Updated "Etiquette" During Quarantine (Please Read)

State of the Forum Address

Hello, all. I hope this message finds everyone in good health and high spirits.

We find ourselves in an unusual time on the forum. With the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, I hope everyone is staying calm, healthy (both mentally and physically), not panic buying, and enacting as much empathy as possible for those in our families and communities. Right now, the world definitely needs as much love and respect as we can give. On that vein, we have all had to make some adjustments, surely, and that is one of the reasons I am posting this update.

It is also an unusual time in that we have had a massive influx in new members in the past couple of months. To everyone who put out feelers on Reddit or within their local gaming communities, and to everyone who decided to give our forum a chance, thank you very much. I can say quite confidently that those of us who have been at this for years now are really excited to see new people come along and add their own style, twist, personality, intellect, and quirks to our play-by-post community. So, from the bottom of my heart, welcome and thanks for being here - one and all.

Now, regarding the title of the post, typical forum etiquette remains; "The Golden Rule," "Rule 0," etc. etc. But in an attempt to see the bright side of social-distancing/self-quarantining (which for some of us might already be a brightside in and of itself), I see this as a prime opportunity to really kick some ass in our game commitments on this forum. Personally, I have a lot more work to do in the short-term. As many of you know, I have had to transition all of my regular campus face-to-face classes to an online format. As I have never taught online before, this was a big change for me, but I am also not a dinosaur, so it hasn't been too difficult. For my Inmate Education classes, we have had to go old-school and conduct correspondence only education. So right now, I have some work ahead of me; however, my remainder of the semester is going to be relatively light. And I plan on getting my fuckin' game on. How I conceptualize my role on the site is as follows:

As an Admin:

• Keep up with the needs of players on the site via DMs here or via the LINE free texting app that we all use to stay in touch/communicate in real time.
  
• - For those who do not have it, please download and install LINE on your smartphone or computer. It will keep your anonymity, but it will allow you to stay in touch with your players/GMs much quicker.
  
• Keep in contact with the other admin to ensure we continue operating without technical issues, and figure out ways around those we encounter.
  
• Ensure the Monthly Banner Change happens without incident. ALL HAIL THE MONTHLY BANNER CHANGE.
  
• General upkeep
  

As a GM:

• Update my games daily if possible. All of this extra time has given us GMs a unique opportunity to really increase the pace of play. We need to be taking advantage of it.
  
• General upkeep within the game including, but not limited to:
  
• - Building NPC profiles
  
• - Updating general info. lists for players who need quick reference guides
  
• - World building & finding sweet ass images/audio files/videos to increase deep dives into my worlds
  

As a Player:

• Checking in on the forum daily (if not more) in order to keep up with the rate of play.
  
• Posting as frequently as possible.
  
• - Remember that you do not need to only be responding to stimulus (other players/GM). The beauty of PbP is that your characters can have deep, introspective moments of thought and reflection. Build up your PC personality/past/hopes/dreams/etc.
  
• PC SHEET UPKEEP.
  
• - As a GM, this one irks me. So, as a player, I will make sure my PC sheet is up-to-date from a technical/crunch standpoint, but also from a fluff standpoint. Has anything happened recently that would affect my PC's personality/background/understanding of the world? Awesome, that is getting written in.
  
• Catching up on games I may have neglected (I am so sorry, Nitafrong!!!) lol. Reading through the things I have missed and either A) becoming active again or B) retiring with dignity.
  

I hope we can all commit to some of these if we see our schedules free up a bit more as a result of these unique circumstances we find ourselves in. If you have anything to add to any of these lists asa general rule or as a personal rule, please post on this thread. I sincerely hope you and yours are healthy, strong in body and mind, and staying occupied. And, as always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to anyone of us on the site. We care about this community, and we are here to assist.

Thanks, all.

- Iron and Metal/Pearldrum1/Jeff/ProSho (Nickname from one of my Inmate Scholars for me: professor shogun)

In keeping with what Jeff said, with all this extra free time I'll be here to help more than usual, new and old players alike. I'll be refreshing the forum rules thread to make things easier for our new guys and giving some love out to our new players. Oldies, you know where to find me lol, but I'm here for you too. Anything you need, feel free to message me here or on LINE.

Stop buying my fucking toilet paper. Please.
- <3 Nathan

Definitely appreciate all the hard work which is put in here and the real feeling of community we have. Spent so many fun hours here and appreciate spending a lot more in the future. Looking forward to continued interaction with those in my game and in the others I'm part of.

If you are reading this: You rock. (And leave food/grocery shopping until after 11 to give the old and vulnerable time.)

Domhnall

Hi,
Thanks a lot for the warm welcome. I really appreciate this community and the experience of the PbP.
But this post made me especially happy. In times like these it is easy to get lost in all the bad news. And I love when people also see the spark of good and hope in a situation. That's what's going to get us through the whole thing sane.
I don't really have less work, because I work from home also in normal times, so the only thing changing for me is the kids being home all day.
But I, too, will try to check the game I'm participating in daily.
Hang in there everybody and always look on the bright side of life!
Cheers

Nothing is going to change much for me as a GM. Vortex is kinda like running 4-6 different stories at once so it will stick to it's weekly update schedule so I don't go absolutely insane.

I should get to filling out some NPC sheets that still need doing though, lol.

Lots of time for more world building which is always a plus!

Stay safe and wash your damn hands.

Murcurie wrote:

Stop buying my fucking toilet paper. Please.
- <3 Nathan

I shall endeavor to keep chugging on as I always do.

Murc - I still can't find any toilet paper; flushable wipes are coming in via amazon March 27. 100% installing a bidet next paycheck.

Nita - Great point about allowing the elderly time to shop first. I can just picture your granny now patting our head and sayin, "Yur'uh good bai, laddie." (something to that effect)

Thelonius - I am glad this forum provides some light in the midst of all this craziness. Cheers, man.

Solo - your one game is quite literally 6 different games. It's awesome. I will endeavor to bug you more about updates just for Weyland because I am selfish.

Syl - Chug along, bro. Stay safe in that crazy work atmosphere... and legit steal masks and gloves if you need to; you are precious cargo.

I'll see what I can do to ensure that I check in once per day and try to post at least every second. I just don't want to spam small posts to show that I'm alive.

But we all want that.

Iron and Metal wrote:

Murc - I still can't find any toilet paper; flushable wipes are coming in via amazon March 27. 100% installing a bidet next paycheck.

Not sure if you're joking, but flushable wipes aren't really flushable. You're better off taking a shower.

Iron and Metal wrote:

"Yur'uh good bai, laddie." (something to that effect)

I see Khol talking....

Iron and Metal wrote:

Syl - Chug along, bro. Stay safe in that crazy work atmosphere... and legit steal masks and gloves if you need to; you are precious cargo.

Along these lines towards Syl, please, take a day off when you can. You deserve it more than ever.

Quote :

Not sure if you're joking, but flushable wipes aren't really flushable. You're better off taking a shower.

They were a worst-case-scenario option. Never had to end up using them. Now we have them for camping, so, win win.

Damn, it is good to see you posting again, man haha.

I miss posting and everyone that I shortly gamed with too.(even you) Trying to catch up in 'Heart Collector' to even see if I can jump back in, probably not but I'll understand why.

insane935 wrote:

I miss posting and everyone that I shortly gamed with too.(even you) Trying to catch up in 'Heart Collector' to even see if I can jump back in, probably not but I'll understand why.

I look forward to this day.

I say defensive. Find a place to set up our own kill zone and et them come.

^^ Brett had a stroke. It's confirmed.

Let them come. Posted in the wrong forum apparently.