Profiles: Dos & Don'ts
Written by Music (Former Moderator) <3
Now that the profiles have to be moved manually by all of the mods, we've been paying a lot closer attention to any problems there might be in them. And a few patterns are showing up.
So rather than have to repeat ourselves a million times, I've taken the liberty of throwing together an FAQ/Dos and Don'ts thread to clarify some things. This is mainly for the member's benefit though, not for ours. It's much faster for us to move a thread with no issues than it is to let someone know what's wrong, wait for him or her to fix it, and check it again. And you don't want to be waiting for weeks or months to have your profile moved do you? So just keep these things in mind the next time you're creating a profile, and things will be that much quicker in the directory from now on! 8D
DO
DO- Check to see if your character's name is already takenReason: I think everyone wants to avoid the drama of fighting over something as trivial as a name... XD So make your life easier and check the directory for a repeat name. This means looking in the profiles that have already been moved, AND looking in the ones that haven't been moved.
DO- Feel free to use precious gems, BUT WITHIN REASONReason: Obviously, you can't have a cut diamond since humans would have no viable way of cutting it. It's too hard. Imagine trying to cut a tree with a butter knife... not gonna happen. 8B However, certain crystals (quartz, jasper, hematite, tigers eye, ect.) are common enough to be used as possible adornments. Polishing/Extreme cutting aren't possible for the time period, but rough crystals of common types are fine.
DO- Make certain you have specific and correct height, weight, and speciesReason: We aren't allowed to move character profiles until this information is completed and correct for the species. Double check the "Height and Weight Resource Information Center" to make sure they are correct, because if it's wrong it takes A LOT more time for the profile to get moved, even if the rest of the profile is fine. And please don't put something like, "Weight: A lady doesn't give her weight." We can't move it until we know for sure. 8B
DO- Make sure the species actually existsReason: A few times now, we've had to let someone know that a certain species isn't specific enough or doesn't exist. For example, I've had to inform someone that "White Wolf" isn't a specific species. When a character's species confuses me or I'm skeptical, I do a Google to make sure I'm not missing something. A few times I've found actual species for the characters (Did you know that a Cross Fox is an actual species? 8B), but when I don't I can't move it.
DO- Stick to forum related places and peopleReason: Real life places (Asia, Europe, USA, ect.) don't exist in the Ice Age, so make sure your history doesn't have any references to them. Also, make sure your history doesn't have any references to groups of people who wouldn't exist in the BBA (Mayans, Nazis, Cherokee, ect.). This doesn't mean you can't make up your own pack/pride for the history. Just please don't have your character chilling out in China or chatting with Canadians. I mean, forget about the Ice Age, they don't even exist in the BBA world anyway! At the moment, the assumption is that the BBA is in an alternate universe, so there is quite literally no Brazil or Egypt or Russia or whatever other real life place you would like to use. Until Kay says so otherwise, that's what we're going to assume is true. 8B
Sooooo... for example:
Retania (random pack name)=Okay, because it's a pack I just made up for history purposes
Egypt=Not Okay
Onyx being based off Native American culture=Okay
This is just to keep real life places off the forum, not to prohibit you from making up a pack for your history, or keep you from using real life culture references.
DO- Keep your bloodlines in multiples of twoReason: Basic math and arithmetic states that a character's bloodline can't be 1/3 or 2/3 or any odd fraction. Stick to even, simple bloodlines like 1/2, 1/4, or 3/4.
DO- Get permission to be born in a packReason: If your character wasn't actually born ICly in the pack, then you can't put that in your history. Please PM a pack leader and get their permission to have been born in the pack. (And when you do, please specify that in the profile so that we don't accidentally accuse you of something you didn't do! XD)
DO- Have your profile totally completed when you post itReason: WIP profiles are the bane of our existences... there's nothing we can do with them, and they clutter the directory a looooot. So make it easier on yourself and just finish the ENTIRE profile before posting it. It'll save us some work, and it'll save you some work because there's a
new rule that allows us to delete WIP profiles if they don't have the basic minimum amount of information.
DO- Use the edit button on your profilesReason: It's very confusing when people post their profile multiple times in the directory. When we come across two profiles of the same character, it's sometimes a difficult judgement call when deciding which profile is the one that should be used. So to save some confusion later, just use the edit button on your profiles.
DO- Understand how the Fury worksReason: If you want your character to have the Fury gene, you should probably
do some reading about it. There are only certain crosses of wolves that can produce a Fury positive wolf, so please be sure you understand basic genetics before trying to create a Dire/Blackblood hybrid with the Fury.
DO- Fix your profile when a mod tells you something is wrongReason: This should be obvious. If you don't fix the profile, you can't play the character! XD However, there's a bigger reason you should fix it ASAP when something is pointed out. When something wrong is pointed out, this is considered a "first warning" of sorts. Then, the profile will go unnoticed for a while, giving you ample time to remedy the problem. However, if the profile gets a second mod check, and the profile hasn't been fixed yet, it will get deleted! So it's very important to fix those profiles!
DO- Check your dog's breedReason: Only certain breeds of dog were domesticated during the Ice Age, the most obvious one being the husky. We don't restrict the kind of dogs you can play on the forum, but we do ask that you check to see if that breed would've actually existed in this time period. So though there's nothing wrong with playing a pug on the forum, we do ask that since it wouldn't have been around in the Ice Age that you make it "Ancestor of Pug." To help, here's a list of common breeds that
were domesticated at the time this forum is taking place, and therefore wouldn't need to be an ancestor:
---Huskies
---Malamutes
---Akita Inus
---Shiba Inus
---Salukis
---Basenjis
(((This list isn't all inclusive.)))
DO- Get permission to be related to a characterReason: This mainly refers to characters that want to be related to comic characters. If for whatever reason, you feel the BURNING NEED to have your character be related to someone, you have to get permission first. COMMON SENSE. XD That means if you want to have a character related to Swiftkill, you need Kay's permission first.
DO- Check to see if a particular hybrid is allowedReason: We have some rather... interesting rules here on the forum about hybrid characters. XD Before you go and make that wolf/fox hybrid you've been dreaming of RPing, make sure that it is allowed first. You could post in the questions board and ask, or just PM a mod and ask one of us. But for your sake, here's what is and isn't allowed for a few of the more popular hybrids:
Wolf/Fox: Not allowed (Was allowed for a few characters, not allowed anymore)
Saber/Lion: Allowed
Saber/Snow Leopard: Allowed
African Wild Dog/Wolf: Not allowed
Coyote/Wolf: Allowed
Wolf/Dog: Allowed
Saber/Wolf: Not allowed (DUH! XD)
DO- Consider what your horse's breed isReason: Just like dogs, we don't restrict horse breeds. But if you're considering taking your horse to Freewind, you need to know what breeds they accept. Generally, only older breeds get accepted there. For a list of old horse breeds, Freewind has a
good list already posted.
DON'T
DON'T- Include magic/supernatural powersReason: Self-explanatory, AMIRITE? XD
DON'T- Make up a rank/Suddenly gain a rankReason: You can't say you're a member of Inaria unless you've RPed an acceptance there. You can't say you're the beta of Alteron if that isn't actually the case. Pretty simple really. The acception to this rule is "Auto-Accepted Designs."
DON'T- Use clothing from a different time periodReason: I think it's safe to say that Ice Age humans didn't have fishnet-stockings or cargo pants. So just... don't put them on your characters. XD
DON'T- Wait to have your profile moved before RPingReason: In case you couldn't tell, the directory is almost always backed up with profiles... Trust me, you do not want to have to wait for your profile to be moved. You could be waiting for a while if you do that. Just start RPing with your character, or PM a mod to have your profile checked if you're feeling paranoid. If someone finds something wrong later, you can just fix it then, no harm done.
DON'T- Add in ridiculous amounts of gold or silverReason: Small amounts of gold and silver are totally fine on a character. However, try to keep it within reason. Small piercings are cool and small necklaces are cool. But huge pieces of gold jewelry that would be worth millions today aren't cool. Also, try and keep your gold/silver things on the simple side. It's much easier to make a single ear stud of silver than it is to make a necklace of gold with a hundred individual chain links. When in doubt, go for simpler and smaller. Alsooooo... please provide a reason in your character's history for why he or she has gold/silver. C8
DON'T- Bump your threadsReason: This is just a general forum rule anyway. It's kind of annoying when people bump their threads. Even if you have good intentions, could you refrain from doing it? There are better ways to bring attention to a character profile than bumping.
DON'T- Post a profile without a personalityReason: IF YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT HAVE A PERSONALITY WRITTEN UP WHEN A MOD CHECKS IT, THE PROFILE WILL BE DELETED. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T POST WITHOUT A PERSONALITY.
DON'T- Post multiple characters within a single threadReason: Since we're linking threads into the directory now, it's helpful for us to only have one character per thread. If your characters go together, and you just CAN'T LIVE without their profiles being in the same place, you could try adding a links between the profiles.
DON'T- Give your character a skull helmet accessoryReason: After some long discussion in the mod team, we've decided that bone skulls (or bone armor) aren't realistically possible for this forum. Earlier in the forum's existence, there was no mod decision made about these accessories. However, that has changed, and they are no longer allowed. All characters existing before this rule are allowed to have the accessory, but any new ones will be expected to not have it. 8B
DON'T- Roleplay a character without posting a profileReason: For the sake of record keeping, we'd like for everyone to post a profile for every character that is RPed here. It helps us (and the forum) know what names are taken, and which characters are currently being played. If you don't post a profile, you'll probably be asked to go post one, or else not RP the character anymore. 8B
DON'T- Post hellhound profiles hereReason: If you post your hellhound profile here, you'd better make sure it has been accepted by the mod team first. If not, then... well, I dunno what will happen. But you won't like it. Probably get your profile moved or deleted. 8B Just make sure to PM all hellhound applications to a mod, instead of posting them in here please.
DON'T- Give your character colored pupilsReason: Assuming that a character did have colored pupils, that would basically restrict vision by a loooooot. The pupil itself is only a hole, so any color would have to be inside the eye's vitreous humor (the gel-like substance between the pupil and the nerves at the back of the eye). Since the vitreous humor of the eye is normally clear and transparent, adding color to that will distort the images being recieved, leaving not as much light for the nerves to pick up. It's called cataracts, and it's a pretty common affliction of the eyes. So unless you'd like your character to be blind or partially blind, you don't want to have colored pupils. C8
DON'T- Make major changes to an already moved profileReason: Since the team has to check every profile before it is moved, completely changing a profile once it's already moved pretty much removes any ability we had to check for problems. Now, I know it sounds confusing. I already said to "use the edit button" instead of posting a character profile multiple times. HOWEVER, if you are going to make major changes to a character profile, you should make a new profile and have the old one deleted (or at least PM a mod to have the profile rechecked). When I say major changes, I mean things like a species change; things that would significantly alter the character. If you just need to edit out a typo, or make the profile look nicer, or make a small personality tweak, use the edit.
DON'T- Host profiles on a personal website
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Topic: Character Directory: Rules, Guidelines & Information (Read 235 times)