Rules - MUST READ!

[Headmaster Smith]

Hello, honored guest/member, and welcome to Somerset High School, a semi-original RP set in today's age. As always on any respectable forum, there must be rules, and it seems that you've found them! Congrats. You aren't blind! Literacy. 1. Literacy is required, please. That means nice grammar and spelling. Length isn't really a big requirement, as everyone knows and has experienced writer's block and sometimes posts just don't warrant lengthy responses. Just make sure that other writers have something to respond to. 2. Powerplay and god-modding. The two go hand in hand, do they not? Powerplaying is acting as if you control the other person's puppet. Which you don't. For example: "Bob held Jane's hand and pulled her away while she laughed and danced around like a clown." See what's wrong? The one controlling Bob could not also control Jane at the same time. It's just not right. For all we know, Jane could have pulled out a gun and shot his face off. But we don't, since Bob's puppeteer decided that it was okay to control Jane. Any reports of powerplaying will be investigated, and you will be punished accordingly. 3. God-modding is a tad bit different. Let's say that Jane did pull out a shotgun. "Jane pulled a gun out of it's holster, and Bob tried to punch her, but his hand broke the instant it touched her." Who sees the problem? Yes, you, sitting in front of your computer with your hand on your cheek. That's right! She acted as if she was invincible, and poor Bob never had a chance. You are not God. No character is allowed to be unkillable (not that you should ever plan on killing someone's character. That's just mean.) 4. Swearing, violence, and romance, etc. are all fine — to an extent. Overly adult content will get the boards shut down, though, so don't get too explicit. Here, we like to use something we call "skipping." Dance around the naughty bits, and then when you can't shimmy anymore, simply say skip and move on to the next part of the role play. It keeps the site appropriate and makes things a whole lot less awkward. 5. We DO NOT allow plagiarism here. That means do not steal the works of other writers, including those on here. If we catch you plagiarizing, you will be banned. And also, you're a jerk. 6. Third person, past tense writing ONLY. This cannot be stressed enough. Please do not ask to write in first person during role play, because it won't happen. Writing stories/fanfiction in first is fine, but not role playing. If you start role playing in first person, you will be warned, and if you do it again, you will be banned. No exceptions. Applications and characters. 1. Once you have filled out and submitted your application for approval, don't be afraid to socialize in the chat box. It makes it easier for the admins to feel you out as a person, as we do not want to have someone here who makes us uncomfortable. 2. If you are turned down for any reason, you are allowed to resubmit. 3. REMEMBER THAT YOU ONLY HAVE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION ONCE! Once you have been accepted, you are free to post your characters in the registered students section, or in faculty. Technical Schtuff. 1. Please have your character's first & last name as your display name, and a picture of them as your avatar. Please also have their name, age, and relationship status (single, taken, etc.) in your signature. 2. Don't create multiple accounts, pretending to be different people outside of role play. Seriously. That's such a douche move, and it makes you look stupid when we find out. 3. You need to stay active. If you are MIA without warning us for two consecutive weeks, you're going to be moved to inactive. Of course, if you have multiple characters and you're playing on the other ones, this doesn't apply to you. But you are not allowed to have multiple characters you never use. Outside of roleplay. 1. As you should have already guessed by now, we have a very strict rule on intolerance and general rudeness. In essentials, you will not ridicule your fellow members by the color of their skin, sexuality, religious belief, lifestyle, or otherwise. Violation of that rule will result in immediate and (if necessary) permanent termination of your account(s). On the subject, rudeness towards Staff, members, guests, or any other member of our society will not be tolerated, and will result in termination of your account. 2. Please be sure to use some form of OOC. OOC, for those of you who don't know, stands for Out of Character. Use that when you're not in character on the boards, or aren't in the chat box. 3. Don't be a jerk outside of roleplay. That will make everyone hate you. Do you want people to hate you? OF COURSE NOT! So be nice. No one likes mean people.