InsaneJournal

Applying I got rejected. Can I reapply? Can I bring [THIS] character type to this game? Is my character required to have a job in the park to apply? Gameplay Is AIM required? What about strike-out tags? Privates? Friends-locked posts? Deleting posts? What if I have a suggestion for plot, or a question about the setting/game in general? How do you decide removals? What about OOC stuff? What are your standards/length requirements for updates/thread replies/etc.? What are the subcomms for? I don't know anything about Canada - how will I play my character? Characters What's your character limit? Can I godmode an NPC? How do I decide where my character will live? What do I need to know about picking a job for my character? Can they have a part-time one? Two? Ice River Is Ice River Valley a real place? What is this 'ParksNet' thing, anyway? Applying I got rejected. Can I reapply? Yeah, you can. Shoot us a PM and we'll let you know what was at issue with your application (doing that sort of thing publicly is awkward and potentially embarrassing, so we prefer PMs), and if you fix it up and want to reapply, feel free. Keep in mind that sometimes, a character just isn't a good fit, and it's nothing personal. Can I bring _________ character type to the game? The short answer is yes. Sexuality, gender, race, religion, etc. are not ever deciding factors in admitting someone to our game. Our restrictions are very basic: your pb must fit the character you have written, you may not pb originals, and we are not accepting characters under the age of seventeen. If your character has children under that age, treat them like NPCs. Is my character required to have a job in the park to apply? Yes. In order to curb over development in such an ecologically sensitive area, people can only live in the park if they are employed by the Park Service, the local government, or a sanctioned business in the village. The only exceptions are the unemployed spouses of those who do fulfil the criteria, and their dependents. Though, with dependents, keep in mind that we are not accepting characters under the age of 17. Gameplay Is AIM required? In-character AIM is not required, but is strongly recommended for IC chatting, plotting, and scening. We would like it if you would give us an OOC AIM name if you're opting not to do the in-character thing. That way, other characters and the management can get a hold of you for plotting/scening/all that jazz. What about strike-out tags? Privates? Friends-locked posts? The stricken text tag can be used in game, and is invisible to characters in game. Characters may lock posts to themselves/others by using an lj-cut or something simple like [Private] or [Locked to Dick, Sue and Harry]. Please do not actually filter or lock your posts from the mods. They cannot be counted as activity if you do so. On the note of filters/privates/etc., please do not delete comments or posts unless you have made a spelling/coding error or have done it with the wrong journal. If that's the case, fix it and repost. If you want to delete comments or posts in-character, just edit your entry and put 'Deleted' in the subject, or comment below your comment and say 'character deleted this comment' or something of the like. What if I have a suggestion for plot, or a question about the setting/game in general? Feel free to drop the mods a line at the drop-box, a PM, or an e-mail. Our contact info is on the drop-box. How do you decide removals? We remove people if they are inactive. That's literally all there is to it. If you do not update in three weeks, we will remove your character. If you are not commenting, threading, posting scenes, we'll remove you. If you make an honest effort to remain involved, you will have no problems. If you are removed for inactivity or accidentally, just contact the mods and ask to be readded. We'll have no problem doing so. What about OOC stuff? Some people are really friendly and chatty out of character. Some people like to keep it in-character. We have no problem with anyone doing either of these things. For some people, privacy and anonymity are paramount. We respect that. All we require from our players is that they be polite and friendly towards other players - this does not mean that you are expected to be friends with people, or tell them your life story. We have zero tolerance for crossing the OOC/IC line, though. If you don't like someone OOC, or they don't like you, it cannot bleed in character. On the flip side, stuff that happens IC should never affect your relationships with people OOC. Anyone who gets visibly melodramatic about stuff will be removed. It sucks the fun out of a game. What are your standards/length requirements for updates/thread replies/etc.? We don't have set rules for updates or thread reply lengths. We feel that eight paragraphs of purple prose is just as bad as a one-liner. Write whatever works for you, as long as it is easy to read, makes good use of the English language, and isn't filler. What are your subcomms for? parkserviceooc is the out-of-character community for the game. Post anything OOC there - announcements, questions, memes, character development exercises. It is a locked community, and your entries will automatically be friends-locked. iceriveraction is the threading/scening community. Post your threads, scenes, e-mails, etc. there. Anything in-character and not a journal update can essentially go into that community. ebulletins is the Ice River community announcement board; headlines from the Times may be posted, weather alerts, updates from community leaders, or events, etc. being publicized by members of the community at large. It is a key component of the ParksNet network. I don't know anything about Canada - how will I play my character? Canada is most easily described as a blend between American and British Culture. Canadians watch American TV, read American magazines, and listen to American music, for the most part. Spelling is different from both the UK and United States; the most noticable is the use of 'u' in words (like the British spelling). This is commonly seen in 'neighbour,' 'colour,' 'flavour,' and 'favourite.' However, unlike the UK, Canadians use 'ize' as opposed to 'ise,' as in 'naturalize.' If you use Firefox, you can download the Canadian English spell checker from here and use it. You'll never miss a 'u.' Canada is a parliamentary democracy, much like the Westminister system in the UK. Canada is, however, a federal state, with the federal government controlling things like trade, commerce, military, criminal law, etc., and the provinces controlling most social welfare programs, like healthcare, education, funding for cities/municipalities, and natural resources. One's federal member of parliament is known as an MP. In Alberta, where the game is set, the provincial representatives are called MLAs. THIS is a good site for Canadian info. Especially check out the currency and Canadianisms. They're very helpful. Canadians tend to be less religious and more liberal than their American counterparts. Gay marriage, gay adoption, and abortion are more or less legal across all of Canada and are mostly political non-issues. Homophobia is still prevalent in rural areas across the country. The drinking age in Alberta is 18. Alberta, where the game is set, has a distinctly more conservative political culture than much of the rest of Canada. It is jokingly referred to as the 'Texas' of Canada, mostly due to the popularity of populism, ranching, and farming in the province. A great deal of Albertan revenue comes from its booming oil industry, and Albertans are the lowest taxed of all Canadians. For more information on politics in Alberta, check out this short Wikipedia article. This is all just something to keep in mind; the residents of Ice River Valley don't necessarily have to fulfil the stereotype. Contact the mods if you have any questions about Canada. Characters What's your character limit? Three per player. We plan on having no more than fifty characters in the game at any given time. This is to make sure that things stay intimate and active. Can I godmode an NPC? If you do, be incredibly general. If your character works under the Park Supervisor, certainly mention that perhaps he was in a good mood today and brought doughnuts, or that the Reeve cut you off in traffic. If in doubt, just drop a line to the mods and we'll yay or nay it. How do I decide where my character will live? The Housing Post explains the available housing for your character. Please read it carefully and select what you think works best for you. If you are looking for roommates for your character, feel free to comment HERE to make arrangements with other players. What do I need to know about picking a job for my character? Can they have a part-time one? Two? Pick a job that your character is qualified for. Nurses should have BNsc degrees, Doctors should have attended medical school, and teachers should have a teaching degree. If you are playing a young person that is still a dependent/student/stay at home parent, feel free to pick a job with an asterisk as a part-time job for your character. Characters may hold more than one job - a character could work a couple of part-time jobs to pay the bills, or perhaps have a fulltime day job and then a job in a restaurant or bar in the evenings. Like in real life, there are lots of options - just keep them realistic. Ice River Is Ice River Valley a real place? Nope. We made it all up. We picked an empty looking spot on a map and stuck a town there. It's located between Jasper and Banff Alberta, along Highway 93. What is this 'ParksNet' thing, anyway? Because the Ice River Valley receives a great deal of interesting weather, the Park Supervisor set up a satellite internet service for the members of the community. It is meant to act as a virtual community space, but also as a safety measure: in the event that there is an avalanche, blizzard, trees down on telephone lines, etc., it provides the members of the community with a way to check in with each other, and remain up to date on any situation. It is paid for by municipal taxes for home owners, and as a portion of monthly rent for renters.