[Basic Information]

Site Name: Sidewalk
Site Link: sidewalkrpg.proboards59.com or click here
RPG Type: Stray Dogs
RPG Skills: Semi-literate and up
Site Rating: PG-13
Important Links: Rules | Plot

[Introduction to Sidewalk]

Running, running, always running
But never getting anywhere
Panting, reaching, struggling, gasping
Falling, always falling
You'll never reach the other side
You'll never make it out alive
So why try?

Everyone has a past. Everyone has a history, a tale of horror, a dark secret they don't want anyone to know about. When your own life is awash with misery and sorrow, you stop wondering why the others look beaten too. You don't need their suffering added to your own. You learn to deal with the grief by yourself. You close your heart, so you cannot feel, but the world doesn't stop crying.

The nightmare is never ending
It just goes on and on
It waits for you, once have have awoken
Waiting for you to come back to it
When all that awaits you is horror, fear, death
Why bother to sleep?

Yes, we all have our own story, our own unique tale of woe. But they're all the same really, in the end. A story about sadness, pain, heartbreak. No one can change the past. But you can change the future. The past says who you were. Only you can say who you will be. By the way you act today. By the way you act tomorrow, and the day after that. By the way you cope with the hand you were dealt. Those who have courage overcome the darkness and step forth into the light. And it is here, in this place of new beginnings, where such things happen. This is the place where the scars of the past are healed, the place where the frightened and abused learn to trust again. This is the place where the wild at heart at last learn to dream once more.

Here is your out
Ahead of you, the end to the nightmares
It's not the light at the end of the tunnel
It's another, stronger light, there in the distance
There, on the horizon, coming with the rising sun
I know it looks far, but I'll be there with you
Every step of the way
Together, we can escape the torment
Are you coming?

- POSTING IN CHARACTER AND CHARACTER RELATIONS -

1) In order to make certain things in your post stand out, you're allowed to use special effects (bolding, underlining, italics, etc) to do so. You may also use images as post toppers, or the post up in a legible manner. Don't over do it, however. Common sense will tell you when to stop adding fancy decorations, and if it doesn't, then someone else will.

2) All dialog should be in quotation marks (" and "). Bolding text does not subsitute them. Also, all thought patterns that are directly stated (Might as well try, Jim thought) should be written in italics. Thought patterns that are not directly stated (Jim thought he might as well try.) should not be italicized.

3) We've ready gone over what roleplaying is considered to be, at least here at SYS, but again (seeing as it really is a problem) we must enforce that. We are not a site for beginners, but we also are not a site for advanced roleplayers that tend to do overkill on every sentence they write. Your posts should be written like prose, not poetry, and not full of flowery words that have no place.

No one wants to waste time they could be writing to read about Mary Jane's scarlet, rosy cheeks that glow in the sunlight, or Jim's suede pants that scrunch with each and every dreadful step he makes. (The first half of the password to get to the character creation board is "ihave".) No one tends to care about small things.

A paragraph is plenty enough for a complete post, as long as it has fundamentals and replies to the initial message. Any length above five sentences will make most roleplayers happy, as long as the post is sensible and replies to what was posted previously. It's what's in the reply that has meaning, not the length. Quality not quantity.

4) All posts are to be made on their respective accounts. Posts for Mary Jane shouldn't be made from Jim Bo's account.

5) If your board contains mature content, the board's title must issue some sort of warning. The site is rated mature, but that doesn't mean that every post is going to be foul. All offensive posts and topics must be marked with a warning.

6) Of course, like all sensible roleplaying sites, there are several forbidden acts. God-moding, power-playing, Mary-Sues, Gary-Stus, and the like are not acceptable here. On countless HP sites you'll see beautiful celebrity-like characters, but that is not acceptable here.

7) You are allowed to play the same character from the same account in no more than two places at once. This tends to speed things up and help with keeping roleplaying active.

8) If you are going to move the roleplay from one board to the next, and wish to close the topic of the previous roleplay, please post a message so that the topic can be moved to the Pensive of Magical Memories.

9) The outcome of a non-magical fight, or magical duel, is to be decided before the fight has taken place. The fight should have been discussed between those that are involved, and though it doesn't have to be announced until the end for the public to see, the winner MUST be decided on. Fights should not last for more than two pages, and with each post, it is expected that the characters will tire. If ever happens that the fight goes beyond two pages, no one has been exhausted, and no one has one, both characters will lose, and those involved will be warned.

Related Issues

1) We do NOT! accept celebrity-claim characters. If you are playing a canon character, feel free to use the images provided by the actors, but other characters ARE NOT TO USE CELEBRITY IMAGES. This is to be enforced at all costs. Regular witches and wizards don't look like celebrities, so there is absolutely no reason you should have to play one. If you can't find an image that suits your character, don't use one. (THe last half of the password to get to the character creation board is "readtherules".) Celebrities do not make the Harry Potter roleplaying societies go around.

2) Your student character can only be a witch or wizard. There are no vampires or werewolves available for students at this time. Certain staff positions, however, may be made available under those titles upon request. Canon characters that are vampires, werewolves, veela, etc, may continue being played as such.

- POSTING OUT OF CHARACTER -

1) This shouldn't have to be said, but sometimes, it really should. It is important that every member (from admins to newbies) are treated equally. Administrators make the rules and enforce them, but are people too, and deserve as much respect as the newest member; and vise versa. Disrespecting someone, and purposefully offending them, is a highly punishable offense. Very few warnings are given for this sort of behavior, and it's often a one-way ticket to deletion.

2) Along with number one, poor behavior (name calling, insulting, excessive cursing, purposeful flooding of topics, etc) is deeply frowned upon. You will be warned for the offense, but if it continues, you will be removed from the site.

3) You are not allowed to curse out of character in excess or out of context. That doesn't mean you aren't allowed to curse at all, but just remember, they aren't necessarily pretty words, and are frowned upon by the... general public.

4) Your grammar and spelling should be kept neat and tidy, even out of character. I don't see why, if you can take the time to type properly for a roleplay post, you wouldn't be able to remain sophisticated enough to do the same for out character chatting. Occasionally, chat speak is allowed, in the event of having fun or needing to be quick about something.

5) Seeing as this is a community, you are encouraged to have out of character games and conversations. It wouldn't be any fun if all we did was roleplay, would it? The Muggle Talk forum is for guests and members alike, and again, you are encouraged to talk among each other about the mundane. (:

- BEFORE YOU JOIN -

Before we get started, there is something very important you should know. It isn't about Harry Potter, not about the forum, not about members or signing up, but it is about roleplaying. In order to join this forum you must realize, unlike so many people, that roleplaying is an art. And like any art, there are limits to how creative your words and images can be. There is such a thing as overkill, and overkill is not appreciated in the least.

Roleplaying is about interacting with the surrounding characters and the environment, not describing each golden lock of honey-colored hair Ms. Marley might possess. It isn't about spilling their past, present, and future in eight long paragraphs, or telling the readers every bit of detail as to what the character is all about. Roleplaying is about figuring things out for yourself as a player, and developing things together as friends and equals.

SYS is not a competitive site. We do not expect each member to post ten paragraphs for each post, in extensive detail, with a one sentence reply that actually had something to do with the post they were responding to. If posts like this are spotted amongst the roleplay, offenders will be punished on the spot. SYS does not stand this sort of roleplaying; and it's obvious what we're talking about.

Short, sweet, simple, and to-the-point posts are what we require. We want more than a paragraph, oh yes, but we definitely don't want a novel. We want legible, sensible posts that aren't flowery and sugary. We want roleplaying, not poetry.

Always remember, keep it simple and discuss things that ONLY need to be discussed in your post.