One of the reasons I'm using this type of forum for my gaming is that it lends itself to asynchronous play. I don't have to be online the same time as anyone else. This means I can work around my rather full schedule and still get to write and play. It's a bonus.
Given that, I'm not looking for folks to post 2 or 3 times a day. I'm looking for 2 or 3 good posts during the week. This seems like a reasonable requirement. If things go faster than that then great. If not, then that's cool too. Let's just not slow down to slower than that.
If you are slow posting, I will NPC your character for that day and have them do whatever I think would be reasonable for them. If I have to do this 3 times in a row, I will be looking for a replacement player. Obviously, if you have made previous arrangements (ie vacations, sickness, etc) with me then I won't replace you and I'll simply continue to NPC your character.
I will try to arrange my own absences (vacations and such) to be at story points where folks can carry on without my input for a bit. There are spots where the DM doesn't have to inject much. I'll try my best to take breaks at these spots.
Posting Length
Play by post (at least the way I do it) is about writing. It doesn't matter if you're the greatest gamer the world has ever seen. If your writing is unreadable it sucks for everyone. So, here are a few ground rules.
Use decent spelling and grammar. I'm not a complete Nazi about this but when I'm trying to figure out what it is your character is doing, it helps if the words are generally spelled correctly and your sentence structure isn't all over the place. Proper punctuation and capitalization are your friends.
Limit one line posts. Nothing completely puts a halt to a good scene like a bunch of one line posts. One line posts just don't give your fellow players anything to latch on to.
Limit novella length posts. On the other end of the spectrum is the post that looks like 10 type-written pages. Try to be concise. It makes better reading and it is easier to follow. As a general rule, posts shouldn't be much over 250 words. Obviously there might be exceptions. It's a general rule not a written in stone rule.
Written in Stone Posting Rules
- Use third person past tense when posting. If you do a dream sequence or flashback or something and want to change to another person and tense. That's fine. But stick with third person past in general.
- Don't use color highlighting. Use quotation marks for conversation and italics for thoughts.
- Don't affect another character unless given permission to do so. ie. Don't post that you "hit" them. Post that you "take a swing" at them.
- Keep things R rated or better. I'm okay with "mature". Pornographic, not so much.
Absence
If you are going to be unable to post for more than a day or two, please, let me know. We're not going to delay the game. I will remove folks who disappear for more than a 3 days without notice.