PMDSC General Forum and Roleplay Rules

Obey the Staff

This is fairly simple - when one of the staff asks you to do something or to stop doing something, please listen to them unless JamestheTyphlosion nullifies the request. If you disagree, please remain polite but send James or another staff member a PM about it. And if you disagree with one of us, but James has decided your argument is not solid, the decision still stands.



Be Polite ; No Flaming

Again, a fairly straightforward and simple rule. However, sometimes it seems to be a difficult one to follow. If things seem to be leading to an argument, please just stop communicating! There is really no need to allow a conversation to grow so far out of control. It is better not to talk than it is to start an argument. Flaming is never allowed- there is no reason or call for blatant disrespect, name calling, and just general nastiness. If you insist on being needlessly nasty, we insist that you leave, simple as that.



No God-Modding

God-Modding is giving a character an unfair advantage or ability that does not leave reasonable room for the other player to do anything or combat it. This particularly refers to making your characters 'god-like', unbeatable, unreasonably and unrealistically all-powerful, or even all-knowing, to where they know, understand, or realize more than they should. No character should be infallible. They must all have weaknesses to balance out their abilities, and only know what they would be able to realistically.

Example of God-Modding-
The Staryu started to grow for no reason, becoming three times as large as the Gyarados. The gem in it's center glowed brightly, and the starfish Pokemon unleashed a stream of bubbles that were harder than the strongest diamonds. The power was unbeatable, and each of the diamond-hard bubbles was as big as the Gyarados they zoomed toward!



No Power-Playing

Power-playing is controlling a character that you should not be able to control, a character that is not yours. You have control over the thoughts and actions of your characters, and your characters ONLY. Other players' characters, NPCs, or random generic characters may only be controlled by the other player to whom the character belongs or by staff. In extreme cases, this can also refer to guessing / assuming another character's next move or actions; sometimes mild assumptions are alright, but you must be careful with them. (For example, you may assume that if you and a friends' characters are handed items that their character will take theirs even if they have not posted doing so yet. But, in this it may be good practice to ask just in case if you are able and don't be offended if someone asks you to change it because the actual reaction is different!)

Example of Power-Playing-
Sydney was walking along the route, minding her own business, with only her Girafarig for company. Out of nowhere, a Skitty leaped onto the path in front of Sydney. The Skitty growled at the trainer, so she urged her Girafarig to fight. "Psybeam, now!" she commanded. The Girafarig obeyed, and unleashed a beam of psychic energy at the Skitty. The attack scored a critical hit, and the lower leveled normal-type fainted immediately.


Role-Playing

Posts are to be kept in the third person, past tense (speech does not have to be). Never use first or second person or future tense; however, present tense is acceptable in some situations. If you prefer to RP using present tense, just remember to keep your posts in that tense! Generally though you are writing your characters' actions, and when someone else reads them they are usually taken as already done.

All posts within the Role-Play should be 'In Character'- meaning they should be written from your character's point of view and include only what they would see and know and do. Posts by other members and staff will be 'in character' as well, so remember that they have nothing to do with you personally.

If you would like to add an 'Out of Character' comment to your RP posts, you must clearly mark it as such! Keep it separate from the RP part of your post and label it 'OOC' or put it in a pair of brackets e.g. (hi), [hi] or {hi}. The main focus of the RP areas is Role-playing, so if you make a habit of writing longer 'OOC' comments than your 'In Character' posts (mainly when not relating to the RP or characters in the RP), you will be warned. Don't be afraid to leave an OOC comment though!



No SPAM / Double Posting

SPAM, or 'stupid pointlessly annoying messages', should be avoided. Basically, this refers to posts that are completely random and that do not go with the topic of the thread they are posted in at all. It can also mean one-word posts or overusing smilies or colours in your posts. If your post does nothing more than annoy people, then it can probably be considered SPAM. Don't do it.

Double posting is another thing to be avoided. This means posting twice in a row in a thread without any responses in between. There are some sections of the forum where Double Posting is allowed, however. Authors/Artists may double post in their own Creative Corner threads if they have new art or writing to share but no one has posted since their last update. If there are any doubts in which double posting would be okay, just ask!



Forum is PG-13

This site is rated PG-13. As such, certain things should not be posted here!

Out of Character-
Be careful with controversial topics, such as religion, politics, and sexual orientation. Generally it is best to avoid these topics. Such topics will be monitored heavily, so either avoid them or be very careful and always be respectful about them.

Racism is not allowed at all. Someone's place of birth or the colour of their skin is really quite a trivial matter, particularly on an Internet forum where you cannot see each other anyway. Don't like a particular race? Seriously, no one cares- deal with it. On this site, displaying a racist attitude is considered flaming and is a zero-tolerance offense.

No explicit or crudely vague sexual content. You may discuss romance/love and crushes or relationships you may have. However, do not go into any details of an intimate nature. It is not necessary on the forum.

No cursing- none. Zero. You may use pseudo-cursing, such as shiz, carp, crud, ratz, fudge, and similar things, but only for minor curse words or phrases. Do not do so excessively!

In Role-Play (AKA 'In Character)-
Again, be wary of controversial topics. You should not be using your character as a way to display your personal feelings on controversial issues. Just keep it reasonable and it should be fine.

Racism is allowed, in moderation. As stated above, do not use your character to show your own racist beliefs or feelings. If your character is excessively ugly (in this regard at least), well, they may not be allowed here. Be very careful when RPing racism.

No explicit sexual content. This is not a porno. Your characters are free to have romantic interests and even to pursue them- but do not go into any details in the role-play. It is not necessary - if you wish to portray those parts, they cannot be done on this site and do not push it if someone does not wish to.

Keep cursing to a minimum! Your characters are allowed to curse on occasion, but only milder phrases and not excessively. If you want a potty mouth character, use pseudo-cursing and censoring (IE askfksd or *****). Even so, keep it under control. Absolutely no use of the phrases GD, FU, MF, SoB, and such.



Art Theft

Art theft is not tolerated under any circumstances! Do not claim to have created or made something that you did not. Do not use something without having permission to do so. If asked or required to give visible credits for an image, do so. Really, this is not so difficult to follow.

You may use 'Official' images- such as official Pokemon art and Anime screenshots or official Images from other franchises. Stating that they are 'official' is optional, but good practice. You may also use 'Free to Use' images, so long as you follow whatever rules the creator may have regarding their use. Again, unless they require visible credits, putting them is optional but good practice.

Otherwise, you must ask permission from the creator to use the image. If you cannot request permission, then do not use it!



Warnings

We use Proboards' nifty Warning bar system. When the bar fills up, you will be banned. The amount a warning will fill the bar depends on the severity of the rule broken. Generally, we follow a "three strike, you're out" policy, however more severe rule infractions may fill the bar quite a bit or even result in an instant ban. For mild rule breaking, you may receive only a small warning as well, at least for the first offense. Arguing or complaining about a warning publicly or harassing the Staff will lead to more severe warnings or banning.