The Code

The Code
OOC / General Rules Have fun, and remember it’s only a game! Keep IC things away from OOC things, and vice versa. Harassment of any kind is not tolerated (unless it is purely IC and restricted to IC forums). It should go without saying that if you have a problem with someone OOC, that it will not be made into a problem ICly. If you are found guilty of this offense, the punishment is banning. Please keep custom signatures, personal photos/avatars, and icons small and appropriate. (Custom signatures can be no larger than 450x200 px and avatars 150x250 px. Signatures must pertain to your character when roleplaying. In OOC it's okay if you have a link to your website, etc, but not in the IC forums. Rolecalls are mandatory. If you do not respond to a rollcall (and you have not stated that you were going to be absent), your character will be put on an inactive list, and if that character is a movie character, if there has been no response to our attempts to contact you, the movie character will be put up for adoption. If you have created an account on the board, and haven't used it to post anything within two weeks, it will be deleted. Spamming the board, including posting advertisements in forums where they do not belong, PMing members for the sole purpose to recruit for a website or another RPG, is strictly forbidden. The offending posts will be archived, the IP saved for future reference, the account deleted, and the e-mail address banned. Applying & Characters You cannot have control of more than two movie characters (unless you have one of the dynamic duos (Mallot & Grapple, Ragetti & Pintel, Murtogg & Mullroy) whom each count as one character, and then another character in addition). There is no limit to how many total characters you may have, as long as you roleplay them all. If you have created a character but wish to not use them as often, you may feel free to convert them into an NPC that anyone can use, or that only you can use. When applying: Make your characters interesting! Make them different without throwing historical accuracy out completely! Interesting means no Mary Sues. No siblings or relatives of the main characters without both Admin/Owner approval, and approval of the main characters’ handler(s). When applying you need to know a special code= "Frogs and Lobsters" Please do not place that phrase into the app until you are done with your application, and place it right after the part in the application that says "code:" otherwise I will redirect you to the rules again. If you wish to apply for a female pirate you must first be accepted as a non-female-pirate character (and this does not include an Elizabeth Swann clone), and have posted 25 IC posts, before we will consider the application. This way, we know what your posting style is like, and will better be able to judge how you would handle the female pirate. Also, we're only going to accept the crème of the crop for female pirates--we're looking for originality, quality writing, and a very fleshed out character. Not every female pirate in existence lost her parents to other pirates, fights like Xena, has tattoos, and serves on the Black Pearl. IC Character Rules No godmodding/power-playing/etc. Pirates of the Caribbean was a PG-13 movie, and keeping that in mind, we would like to keep most posts to within that range. R rated posts are permitted for topics of an adult nature (violence, sex), but only if they arise naturally from the thread, and are not the purpose of the thread. Any threads that are R rated will be moved to a password protected forum, and must have the rating listed in it, as well as a warning in the first post of the thread, explaining why it got that rating (ie “rated for graphic sexual content.”). When writing a roleplay, no IM/internet talk (ie- that wuz way 2 cul 4 U) and at least three paragraphs in length (that is 4+ sentences (or thereabouts) per paragraph!). Please write in third person past tense when RPing (barring certain things, such as journals, etc where first person is used). It's for the flow-- it's easier to read through a whole thread if its all written in a similar style. The Wardroom / Shoutbox Rules Do not spam the shoutbox. Do not harass individuals. Do not impersonate another member. Nothing should exceed a PG-13 rating on the shoutbox. FAQ Q- What is godmodding/power-playing/etc? A- It is when one person will control another characters actions, or create actions for another character without the character’s handler’s consent. For example, ‘Captain Barbossa whipped out his pistol and shot Jack, who fell to the floor, dead.’ Unless Jack’s handler okayed this action, it is godmodding and is strictly forbidden. What you can do is 'Captain Barbossa pulled out his pistol and shot at Jack.' That leaves the other character free to respond like so, 'Fortunately for Jack, the shot missed Jack, who breathed a sigh of relief.' Rule of thumb-- it's always best to plan out a fight scene with the other handler if your characters are going to have one, it helps make the roleplay smoother and such. Q- How many threads may my character be in at once? A- As many as you can handle, provided that it doesn't interfere with your other threads-- they cannot be occurring simultaneously. Q- What is this 'How not to do an App' stuff? A- 'How not to do an App' has been inspired by the number of applications that I have seen, not only at AG, but on numerous other boards as well, generally fandom-based. For some reason there will always be people who want to have cross-over type original characters who are the center of the universe. The 'How not to do an App' is the only place I ever want to see such stuff. Most of them are written as parodies or for humour purposes now, but chances are, if you have a character who is very similar to one of them...you may want to go take a Mary Sue litmus test. Q- I was a member or AG previously and I want to come back. Do I have to reapply? A- It depends. If you were a member of AG, at the domain (http://www.aztecgold-rpg.com), then no, you do not need to reapply. Simply contact a moderator or administrator and we will resurrect your bio for you--however, this only applies in the case of an original character. If you were a movie character and that position is now taken, then you are welcome to come back but you will have to reapply as some other character. [ b]Q- I think I can do a better job as a movie character than the current person. Can I apply for them? [/b] A- No. Once a movie character is accepted, and they have passed the 'trial period' they are in for playing the character for as long as they want, providing that they are active. If the character you want to apply for has been inactive for months, we will see about opening them to applications--contact an administrator if this is the case. Q- The canon character I want to apply for has an application up, but is not yet accepted. Can I still apply for him/her? A- Yes, as long as we have given no final answer yet, then you may feel free to apply. In the case of more than one application we will decide between how many there are and go for the best one. Q- I've been accepted, but I'd like to add something into my profile/events have now changed my character enough that I'd like to edit my profile. May I? A- Of course! In order to do this you must contact a [url="http://www.freewebs.com/aztecgoldrpg/Staff-Recruiters.html">staff member[/url] with the edits you would like to your profile. We reserve the right to reject them (for instance if you've suddenly developed telepathy, or are trying to make a major change without any oversight), but for the most part we'll let it go. Copyright & Ownership Info Disclaimer and Layout Info: Pirates of the Caribbean and all related trademarks, and images belong to Disney, Jerry Bruckheimer and their related associates. We do not own PotC, nor are we affiliated in anyway with those who do own it. We are making no money off of what we do here. The layout of the forum was done in 2007 by Alia-Hildwyn. It may not be reused without permission. The layout for the website is by Alia-Hildwyn and Depleti. It may not be reused. The Aztec Gold coin symbol is from Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl and belongs to Disney Studios. Brushes used on the website/forum are from [url="http://www.brushes.obsidiandawn.com/brushes.htm">Obsidian Dawn[/url] and [url="http://www.1001tours.org/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=58&func=fileinfo&filecatid=5&parent=folder&lang=bg"]Noel (Bozhidarka Stoeva)[/url]. Plagiarism:[/b] Plagiarism and the Handlers' Properties: Plagiarism (taking other's work and presenting it as your own) is not tolerated on this site, and will be dealt with swiftly and harshly--whether it is in a written RP, or within an application. When in doubt, credit it and provide a link to the original material. That being said, I strongly prefer that applications and such are the product of the member and not a third party. You may used other sources such as Wikipedia or the Visual Guide for information in your application (though having read both of those I would very highly recommend against it, since both get away with saying some of the most appallingly stupid things ever), you must cite it appropriately. All original characters, their bios, and rps are copyright their handlers, and may not be used without their permission. RPs and bios from Movie characters are also their handler's property and my not be used without their permission. In the case that a person applies and is accepted, rejected, etc, and they disappear, no one is allowed to reuse their application. In the case of an accepted individual, if we cannot get confirmation back from them that they wish to return, their character is moved to the application archives, and left there to gather dust. Original characters are never to be handed off to anther player, unless it is the original handler's wish. If the handler is gone, and a thread is stuck waiting, one of the following things will happen to it: 1-- it will be moved to the IC Archives and forgotten, or 2--it will be wrapped it up quickly and if a MIA character/handler is not there you may NPC the to the minimum amount necessary to wrap it up and move on. In the case of movie characters, their apps are not ever to be reused (unless the person wishes to return, and the same goes for original characters, their apps may be rescued then and only then). Other people will be able to play the movie character, but their application must be their own work.

OOC / General Rules

Have fun, and remember it’s only a game!
Keep IC things away from OOC things, and vice versa.
Harassment of any kind is not tolerated (unless it is purely IC and restricted to IC forums). It should go without saying that if you have a problem with someone OOC, that it will not be made into a problem ICly. If you are found guilty of this offense, the punishment is banning.
Please keep custom signatures, personal photos/avatars, and icons small and appropriate. (Custom signatures can be no larger than 450x200 px and avatars 150x250 px. Signatures must pertain to your character when roleplaying. In OOC it's okay if you have a link to your website, etc, but not in the IC forums.
Rolecalls are mandatory. If you do not respond to a rollcall (and you have not stated that you were going to be absent), your character will be put on an inactive list, and if that character is a movie character, if there has been no response to our attempts to contact you, the movie character will be put up for adoption.
If you have created an account on the board, and haven't used it to post anything within two weeks, it will be deleted.
Spamming the board, including posting advertisements in forums where they do not belong, PMing members for the sole purpose to recruit for a website or another RPG, is strictly forbidden. The offending posts will be archived, the IP saved for future reference, the account deleted, and the e-mail address banned.

Applying & Characters

You cannot have control of more than two movie characters (unless you have one of the dynamic duos (Mallot & Grapple, Ragetti & Pintel, Murtogg & Mullroy) whom each count as one character, and then another character in addition). There is no limit to how many total characters you may have, as long as you roleplay them all. If you have created a character but wish to not use them as often, you may feel free to convert them into an NPC that anyone can use, or that only you can use.
When applying: Make your characters interesting! Make them different without throwing historical accuracy out completely! Interesting means no Mary Sues. No siblings or relatives of the main characters without both Admin/Owner approval, and approval of the main characters’ handler(s).
When applying you need to know a special code= "Frogs and Lobsters" Please do not place that phrase into the app until you are done with your application, and place it right after the part in the application that says "code:" otherwise I will redirect you to the rules again.
If you wish to apply for a female pirate you must first be accepted as a non-female-pirate character (and this does not include an Elizabeth Swann clone), and have posted 25 IC posts, before we will consider the application. This way, we know what your posting style is like, and will better be able to judge how you would handle the female pirate. Also, we're only going to accept the crème of the crop for female pirates--we're looking for originality, quality writing, and a very fleshed out character. Not every female pirate in existence lost her parents to other pirates, fights like Xena, has tattoos, and serves on the Black Pearl.

IC Character Rules

No godmodding/power-playing/etc.
Pirates of the Caribbean was a PG-13 movie, and keeping that in mind, we would like to keep most posts to within that range. R rated posts are permitted for topics of an adult nature (violence, sex), but only if they arise naturally from the thread, and are not the purpose of the thread. Any threads that are R rated will be moved to a password protected forum, and must have the rating listed in it, as well as a warning in the first post of the thread, explaining why it got that rating (ie “rated for graphic sexual content.”).
When writing a roleplay, no IM/internet talk (ie- that wuz way 2 cul 4 U) and at least three paragraphs in length (that is 4+ sentences (or thereabouts) per paragraph!).
Please write in third person past tense when RPing (barring certain things, such as journals, etc where first person is used). It's for the flow-- it's easier to read through a whole thread if its all written in a similar style.

The Wardroom / Shoutbox Rules

Do not spam the shoutbox.
Do not harass individuals.
Do not impersonate another member.
Nothing should exceed a PG-13 rating on the shoutbox.

FAQ
Q- What is godmodding/power-playing/etc?
A- It is when one person will control another characters actions, or create actions for another character without the character’s handler’s consent. For example, ‘Captain Barbossa whipped out his pistol and shot Jack, who fell to the floor, dead.’ Unless Jack’s handler okayed this action, it is godmodding and is strictly forbidden. What you can do is 'Captain Barbossa pulled out his pistol and shot at Jack.' That leaves the other character free to respond like so, 'Fortunately for Jack, the shot missed Jack, who breathed a sigh of relief.' Rule of thumb-- it's always best to plan out a fight scene with the other handler if your characters are going to have one, it helps make the roleplay smoother and such.

Q- How many threads may my character be in at once?
A- As many as you can handle, provided that it doesn't interfere with your other threads-- they cannot be occurring simultaneously.

Q- What is this 'How not to do an App' stuff?
A- 'How not to do an App' has been inspired by the number of applications that I have seen, not only at AG, but on numerous other boards as well, generally fandom-based. For some reason there will always be people who want to have cross-over type original characters who are the center of the universe. The 'How not to do an App' is the only place I ever want to see such stuff. Most of them are written as parodies or for humour purposes now, but chances are, if you have a character who is very similar to one of them...you may want to go take a Mary Sue litmus test.

Q- I was a member or AG previously and I want to come back. Do I have to reapply? A- It depends. If you were a member of AG, at the domain (http://www.aztecgold-rpg.com), then no, you do not need to reapply. Simply contact a moderator or administrator and we will resurrect your bio for you--however, this only applies in the case of an original character. If you were a movie character and that position is now taken, then you are welcome to come back but you will have to reapply as some other character. [

b]Q- I think I can do a better job as a movie character than the current person. Can I apply for them? [/b]
A- No. Once a movie character is accepted, and they have passed the 'trial period' they are in for playing the character for as long as they want, providing that they are active. If the character you want to apply for has been inactive for months, we will see about opening them to applications--contact an administrator if this is the case.

Q- The canon character I want to apply for has an application up, but is not yet accepted. Can I still apply for him/her?
A- Yes, as long as we have given no final answer yet, then you may feel free to apply. In the case of more than one application we will decide between how many there are and go for the best one.

Q- I've been accepted, but I'd like to add something into my profile/events have now changed my character enough that I'd like to edit my profile. May I?
A- Of course! In order to do this you must contact a [url="http://www.freewebs.com/aztecgoldrpg/Staff-Recruiters.html">staff member[/url] with the edits you would like to your profile. We reserve the right to reject them (for instance if you've suddenly developed telepathy, or are trying to make a major change without any oversight), but for the most part we'll let it go.

Copyright & Ownership Info

Disclaimer and Layout Info: Pirates of the Caribbean and all related trademarks, and images belong to Disney, Jerry Bruckheimer and their related associates. We do not own PotC, nor are we affiliated in anyway with those who do own it.

We are making no money off of what we do here.

The layout of the forum was done in 2007 by Alia-Hildwyn. It may not be reused without permission. The layout for the website is by Alia-Hildwyn and Depleti. It may not be reused.

The Aztec Gold coin symbol is from Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl and belongs to Disney Studios. Brushes used on the website/forum are from [url="http://www.brushes.obsidiandawn.com/brushes.htm">Obsidian Dawn[/url] and [url="http://www.1001tours.org/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=58&func=fileinfo&filecatid=5&parent=folder&lang=bg"]Noel (Bozhidarka Stoeva)[/url].

Plagiarism:[/b]
Plagiarism and the Handlers' Properties:

Plagiarism (taking other's work and presenting it as your own) is not tolerated on this site, and will be dealt with swiftly and harshly--whether it is in a written RP, or within an application. When in doubt, credit it and provide a link to the original material. That being said, I strongly prefer that applications and such are the product of the member and not a third party. You may used other sources such as Wikipedia or the Visual Guide for information in your application (though having read both of those I would very highly recommend against it, since both get away with saying some of the most appallingly stupid things ever), you must cite it appropriately.

All original characters, their bios, and rps are copyright their handlers, and may not be used without their permission. RPs and bios from Movie characters are also their handler's property and my not be used without their permission.

In the case that a person applies and is accepted, rejected, etc, and they disappear, no one is allowed to reuse their application. In the case of an accepted individual, if we cannot get confirmation back from them that they wish to return, their character is moved to the application archives, and left there to gather dust. Original characters are never to be handed off to anther player, unless it is the original handler's wish. If the handler is gone, and a thread is stuck waiting, one of the following things will happen to it: 1-- it will be moved to the IC Archives and forgotten, or 2--it will be wrapped it up quickly and if a MIA character/handler is not there you may NPC the to the minimum amount necessary to wrap it up and move on.

In the case of movie characters, their apps are not ever to be reused (unless the person wishes to return, and the same goes for original characters, their apps may be rescued then and only then). Other people will be able to play the movie character, but their application must be their own work.