Discussion of Rules

So following the recent discussions going around about power playing and other issues affecting the roleplay, the moderators have decided to review and modify the rules for this site. Below is the draft that we have decided on. We would like your opinion on them. We are opening this up for discussion. We value your thoughts, and we want rules that everyone can follow and agree to so that this site can be made the best it can be. Now that we say that, we must understand that everyone's point of view is worth something and will be considered. Please do not shoot another person's idea down just because you do not agree or because you are angry at that person. We will leave these rules up for discussion for several days/a week. Afterwards, we will make the final revisions and judgment. The modified list will be put into effect and will be applied to the next roleplay day. We hope that these rules are satisfactory and meet everyone's criteria and wishes. Do not hesitate to comment, but please approach this discussion with a clear head. Arguments will not be tolerated. Thanks!

*Note: In order to post in the roleplays, you must first comment on these rules.*


GENERAL SITE RULES
1. Be kind to everyone and treat others how you wish to be treated in return. Having said that, you don't have to like someone, but if you are going to fight, it MUST NOT be posted up on a thread for all to get involved with. If the disagreement cannot be solved a PM should be raised with an Admin or Moderator who will step in to try and quickly resolve the issue. If the issue is non-roleplay related, please do not discuss it here or let it affect the roleplay. Issues should not be displayed or fought through any form of text, pictures, banner, avatar, or anything else that can be seen by everyone on the site.
2. Bullying or verbally ganging up on another member of the site will NOT be tolerated. Everyone is on the site to have fun and shouldn’t be made to feel isolated. If it is suspected that bullying is taking place, the bully will be punished in accordance with the enforcement process.
3. This is a family site and open to members of all ages, so be careful what you post. It is strongly advised not to bring foul language or mature content to the site unless there is a strong adequate reason. Posts that do contain offensive or inappropriate content will be susceptible to modification or a warning from the Administrators and Moderators.
4. No Spamming threads or forums with unnecessary text or images.
5. If any of the above rules are broken, the perpetuator will face the consequences stated below.
6. Rules will be added as needed, so use good judgment.


ROLEPLAY RULES:
1. As a member of this site, you are required to have AT LEAST one character.
2. New members are allowed to immigrate one wild meerkat into the group of their choosing, and it must be accepted by the dominants. The meerkat must be presented and described to a moderator for approval first. Examples of character biographies can be located on the index page of the chosen group. In order to be considered an active member, a member must post actively with their character for at least one week. Afterwards, they are allowed to add characters, upon the digression of a moderator. Any subsequent wild meerkat after the first do not have to be accepted by dominants. In order to manage the number of meerkats being played, a limit on the number of meerkats you can roleplay may be set up in the future. If your character(s) remains inactive after two roleplay days, it/they will be temporariliy dispersed or set up for adoption. Please let a moderator know if you will be leaving for a long period of time so that characters can be dealt with while you're gone. *Note: As this is not a problem at the moment, this rule will be enforced lighter than the other ones, if not at all.*
3. No Godmodding. That means no invincibility or super-meerkat powers. This roleplay is supposed to be fun, but it needs to remain realistic. Meerkats can not talk. If a meerkat is roving/traveling, please refer to the groups' maps so that a sense of direction and distance can be taken into affect. Any fights that take place must be fair and discussed prior. No meerkat can be really good at one thing (babysitting, fighting, scent-marking, etc.). No taking over another person's character without permission. (The donor must tell a moderator that this transaction is taking place). Dominants will have a maximum of three years of roleplay leadership before they must be killed off/overthrown. In short terms, no meerkat is indestructible or has super powers. This rule will be strictly enforced. As roleplayers, members should know what is acceptable and what is godmodding. Any suspicions will be reviewed and dealt with by moderators.
4. DO NOT kill another’s character without permission, or seriously injure them (ripping fur off of face, blinding etc).
5. Pregnant females must keep the number of pups that will be having secret until the delivery date. On the day of the birth, it will be revealed and the pups must first survive a week before they can be put up for adoption. First come, first serve, unless a prior reservation was made that was discussed with an administrator.
6. No in-depth mating scenes.
7. Keep your personal life out of the roleplay and no attacking another person's character out of spite. This rule will be strictly enforced.
8. If you want to create a new group, contact a moderator, but they must (unless said otherwise) be connected to one of the original seven. (evicted females, splinter etc.). A moderator or administrator will review the group information and agenda and will determine if the group is suitable to follow and role play with. It may take some time for a decision to be made, and not every mob will be accepted. Current mobs may disperse if characters emigrate/disperse.
9. The dominant female and male of a mob must be played by different people.


ENFORCEMENT
If any of the above rules are perceived to be broken by a member in any way...
- 1st offense: Warning by PM
- 2nd offense: 2 week suspension from posting
- 3rd offense: Final Warning by PM
- 4th offense: Permanent eviction from the site

*If a member is expelled, his/her characters will be put up for adoption, but the details of his/her expulsion need not be released unless deemed necessary. Those with higher privileges caught rule breaking will have their rights removed after the 1st offense.*

*If you suspect someone of breaking a rule, first send a calm PM to a moderator about the problem with sufficient evidence ('I believe X person's post on Y thread "Quote" breaks rule number 3 on the list due to the following reasons...A,B,C & D' for example). Senior members of the site will reply and will take the content to the moderators board for discussion. The moderators will decide if a rule was broken and decide the appropriate consequences for those accused if he/she is found guilty. If the moderators receive more than one PM from several members about the same topic, the topic may be flagged as serious and may affect some of the running of the site to give enough time for the discussion and the modifications to be made. Rules can be changed or modified accordingly.*

The number one rule is to have fun! Just follow the above rules, and everyone will be able to enjoy themselves here!!

Sounds fine to me, really. I think we should add another rule to the roleplay though-

No having Dominants constantly evict females just because the group is overpopulated. Try to have a reason to evict members of your group, and not just to keep the population down.

atb2700 wrote:

No meerkat can be really good at one thing (babysitting, fighting, scent-marking, etc.).

Can you please clarify that? And can a dominant only be in power for three in-game years or real life years?

It's just saying that you can't say that a meerkat is so good at one thing that it can't be beaten at it. For example, you can't say a meerkat is really good at fighting and then never lose a fight, cause that's unrealistic.

And it's three roleplay years, but it could be less depending on the situation.

Okay. They can still be adept at any one thing, just not unchallenging great at it. It all seems good to me.

Yes I agree completely with these rules. Also thanks for asking that Meyerm. That helped me a little.

I think that the rules are fine, and thanks for clearing Meyerm's question up Abt, I was confused too.

I think these rules are good. It'll make things more interesting and realistic.

I'm fine with them.

I'm fine with them too.

Rules that need to be discussed (Items may be added as needed):

-A limit on the number of dominants held by one person

I really don't think we should limit it, I mean, really, a lot of us would have to give up our Dominants then. There shouldn't be a limit.

How about this. You can have as many dominants as you want, but the more you have, the higher the chances of one of your dominants being overthrown if they get challenged by someone with less/no dominants.

Meyerm, that sounds good to be. But, I keep a list of characters that I would never allow to overthrow me, so, that rule might clash with me a little.

It's only part of a proposed rule I don't feel like elaborating on right now. What we can do is this. Anyone with more than one dominant will pick which one they like the most, and that one will have better chances in a dominance challenge. Any other ones will have the proposed rule mentioned above applied on them.

Or we could do this: If you play two or more Dominants, their reign would be shorter than three years"

As of now, the suggestions made are being discussed, and as seen fit, they will be used to update the rules in the case of problems. These rules are still open to discussion, and if you are a member and want to roleplay, you still must comment on this thread first before you are allowed to roleplay.

And please do not comment on the new rules sticky, just keep the discussion on this thread! thanks!

They all sound good to me.

yay, you're back Kusuma!

I'm fine with these rules. I've always found with forums and such that the rules there are just about common sense and being polite to other users, but it's amazing how people will take advantage if there are no rules.

Can I just ask, is there a general rule about subordinate pregnant females, or is that left up to the person playing the mob's dominant female at the time?

I'm not sure about what you mean, but it's up to the owner of the mob's DF to decide if a pregnant subordinate gets evicted or not.

There isn't one as such as it's left down to usually RP the scenario as close as it might realistically happen. Dominant female RP'ers will usually evict another members character if there is a roleplayed reason too eg. The subordiante has been caught with a rover or the DF is close to her due date. Sometimes players may have a plot which will taken into consideration but on the whole, evicted subordiante females usally get let back in the mob unless a specific player says so otherwise for their own plot purposes.

The new rule about keeping the number of pups a secret applies to any pregnant female meerkat and it's up to the mother kat to protect the litter as best as she can until they are a certain number of days old to which they then can be adopted out. We are hoping that this will realistically improve how many pups will survive and will hopefully lead to more lifelike meerkat actions such as infanticide of another pregnant female's litters and group burrow raiding.

Is there any other aspects about preganant subordiante females that you would like me to cover?

There isn't one as such as it's left down to usually RP the scenario as close as it might realistically happen. Dominant female RP'ers will usually evict another members character if there is a roleplayed reason too eg. The subordiante has been caught with a rover or the DF is close to her due date. Sometimes players may have a plot which will taken into consideration but on the whole, evicted subordiante females usally get let back in the mob unless a specific player says so otherwise for their own plot purposes.

The new rule about keeping the number of pups a secret applies to any pregnant female meerkat and it's up to the mother kat to protect the litter as best as she can until they are a certain number of days old to which they then can be adopted out. We are hoping that this will realistically improve how many pups will survive and will hopefully lead to more lifelike meerkat actions such as infanticide of another pregnant female's litters and group burrow raiding.

Is there any other aspects about preganant subordiante females that you would like me to cover?

Thanks guys, that's more or less what I was wondering about.