Rules

[Catalyst Echo]

RULES AND REGULATIONS

Welcome,
Most everything in here is common knowledge, but consider this us just refreshing your memory. If your stay at the Eyrie is to be permanent, it's best to follow these simple rules.


Registering & applying
How awesome! You're registering? You can use any name you want, just be sure to change the name later on to your character's codename. We would prefer it if you registered with your character's first name or codename.

When applying and filling out the character application, fill out everything. You NEED to fill it out to start role playing on the site. In this case, we will end up hunting you down if you don't fill it out. We used to be pretty lenient with Applications but recent monstrosities have forced us to take action. On that note, plagiarism of any kind will absolutely NOT be tolerated. Your application will be deleted and you will be given a warning. If it happens more than once, you will be banned. This goes for names, races, unique powers, "stories", etc. Particularly if they already belong to another Aengel here. Your applications in be denied immediately if any plagiarism is spotted.

Please put some time into your character when creating them. We can tell the difference between apps that have just been rattled off and ones that have been carefully thought out. Do NOT try to pass off a character without flaws. It just doesn’t work that way.

Fan characters at NOT permitted. No Saiyans, Sailor Scouts, Na’Vi, Kryptonians, you get the idea. If it could be considered fan fiction, don’t bring it here. Be original. On that note, do not use another member's race without their permission. Also, be aware of the current off-limit races and power bans. If you fail to read this information and post a restricted race and/or power in your application, Catalyst Maelstrom will not be pleased. Also, do NOT make a character a part of another character’s past/life without the other player’s direct permission.


Don't harass the Admins about looking at your pending app. We try to get to them as soon as we can, but sometimes real life intervenes. Both DC and Gen are full-time college students with jobs and lives outside the Eyrie. It is, however, okay to ask if your app has been sitting there for a week. The more you ask, the less we will want to do it.

Activity
If you've joined this site and plan to spend twenty four hours a day on it, you must be crazy. Either that, or you don't have a life. Now, for those of you that actually do things outside of the role playing world, congrats! We know and completely understand that you're busy and can't commit yourself fully to our site, but we ask that you commit yourself all the same. Don't just create an account and go and disappear on us. It's disrespectful, and a waste. We also know what it's like to be at loss for muse, but at least stop by and say hi, alright? We require you to login at least twice a week, and be sure to post in monthly activity checks. Also, we're now being a bit more strict about our weekly posting policy. We won't hesitate to delete your account, even if we do love you.

Roleplaying
I'd like to start by saying that this site is late-intermediate to advanced. We don't accept one-liners, we sprinkle them on top of our breakfast. If you're going to post, have description, look deep into your character's mind. Harness everything you've ever learned in the art of writing. But if you are one of those people that doesn't have a lot of experience, just try and keep up. Need help? Staff members are here for a reason.

As mentioned above: harness what you've learned in your English classes throughout your years or miserable schooling. There is no word count, but the average is 400-500 words at least, ranging into over 1000 words for more involved posts (This is common). We all have those muse-less days where we can only get out about 300 words or less, and no worries. Either take a small break or stretch you muse muscles and post till you can't post anymore!

English classes, once again! Spelling and grammar is a must. Keep in mind when you're typing up your post that everything should be nice, neat, and orderly. Of course a word misspelled isn't a dire emergency. Nobody will lose a life over it, but try going over your post and editing, m'kay? In character, there is NOT to be any chat speak at all. Go ahead and use it anywhere else- but leave it out of the Eyrie.

As far as content is concerned, we must follow ProBoards terms of service. As such, all content should be kept at a PG-13 rating. There is to be no explicit sex, no excessive violence...you get the picture. Posts that violate these terms will be immediately deleted. If you have any questions, check out the ProBoards Community Guidelines or PM an admin.

When RPing, if there are MORE than two people, try to post in a round. For example if Jim, Bob, and Sandy were RPing together, Jim would post first, then Bob, then Sandy and it would repeat over and over and no one would post out of turn. That way the story won't get out of hand. Make sure the first person to start the thread posts the posting order, updating it if someone leaves the thread or joins. If you've noticed a round has gone by already (meaning the creator of the thread has posted a second time) you might want to ask about joining it before you post.

Also if there is a post that says *insert title here* (*insert name here*), the parentheses means that only this person is allowed to reply. If you want to join one of these posts and you are not allowed to reply, please PM one of the members who IS in that closed RP. If you post in a place where you're not allowed, your post will be deleted. If it says (Open), anyone is allowed to join. If it does not say anything, ask the creator if you wish to join.

Last but not least, no god-modding, that is to say, writing out the actions of another person's character (without their consent).

Graphics
Pretty pictures! We require that you at least have an avatar to represent your character. Avatars are to be 100x100 in size. Signatures aren't necessary if you don't want one, but you're allowed to have one, of course. Signatures are not to exceed 500 pixels in width, so as to avoid stretching the board.

Here's something new for you: face claims. Face claims must be real celebrities. No anime, cartoon characters, MySpace/Facebook, or your own photos. It'd be a bit scary if you found your own face representing a demon or whatnot, wouldn't it? There are some face claims that are negotiable, but all we ask is that your face claim be a real person, even if you have to use photoshop to manipulate them (just make sure it's done well).

If you are using another artist's work in ANY way, signatures, play bys, etc, ASK THEIR PERMISSION before doing so. Even stock photographers have policies on how their work is to be used, and some don't like them to be used off-site. It's common courtesy. Respect the artist's wishes if they say no. If you don't know who the artist is, at least don't claim it as your own.Trust us, it's not pretty when art thief meets angry original artist.

OOC
Handle constructive criticism gracefully. You're bound to get it in the writing world, and if you plan on being a writer of skill, you need to pay attention to it. This is one of the most surefire ways to improve your work. However, there is a difference between con. crit and bashing. Keep this in mind. Saying "I think your character needs a few more flaws/should be older/needs a more detailed back story" is NOT the same as "Your character sucks, go die."

Do NOT act adversely because of something someone’s CHARACTER did. Separate the person from the creation, please. While we all pour a bit of ourselves into our characters, one has to understand that other characters may not always play nice. So don’t take it out on the “mun”, so to speak. They’re two different people. If you have a personal problem with another member or members, take it to either DC or Gen. Do not post a thread about it. No public bashing will be tolerated. Racial slurs will not be tolerated, nor will degrading language towards members in general.