what are some important rules you should have for an forum rp?

[fruity20 19]

like how to treat others, character creation, and some other stuff.

[Kazetatsu 263]

there are a few standard rules every site has which boil down to

 

respect others./no rudeness (sometimes broken down into no xyz topics that are known to cause drama, no passive aggression and others)

no godmodding (making a character who's so perfect/powerful that it breaks the setting)

no powerplaying (controlling or auto hitting another player's character)

no metagaming (using ooc knowledge icly)

no minimodding (trying to do staff jobs if you're not staff, or telling others how they should rp)

 

post things in the correct boards

no spamming

don't put things in the setting that don't fit with the rp. (like a medieval knight in a sci-fi setting)

 

most other rules are subjective to the type of rp culture you want there to be, or the setting you make, which vary greatly from rp to rp

 

by rp culture a few questions which might lead to rules are.

do you want people to use character accounts or not use them or don't care?

do you want people to write applications/biographies for their characters before they play?

do you want people to use a particular aesthetic of images? (real life anime drawings etc)

if yes to using images of real life or anime, is faceclaiming necessary?

do you want people to always post in 3rd person, or do you not mind 1st or other less commonly used styles?

do you care if people have a ton of characters, or do you want them to limit to one or two?

 

by setting

do you want there to be rules about how time passes in the rp and how players document it? (linear, liquid, somewhere in between? don't care?)

do you want there to be rules about how characters travel (can they be in simultaneous threads miles or continents apart?)

do you want there to be battle rules, xyz number of dodges, power/magic systems etc?

do you want characters to start at a low level and level up?

do you care what species people play as or do you not mind if they make their own?

and so on.

 

I personally like seeing fewer of these types culture and setting rules in rps as I like settings and styles that are more free for all styles, and so able to accommodate a wider range of play styles as well as more of the fringe rpers, but some rp styles make them necessary.

Edited January 21, 2019 by Kazetatsu

[Morrigan 1,826]

I don't have necessarily anything hard and fast but I do have a guide on some do's and don'ts.

 

[Kit the Human 759]

Like @Kazetatsu said (and Morrigan's guide!) It really depends on what kind of community you want, who you're catering for (what kind of people you would like to rp with), how you enjoy rping, your genre and what kind of admin you are.

 

For example, my rules on my current site are all geared towards making my site as low stress and casual as possible. So it has activity expectations that are looser than I would have for a non-multigenre forum and refrains from telling people how they should rp, leaving that up to the players decide amongst themselves.

 

So when I settle down to write my rules I ask myself, who do I want to RP with? These are usually people like my friends. So then I ask, how would I attract them with my rules? For a non multigenre that means:

- 1 in character post a month (lenient for adults, but still insists that we try to move forward)

- no minimum word count (my friends will pump out lengthy posts, but it's sometimes unnecessary)

- age restriction (I want to chill out with people my age)

- an anti-discrimination rule that heavily leans towards being queer friendly without being combative (because of who I am)

-  not what I consider are silly play by restrictions (my friends are perfectly capable of finding an appropriate play by). Allows both illustration and photographic playbys (I love art)

- the typical power playing, god modding, metagaming set

- lenient application process (but that's because I'm more interested in people having enough information written down to facilitate plotting)

 

There's no hard and fast list that you should have however. Or a template that you can grab to adjust to suit. Just write your rules, let them sit for two days and then revisit them, asking yourself if you would have any questions about what you can or can't do.

[Rhindeer 217]

Create rules that reflect the sort of community you want.

 

For example, my community is very consent based. I don't have rules again powerplaying or godmoding or anything. Instead, I encourage players to set their own boundaries (by filling out a "Limits" form that is linked to their profile) and for each player's boundaries to be respected. I encourage cooperation and for people to seek out players they are compatible with. There are some players who are more stringent about "no powerplaying!", and then there are others, like me, who don't really care. So I encourage openness, and for people to just communicate and do what's fun for them.

 

I also have rules that sort of define the sort of site culture we represent. We don't allow for the mocking or pronouns or triggers or anything like that, so anti-PC edgelords can know right away that they can either behave and adapt and we'll get along fine, or they can choose not to, in which case their stay will be very short and uncomfortable (for them).

 

Try to use your rules as a place to define the kind of culture and community you want to see. And also, don't feel like you have to have a rule for EVERYTHING. That's exhausting and not a good look. Your rules can be broad, and you CAN take action against something that is disrupting your space even if "it's not technically against the rules".

 

Character creation...that's very dependent upon your game, and depends upon how strict or lax you wanna be. I barely have any rules at all on that--mine are basically "original characters only, don't use other peoples' intellectual property, make sure your character fits the setting." Bam. That's it. Other games may want, or need, more. Tailor it to your own needs.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Viscount Rhi-Rhi

[Byrn 102]

I think an important part of rules that often gets overlooked is a clear definition of boundaries and limits. An outline of warnings. What sorts of things receive a direct ban/suspension and what sort of things receive a number of warnings. While obviously some things will be dealt with on a case by case basis, it will help everyone to have clear boundaries. Having a set number of warnings for a certain offense will keep staff from giving warning after warning for the same thing and in this instance, everyone is aware of these boundaries. If someone receives a warning for power playing then they know, they have one more warning left before other measures are taken and the staff can't be faulted for blindsiding someone with a ban.  Predefining things like that will remove a lot of stress and will function as a deterrent and reminder without actually having to issue a warning. It also gives members an idea of how dedicated you are to maintaining the sort of culture you strive for and how you handle certain things. 

 

Because honestly if racist douchebag comments get three warnings where activity gets none (an extreme example, yes... and I'd be horrified to find a site like that...) I know where priorities lie and as a member that saves me the stress and effort of joining and finding that out later. I like to see what sort of things staff are more strict on and where they are lenient and compassionate.

[Morrigan 1,826]

I actually wholeheartedly disagree @Maevis It's stated in the guide above but this is an amazing post in a thread about staff actually telling their members the outcomes:

 

When I see a list of "We'll ban you for this" or "we'll warn you for this" I will walk away no questions asked because at that point I feel like I'm walking on a thin line between being banned or warned whether I would truly cross that line or not. If your rules are structured well enough it should cull the behavior you described regardless but in the end the staff make the call on how it's dealt with. Strict outlines like you're describing don't allow for extenuating circumstances and possibly misinterpreted text, which does happen all the time unfortunately.

[Somniac 207]

Ugh. I agree with both Morrigan and Maevis on this. For one, I want to see the priorities. And yet, when I see a strike system it tends to read as way too excited about dat banhammer.

[Valiant 9]

The rules of engagement/interaction/processes are well laid out in the previous posts. How about the rules regarding how the content is used? Should content be group-owned since it's a collaborative effort? Or should each RPer hold the rights to their part of the story? Would you consider having the rights defaulting to the site to avoid possible conflicts should the RPers claim their creations?  What if a player chooses to leave, taking whatever they contributed to the site and refusing to allow the site to use said content?

 

I think these points should be considered and addressed by the rules.

[Zahhy 130]

I struggled with this as well. I don't like rules. They're lame and nobody reads them anyway. I only add rules when I find someone abusing something. I prefer to trust my community.

 

I based a Community Code of Conduct upon The Ubuntu Code of Conduct. It doesn't cover everything, but I don't think as an admin you need to have rules to anticipate someone's poor behavior. Someone is going to find a squeaky place in-between your rules and if you only discipline when they break a written rule, you'll have more problems than you can count.