Rules, *manditory*

[[Mimi]]

Rules of Consuming Darkness

General Rules

Being Active and Dropping the RP
Yes, we do realize that real life takes precedence over roleplaying, and most of the players on this board are in school or are university students. We understand that life can get in the way and we do not hold you responsible. However, there is a limit to how long you can be inactive and still be able to hold on to the character you have.
+ Canon Characters: If you have a canon character we expect you to at least post once a week.
+ Original Characters: If you have an original character we give alot more leway. You can post as the muse strikes you, but you cannot be absent over one week.

I clean out the forum of inactive members every month, and I will delete any inactive accounts and, if they are canon, I will place them back out for the public to choose. However, if you are going to be gone 1-2 weeks please leave a note in the Absent forum to let everyone know so your character isn't deleted. We would like to see a return date, though, if not an estimate is good with us as well.

If you are dropping the RPG, please let us know. This way we can delete your membership and, if your a canon, try to find replacements. If you are able to access a computer to tell us you're leaving, then do so.

Admin Control
Do not attempt to pitch the admins against one another. This means going to one admin to ask them for something, and when they refuse, going to another one to ask the same thing, and say that the previous admin agreed with the idea. This will not work and will NOT be tolerated. It's not up to just one of us to decide on anything. If there is a rule that is never mentioned on the board, and we are trying to enforce that particular rule even when it's not in writing, please respect us on our decisions. Also, even if a rule isn't mentioned and was never brought up doesn't make it right. If you have read this far then the first pass is "The Creature". Just contact one of the Admin, mainly me, and we will tell you what we think.

Spamming & Taboo Topics
All players found posting unnecessarily will lose ten housepoints for each offense and a warning. Avoid any and all taboo topics. These include politics, religion, sexuality, celebrity lives, race, etc. Think before you post. If the admins think that you are heading into rough waters on a subject, we/they will first inform you in the topic, but if you continue to talk about it, you will be further warned if not banned.
To understand better what Spamming is please follow the link below.
Spamming, Flame Wars, & Trolling

Respect & "Newbie"
This gets it's own little rant, so please click on the link below to be taken to the rule.
Respect & "Newbie"

Cursing
If you must, then it's alright, but please keep the OOC swearing to a minimal. We will not tolerate anything racist, sexist, or otherwise in OOC. I will place a filter on the board if I see excessive swearing. I do not want to place a filter, but I will if I am forced to.

Advertisments
Do not post advertisements anywhere on the board, unless it's under the Portkey forum. If we find an advertisement anywhere on the forum it will be deleted, and that means signature too. You must also comply with the advertising rules.

Flaming & Flame Wars
Flaming is strictly prohibited at Keep it Hidden. No surprise, Flame Wars are prohibited also. If you are suspected of attempting to start a flame war, you will be warned, and/or banned. No Trolling! This is to set off a flame.
To understand better what a Flame War and Trolling is please follow the link below.
Spamming, Flame Wars, & Trolling

[[Mimi]]

Registering/Application Rules

Updated: January 16, 2007

Screen Names
You are required to use your character's name as your screen name. We only want everyone to register with your characters first and last name. If you add a middle name we would kindly suggest to change it.

Signatures & Avatars
Your avatar and signature pictures must be jpegs, pngs, or gifs. Avatars should be related to your character, house, or job. If your character is 14, they won't have a 25 year old as an avatar. Avatars can be no bigger than 100x100.

Signatures should have something relating to your character. You can have words in your signature, but please keep it under four lines. Keep the text it's normal size, no enlarging, but you may change the colors if you wish. If you have read this far then the second pass is "Will." Please don't post entire songs; four lines is generally enough. You are not permitted to advertise any other websites in your signature. You must place a link to your profile and your plot in your signature. Any images in your signature must be no more than 350(height)x500(width) pixels. Please no OOC images in your signatures.

Member Accounts
Update: I am going to only allow 2 canons, 2 originals, and 1 staff member (most will be canons but will be a group to itself). In other words you are allowed only 5 characters and that is it. I do want to encourage people to have more characters, like to fill a certain house that doesn't have enough students, or to fill the ranks among the teachers, BUT I do not want anyone to take on more characters than they can handle. If you can only handle one character only have ONE character. If you can handle more, then go ahead, but you have to keep them active.

Character Rules

• Status: One 3:1 ratio of your characters may hold a status in Consuming Darkness. This means Prefect, Head Boy/Girl, etc. However, they cannot be in the same house or year. (Also, if there's a canon character in that place don't ask for it.) Meaning if you have three characters, only 1 can hold a position.
• Girls/Boys: At least 3:1 ratio of your characters has to be a boy. Meaning if you only want to make three characters, at least one has to be a boy. Seeing as you are allowed 5 characters I want at least 2 of the students to be a male, whether original or not, and the teacher can be any gender you wish from the canon list.
  + If you have only one character, assumed of course you can have any gender you want.
  + If you have two characters, one has to be a boy and the other a girl.
  + Three characters has already been provided above.
  + If you have four characters, then you have to have two girls and two boys.
  + Five characters has already been provided above.

[[Mimi]]

Posting Rules

Length and Tense
The minimum for posts should be one paragraph (8 good sentences) or at least 250 words. I don't want to see two-sentence RPG posts. Please keep in mind that there is alot for your character to describe: Their clothing, hairstyle, the setting around them, their general mood, and stuff like that and even more! Be proud of what you post.

The posting tense will be put in a third person perspective and in past tense. We don't want to see any posts with "I", "me", or anything of the sort in any post. ("I" and"me" and any other first person narratives should only be used when typing a person's thoughts, which should be also in Italics.)

Playing Your Profile
Play to your profile shouldn't be hard to follow. If you character likes a certain thing don't make them hate it when you are RPing. If you have read this far then the third pass is "Kill". If they suck at Transfiguration in your profile, please make them suck in RP. If we see you doing some highly advanced Transfiguration in your posts, then we will have to talk with you. Anything like these examples is under this rule and will be enforced.

[[Mimi]]

RPG Rules

Spelling & Grammer
Try to correct these things before posting. No one likes having to decipher your post. The occasional ‘comign’ instead of ‘coming’ is understandable. People’s names are listed about 3 inches to the left of your post. Have the decency and respect to spell their names right. There is no excuse for this.

Use block paragraphs. No one will be able to read anything if you have everything crammed together. Double space between each paragraph you do. It makes it easier on everyone.

Ages
Whatever age your character is, please act like it. If you are an eleven year old you wouldn't be falling in love yet, and if you are a sixteen year old you should have a sense of maturity. It doesn't mean your character shouldn't have fun, it just means to please stay in character.
Ages & Relationships

CAPS
Do not type in caps. It is extremely annoying and usually means that a person is shouting. Only use caps when you feel the need to have your character shout, not for the entire post.

Character Actions & Behavior
Do not take it personally (in real life) if another character slights you. If everyone was all "lovey-dovey, ooh you’re my best friend, we’ll never fight", the RP would be boring. So don’t take it personal if another character insults your character or does something otherwise rude in character.

Cursing
Swearing is a part of everyday life and alot of people do it. Your characters are like people and people do swear. There is no limit to how much you can swear, BUT don't make it to where you have to say "f***" every other word.

Copy & Paste
If your character is replying to a certain thing another person is saying or asking, then it's okay to copy and paste that quote and place it in italics. However, there are certain times you should never do this. You shouldn't copy and past the actions of other. If an entire quote has an action break in it, then just omit (delete) the action and combine the quote. Make sure you only copy and paste what you need and should never use someone else's work to make your's look bigger. That's called cheating. Copy and Paste Speech only.

Stutter Posting
This is when a person repeats an action, word, or a particular feature of your character to someone that is already aware of it, either from a previous post or topic. Do not repeat something over again unless absolutely needed. If you repeat things to many times it can get boring and it makes the reader think that this particular thing is the only thing interesting about your entire character, topic, or post. You can repeat yourself in thought as much as you like, because on occasion, that is how the mind functions. If you have a hard time thinking of what should come next in your post, and you are struggling with it. Leave it as is and make up for it in the next post.

Rare Objects
Not everyone owns an invisibility cloak, owns a Marauder’s map, or has the best broomstick available in the world. While the broomstick can be feasible if the character comes from a fairly rich family, the others are not. There is only one Marauder’s Map and it was created by and belongs to the Potter child, therefore no one else is allowed to have one. If you have read this far then the fourth and final pass is "You".Invisibility cloaks are extremely rare, and it will be up to admin discretion on whether or not your character will be allowed to have one. Be forewarned, any character besides Potter child will not be allowed a cloak, but an adult who has a reason to have one may be allowed.

Injuries
If you are injured, say you break your arm in a quidditch match, it’s not just broken on that thread. It’s broken on every thread until it has had time to heal properly. I’m not saying that for three months you should have to have a broken arm (in magic these are healed quickly anyways), but you should have it for a decent time. Remember the reality of time. Granted though, you wouldn’t return to an existing thread (begun before the broken arm) and talk about how your arm hurts. As it wasn’t broken when you started the thread.

Spells & Potions
You can basically use any spells you want from the Spells list that I provide.

You may create your own spells. Like spells dealing with laundry, cleaning, anything harmless of that nature. However, if it is anything besides what falls under that category, ask an Admin for permission on use of that spell. Anything that could control another character or anything of that sort falls under this rule.

If you have any questions on what is allowed and what is not allowed please PM me.

I am Lord Voldemort
Please see the following topic on this certain area:
I am Lord Voldemort

Romance & Sex
Please see the following topic on this certain area:
Romance & Sex

Violence & Death
Please see the following topic on this certain area:
Violence & Death

Godmodding & Power Playing
Please see the following topic on this certain area:
Godmodding & Power Playing