NPC Guidelines Update & Breeding Etiquette

NPC Guidelines Update

It recently came to our attention that our NPC guidelines lacked clarity where Wild Fauna and NPCs without accounts are concerned, so we have rewritten the NPC guidelines for clarity and brevity. They are now applicable to all character types, including Wild Fauna. We also added some specific examples of things NPCs may not be used for.

With this rewrite comes a few specific points we would like to draw attention to:

1. Accounts must have 1 post to be eligible for NPC status. We have identified a limitation with the activity checker causing it to kick accounts with 0 posts even if they have the NPC rank, so we have built this into the guidelines.

2. Only NPCs with associated accounts and the NPC rank may be part of packs. NPCs without an associated account may not join or be part of packs.

3. If a player requests the removal of NPCs from a thread or scenario, they must be removed. This was always true as player comfort falls under courtesy and collaboration, but we have included it in writing to underline that the inclusion of NPCs in a thread should be mutually agreed upon.

Please let us know via Contact The Staff if anything in the rewrite is confusing or requires more clarification!

Breeding Etiquette and Reminders

As we move into our Forever Breeding Season (trademark pending), we'd like to take a moment to remind players to maintain good etiquette around breeding and puppies. Please keep the following points in mind:

• Mark all conception threads containing suggestive content with an M at the beginning of the thread title and utilize the mature MyCode tag within the thread to warn others of mature content they may wish to avoid!
  
• When choosing players for puppies, unless agreed otherwise, both parents should be part of the decision process.
  
• Clear OOC agreement from both parties is required for puppies to result from any pairing. Joining a conception thread is not the same as consenting to parentage!
  
• When you receive an application for a puppy, acknowledge it!
  
• Don't ask for more applications when you have already received some.
  
• When you choose players for puppies, inform those who did receive the puppy and those who did not.
  
• When writing in threads with puppies, remember to include them! Puppies should not be skipped or treated as background characters unless they agree to be.
  
• If you choose to give your puppy character away to another player, it is polite to include the parents in that decision.

We are working on creating guidelines for collaborative etiquette across the whole of the site and these are just some of the ways to be more collaborative and inclusive where breeding and puppies are concerned. We felt now was the best time to share these points while the year is fresh and breeding is just kicking off!