General Rules ~ Posting Rules ~ In Character Rules

1) Game play should be in a mature, literate and responsible manner. Throwing temper tantrums when something doesn't happen when you think it should, using "leet" or chat speak, an inability to post readable posts, or blatant disregard of rules will cause us to ask you to play somewhere else, irregardless of age or status.
2) Inappropriate content includes Porn, Obscene Graphics, Spam, and Rampant Obscenities, and is not tolerated on this board. As far as obscene language, think of it this way: wolves really wouldn't know said things because language such as that is a human trait. If we see any of this, you will be warned and the graphic/words/etc will be changed or deleted. If this happens three times, you will be removed from the game.
3) Respect your fellow players by reading their posts completely and responding in a way that will benefit you both. Respect your administration / moderators rules and policies, and please do what they ask. Respect everyone by leaving your drama and spam at the door on the way in. We want to have fun and role-play, and respect helps this stay fun!
4) Graphics are welcome, but we do have regulations on size:
Avatars should be no larger than 200 x 200 px and should be in .jpg, .gif, .png formats.
Tables should be no wider than 450 px.
Signatures should be no taller than 400px, and no wider than 450 px.
Images MAY NOT stretch the forum width, which means they should not cause your post to stretch outside of others. If graphics limits are not adhered to, your graphics will be deleted. :)
5) Please be original with your character concepts. If we see this in your profile (i.e. wolf resembles charizard off of Pokemon) or any such indication that such a thing has happened, you will be denied. As well, try to choose a wolf name, something that is descriptive of your wolf or his/her character, since these animals have not had any contact with humans.
6) Art theft is frowned upon. If you are using someone's art for your images, make sure you either have permission to use it or it is art that has been created for you to use by the artist. ALSO: Images used on PARAGON are NOT for use on any other site! If caught doing this with any images, accidental or not; you will be warned ONCE, and further times be banned from the game. Any graphics used and created for use on the site as icons, buttons, banners, etc. are NOT to be found on other sites. ESPECIALLY if you are using the exact url which traces back to Paragon.
7) The Admins and Moderators are to be listened to. If they say something, treat it as law. If you have a question, you are allowed to ask, but please be polite and respectful. We do not publicly disrespect our fellow players or moderators on this game. If you do so, you may be asked to leave.
8) In regards to timelines, Paragon runs in "real time", meaning one ooc day = one ic day as far as time passage. However, we also utilize "liquid time", meaning that your wolf can be in as many threads as you can handle, and in different parts of "time" if needed. The "time" that a thread takes place in, for argument's sake, however, is the date when the thread was started. So, it could be July and you are still posting in a May plot. So long as everyone keeps a handle on their own timelines and how they interact with others, this system works just fine. You may "backdate" a thread if you really wish, however, this must be noted on the thread's start post, oocly, and we do not recommend it. That simply makes things confusing! There should be no "forward dating" of threads in the timeline (meaning you may not start a thread in June but say it's really in September in the coming year) as this would be very confusing as there are things that will not have even happened yet in the game!

1) Time between in-character posts should be no longer than 10 days. If any character goes longer than 10 days without posting in character, and is not on the absence log, they are subject to deactivation. All characters of a player must maintain this activity! You may reapply if you have been removed in this way, (Rules for which follow below.) but you are not guaranteed your previous rank in a pack, and as well, your current post count will be reset to ZERO in regards to gaining new characters (meaning that as of the day of your reactivation you once again need 25 new posts to gain another character). Inactive characters take up space and are not fun for others!
2) Related to being deactivated: If you wish to reactivate a character, and it has been more than five days since your deactivation date, you MUST repost an application following all of the current application guidelines, as well as providing a reason for your absence that fits in with Paragon's rules and continuity, which does not include becoming displaced from your element. (If it has been five days or less since your deactivation, you need only contact your pack's Alpha to become reactivated) Keep in mind that deactivated Uiscens have a slightly different guideline for this process. However, those with multiple characters whom have been inactivated have a "mini start over" period before activating all of them. Which means, if you had multiple characters that were also deactivated at this time: you will need to get 15 posts back active with the character most recently activated before gaining a next one back, and so on. (For example: You play Dust (100posts), Rain (75 posts) and Fire (50 posts). Dust and Rain stay active but you forget to post with Fire, and he's deactivated, Rain needs to then gain 15 more active posts and then we re-activate Fire.) This is to provide again that you can keep up the much needed activity; as there is no point to having multiple characters if they simply go inactive all of the time!
3) OOC (out of character) chatter in an in character post is not allowed. Meaning, you are not allowed to post a purely out of character post in an ic thread! If you have the necessity to say something out of character prior to an in character post, said post must be separated into two sections: an ooc (out of character) and an ic (in character) section. For those of you that need a refresher: out of character is when you are speaking in the world of the player, in character is when you are speaking in the world of the character.
4) Spot Claiming, wherein a post is put in a thread to "remind" someone to post there or to "hold" a reply spot is NOT ALLOWED on our game. You either post when you're there, or do it later, there's no reason to leave a "blank" post to hold a spot!
5) Post length should be at least two, good sized (Ie. 2-3 sentences) paragraphs. We do NOT use word counts on this game as a way of deciding whether a post is "good" enough. We want everyone to be able to have a fun role-playing experience!
6)Role-playing must be in past tense and third person.
7) Post quality is expected to be at the very least at an average to high level. Use spell check. Please separate your paragraphs so we know when a thought ends. It is difficult to read and understand poorly spelt posts as well as posts that utilize poor grammar. If you need a refresher: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/
8) Distinguishing speech from the rest of your post is required. This is done by the proper application of quotation marks around said speech and either a different font color, emboldened or italicized within your table.
9) Post Order is important to keep in mind when you post to multiple character threads (ie. not "private" threads with just two participants) on a role-play site like our own! In essence, the original order in which the first several members of a multiple character thread post determines the continuing order for the remainder of the thread. For example: If Syl starts an 'all welcome' thread, Twilight responds after her, and then Mystiq responds. Thus, the continuing post order of the thread is: Syl, Twilight and then Mystiq. This keeps posts and actions in an order that is easy to roleplay with! If an additional participant 'breaks into' the post order, they are merely simply worked in with the others. However, a good rule to keep in mind, in a multiple character thread is this: After you post, all other players must post before you can post again.
10) However, in regards to Post Order if the other player is not on absence and a multi-player thread that you are waiting on them to post in has gone > 48 hours since the last post, you may post out of turn so long as proper post order is maintained as soon as they return. If the player is on absence, then suitable time should be waited for them to return . . . with the exception of plot-centric threads. Since a plot-centric thread has a time limit in a sense, this is the only time you are allowed to "skip" a player on absence. These are guidelines, however, it is always polite to simply give people a bit of time to post especially if it's just a normal thread!

11) In Regards to Ranks: One is not guaranteed to keep their rank in a pack once they have attained it! If your wolf, whom was formerly very active, slows down in activity, or perhaps even goes on an absence . . . there is nothing saying that the rank cannot be given to another in that time. When one goes on absence, or perhaps stops posting quite as much, life on Paragon does not stop. It continues forward without the input of the character(s). Please keep that in mind! Ranks are not granted by post count OR simply longevity.

1) Hierarchy: Pack Alphas must have respect and submission at all times. Neglecting this can get your character severely demoted or even exiled from the pack. Pack Alphas are also the moderators that take care of the pack land forums, so they likely know what's going on at all times. Keep this in mind when role-playing; there's not many secrets that stay hidden for long!
2) Power playing is only allowed with consent of the other player. So, say, if there's a particular thread you are participating in, and you want something to happen which involves the other character doing something; you should contact the other player first before assuming you can simply play out their character's actions. Anything else is simply rude.
3) All Powerful Characters, or "god modding" (in essence when someone's character has the ability to do practically anything without limits or boundaries. An example is when they simply cannot be harmed by any and all means other RP-ers try.) is not allowed. There is no such thing as auto hit or auto kill or characters that can do anything and everything without weakness. In a fight, the outcome must be discussed and decided between the players, if conflict with discussion occurs, contact an administrator for resolution. If you insist on playing that way, your account will be de-activated and you'll be banned. Playing god is the job of the Admin(s) if necessary. ;)
4) Muliple characters are allowed, however, they all must be active. By active, this means you must have at least 25 posts with your first character before submitting a second, and then at least 25 posts with the second before submitting a third, and so on. Once you have said multiple characters, they all must stay with the "time between posts" rule or they will be de-activated like anyone else.
5) Force breeding is not allowed. You must come to an ooc agreement between your characters and then ask your alpha if it is ok for you to breed first! Wolves cannnot breed between elements.
6) Preset personalities between elements do not exist. Your wolf may have whatever personality fits his or her personal morals. However, if you clash with the pack alpha, do not expect good results. They are still the determiners of whom is in their pack and how they act.
7) Death of a Character by another Character's paw is only allowed with the out of character consent of the victim OR, in a rare circumstances, the ruling of an administrator. Said circumstances of an administrator making a ruling as such are very few and far between, requiring extreme circumstances to do so (ie: a role-player being too insubordinate even after being disciplined by removal from a pack, challenging another whom is far beyond their skills and persisting even with warnings, etc.).
8) References from other lands that are not Paragon should not be spoken in character. Your wolf has lived on this small continent all it's life. He/She would not know of things such as movies, tv, books, or even the planet Earth. Even though our wolves are civilized, they have a very limited view on the world, so please keep that realistic or you will be asked to edit your posting.