Frequently Asked Questions
The word “meaningful” is repeated four times in the community contract. Why?
Repetition is advertising’s go-to guy for keeping some product at the fore of a consumer’s mind, so the moderators chose to repeat the word “meaningful” so the reader would remember it!
All right, smartasses, so why the word “meaningful”?
The moderators are attempting to foster a creative environment for those interested in the act of shared writing. By asking writers to exchange substantive, purposeful tags, they are hoping to see a story grow, relationships form, and most importantly, for the writers to have fun while they’re creating. All too often, writers fall into a slump where they write for the sake of seeing something written. The moderators wish to rectify that by asking only that tags be meaningful.
Well, that’s all well and good, but how will I pass activity check? Sometimes, I just can’t be “meaningful.”
Easy. There is no activity check. The moderators have imposed no quotas so participants won’t be forced to produce for the sake of production, and instead, write because they are truly interested in writing! Yay! The happyfuntimes, they are now.
And really, the application process? Why’s it so hard?
The moderators attempted to create something that was easy, so naturally, it ended up being confusing to everyone. The application, the moderators fear, is like flatpack furniture.
Here’s the thing: the moderators do not care what your applications contain. If they want to know how purple your played-by’s eyes are, or how they so totally, like, omg!love whathisface from that thing, they will perform the simplest of Internet (porn) searches. What they do want, however, is good ol’ fashioned awesomeness.
They want, in your words, who your character is, what drives him, what makes him tick. They want your samples to be the shining stars. They want to fall in love with your prose/action spam/poetry, not your character. Basically, they want you, the writer, to be part of the community. Which character you bring, while important, is about as crucial to being accepted as which pen you choose to write him with.
However, that having been stated, that does not mean the content can be factually inaccurate, ignored, or hastily slopped together. The moderators probably will not know anything about your character (and are relying on a tiny snapshot of your character given in the biography along with your incredible writing talents to recommend you), but they do need something to refer to if there should ever be an occasion to need backup. The moderators know only the crème de la crème will make up the community, but should one writer ever think another is allowing his character to behave completely out of character to the point he elevates a complaint to the moderators, they will need some source created by you to which to compare the claim. They want to have some cushion for you to fall back on.
Of course, the moderators do not think these obstacles should be trouble for any of you fabulous writers out there. The application is, like the instructions on your shiny new Blürg, a challenge to do your best.
Okay, fine. But I like to write twenty-four page applications, and the Akikostown application strictures are limiting the creativity the moderators claim to hold so dear!
Well, technically, any applicant can write a twenty-four page application thanks to the lack of a limit on the history or sample sections, but the moderators have imposed the limits for three reasons: 1.) The moderators don’t want to read twenty-four page applications (though they will, gladly!). 2.) Word limiting is a time-honored (read: old) tradition that serves to test a respondent’s ability to follow instructions. 3.) Word limits require a writer to carefully consider the content of what they’re writing, so the finished product is meaningful (see what happened there?) instead of space-filling.
What about challenge applications? Do the moderators accept 'em?
The short answer is no. If a writer has reserved a character, his application will be the only one considered (unless a case can be made for both characters existing in the same universe at the same time).
However, the long answer (there's always a long answer) is yes, and here's how! All applications are initially screened, so an applicant may not know another writer has applied for a character they'd like to apply for if there has been no reserve requested. If a situation should arise where two writers have applied for any character before the first application has been accepted, the moderators will consider both applications and approve that which is deemed more well written. In the event two applications are received for a character and neither writer has requested a reserve, the moderators will let both writers know two applications for the same character have been received.
The application that is accepted will be unscreened at the writer's discretion. The application that is not accepted will remain screened.
And the external site? What’s up with that?
In the Long Long Ago (late 2011ish?), there was some Internet fail. Panicked users migrated from one service to another, each bearing the low-burning torch of hope deep within their hearts they’d found a dreamland. It was a world without advertising, without the continual harassment from tick-based social gaming, without goats. It was a dot org, even! The safest of all safe zones!
But for how long? Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it apparently, so the moderators made the decision to house what they could elsewhere.
Have more questions? The moderators have more answers!
Version 2 | Updated September 23, 2012 | Cross-posted to the Gameguide hosted by Dreamwidth Studios..
Repetition is advertising’s go-to guy for keeping some product at the fore of a consumer’s mind, so the moderators chose to repeat the word “meaningful” so the reader would remember it!
All right, smartasses, so why the word “meaningful”?
The moderators are attempting to foster a creative environment for those interested in the act of shared writing. By asking writers to exchange substantive, purposeful tags, they are hoping to see a story grow, relationships form, and most importantly, for the writers to have fun while they’re creating. All too often, writers fall into a slump where they write for the sake of seeing something written. The moderators wish to rectify that by asking only that tags be meaningful.
Well, that’s all well and good, but how will I pass activity check? Sometimes, I just can’t be “meaningful.”
Easy. There is no activity check. The moderators have imposed no quotas so participants won’t be forced to produce for the sake of production, and instead, write because they are truly interested in writing! Yay! The happyfuntimes, they are now.
And really, the application process? Why’s it so hard?
The moderators attempted to create something that was easy, so naturally, it ended up being confusing to everyone. The application, the moderators fear, is like flatpack furniture.
Here’s the thing: the moderators do not care what your applications contain. If they want to know how purple your played-by’s eyes are, or how they so totally, like, omg!love whathisface from that thing, they will perform the simplest of Internet (porn) searches. What they do want, however, is good ol’ fashioned awesomeness.
They want, in your words, who your character is, what drives him, what makes him tick. They want your samples to be the shining stars. They want to fall in love with your prose/action spam/poetry, not your character. Basically, they want you, the writer, to be part of the community. Which character you bring, while important, is about as crucial to being accepted as which pen you choose to write him with.
However, that having been stated, that does not mean the content can be factually inaccurate, ignored, or hastily slopped together. The moderators probably will not know anything about your character (and are relying on a tiny snapshot of your character given in the biography along with your incredible writing talents to recommend you), but they do need something to refer to if there should ever be an occasion to need backup. The moderators know only the crème de la crème will make up the community, but should one writer ever think another is allowing his character to behave completely out of character to the point he elevates a complaint to the moderators, they will need some source created by you to which to compare the claim. They want to have some cushion for you to fall back on.
Of course, the moderators do not think these obstacles should be trouble for any of you fabulous writers out there. The application is, like the instructions on your shiny new Blürg, a challenge to do your best.
Okay, fine. But I like to write twenty-four page applications, and the Akikostown application strictures are limiting the creativity the moderators claim to hold so dear!
Well, technically, any applicant can write a twenty-four page application thanks to the lack of a limit on the history or sample sections, but the moderators have imposed the limits for three reasons: 1.) The moderators don’t want to read twenty-four page applications (though they will, gladly!). 2.) Word limiting is a time-honored (read: old) tradition that serves to test a respondent’s ability to follow instructions. 3.) Word limits require a writer to carefully consider the content of what they’re writing, so the finished product is meaningful (see what happened there?) instead of space-filling.
What about challenge applications? Do the moderators accept 'em?
The short answer is no. If a writer has reserved a character, his application will be the only one considered (unless a case can be made for both characters existing in the same universe at the same time).
However, the long answer (there's always a long answer) is yes, and here's how! All applications are initially screened, so an applicant may not know another writer has applied for a character they'd like to apply for if there has been no reserve requested. If a situation should arise where two writers have applied for any character before the first application has been accepted, the moderators will consider both applications and approve that which is deemed more well written. In the event two applications are received for a character and neither writer has requested a reserve, the moderators will let both writers know two applications for the same character have been received.
The application that is accepted will be unscreened at the writer's discretion. The application that is not accepted will remain screened.
And the external site? What’s up with that?
In the Long Long Ago (late 2011ish?), there was some Internet fail. Panicked users migrated from one service to another, each bearing the low-burning torch of hope deep within their hearts they’d found a dreamland. It was a world without advertising, without the continual harassment from tick-based social gaming, without goats. It was a dot org, even! The safest of all safe zones!
But for how long? Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it apparently, so the moderators made the decision to house what they could elsewhere.
Have more questions? The moderators have more answers!
Version 2 | Updated September 23, 2012 | Cross-posted to the Gameguide hosted by Dreamwidth Studios..