[The Game Master]

Please keep in mind that the Utopia on Hold RPG follows all the same board rules as Inspired Opulence. However, in order to roleplay here, you must also agree to adhere to the additional forum rules for playing in Utopia on Hold.

Legal

1. Utopia on Hold does not claim any ownership over Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe. All canon characters are copyright JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, and Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
2. All work posted on Utopia on Hold is presumed as genuine work from the publishing party, who has surrendered full right for Utopia on Hold and Inspired Opulence to display, modify, and remove as seen fit.
3. Utopia on Hold, Inspired Opulence retains full right to modify this agreement and terminate membership for any reason that they deem fit, with or without notification.

Registration

1. All registrations must contain a full character name. Incomplete names, nicknames, unrealistic, or impossible names are prohibited. All applications for Utopia on Hold are screened on username first. All registration guidelines are absolute, and you must consent to keep your character name as your username at all times.
2. You are permitted to register another account freely, provided that it is used for the purpose of Utopia on Hold and you link it to your main account(s). Unlinked duplicate accounts are not only prohibited, but having unlinked duplicates can lead to the ban of one or all of the accounts.
   
   We take socking seriously, and if you should choose to create additional accounts solely for illicit personal gain, or should you choose to use a proxy on multiple accounts, the penalty shall be prompt removal from this forum.
3. All unapproved registrants are subject to prune at any time. Inspired Opulence may or may not announce these prunes ahead of time. So please, if you would like to keep the character account, get your profile submitted and approved.

Play

1. Utopia on Hold is a mature roleplay. This means that we do not attempt to inhibit the content that you can write on this forum, provided that it follows under common sense (i.e. not absurdly obscene, impossible, or grotesque). This also means that you may encounter posts of a violent, sexual, or offensive nature. Should any content fall past an "R" rating (as determined by the MPAA), please be sure to mark it with adequate disclaimers. Members are responsible for reading and adhering to these disclaimers.
   
   Should you have any issue with this, this may not be the RPG for you.
2. Players are asked to keep all play realistic. This means that unless otherwise explained, the basic laws of physics, realm dynamics, and character design are obeyed. There are other places where you can stretch the limits of realism as far as you can, but this is not the place.
3. All players of Utopia on Hold must have an approved registration prior to commencing play. Those who do not have an approved registration will not be permitted access to the in-character forums.
4. Utopia on Hold does not require any specific form of narrative voice, though third person past-tense is recommended, provided that the narrative voice remains consistent throughout the thread.
5. Please remember that this roleplay is intent on telling the very best story possible. If you are in a position where your ability to do this is compromised, please do not join/post. This RPG is not a place for you to "escape" life, this place is not for you to start drama vicariously, et cetera. You should make your post when you are in a good frame of mind (save, of course, if you write better otherwise). This RPG has natural political and religious themes and undertones. Should this bother you, please do not play.
6. Play is subject to limitations enacted by the staff. The staff's jurisdiction over Utopia on Hold is final. Players who consistently violate the rulings determined by the staff members may be subject to punishment, infraction, or removal.

Character

1. Characters are copyrighted to their respective authors. The publishing party has granted permission for Utopia on Hold to display, modify, and remove these creations at their sole discretion.
2. Players are asked to mind the rules of logic for these characters. Character histories and designs should make general sense, judged on a "reasonable common knowledge" barometer. Players are recommended to adequately research and explore their characters and their backgrounds for maximum accuracy.
3. Players agree to modify and amend characters based on the criticism from the staff at Utopia on Hold should they wish to play on the site.
4. Characters may be subject to any and all restrictions deemed necessary by the staff of Utopia on Hold, Inspired Opulence. Players must make these changes immediately should they wish to commence or continue play.
5. There is no limitation to the number of characters you can have, provided that none of them are neglected. Neglected characters, as determined by the staff, are subject to removal. There is no universal barometer for what qualifies a character as "neglected." However, generally characters who have not posted in a few weeks, have not logged in for several weeks, or have not completed any threads in several months, are considered neglected.

[The Game Master]

Assuming that all of the requirements for roleplaying have been fulfilled and you are a full-fledged member of Utopia on Hold, we are happy that you have gotten this far. That said, in order to maintain fluidity and equity in our roleplaying, we wish to creating a fair and entertaining environment. Naturally, that means we need to have some rules and limitations so not to encroach upon the rights and privileges of others.

Thread Creation

1. Utopia on Hold does not restrict how many threads that you can make. However, it is courteously asked that you do not make more threads than you can keep up with. If we ever see that you are unable to respond to all of your threads in a timely manner, we may impose a temporary limitation.
   
   This is especially important for us because of the abundance of plot characters. We need our plot to flow seamlessly and constantly, and this means that each and every individual must be in sync. We can't have people dropping out of critical threads simply because they have too many other threads to respond to. As a community that prides itself on its interactive and highly involved plot, we need people to readily contribute to meet the demand.
2. As a general rule, try to warn people regarding the contents of the thread, should it be inappropriate. We will not have a separate section for NC-17 threads, so it would be a good idea to give people the warning should they not want to see threads with mature content.
3. Please be reasonable with your thread titles. We absolutely encourage you to create creative and interesting titles. In fact, we hope you do. It would also be nice for your thread to somehow relate to your thread and its content.
   
   Furthermore, we ask that your thread title be comprised of realistic characters. I certainly do not care for any threads that have "^&&[H]e||{o}**v^" for its title. This is an advanced play-by-post RPG, not a place for you to adorn your thread with the most glitter as possible. You can find plenty of other locations where that activity is the norm.
4. As a thread creator, you should be producing threads intros that are informative and sufficient. You should ensure that you provide the necessary amount of detail and imagery for any readers to adequately respond without too much effort on their end. I absolutely despise threads where the joining party needs to come up with everything from the surrounding scenery, the weather, and the time of day.
5. Prior to making the thread, please thoroughly check if there are open threads similar to yours in mind. I can't stand open threads with no one joining, especially if someone else makes a similar open thread. Make sure to include your peers. Likewise, try to refrain from all-exclusive threads. We are a roleplaying community, not a collection of cliques.

The Roleplaying

1. Utopia on Hold does not have strict length requirements. We despise them. If have some ethereal level of brevity that permits you to express more in two sentences than what some can in a novel, then by all means, post 2 sentences. That said, as most people are not Hemingway on steroids (and minus the suicidal tendencies), we expect you to post a decent amount of substance for each post.
   
   How much is "decent"? The short answer is that it varies. We have no barometer such as "3 paragraphs" or "500 words" or any such garbage. Leave that to the college professors to restrict how much you can write. Again, it varies per person. Each individual has their own writing style and expressiveness. The general benchmark, however, is that your post should express all the necessary elements of a good story in an above-average fashion. In fact, you'll note that this limitation is even more restrictive and difficult than any arbitrary post limit. That's why this is an advanced RPG; not because we slap a numerical value on how much we want you to write.
2. Ensure that your post falls within the laws of realism and continuity. Refer to Guide to Continuous Roleplaying to help you out. Keep in mind that this guide not only applies to time, but also space (or if you're a relativitist, space and time are essentially the same thing. ). In short, please keep your posts congruous.
3. Roleplaying is a form of collective expression and storytelling. Make sure that you communicate with your threadmates to let them know what you are intending, and what they want to do with the thread. This is why we have private messages and instant messenger. Use them to create the best thread possible. A lack of effort/communication is not an excuse for a poor thread.
4. As with all good stories, you should try your best to create a decent plot line. This means that you bring it to conclusion. Stick with the thread all the way through. If it is discovered that you have engaged in too many threads for you to complete, then you may be mandated to finish certain threads before you can create/enter another one.