Post by //Cindy// l u n a on Jul 22, 2008 21:35:47 GMT -5
Being a new member at Warriors United can be pretty confusing - especially for those who have never role-played at a proboards site before. That's why I'm going to explain the starting points - stuff you absolutely need to know. Some of this will help you learn more about the site and its members. Please note that the words in italics can be looked up in the site expressions section.
First Things First: Rules.
The rules are really important. If you found this thread, you probably also found the rules. If not, here's an easy path to get to them. I won't give you the link until my helpful links section - it's best if you can navigate the site yourself.
What is this Site, Anyway?
If you've ever been on a roleplay site before, or this place was explained and recommended by a friend, skip this section or skim it. Otherwise listen up - this is the basic explanation of what roleplaying sites are. In the simplest terms, you create a character and then write about it - and others respond and write about their characters. In this way, you can interact with other fictional characters created and controlled by other members of the site. You only can make up what your character does and thinks - making up other characters' reactions is against the rules. It's a really fun thing, and you can make up a bunch of characters (it says in the rules how many). You also get to meet other members. On this site, we role play characters based on the series Warriors by Erin Hunter.
Making A Character to Role Play.
You cannot begin role playing until you've created the biography (bio) of your character. Before you start, think of a character in your head - what color fur, what Clan, what personality, etc. You don't need to make up very much but it can be easier if you have a basic idea. Once you have your idea, follow these easy steps to create your character.
Posting and Making a Thread.
Okay, so here your are at a thread. To reply to it (please don't reply to this one) scroll down. Do you see that little white box at the bottom? It's pretty simply: type in what you want to say there, and hit the little button at the bottom that says "Post Reply." You're done!
Posting a new thread is a little more complicated. You have to be in a board first. (The board that this thread is in is called "Warrior Code." Once you're in the board, go to the top of where all the thread names are listed. Then look to the right. There are a few options listed there: mark as read, new thread, and new poll. You click, of course, on the one that says "new thread." It's pretty clear from there - just type in your message, make sure it has a title at the top, and hit "post message" at the bottom!
Sending a "PM."
This is pretty easy once you know how - but a lot less easy if you don't. A PM, first of all, is a personal message. Basically, if you want to talk to just one member at a time or you want to make sure that a certain member knows something, you PM them. Lets say you want to PM me. First, you find a post that I made. Like this one. Go up until you see my name in the top left corner. If you click on that, you get to my profile. At the top of the box, you will see "Member's Bio - Send Personal Message" and maybe a few other options. Click on "Send Personal Message" and then type what you want to tell the other member in the box. If you want, you can try it out now. Send me a PM and I'll respond. Way up at the top of the site, under the logo, it tells you how many PMs you have and if any of them are new. Check that out now if you want.
Role-Playing your Character
This is the hard part - and also the fun part. And the best way to learn how toRP is to look at examples. If you look at the in-character boards (the ones closer to the bottom of the main page, you'll find threads made by other members. Take a look at those or some threads in the archives before you start posting your own RPs. But I'll give a bit of an explanation here, too, so you know what you're looking at.
Terms and Expressions to Know.
If you're new to the world of role-play or to the world of proboards, this is a pretty useful section. These are some words that everyone will use - so you should probably take a look so you'll get what people are saying.
PROBOARDS TERMS AND EXPRESSION:
Some Useful Links to Useful Places.
Click on the text to follow the link.
Thanks for reading. I hope this was helpful. If you need anything, feel free to PM me!
--Cindy
First Things First: Rules.
The rules are really important. If you found this thread, you probably also found the rules. If not, here's an easy path to get to them. I won't give you the link until my helpful links section - it's best if you can navigate the site yourself.
- Scroll up (when you're done reading this) until you reach the end of the big box with this post/text in it. It's even above where it says who posted it - on the left. There's a little list that looks like this - Warriors United v. 0.4 :: General :: Warrior Code :: Cindy's Simple Guide for New Members. Click on the one that says "Warrior Code." That's the board that this thread is in.
- There are a few threads listed. One of them is "Site Rules." Click on that, and read carefully!
What is this Site, Anyway?
If you've ever been on a roleplay site before, or this place was explained and recommended by a friend, skip this section or skim it. Otherwise listen up - this is the basic explanation of what roleplaying sites are. In the simplest terms, you create a character and then write about it - and others respond and write about their characters. In this way, you can interact with other fictional characters created and controlled by other members of the site. You only can make up what your character does and thinks - making up other characters' reactions is against the rules. It's a really fun thing, and you can make up a bunch of characters (it says in the rules how many). You also get to meet other members. On this site, we role play characters based on the series Warriors by Erin Hunter.
Making A Character to Role Play.
You cannot begin role playing until you've created the biography (bio) of your character. Before you start, think of a character in your head - what color fur, what Clan, what personality, etc. You don't need to make up very much but it can be easier if you have a basic idea. Once you have your idea, follow these easy steps to create your character.
- There is a special form you have to fill out. To do so, you have to find the thread in which this form is explained. First go to the home page of the site. You can get there using the same list of links that I mentioned in the first section; this time click on "Warriors United v. 0.4"
- Now you need to find the thread. There are a bunch of categories which have boards in them. The category that you need to go to is called "Sign Up" and the first board is "Create Your Cat." Click on that one.
- Now you're "inside" the board "Create your Cat." One of the listed threads is "Sign-Up Example." Click on that, and it should explain what you need to know.
Posting and Making a Thread.
Okay, so here your are at a thread. To reply to it (please don't reply to this one) scroll down. Do you see that little white box at the bottom? It's pretty simply: type in what you want to say there, and hit the little button at the bottom that says "Post Reply." You're done!
Posting a new thread is a little more complicated. You have to be in a board first. (The board that this thread is in is called "Warrior Code." Once you're in the board, go to the top of where all the thread names are listed. Then look to the right. There are a few options listed there: mark as read, new thread, and new poll. You click, of course, on the one that says "new thread." It's pretty clear from there - just type in your message, make sure it has a title at the top, and hit "post message" at the bottom!
Sending a "PM."
This is pretty easy once you know how - but a lot less easy if you don't. A PM, first of all, is a personal message. Basically, if you want to talk to just one member at a time or you want to make sure that a certain member knows something, you PM them. Lets say you want to PM me. First, you find a post that I made. Like this one. Go up until you see my name in the top left corner. If you click on that, you get to my profile. At the top of the box, you will see "Member's Bio - Send Personal Message" and maybe a few other options. Click on "Send Personal Message" and then type what you want to tell the other member in the box. If you want, you can try it out now. Send me a PM and I'll respond. Way up at the top of the site, under the logo, it tells you how many PMs you have and if any of them are new. Check that out now if you want.
Role-Playing your Character
This is the hard part - and also the fun part. And the best way to learn how toRP is to look at examples. If you look at the in-character boards (the ones closer to the bottom of the main page, you'll find threads made by other members. Take a look at those or some threads in the archives before you start posting your own RPs. But I'll give a bit of an explanation here, too, so you know what you're looking at.
RPing is Role-Playing. That literally means playing a role. You created your character - then you talk about what they're doing. You have to [RP in third person (don't use the words "I", "we", "you", "us", or "me") because YOU are not your character; you're just describing and controlling them. Look at your character's actions as a movie and then describe what you see and what your character is thinking. It's kind of like when Erin Hunter writes in Warriors - there are a lot of details, and she only uses first or second person when someone speaks or thinks. One difference is that you can only control your character, and you have to wait for a diferent member to post with what their character is doing. You go back and forth, and basically write a detailed story. If you make up what their character is doing, it's called Power-playing and is against the rules. You want to write at least a paragraph - five or so sentences - in each post
Terms and Expressions to Know.
If you're new to the world of role-play or to the world of proboards, this is a pretty useful section. These are some words that everyone will use - so you should probably take a look so you'll get what people are saying.
PROBOARDS TERMS AND EXPRESSION:
- Post - This is one, and if someone replies that will be one. They are the single reply or... block... by one member. It can be a sentence or it can be five paragraphs. Or it can be huge, like this post. It is also a verb. Posting something means making a post in which you say that thing.
- Thread - All of the posts that are on a single page, one after the other, is a thread. The person who makes the first post in the new thread is able to name that thread.
- Board - Boards are the smallest division of the thread-organization system. Boards have discriptions, and if you want to make a thread you go into a board.
- Category - Boards are grouped into categories. All of the categories show up on the main page, along with the boards within them. Categories are separated by spaces and at the top of each is the title of the category.
- PM - Personal or private messages (PMs) are a way of sending a message to just one member. They are a lot like email within the site. See "Sending a PM" section.
- Admin - Admins, or Administrators are the staff members of the site. We have around six at Warriors United. It's their job to make sure the other members are able to have fun here. I'm one of the Admin team.
- RPing or Role Playing - When you are posting, describing what your character is doing, you are playing the role of that character - hence, role playing.
- Powerplaying - If you're RPing with another member and suddenly you say what their character is going to do, that's powerplaying. It is strictly not allowed - they have to say what the character will do first. You also can't say that your character succeeded in attacking someone else's character with out that person's consent.
- Godmodding - If you make your character invincible, or without any weaknesses, it is godmodding. This is also not allowed.
- IC or In Character - it means just what you'd think it does. It means that whatever follows it is someone posting in character, or role playing.
- OOC or Out of Character - this is also exactly what is sounds like. If someone wants to comment on a thread, they'll put "ooc" before their comment.
Some Useful Links to Useful Places.
Click on the text to follow the link.
- Warriors United Home - this is the home page, and a good starting point for exploring Warriors United.
- Warrior Code Board - this is the board with all the rules and some other useful threads for new members.
- Site Rules - this is a must-read. It is one of the most important threads in the entire site. There is no reason not to read it, and even once you've been a member for a while you should check to make sure there's nothing new.
- Question/Answer Board - If you have questions about the site or really about anything, you can PM and admin or you can post here in the Q&A board. Other members and admins will make sure you get an answer to your question.
- Create-Your-Cat Board - This is the board where you post the bios of your characters. See the Making a Character section.
- Bio Form - Here is the thread with the form that you have to fill out to make your bio. See the Making a Character section.
- Announcements Board - If an admin has something important to say, they will post it here. Make sure to check this board regularly.
Thanks for reading. I hope this was helpful. If you need anything, feel free to PM me!
--Cindy
