Lifeboat: Rules & Game Play

[fikgirl]

Current Edit: July 11, 2008

1. You must submit an application. Please do not request to join the_lifeboat if you have not submitted an application. Your request will not be approved until you have submitted an application and that application has been approved.
   
   
2. If you are a member of this community, you also need to be a member of the Out-of-Character community, the_lifeboatooc. This is where important information and announcements will be posted.
   
   
3. Use proper spelling and grammar in all posts. This is not negotiable. Do not use 'net speak, do not use l33t speak and do not post something laden with spelling and grammatical errors. That is sloppy and it also shows a lack of caring about your work and the time and consideration of the other players. Take the extra time to proof-read and spell check.
   
   I'm not certain whether it's a function of LiveJournal, Firefox, or both, but I have a built-in spell check. If a word is unknown, it's underlined in red. Gmail has the same feature. Possibly so do Hotmail and Yahoo!mail. You have tools at your disposal. Use them.
   
   The first time your post does not follow this rule, you will be warned and asked to correct it. If you have to be asked three times the post will be deleted. After that, any improperly formatted, spelled, grammatically incorrect, etc. posts by your account(s)/character(s) are open for automatic deletion by the moderators.
   
   
4. Separate character journals are not required. Creating them is a per person choice.
   
   While character journals are not required, having at least one character userpic/livejournal icon for each of your characters is required. Additionally, the icon(s) must be used when posting for your character(s).
   
   
5. All posts will be in prose form. All prose will be THIRD person, PAST tense, from one character's/individual's POV only.
   
   If you're unclear on limited third person POV, here are some helpful links:
   • Point of View
     
     
   • Limited Third Person Narration or Limited Omniscience
     
     
   • Tips for Writing in Third Person
   
   
6. Please try to confine all out-of-character conversation to the_lifeboatooc. This means questions, answers, what-ifs, plot ideas, etc. The only things to be posted in the RP community are actually RP posts. (Comments within threads will be allowed, however, they are cleared out on a weekly basis.)
   
   
7. Active participation is a requirement. Game speed varies from very high paced to medium-paced to slow. Whatever the pace of the game, you are required to and expected to actively participate. In order to be considered active, you must update at the current rate of play or a minimum of ONE post per week PER CHARACTER. An update means that you will respond to a thread in the main community or you will start a thread in the main community.
   
   If you want to post more than that, no one is going to stop you, but the above is the minimum.
   
   Visible, active character(s) are those with whom other players will wish to interact. If your character is not visible and not active, then chances are the game will be not be enjoyable for you because no one will be willing to risk involving you in threads for fear of grid-locking their own characters.
   
   If you will be inactive or unable to post for an extended period of time (ie, more than a long weekend), you must make a note of such an occurrence in the Hiatus Thread on the_lifeboatooc. We know that Real Life often has a way of waylaying people unexpectedly, so if you post pretty regularly and suddenly disappear, we'll probably assume you got into a head on collision with Real Life. However, if several weeks go by and there is no post, nor any response to emails or prodding, we will assume you have dropped the game and your character(s) will be put up for adoption.
   
   If your character is silent for a week, you will be sent an email. You will be given a week to respond to the email. If you do not respond to the email, your character will be put up for adoption. Unless there are mitigating circumstances, or an AFK or Hiatus notification is made, you will be expected to make a game post within three days of responding to said email. If it seems that such disappearances are habitual and regular, and you require regular reminders and prodding, your character(s) will be put up for adoption.
   
   
8. You may have as many characters as you can handle.
   
   However, there is a waiting period between applications for additional characters. Initially, you will be allowed two characters. After a month, in which that character has shown activity, you will be allowed to apply for another character. Each future application must be at least one month apart.
   
   Additionally, don't apply for more characters than you can handle. You don't want to hold up other players or interfere with game play because your ten characters can't keep abreast of things.
   
   
9. To prove to me that you've read these rules, all new applications must have the words "Gamma Site" in the subject line.
   
   Generally speaking, yes applications without this will be looked over, but will go to the bottom of the pile to await approval. It could be days or weeks, depending on my mood and the number of applications.
   
   
10. You control only your own character(s). Putting words in the mouth of someone else's character(s), or dictating their reactions to events without permission of the player is not only rude--it's forbidden, and will not be tolerated.
    
    That said, if you have permission you're free to write a scene involving other players' characters and to include their words and actions. This permission might be explicit ("Joe can play my character while I'm away") or implicit (two players who write together frequently may allow one another to take liberties with their characters that nobody else would be permitted).
    
    
11. Inactivity and Need Rule Addendum: If your character has been tagged and it has been seventy-two hours and your character has not responded, the Game Master/Moderator(s) reserve the right to NPC your character to keep the game moving. In addition, if necessary to keep the game play moving, the Game Master/Moderator(s) may designate another player to temporarily NPC your character until that interaction has been resolved and/or you have returned to the game.
    
    The Game Master/Moderators reserve the right to NPC inactive and MIA players as needed, when required to further plot lines and maintain game movement. You will be notified of what your character has done, been involved in, etc, if this happens.
    
    Please remember, you are always permitted to make a note that you will be absent, or need additional time (within a reasonable time frame) to respond to a post. However, when the game is moving quickly, it's unfair to other players to make them wait more than a day or two for a reply from your character.
    
    
12. Characters are allowed to have sexual relationships. The keyword here is relationships. While it is understandable that in an isolated environment characters will often fall prey to one-night stands or making a physical connection with another person, excessive gratuitous smut/PWP (porn without plot) will not be allowed.
    
    If it seems that your role-playing is revolving around sex for sex's sake, then the player will be warned ONCE and only ONCE before being removed from the game.
    
    
13. Regarding IM clients: If two or three (or however many players) wish to get together and have a gaming session over AIM, Yahoo, MSN, or whatever, that's perfectly fine. The only requirement is that one person agrees to post what happened in prose format. In this case, if it is agreed upon by all parties involved, it is acceptable for one individual to post that scene for all characters. Just please, make a note of it in the_lifeboatooc so that everyone is well aware of what is going on.
    
    
14. Game Events Every now and then, something will happen that effects everyone. I will preface these with the subject heading [GAME EVENT] and all players who are tagged will be expected to respond to the event. In some cases, everyone at the colony will be tagged; in some cases only a few people.
    
    
15. No applications from anyone under the age of 18 will be accepted. No negotiations, no discussion. (And yes, an age statement is required when you join the game.)
    
    
16. Character and fandom claims are on a first come, first serve basis. Please see the Master Character List for the list of characters currently in play. Also refer to the Reserved Character List; you may not apply for a character on the reserve list unless the reservation has reached its expiration date. Only currently active players are allowed to reserve characters. If you are not a current player, you may apply for a character that is not on the reserves list, but you may not reserve a character until you have an accepted, active character in play.
    
    I don't have any problems with members sharing a character as long as both members are agreeable and post such in the OOC community, the_lifeboatooc.
    
    
17. Update: All characters and all fandoms are welcome in the game. However, in keeping with the modern and contemporary theme of the Stargate universe, characters from incompatible timelines and universes (as judged by the moderators) will be arrive from alternate universes via an alien device per Stargate canon.
    
    This means that characters might find their abilities changed or altered in some way so that they fit well in the game and do not unbalance it. Any such changes will be presented to you in advance and will not come as a surprise.
    
    
18. No canonical pairings or fandom-cliques. This is a multi-fandom game, and we don't feel that such can be stressed enough. Too many multi-fandom games have stagnated or become fandom-cliques and fandom-insulated when people only focus on characters from their fandoms. This rule was put in place specifically to curb one of the biggest problems of fandom-insulation: romantic pairings and UST.
    
    There are plenty of games out there that will allow Methos and Duncan MacLeod to shag each other senseless, or Vala Maldoran and Daniel Jackson to do the same. This is not one of them; if that's your sole purpose for picking and playing your character, you may do that in one of those other communities.
    
    Part of the fun of this medium is taking your characters "out of the box" and allowing them to interact and develop in directions unexpected or unanticipated. We like crossovers and playing in different sand boxes, isn't that why we're all here?
    
    (The one exception to this rule, at the moderators' discretion, will be if the game is "fandom-heavy" in a particular fandom. However, these exceptions will always be at the moderators' discretion and on a case-by-case basis.)
    
    
19. Long posts must be behind an lj-cut.
    
    
20. Likewise, any post rated R or NC-17 must also be behind an lj-cut.
    
    
21. When joining the game, you are required to give contact information (email address and IM client) to the moderators. This information can be emailed to fikgirl@gmail.com, but it is required so that there is some method of reaching you regarding your character and game play.
    
    
22. For information on How to Play/How to Post please visit How to Post.
    
    
23. After your character has been accepted into the RP, please post a biography in the_lifeboatooc and tag it with biography.
    
    
24. Rules subject to editing and change as play continues and the group evolves.
    
    
25. A Last Word: The purpose of this game is to have fun. You control your characters and their reactions and interactions. If your character is miserable, or depressed, it's because you are playing them that way. There's in character, and there's having fun. Sometimes you have to know when to cross that line.
    
    The best advice for the enjoyment of this game is: interact, interact, interact. Interact with the other characters as much as possible, and you will be surprised at what develops. The game is extremely free-form with little-to-no guidance from the moderator. You must be willing to take initiative and be proactive in order to be involved and enjoy the game.
    
    Please do not limit your interaction to only characters in fandoms you are familiar with; that will vastly diminish your interactions and the fun you may have playing the game.