POSTING RATES AND ABSENCES
1. Player Participation Requirements: I used to have a longer explanation of the participation guidelines. To try to keep it simple, I’ve edited it down to these main points:
- Posting frequency: Players are expected, as a basic matter, to be able to post at least twice a week. If you cannot maintain that pace, you will present an obstacle to the enjoyment of the other players in the game. If you go for an extended period of time with slower posting that impedes the progress of the plot – a wholly subjective assessment by myself as GM – then we will have a conversation that may end with you withdrawing from the game.
- Player disappearances: If you go two weeks without an in character post, without a prior request for leave, then by 9:00 pm in Philadelphia on the 14th day after your last in-character post, you will be removed from the game, your PC’s character sheet will be deleted, and the PC will be NPC’ed only long enough to be written out (either sent off-screen or killed, whichever I prefer). Out-of-character posts and PMs do not count: The two weeks starts running from the date of your last in character post.
- Requesting a leave of absence. There's a simple way to keep the clock from running: If you know in advance that you will be away for more than 7 days, then let me know, either in the OOC thread or via PM. I don’t need to know why, I just need you to be explicit about your planned absence. Here is your template: “I will be away and unable to post from [start date] until [end date].” If you can’t be certain about when (or if) you will return, then I will give you the date by which you must return and make an in character post or else your PC will be written out. That date can be negotiated, but a definite date must be chosen. Further, once chosen, that date must be met. You don't get another two weeks after that date to post -- at most, depending on how busy I am, you will get 48 hours after the stated date to actually make an in-character post. And you may not even get that.
- What's not explicit enough? Comments such as "I'm a little busy and will be a little slow in posting" are not sufficient. I'm not going to read between the lines to figure out if you're requesting a leave of absence. Without an express, explicit, unambiguous request following the template I gave above, the clock will be running against you.
- You can also request a leave of absence after life bites you in the ass unexpectedly. I know things can go pear-shaped without warning. During the two-week grace period, you can simply send me an rMail or PM, or email me at bevinflannery@gmail.com or text my Google Voice number (267-570-3869) to let me know that you need a leave of absence.
- If you don't give a definite date for your return, I will set a date for you. I understand that at times you may not be able to predict when you will be able to resume active participation. Unfortunately, I can't manage the game without clear expectations about what PCs will be active participants in a plot. If you can't give a date, I will -- I'll set a date by which you must make an in character post and figure out what, if anything, to do with your PC while you are away. If your leave is expected to be long (more than a month) it may mean writing the PC out of the game. If the leave is indefinite, the PC will be written out.
Further notes for the tl;dr version:
- For those with an advance notice absence of two weeks or more, there is no two-week clock. Fail to post again in character on or before the stated return date and depending upon what’s going on in your PC’s storyline and the game as a whole, you take the risk that your PC will be removed immediately. In other words, you don’t get the benefit of “the advance-notice-leave plus an additional two weeks.” You get just the advance-notice-leave. At most you will receive 48 (US Eastern time) hours after the date you said you would return to post, at the very least, "I'm back and need to reorient myself before posting." If you have not logged on within two days after your anticipated return and posted at least OOC to let me know you are catching up, you will be deleted from the game. (If you do give me that "just catching up" note, then I will set a date by which you must resume in-character posting.)
- For those with an advance notice absence of one week or less than one week, you still get the full two weeks before deletion. If you tell me something like "I will be away from October 1st to October 8th," you have the full 14-days to reappear. Without an in-character post by the 14th day (October 15th in this hypothetical example), your PC will be deleted. Yes, this means that by giving me advance notice of an absence of less than two weeks, you don't actually stop the clock from running -- so if you think there is even a remote chance that you will need more than two weeks, just tell me up-front. I much, much prefer open communication about the need for a lengthy absence rather than wondering why someone who said they would be away for one week still hasn't posted after a second week has passed.
- The date of your last in-character post determines when the clock begins to run: It does not matter whether, for the first week, you were waiting for another PC to post; if there was an opportunity for you to respond in character during that two-week period (even near the end of it) but you said nothing, then the entire two-week period runs.
- But what if your PC just had nothing to say/do in that scene? There’s an easy way for you to avoid having your silence count against you: If I haven't posted myself as GM that I recognize your PC doesn't have much if anything to do in the scene, then you should post in the in-character thread something like, “I’m still here, but there’s nothing for my PC to do/say, so I will wait until the other PCs/NPCs finish their conversation/arm-wrestling match/philosophical debate about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, and then jump back in.” (In other words, just let me and the other players know you are (a) still watching and (b) waiting for the scene to progress to a point where you can make a meaningful contribution, and the clock stops running.)
- The GM will not send reminders or PMs. I don’t chase players. I won’t send PMs to inquire about why you aren’t posting in-character even though you are logging into the game (if you are logging in the only "reminder" you get is the sight of someone else's name as the last person who posted to your thread.) I won’t send an rMail if you don’t log into the game. I won’t send a reminder to you if you miss an anticipated date of return after an advance-notice absence. I will not send a PM or rMail when you have been removed from the game.
- The burden to communicate your need for time off is on you. I will not try to read between the lines. If you keep me updated on a semi-regular basis, I am willing to back-burner your character in the hopes that you will be able to return. Be aware that if you return after a significant lapse of time, you may not be able to rejoin with your original PC – that character may have been reassigned to another player or even killed off. His or her plot-line may have taken a twist that has taken it into a direction where that PC concept no longer works. Alternatively, there may not be space for you in the game at that time even with a new PC.
- How does this participation requirement work for those of you playing more than one PC? If you let one PC go silent -- without warning and without explanation -- for two weeks but continue posting for your other PC, then the rule is triggered for the inactive PC. In that event, I will reassign the inactive PC to myself after two weeks of silence, but I will not send you a PM, rMail or private line either in advance or after-the-fact.
- Does this really mean that if even if I've been in the game for years, have advanced to 14th level, and am a key PC in the plotline, and am not sure there's anything for me to respond to in the in-character thread, that I will be removed from the game for three weeks of silence without you even trying to find out why I disappeared or have failed to post in-character??!?!
Yes.
2. GM’s Posting Frequency.
- I try to post 4-5x/week, barring vacations, work obligations or holidays. On Saturday or Sunday, I will usually post an update in the GM Announcements thread that gives a tentative posting schedule for that week. I reserve the right not to post at all on any given day, or to post for fewer than all threads that are ready for GM input. I try my best, but sometimes things come up. If you want a game with daily posting or multiple posts per day, then this isn't the game for you.
- Even if I am unable to respond to IC threads for 3-4 days, I will try to post to the OOC thread at the very least to give you an idea of when I will be able to respond.
- In a pinch, even if I'm not able to get on-line, my spouse (who participates in the game as Tandro) will post an OOC message to let folks know real life has intervened in a major way. (In 2014, I had two significant family-related issues that kept me from posting for several weeks at a time.) If we both are absent without advance warning or after-the-fact posting for a week or more, then that means the zombie apocalypse has started in the greater Philadelphia area, and you have bigger things to worry about than the status of this game.
- Note: GM absence from the game that prevents your thread/scene from moving forward -- whether announced up-front or after-the-fact when I am unexpectedly devoured by a horde of zombies -- will not count against the players in the "two weeks and you're out" guidelines set forth in more detail above. I may be a lawyer, but I'm not so much of an ass-hat as to make my lack of activity your responsibility. Note that if your thread was waiting for a post from you rather than from me during my absence, then the clock continues to run against you -- in other words, while I'm away if your own silence prevents the scene from progressing with the other PCs, you don't get a free pass.
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