``forum rules

[``HM HAWKINS]

START HERE! Alright, Im just gonna give you some simple rules to start off with, then we can move on to the more important rules. Firstly, edit your profile once you get registered. I do not want your display name to be something like babygirl35. Your display name must be your characters name. I don't care if it's your first and last name, but at least your first name, and I'll allow nicknames and special characters, but no screen names like you'd see on aol or live or anything like that. YOU MUST HAVE A SIGNATURE! I don't care if you don't have an icon, but you must have a signature or picture representing your character. The size limit is 500x400! If your signature is bigger than that, it will be removed without warning.

NO POWER PLAYING! Oh, my god. I really, really, really hate when people do that. What is power playing, you ask? Power playing is when your character, and yourself, control another persons character, deciding their actions and words. You cannot do that. There is no point in rping with someone else if you're doing everything for them. So, please don't do this, because we'll have problems if you do. Killing people off is another form of power playing. Don't do it without the other person's consent! If a member comes to me, or an rp mod comes to me, saying that you've been power playing, you will recieve a warning from me. A couple warnings and you'll head for a suspension of three days.

NO PERFECT PEOPLE! This is yet another thing that annoys me. You cant have any perfect characters. Now, that doesn't mean you can't have a character that think he/she's perfect. It means your characters have to have weaknesses, as well as strengths. Your character cannot be resistant to everything. These characters are called Mary and Gary Sue's, depending on your gender. You can't have a perfect person as a character, you have to have weakenesses and flaws. That's just how it is. Be realistic.

USE PROPER GRAMMAR! Yes, another thing that annoys me. I'm easily annoyed, aren't I? One thing that bugs me is misspelled words and improper grammar. When you roleplay, you have to have good spelling, and know where to put comma's and punctuations and all that good stuff. If you're not sure if you're spelling or writing correctly, grab a dictionary or something and double check. If your working in word, you can easily use spellcheck. Please, please make sure your grammar-savvy. If you need a place to check your spelling, use the spell checker on the posting page! That's what it's there for!

KEEP IT LENGTHY! This site is an intermediate-advanced rp. I don't want any one liners. That is a strict policy. Your posts must be at least 2 paragraphs. A paragraph, in my book, is at least five sentences. If you don't think you can write long, try thinking of this: What is my character feeling? What would they say? What are they thinking? Those are just a couple of things to keep in mind when you're writing. Practice makes perfect, so start with two paragraphs, then work your way up. THE MINIMUM POST LENGTH IS 300 WORDS! If you try and follow roleplaying tips, that is an easy goal! I've put a word counter in the side bar, so use it! If you want to use a website, visit The Word Count Tool.

ACTIVITY! We at BEYONDtheHOURGLASS, make it a priority to keep activity up around the site. I really don't want the site to die. I'm sure the site will be a success so keep on rping! We will have activity checks once a month, at the end of each month. You'll have a week to fill out the activity check. If you fail to complete the check, I'll pm you to see if you're active. If you don't contact me within a few days, I will delete you, and you'll have to sign up again. If you won't be here during the activity check week, please report it on the absence thread. If you want to leave the site, please inform us. We, or you, can have your character killed off. Let's be active and the site will surely be successful!

BASHING&&FLAMING! I hate it! I want no racial slurs or anything even close to it. If its part of the rp, that's fine, but keep it to a minimum. We don't want members who may be of a different color or nationality to be offended. This is a community. I want no gay bashing, either. This site has members of many different nationalties, different races, and various sexualities. We are a caring community, and no other member is any more important than another. We are all one at BtH, so treat others with the same respect as you'd like to be treated. I will tolerate no name calling or slurs and bashing! You get three warnings, then you're out! Yeah, thats right, just like baseball...

RATED E: FOR EVERYONE! This site has members of all ages, so please keep sexuality and violence to a minimum. THIS SITE IS RATED PG-13! As you may have read on the registration page, you must be at least thirteen years of age or older to even join this site. I will allow absolutely no sexual threads on this site! I've done it in the past and it always ended in the deletion of the board. I will not risk that again! So, if you're character is in a sexual sitation, please use a fade effect. For example, "He ran his fingers over her skin, gently raising up her shirt. Their time of passion consisted of muffled moans and sweet I love you's. The next morning, he woke up next to her, a smile on his face as he thought of the night before." See, you could tell and imagine what they'd done, and you didn't have to break the pg-13 rating. Just thin of a PG-13 movie. They never go all the way in those movies, they start and it eventually fades out. Just follow that guideline!

SAVE THE DRAMA FOR YOUR MOMMA! It's obvious, that there are dramatic moments in all of our lives, and a little drama is quite alright. But, when people go around giving their characters suicidal thoughts all the time, that's just too much drama, and breaks our site's rating. Please do not be overly dramatic. People are not sad all the time, and they do not just break down in cry in the middle of a hallway. (maybe that's just referring to someone I've rped with) Please, just be reasonable with your characters dramatic moments. Don't overdo it or I might have to break out my awesome ninja skills! =P

HAVE FUN! This is by far the best rule at BEYONDtheHOURGLASS. It's what I want you to do most, have fun! Follow these rules and we'll get along great, and I hope you have a great time at the site! The secret word is mallypwnsyou.

[/size]