Post by Neku Sakuraba on Oct 3, 2011 8:18:53 GMT -5
Hey there, Neku here.
Over the past week, several questions have come up about the question of forum etiquette, what's polite and what's not, who can start threads, etc. And, since we have a plot going live today (yeah, sorry about the delay, folks), with a new set of terms and all, I thought now would be a good time to do it.
Why have an etiquette bulletin?
Truth is, most forums don't spell it out like this. They expect newbies to learn as they go.
But the thing is, some people have a hard time with that. This isn't me trying to tell you what you can and can't do; that's what the rules are for, and despite everything, I want this place to be as casual as possible.
Instead, think of these as guidelines - a place for all of you newbies to come and see what's expected of you, something to... make you brave enough to go out and try things, give you confidence that you're not doing anything wrong.
Once we're a little more established, we can take votes on things to add or subtract from this list, and the rules themselves, even. We'll see where it goes.
So, on to the meaty stuff.
The Basics
First, we'll start with the basics. These are general rules and guidelines that apply to most situations.
1. Always Be Polite: The first rule is something that I hope I don't need to remind you of. If your character is an ass, fine, but that doesn't mean you should use it as an excuse.
2. Think about what you say: What you think is funny, or a joke, may not be someone else's idea of fun.
3. Follow the rules: This goes without saying, but you need to read and respect the forum rules. You can find them in the sidebar.
Those are the three golden rules, but like I said - I shouldn't have to remind you of any of them.
The next things are more forum-specific; things that apply to forum roleplay, and only forum roleplay.
Starting Threads: Anyone can start a thread. This is something that's come up in PM a couple times. You shouldn't be afraid to start or join any kind of thread, because if you didn't start threads, there'd be no threads. Heck, make an open thread - you might meet someone you'd never thought of playing with, and in that way, new horizons are created.
Open/Closed/Character Threads: Threads are where roleplaying happens; so, obviously, people should create and then join them. But sometimes, you may not want any random person joining up. You may have something planned with another character, and another character only. If that's the case, let everyone know by placing the names of your characters in the title of the thread - so, for example, if Shiki and I were going to have a private conversation about being a Watcher in Urbadelphia, we might have a thread called "Urbadelphia Watchers (Neku/Shiki)". Conversely, if you want everyone to join your thread, you can put "Open" in the title (Like in the "Cross the Veil" thread) to let people know. Threads with just titles are generally created with a plot/storyline in mind, so people joining the thread might want to carefully think about what's going on before jumping in.
Joining threads: This one's a quickie, but FYI, generally you should at least skim the posts in a thread to make sure you know what's going on before jumping in. Same applies if you've been away and come back to find people have posted during your absence.
Timeline: One of the more difficult things to adjust to about forum roleplay is that there is rarely ever a clear timeline. You can be in as many threads as you want, real-time, and still never have a paradox of time exist in-game. However, it's generally advised that you (at least in your mind) keep track of the threads you're in and roughly what times they happen at. That way you can keep track of what your character knows, about who, and what they've done or not, and to whom. Also, unless your character has a power that allows them to do so, if two threads obviously take place at the same time, you shouldn't be in both.
When Things Go Wrong: If you see someone breaking the rules, what do you do? The answer is to tell them to knock it off. Be polite, but firm - "Please stop controlling my character's reactions" or "Hey, you've been fighting me for a while, and dodging everything - can you take a hit?" Don't be all, "You're godmodding, stupid jerk godmodder who godmods!" - all it does is get people angry. If you're calm and collected about it, it's immediately clear who's in the wrong, especially if the other person gets defensive. If things continue, and you see repeated abuse of the rules - PM either myself or Sora, or click that little link at the bottom of the offending post that says "Report to Mod". Don't be afraid to come to us for help. The same goes for people who are being excessively rude, or are being bullies - even (and especially) if its staff. Otherborn is supposed to be a safe environment to have fun in - and we, the Watchers (staff) will enforce that rule.
On a related note - if you have a problem something I've done, or said - don't be afraid to let me know. Send it to me in a PM and explain your position; I promise, I will always hear you out. I don't promise that I"ll always change the policy or behavior that gets on your nerves, but I swear I will at least give you an honest ear and an honest answer. It's your responsibility, however, to handle that answer like a reasonable human being. Excessive arguing, whining, complaining, and bitching about me won't change my mind.
With that aside, on to the next order of business.
Plot Arcs
There will be times when the forum will start overarching plots, which will lead all of the members in the forum (who decide to participate) through a clear story progression, centered around events that affect Urbadelphia, and possibly the world, as a whole.
During these arcs, special circumstances require adaptation of and addition to the general 'rules of behavior' regarding posting. This is to allow the people running the arc (and it won't necessarily be me) to provide the best story possible.
Plot Threads: The first addition you're likely to notice around here is the "plot threads". These are threads marked with "(Plot Thread x.x), where 'x' stands for a number. Plot threads are different than regular threads - they have a specific sequence (hence the numbers) and specific things are set to happen. Wen those things happen, the thread closes, and a new thread is opened. Unlike normal threads, plot threads can only be started by the admin, or one of the plot's creators (or someone designated by them). That doesn't mean you can't create threads during the plot or taking place before (or possibly after) the plot threads, though.
Plot Timeline: Also unlike most forum roleplay, plots have a specific order and timeline - and some threads happen at the same time. Again, unless you have a character whose ability includes being able to be in more than one place at the same time, you cannot post in two threads that take place at the same time. Plot timeline is designated by the numbers after the thread title. If there are two threads with the same first number (2.1, 2.2), those threads are considered to be taking place simultaneously.
Creating Arcs: Like with threads, anyone can create an arc - but 'running' an arc takes a lot of work. The story itself must be planned out, important players must be contacted, and the arc must be run past the admin first. You don't have to tell me everything, I just need to know the most important things - things like villain information (just bare-bones stuff), what you're going to do to the world (no, you may not actually raze the city or blow up the planet, even if you are going to put them back together again), who the major players will be, etc. If I say no, the answer is no. If I say yes, then be prepared to do the work.
Joining Arcs: All it takes to join an arc is to join one of the plot threads going on; your entrance should, however, be logical, just like your entrance into any thread.
New Boards: Plot arcs may take us outside the normal areas of access in Urbadelphia; villains scheme in mysterious labs, raids might be conducted into the Otherworld, or we might travel to San Fran to follow a lead. Whether these boards stay or not is up to you; you vote on whether or not we keep the boards for later roleplay, unless it's somewhere we'll almost certainly never visit in normal play (like San Fran). However, even if the board is removed, the threads will be moved into an Archives category, so you can reminisce about your heroic (or evil) deeds.
In Closing
There you have it. A (not-so) comprehensive guide to forum posting and manners. Hopefully, you'll find this helpful. Next up - Plot Characters and Forum-Wide NPCs.
----
Special Note - Bunnying: Well, okay. There's one more thing, kind of a postscript t this whole etiquette thing. I know it's in the rules, but I just wanted to talk about it for a moment. Bunnying, or powerplaying, or whatever you call it, is seriously not cool. It's not just against the rules - it's also incredibly annoying, and seriously rude. Since this whole post is about how not to be rude, I thought I'd just mention it. You may not realize it, but everyone has a different perception of your actions... and of their actions. So controlling even little things, like someone's emotional reaction to your post, can get incredibly annoying to someone who's really into their character, especially since their character may not actually act that way, no matter your perceptions of past events. Think about what you're posting before you post it.
Over the past week, several questions have come up about the question of forum etiquette, what's polite and what's not, who can start threads, etc. And, since we have a plot going live today (yeah, sorry about the delay, folks), with a new set of terms and all, I thought now would be a good time to do it.
Why have an etiquette bulletin?
Truth is, most forums don't spell it out like this. They expect newbies to learn as they go.
But the thing is, some people have a hard time with that. This isn't me trying to tell you what you can and can't do; that's what the rules are for, and despite everything, I want this place to be as casual as possible.
Instead, think of these as guidelines - a place for all of you newbies to come and see what's expected of you, something to... make you brave enough to go out and try things, give you confidence that you're not doing anything wrong.
Once we're a little more established, we can take votes on things to add or subtract from this list, and the rules themselves, even. We'll see where it goes.
So, on to the meaty stuff.
The Basics
First, we'll start with the basics. These are general rules and guidelines that apply to most situations.
1. Always Be Polite: The first rule is something that I hope I don't need to remind you of. If your character is an ass, fine, but that doesn't mean you should use it as an excuse.
2. Think about what you say: What you think is funny, or a joke, may not be someone else's idea of fun.
3. Follow the rules: This goes without saying, but you need to read and respect the forum rules. You can find them in the sidebar.
Those are the three golden rules, but like I said - I shouldn't have to remind you of any of them.
The next things are more forum-specific; things that apply to forum roleplay, and only forum roleplay.
Starting Threads: Anyone can start a thread. This is something that's come up in PM a couple times. You shouldn't be afraid to start or join any kind of thread, because if you didn't start threads, there'd be no threads. Heck, make an open thread - you might meet someone you'd never thought of playing with, and in that way, new horizons are created.
Open/Closed/Character Threads: Threads are where roleplaying happens; so, obviously, people should create and then join them. But sometimes, you may not want any random person joining up. You may have something planned with another character, and another character only. If that's the case, let everyone know by placing the names of your characters in the title of the thread - so, for example, if Shiki and I were going to have a private conversation about being a Watcher in Urbadelphia, we might have a thread called "Urbadelphia Watchers (Neku/Shiki)". Conversely, if you want everyone to join your thread, you can put "Open" in the title (Like in the "Cross the Veil" thread) to let people know. Threads with just titles are generally created with a plot/storyline in mind, so people joining the thread might want to carefully think about what's going on before jumping in.
Joining threads: This one's a quickie, but FYI, generally you should at least skim the posts in a thread to make sure you know what's going on before jumping in. Same applies if you've been away and come back to find people have posted during your absence.
Timeline: One of the more difficult things to adjust to about forum roleplay is that there is rarely ever a clear timeline. You can be in as many threads as you want, real-time, and still never have a paradox of time exist in-game. However, it's generally advised that you (at least in your mind) keep track of the threads you're in and roughly what times they happen at. That way you can keep track of what your character knows, about who, and what they've done or not, and to whom. Also, unless your character has a power that allows them to do so, if two threads obviously take place at the same time, you shouldn't be in both.
When Things Go Wrong: If you see someone breaking the rules, what do you do? The answer is to tell them to knock it off. Be polite, but firm - "Please stop controlling my character's reactions" or "Hey, you've been fighting me for a while, and dodging everything - can you take a hit?" Don't be all, "You're godmodding, stupid jerk godmodder who godmods!" - all it does is get people angry. If you're calm and collected about it, it's immediately clear who's in the wrong, especially if the other person gets defensive. If things continue, and you see repeated abuse of the rules - PM either myself or Sora, or click that little link at the bottom of the offending post that says "Report to Mod". Don't be afraid to come to us for help. The same goes for people who are being excessively rude, or are being bullies - even (and especially) if its staff. Otherborn is supposed to be a safe environment to have fun in - and we, the Watchers (staff) will enforce that rule.
On a related note - if you have a problem something I've done, or said - don't be afraid to let me know. Send it to me in a PM and explain your position; I promise, I will always hear you out. I don't promise that I"ll always change the policy or behavior that gets on your nerves, but I swear I will at least give you an honest ear and an honest answer. It's your responsibility, however, to handle that answer like a reasonable human being. Excessive arguing, whining, complaining, and bitching about me won't change my mind.
With that aside, on to the next order of business.
Plot Arcs
There will be times when the forum will start overarching plots, which will lead all of the members in the forum (who decide to participate) through a clear story progression, centered around events that affect Urbadelphia, and possibly the world, as a whole.
During these arcs, special circumstances require adaptation of and addition to the general 'rules of behavior' regarding posting. This is to allow the people running the arc (and it won't necessarily be me) to provide the best story possible.
Plot Threads: The first addition you're likely to notice around here is the "plot threads". These are threads marked with "(Plot Thread x.x), where 'x' stands for a number. Plot threads are different than regular threads - they have a specific sequence (hence the numbers) and specific things are set to happen. Wen those things happen, the thread closes, and a new thread is opened. Unlike normal threads, plot threads can only be started by the admin, or one of the plot's creators (or someone designated by them). That doesn't mean you can't create threads during the plot or taking place before (or possibly after) the plot threads, though.
Plot Timeline: Also unlike most forum roleplay, plots have a specific order and timeline - and some threads happen at the same time. Again, unless you have a character whose ability includes being able to be in more than one place at the same time, you cannot post in two threads that take place at the same time. Plot timeline is designated by the numbers after the thread title. If there are two threads with the same first number (2.1, 2.2), those threads are considered to be taking place simultaneously.
Creating Arcs: Like with threads, anyone can create an arc - but 'running' an arc takes a lot of work. The story itself must be planned out, important players must be contacted, and the arc must be run past the admin first. You don't have to tell me everything, I just need to know the most important things - things like villain information (just bare-bones stuff), what you're going to do to the world (no, you may not actually raze the city or blow up the planet, even if you are going to put them back together again), who the major players will be, etc. If I say no, the answer is no. If I say yes, then be prepared to do the work.
Joining Arcs: All it takes to join an arc is to join one of the plot threads going on; your entrance should, however, be logical, just like your entrance into any thread.
New Boards: Plot arcs may take us outside the normal areas of access in Urbadelphia; villains scheme in mysterious labs, raids might be conducted into the Otherworld, or we might travel to San Fran to follow a lead. Whether these boards stay or not is up to you; you vote on whether or not we keep the boards for later roleplay, unless it's somewhere we'll almost certainly never visit in normal play (like San Fran). However, even if the board is removed, the threads will be moved into an Archives category, so you can reminisce about your heroic (or evil) deeds.
In Closing
There you have it. A (not-so) comprehensive guide to forum posting and manners. Hopefully, you'll find this helpful. Next up - Plot Characters and Forum-Wide NPCs.
----
Special Note - Bunnying: Well, okay. There's one more thing, kind of a postscript t this whole etiquette thing. I know it's in the rules, but I just wanted to talk about it for a moment. Bunnying, or powerplaying, or whatever you call it, is seriously not cool. It's not just against the rules - it's also incredibly annoying, and seriously rude. Since this whole post is about how not to be rude, I thought I'd just mention it. You may not realize it, but everyone has a different perception of your actions... and of their actions. So controlling even little things, like someone's emotional reaction to your post, can get incredibly annoying to someone who's really into their character, especially since their character may not actually act that way, no matter your perceptions of past events. Think about what you're posting before you post it.
