***Phunke's Guide On Etiquette

Etiquette Guide

.roleplaying!

-Open threads: anyone can reply to these! That's their purpose. :)

• if an open thread has no replies or just a couple (esp. if all by people other than the thread-starter), just go ahead and join. If the thread-starter's intro inspires you to make up some giant awesome plot for your char and theirs, the open thread is not the place to carry this out!: PM the thread-starter with your idea then start a closed thread. Two-character plots, especially romance ones, are fairly out-of-place in open threads and defeat the purpose thereof.
  
• In general, before joining an open thread, check that you are suited for it: first, that your character has a reason to be present and will fit well into whatever is happening and be able to interact with the other character; second, generally try to join a thread where the thread-starter and possibly other repliers have similar reply speed to your own. For example, if you're a fast-short poster, you'd probably get antsy and frustrated in a slow, long-post thread (and if you were a long-slow poster in a fast-short thread, you'd slow the whole thing down and frustrate the other RPers!)
  Also note: if everyone in your thread is size1ing their posts, consider doing the same. They probably find it easier to read.
  Also also note: if there's an RPer in your thread who doesn't size1 their posts and it annoys you, you may nicely suggest to them that they consider trying it; if you do that and they stlil don't like size1, suck it up! It's their post and their decision. Don't be a formatting snob. :D

-Closed/private threads: only a certain person or certain people can reply to these. If you are one, you will know because you will have arranged it with the thread-starter. If you are not, don't post in the thread! Simple as that. Closed threads aren't made to exclude you or make you feel left out or anything; they're just to further a plot and/or relationship between certain characters without sidetracking. If you see a closed thread and think 'Hot dang, I wish I could join that! My character would totes be perfection with Mary Sue Jane over there!' you can easily PM or cbox-snag Mary Sue Jane's RPer and ask for a closed thread between your characters. As long as that RPer isn't too busy, s/he will probably be happy to oblige. :)

-Powerplaying: This is where you [in an RP post] describe the other person's character doing something (can be as small as "and he saw Mary Sue watching him" or as big as "and he stabbed Mary Sue in the heart and she died"). I will give one etiquette rule here, and one alone; it is to be followed at all times!
do not powerplay without permission!
Simple as that. Work it out with the other person. Powerplaying can sometimes be a useful tool. It can also be annoying to the other person because you are making assumptions about their character. Remember: the creator of the character knows that character far better than you do, so do not try to predict that character's actions on your own.

-Pressuring: This is something that I've seen quite a bit, and it's very rude! Please don't pressure another RPer into doing something in a post that they don't want to. Also don't touch them in certain places. cough err yeah! This is very common in romance plots - two people'll be talking about their omg so totes awesome! character romance in the cbox and one person'll say something like "hey you should have joe like put his arm around mary or something!" and then person #2 says "hahaha oh I dunno he's kinda shy yknow?" and then person #1 says "yeah but he totally likes mary! come on this'll be so great! she'll be all 'omglolwuttfbbq?!' haha!" and then person #2 caves and does that in their post.
It isn't powerplaying because #1 didn't do it in a post, but it's pretty darn close. And annoying as hell. Please, please, be polite and don't pressure another RPer into making a decision for their character. (cf: above note - they know the character better than you do!)

-Length/quality/punctuality of replies: Try to match that of whoever you're RPing with. You can be faster if you want. Don't worry too much about quantity; put in as much effort as you can for quality and leave it at that. In a fast-short thread (one with several posts per person per day) allow one or two days without a reply from the other person before you PM or cbox snag them. In a long-slow thread (one with one post per person per day or week or more), allow one week.

-NO OOC POSTING!: Yeah. Self-explanatory. Luna will kick your sorry ass. :D Ooc notes belong at the beginning or end of a regular post. They are not their own thing.

.character apps!

-Requirements: Two paragraphs appearance, three personality, three history. Decently-sized paragraphs. Don't worry too much about 'omg this is four long sentences and not five is that a bad thing???'; instead, try to cover your bases - envision your character as a real person and translate that onto the computer screen. I say this in the Etiquette Guide because the staff spend a lot of time looking at character applications and the most polite thing you can do for them is try to meet the basic requirements, then be friendly and ready to make changes without fuss should they ask. The staff are very fair and generally don't ask for changes on things that are plausible; usually they'll ask for explanation/elaboration if something about your character is "out there" or poorly described.

-WIPs and PMing staff: Mark all works in progress with "wip" somewhere in the title of the character. It's also considered polite to finish your WIPs in a timely fashion so as to avoid clutter on the board, but...sometimes that doesn't happen. ANYWAY. If your application goes a whole week without receiving a reply from a staff member (quite unlikely), feel free to nicely ask one about it in the cbox or, if none are in the cbox, PM one. So long as you aren't rude or demanding, they will probably respond happily and take a look at the application. :)

.cbox!

-Rules: Read them! They're super handy and right above the cbox.

-Unwritten rules: Try to be generally positive and not too opinionated on touchy subjects (back out of a heated debate if necessary). Don't change your cbox name randomly, drastically, and/or frequently. Don't start an intense conversation with one person that takes over the entire cbox. (If you only see two names without scrolling down, just stop or slow down or change topics for a while. xD) If you see a new member or someone who said hi or asked a question and got no response, respond to them goshdarnit! Everyone should feel welcome in the cbox! And lastly, if you keep saying things and no one responds and you find yourself complaining about how no one's listening to you, observe the conversation and whether what you're saying has any productive addition to the conversation. If not, people will read it and think 'well that's pretty irrelevant' and move on.

-Using vs. abusing: This is mostly about monopolizing the conversation, which I wrote about above. Do use - it's a great way to meet people and get ideas for RPs. Don't abuse - it's annoying.

.PMing!
-Be nice!