Rules

[Boss]

WE ARE AWARE THAT THIS IS PERHAPS AN EXTREMELY EXTENSIVE LIST OF RULES, BUT THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL WAS DEEMED NECESSARY. PLEASE READ THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE SIGNING UP, AS IMPORTANT PROTOCOLS & LINKS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

Rules & Regulations:
General:

• We ask that our RPers be ages 17+ for content purposes, though if you're younger than that and are still interested in joining, please PM one of the admins. 

• Please make an account prior to posting anything. However, please make the account name generic. Your display name can be changed once you have been accepted.
  

• This is a literate, paragraph-style role-playing community. Please post in paragraph format, and try to write at least 200 words per post. This is a minimum – there is no maximum.
  

• Be polite and courteous to your fellow RPers and your Admins. Do not bash pairings, opinions, and character portrayals. Do not godmod or powerplay.    
  

• Controlling characters outside the realm of your own registered characters on the site and NPCs (non-playable characters such as a random shop owner, etc) is not allowed. Players can allude to the actions of other canon/playable characters, but claiming that a character would behave a certain way or members actually RPing (Bunnying) that character in their own post is not allowed whatsoever. This may create confusion and may dissuade a player from applying that character if it doesn't mesh with their headcanon (or because they thought the character was taken already).
  
  

• This site is more fluffy and neutral than anything, and darker themes may be examined a bit warily since the demographic of our RPers and their individual tolerances are outside of our control. We try to keep things relatively free of controversy and the like, but we understand the desire to explore some themes from time to time. Please, however, use discretion if you do intend to explore heavier themes and the like (and as always, try to keep it PG-13). We also request that discussion of potentially delicate topics in the CBoxes be taken elsewhere if possible, for sensitivity's sake.
  
  • If you would like to explore these 'heavier' topics in threads (for example, wars and other time-sensitive material), PLEASE provide a DISCLAIMER at the beginning of thread you are making and put [VDA] somewhere in the thread title to indicate Sensitive Material or Delicate Topics AND THAT VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
    
    
  
  
• We currently accept Canon, Nyo, and Original Characters (OCs) so long as they can be considered actual Nations/Micronations. However, we DO NOT accept 2P!characters to stand alone on the boards; instead they are used as "tag-ons" to any Canon/OC/Nyo and will have a special template that must be used if one wishes to play them. They may be used in tandem with a canon character in any Alternate Universe. It should also be noted that Nyos and 2 are NOT ALLOWED to RP in the canon-verse section of the boards.

Application:

• You MUST request a character, and have said request accepted by an admin, before posting an application. Failure to do this may result in rejection of your application. You can request a character by posting your request to this thread, & the application template can be found here.

• You may play up to three characters, the rules for getting them are as follows:
      - FIRST CHARACTER: Simply request one in the character list thread! 
      - SECOND CHARACTER: Have 20 IC posts with your first character + membership of at least 1 month. 
      - THIRD CHARACTER: Have 40 IC posts with one of your characters and 20 IC posts with your other character +     membership of at least 3 months.
  

• Potential members have one week to post their application, though extensions are available upon request. Requests will be deleted after a week has passed, but one may request again at a later, perhaps less busy time. Please be aware that multiple extensions in a row may not be granted after a certain point, and that admins may take some time approving applications since the final decision is a combined consensus between admins.
  
  • As an addendum to this rule, the absolute maximum number of times you may drop any character is three. After three Drops, you will no longer be able to app for that specific character.
    
    
  • If suddenly dropping characters only to take them back up again, etc. becomes a recurring theme with ANY MEMBERS, the admins reserve the right to prevent them from applying for ANY characters in the future. This behaviour has a tendency to affect the ongoing plots so it's not only irritating, but has the potential to be extremely disruptive to RPs. We'd like to avoid that.
  
  
• If the admins request changes to be made to your application, you have two options: you may either make the changes and then let the admins know you have done so, or you may ask the admins to clarify why changes need to be made and discuss said changes before altering your application. We may bring up concerns about your app if they contain controversial elements. We try to think of how others might interpret things, and we try to be sensitive to that. These things are always open to discussion and are by no means meant to target an RPer's way of playing a character- we just sometimes address them to open a discussion and to ensure we have our own butts covered.

• Please wait for admin approval before beginning to post!
  

Activity, Inactivity, and Hiatuses:

• We ask that RPers post in a roleplay thread a minimum of ONCE EVERY TWO MONTHS, to maintain active status. Posting more than that would be ideal, but we understand not everyone has ideal circumstances at a given point in time. 
  

• If you are going to be away or around but particularly slow at posting for any length of time, we request that you post a hiatus or a semi-hiatus here, with an estimated return date. We don’t require you to go into detail as to why you need the hiatus if you aren’t comfortable sharing; just a short heads up with an idea of when you'd be able to return to posting/being present is all that's required.
  

• We ask that members try to keep any hiatus they may have up to date. When a hiatus has expired, an inquiry message via Skype or email will be sent out prompting a hiatus update if the recipient will be away from the site longer. An expired hiatus, extended beyond the estimated return date by two weeks with no explanation/update or posting, may result in a loss of character(s).
  
  
• If you find yourself posting a lot of hiatuses in a row or if you’ve been warned a few times after going month after month without much posting, we’d ask that you please consider reopening your character(s) of your own free will. We realize that this may not be an easy thing to ask of our members, but it really ties up threads and leaves others hanging when a character is constantly on hiatus or gone without a trace half the time. Naturally, old members are always welcome to come back and take up a new character (or their old one(s) if still available) at a more convenient time, when chronic inactivity isn’t as likely.
  

• We will have week-long Activity Checks at the beginning of every second month. Those who check in are expected to be active members, who can provide a link one IC post PER CHARACTER that they've made over the past two months. These posts must have been made after the last AC ended and can include mini-bios that were posted and completed during this time. Those who are on a confirmed hiatus will be exempt from ACs that take place during their absence - everyone else is required to check in during the week-long check in period or risk losing their character(s). We realize that this may seem strict, but considering our posting minimum is one decent sized post over the course of two months, it's really not that much to ask for.

• If the bare minimum of one RP post per two months is not being met or no hiatus has been posted & an AC is missed, the member in question will receive only 1 nudge in the form of an email or Skype message from an  admin once the AC ends. After that, they will have two weeks to respond by posting either a proper hiatus or a reply to a roleplay  thread. They may also ask an admin to post a hiatus for them if they cannot access a computer to do so themselves. If no such response is received, the member’s character(s) will be reopened to others.
  
  
• We will also occasionally post a Roll-Call, which is like an informal AC. Members that are around when one is posted are asked to reply indicating simply if they are around/still on with us or if they need to post a hiatus/drop characters/etc. No link to posts are necessary for these; it's simply to give us an idea of who's active at a given time.

Themed!RP and AUs:

• You must have a mini-bio posted before participating in a particular AU. Having a mini bio or being in the process of planning one out is also a requirement of participating in an AU-themed Cbox RP.
  
  
• Mini-Bios templates can be found in the main sub-boards of each specific AU.

• Timeless Nations currently has 7 AUs, a space for Nation/Canon RP and a space for miscellaneous themed RPs. To propose the creation of a new AU, please refer to this thread.

Chatbox:

• An extensive list of rules regarding the Chatboxes can be found HERE.
  
  
• Please try to only use the account(s) linked to your character(s) on Timeless Nations in order to avoid confusion.
  

• We'd ask that you redirect one-on-one roleplays elsewhere (ex: Skype, personal cboxes) and keep character exclusive roleplays out of the chatboxes provided here.

• If members want an RP that was done in a chatbox to be considered canon in any of the boards, it must be RECORDED. This may be done in the form of screenshots or typed summaries, but everyone involved must give their consent before it is made canon. Proof of these interactions should be posted in the appropriate thread/location for each Universe. Alternatively, these RPs can be re-roleplayed in the threads, which may be best when others may not want their characters to have been involved in that way in the real AU or if some tweaking needs to be done to better follow the AU.

Miscellaneous:

• If you have any questions whatsoever, please contact an Admin, post (anonymously) in our Suggestions/Concerns Thread, or leave it in the left/OoC chatbox. We also have a FAQ for a quick reference for common questions and concerns.