Site Rules {Must Read}

[--THE JESSTER]

-- GENERAL RULES

1. This site is 100% anti-harassment. It is set up for all levels or role playing, meaning there will be people new to it who may not be the greatest in the world or completely understand how this whole thing works. If there is a problem, contact a staff member BEFORE you address the person. Any violation of this rule will result in a temporary suspension.

2. The Staff at PWS have the ultimate say. Their word is final; no ands, ifs, or buts about it. What they says goes, period. So respect their authority and do not contest it.

3. Try to keep swearing to a minimum in OOC. It is acceptable (as long as it is not used in excess) when in character, but we don't really want to see it in OOC all that much. There may be people here who that would offend, and we would prefer that no one be offended by anything here.

4. No fighting. If we see anything that vaguely resembles a fight, all members involved will have their warning level raised. If someone is trying to pick a fight, please inform an admin, and until they take action, turn the other cheek. It will be dealt with appropriately by the staff.

5. Follow all appropriate forms when submitting a character (horse or human), otherwise your application will be denied. A name for the face claim is required.

6. The Chatbox is for chatting ONLY. Please do not advertise there (this includes putting the URL of another role play forum in the address box). We can and will ban problem people from the Cbox if necessary. If a member or guest ever become a problem when staff is not around, please PM an admin and we will take the appropriate action.

-- ROLEPLAY RULES

1. We've recently added a Roleplaying Guide, which can be found here. It's not required, but we highly recommend looking this over. It's really more directed towards new roleplayers, but you might be surprised how helpful it can be for a more advanced RPer as well. Go check it out! We think you'll find it worth your time.

2. All roleplaying is to take place in THIRD PERSON. This means that there should be no "I wasn't sure what I was doing." Instead it should be "She didn't know what to do." Also, keep tense consistent. We don't want to see any "Rachel went to the store and dropped a can of peas, "ouch" she says." 'Went' is past tense. 'Says' is present tense. You CANNOT have both in the same sentence. This sort of thing makes English teachers (and Jess) cry... so don't do it, please.

3. Perfect characters. No. There is no such thing as perfect. Your character isn't going to be the most beautiful person alive. Your horse isn't going to be able to jump 7 feet and have never knocked down a rail in their life. It just doesn't happen. Everyone has flaws. Any character that looks like a "Mary-Sue" will not be accepted.

4. Please try to use correct spelling and grammar. We're not asking for perfection, all we ask is that you try. If you know you're not very good at spelling or grammar, please make sure that you use spell check. We recommend writing your post on Microsoft Word and using the spelling and grammar check there before you post. It helps your literacy level greatly. Also, Firefox and Google Chrome have automatic spell check. If you see the red squiggly lines, please check and make sure you haven't made a mistake there.

5. Power playing is not allowed on any level unless you have permission from the other person. For example, you cannot say "Aaron punched Jeremy in the face and broke his jaw." Instead you should say something along the lines of "Aaron swung at Jeremy's face with his fist hoping to inflict maximum damage." This goes for other character's horses as well. If it is not your horse, you cannot decide if the horse likes you or not, you cannot decide if the horse runs away or stays there. The rule phrase is paddy. You cannot say anything about what another person's character does because you don't know if they would do that or not, the same way you can't decide what I do or what my horse does.

6. Keep in mind that Proboards rules prohibits anything more mature than PG-13. Drugs and drinking are fine, but anything that gets more "steamy" than the staff deems appropriate will be deleted. "Glorifying" drugs is also not allowed. This includes describing how to get them or making them seem like a great thing. If your character uses drugs, make sure they have all the bad side effects of them as well. Three violations of this rule will result in an increased warning level and possible suspension. If you absolutely must go through with anything over PG-13, take it to PM.

7. Our Minimum Word Limit is 300 words. We understand that everyone has to start somewhere, but we don't feel that this is an unreasonable request.

8. You can (and are encouraged to) write more than minimum, but we expect to see you consistently posting at least the minimum number of words required. A post that fails to meet the minimum word count will result in a warning via PM. After three warnings, you will be given a raised warning level. If you find yourself constantly struggling to reach the minimum, you might want to consider asking for help from a more experienced roleyplayer. You may also benefit from looking over the Roleplaying Guide we have posted in the Board.

9. Your human MUST be accepted by a staff member before you can roleplay him/her. The same goes for horses.

-- AFTER YOU SIGN UP

1. Before making your character, PLEASE check the face claims. If you know you are going to take a long time on your application please post a RESERVATION on the face claim until your application has been accepted. DO NOT under any circumstances post a face claim until your application has been accepted. Yes, a face claim is required. If you don't know the name of the person you want to use, I'm afraid you will not be able to use that person. If you would like help with this, please feel free to ask. If you have your heart set on a certain play-by but don't know their name, PM an admin and we'll see what we can work out, but a picture IS REQUIRED at the very least.

2. The next thing to do after you've registered, read the rules, and checked the face claims, is to post an application using the correct form in the Pending Applications section. Please title your application thread with your character's first and last name only, using the standard "First Last" format. No symbols, please. After you have posted your application, the staff will look it over and make sure it is up to par. If anything needs to be fixed, they will let you know. Only after it is correctly filled out, and staff believes that it meets the site's expectations and requirements, will it be accepted.

3. You may only have ONE human character per account. Horses do not have separate accounts. You MUST play a human, but the horse is not required. You cannot play just a horse.

4. You may post your application before it is complete, but please be sure to include a "WIP," "ND," or "IC" tag in the title so we know whether or not it is complete. Once you have completed the app, remember to remove the tag so we know it's ready to be looked over. If you've been done for a day or two and it hasn't been looked at yet, feel free to PM an admin or give them a shout in the Cbox. We're only human (as hard as that is to believe) and you'll find that sometimes we may forget to do things. Don't be surprised if we need to be reminded every-once-in-a-while.

5. Horse Applications. DO NOT post a horse application until the application of the owner has been completed. Acceptance of the horse often depends on the owner of the horse. A 15 year old is not going to be able to own a 17 hand thoroughbred stallion that is always trying to hurt people. We also don't want to see any waitresses owning 5 horses. It's not reasonable. You have to take into consideration the owner's wages and the cost of boarding the horse, feeding the horse, maintaining the tack for the horse, etc. Also, try to keep the horses realistic. Odds are an Arabian stallion isn't going to be a docile and sweet horse. Arabians are high strung, stallions even more so... put them together and it's not going to be the equivalent of a sweet horse that loves everyone.

6. Once your character has been accepted, please change your display name to your character's first and last name, using the standard "First Last" format. DO NOT put any symbols in your character's name, abbreviate your character's name, include the middle name, or put the name in all caps. We want to keep our member list neat and tidy, not all messy. We will correct any infringement of this and send a PM to the account regarding the matter.

7. Next, you must go to the Claims Board and post in the appropriate threads (face claims, housing claims, job claims, and who plays who). This is very important, so please don't skip this step. We do not want to hunt you down...

8.) If you are able, please log into all of your accounts everyday. This lets us know who's still alive and active. However, we understand that some things come before roleplaying, so this is really more of a request than a rule. But at the very least, try to log into all of your accounts every time you visit the site. It only takes a couple of minutes and the admins will thank you.

-- IMAGE RULES

1. Any image with a watermark or any other form of copyright is NOT to be used here unless you have proof of permission from the rights owner (this includes reference images). This rule is not our own, it is a Proboards rule. If someone uses a copyrighted image and we are reported for a Terms of Service violation, the entire site will be shut down.

2. Images may not exceed 500 pixels in width. Please avoid posting anything larger than this as it will stretch the boards, causing the site to automatically re-size it. If you're using blockquotes, it will mean that your image will need to be even smaller. If an image is too large, it will be automatically scaled down and will include a link to the full sized image.

3. Every character MUST have a signature and an avatar. These should be pictures of your character, not the horse or some little saying. It can have words and the horse as long as the person is in it, but please keep the images tasteful. If you need help with a signature or avatar, you can request one in the graphics board, or PM an admin.

4. Signatures may not exceed 500px in width or 300px in height. Any larger and it will be automatically scaled down, the same as any other image on this site. Avatars must be exactly 100x100 pixels.

4. No inappropriate or pornographic images. It is a violation of Proboards rules and we will take immediate action to remove the images and suspend your account if we see a violation of this.

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Thank you for taking the time to read the rules and follow them accordingly If you have any questions please contact a staff member and we will be sure to answer them promptly. Thanks,
Jess - Administrator

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