The Rules

[Admin Harley]

Rules

Hey there! Welcome to Stone Brook Academy. There are just a few rules you need to know, listed below (in no particular order).

Content
--Sex and such things violate the Proboards TOS. If you really feel the need, fade to black and go offsite to write out the details. We're not getting our site suspended for that.
--On that note, make sure all images in your signatures, avatars, and thread coding are appropriate. Girls in bikinis are OK. Topless girls with their long hair strategically placed are not. (Also, make sure these graphics don't stretch the board! We don't currently have a size limit, but if this gets abused, we will set one.)

Absence
--If you know you'll be gone for a while, post in the Absences thread, and/or PM an admin.
--Failure to turn up for a month will get you deleted.

Characters
--This site is "one character per account." If you have three characters, you'll have three accounts. (We didn't used to do this, but with the Linked Accounts feature of V5, it's much easier and makes things look nice.)
--Don't powerplay or godmode. This means you can never control someone else's character, and you don't decide what happens to them. (Example: Your character can throw a punch, but the person playing the other character decides if it hits.) This also means that your character is not perfect. They can't dodge every hit, know every answer, etc.
--You may have up to five characters. However, only the first two are free. After that, you have to earn them. When your account has 250 posts, you can have a third character. At 400, you can have a fourth. At 550, you can have a fifth.
--You must fill out a character application and have it accepted by a staff member before you can roleplay or make your claims. If your app is denied, you can try again as many times as you like. Said character doesn't have to be a new student, but it can be if you want.
--You must be able to name your play-by. A random person from Google Images won't cut it, not even if it's been Photoshopped. For all we know, that picture was stolen from their Facebook and leaked without their consent. Not cool.

Powers
--Your character may have up to two powers.
--Animal features count as one power. For example, a cat boy could have ears and a tail, and that's one power. The only exception to this rule is having wings. If a character has wings and bat ears, for example, that's two powers, since the wings grant a secondary power (flight).
--The two powers must be related. Controlling two elements does not count, because they're different elements. On that note, one elemental power per character, since those are generally powerful.

Literacy
--Give the other person something to work with. A couple of sentences isn't cool. Try for 100 words minimum. More is preferred, but at least shoot for that as your minimum, because it's really not much.
--Don't chatspeak, even in the c-box. On that note, just use your best grammar in general. We understand typos, but too many make you look sloppy. (Exception: Common abbreviations like brb, g2g, etc. are acceptable in the c-box, but nowhere else.)

Posts and Threads
--If you're posting in character, but not all of the reply is in character, use OOC and BIC to show the difference. However, we encourage you to use this sparingly, and to take OOC chat to the c-box or PMs whenever possible.
--You can be in infinite threads at once, with as many characters as you want. Just be sure that you're keeping up with all of them. Leaving a partner hanging isn't cool.
--Once a thread is done, tell a staff member. We'll move it to the graveyard.
--If a thread hasn't been posted in for a month, it goes to the graveyard (unless one member of the thread was on excused absence). If you weren't done and want to finish, PM a staff member, and they'll move it back to the main board. Please do not post in the thread while it's in the graveyard.

C-box
--Don't advertise your forum in our c-box. We have ad boards for that. (And members get the sparkly "Member Sites" board all to themselves!)
--Don't spam. No repeated messages, no posts telling us to join another site or buy a product, etc.
--Don't fight in public. Nobody else wants to get involved. If you can't work it out over a PM, ask an admin to help sort things out.

After Reading the Rules
--You're ready! Make an account (if you haven't already) and go make your character. Then change the display name of your account to your character's first and last name.
--Once your app is accepted, you can make your claims. (Please, please, please post in code. The staff will love you for it.)
--Once you've done that, feel free to make a thread, or jump into an open one. Welcome to Stone Brook!