Post by Administrator on Aug 28, 2015 11:31:32 GMT -5
General Forum, Role Play, and Chat Box Rules
Respect and Courtesy. As a member of, or visitor to, this forum you are expected to conduct yourself in a mature, reasonable, and kind fashion towards staff, other members, and visiting guests. In order to maintain a safe and fun atmosphere here, we reserve the right to exercise a zero tolerance policy in regards to aggression, rudeness, bullying, petty arguments, and other passive aggressive, uncooperative, or instigating behaviors. If you are causing an issue, you will be removed from the equation no matter who you are or how long you have been on the forum.
Know Your Audience. Sometimes even joking comments can be misconstrued or hurt feelings even if they act as though they are ok with it. Especially if it is over time and consistent. There is no excuse for hurtful or cruel behavior. If someone is making you uncomfortable, giving you trouble, or you notice someone being bullied, contact an admin.
Equality. We maintain a zero tolerance policy on any sort of racism, sexism, homophobic and transphobic behaviors, or similar discriminations. Any content or commentary that violates this will be met with an immediate and permanent ban.
Theft/Plagiarism. Unless stated otherwise, all graphics, skins, templates, codes, site plot(s), site plot events, as well as all other coding and graphics found here on DC Noir are property of DC Noir and are under no circumstances to be used on other forums, RP or otherwise. All plots and posts in the various RP threads belong to their respective writers. Theft or plagiarism of any kind is unacceptable. This is a zero tolerance policy. You will be removed from the board without notice and permanently banned if you are discovered violating this rule and the offending site reported.
Note: If someone is using a posting template from a coding site, please go to the origin coding site to obtain your own copy of the code. Do not simply take the code someone else is using.
PG-13. As it is part of the Proboards Terms of Service, we will maintain no more than a PG-13 rating on this forum. Things like extreme graphic violence and overly sexual content are prohibited here as well as anything else that could be categorized as mature or explicit. As different countries feel differently about different curse words, we've decided to prohibit any kind of swearing on this site including all forum posts both IC and OOC as well as in the Shoutbox. Censoring adult language is permissible, letting the reader fill in the blanks. Characters are allowed to participate in mildly mature scenes but they shouldn't go into detail or pass the PG-13 rating and should fade to black before any rated R+ skin begins to show.
Graphics. Avatars are the large image displayed in the mini-profile and are to be 300h X 200w. The smaller icon visible beneath the Avatar when the mini-profile is hovered over is 150h X 180w and can be linked in your Profile under the Personal tab. Images that are used in your Profile, for your application, in various posts, or anywhere on this forum should be uploaded to an image host such as NickPicHost and not directly linked from another website. You may purchase an Avatar/Icon set with site currency from the Graphics board and the staff will make you one in the style of the forum's theme and you will be provided with acceptable links. Any graphic that is "hotlinked" from another site, contains moving images/animation, are not appropriate to your approved character's series, or are not the correct dimensions will be removed without notice.
No Posting Anywhere Until Approved. Obviously you shouldn't post on the RP boards until you have an approved character, but we also ask that- aside from posting your Application- you don't post on any of the OOC boards either, including places like the introduction board, until you have an approved application and are officially a member of this forum.
Character Limit and Requirements. Your first character is "free." Simply fill out an application for the character you wish to play. Any character application after that will require a 50 Meta Point application fee that must be available in full across all your approved characters at the time of application. Each character requires a separate account. Currently you can have 5 characters. You may also purchase extra character slots with your Meta Points allowing you up to 8 characters total. A 6th slot is 200 Meta Points, 7th is 400 and 8th is 600. This is a one time fee that permanently unlocks the slot, but it is ONLY to pay the unlock. Any character apped would still require the application fee. You must maintain activity for all your characters so only take what you can handle. You may only have 1 pending application at a time so don't go making 5 accounts right away even if you have the points for multiple applications.
Leaving the Board/Dropping a Character. If you have to leave the forum or need to drop a character for any reason please make sure to use the Drop Box located in the absence board. (Please note that if you decide to later pick this character up again you will have to pay the application fee again.) If you are leaving the forum voluntarily please take the time to additionally post a formal goodbye in the Absences. It helps us to know what's going on or at least that you have to leave for whatever reason rather than just disappearing. (If you consistently disappear without any discussion with the staff you may not be allowed back.)
Character Reservations. If you are not a member of this forum, your application serves as a "reservation" for your character. If after a week your application has not been completed it will be logged and the character free for anyone to apply for once more. If you ARE a member of this forum and are interested in playing a certain character but do not have the Points available, you may request a reserve by visiting the Character Selection section and replying to the Character Reservations thread with the code provided. You may only reserve 1 character at a time. Character reservations should only be made when there is intent to play the reserved character and must be your next character apped. Periodic checks will be made to make sure you still want said character. You cannot reserve a character indefinitely.
Character Integrity. You are expected to base your character's personality and decisions on how they were portrayed on Justice League/Justice League Unlimited or the shared DCAU. (If necessary, additional information/characterization should be taken from the New Earth comic versions.) Characters are allowed to grow and change but it must be done in a gradual, sensible manner with any major shifts approved by the staff before the arc begins. There can be story arcs where characters behave 'Out of Character' in order to meet some goal of theirs. If your character is consistently not acting like themselves and there is no logical or approved reason for it, you will receive a PM addressing the issue. If your characterization does not improve, it could lead to removing the character from your roster. Don't be surprised if you have written 5-10+ posts before this is brought up. The staff want to make sure it's actually a problem and not just getting a feel for the character. (Feel free to ask for feedback at any time if you feel concerned for your character portrayal.) Please note that this includes a character's sexuality and gender. If you have questions or need clarification, please contact the admin.
Character Alignments. If there are going to be any drastic or semi-permanent changes to a character's alignment based on thread experiences, it should be discussed with the staff prior to beginning any sort of character arc, particularly if it’s going to require a change in the character rank.
Previous Character Continuity. As a general rule no character is expected to include any of the past storylines or thread continuity established by someone who previously played the character. You may incorporate it based on the request of another member looking to continue or play out previously planned scenarios but again, you only need do it at your own discretion. You may be asked to include some things as we go along but nothing that will majorly affect the character.
Unsolicited Criticism. Unless someone specifically asks you for your feedback on their writing you are never to suggest someone isn't doing a good job with the character, even if you feel it's true. It doesn't matter if you have played that character before or not, it is rude and unacceptable to offer unsolicited criticism, constructive or otherwise. In addition, discussing how you play/have played a character someone else currently plays can make that member or others feel uncomfortable. Don't do it unless specifically asked for help or feedback and even then please try to have that conversation in a PM. It comes off condescending by implying the person is playing their character wrong or that you are a superior player or have more knowledge. Characters can be interpreted differently and while there may be some more obvious traits, no one person has the "best" interpretation of any character. If you are truly concerned about someone's character interpretation OR if someone has offered you unsolicited criticism regarding your character portrayal, please PM a staff member.
Site Maintenance and Post Errors. Please don't make idle comments on the goings on of the site. For example, if something needs to be updated or if a member is removed, etc. It often comes off as a passive aggressive attack on the staff which we don't appreciate. There are often many things going on behind the scenes that for the sake of professionalism and courtesy you most likely won't ever know about. Also keep in mind that, just like everyone, we have lives and not all things can be handled in a timely manner. In addition, if you notice an error in someone's post and you feel the need to point it out, politely PM them or otherwise try to tactfully let them know about the it. Don't be condescending or arrogant. If there is a typo or error somewhere on the site, please PM a staff member; don't offhandedly comment about it in the Shoutbox where it may not be seen and subsequently won't get fixed.
Your Character Should Behave Realistically. No one is invincible. No one is good at everything. No one is perfect. Your character has flaws and they should flare up from time to time. Less desirable traits make characters human and relatable. On the flip side, no character is completely useless. Your character shouldn't be getting hurt, captured, or tortured in every thread.
No Power Playing. Also called "godmodding" this means you shouldn't speak/write dialogue or actions for other characters without prior permission from the player.
Post Format. Posts should be written in past tense and third person. No WIP/half-written post on RP boards. No stand-alone OOC posts on the RP boards. No double posting (posting more than once in a row). Stand alone One-Shot posts are permitted but should not be dominating your posting habits. We are an intermediate level writing forum and the primary language is English. Members are expected to have at least a basic understanding of spelling and grammar.
Thread Etiquette/Thread Types. Closed threads are set between a pair or group of players with a premise decided upon beforehand and only those players will be participating in that thread. Open threads are clearly labeled [Open] in the subject line and anyone can join them. If an open thread has been going on for a while it is polite to ask before jumping in. (If you created an open thread you may later remove the "open" tag if you don't wish new people to join in.) If more than one of your characters are in the same thread you MUST have at least one other player in the thread. If there are more than two characters in a thread, a posting order should be established and maintained so everyone gets a chance to respond during each rotation. If someone is holding up a thread, the initiator of the thread should contact that player and see what's going on. If a significant amount of time passes a deadline can be given and the character written around if they are still unable to post or even written out if necessary. Please contact a staff member if you're not sure what to do.
Don't be Pushy. If you think someone might have forgotten about a thread you're in together, or aren't sure if it's finished, there's nothing wrong with a gentle reminder or questioning PM. Beyond that don't hassle people to post for or to thread with you. If someone doesn't want to thread with you, they don't have to.
Short Story Posts. If you wish to write a quick post that only includes one or two characters that you play, this will be counted as a short story. (Characters played by other members cannot be utilized without prior approval. Characters that have no approved application should only be used if absolutely necessary and minimally with no major decisions being made.) Even though you can write multiple characters you play, these types of posts should be a single post written from a single account and POV. Make sure to write [End] at the bottom of your post and [One-Shot] in the subject after the title of the thread so we know it will only be one post. These are meant to be helpful to expand or build on plots currently in progress, not encourage solo writing or used as an easy way to get Meta Points. If this feature is abused, alterations may be made to its implementation like no longer gaining Meta Points or it may simply be removed.
AU Forums. This is a forum for you to stretch your creativity. You’re welcome to utilize this forum to try out any sort of crazy backwards plots you’re itching to play out. That said, this forum should never dominate the board or take priority over actual canon continuity threads. Should this feature be abused, Point acquisition and post count will most likely be disabled. You should also never pick up a character solely to write them in this section.
Word Count. This site believes in quality over quantity and understands that some posts will be shorter than others but we do have a small 250 word count minimum for RP posts. Generally posts are expected to be approximately 300 words (about 3 solid paragraphs) to make sure you are giving your RP partner enough to respond to. On the flip side, your posts should not be longer than approximately 1000 words. Posts that long make it time consuming to read and difficult to find time to reply to. If you would like to write fan-fiction, do that on your own time.
Thread Limits. You can be in as many threads as you can keep up with. If you start to feel overwhelmed, don't take new ones or simply drop some. It's up to you to figure out how much you can handle.
Disciplinary Actions
Any problem or incident on this site will be handled by the staff on a case-by-case basis. We intend to be as fair as possible but we will always do what we feel is best for the site. Punishments range from a warning PM to removal and banning from this forum.Banning can happen for a number of reasons though generally only occurs in extreme or constantly recurring incidents. If you are banned, you are not allowed on the forum or in the chat box for any reason. You are not to contact any members using the forums features. If you are caught trying to help someone sneak back onto the board you will most likely be banned as well.
Shoutbox Etiquette
The Shoutbox is the chatting window located on the bottom of the forum's home page. Below are some rules and guidelines everyone will be expected to follow when chatting.To avoid confusion, please try to chat on your main account when possible.
You will be expected to maintain a civil, mature, responsible, courteous, and most of all respectful demeanor when chatting with your fellow members. There is to be no cursing or swearing of any kind. There is to be no mature or explicit conversation or images linked. Cruel, ridiculing, or abusive behavior toward others will not be tolerated. There is zero tolerance for arguing or fighting in chat. Don’t behave in a passive aggressive manner. Avoid controversial topics including, but not limited to religion and politics. Do not post serious personal problems or issues in the chat box; reserve that for a private message if absolutely necessary. Do not spam the Shoutbox with messages. Do not post links for other role-plays or advertisements of any kind. Do not discuss other Role Play sites in the chat box even if it is in a positive light. Slamming other RPs in our chat will not be tolerated.
Don’t post spoilers of any kind in the chat box even for properties other than DC. Depending on the severity of the infraction, you may be completely banned from the forum after your first strike.
If a staff member is dealing with a situation in the Shoutbox specifically, please don’t try to help. Remain quiet until the situation has been resolved.
This is supposed to be a fun, safe place for everyone to hang out and write. PM a staff member if anyone is bullying or otherwise saying or doing anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Guest Questions. If you are a guest, please always seek out a staff member with any questions. Current members may attempt to answer questions to the best of their ability but always direct a new member to follow up with a staff member to insure the most accurate and up-to-date information is being provided.