Before you start reading the rules, I want you to know that we're really nice people, and we all understand that people make mistakes, and have real lives as well. And muses, of course. The number one goal of RPing, in my opinion, is to have fun. If you're not enjoying it, why are you doing something that is optional?

Thus, if you feel we're being too harsh, too strict - please, let us know. We're open to any feedback, and we want you to feel comfortable on this site.

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Below are the rules and guidelines of the site. I strive to make them easy to read, fair, and understandable, seeing as it isn't all that fun reading rules but is a necessary task. I ask that you look them over carefully. They are in list format and are not longer than they need to be. But if you have a question about a specific rule and what it means, please let me know.

If you are new to roleplaying, check the Basic Rules of Roleplaying. They cover the "unwritten" rules of RP, as well as RP terminology that is likely to be used on this site.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Out of Character: Rules concerning the forum in general, and its OOC areas.
• User Accounts & Profiles: Rules concerning members' accounts and their appearance.
• Roleplaying: Rules concerning in-character roleplay.
• Characters: Rules concerning characters. This includes information on Species and Ship positions.

OUT OF CHARACTER

1. Be respectful to other members, regardless of who they are. Don't be rude, and DO NOT discriminate. If you are having difficulty with someone, please inform a moderator or administrator.
2. Respect the decisions of the staff. Don't try to go behind their backs if you don't get what you want. They work hard to maintain the site and keep it enjoyable for the members. Don't feel afraid, though, to come to them for anything.
3. Do not steal graphics or content from this site. Always get permission if you want something.
4. No SPAMming. The only exception is the spam board.
5. Do not advertise outside of the advertisements board - though it is fine if you link to your board or site in your signature/website field.
6. Do not link to, or post images of, pornographic, offensive, or illegal material.
7. If you see someone breaking a rule, inform a member of the staff. They will take care of it. Don't try and handle it yourself.
8. If you're going to be away for a while, let us know in the Leaving/Returning board.
9. Do not ask to be a staff member. I decide who will become staff members when this site needs them. Asking to be one lowers your chances.

USER ACCOUNTS AND PROFILES

1. Avatars may be a maximum of 150x200 pixels.
2. All together, signatures may be a maximum of 500x480.
3. Do not purposefully make your signature an eyesore; in other words, no flashing images or brightly coloured, massive text.
4. Do not link to, or have images of, pornographic, offensive, or illegal material.

ROLEPLAYING

1. DO NOT start roleplaying until you have an APPROVED character!
2. Past-tense, third-person is preferred, but not required. You can write in first-person or present-tense if you want to.
3. Put dialog in "quotation marks." Put thought in italics or 'apostrophes'. Put telepathy and inter-mind discussion in <brackets>.
4. Keep a working timeline of roleplays your character has been in. You are allowed to be in more than one thread at once with a character, but make sure they are occurring at different times.
5. Inferring that two characters had sex is allowed. Actually roleplaying out the sex is not. Take your lemons (that is, sex roleplays) to IM or elsewhere, please. If a thread is borderline, put (M) in the title.
6. You cannot kill other people's original characters, and ask for permission before you kill their NPCs.

CHARACTERS
Rules regarding original characters are located here and rules regarding canons are located here.

This post has been edited by Procal Dukat on Dec 11 2009, 11:11 PM