Alright, gents. I feel like we've gotten ourselves into a small predicament. Y'see, the Ponyville RP got messy.

Real messy. Fun, but messy. We're gonna have to get a few things cleared up here. Here's a few guidelines to keep our threads clean and easy to read.

1) Respecting other OCs and Original Posters.

First things first. Mary Sues are annoying. You can't fight them, you can't talk to them, you simply can't interact with them in any way. But what is a Mary Sue? Is it a character with no flaws? Well, yes. In writing, a Mary Sue is a character with no flaws. And in RPs? A Mary Sue is both that, and the author's desire to keep his character above others.

The problem: People don't like to see their characters losing, so they find every excuse to keep the fight in their favor. How is this done? By narrating your character's action, and the recipient's reaction.

Here's an example:
Iron unsheathes his sword and thrusts his blade forward. (This is good)
Iron unsheathes his sword and thrusts his blade forward, utterly murdering *insert other OC name here*. (This is bullshit)

You do not control either the other character, nor the world. You cannot say what happens with either. The original thread poster controls the world, and the other player controls his OC. You merely control yours. It is up to the Original Poster to decide how a fight is resolved, regardless of skills or whatchamacallit. It's also the Original Poster's decision as to what happens to the world. You can say you planted a massive teh uber poison of doom, but if the OP decides that the poison is harmless because the detonator didn't work, then nothing happens.

Concessions, people, concessions. Learn to play fair. OP controls the world, players control their OCs.

Now, if you have reason to believe either the OP or another player is being an ass, then tell me. I'll check it out.

2) Keeping the threads clean and easy to read.

This is simple. When RPing, it can get difficult to maintain all comments organized and easy to read, but it becomes much more easy if there is an established guideline to follow. I shall give you this guideline.

At the beginning of an RP, the very first players will usually form a small group that dominates the thread from then onward. New players have a hard time incorporating themselves into a thread because of this, and it is very easy to avoid if we keep the thread clean.

Keep a thread clean by doing the following:
a) Only post one reply, and wait for several others to reply to it. Once you believe enough people have joined, reply back.
b) If you replied to a post, and when refreshing the page you discover that a new post has been placed, and your previous post no longer applies, delete the old post, and reply to the most recent one.
EX: Pony 1 jumps off cliff. Pony 2 jumps off cliff too. Pony 3 also jumps. Pony 1 lands safely. Pony 4 yells to Pony 1 not to jump. Pony 4 was about to yell to Pony 1, telling him not to jump, but was glad when he landed safely.
c) DO NOT go back in time, or break continuity, to reply to another post. You are IN-CHARACTER. Act accordingly. You can't be talking to four people at the same time about entirely different subjects in four distinct places. If the other player wants to join the conversation, then he/she has to walk over to you, and start talking. Your current conversation would then stop, and you'd have to either include the new guy, or tell him to buzz off.

3) Post Length.

These are one of the most annoying problems an RP can have. Seriously bad, and very easy to avoid. When replying to someone, your post has to include dialogue, an action, and description. So, unless there are environmental or particular reasons your character can't do any of those, they have to be included. No excuses. Short replies are a big no-no.

I will keep making this thing grow as more problems present themselves, but that is all for now. I will be getting more admins here in a little while, too, so watch out for that. Thanks, guys, let's keep RPing for much longer.

1356480
I love you for making this.

1356545

And I love you for loving me for making this.

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Respecting other OCs and Original Posters.

But, Iron Galley, OP is always a faggot. It's a rule.

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I know, I know... But maybe if we loosen up the stick lodged in his ass, then he will allow for a less faggoty behavior!

It is worth a shot!

1356480
Sounds good.

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I thank you for posting this. I know several RPers that need to follow this. Consequently, if I do not follow this, I want people to call me out on it.