21. All Moderator decisions are final. No exceptions.
    

Is there something you'd like to see addressed that isn't? Check out the FAQ!

Last Updated: 9/30/11