| Registration Terms |
| The board administrator has requested that all new registered users must agree to the following terms before registering and using the services on this board. Please read the following terms and if you agree to them, select the "I agree" button found at the bottom of the terms. |
Welcome to Balamb Garden Online!
Before you begin your adventure and meet your fellow cadets, take some time to look over this list of rules. We want you to enjoy yourself and have fun exploring the world of BGO and what it means to be a writer, and these rules are in place to make sure everyone can do that in a safe, fair and fun environment!
Section A: General Posting
1 - Attitude: Please be aware of what you say and how you say it, we are all real people with feelings, opinions and outlooks. If you disagree with someone, be civilized in your discussion with them. This should go without saying, but harassment and any kind of hate speech will not be tolerated. Be wary of sensitive topics as you may hurt someone's feelings.
2 - Forum Behavior: Please refrain from double posting. If you have an afterthought, make use of the "edit" button on the right side of your post to add it as an addendum." Also, please do not use colored text in roleplaying as it is distracting.
3 - Media Content: Do not post pictures without the consent of the creator of said pictures. Provide credit where it is due. Do not post porn or violent images. Do not provide links to these things either.
4 - Staff Direction: The Moderators and Administrators are here to help you! We want you to enjoy your time on BGO. If you have any questions, feel free to ask a Moderator. Questions about the RP, the events and information or the game and this board can be directed to the RP Department, AKA: Ark.
5 - Mail & Communication: There is a built-in mail system on BGO called u2u, though nowadays we just use Discord. There, members can chat in real time and plan out events, character development and more. You can join our discord after registration!
6- Posting: After registering, you are allowed to post in the OOC (out of character) forums all you like. Do not post in any roleplaying forums until you've been issued a Student ID Number and Dormitory. This is our way of assessing your character and making room for them! It is usually a very fast process.
Section B: Creating and Playing a Character in Roleplay
1 - Plagiarism: Please don’t. Just try to be imaginative - you are more imaginative than you think. If you need help developing your character, even after registering, then please reach out to Ark in the RP. Department via u2u!
2 - Character: Remember, your character is a real person within this world. Real people are flawed, sometimes inconsistent, stupid at times and make mistakes. You know who else does that? Interesting characters.
3 - Marionetting: A term describing the manipulation of another character's thoughts or actions within your post. It is discouraged on the forum, but it is not completely ruled out. Sometimes it can be helpful to a thread: Here are the exceptions:
i) If you have obtained the permission of the person being marionetted.
ii) If you have the permission of a moderator.
iii) If the person you are role playing with has started to role play with you in a thread, but later abandons it and hasn't replied within a week's time. If the latter occurs, contact a moderator to have your work approved.
Marionetting tends to occur when someone wants the thread to go a certain way, wants their character to be regarded in a specific way, or wants to do something they think seems “really cool.” Remember that you are only responsible for your own character. Any perceptions or actions posted by another character are justified as their own, regardless of how you feel they should be said. Try working out a concept for an RP thread via the u2u system or on our Discord with other members!
4 - Writing: In the interest of both roleplay and coherence, please try to keep your grammar and spelling as correct as possible. There will be a fair amount of leniency due for typos and very sporadic spelling mistakes. Correct these by using the "Edit" button on your post. This board's main language is English, and this can be a barrier for some who are not strong writers (but want to improve) or not very fluent in English grammar and spelling. The staff is here to help! We recommend typing out posts in Google Docs (it’s free) or Microsoft Word to take advantage of their spellchecker!
5 - Hierarchy: Within the roleplay your character might be outranked by other characters. The majority of our threads take place within a paramilitary academy, so your character may receive orders within a thread that they will be expected to comply with. Of course, this will always be organized outside of the roleplay. This is, of course, monitored by moderators and admins and we will always be available if you feel uncomfortable.
6 - Fade to Black: Writing something saucy? As long as it’s consensual (for both writers and characters involved) then it’s A-OK. If you’re writing anything explicit, then make sure the suffix is added to the name of your thread so people know what they’re getting into. Remember, sometimes a tasteful fade to black says more than your naughty words can! Plus, it’s classy.
7 - Banned Topics: Some topics are not welcome in our community, full-stop. Gonna bring the mood down for a sec here, but this is very important: sexual violence and sex with minors are all forbidden topics for obvious reasons. They are offensive, illegal and outright cruel to subject other people to in any form. If you feel you need to have one or all of these themes or scenes related to your character, this is not the site for you. If you are unsure if the content you are writing falls under a forbidden category, u2u a Moderator or Admin and ask.
8 - Me, Myself and I: Secondary characters must be cleared by administration, and must conform to the same rules as primary characters. Secondary characters will only be issued to members who have been an active member of the forum for at least three months and are consistent and reliable members. However, if you wish to stop playing one character and instead play another: that’s A-OK.
9 - Only Human: All characters must follow the same physiology as those present in the canon universe of Final Fantasy VIII, i.e. human. If you really wish your character to be of non-human origin (or with non-human traits) and/or with superhuman abilities, concepts and genetic curses must be cleared with the RP Dept. Limit breaks notwithstanding - that’s when you get to be magical!
10 - Fantastically Normal: Although the board and the game it is inspired by are based in fantasy, there must be a level of realism as discussed above. Characters should be played realistically and have their own limits and weaknesses. Your character is one out of many students, and as students, they are not experts in their domains of study or weaponry. Even if they were trained from a young age, students are not considered to be experts at their current in-game level. They are not masters of their craft/talent/weapon/class, they are learning. Even SeeD, who are considered tested and more capable than cadets, are not all-powerful. Your character may be considered especially talented in their field, but they live in an academy full of people considered to be especially talented in their fields. If you think your character should be more talented than anyone else, please u2u Ark of the RP Dept.
11 - Now that’s a knife!: Your character can wield 1 main weapon (ie. a gunblade) and 1 secondary weapon (ie. a pistol). Their proficiency with those weapons (poor, acceptable, proficient) is up to you. The weapon can be as significant to your character as you like, but it is not magical. Nor does it grant your character any special abilities.
12 - It’s a Kind of Magic: Your character, as a cadet of Balamb Garden, is issued an Odine Bracelet. This is a featureless metal bangle that can draw, store, junction and cast low-level para-magic via a mental interface granted by the item. It is a training device used to ready cadets for junctioning a GF. Please review the Lore Aid for a list of spells the Odine Bracelet can hold. Your character only has access to para-magic (the drawing, junctioning and casting of magic spells) from the Final Fantasy VIII universe. The exceptions to this rule are: sorceresses, monsters and event persona characters. They do not possess elemental affinities. There is no in-character difference in casting Blizzard than there is in casting Cure other than the spell's effect on its target. Your character can find it as simple or hard to concentrate to cast para-magic as you like.
13 - Guardian Forces: A Guardian Force (GF) is an energy being from another dimension that your character can “junction” to strengthen themselves, as well as summon for aid during battle. Please see the Lore Aid for more information on Guardian Forces.
14 - Garden Events: Garden Events are large group RPs that can be missions, classes or other social exercises. A prerequisite for joining an event means you agree to make a post every 72 hours where appropriate. Events are really for everyone, it isn't fair to leave others hanging when they could be playing. If you'd like to join a future event, be sure to manage your time to be able to participate. If you go over the deadline, your posts may be finished for you or your character will be removed or written out of the event. You must participate in the event to say your character was involved. Certain Garden Events will move the Metaplot (our story) forward.
Thank you for reading! Please u2u any Moderator or Admin with any questions, or reach out on our Discord for clarification or general help. |
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