The Pirate's Code, Revamped: June 21, 2008

[Jolly Roger]

.: Board Rating

• In keeping with the InvisionFree Terms of Service (TOS) this board is rated PG-13 for violence and sexual content. Passionate kissing and innuendos are okay. Also allowed are non-specific touching in the “danger zones” (chest and nether regions) such as, “he put his hand on her”. Anything beyond that is not allowed. A fade to black is required if things get heated. Absolutely no nudity since that is prohibited in the IF TOS. This rule will be strictly enforced so that our board is not in danger of being deleted due to violation of the TOS.

.: Character Creation

• When registering, sign up with your character’s first and last name, capitalized correctly.
• Mary Sues (or Gary Stu) will not be accepted. No one is perfect and playing against a perfect character is rather boring. Flaws and weaknesses are what make a character interesting and more realistic.
• We encourage the growth of characters while RPing. Yes, your character may be instantly attracted to another character but not instantly in love with them. Any romance between characters will be developed within posts. We do not want to see the following scenario: Character A meets character B and there is instant chemistry. Character A and B then end up immediately sleeping together after just a few posts.
• Regarding female pirates: we are limiting the number of female pirate applications that will be accepted. We will only be considering those applications that are extremely well written with a unique character that is well defined and fleshed out. Any applications received for female pirates will be scrutinized closer and held to a higher standard than all other original applications received.
• Regarding ship captains: We currently have three pirate ships and one navy vessel. We are not planning on creating more. We have a position open for the captain of the navy ship. In order to apply for that position, you must be a current, active member of the forum. We will not be accepting applications for any other ship captains. All new pirate recruits will be sorted to a ship by J.R.
• Regarding Pirate Lords: In order to apply for one of the Pirate Lords you must be a current, active member of the forum. See the canon list for more information.
• We allow each player to have up to three characters here at DBS. And of those three, only one is allowed to be a canon character. Depending on certain circumstances this rule may be bent slightly. PM J.R. with any requests for creating more characters than the rule allows and your request will be taken under consideration.
• If you want your original character to somehow be related to a canon character (e.g. Norrington’s sister, Jack's daughter), or have a past relationship with your character, you must get permission from that character's handler first. It's entirely up to them whether they let you or not.

.: Activity

• If an account is started and an application is not submitted within a week, the account will be deleted (unless working with an admin on application content).
• If an application has been accepted but then the account not used, the ID will be deleted after one month and the application moved to the Admin-only section. (The application can be retrieved later if the applicant wants to re-register on the forum)
• If you play a canon character and you have not had any activity (IC posts) for two weeks or longer, without telling us you'll be gone, the canon character will be returned to the available list.
• If you play an original character and you have not had any activity (IC posts) for two weeks or longer, without telling us you'll be gone, your account may be deleted.
• If you will be gone for awhile, please post in the Shore Leave forum so that your character is not deleted due to inactivity.

.: In Character Roleplay Rules

• This is an intermediate to advanced roleplay. One or two liners are NOT welcome. We expect there to be some meat to your posts so that others have material to work with for writing theirs.
• All posts will be written in past tense, third person.
• All posts will be written in English. You do not need to be a native speaker but your posts must be comprehensible and consist of proper grammar. Refrain from using “chat speak” or “net speak” for IC posts.
• Dialogue goes between quotation marks (“ ”). Italics should be used for thoughts. When quoting dialogue from another person’s post, it should be made bold or placed within the [quote/unquote] tags.
• There will be no godmodding. You can not determine the actions or thoughts of another character. If you have been given permission to godmod another character then indicate that in an ((OOC comment)) at the beginning of your post. You may also use your signature to grant godmod permissions.
• Threadjacking is a no-no. There are multiple ways to threadjack. One way is to enter into an existing, established thread and changing the entire course of the thread to focus on your character. Threadjacking also applies to entering a thread and changing the mood of it.
• We are allowing your character to be in three threads at any given time. Only three. The only exception to this rule will be for certain special events, in which express permission will be given to exceed the three-thread rule. This rule is in place to prevent any one character from being everywhere.
• Please keep your characters consistent! We know that some characters will change and grow over the course of the game, but if yours suddenly starts doing a complete 180 from their application bio, it's a bit much, and you'll get a PM from J.R..
• Do not use OOC knowledge when writing IC posts. (ie. Do not use things that you know from reading posts that your character would not necessarily know for themselves)
• Topic Descriptions/Title Tags - when creating a new thread the following codes are required in the Topic Description so members know what type of story is expected:
  
  Category:
  OPEN - Anyone is allowed to join without permission.
  PRIVATE: - These are threads created specifically for those listed in the topic description. PM the thread starter if you want to join but don't be disappointed if you are denied permission.
  
  Activity Level:
  ACTIVE: Players expect a fast pace thread with quick turn-around time between posts (at least once a day per player)
  CASUAL: Players want a slower pace thread and don’t mind waiting a day or two for others to post.
  
  Examples of topic descriptions:
  Open: Active
  Private: Norrington/Elizabeth (Casual)
  
  See this thread for more information on title tags.
  
  
• Our posting order is turn-based here at DBS. That means that everyone in a thread must post before you are able to reply. Here’s an example of the correct posting order for a thread between James Norrington, Hector Barbossa, and Jack Sparrow:
  
  Norrington
  Barbossa
  Jack
  Norrington
  Barbossa
  Jack
  Norrington
  Barbossa
  Jack
  
  The following posting order would be incorrect since Norrington and Jack did not give Barbossa a chance to post:
  
  Norrington
  Barbossa
  Jack
  Norrington
  Jack
  Norrington
  Barbossa
  Norrington
  
  See this thread for more information regarding thread activity, and when it is okay to skip.

.: Avatars and Signatures

• The maximum size allowed for avatars is 150 x 200
• Avatars must be a representation of your character and are required. A photo is preferred but a drawing of your character is also acceptable.
• The maximum size allowed for signatures is 500 x 250
• The PG-13 rating also applies to avs and sigs. Anything inappropriate will be removed without warning.

[Jolly Roger]

The rules have recently been revamped. I have highlighted in blue those sections that are new for this forum.