InsaneJournal

1. Basics
The standards that we all know and love still apply. Be polite and considerate, do not harass anyone or stir up drama, do not attribute actions or words to other characters without permission, don't Mary Sue/Gary Stu, and refrain from having your character know/intuit things they normally wouldn't. Realistic characters with depth and flaws are awesome, and most often the players who write them are as well!

2. No Spoilers!
Don't spoil anyone's fun. This means, if a player has chosen not to read threads their characters aren't a part of, don't engage them in IM discussions about that stuff! Some players will likely want to speculate about whodunnit, but others will not, so be considerate all around.

3. Timeline
Because everyone knows that RP does not encompass all (and that it's basically impossible to finish a thread in six hours or less!), the game operates on a schedule that follows the basic equation that 4 Real Life Days = 1 Game Day. Theoretically, it would break down to Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night, but this is somewhat flexible. Characters must be in at least one community thread every other Game Day, though hooray for more!

Please make an effort to not have two conversations - especially two private conversations - going on in the same place at the same time. ;) Simply check your friends list before posting something new, you'll be able to see easily who's where & when!

4. Journal Cuts
All entries should be posted under a journal cut, something akin to these:

"Tuesday Afternoon: Poolside: Open to All"
"Tuesday Evening: Miss Scarlett's Room: Miss Scarlett, Lord Grey"
"Tuesday Night: The Attic: Deputy Inspector, The Maid, Mr. Green, Ms. White"
"Wednesday Morning: I've overheard..."

5. Public vs. Private vs. Eavesdropping
Threads posted in rp_clue (The Estate) are public. They can be overheard by other characters or joined by other characters, the same way people can eavesdrop or walk into a room in real life. Out of courtesy for your fellow players, please do alert the player who started the thread before making an appearance in the thread unless it is marked as Open to All. Also, be realistic with your presence at the Estate; no one can be in two places at once, don't speak to Mrs. White in the solarium and overhear Professor Plum and Colonel Mustard's fight in the library in the same morning!

Threads posted in journals are private and may not be played in unless invited. Every thread in character journals must be entirely under a journal cut that includes the date, time, location and characters invited.

If your character eavesdrops, with or without joining in/being caught, please post an entry of what your character has overheard in your journal under a journal cut of "I've overheard..."

5. Short Game Clause and Player Activity
If the mystery is solved in less than a month real-time and enough people are interested, we'll restart with the same cast; new killer. Because we are by nature not a long-lasting game, we simply don't have hiatuses, and inactive characters become the next victim of the killer. It sounds harsh, but with a small cast and quick pace, we can't afford to wait for someone who isn't playing. If real life happens, and you know that you will have trouble continuing to play, let your mod know. Players who promptly and politely resign because of unforeseeable circumstances may be offered the option to join a later round of play instead.

6. Game Journals
Journals are distributed only for the duration of one round. At the end of that round, players are asked to reset the journal password back to what was originally issued, and remove all but one of your icons (as well as any identifying information you feel is better off private, such as screennames, player names, e-mails, etc.). Don't fret though; we will never delete posts that you've made! Every round will have it's own set of tags and a master recap so that, if you would ever like to revisit the game, or use it for writing samples, everything will be easily at hand. Deleting entries made by previous players from your game journals is vehemently not allowed, and will result in the immediate revoking of the journal in question, effectively removing you from the game.