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The Rulebook

Please note that in registering an account on our forums, you are indicating to us that you have read and understood these rules and that you agree to follow them. If you need to clarify something before joining, please feel free to post in the guest-friendly Help & Feedback board or contact an administrator directly via the shoutbox, private message or email. :)

While we encourage members to solve problems themselves, our staff is on hand to help out where needed. Please don't be afraid to approach us if you have problems with other members or see someone breaking these rules.

1.  Member Charter

Simply put, we expect our members to:

Respect each other, the staff, and all materials found within this website.

We want EF to be a clean, fun and friendly place so we have no tolerance for drama, flaming, bullying, harassment, disrespect, gossip, fighting or general nastiness. If you're having any such problems and can't resolve the issue yourself, we encourage you to contact a member of staff, who will deal with the issue with discretion.

Use common sense.

It's your best friend here.

All of our rules are based on these two principles. :)

2.  General Rules

Rating

Elysian Fields is PG-13 so please keep things clean at all times. You are allowed to post mature content (such as graphic violence, swearing and/or sexual themes) as long as your thread contains a clear warning using thread tags. This content is not encouraged in excess, however, and smut is forbidden altogether. (Ask about our Mature Threads forum if you're a legal adult in your country.)

Please be aware that members under 13 are not allowed to post content over that age and are discouraged from reading such.

Advertising

Keep your advertising to the guest-friendly Billboard. Posting ads of any kind elsewhere, including the shoutbox and private messages, will not be tolerated.

IC versus OOC

Remember that In-Character (IC) does not equal Out-of-Character (OOC), nor vice versa. Keep them separate.

3.  Joining

Activity & Participation

Please make sure that you can be active on EF before you join. Our members and staff will do their best to include you but, at the end of the day, it's up to you to get involved, and we expect our members to make an honest effort to do so and stay active. This includes:

• participating in out-of-character events and discussion,
• introducing yourself to other members and putting yourself out there,
• reading other members' threads,
• striving to improve your own posts,
• and generally doing your best to become an integral part of our community.

Account Registration

Please read the Registration Guide before creating an account or character.

Character Application

Before you can begin to roleplay, you'll need to fill out and post the application template. We recommend using our Character Creation Guide to help with the application process.

4.  Posting Rules

Godmodding (GMing)

You are not permitted to godmod (control; see below) another member's character in any way without their permission. (Players may give permission to godmod their characters in the Player Limits section of their profile. If there is no PL form present, assume you need to ask for permission every time you want to GM their character.)

Exception: If a member hasn't replied to your thread(s) after three days and has not posted a leave of absence, you have permission to remove them from your thread. This is called "blanket godmodding". Note that if you do godmod someone with their permission (either from their player limits or discussion with them), you'll need to add an OOC note to the effect that you are godmodding with permission (eg. "GM of character with permission").

• Such control ranges from minor godmodding (like hugging or patting a character's shoulder without giving the other player the chance to have their character jerk away) to major godmodding (such as hitting a character or even killing them without giving the other player chance to react or fight back).
• It can also include forcing the action of a roleplay to such an extent that the other player cannot avoid your character's actions without breaking the rules themselves.
• Pre-godmodding is when you post that another character has done something before their player has actually posted that they've done it, and is not permitted at all. (This can also include saying a character is present in a thread before the player has posted them there, but we're a bit less strict about this.)

Powerplaying (PPing)

You are also not permitted to powerplay. This is, essentially, making your character more powerful than they really are, but can also mean generally ignoring the rules of courtesy (such as having a character enter a fight thread, wipe out all enemies while dodging all blows, then leave unharmed without giving other players a chance to do their part).

Word Requirements

We have a minimum requirement for IC posts of 150 words. During fight scenes, this requirement is lowered to 50 words. Your post doesn't need to meet the word count exactly (we don't mind if it's 10-20 words short) but if you're coming up short on a regular basis, a moderator will contact you. There is no maximum limit.

Writing Style

We prefer that IC posts be written in third-person past tense, but this isn't a strict rule. (Just don't change tenses mid-post!)

SPG

Please make sure to check your spelling, grammar, punctuation, and for typos before submitting your posts.

Chatspeak

Chatspeak, leetspeak, textspeak, and any other form of shorthand in in-character posts, is forbidden unless your character is doing so for in-character reasons.

Posting Order

There is no posting order on EF but please consider other members when posting in multi-character threads and give them a chance to post. As there is no posting order, there is also no need for "placeholder" or "reserved" posts (these being empty or unfinished posts that you intend to finish later, in order to reserve your spot in a thread). If you can't make a finished post straight away, either don't post at all and take your chances, or contact the other members asking them to wait.

OOC Notes

Out-of-character notes in in-character posts (eg. "Sorry for the delay!") should be kept to a minimum and are for in-thread communication only. You may format them however you like as long as they're clearly separated from the IC content.

Thread Limit

You are allowed to post in as many threads as you can handle, according to our timing conventions (see Setting FAQ for more information). However, threads must follow chronologically: While players can have multiple simultaneous threads, characters cannot be in two places at once, so it's your job to maintain your own timeline. However, if you're in too many threads that consequently stall or affect other members' activity, we may temporarily bar you from joining new ones until your current threads are finished.

Double Posting

There are two meanings to this, and you're not allowed to do either.

1. Posting duplicates of the same message, either to get attention or as a way to connect two IC threads. For the former, there's no need for it: Someone will reply as soon as they can. For the latter, if you want to connect threads (eg. an ongoing storyline that starts in Espur and moves to Alexshire in a new thread), simply link to the previous thread with a note (eg. "Continued from Sea of Faces").
2. The second version of double-posting is when you want to add something to a post after you've submitted it, either because you forgot to include it in the first place or because you want to bump (ie, bring more attention to) the thread. In this case, you should edit instead of posting again. (This only applies if no one has replied to the thread yet, so that you'd be replying to yourself. You're otherwise allowed and encouraged to reply to other players.) You may post again to bump a thread if no one has replied after 48 hours, but we encourage you to try OOC methods first, such as contacting RP partners via private message or posting in the Plotting Board.

Mistakes

If you've posted on the wrong account, please repost it on the correct account, then edit the accidental post to say "DELETE" and report it so a moderator can remove it. We have enough skins that this shouldn't happen anymore, but we're also aware that accidents do occur (xD). You won't get in trouble unless it happens a lot, but cash may be deducted from your account to make up for what you've earned with the accidental post, depending on how often it happens and where you've posted (some forums give out more cash per post than others). Any other such mistakes (such as accidentally double-posting due to a forum glitch) should also be reported to a moderator or administrator for fixing.

5.  Graphics Rules

Credit, Credit, Credit!!!

Credit where it's due! I honestly cannot repeat this enough. If someone else made the brushes, textures, photos, artwork, codes or pomegrantes that you've used in your graphics and/or layouts, make sure you link to their website and write the provider's name in full (eg. "Hybrid Genesis", not just an "x") in your signature. (If you've used a lot of resources, you may post the credits in your character's journal instead, as long as you then provide a link to that post in your signature.)

The bottom line is: No stealing or plagiarism, and no using other peoples' stuff without their written (even if it's a short "free for use" note on the work itself) permission. We take copyright issues very seriously at EF. If you become aware of a member violating these rules or general copyright laws, please report them to a moderator or administrator immediately.

Credit for character photos needs to be in that character's journal (since you can't attach the credit directly to them like you can the avatars and signatures).

Graphics Dimensions

Avatars should be no larger than 150 (width) x 300 (height) in pixels. Likewise, signature banners can be up to 450 (width) by 150 (height) in pixels. Post layouts can be no wider than 500 pixels, with a textarea of no less than 400 pixels wide (that is, nothing to stretch the forum skins, and no ridiculously narrow tables that make posts look a mile long when they're barely a paragraph). There are no set restrictions on banner height for layouts, but we do discourage anything over 500px just because anything taller will induce excessive scrolling.

Rated PG-13

As with post content, all graphics should be rated PG-13 and relate to your character in some way, shape or form.

File Extensions

Don't use bitmap (.bmp) images or large files, as some people are still on dial-up or using mobile devices and these take forever to load. Acceptable file extensions include .png, .gif, and .jpg.

6.  About Warnings

Elysian Fields operates on a three-strike system, meaning that if you receive three official warnings you're automatically banned, except where severe infringements warrant an immediate ban or suspension.

Warnings are given on a case-by-case basis, according to how severe the admins and mods judge the 'crime' to be. Repeat offenders are more likely to receive a warning than someone who does the same thing only once, but we also look at the intent behind the offense.

Warnings may be lifted after a time if the offender has stayed out of trouble. We try to give second chances wherever possible.