R u l e s

R u l e s

The Rules of Jersey City
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Out Of Character Rules (OOC Rules)

RULE NO. 1 - RESPECT
Respect everyone in the house. It sounds so easy, but it's really important and several times before, people have disregarded this request in the past. If you have a problem with another person in the house, deal with it maturely. We don't want any fighting in JC. That is, we don't want any fighting out of character in JC. If you do not want to speak directly to the person who you have a problem with, please email the leaders with your problem.

RULE NO. 2 - APPLYING TO THE HOUSE
We have several openings here at JC; however, that does not mean that you automatically get a spot. Keep in mind that this is a writing circle, and the application you send in is the first piece of writing that I will see. You want to make it detailed and interesting. On while we are on the subject of applications, if you want to gain a few points... do not write in heavy accents. I few here and there is fine, but don't make it every other word. Use detail...no one-liner answers. Use actions. Your characters has to be doing something during the interview process, right? Use his personality as a way of deciding what he would do. Is he nervous? Shy? Annoyed? Fidgity? Use it. This house is a way to expand your characters.

RULE NO. 3 - WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE
We reserve the right to refuse service. Now, this rule doesn't mean that we'll only accept our "friends" or what-have-you. It means that if you're disrespectful or break our rules, we reserve the right to make you leave the house. It means that we'll only accept people we think will contribute to the house and make it a productive writing circle.

RULE NO. 4 - CHAT ROOM
Please come chat as often as possible. We don't have scheduled chats at the moment, but I want people to come as much as they can. I don't mean you have to spend every waking hour with this house, but some disappear on me for a year or something. When speaking in the chat room out of character, speak in parentheses ((such as this)). If your character does not fit in the scene, don't bring him or her in the chat IC (in character). You are encouraged to lurk in the chat room if your character does not fit in to the scene taking place.

Union Rules

RULE NO. 1 - WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE
That's no threat. We do. The Union is a democracy, and we work off majority rules and votes. We are not owned by anyone. We are not officially ruled by anyone. We don't answer to anyone but the other Union Leader members and ourselves. Therefore we reserve the right to refuse to admit any character we see fit into this Newsieverse.

RULE NO. 2- RESPECT
As a newsgirl, you are a member of the Union. Now, as a member of the Union, you're required to respect your fellow lodging mates, the Master List, the Newsgirls Writers Resource, and your lodging house leader (whoever she may be). What goes on within a single lodging house is usually none of the Union's business; therefore, rules broken within a lodging house fall under that lodging house leader's jurisdiction. However, extreme and constant disrepect of the Master List, NWR, Timeline, your lodging house leader, or the Union can result in your eviction from this Newsieverse.

RULE NO. 3- STORY DEADLINES
We don't press for stories to be finished as much as we do just simply started. In fact, there is no current "must be finished by" kinda of deadline. HOWEVER, as we stated before, the idea of a lodging house is based on a W r i t i n g c i r c l e, with a capital 'W'. Therefore, each lodging house is allowed to set deadlines for stories; meaning a deadline from when you join a lodging house to when you start a story.
For example, if you joined a lodging house in March of 1999, and still haven't written a single thing...that means you've been basically inactive for an incredibly long time. Over a year. That's ridiculous! You shouldn't have been part of the lodging house in the first place, and your leader has the right to terminate your stay at their lodging house.

RULE NO. 4- STORY RATINGS
Once again, ratings will vary from house to house. Some stricter than others, some much more liberal. A rating is the same kind you use at the movie theatre:

G: Good for all audiences.
PG: Deals with slightly touchy subject matter, maybe someone says a "bad word" in a fit of anger.
PG-13: Deals with more touchy subject matter, a considerable amount of swearing, violence, or sexual innuendo.
R: Graphic violence and a lot of swearing, touchy subject matter.
NC-17: Extremely graphic violence or detailed descriptions of sexual situations.

These ratings are placed on stories, chat, pages, etc. If your story/behavior in chat/etc violates the rating scale for that house, the lodging house leader has the right not to post your story. Oh - and just because NC-17 is up there, doesn't mean your lodging house allows it. In fact, no lodging house in the Union currently allows it. Please be aware of that.