House of Cards: Posting Rules

Where and How We Communicate

We play the game by open email lists, using two lists: the Play List is where we post all in-character play; the Out of Character List is where we post all out of character posts. There's also an optional Discord channel.

Play List

Players and the GMs have posting access to the Play list. Rules and procedures for posting to the Play list include:

• Play posts are written in third person present tense.
• Play posts should generally be written in plain text (no italics, bold, etc.). This rule was originally instituted because of the technical limitations of circa-2000 mail software. We continue to ask it because that makes it easier for our logmistress Karen to create logs.
• Play posts include action, dialogue, internal monologue, memories, or other appropriate contributions to the game that follow on from previous posts in the thread. They may also include meta stage directions about the post in brackets, marked OOC. e.g., "[OOC: Martin has asked all his questions; should we end the thread?]".
• Play posts should move the characters and NPCs in the thread to a decision point without overrunning other PCs (or Amber NPCs like elders).
• Play posts have no minimum length (sometimes a "yes" or "no" is all that's needed) nor do they have a maximum length other than the technical limitations of the mail server.
• While play posts have no size limit, please trim for readability on a regular basis. Leave anything needed for context (usually back to the last GM posting round) but keep the post legible.
• Please keep the names of the active PCs and major NPCs in the subject line, and update as characters join or leave the thread.

The Out of Character List

Players, the GMs, and lurkers may post to the Out of Character list. Anything that is not in-character play goes to the OOC list.Rules and procedures for posting to the Play list include:

• OOC posts may include squee, commentary, questions and answers, interesting and relevant web links, contributions, announcements of hiatus and return, introductions of lurkers, players, and characters, etc.
• The most important GM OOC posts have the subject line GMDP (GM's Daily Post) which we use for schedule changes or other important news or requests.
• Attachments should ideally be posted as links to a web site (imgur, google docs, etc.) rather than directly to the list.

The Discord Server

The Discord server is open to players and lurkers; information about it or an invitation are available on request. Participation is optional. It's just another channel for chatting with members of the game community.

Private Communication to the GMs

Please send private requests or communications to the GM at the GM email address, which the GMs use to post. Both GMs have access to this address and they will read and discuss your email together. If requested, we may also use a Discord sidebar for a quick chat.

Game Scheduling

GMs: The GMs usually post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings (sometimes during the day Saturday instead). If you expected a post and didn't get one, please contact the GMs either on the OOC list or directly ASAP.

Players: Players should post at least once between GM posts, before 6 PM US Central time on posting days (MWF). Late posts may not be answered until the next GM posting round.

Posting Order: We post round-robin style, so if there are multiple players in a thread, please don't post again until all players have posted. Every player should get a chance to post. If your character has nothing to say, please null post (announce OOC you're passing) or post a "[my character] listens" post to the play list.

Posting Order in PC-Only Threads: Players with characters in PC-only threads don't need to wait for GM posts to return posts. PC-only threads may post up to 3x daily per writer. Posting more often than that may cause characters to get out of sync with their fellows, requiring a lot of "just in time" intervention.

Hiatus

As a courtesy to the GMs and other players, we ask players to announce times when they will miss more than one posting round due to vacation, work, etc. on the OOC list.

Long-Term Hiatus

If a player will be too busy or otherwise unable to participate in the game for a long period, the GMs will work with the player to arrange an excuse for their character to be out of touch in Shadow or otherwise unavailable. Any player who leaves the game on good terms and is welcome to return is considered to be on long-term hiatus.

Failure to Respond

If a player fails to respond to a thread without notice, we eventually put them on hiatus. These are our usual steps:

1. After three posting rounds (usually one week), or on the first Monday after the third posting round, we usually send a private email to the player to check in.
2. If there's no response, after another three posting rounds (usually another week), we send a second private email to put the player on hiatus.

We understand that life takes precedence over gaming and that emergencies happen. However, an ongoing lack of dependability and particularly a lack of notice makes it difficult for the GMs to plot and to schedule threads with other players. If a player repeatedly drops out with no notice, we may retire the character.

Returning from Hiatus

Contact the GMs if you want to return from a long-term hiatus (voluntary or involuntary).

List Content

Players and GMs are expected to keep the list "safe for work" by either using euphemisms or grawlixes for swearing. This rule dates from the time when some players received game mail at work, where it was subject to net-nanny software. People will mess this up on occasion, including the GMs, but please keep the rule in mind.

Similarly, players and GMs are expected to keep the list to a PG-13 rating for sex and violence. While canon-typical violence, like duels and military encounters, have elements that might exceed a PG-13 rating, the GMs ask that players do not dwell on the blood and gore of fighting. The GMs require players to fade sexual encounters to black.

Please review the safety page for more details.