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Yes, it's sort of long.
And yes, you have to read it all.
[one]
Literacy.
Literacy.
Right. Well, seeing as you've been acceped into the guild, we know that you are (or at least, have the capability to be) literate. Yes, this means that you are able to wright with proper grammar and spell correctly, use capitalization and all that jazz. Yes, the occasional mistake as acceptable, and ignorable. No, a spelling error in every other sentence is not.
Also falling under the category of literacy is this extremely important note: absolutely NO chat-speak, 1337-speak, or any other kind of -speak except for normal-speak will be permitted in any forum. It's too hard to read, and if you type like such, you will be given a warning. This rule is also effective in any OOC threads.
[two]
Writing Style.
Writing Style.
Please roleplay in the standard novel form: third person, past tense. It just makes everything flow more easily. An example: Instead of "I walk into the ocean, and the waves gently break over my feet," you should write, "[character] walked into the ocean, the waves gently breaking over her feet."
Do NOT use any sort of character to accentuate actions. This includes, but is not limited to: ** -- :: // ==. Just...don't.
Also, just a note, it helps to mention your character's name once in a while. If roleplays do not make the connection between your character and your screen name or avatar, it can get slightly confusing.
Last part of this rule, if you want to talk in OOC/out-of-character...
If it's related to the roleplay that you are in, make sure there's some way that you can tell it apart from the IC/in-character text. Preferably [[text]] or ((text)). If it's not related, to the roleplay, please post it in the OOC thread that has been made and stickied.
[three]
Attitude.
Attitude.
This is easy enough - basically, do not flame or harass any member of the guild. Especially any of the moderators. If you do have a problem, contact [exX oh] or another mod.
If several people decide that they absolutely cannot stand a certain member, they may make a petition to ban the member. However. You may not make a petition simply because you don't like a member, and the petition must state a GOOD REASON why the member in question should be banned. You may not petition to ban a Mod; these issues must be taken up with [exX oh].
Be sure to follow ALL Gaian TOS and rules. Failure to do so will result in you being reported, if the act in question is a reportable one. If not, then the mods will decided whether you are to be banned or warned.
Swearing is alright, I have nothing against it. But please do not be swearing every other word. Or two words. Or even three words. There is such thing as overkill.
[four]
Post Length
Post Length
The minimum length of a post in any roleplay forum is one paragraph, which is about 5 - 6 sentences. Yes, everyone has writer's block, but please try your hardest to stick to this minimum length, as one-liners will not be permitted in any forum.
In reality, it's not at all difficult to write two, or even three, good-sized paragraphs. That is, paragraphs with good detail, but not going overboard; no one wants to read three full paragraphs on the way the potatoes look, complete with alliteration and personification. Try to keep your posts interesting and detailed, and you'll find that two paragraphs is not hard to write at all.
For example: Take the sentence "Joe walked in, shining the flashlight around." Now, add a bit of detail, imagining what it was like. Really, imagine it in your head, and just write about it: "Joe wandered into the dark, quiet room, his small but powerful flashlight sending a harsh beam of light bouncing off the walls, illuminating everything inside." See? Not hard, and that went from 7 words to 25, and the reader, or person that's responding, gets a better picture in their head of what the character is doing.
[five]
God-modding and Mary-Sue's
God-modding and Mary-Sue's
The major pet-peeves of most roleplayers would have to be Mary Sue's and god-modders. Let's start with god-modders. Your character is NOT all-powerful. He or she does not control the world, or other characters. If the roleplay has a certain plot set, remember also that your character is not omnipotent. Make sure they only know what that character would be entitled to know. Also falling under godmodding, you are not permitted to control any character in the roleplay except your own. This inclueds auto-hitting, speaking for another character (in most cases), etc. An exception to this is with any NPC's in the roleplay.
And, of course, NO Mary Sue's or Gary Stu's. Yuck. These are the way overdone, CLICHE characters. Your character is not perfect. He or she is not the most beautiful person in the world, as well as the smartest and most athletic, etc. They also are not trying to recover from the tragic death of their entire family, swallowed in sadness, pity and self-loathing. Add something interesting. Be creative. Creativity scores you brownie points around here. And brownie points....? No, they don't get you brownies. They could possibly, however, get you promoted. =)
And, NO. Having a demon-angel-fox-wolf-bear-human-elf is NOT creative.
