Rules and FAQ, Yes, you have to read them.

[the Chancellor]

RULES AND FAQS

Having trouble picking a character? Please check the second post following this one to view current most wanted characters.

CHARACTERS

1. When making my character what should I be aware of?
When building your character, please try to avoid the Mary Sue / Gary Stu pitfalls. Remember no one is perfect and your characters should reflect this. Here at Graves and Roses we welcome originality, uncommon characters and creativity.
Students should be seventeen and over. They can be undergraduates or working on a masters degree, PhD, JD, or MD. Tenured professors should be significantly older than twenty-nine. Keep in mind that Monroe College is an Ivy League institution and your character’s credentials should reflect a reasonably privileged background or advanced talent.
For our frequently updated guidelines on characters that the board currently needs (or doesn’t need), please scroll to the second post following this one.

2. What about canon characters?
We always welcome the making of canon characters - they are deliberately set up to further the plot and link various characters together. Canons are limited to a total of three per writer. Please note that this is not "three at any given time," so each canon you pick up will count towards the limit. If you have picked up, and then dropped, three canons you will not be approved for a fourth one, even if you are currently not playing any canons.
Canon characters are held to a higher standard of activity level. While this does not mean you need to post every day, please be aware that taking on a canon is a responsibility. We expect you to be aware of any characters your canon may be linked to. If these other characters are not in the Open Canon list, you may find them instead under Deceased Canons, or the character bio section.
You must check with a staff member before making changes to the given canon bio or face claim. Please note that we’ve put a lot of thought into the construction of the list so we may not approve your change requests.

3. Why has my character not been accepted?
- If it has been less than 48 hours since your application was posted, please be patient.
- If it has been less than two weeks since your previous application was accepted, review of your application is pending the end of the two week waiting period we have imposed between character applications.
- All staff feedback on applications are handled through PMs. You should not expect application feedback through the c-box, email, or AIM.
- Not every submitted application will become an accepted character biography. We value strong writing skills and expect our members to maintain a high standard of literacy. If you have not demonstrated an ability to do this your character application will not be accepted. This policy also applies to writers that may already have existing characters on the board and their future applications.

4. How many characters can I have?
At the moment you can have three separate characters. Players may apply for a fourth, if they have demonstrated that they can handle an extra character based on activity and writing skills. A fourth character will only be granted at the agreement of all admin.
We also ask people for a two week gap between making characters. Generally this means that you have time to establish your character before throwing yourself into another one. It also avoids the temptation to make more characters than you have time for and end up using none of them. We also require that you have at least two active threads at the time of application for your next character. We will not grant future characters to someone who has not posted no matter how long the character has been around.

5. What if I want to to drop a character?
You are of course welcome to drop characters, sometimes you make one and they just don't work for you. We do however ask that you think carefully about the plots you are involved with and the people affected by your decision. Once a character has been dropped, we ask that you wait two weeks in between dropping a character and making a new one.
Characters may be dropped and picked up a maximum of three times. You must notify anyone you are currently writing or plotting with that your character will no longer be available. Failure to follow through on this courtesy will reflect negatively on any future character applications.

PLOT

1. What is Graves and Roses?
Graves and Roses is the board’s own fictional Secret Society operating within the halls of Monroe College and beyond. The history of Graves and Roses can be found here. What do we mean by Secret Society? Think Skull and Bones, think the Illuminati, or better yet, read this Wikipedia entry: link.

2. Can my character be a member of Graves and Roses?
If your character meets the society’s needs for membership, then your character can be a member or be receiving a bid as a freshmen. Characters cannot be a member of the both the Greek system and the Society, you must choose one or the other.

Society membership is often based on exceptional singular talent, a vaunted pedigree, or simply legacy – if your parents are Monroe alumni and members of Graves and Roses, you were born to be a member. Please refrain from assuming that your character is a member of Graves and Roses when writing a history unless it specifically says so on the canon information or you have talked to an admin first. This includes any involvement with members of the society - dead or alive - or the board wide plot. Please contact an admin if you are unsure. No one will be tapped as a sophomore or above so take that in mind when you're making your profile. If you're making a sophomore or older they'd either already be in it or they're never getting in.

3. Can my character be a member of a different Secret Society?
Currently there are no other Secret Societies actively operating at Monroe, although we may reference others.

What else do I need to know?
Aaron Teegarden’s death started with Kyle Sterling and the sudden discovery of his conscience. Yes, Kyle’s death was a bona fide suicide, but the list of his metaphorical executioners reads like the society pages: Ashworth, Prescott, James . . . Graves and Roses.
The truth is just another casualty.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Is there an age restriction for joining the Graves and Roses community?
Graves and Roses deals with mature themes and college age characters; the age requirement to join the board is 17. We feel that without having any knowledge of the college experience it seems impossible to write about it with any authenticity. We are also uncomfortable with anyone under age writing scenes of a sexual or violent nature especially with older writers.

2. What is posting length like on the board?
If you can't post a minimum of five hundred words with spell check and a basic command of grammar then this just isn't the board for you. While we don't have a strict word minimum, keep in mind that this is an advanced & literate RPG. No one is going to play off two paragraphs with multiple misspellings. We're not being harsh about it, but this just isn't a board to learn how to write on. You need to have some skills to begin with. If we see this getting out of hand, PMs will be sent out to remind players of our board standards.

3. What's your activity policy? How long can I be missing before my stuff gets archived?
If you are inactive, you will be archived, it’s pretty simple - we pride ourselves on being a very active board. If you can't post more than once a week in character without putting up an away notice in the proper forum, this probably isn’t the board for you. If you are inactive for several weeks without warning, we'll naturally assume you've quit. You will receive two warning PMs before being archived. We also conduct periodic activity checks and that are open for several weeks at a time.

4. How many threads may I have going at once?
As many as you want. Time is very loose here, so you can be posting in as many or as few places as you want to. Just try and keep them up.

5. What's the deal with Avatars?
Every character should be portrayed by a Play-By/avatar/face claim. Please use a real photograph of a celebrity - absolutely no anime. For the same reasons we don't allow you to use your own names you shouldn't use a picture of yourself. It's too personal and in role-playing there needs to be a certain level of detachment. Check the taken PBs list before choosing one. You must ask before claiming a canon PB.

6. And how about Signatures?
Please keep signatures at a maximum of 300 x 500. Typical avatar size on our board is anywhere from 150x150 to 200x200. You may not use your signature to link to or advertise other sites.

7. What shouldn't I do in the c-box [sidebar]?
- No outside advertising. We do have an advertising forum.
- No asking why your character has not yet been accepted. The only ones who can tell you for certain are admins, so please do not bother board members with questions they can't answer.
- Do not ask someone to explain to you the plot or characters that need to be filled or if we have a certain type of character available. There are links above the c-box in the sidebar that will assist you in the answers to this, namely the links titled "plot" "canon" and the names linked under "The Staff." Frankly as an advanced RP, we expect you to invest time in reading the necessary background materials before applying.
- No in-character role playing in the sidebar. We do have an official IC Monroe Chat forum.
- And now for a Do. Do respect your fellow writers in c-box interaction. It's a public space.


8. What's the deal with the IC Monroe Chat forum?
- You should sign up for the Monroe Chat forum under your character's full name.
- All interaction in this forum is in character.
- The IC chat is on the board for people to have fun with and interact in ways they would not in posting. It is, however, no substitute for posting full length pieces - we are not a board where one liners are acceptable. Major plots and revelations should not be carried out in this chatroom. Treat it as you would a college based chatroom - we assume you wouldn't share your deepest secrets in one of those.

RESPECT

Graves and Roses is community based on respect. We expect all members to conduct themselves out of character in a mature, respectful manner. Issues surrounding out of character behavior are perhaps the most important rules we have on the board so please read these carefully as breaking of these will likely result in banning from Graves and Roses.

We will not accept any inappropriate behavior such as, but not limited to:
Plagiarism
Rude or derogatory comments
Name-calling
Disrespecting the writing of other members
Harassing other members to post faster
Any comments deemed inappropriate or containing racial, sexual or political intolerance
Any comments deliberately intended to make other members or staff feel uncomfortable


You will only receive one warning. After this, if the behavior continues, you will be asked to leave the site.

[the Chancellor]

CHARACTERS WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE

We welcome all original and inspired characters. However, we really need to following central troublemakers:

++ Canons featured in the spotlight (see the sidebar) and those deeply involved in the main board plots, particularly:

_______ PETERSON (professor)
_______ TOUSSAINT (professor)
_______ ASHWORTH KENSINGTON (vice chancellor)
_______ WILLIAMS (professor)
_______ HARPER (senior)
_______ DEAN (senior)
_______ COREN (junior)


++ Sigma Pi members. We need more volunteers for mischief!
++ Professors/faculty and upper-level students are underrepresented generally.




We are currently not accepting:

++ Non-canon journalism majors.

++ We've also seen an increase in the registration of first names and surnames that are already on the board or otherwise assigned to canons. Please be mindful of this when you are choosing a name for your new character. All it takes is a quick check through the Monroe Directory thread and our canon list. If using a duplicate name, you may be asked to change it to avoid confusion.




These character creation guidelines are frequently updated and should be considered current.