Always check the FAQ before asking a question! Check the table of contents to the right to see categories of questions. Use the FIND command (CTRL + F) -- e.g., if you're looking for a question related to how old your character is, you can try to search for age or years. If you're looking for information about ranks, you can search for that word or "packs" since ranks are a part of being in a pack.
Something We Missed?
You can ask your questions in the Questions and Help forum. As this is an open, public forum, you will likely receive the fastest answer this way. You can receive great feedback from posting in this forum, so that's where we suggest you post!
If you're not comfortable asking in public, you can always private message a staff member. If you want to ask a question anonymously, the Tumblr is the place to go. We prefer for members to ask their questions in public or via PM, however, as this allows for further discussion if there is confusion or a lack of clarity!
Remember, pack leaders are the ones to best address questions related to their pack! The administration does not have a hand in pack policy and generally cannot answer relevant questions with the same certainty as that pack's leader.
Registering a Forum Account
Register your character's full name, properly capitalized and spaced. E.g., if your character's name is Johannesburg, your registered username would be Johannesburg. If your character is named Johannesburg Jameson your account should be Johannesburg OR Johannesburg Jameson, not JohannesburgJameson. If you need ideas for your character's name, see the Characters section.
You may change your username if:
You registered an incorrect username.
Your character changes its name for IC reasoning -- e.g., a "rebirth," acquiring their mate's surname.
Post in the Maintenance thread. After your username is changed, you will have to log in with the new name. An email will be sent in case you forget!
If you do not receive an email validation, please contact an administrator to have your account manually validated. If you don't have a forum account, you must e-mail us. If you're already a member of 'Souls and you can post to the forum, let us know in the Maintenance Thread for the fastest response.
All members must be at least 18 years old to join 'Souls.
'Souls primary userbase comprises of adults, and because the board allows adult content of various types, it is easier and safer for all players to restrict membership to adults to prevent awkward, and often unintended, collaborative writing between adults and minors on adult topics.
If you are genuinely interested in joining, we implore that you abide by our policies and simply return on your 18th birthday. Failure to do so WILL result in suspension of your account.
Each character at 'Souls must have its own account. Register a new account for each new character you pick up. Players can link accounts.
Yes! You may register an account prior to the auxiliary character being played, either to test drive in LASKY or to play with their profile and other account settings. You shouldn't create accounts unless you're relatively certain you're going to play the character, though -- you certainly shouldn't go around registering every potential character you could ever want.
Do you understand where to post your joining form?
Remember, we have two ways to join: either fill out your character's profile completely OR provide us with three previous roleplaying examples.
Are you having trouble deciding which joining type to use?
If you're totally lost, read the Quick and Dirty Guide to 'Souls. It provides you with a basic framework and knowledge of the game.
If you're still confused, post in the Questions & Help forum and someone will be happy to assist you!
To edit your profile, enter your control panel and edit it there. The link to access your control panel is located beneath the site banner to the right-hand side, labeled My Controls; Although you may be intimidated by the number of fields, remember, the only required fields for joining are gender, age, birthdate, appearance, biography, and personality. You don't have to worry about anything else. We also provide an in-depth guide on how to fill out your profile. If you are filling in a character profile to join, your Appearance, Biography, and Personality sections must exceed 200 words. You won't be accepted otherwise!
To join with roleplay samples, simply provide them for us in your joining post. You can embed them directly into the post or link to off-board spaces -- Pastebin is good if you don't have anywhere to put them. Make sure the samples are publicly viewable -- some forums don't allow guest viewing, so if you're linking to another forum, be certain your samples are public.
If you have opted to join by filling in your character profile, provide 200+ words of information for the Appearance, Biography, and Personality sections. 'Souls does not enforce a word minimum after you have joined, but we do require 200+ words for each profile section, if you've opted to join by filling in a profile.
If your profile is extremely long, or surpasses the character limit, you might want to think about opening up an extended profile in the Post and Graphic Logs forum or the 'Souls Wiki. Your forum profile is capable of housing a lot of data, but sometimes people just need a brief overview on the main profile rather than the whole story.
Unfortunately not. Even after you post your joining form, you must wait until you've been officially accepted to the game to begin posting. Once you're officially accepted to the game, however, whether as a Loner or as a pack wolf, you can begin posting immediately.
We recommend newcomers join through providing roleplaying samples. This gives the administration a way to gauge your writing and point out ways to improve.
Most members are at an intermediate to advanced writing level; however, we accept members of all levels as long as they are willing to improve, respond well to help, and can write as much as their partner gives them. We don't have a strict word count, but we ask members reciprocate: if your partner gives you 400 words, aim for 400. If your partner replies with a 200-word post, reply in kind. At the same time, to fully "give back", it is usually helpful to aim for more than 200 words if you're just starting out.
We highly prefer that canine members join packs if possible -- packs not only come with direct perks unavailable to Loners and Creatures, but also less direct perks. Loners and Creatures are not offered a game similar to the pack games; they are restricted to playing Word of the Day. Members who join packs are also more likely to find thread partners with their packmates than Loners and Creatures, who may find it difficult to thread at first -- for this reason especially, we prefer that new members join packs rather than as Loners or Creatures. Additionally, Loners and Creatures are not offered an equivalent to NPC status; this is only available to pack characters.
Absolutely! We encourage members to join packs either way and joining as a loner to have your character decide through threads which pack they wish to join is a great idea. Note that we do recommend you join a pack first, however!
It can be pretty overwhelming checking out the packs for the first time -- there are quite a few on 'Souls and they all have plenty of information and culture for you to absorb! However, there are a few steps you can take to make things easier all around. However, please first note -- you are not forever restricted to your pack once you have made a decision. You can switch packs later; you can even join as a Loner first and pick a pack later. If you end up somewhere that's not quite right, you can always try again with another pack.
Check the Game Stats and investigate the pack's numbers -- the Game Stats provides male to female ratio (which may be important if getting a mate is your top priority), adult to puppy ratio, and other numerical data. While this really doesn't mean anything in terms of your chances for acceptance or rejection, if you're absolutely stuck between two packs and all other factors are even, go for the pack listed as open or encouraged. If a pack is closed, sorry -- you're out of luck for now! Note again that you can always join as a loner or switch packs later.
Read the Active Pack Summary.This lists a break-down of each pack -- take careful note of any joining restrictions a pack has. For example, Salsola does not allow non-Luperci joiners, while Del Cenere Gang does not allow canines who are more than 50% wolf to join. If your character doesn't fit these requirements, cross that pack off the list. If that was the one you had your heart set on, you can always change your character.
Hopefully, after browsing the pack summary, you've narrowed your choices down to two or three packs. Investigate these packs a little further by checking out their website and Wiki pages. This is a good place to get a better idea of the pack -- after all, the summary is just that, a summary. Important things to consider include the pack's general culture -- are they closed-off to outsiders and more about intra-pack relations? How does their rank system work? If they have In Character requirements to advance in rank, does your character easily fit into one of the jobs?
If you have specific questions about a pack, the best place to go is that pack's leadership. You can find the leaders listed on the index page beneath each pack's name -- Private Message either leader with your questions, and most will be happy to get back to you!
Your character should be respectful above all. Respect is key to being accepted to the pack -- even if your character does not have any useful skills to provide for the pack, if they are polite, respectful, and express a willingness to learn and work toward the betterment of the pack, in nearly all cases they will be accepted to the pack. Characters are rarely turned away from the borders because of lack of skill -- however, characters who act disrespectful to the leadership can and will be turned away, depending on the alpha character's whim.
Another key to joining a pack is not trespassing. Trespassing is extremely disrespectful -- the pack's border is very much like their front door, and you wouldn't like it if your neighbor barged into your living room, right? Trespassing can be viewed as a major offense by some packs; if your character has trespassed, considering viewing the joining behavior guide for ideas on submissive behavior.
We want to give members the option to join the way they feel most comfortable. 'Souls has traditionally used In Character joining and we wish to continue to offer this option -- thus, players are still able to join packs ICly. However, many roleplayers are also familiar with filling out a template or profile as a joining requirement, so we wanted to make 'Souls more accessible to the different types of roleplayers. We also recognize that members develop characters differently -- while some prefer to write everything out in advance and fill out a profile, others develop characters through threading and would prefer to roleplay with their character before writing a profile.
'Souls is set in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the Maritime provinces along the Atlantic Ocean Canadian coast. Nova Scotia is a peninsula, connected to New Brunswick by the Isthmus of Chignecto. Nova Scotia is surrounded on three sides by water and was sparsely inhabited prior to 1988. For more basic information about Nova Scotia, see the Nova Scotia guide. For more information regarding the types of wildlife typically found in Nova Scotia, see the Flora and Fauna guides.
'Souls is set in the present day. If the year currently is 2015, then it is also 2015 in 'Souls. However, please note that human history and the history of 'Souls diverged in 1988 -- a post-apocalyptic event occurred in 1988 in the 'Souls universe.
Time flows normally In Character. One day Out of Character in the real world is equivalent to one day In Character. Time can be manipulated slightly -- players can forward or back-date threads, manually changing their implied date. Threads are assumed to take place at the date and time they are posted unless forward or back-dated. For more information about time, see Roleplaying at the RP Guide.
No. Various characters have different beliefs -- animism, Greek or Norse polytheism, Christianity, atheism, and even made-up religions. Some beliefs are found clustered in certain areas, but in no way are these beliefs endemic to that area or all-encompasing for 'Souls. Characters are free to believe whatever they'd like.
Within 'Souls, trades commonly occur on an individual and pack basis, and especially between packs with an established trade agreement. For example, one pack might trade some of its livestock for another pack's tanned pelts, or a pack might trade some of its homegrown medicial herbs for a loner's scavenged jewelry. There's also an Outpost (link) which serves as a small marketplace area for transient tradesmen from outside the 'Souls area.
Outside of 'Souls, in Europe and some parts of northern Africa and western Asia, Luperci towns and villages have cropped up, generally sustaining reasonable populations -- trade routes extend between these settlements, but it's safe to assume the economy there functions similar to the “economy” of 'Souls, with individual traders rather than any government-enforced or interfered-with economy. For more information on these cities and the places outside of 'Souls, visit World Territories (link) at the 'Souls Wiki.
Luperci do not have advanced systems of government -- the vast majority of Luperci probably live in pack-like structures, with an authoritarian hierarchy that includes a head ruler (or pair of rulers, as in an alpha male and female pair).
Some areas -- especially in Europe -- may practice this sort of government on a larger scale, including councils of elders and advisors, but for the most part, Luperci will not have developed complex systems of democracy, communism, anarchism, etc. These systems may exist in an extremely primitive form, but if you're thinking of a bejeweled, well-dressed Luperci paying fealty to a royal court, such a system probably does not exist within the 'Souls universe.
Additionally, governments are typically a lot smaller and more localized. There aren't really "countries" of Luperci, and political boundaries don't play a huge role in the lives of Luperci even in advanced areas.
Paper money and coins, no. No Luperci system has developed to the point of such money currencies. Neither are gold, silver, and other sorts of precious metals valued, outside of their practical applications and for certain Luperci who value aesthetics (e.g., a character wishing to trade a gold necklace will get a good trade value only if the other trader has an interest in such baubles).
Luperci economies are barter economies (everyone trades their skills, goods, or labor for other goods, skills, and labor) or gift economies (everyone does for everyone else, with the expectation that such gifts are returned to them later). Advanced systems of economy have not developed -- "companies" of loosely affiliated Luperci may work together, but "corporations" do not exist within the Luperci world.
A majority of characters are Luperci, but we do have a small non-Luperci population. It's personal preference as to whether you want to start off as a Luperci or not -- you can always change your character into one later by having them infected. This icon [Image: werewolf_icon.gif] indicates that a character is a Luperci, while [Image: wolf_icon.gif] indicates that they are a non-Luperci.
If you're interested in learning about travel times, we recommend the travel guide. You can figure out walking speed, trotting speed, and running speed. Looking at the map can also be useful -- you can use the squares to calculate the length of the distance you'd like your character to travel, and then use the average speed to figure it out.
Nowhere the IC history does anyone officially dub the collective territories “Souls” or even “Bleeding Souls.” In general though, we can probably assume that someone somewhere named it such and that the name caught on through repeated usage and that new characters had just “heard” that the area was called such. Some characters do ICly refer to it as such, even if most of the time, the origin of the name is inexplicable.
Since the territories were not officially revealed as being in Nova Scotia until after April 2008, characters never made reference to it as such before then. Retroactively, this may also be chalked up to the fact that there were not nearly as many Luperci capable of reading and writing then, and would have no way of discovering what humans called the area.
Realism
On a scale of 1 to 10, one being absolute fantasy and ten being absolute realism, 'Souls ranks around a solid seven. While we have werewolves and canines that are capable of reading human English and living in old human buildings, among other things, as well as ghosts and other slight supernatural activity, we do not tolerate magic or heavy supernatural elements in-game. We also take heed of things such as the state of decay in the world -- post-apocalyptic realism (e.g., the state of decay in the world) is taken rather seriously in 'Souls. For a character to find a perfect, working condition CD player with batteries and music to play in it would be nearly impossible for various reasons. The same can be said in regards to characters and their backstories -- e.g., players wishing to play exotic species must take into account where these species originate as well as the travel time to 'Souls. Behaviorally, characters are expected to act realistically -- characters who engage in deviant behavior may face In Character consequences for their actions -- e.g., if your character is convicted of a crime against a fellow packmember, the leadership of that pack is able to remove your character from the ranks, rendering your character a Loner.
We would prefer that any concerns regarding other players be brought to the ‘SA. The ‘SA can evaluate the situation objectively, and as we’re the board authority, we know we’re (almost) always right! c;
Members are reminded that trespassing deep into packlands is explicitly against the rules and are advised to report such incidents ASAP to the ‘Souls Assemblage and their leadership. The pack leaders would discuss with the trespasser’s player how to best proceed — the trespasser’s thread may 1) be edited, or 2) remain as-is and pack members would respond with due hostility. In cases where the trespasser is not reported before replies accumulate, the offending player would still discuss options with leadership, though the options would be more limited to accepting various IC consequences.
In most other cases involving realism, all players involved in the thread are usually asked to edit their threads into compliance.
Players who do not wish their characters to be exposed to specific illnesses should simply avoid threading with characters that are ill, or that have already been exposed to illnesses (but who may not yet be symptomatic). Players with sick characters should provide full disclosure to everyone they thread with so there is no accidental exposure. Most canines would also be able to detect symptomatic sickesses by scent and avoid affected individuals.
Naturally, highly contagious diseases can spread without direct contact and would realistically affect all or most inhabitants of a certain area — like a pack, and especially those packs where members are frequently in close quarters, like Anathema. Sick characters should be confined or quarantined where possible to avoid large areas being contaminated.
That said, it would indeed be powerplay for any character to be infected without their player’s permission. If you are interested in infecting your character with a highly contagious disease, do consult your pack’s leadership to discuss the best way to do so without affecting anyone who may not want to be involved. Yes, this will result in situations that are not entirely realistic, but that is a compromise that will need to be made. It’s worth noting that in the wild, sick wolves are frequently driven out of their packs, so that could also be an option (however temporary).
We welcome the utilization of real illnesses and diseases in roleplay, but remember also that serious diseases that are frequently fatal need to be treated as such, especially since Luperci medicine is not very advanced. If you don’t intend for your character to die, it may be best to select a milder sickness. If there are too many plots where characters miraculously recover from fatal diseases, we may need to implement restrictions, and the last thing anyone wants is more rules, right? 8D
As many as you can handle! There's no minimum or maximum for threads. Three or four threads is usually sufficient for maintaining a general level of activity, but some players have been in as many as twenty active threads at once! Just remember you should be careful not to overwhelm yourself. You should never neglect real life duties for roleplaying; if your grades are slipping and you're staying up late to post, consider dropping a few threads--and fast! The other players will certainly understand your plight, and they will sympathize and encourage dropping of threads if your roleplaying habits interfere with your real life. Roleplaying should be a joy, not a stressful chore!
Nope! We use what is sometimes referred to as "liquid time." This means that a thread is always assumed to take place on the date that it is posted. So this means even if a thread that was started on June 15, 2010 is still active come June 15, 2011, the players and anyone reading the thread can assume that the thread takes place on June 15, 2010, its original posting date. See the Roleplaying page for more information regarding time.
Yes. See Self Threads on the RP Guide for specifications.
A read-only thread is a single-post thread for one character, generally intended to be a longer post with no other repliers. Usually, read only threads are used to advance a plot -- e.g., you want your character to find something in a particular area, and you'd like to roleplay it out. See the RP Guide for more information regarding read only threads.
Problems
Absolutely! Just make sure you edit the description so it has your new partner's name. Eg: if you had text that read, "private for Bumblee", you would need to change that to say your new partner's name. It's also good practice to let the old partner know -- they may have simply forgotten!
It is common for threads with several participants to establish a posting order to avoid confusion about who's turn it is. When you start the thread, just follow the order in which the other members join the thread. For example: If there are four thread participants and you are member number three to reply to the thread, your next turn would always be after member number two’s reply, and member number one will always post after member number four. This way you can make certain no one is skipped, and makes it easier to keep an overview of the thread process. There are cases where the thread is set to free or no posting order, and if so you can reply to the thread whenever you want without having to wait for others to post before you.
If the other roleplayer is around, you can contact them and discuss an ending for the thread. The easiest think to do is to edit your last post and add an Out of Character ending. If the other roleplayer is no longer active, you can just make up your own ending within reason. While saying your characters parted ways and left is acceptable, saying your character killed their character is not! :P
You can ask them to speed up or slow down, but note that some roleplayers do take offense to other threaders asking about their thread speed and you should be as polite as possible when asking others to reply faster. Replying too quickly, on the other hand, is usually a different story -- players replying very quickly are usually on top of their threads, and they generally don't mind picking up an extra thread and compensating with slower reply times on your thread.
Another option is to let players know what you prefer when you request threads or ask for threads from specific individuals. If your thread speeds don't mesh and you really want faster or slower threads, you can always plan a thread for later or re-approach the player later. No one will blame you for wanting partners to match your particular speed and preference.
Thread Tags
All Welcome indicates a thread is “open to all roleplayers.” However, it's important to pay attention to the Out of Character information of the post -- it is usually attached before the In Character post itself. Sometimes roleplayers will request that a specific character or type of character (e.g., a member of a specific pack, a member of a specific species, a member who is good at a certain skill) and it's good form to leave a little time for the desired type of roleplayer to reply.
All Welcome + threads are essentially the same as the normal AW, but specifies that the thread is open for multiple participants.
Private threads are intended for a specific roleplayer. Please do not reply to private threads unless they are intended for you. Conversely, do not start private threads without discussing them with their intended recipient first. Sometimes people have many threads and no room for a new one, and you may be out of luck!
If you're comfortable doing so, politely PM them regarding the thread. We suggest the following template:
Quote:Hey!
Sorry to inform you, but the thread (link to the thread) you posted in here was meant to be private. :c You can either write an exit post for your character in your next post, or you can ask in the Maintenance thread for the post to be deleted and your post count reduced (later, you can re-use it in a different thread, if you want! Just make sure you edit it for clarity). Sorry about any inconvenience! :c
Thank you and please let me know what you’d like to do!
Essentially, just PM them and inform them the thread is private, and let them know about their options. Those who accidentally post in a private thread can write an exit post, or they can post to Maintenance and ask for the post to be removed and their post count reduced. Note: A deleted post is one of the few instances post recycling (using the same post repeatedly) is acceptable.
After you’ve PMed them, if they refuse to resolve the issue and/or continue to post, please contact the ‘SA, and we’ll take it from there!
You can ask the extra member to write an exit post; if they don't want to write an exit post, you can have your character leave the thread. As per the AW entrance question below, it's only rude (not against the rules) to jump into a thread late or to reply when the starter requests only one roleplayer.
Yes and no. Threads marked AW are "all welcome" -- that is, free for any roleplayer to join. However, you should always make sure that:
The thread is marked AW+, inviting multiple characters, rather than AW. If someone has already replied to this thread, it's sort of rude to jump in anyway!
The thread isn't already several posts in. If the roleplayers have ten replies already, you should PM them and ask to make sure it's okay that you're jumping in later into the thread. The roleplayers might be planning to close the thread soon, or they have established a particular direction for the thread, which your character may interrupt.
Beyond these two stipulations, you're free to jump into any thread marked AW. It's also not a hard and fast rule that you can't jump into AW threads late or break OOC stipulations for roleplay partners -- it's simply a tad rude and against our roleplaying etiquette. c;
First of all, your All Welcome threads are automatically added to the Open Threads list! We often use Twitter to promote these lonely threads, and there are various members who wear 'Souls Pride Images to promote the Open Threads!
If you're looking for participants, there are a few things you can do to make it easier on other roleplayers! The easier time a person has replying to you, the more likely you are to get a reply, of course.
Our Open Threads list is automated. By tagging your threads AW or AW+, they will automatically be added to the list of open threads.
Make sure you tag your threads properly! Most roleplayers assume untagged threads are private. Make sure you include the AW or AW+ tag.
Start all welcome threads in the neutral lands. If you start a thread deep within your pack's borders, you're kind of narrowing your number of possible participants down to just fellow packmembers, since few outsiders will want to trespass. Neutral lands are accessible to all characters, and thus you have the greatest chance of receiving a reply here.
The easiest place for most people to reply to threads are the territories in the center of 'Souls -- so, check the map. Threads started in Ethereal Eclipse, Shattered Coast, Arachnea's Revenge, the Dampwoods, or Halifax would be great places to start threads, as these places are surrounded by a few packs and it's easy for characters to travel here.
Generally, when roleplayers pick up all welcome threads or start them, they're looking for more relaxed roleplaying. It's a good idea to remember that as you start all welcome threads; if you're looking for a highly involved thread or a drawn-out plot, it's much better to post a request and plot it out beforehand. Lengthy introduction posts can also be intimidating to some roleplayers -- it's okay to write long posts, but sometimes people feel obligated to “match” lengths and may not feel up to writing 1,500 words.
Make sure the setting, date, and time of day are clearly implied, if not outright stated in the OOC information. Some players are uncomfortable replying to a thread if they're not quite sure where it is set or they are uncertain of the time of day. It can also be quite helpful to state whether your character is Lupus, Secui, or Optime.
Other helpful things you may want to include in your OOC information are the number of other participants you'd like or the theme of the thread -- e.g., stating you'd like a friendship to form from the thread, or informing participants your character is in a sour mood and likely to be a jerk. It's okay to request a certain type of response or even a certain type of character -- for example, asking for a male character to reply or requesting a member from a particular pack.
LASKY
LASKYis a sort of "anything goes" forum where various things can be played -- you can play current and past 'Souls characters in different situations, canonical threads in their history, and test potential characters you plan to bring to 'Souls. See the LASKY guidelines for more information about what can be played there.
Posts made in LASKY do not count toward your post count total. They are non-canonical, meaning they don't actually happen, and the roleplaying there is just for fun. Word of the Day does count in the LASKY forum; it is the pack leader's discretion as to whether points collected in the LASKY forum count toward the pack games.
Threads taking place in your character’s past can be canon, whether at ‘Souls or elsewhere. This would be the way to roleplay out threads that were always meant to be, but which you couldn’t roleplay out for whatever reason at the actual time.
It is acceptable for a dream thread played in LASKY to be canon, as long as the dream sequence remains a dream sequence. For example, if Wolf dreamt about meeting Coyote in Europe, he could canonically have dreamt this, but he only met Coyote in a dream, and nothing more.
Please refrain from replying to a joining thread if someone (especially a leader) has already replied. With an additional participant, it slows down the thread. This can be frustrating for a newcomer who just wants to join and get roleplaying! If you would like to find another thread to reply to, you can always check the open thread list or make an AW thread of your own.
The pack's leadership is the best place to receive responses about packs. The leaders run their packs independently, and the staff has little to do with the way the packs are run (including pack ranks, rank updates, co-ranks, etc). For the best and most detailed response, send a private message to the leader or subleader of the pack you have a question about. Although there may be general similarities between packs, each pack is an independently-run entity, and leaders craft their own cultures, identities, and procedures for individual packs.
Rank meanings depend on the pack! All packs have leadership ranks -- but each pack has its own customized ranking system with individual jobs and names. For specific information on pack ranks, you can generally refer to the pack's website.
Pack leaders are to update ranks at least once a month. Some leaders may choose to update more frequently than this -- once every two weeks, for example. Rank updates generally occur toward the beginning or end of the month.
Promotion again depends on the pack. All pack leaders are required to note the increments of a members' post count each month in what is generally referred to as a rank shuffle, rank update, or just promotions. Many packs simply use the number of posts a member makes within a given period to decide whether to promote, leave, or demote them. Other packs, however, use In Character ranking systems -- you'll generally have to complete thread requirements wherein your character performs a specific activity to advance in rank for these packs. Most packs outline their ranking policies on their website; if you can't find this information or you require clarification, please Private Message your leader(s).
Generally, demotion occurs for not posting or posting too few times. Sometimes, leaders will demote characters for In Character reasons -- especially if your character misbehaved. It depends on the pack and the circumstances -- if you haven't been around much, it's likely due to a low post count. If you're not sure why you were demoted, you can ask your leadership.
If your character is switching packs, dies, or leaves the game, you may transfer points from one pack to the other, provided you check with both your old leader and your new leader that the transfer is OK. Both leaders must approve of the transfer for it to be approved.
It's very polite to message your leader so that they know to remove you from the ranks - it's not required, however. Even if you've posted a drop message, it's still a good idea to Private Message your leader and make absolutely certain they know what's going on.
For the most part -- while no pack appreciates uninvited trespassing, some packs maintain good relationships, up to and including alliances. Other packs are on less friendly terms; still other packs are completely neutral. Occasionally, plotted wars occur between packs at the leaderships' whim. In general, packs are neutral to one another -- individual relationships within the pack itself are more important than pack to pack relationships.
Though you are free to develop your character's dislike of a particular pack and even incite violence between your character and a character belonging to another pack, it's important to remember your character's actions can impact the grander relationship between the two packs. If you're not sure whether you'll be causing excessive trouble, it's an extremely good idea to talk to your leadership! There are ways you can still have your fun while avoiding an all-out war between the packs, but you have to make sure to check with the leaders of your pack, who should in turn, communicate with the leaders of the other packs.
Private message your pack leader to let them know you'd like to cash in your points for a prize. Once they accept your request, they contact a Souls Assemblage member to update your title!
It is strongly encouraged you ask your leader regarding any major plots or plots which may disrupt current pack relations. It is possible the Leader(s) of your pack may wish you to change your plot if they don't want tension between their pack and another.
While you don't explicitly need permission to plot, going ahead with such plots risks unwanted In Character consequences such as demotion or even removal from the pack. It's also considered a bit rude not to tell your leader about such plots. :C
Feel free to make an introduction post in the OOC Garbage forum. Let others know you're new! You can always join the 'Souls chat room and hang out with other players there. Meeting and befriending other players is a good way to get involved. It can be intimidating to throw yourself at a new community, but there are plenty of friendly people on 'Souls -- trust us when we say this!
This may seem obvious, but another way to get involved is roleplaying with strangers -- respond to Open Threads to nab yourself some thread partners, check out the Thread Requests forum for people you haven't roleplayed with before, or even write your own thread request seeking players you haven't previously threaded.
We make good use of Twitterto post small and minor updates -- not that we expect you to follow 'Souls, but you'll want to for the most news you could possibly chew on! We have a Tumblr for members to ask anonymous questions, as well. We also have a deviantARTgroup where member artwork as well as forum layouts and other graphics are displayed. Facebookis less often utilized, but you can still post!
Since the Tumblr is manned by the 'Souls Assemblage, questions pertaining to issues generally handled by pack leaders will be asked to submit their concerns to the appropriate leader. Such topics include individual pack policies and laws, joining conditions, traditions, and NPC status. The Tumblr is also not a place to ask the SA personal questions or anything not immediately relevant to 'Souls as a game.
Most other types of questions are welcomed, though please keep in mind that some questions are discussed thoroughly by the SA before an answer is provided, so if your question is not answered immediately, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's been discarded.
If at any time a user makes you feel uncomfortable or is mean to you, we suggest you first ask them to stop and perhaps tell them why it makes you feel uncomfortable. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding or they don't realize they've taken a joke too far. It's amazing how much conflict can be avoided when just one party stops for a moment to carefully consider the situation from an objective perspective. Please stop and think a moment! c:
If you're not comfortable with this, though, or they've taken things extremely far and well past the realm of accidental misunderstanding, please take up the issue with an administrator or other staff member. We attempt to make 'Souls a comfortable roleplaying environment and community for all: our first rule bars disrespect, after all.
Sometimes, players don't get along -- this happens, unfortunately, but if it does and nobody's broken the rules, the 'SA can't do anything. For example, if someone's broken off a plot with you, we cannot issue any consequences. If someone's broken off several plots and threads with you, we still cannot issue consequences -- however, you're well within your rights to stop roleplaying with that player (at any time and for any reason).
Unrelated to roleplay but a possible scenario within any community of diverse people, if you and another player have extremely divergent personalities and are both politically vocal (or some other scenario in which conflict is frequent and heated c;), you're well within your rights to ignore and cease interacting with that player altogether.
Always try and resolve such issues as best you can. However, if you and another player simply cannot avoid conflict and no one's breaking the rules, we encourage you to use technological features to prevent them from contacting you: block their IM names and block their 'Souls account(s) from sending you PMs.
You should be allowed to be comfortable at 'Souls, and if that involves not interacting with certain players, it's within your right to do so! If you do not wish for a player to contact you any longer and are taking technological steps to prevent their doing so, tell them unequivocally so and PM a copy to the 'SA. This should be a last resort -- don't take it lightly!
Hey, I'm sorry, but due to past interactions, I don't feel comfortable with further contact between us. I don't want to roleplay with you anymore, nor receive contact via PMs, chat, or any other method of communication. I'm blocking off methods of communication now; please don't try to circumvent these blocks.
Make sure your no contact order is very clearly stated -- you can edit it if you no longer wish to IM with someone, but are okay with PM contact. You can outright bar someone from roleplaying with you, too -- if they then reply to your AW, the 'SA can remove their post.
If the player then breaks this "no contact" order, the 'SA can enact then consequences for harassment, as it is very clearly against our rules. If, at any time you decide later to rescind this no contact order, please contact the 'SA again with your statement to the player.
Note that the medium of harassment doesn't matter much -- while we cannot directly moderate Discord and other messenger services, harassment of one 'Souls user by another is unacceptable in even those realms, and a user who engages in such behavior can and will be banned from the forum as a whole.
Large announcements from the administrators, as well as major In Character news, large plot updates, etc., are posted in the main News forum. Administrative updates in the Roleplay Aids forum are reflected in the main board header.
Minor updates from the administrators, Open Threads callouts, updates during downtime, and other miscellaneous babble can be found on the 'Souls Twitter.
Individual pack announcements can be found within the pack forum in their header. These announcement boxes are powered by Twitter -- you can also follow the pack accounts to receive updates, or the packs list of the main 'Souls twitter.
Members may PM wanderers with helpful information, but are encouraged to send short, brief messages so as not to overwhelm newcomers further, especially as you have no way of knowing if someone else is also PMing them. :>
'Souls Discord Chat
The 'Souls Discord Chat is for all members and guests at 'Souls. If you're interest in learning about the chat and commands you can use to increase chat functionality, check the 'Soulschat thread.
Newcomers, prospective members, and guests are welcome to hang out in the Discord, yes!
Yes, absolutely! All board rules apply within the chat, and additionally, the chat has its own set of rules detailed here to make the chats as pleasant as possible. All users of the chat, members or not, are required to abide by the chat rules.
No. The Discord is for chatting, not roleplay! You're welcome to roleplay via Discord Private/Direct message with other players, but ask first! You may find that most prefer to simply roleplay on the board, but you can also try the thread requests forum -- ask for chat roleplay.
Discord has been known to have occasional outages. This is entirely out of our control. You can see Discord's status here.
Note that all characters intending to be parents must adhere to the Puppies procedure guidelines -- the parent character(s) must be eighteen months of age or older, one of the two parent characters' players must have six months of membership on the site, and only the member with six months of membership may contribute puppy points. Litter requests are officially made up to four weeks before the birth of the puppies, which means half of the pregnancy must be backdated, if played out. Post your request in the Requests forum, listing the anticipated date of birth, parents, and number of puppies to be born. If the request is rejected, it is possible to re-request in two weeks.
It depends on how many puppies you want. Only activity with the parent character is considered; auxiliaries are not taken into consideration. The activity of the parents are evaluated separately if two parents are contributing puppy points. You should be making at least three posts per week as your parent character to be considered for puppies.
It is possible to re-request in two weeks after an initially denied puppy litter request. Since members are not to roleplay a pregnancy prior to approval, there is no longer a request limit like there used to be. However, it is still possible to play out a pregnancy that has not been approved. Do note that the puppies of such a pregnancy are not permitted to survive. Your character can miscarry the litter; second, the puppies may be stillborn; third, the puppies may be born, but they must die prior to two months of age (preferably as close to the birthdate as possible). Non-played puppies, even if living for the first two months of life, do not occupy a puppy point and provide a way for characters to still experience parenthood in some form.
Now, the fun part! You try and find players for your puppies, if you yourself do not plan on playing them. You should post an advertisement for your character to the Open Characters thread; you could also include a note on your character's signature about how their relative is up for adoption. You can also let your pack leader know -- they can promote your adoptable puppy via the Twitter accounts.
If you cannot find players, you can keep them as a yNPC in the pack until they are older -- this must be discussed with your leaders beforehand. Depending on the leader's wishes, the character may be able to remain as an yNPC indefinitely, waiting for an adopter.
You can also make the characters leave the vicinity of 'Souls somehow -- either they wander off or they are kidnapped, something to that effect. Alternatively, you can kill off your puppy; this does not return the puppy point to you, unfortunately. You'll have to try again next year.
No. Puppies that die before reaching two months of age also do not count toward puppy points.
No. The maximum number of puppies per litter is six, regardless of multiple fathers. In this case, there would be more ways to distribute puppy points, but all three parents cannot contribute their full allotments.
It is worth noting that canine litters in reality can be much larger — fourteen or more puppies in a single litter isn’t unreasonable — but at ‘Souls, we have decided to cap the maximum amount of puppies in any single litter at six. This is in the interest of all players, as too many large litters would create a lot of NPC’d puppies, which become harder to adopt out over time.
Yes -- however, puppy points are required for any live, surviving litter on ‘Souls, and one of the parents must be an active, played character that meets the existing requirements for a litter. The active parent of the litter is the only one eligible to contribute puppy points.
However, NPC x NPC litters are not viable, as there’s no way for an NPC to contribute litter points. As per our puppy procedures, at least one parent of all surviving litters must be actively played.
No. We recommend either making that character your primary (post to the Maintenance thread and ask for this to be done, if you’re interested) or otherwise just paying more attention to them/treating them similar to your primary before attempting to request puppies. :)
Yes. Reproduction requires the consent of both parent characters’ players, even in cases of non-consensual sex. It would be powerplaying to force another character into parenthood without their player’s consent.
Open Characters
You may post an open character advertisement when you have been accepted as a member of 'Souls -- i.e., when someone has posted the Automated Acceptance Message for your character. If you post before this time, your information will be removed and PMed to you.
The Open Characters thread itself has some very useful tips on how to get your open character adopted as well as some outside places to advertise them. If you've just posted them to the Open Characters list, why don't you try posting them somewhere else, too? There are plenty of directories that allow listing of characters in roleplaying games.
No, sorry. We do not change post counts or reset them once a new player picks up an existing character.
Yes. Even if your character is already a member of the pack and titled, we do require a new game joining application from the new player. The date that the joining application was posted is also useful for noting when exactly a player picked up a certain character.
IN CHARACTER joining threads may not be required -- this varies according to each pack, however. If you are uncertain, double check with your pack's information or ask a leader.
You may, but we highly prefer if you simply create a characters page on the 'Souls Wiki instead. You can also add it to the Open Characters category.
If you quit or went inactive as an Open Character you adopted, a player may choose to find a new player for that character. If you are uncomfortable with this, you may wish to make that very clear to the adopter when you intend to pick up a character. Some players don't recycle characters and you can still adopt, but many players will attempt to find new players if the original player quit on them, so it's best that you're up-front about this!
We feel it's unfair to players who use puppy points; allowing off-board puppies in the Open Characters list circumvents puppy procedures at worst and detracts attention away from on-board puppies at best. Therefore, we feel it's best not to allow them in such an "official" list. However, do note that we are not saying you cannot create off-board children and attempt to have them adopted -- e.g., via signature advertising, asking friends to pick them up, or otherwise. We simply wish to disallow these characters to be posted to the official list -- you can certainly still make off-board puppies.
If you're not good with fancy codes or programs, you can feel free to request made for you by other members of the board. We have a whole subforum for requests for a reason, after all, so feel free to use it for just that!
We recommend JPG, GIF, and PNG, depending on the situation. BMP should never be used. Note that you should take into account not only file quality but load time, as well -- large PNG images can take quite a while to load and they put a strain on your server, as well. They should be avoided; use a JPG for large files. PNG is useful for transparency. If all of this talk of filetypes utterly confuses you, it's your best bet to use JPG.
A table is a small graphical layout for individual posts, personalized to the character. Many users on 'Souls enjoy using them; some users reinforce a particular mood in a thread using a table, and other users rotate tables at random.
Tables are not mandatory; the regular forum text works just fine for posts if you can't be bothered with all that other stuff. We do ask that you bold your speech text, however -- this simply makes for easy reading and discerning speech from action. This is very simply done with BBcode: [b*]"speech here"[/b*], removing the * sign.
Unfortunately, your table wasn't readable to them. Your table is either unreadable in general, unreadable to their browser due to faulty coding, or unreadable due to a visual issue the person simply cannot help. In any case, it'd be very rude not to oblige their request and switch your table over. After all, if you can't see the color blue or differentiate between shades of blue and someone's using a table with blue text on a blue background, you wouldn't be able to read it, right?
People use too low contrast or possibly too much contrast. Try adjusting the text colors of your table; this is the easiest fix. Text shadow that blends or contradicts with the background color too much can also render a table unreadable -- there are numerous common mistakes in table-making.
As for readability, you can try adjusting the text color yourself -- this is generally the biggest problem with tables. Try to fix or adjust these tables if you can -- your fellow roleplayers will thank you for it. If you're not certain whether your table is readable, you can post it to the Talents forum and other users will give you feedback; someone will certainly fix up your tables if you're not into messing with code!
Minimum table width is 300 pixels. Even this is extremely thin and can cause readability problems. We recommend 400 pixels or more for your tables. You can use percentages in your table CSS to define a table that is as wide as the forum post itself; however, it may be difficult to create images that will accomodate this and we don't recommend it for beginner table artists.
The maximum width for a table is 698 pixels. Tables exceeding this width stretch the forum skin.
Post logs are basically chronological lists of all the threads a character has participated in and are a way for players to keep organized with the happenings of their character's life. They're also a great resource for other players to quickly look up a certain thread involving a certain character. Post logs often include the name of the thread, the URL, the date, the characters involved, the setting, and a brief summary of what took place. Some players also choose to mark whether they've replied to a thread or if the thread is moving fast or slow, among other useful things.
While character post logs are generally useful for more than just the character's player, graphic logs are more for the specific player's convenience. They are quick dumps of the tables and other graphics they're using so they can grab the code easily. Occasionally, players also choose to credit the tables and other graphics in graphic logs. Keep your post log in the Post and Graphics Logs forum.
Your signature is attached to each and every post you make at 'Souls after the post. Signature areas are quite useful, as they are seen by anyone who looks at your post closely. Some players find it useful to include not only typical decor such as images and lyrics, but also pack pride images, 'Souls Promo buttons, or even slow/scarce notices.
The maximum width for signatures is 698 pixels, while the maximum height for signatures is 400 pixels. The Graphics Guide has more information about signatures, including a graphical guide on how to update your signature.
Avatars are usually character images. They are displayed underneath your forum username to the left of your post and are a great way to let other players know what your character looks like at a glance. You can update your avatar by going into the User Control Panel and looking for "Edit Avatar" on the left sidebar. The Graphics Guide has more information about avatars as well as a handy image guide on how to update your avatar.
Copyrighted images are not allowed for use on the board as avatars, in signatures, or in tables. Photographs should be Creative Commons or free stock images, and photographers should be credited with a link back to their photography account or website.
This is because using these images is actually a violation of the law! It's illegal to use copyrighted material without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. For more information about copyright, check out copyright.gov. While copyright law varies by country, the majority of players at 'Souls are American, and our servers are also hosted in the United States -- therefore, we must adhere to U.S. copyright law.
Your own artwork can always be used for graphics, of course. You made it, after all! Artwork that is not your own work may be used IF AND ONLY IF:
The artist allows public use of their work in forum avatars, RPGs, etc.
The 'Souls member provides a text link or other attribution to the artist's gallery.
The art is not claimed to be the work of the 'Souls member.
Violating the third principle is art theft and can result in an immediate ban from the game. We take copyright and art theft both very seriously at 'Souls.
If you have commissioned a work from someone (e.g., you paid for someone else's art of your character) you are obviously allowed to use it. :)
We highly prefer if you leave a link-back to the artist's page and properly attribute the work to the artist, even in these cases. Firstly, it gives the artist a little more exposure; secondly, it lets everyone know where you got the art from and that you're abiding by 'Souls graphics and art use rules. :)
Games
First, try reading our page on Spotlight and Community Souls. Also keep in mind that we select a CS based on OOC participation. This might mean welcoming new members, helping members out, making gifts (eg: tables, avatars, pictures), updating the Wiki, and participating in Chat and fostering a positive environment. For the SS, we look at IC participation. Replying and making AW threads, replying quickly to threads, plotting with newer members, and making IC events for others to participate are all great things we look for! We have an archive of past Spotlight and Community Souls for you to browse! Check out other people's information and see how they won Spotlight and Community Soul.
A character must have made at least 6 posts totalling at least 1200 words for a thread to count for a Catacomb. If the thread dies before proper completion, it also must not be the fault of the player claiming the Catacombs skull.
The Catacombs are a reward system for IC and OOC achievements. The more you participate in the board, the more Catacombs you can collect! For more information, check the Catacombs page.
The Word of the Day game is a fun game where you can expand your vocabulary and earn points toward titles and icons. The Word of the Day post is located in the Roleplay Aids forum. Note that LASKY posts do count for Word of the Day.
It depends. If your character(s) are in the same pack, it is fine to combine game points and purchase a title for either character. If your character is in a different pack, you must request to the leadership of BOTH packs to transfer your points. Points transfer is at the discretion of the pack’s leadership.
The pack game is an incentive for members to join packs and therefore is not offered to loners or creatures. Additionally, since there is no leader to run it, there wouldn't be anyone to completely take over it (plus, having a leader for the loners is a little paradoxical!).
The 'Souls yearbook is a yearly compilation of active characters throughout the year. Each December, the administration posts up yearbook interest topics as well as superlative suggestions, and members vote and suggest superlatives. Keep an eye out for the yearbook each December.
This would go to the pack leadership. Pack leaders control pack games and there is no board-wide game aside from Word of the Day and the Catacombs.
There are quite a few boardwide contests and games throughout the year -- Christmas in July and Secret Santa are held in July and December. Players swap graphical sets with one another in this thread. Each January, SoSuWriMo is held. This is a month-long writing contest where players attempt to hit 50,000 words and is generally craziness.
Board-wide games of several types have been discussed before, and generally the feeling is that pack games provide such a good incentive for characters to join packs, it would be counterproductive to implement a board-wide game and possibly increase the number of loners. Nevertheless, if you have a suggestion you think is unique and easy to implement, feel free to PM it to a staff member. If your idea doesn't work out for a board-wide game, you can always suggest the idea to the leaders for pack games.
If there are enough active members to support a new pack, any member may attempt to create a new pack by following the guidelines on the Pack page. This means that pretty much any character may become a leader by starting a new pack. However, it is important to realize that creating and maintaining a pack is a huge responsibility, and that even if a pack is successfully created, its first few months will be very trying. Many packs in the past have ended up disbanding within a short amount of time because there were not enough members to sustain it, its members were not active enough, or there was dissension in the ranks. Before attempting to start a new pack, it is highly recommended to survey other members for interest and to discuss a solid foundation. All pack leaders have moderation access over their pack forums; however, as IC leadership is separate from OOC leadership, leaders are not considered staff.
If you'd like to become a sub- or co-leader of an already existing pack, a general rule is to not ask to become one. Be active in your pack and thoughtful in your posts. Greet newcomers at the border for your existing leader(s), mentor newer members of the pack. Help where you are asked to help, and help where you think you can be useful. And be consistent! There is no magic formula to becoming a leader and no guarantee, but trust your existing leader to recognize good and consistent behavior. Remember, too, that roleplaying isn't about ranks or leadership.
Many of the same ideas apply for wanting to become part of staff (that is, a moderator or an administrator). Contribute to the site, both ICly and OOCly. Participate in board activities, discussions, or whatever else is going on around the board. Don't start or reply to dramatic or provocative posts. Be helpful, but don't "play moderator" if it isn't your job. If you want to be on staff, you should want to be staff to help and contribute to the site, not because of a shiny key or the "prestige" of being staff (and, speaking from collective experience, the trouble, stress, and drama of staff far outweighs whatever "prestige" comes along with it).
All staff members submit their character and puppy requests to the moderator forum for the rest of the staff to evaluate. Upon joining with a character, administrators (but not moderators, as they are unable to title accounts) can accept themselves.
Leadership
If, after a thorough SA investigation, a solo leader is found to be unable or unwilling to fulfill all leadership duties, and there does not appear to be any suitable candidates for leadership amongst the existing pack membership, the pack will be disbanded. The ‘SA does have internal procedures regarding leader removal in place, but we’ve never needed to resort to them.
In most cases, if a leader is having issues of any kind and/or there are member complaints, the ‘SA will work extensively with the leader and all involved parties to mediate disputes, sort out grievances, create compromises, and get the situation straightened out without resorting to drastic measures.
We honestly believe if a leader is unsuitable for leading, their pack will disband naturally. Players will leave and take their characters elsewhere, and if this happens enough times, the pack will drop below the numerical requirements to retain pack status (7 players).
If you’re unhappy in your pack, we highly encourage you to include the ‘SA in the discussion. We’re not aware of any issues you have until you bring them to us — or, if we are aware of them, our information on the subject is second-hand and unsubstantiated.
Unfortunately, however: unless a leader is breaking the standard leadership procedures for all leaders, the ‘SA can only tell players to find a new pack for their characters. Leaders are free to run their packs however they’d like within the confines of our procedures and guidelines, so as long as the rules of the game are satisfied, there’s not much the ‘SA will do about it.
In regards to NPC absences, leaders and their characters are treated like any other member. That is, NPCing the character counts as dropping the character, and the player of the character is no longer a leader. It is up to the remaining leader(s) to decide whether to reinstate the character and its player into their previous leadership position when/if the character comes off NPC status.
A pretty big deal. We expect a great deal out of our leaders and there is a lot of responsibility involved. Leaders are given moderation powers over their pack’s forum, access to the private leader forum, and nearly limitless power to do as they will with their pack’s IC and OOC structure, contests and games, website, ranks, etc. Leaders do essentially run their own little enclave of ‘Souls members, and it’s important for leaders to be responsible, mature, and capable.
Leaders are subject to the same activity standards as other members and must post at least once every four weeks. Failure to do so results in removal, as per ‘Souls activity guidelines.
Moderators
Members that consistently show real helpfulness, sincerity, dependability, and an ability to conduct themselves responsibly and kindly are favored for modship. If all of SA agrees on a person, agrees that we need an additional mod, and the individual in question is receptive, then they will become a mod. If we’re not unanimous on the person, if we don’t think we need another mod at the moment, or if the person isn’t interested, then they won’t become one. :>
Specific problems are worked through on a case-by-case basis, and historically, staff members have been mature and aware enough to remove themselves from situations or positions that come into conflict with their other interests.
There are internal policies in place for the removal of both moderators and administrators for breach of conduct, but we have yet needed to resort to them.
Maintenance Aides
The selection process for maintenance aides is similar to the selection process for moderators. We look for many of the same qualities, such as dependability, maturity, and responsibility, though there's less of an emphasis placed on user interaction as the duties of a maintenance aide are limited to board maintenance. That isn't to say that helpfulness to other players and general initiative wouldn't benefit a maintenance aide candidate; they're just less important for the maintenance aide than for moderators.
The 'Souls Assemblage
The 'Souls Assemblage works together to draft responses to most every message. If it's a "usual issue" or a recurring question, we tend to respond immediately, but if the issue requires any kind of discussion on our end, the responses may sometimes take a few days to even a week, unfortunately! In the same respect, with issues of low priority (e.g., a permission question regarding custom titles as opposed to a board-wide procedures question) we may be slower in answering, as there are frequently other high-priority issues to attend.
If you feel the 'SA has forgotten about your inquiry, please send us another message -- chances are, we haven't, but as we're human too, mistakes can (and do) happen!
WE ARE NINJAS. NINJAS MUST NEVER BE SEEN. /hides
Yeah, a lot of us are invisible. :> The reasons vary by individual, but a lot of us prefer invisibility to keep extra pressure off ourselves. Sometimes we’re around, but not necessarily in the mindset to do administrative work. Often, if someone sees an administrator online, they expect instantaneous responses to various issues (“So and so is online, why haven’t they replied to my Request topic? Or my PM? Or this or that?!?!”), which isn’t necessarily fair to us. We’re people and players too, and we do think we deserve “off” time, even if we happen to be on the board.
We’re absolutely dedicated to addressing matters in a timely manner, and you’re free to let us know if you think we’re slacking on specific things, but we want to be able to handle things on our own schedule. We hope that makes sense and that you guys can understand that!
If the PM is about an issue that requires discussion, it will be reposted in the SA forum for all to see and discuss and to keep better records.
If the PM is a minor issue, non-issue, or easily answered question, whoever sees it first will usually respond. Other SA members would only see it if they’re digging through or cleaning up the inbox.
If you believe an individual administrator has been rude to you, please send a copy of the chat or IM log or forward a PM to another individual member of the ‘Souls Assemblage — we’ll address your concerns the best we can.
In general, we do strive for a professional, if firm, tone in our official interactions with members — this is arguably one of the most difficult parts of administrating. Too casual and we’re not taken seriously and we may even come across as condescending; too overbearing, denigrating, or otherwise negative, and it is rudeness.
Though it may not necessarily be the case, we know that enacting consequences for poor behavior is sometimes considered “rude” — we can’t do anything to help that. :( Do understand that we always make an effort to be fair, but sometimes, there isn’t really a “nice” way to communicate what we need to communicate.
Post to the Maintenance Thread, which has instructions as to what you should do in each scenario. If the exact mistake isn't listed, just try to be descriptive when you post about your problem.
For sensitive issues (e.g., issues relative to another member, like a PM dispute, etc.) you should always PM a 'Souls Assemblage member. Posting about sensitive issues in public is strongly discouraged. o:
Post to the Maintenance Thread with DETAILED information about what's not working. "It doesn't work" is not detailed. Please be specific about what exactly is breaking, where it is breaking, what you are trying to do, etc. Always include a link, if possible. Screenshots are especially helpful for reproducing errors.
Tell the pack's leaders -- the 'SA doesn't correct errors on pack websites and pack information. Many packs have pack Maintenance threads located in the Pack News forum where you may post updates. Other packs even have a guest account for you to login to their website and fix errors (read the pack's rules before you edit, please). Otherwise, you can always PM the leaders.
If you get the max_user_connections error, do not refresh. Give it some time and come back later; the server is getting overloaded with database connections. There's nothing we can do to fix this error, unfortunately, save springing for extremely expensive private server hosting.
If you get the "Mail Error! Could not send the email. Failed at 'mail' command" error while sending a PM, the account you are sending a message to does not have an email address set. The PM will still have gone through successfully. Please alert the owner of the account that they should fill in an email for the account.
If you receive the error while replying to a thread, someone subscribed to the thread does not have an email set to their account. The reply will still have gone through successfully. If this is an IC thread, it may be your thread partner(s) -- please alert them so they can set an email to their account. If it is an OOC thread, post in the Maintenance Thread and an administrator will manually unsubscribe everyone from the thread.
The Questions & Help forum is the place to receive board-wide feedback about characters, ideas, plots, etc. You can ask generalized questions here. If you're looking for permission to do something, you're looking for the Requests subforum.
If you have a question that you'd prefer to ask anonymously, you can head to the Tumblr to ask those questions. The administration will get back to you with an answer shortly. Note that we highly prefer for only generalized questions to be asked of the Tumblr. It's not a very conducive method of discussion, and in the case that you're asking after a specific situation, we would prefer to be contacted via PM, as it allows for open discussion on both sides.
You can help 'Souls in plenty of ways! First of all, be an awesome member -- help newcomers become accustomed to the site, fulfill people's thread requests and graphics requests, if you're capable of doing so. People make introduction posts in the OOC G forum all the time; respond to those posts and make new players feel welcome in the game. Be friendly and helpful to your fellow player, essentially! Our friendly and open community has always been one of our best aspects, so you can certainly help us out by keeping up with these awesome traditions.
Additionally, if you see anything wrong -- point it out for us! 'Souls is a huge game, and the administrators and moderators are not omnipresent. Basic errors and the like should be listed in the Maintenance Thread. If you see someone breaking a rule, you should Private Message the 'SA. Don't try to handle rule infractions on your own -- that's what the administration is here for! :)
Maybe! We're always open to suggestions, so you can post your suggestion in the Requests and Suggestions forum for the administration. If you're uncomfortable posting in public, you can private message your suggestion to an administrator or the 'Souls Assemblage account itself.
'Souls has a ton of forum skins, actually! You can change your forum skin by going to your User Control Panel and looking for My Board Style in the sidebar underneath the Board Preferences header. Check the drop down for a list of skins.
A custom icon is a custom-designed icon, displayed beneath a player's avatar when they post to the forum. Custom icons are generally made for a player by the 'SA. Players can attempt to make their own custom icons -- however, note that the 'SA has the final say as to whether an icon is acceptable, and may edit your icon or remake it entirely. If you're not comfortable making an icon, just request it, please.
Custom titles are small snippets of custom text in custom colors applied beneath a player's avatar when they post to the forum. Colorized fade text is common in titles; many players attempt to find esoteric or rare words that describe their character or tiny snippets of song lyrics. Some players choose to apply titles that apply to themselves as players rather than their character. Still other players choose silly titles for their accounts.
No, there is no enforced minimum. However, we suggest you are capable of writing two paragraphs (200 words) in your posts. If your posts are consistently below this length, you may be pointed in the direction of the Questions & Help where you can receive tips on how to make your posts longer and better. We're all in this to improve, right?
Try to devote more detail to what you are already writing about, first. Be careful not to delve into the inane -- in other words, no one really wants to read about the tiny details surrounding your character's childhood when they have nothing to do with what's actually going on. Re-read the previous post carefully, and try to pick certain things to react to -- a physical reaction of the other character, their speech, or even a thought of the other character. If nothing else, you can do something in your post, too -- try something changing in the scenery or even attempting to move your characters elsewhere to continue the conversation or action.
Try reading someone else's writing for a while -- not just other roleplaying threads, but books and magazine articles, too. Listening to music that reminds you of your character(s) can inspire some, while others find tidying up their post logs and profiles helpful. Inspiration comes from many sources, and you'll just have to find yours. Failing all else, you may want to try a prolonged break -- consider NPC Status for prolonged periods of time.
You can do a few things here -- if your character is thinking a lot and not acting, you can try to cut those paragraphs out. Details can also be cut.
If you're really attached to a particular paragraph but you've realized your post is excessively long, you can cut it and save it for another post later. Make certain you modify the paragraph adequately so it fits and makes sense for the situation; for example, it wouldn't be very sensible to cut material from a thread where your character is thinking about a traumatic event and re-use it in a thread where they are happy and thinking about good things.
Alternatively, you can try to stack actions in certain paragraphs and tell players that other paragraphs are mostly thought-based and can be skipped. Thought and writing from a character's perspective can be important for development, so few players should mind this, and most will appreciate that you let them slide where super-long posts are concerned if you allowed self-introspection to get away from you.
