#thornewood.update

With it being the start of the new year, we thought it’d be useful to post about a reminder about some of the rules and also instate some new ones to help Thornewood A) run more smoothly, but B) have more fun! 

Here’s our newest rule:

1. All messages regarding mod duties (approving plots, questions about policies, etc.) must be posed in a group chat with the Bee Sisters. 

Lauren and Casey talk every day, so they know what policies were discussed, but it’s easier to have it in a group chat so both sisters can weigh in. Also just helps the sisters streamline their conversations. If you don’t know how to make a group message, don’t worry! We’ll make it for you if we don’t already have one!

Along those same lines: 

2. Please discuss your activity privately with us before messaging the discord. 

This applies more to sudden absences or hiatuses, not “hey I won’t be on today!” kind of stuff. If you’re on a hiatus, please message us first before coming back. There are things we need to discuss (ie: new rules, new policies, when are you coming back? Is it in the middle of an event because then we’re gonna have to tell you to wait, etc.) before you fully integrate into the Discord once more. 

3. Meta-knowledge and God-modding (rule 10)

Your character shouldn’t know anything unless they’re explicitly told. Let’s talk about meta-knowledge first: 

Referencing former threads is very tricky. Unless a character from that thread told you what transpired between themselves and that character, you’re using meta-knowledge. Meta-knowledge sucks all the fun out of roleplaying because if your character just “guesses” about everything that’s actually happened because you’re using what you know as a writer to give your character all the info about Thornewood, there’s no secrets, no news to share, no nothing. Super not fun, you cannot do this. Warnings will be given if we see this behavior starting January 5. 

Here’s an aside about god-modding: You, as a writer, cannot control what another character does/did unless you write them. No ifs, ands, or buts. If Mod Case doesn’t describe her character, Lexus, as “brown haired” please don’t say she is. That’s god-modding. 

Here’s an example of intense god-modding from a past incident with a former member (remember that former member we go off about sometimes? They did this).

If Case didn’t write that Lex was screaming/shrieking/etc., please don’t say she did. Or, message Case and ask “hey, how would Lex respond to [character] (for instance) pushing her?” It says in our rules that god-modding is unacceptable and you’ll be kicked out if you’re caught doing it (more than once). Don’t risk it! 

Honorable mention: don’t meta-disrespect.

THIS IS WAY DIFFERENT THAN META-KNOWLEDGE!

This is by far the rudest thing to do to another writer, and while this hasn’t happened for awhile (remember that evil member who was mean to Hanna? That one, they did this, ya’ll haven’t), it’s always good to reiterate. Don’t ignore a character’s bio. If Keegan is supposed to be smart, he’s smart. If Lexus is supposed to be small, she’s small. Etc., etc. If you don’t feel they’re written that way, it’s not for you to say. You can say someone is being friendly, when they’re typically an intimidating character…but you can’t straight up go, for example, “Cameron wasn’t all that intimidating.” (IE: What the old member did.) If you’re looking to say that, you’d have a better chance wording it like, “Ellie seemed really strong.” Even though Ellie is meant to be a shyer character, you’re not stating she isn’t, you’re just saying your character is perceiving her in another way — which isn’t rude, it’s just how your character is taking her in the moment. It is, however, rude when you straight up go, “nope, they’re dumb/not intimidating/etc.” To reiterate: ya’ll have never done meta-disrespect, ever. You’d get a message immediately. We’d also cry. 

4. If you’re writing “tw: [anything]” in the tags, you need to be putting your photo/text/whatever under a read more. (rule 8)

The whole purpose of a read more is to give a member the option to not see this material. Without a read more, the person still has to experience this triggering content, which really isn’t acceptable or fair. 

To help this: Starting January 5, please don’t put a million tags when creating a read more. We need to allow people who are triggered by the content to see the trigger warning in the tags. IE: So when Mod Case (#exposed) puts AHHH AHH AHH before the trigger warning...Not that helpful. Just keep it simple: thread/chat: [name], tw: [topic]. Or, if there isn’t a trigger warning but you put a read more because you wrote a lot (like four lengthy paragraphs or more) tag it: read more: length. That’s all you need. Feel free to be silly with tags for non-triggering replies. 

5. Mandatory therapy threads (rule 9)

For awhile, many of you didn’t have a therapist so it’s totally fine if you haven’t had a therapy thread. Ever, if that’s the case. However, starting January 5, the mods are going to start encouraging you to have bi-monthly or tri-monthly therapy threads. Obviously, your character will be going to therapy much, much, more often so we don’t feel it’s fair to force you to thread every therapy session. However, to keep with the theme of a mental hospital, therapy threads must occur.

& Don’t forget to maintain a journal! (rule 9)

All patients and staff must maintain a journal. This can either be in the form of a true “dear diary...” entry, or just a tag on your blog. 

6. Reading the announcements 

Unspoken rule, obviously, but please read these announcements fully! The temptation to skim is intense, we know, but these announcements are really important for world-building, policy changes/updates and protecting our OOC community. Therefore, so we know you’ve seen them, please like the announcements upon reading them. If you forget, we won’t ask you to, so please just take this as a suggestion.