Welcome to Nox Nobius! We are glad to see that you are considering joining us! We would like for you to familiarize yourself with our game by taking the time to read through our rules before registering. Do not worry, we don't have a secret code anywhere for you to add to your bio to prove you had read them, but we do expect that you follow them, even if you haven't read them in their entirety.



PROPER NAMES
Register with your character's FIRST AND LAST name in proper capitalization. (Jane Smith is right, sunny_*9& is not). If you make a mistake, PLEASE do not re-register. Send a message to one of the admins and we can make the change for you. Do not worry about logging in, we will send you an e-mail letting you know of the username change.

RATED PG-13
This site is rated PG-13 for the possibility of strong violence, strong language, and sexual content. We do require that members be at least 16 years of age to join. If you are uncomfortable with this rating, Nox Nobius may not be right for you.

3RD PERSON PAST TENSE WRITING
At Nox Nobius we write from the third person past tense format;

ie, Smirking, he tried not to laugh, "Gee thanks." he told her with a grin.

You can format your post however you want but try to keep it uniform with the person(s) you are RPing with. Also, please try to keep some order to the thread by being mindful of the other people you are playing with. Some members are more active by posting more often than others. Be courteous. If 3 days have passed since the last reply you are welcome to send a polite reminder PM to the member in question. If there is no response after an additional 2 days, and you wish to continue the thread, you are welcome to do so or you can finish it up and request it be locked.

UNLIMITED CHARACTERS (updated 9/5/09)
The staff of Nox Nobius is happy to feed your character addiction! So to that end, there is NO limit on number of characters you may have. HOWEVER, having said that, there are few guidelines we wish for you to follow.

Try to keep the overall board stats balanced. (Currently we have a STUDENT ratio of 12:15 (boys to girls)) We will keep in mind your (as a player) personal preferences, but please try to keep things balanced out for the board as a whole.

Try to keep all your characters active. We understand that some just might pop out you moreso than others, but if you can't keep up with them, then please don't register a new character.

Each character should have its own account so that the rest of us don't get confused while IC playing.

If you wish to have multiple characters, you must wait for the first (or your previous) bio/application to be completed and approved before registering the next one.


NO THREAD LIMIT
At the current time, the Nox Nobius staff has no set limits on how many threads your characters can engage in. We simply ask that you keep the following in mind. Your character can not be in two places at the same time (so no being in say the potions lab in one thread with one date and stables at the same time) and be active in all of your threads. You don't have to have your character in 5 threads simply because we don't have a limit. If you think you can only handle one, that's fine too, but if you are in more threads than one, try to be active in ALL of them. Do not let one sit inactive in favor of another.

WORD COUNT (revised 10/10/09)
While we didn't begin our site with a word count, we have implemented a 250 minimum word count for posts. While we don't want you to stress and write a novella, we feel anything less than that is simply to hard to react to. 250 words is about two good paragraphs (6-8 sentences). While we won't go around playing word count police, we do expect that members do their best to meet this requirement.


TIMESTAMPS (added 10/4/09)
If you are engaging in more than one thread at a time, we request that you use a time stamp on your threads. This is so that others know where in the time line your character is and helps players coordinate new threads on the time line appropriately.

You can do this one of two ways; At the top of your post in the description field OR at the top of the post itself. All we need to see is something like date and time. (Approximations are fine!)

TITLE THREADS APPROPRIATELY
All threads shall be properly marked according to our guidelines shown here . Please follow these guidelines.

STAY ACTIVE
From time to time the staff may hold random activity checks. We hope activity won't be an issue, but if we notice a decline, we will check in with you. If you know you are going to be away for some time, (vacations, school, illness, etc) PLEASE let us know that by posting an away message in our away forum. This way, you will be exempt from any activity checks that might take place while you are gone. Letting us know in the Cbox is NOT good enough. More details on activity will be discussed when it becomes necessary.


NO LURK ZONE (revised 10-2-09)
The Nox Nobius forums are a NO LURK ZONE. In order for members to get the most out of Nox Nobius, we must have active participation from all members. Once you join we do ask that new members introduce themselves within the first week of joining. Once your application has been approved we would like to see posting at least once a week (more is even better) for the first month.

After the first month "probationary/trial" period, all members are then required to post at least once a week. (again more is LOVE) If activity drops, we will activate our activity check. If you do not sign in during our activity check and have not posted an away message in our away forum, your account will be deemed inactive and you will be moved to the appropriate group. If this happens and you wish to remain a member, you will need to contact a member of staff to request your account be moved appropriately.

HOW DO WE DEFINE ACTIVE?
Active participants are seen regularly on board. They are replying to their threads, they are taking part in the Out-of-Character section, taking part in forum wide events and stories. They are people that are interested in helping staff make the forum a much better place not only for roleplaying but as a community by offering suggestions, feedback, volunteering for plots, etc.

ARE EVENTS MANDATORY?
The board wide events are not mandatory, but they do encourage relations with other members. Getting your character out there with others not only helps you build a history for your character but can create stories that you may not have otherwise participated in. And who knows, the staff might get creative and offer rewards.


NO GOD-MODDING/POWER TRIPPING
We all know that generally we are not allowed to god-mod other characters right? Right. So when you are engaging in a fight scene with someone else's character, you can't RP the result. You can discuss the terms of the thread beforehand, but no actual god-modding of another's character. So no hitting, stabbing, kicking, punching, or otherwise damaging another's character without their permission. If you have permission to move another character, simply let a staff member know by putting an OOC comment at the bottom of your post ie OOC: Permission to move granted or something along those lines.

NO RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS
It is considered against the official Code of Conduct of Hogwarts Professors, as created by the Ministry of Magic, for professors to engage in inappropriate relations with students. Therefore, if you are found to be having said relations be prepared to deal with the consequences if anyone is to find out about your little escapades. The Ministry does not take these matters lightly.

MAGICAL USAGE
Your character can only use magic for the level of study they are at. So, if you are playing a first year, you can only RP spells and potions at the first year level. We do this for both your character's safety as well as others you are playing with. You wouldn't want to accidentally blow someone to bits, now would ya?

SHOW US YOUR FACES
As a general rule, we would like you to find someone to represent your character as closely as you can. People you choose to represent your character should be someone easily accessible and well known, as well as age-appropriate for your character. (Actors/Actresses/Singers, etc). They should not be your average everyday random person on Facebook or Myspace. Please have a little respect for the deceased and do not use them as play-bys.

Your av, should not exceed 150x200 in size. Any size up to that size in height and width will be accepted.

Likewise, if you would like a signature, you are welcome to have one, so long as it doesn't completely stretch the board and doesn't get out of control. Oversized sigs are hard to manage for those members that may be still on dialup, so please, be considerate to others on the board. If it appears to big (read if there's scrolling after scrolling) then staff will ask you to resize it.

Your signature can be anything you wish, so long as it doesn't exceed the overall board rating of PG-13. It must at least include a link to your application, once approved and any and all appropriate credits. You can also link to your plot pages, character requests, journals, and any other templates you wish, just remember that Hogwarts is securely guarded and all internet and cell phone usage is not available on the Hogwarts grounds or in the magical community as a whole.


TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT
We all know that we can sometimes get caught up in the emotions of our characters. I have been there, and I'm sure some of you have as well. Remember, this is only a game. Please do not let IC things affect you OOC wise. Likewise, do not let OOC things affect the game. Respect each other and play nice. If you have some concerns and can't seem to get headway OFF BOARD, feel free to let a member of staff know of the issue. We will do our best to resolve them for you.

NO STEALING OF OTHER'S WORK.
The staff of Nox Nobius takes plagiarism very seriously. We have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for such action, so please for your sake and ours, just don't it. If you are inspired by something you see, ASK POLITELY if you can use it. If the person declines, respect their decision, please. If you believe someone has plagiarized another, DO NOT call that person out publicly. Rather contact a member of staff immediately, with any and all proof so we can handle it appropriately.

I DO NOT LIKE SPAM, SAM I AM
Our shoutbox is not for spam or advertisements, and it can be used both IC/OOC. If you are a guest, and have legitimate questions, then by all means, use the shoutbox or feel free to use the guest friendly forum for suggestions, questions, and/or other comments. Do not advertise your board in our shoutbox as the shout will be promptly deleted. Along with no spam, please do not start any drama in our shoutbox. You wouldn't want it on your board, and we do not like to see it here. If you have an issue, please contact a member of staff.

CONSEQUENCES
Consequences will vary depending on the action. Obviously, there are some things listed here that are IC rules. IC rules are made to be broken, its the nature of the game right? The staff understands that. We ask however that you be a good sport about everything, both IC and OOC. Follow the rules, and all will be good. If something needs to be addressed, it will be addressed by the staff and handled appropriately.