Rules (Must Read)

[colorfulCheshire]

Rules

Behavior

+ Follow Gaia TOS: No harassment, no posting pornographic, threatening , hateful, racially or ethnically insulting, and other inappropriate content. This means absolutely no cybering. Do not even say ‘Take it to the PMs’. Fraud promoting gold-scams or claiming to be a Gaia or guild moderator is also not allowed. Breaking Gaia TOS can get you reported by anyone who sees it and has half a mind to contact a Gaia mod so mind yourself.

+ Follow Sub-Forum rules and respect rules listed by a RPs creator.

+ Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” Do not make fun of anyone for the way they RP or what their interests are, this includes “newbies” and “literates” alike.

+ Contact a moderator if there is any problem such as harassment. Please clearly and calmly explain the situation. For minor problems, politely remind the user of the rule that they are breaking. Some people forget (or just don’t read the rules). If it continues to occur or if they ignore this, please contact a moderator.

+ Have fun. Kick back, loosen up, make friends, and have a laugh.

Posting

+ The Home page is for VIP posts only. It is not crew-only right now, but if posting becomes a problem, it can be. Please ask a mod if you’d like to post, though, and what it will be about.

+ Keep threads in the proper subforum. If not, a mod is liable to move it. If you accidentally put something in the wrong thread, just contact the subforums mod with a link to the thread and telling them where it should be moved to. If a thread can go in multiple subforums due to multiple genres, choose one of the most prominent genres in your RP. If there are many, try and put it in the least busy of those subforums.

+ Do not post an RP in multiple forums. If you have not found enough players after a day, you may post an RP advertisement in another genre that fits. You will need to put “Ad” in the title and you may post the intro, story, and whatever else you need, along with the link to the original. Once you have enough players, please ask a mod to delete your ad. 1x1s may go ahead and create an RP in other genre’s, but need to ask a mod to move the RP once they have a partner.

+ No spam or uninvited posting. Do not post advertisements or off-topic posts in threads and RPs. Do not post in an RP if you have not been accepted or authorized to post (especially if you aren’t in the RP).

+ Bumping your un-filled RP is allowed, but unless the forum is really busy, you shouldn’t bump more than once every few hours or whenever it moves off the first page. Posting to fill up the front page of your RP (to move actual player-posting to the 2nd) is acceptable, but don’t do it past there.

+ Please use appropriate tags. Soon we will be implementing a tagging system for titles to identify them more easily. It won’t be mandatory at first, but we would like to slowly move into that phase so that RPers can quickly browse through RPs once it gets busier in here.

Roleplaying

+ No Godmoding. Godmoding covers a few areas. This is controlling a character belonging to anyone else. This includes making them talk, move, perform an action, be suddenly related to your character (long-lost siblings), or killing them. You cannot do any of this without their owner’s permission. You cannot control the weather, plot, or surroundings either. You cannot auto-hit (specify that another character received a blow) or dodge everything. You’re character’s aren’t all-powerful; every character has a weakness.

+ Stick to an RP. Don’t join and drop. If you have to leave for a bit, warn them first so they can set something up or pause things. If you want to drop, please warn everyone so that they can replace you instead of wondering where you went and not replacing you so they don’t seem rude. If you are an RP creator and activity has slowed or someone hasn’t posted in a while, try PMing or quoting them to remind them. Sometimes people just forget. It’s not rude to remind them. It’s your RP and others don’t want to see it die, either.

+ Don’t run away with the plot. As eager as you are, few people want to read two or more pages solely between two people, especially if they have to find something to respond to amongst those posts. It discourages others from posting.

+ Do your best with what you can do. RP is writing, and as in all writing, you should just naturally improve over time if you try your best and keep learning. You don’t have to be an Ernest Hemingway or Stephanie Meyer, but you should always try your best. Try to avoid ‘txt talk’ and boring posts. You don’t have to describe

+ Keep to your profile. While it’s easy to change your personality at the drop of the hat or pull out a new super power to fit the situation, I’ll be honest: it’s annoying to other players. It’s no fun when there’s no conflict or when a problem is too easy to solve, especially if only one person is the one to solve it.

Secret code: Last and First letter/symbol of your username

 

[colorfulCheshire]

Roleplaying Tips

Provided by Arcos Magna

Quote:

Definition of a "One-liner"

A "One-liner" is a person who posts only one line of action and/or dialogue and expects an appropriate reaction to their post. One-liners are notorious role players, racking up large post quantities but failing in what matters the most in role playing: quality. You see, in order to really develop a character, it is not the quantity of your posts that matter, but the quality of what you have written.

A proper post should have the following components (parts): The beginning of the post should be a physical and/or mental reaction to what was said/done in the previous post. That should be followed by a bit of dialogue and more physical description. The dialogue can either end the post, but I find that if you include a post-movement, such as making the character move, sit, stand, dance, jump, etc., it rounds things out nicely. Now then, lets break down each part to give you a better idea of how to do it.

Quote:

React:

Generally speaking, only one person begins a thread and everyone else is reacting to how the thread began and/or what was posted directly above their reply. So, if you are starting a thread, a reaction is not necessary to the dialogue, but you can put their reaction to walking into what ever area they are and what they are doing there. When I say your character should react physically to what was said/done in the previous post it is only mirroring real life. If someone says something to you, you have a reaction. Even a non-reaction is technically a reaction, because your character is attempting to look as if they are not reacting. If that is confusing, let me give an example.

RP example:
John listened as Maria explained the reasons as to why they could no longer be together. Inside he was seething with anger at her lame attempts to explain the situation, but outwardly he barely gave a hint of what he was feeling. If she looked closely, she may have seen the little tick of a muscle in his jaw as he stood before her, but she was off in her own world.

In this example you see how no or very little physical reaction can be played out. After all, think of it in real life. Put yourself in John's shoes, how would you feel in his place? What would your reaction be to what Maria was saying? Put yourself in your character's head and get your character's responses. Remember to keep yourself out of it. This is a totally fictional character you have created and the less you react as if it is a personal attack and react as if it were an attack on John, the better your post will be.

Quote:

Thoughts:

Remember to put your character's thoughts into the post, whether you do so in third person, such as saying "John wondered why Maria would seek to hurt him so" or in the first person (usually put into italics to differentiate between description) "Why does she want to hurt me like this? I thought things were going great." Often the difference is simply how deep you want others to read into your character. But know this: Posting your character's thoughts is as important as posting their actions. While the other characters may not be able to react as if they know what you are thinking (unless they are mind-readers, in which case, only give out what you want known), it develops your character to put their thoughts out there. It makes them "human(oid)" and gives depth to your posts. If you have ever read a fictional story, a good one anyway, you will find the pages littered with thoughts, a necessary addition to create the best story possible. Without the thoughts, you have no clue what drives this character, what makes them who they are.

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Movements:

Physical movement should also be included at this point, whether they take a drink of something, walk across a room, or sit in a chair. Be sure to include a description of what ever the character is physically interacting with.

RP Example:
John crossed the wooden floor, his sneakers squeaking on the worn boards. He found an old chair and plopped down carelessly, sending a poof of dust flying from the old cushions. His finger played in a hole on the arm as he listened to Maria, tearing the fabric of the chair even further and releasing some of the stuffing that had yellowed with age.



There is a lot of description in just those few lines, enough to give your reader a clear mental image of the layout and the actions that John is taking. You don't have to say "the chair was old and smelled bad" rather simply by using alternate words, you can say the same thing this way: "the chair looked ancient and had an odor that usually accompanied a landfill." A great way to find alternate words is the use of a thesaurus. Plenty are available online or in most kinds of typing programs like Microsoft Word. Also, when you are trying to compare something, think of an example, such as replacing "smelly" with "odor of a landfill." Even if you have never been to a landfill, you can imagine the noxious fumes one would find there

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Dialogue:

A character's dialogue are the words that character speaks out loud that can be heard by other people in the room. Here's a hint: never have you character say something, even under their breath, unless you want it heard by someone else. Just like in real life, you never know who is really listening, so watch what you say. There could be a character that enters the thread claiming they were "invisible" to you at that moment (ex: hiding behind something such as a door or chair) and over heard what you whispered to yourself.

When writing dialogue, be sure to use proper grammar and punctuation. Spelling is also important. Nothing shows that you put no time into your response more than a post filled with misspelled words and bad punctuation. Spell check is available on most boards and I highly suggest using it before any posts. Dialogue should also avoid using "he said," "she replied," and "he asked" (and any other version of these) repeatedly. One time is okay, twice is pushing it, and beyond that is ridiculous. Dialogue should be written as if it were really spoken. A tip is once you have written the dialogue, read it out loud to see if it sounds okay. Some things look fine written but don't work once you try saying it.

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Accents:

This should not be attempted by a novice role player as it takes practice and experience to write an accent properly. The best suggestion I can give here is to go find examples of the accent you wish to use that have already been written. Good resources are cheesy romance novels. Romance novel authors often use accents in their work and most times just by looking at it you can get an idea of how it should be written. When attempting to write in an accent, be sure to write it so people still understand what it is supposed to be. A good way to do this is to write how it sounds.

Example of light Scottish accent:
"I didna think tha' is what she meant ta say, but ifin that be th' way it is, then there's no' I canna do aboot it."

Example of French accent:
"I weesh you 'ad told me zis beefore, beecause now I 'ave no way of getting ze informatión to 'er."


Another thing you can do is simply tell people you are speaking in an accent by saying something like: "His deep voice spoke with a hint of a Romanian accent." By doing this, you don't have to write in an accent while still speaking in one.

Quote:

Do's and Dont's:

Do:

Include lots of description and comparisons in your posts.

Use dialogue that other people can understand.

Include movement such as walking, drinking, smelling, etc.

Use your character's five senses.

Describe the surrounding environment.

Research before you post. If you are responding to a particular topic, learn about it before you just make something up.

Follow the guidelines of the universe in which you are posting.

Remember to use good grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It is appreciated.

Think of creative titles for your threads...they are more likely to attract others to come post.

Be realistic.

Use links to pictures rather than including the images in your post. People appreciate not having to wait for them to load.

Chose an avatar for your character quickly. Avatars really do have a lot to do with how much "action" your character can get from other players. If no one knows what you look like, they really don't think about you.



Don't:

Take an insult to your character personally. It is just a character, insulting another character...that is all.

Use less than 6-8 sentences per post. While they don't have to be novels, less than that and you border the "one-liner" category once more.

Break the rules of the universe in which you are role playing.

Think your character is invincible. If they are, then they aren't a very good character. No one wants to role play with a god, especially if they always have to be right.

Post song lyrics unless your character (as in ~you~) wrote them. It chews up space and drives others nuts. And in most cases, they don't even read them, just skip over them to the other parts.

Use large pictures for your signature. Some people still have dial-up and it takes time to load those large pictures.

Get mad if you don’t get a boyfriend/girlfriend right away. The boards aren't meant as a dating service. RP romance is more than acceptable, but it takes more than 5 minutes of talking for people to fall in love.

 

[Novama]

Guild Directory

This is a list of the currently active forums in the guild that are available to members. If any of the information is incorrect (like you get a 'crew only' error trying to access the forums listed), then please let us know.

1. ~Roleplay Planning and OOC~
This forum is used to poll for interest in your rp idea. It's used for planning the idea out also. When the rp is started, you may also use the forum to host your out of character chat thread for future rp planning or just random talking in between posts.

2. ~The 1x1 Corner~ [1x1 Roleplays]
This forum hosts all rp's between just 2 individuals. Planning/1x1 searching may also be conducted in this thread if thread turns into the rp when partner is found.

3. ~The Group Hangout~ [Multiplayer Roleplays]
This is for group rp's. While an rp with only 2 in the group may be posted in this forum, the forum is generally reserved for rp's accepting more than 2. Currently all genres of rp's are accepted within this forum.

4. Character Profiles
If you wish to save your characters somewhere for easy linking and referencing, you may create a thread here specifically to house character profiles. Please limit the character threads to 1 thread per user OR 1 thread per rp if it's intended to house all the profiles for a single rp within this guild.

5. Chatterbox Main - Forum Games, Discussion, Contests, etc.
As the name suggests, this is a forum for posting randomness. It may also be used for contests, donating/requesting, and other types of posting.

6. I Can Show You My World [IRL]
This forum is all about expressing your real world self on gaia. Please limit 1 thread per person. Your images and other media you post in here must follow gaia ToS. The forum is not to be used to rp. Examples of content that belongs in the forum would be pictures/videos/and narratives about your home, your community, and yourself. The previous guild captain provided an example by posting several images of his neighborhood.

7. RP for 1x1 - RP Search and Ads
Posts in this forum are specifically to advertise your interest in rp'ing and skills for potential rp partners or group authors. Author's of group rp's or those seeking a rp partner may then view the thread and invite those they are interested in. At this time, advertising your rp is not necessary since there are only 2 places in the guild to post rp's at the moment.

8. Saved Rp's
These are rp's that are old, unfinished, but have a special something about them that compelled the crew to keep them as opposed to archiving them. The either have an interesting idea to them, or they were requested to be saved by their authors for a given period of time. Rp's in this area are up for grabs by anyone that wants to grab their ideas and content. After so long, the rp's in this forum will eventually be archived.

9. School of Roleplay [Under Construction]
This forum is used for learning more about rp'ing and may be used as a practice area as well. Those interested in individual or group instruction should contact a moderator. A list of moderators you may contact are listed on the guild home page (myself included).

10. VIP RP
This place is reserved for group rp's that have finished their story, or several stories within the same rp. When an rp is completed, the author should contact a moderator to have their rp moved to this thread for safekeeping. The members may feel free to enjoy reading the threads here and borrow elements they like to hopefully improve the quality of their rp's.

11. Writer's and Reader's Corner
Some don't work well with others. Some have complete ideas without the desire for input from others. Whatever the case, this thread is for solo writer's to write their stories. Members are welcome to read, but refrain from posting comments or feedback unless asked.