7 replies to this topic

[DarkRider]

Table of Contents:

i. Forum Rules and Regulations
ii. Rules for the Modules
iii. User Rights
iv. TES Alliance Forum Ranks
v. Leadership & Discipline
vi. TESA Premium Memberships
vii. Hosting Large Files on TESA
viii. About Project Tracking
ix. Posting Guide
x. Enclave Etiquette
xi. Roleplaying Guidelines
xii. TESA HowTo Guides

Introduction
Welcome to our community!
TES Alliance is designed to be a home for modders by modders, our goal is to unify the community and bring you the cutting edge in information and technology to take your modding hobby to the next level. We’re also proud to welcome modding fans of all walks to enjoy our broad range features and exclusive file downloads.

The ESRB rating for this community is TEEN (ie 13+), irrespective of the rating of the individual games. It is expected that the content and tone of your posts conforms to this rating.

T for TEEN: May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

Admissions of piracy, intent to pirate, describing or linking to how to pirate any software/media, or causing a major disruption in the forums, will result in an instant closing of your account. Because proxies are frequent sources of commercial spam and other abuse of forum facilities, proxy addresses may be banned at any time and without notice.

Since this is an English forum and our headquarters are located in the USA, we respectfully request that English is used when posting here for clarity’s sake. Non-English language greetings are permitted. The use of leet speak is difficult to understand for many, and should not be used. In addition, please do not take it upon yourself to police spelling and grammar. With the number of non-English speaking members here, it is to be expected errors will occur.

Please take a moment to read through the rules and guidelines below so that everyone who posts on these forums can have an enjoyable experience!
Thank you for your patronage and we hope you enjoy your visit!

----DarkRider and the TESA Team----

Usernames & Registration

• User names must use a Latin based alphabet.
• You shall provide an accurate and genuine email address on registration.
• You may only have one username, and one account active at a time. You may not operate under different user IDs at any time.
• Usernames may not contain vulgar, lewd, restricted, offensive, or suggestive content. Such user names will be changed by administrators.
• You may not impersonate any person, including members of the community and/or staff
• All users must be 13+ at the time of registration. You agree to this when you register.

Topics & Posting

• No Extreme Cursing or Swearing. It is not permitted to rely on or bypass the word filter.
• Defamatory, hateful, vulgar, suggestive, or distressing posts/images are prohibited.
• Trolling is prohibited.
  
  • Aggressive, provoking, rude, or belligerent behavior toward others will not be tolerated
• Flaming is prohibited.
  
  • Users are expected to extend general courtesy and respect when posting here, especially when posting about others. Flame baiting posts will be edited and the user may be subject to further action by staff.
• Spamming is Prohibited
  
  • Multiple topics on the same subject, multiple posting, How Old are you, What forum skin do you use, I got a medal, What are you listening to, Who Would Beat Who, Petition threads are considered spam. Hijacking and/or derailing a thread with off topic debating is a form of spam and will not be permitted.
• Racist, sexist, or any discriminating posts/images are not to be used on this forum.
• Cross-Site Trolling and/or Flaming are not allowed.
• Posting about moderator or administrator action or inaction is also against the rules of this forum. Contact the site administration via PM with your grievances.
• P2P Content, Bittorrents, CD Cracks, Piracy, and Criminal discussions are not permitted anywhere on the site in any context.
  
  • This includes but is not limited to drugs, theft, hacking, piracy, and jailbreaking which are all illegal activities, or are of questionable legality so are not permitted here. Users discussing their criminal behaviors on site are subject to banning. Do not inquire or provide instruction on how to pirate software.

Absolutely Restricted Material

Unauthorized Redistribution
Asset Swapping between Game Titles (ie. Morroblivion)
Pirated Software Usage or HowTos
Religion and Politics
User Personal Information
Posts regarding another user’s account or banned users
No Advertising/Recruiting

Additional Rules Agreed to When Registering at this Forum

These are the rules agreed to when registering at the forum. They are reprinted here for your reference.

Forum Terms of Service
Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message.

The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this bulletin board. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately via the report feature or PM. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this board to post nor promote any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law.

You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this bulletin board. By registering under these terms you also agree that you are at least 13 years of age at the time of registration.

Images & Signatures

Need an Avatar? Try one from our New User Avatar Album!

Your signature may contain:

* Up to 6 images
* Images up to 400 x 130 pixels
* Up to 12 URLs
* Up to 4 lines

• Overly large or otherwise disruptive signatures will be deleted by staff
• This is a PG-13 forum. Images may not include nudity, sexually explicit poses, vulgar or profane materials. Images may not depict children in any sexual or otherwise compromised manner. Images of these natures will be deleted and uploaders may be warned. In general, bikini coverage is the minimum allowed; and we mean bikini not bikini. To be more specific, all intimate body parts must be covered, or concealed. The TESA Team reserves the right to make the judgment call and remove images that are skirting the decency line. In these cases, users will be informed; their compliance with the ruling is mandatory.
• Avatars and Signatures may NOT contain the TESA dragon image, as it is reserved for our staff only; violations will be removed and the user may be warned. This includes the TESA dragon logo, which may not be used in any context (avatar, signature, or otherwise) without staff sanctioning. Special exceptions can be made by senior staff.

The rules of the TES Alliance Forums are based off of the forum rules on the Official Bethesda Softworks Forum; an ideal and comprehensive list, we’d like to thank the Bethesda Community staff for setting this fine example.

[DarkRider]

In addition to the standard rules there are a few additions specifically for the modules. Be sure you read them carefully. The modules on TESA are extra privileges we allow you to use freely, but disregarding rules will result in those privileges being revoked, permanently if need be.

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Downloads

• No uploading anything that is considered "Adult Swim" material. Meaning no mods of a sexual nature. This site is rated PG-13 and that includes our mods section. If you are looking for a place to upload/download mods of that type, there are plenty of places to do so.
• No "Cool" or "Sucks" comments. Add something constructive, or at least a complete sentence or don't comment at all.
• All images posted with mods must adhere to our rules for images; meaning bikini coverage on bodies and no overtly sexual poses.
• While we sometimes make exceptions for special circumstances, we ask that you do not upload text files here with links to other sites in lieu of hosting actual mod files. It's a misuse of our hosting service and constitutes advertising.
• Mod Authors retain final say on their mod usage, refer to the rights and privileges section on the individual download pages for specific permission details.

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Galleries

• Observe the standard rules of image content in your galleries.
• Non-related images may be hosted in your private albums, but public albums must remain content relevant to the site since they appear on the index.

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Blogs

• Observe the standard rules of images and content in your blogs.

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Shoutbox

• No embedded images larger than that of a 50x50 emoticon permitted; not even with spoiler tags. Large externally hosted emoticons that stretch the shoutbox format may be removed by staff to prevent shoutbox lag on the server. All of TESA's official emoticons are safe to use.
  
  • Any external emoticon may be removed by staff, regardless of size, if it is deemed to be disruptive.
• No YouTube, no spam links, no linking to anything that breaches our PG-13 site rating
• Forum rules for post content stand in the shoutbox (ie no swearing, no vulgarity, etc)
• Do not use the shoutbox to bump or promote forum threads not being actively discussed.
• No spamming the shoutbox
  
  • This includes excessive emoticons and flooding. The shouty is not a tipline, if you need extensive modding help or support, please make a thread in the appropriate forum for your issue, otherwise it constitutes spam in the shoutbox. Talking to yourself or posting random status updates are also spam activities.

Note on Roleplay in Shoutbox-
Role playing can quickly spiral into spam, and those who do not wish to roleplay have complained about its use in the common shoutbox, so we ask that RPing be kept to the RP Forums

Shoutbox Addendum-
Because the shoutbox is a feature for the entire TESA Community to enjoy, lengthy drawn out convos on any subject between two parties may be curtailed by staff and parties may be asked to take it to a thread or PM. The reason is just to give everyone a chance to participate; no one wants to interrupt a lengthy convo. That said, it's a judgment call for staff and sometimes we may not realize a convo is overrunning the shouty. If you feel you are being sidelined by exuberant chatters, please use any report button anywhere on site to contact a staff member.

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Status Update Hook

• Status Updates must be in English
• You may not use your status to bump your forum threads
• You may not use your status to overtly advertise
• Status Updates may not contain profane or vulgar commentary

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A Note on Private Messaging

Unlike many ES fansites, TESA offers the cutting edge PM convo feature which allows members to create a private forum thread in their PM box and chat privately with multiple parties. The PM system also permits members to upload and download file attachments within their conversations.

However, users should be aware that abuse of the PM system is not tolerated here. Members are encouraged to report PM conversations that are abusive so the staff may intervene and take action where needed; every PM inbox has a report button for this purpose. The PM system also logs and filters messages for illegal content. Such PMs will be investigated and may result in all participants being permanently banned; in some cases IP providers and authorities will be contacted. Do not use the PM system here for piracy nor cyber terrorism.

[DarkRider]

User Rights:

A lot of online visitors grace this website with the belief that the rights afforded to them in the real world are equally applicable here. This is a false assumption and usually creates an unruly user. TES Alliance is a privately owned and operated business. We reserve the right to curb your rights at the door when you join our community. The only defensible rights you have here are those afforded to you by our rules, the same rules that apply for everyone, user, guest, and staff alike.

• You Have the Right to be Safe: If you feel threatened, mistreated, or otherwise abused on this site, report it to a staff member immediately. If your grievance is with a staff member, take it to a senior staff member, or the Site Commander directly via PM for assistance.
  
• You Have the Right to Respect: We have strict rules here against discrimination. You have the right to be treated respectfully and kindly as a human being, regardless of nationality, race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, language, etc. If you feel like you are being discriminated against or openly disrespected, please report to a staff member.
  
• You Have the Right to Appeal: ANY staff action taken towards you may be appealed but you must have good cause and hard evidence; save communications, take screenshots where needed. Contact a senior staff member or the Site Commander directly via PM for assistance. Please include your account of what happened, and a URL to the post, or attach your evidence. It will be the Site Commander's discretion whether to support, or disagree with you, and you will respect this decision.

Disclaimer: Enforcing rules and doling out discipline are vastly subjective actions, meaning we're only human; we can and do make mistakes. While it is our aim to maintain a standard rule set and make sure every user has a great time and is treated fairly, it's not always possible to meet everyone's individual needs. If you feel unfairly penalized, ignored, or feel that there are double standards between users and staff, please bring your concerns to the attention of the senior staff privately so that we can work together to address them.

[DarkRider]

General User Ranks:
TESA's general user population are Allies, and they gain ranking through post count activity across the site.

• Layman - 1 post
• Novice - 10 posts
• Initiate - 20 posts
• Apprentice - 50 posts
• Disciple - 100 posts
• Scout - 500 posts
• Blade - 1,000 posts
• BladeKnight - 2,000 posts
• Blade Master - 5,000 posts
• Grand Master - 10,000 posts
• Dragonblade - 20,000 posts
• Avatar of TESA - 50,000+ posts

Colored Ranks:
Users with colored names participate in specialized groups on TESA. Some are joinable factions, others are staff roles.

• TES Alliance Team - The TES Alliance Team acts as the governing council at the head of TESA. They serve as moderators, administrators, and ARE staff members. Their ID names appear in Red. Do not ask to join the Team, members of the TESA Team are by invitation only.
• Global Moderator - Global Moderators are members in good standing who have been invited to help maintain the high standards and staff duties around the Alliance. They ARE full staff members and their ID names appear in Green. Do not ask to become a moderator, this rank is by invitation only.
• Oblivion Scholar - Oblivion Scholars are the teaching staff in the Oblivion school of The Enclave. Their names appear in Orange. They ARE staff members with full moderation powers, but only over their classrooms.
• Skyrim Scholar - Skyrim Scholars are the teaching staff in the Skyrim School of The Enclave. Their names appear in Steel Blue. They ARE staff members with full moderation powers, but only over their classrooms.
• Ambassador - Ambassadors are old school modders and contributing members of our Community at large. This rank is awarded when a member submits an application demonstrating the ways they have contributed to and participated in the Modding Community. To apply download the application here and submit it via PM to InsanitySorrow  Ambassador Application.doc   26.5K   10 downloads
• Senior Ambassador - Senior Ambassadors are Administrators on major ES Community sites; their names also appear in Teal. This ranking is not temporary and does not change. Senior Ambassadors are appointed not applied for. They are NOT staff on TESA
• Voice Actor - Voice actors are active members of the Voice Actors Project. Their names appear in dodger blue. They are NOT staff members. To join the Voice Actors Project, please post in the recruitment thread HERE
• Beta Tester - Beta Testers are active members of the BTA Guild; a Beta Testing club hosted by TESA. Their names appear in Purple. They are NOT staff members. To join the BTA Guild as a tester or a modder seeking testing, post your interest in their recruitment thread HERE
• Guild Leader - Guild Leaders are the leadership of the BTA Guild; a Beta Testing club hosted by TESA and the Voice Actors Project. Their names may appear in Purple or Dodger Blue. They are typically NOT moderation staff members and their powers are limited to adding and removing Guild members. To find the current Guild Leader for a club please contact a club member or a member of staff.
• Senior Member - Senior Members are VIP membership holders and are allies with extended privileges such as larger gallery limits and blog writing permissions. Their IDs appear in Royal Blue, they carry the royal blue VIP tag, and are NOT staff members.  For further info:  About Premium Memberships
• Subscribers - Subscribers are subscription holders and are allies with extended privileges such as larger gallery limits, forum, downloads, and blog permissions. Their IDs appear in GoldenRod, they carry the golden patron tag, and are NOT staff members.  For further info:  About Premium Memberships
• Project Leaders - Project Leaders are modders who are leading an established modding project. Their IDs appear in Copper, they carry the Project Leader tag, and have extended privileges around site. They are NOT staff members. For more information on this rank and how to apply see the About Project Tracking thread.
• Media - Media staff are substaff members with no moderation powers on site, but full admin control over TESA's media outlets including the Official TESA Blog site, Twitter Page, Facebook, Ventrilo, etc. Their user IDs appear in Olive Drab, they carry the olive media staff tag, and are subordinates to the TESA Team.

[DarkRider]

General Staff Tags Explained:
For general reference staff members are indicated by the "staff" tag images located under their forum avatars. The number/color of stars on a staff tag indicates the level of power that staff member carries, Gold stars outrank Silver Stars, and 1 Star is the lowest rank compared to 4 Stars at the top tier.

Green Staff Tags:

Green tags are carried by Global Moderators. The Global Moderators can moderate ALL forums. They act under instruction from administrating personnel, and may: lock, move, rename, split, merge, or bump any topic that violates our posted rules in some way. They may also use their perception, and judgments to: ban, suspend, moderate, warn, any member they see needing this attention. Users are expected to defer to Global Moderators when staff action is being taken. Users are entitled to an explanation for any action taken, and reserve the right to request one if one is not given. Please refer to the staff member who carried out the action for those requests.

Current Global Moderators: DaMage, Ladyflcn, Witty Team Leader: InsanitySorrow

Orange & Steel Blue Staff Tags:

These are carried by the teaching staff of the Enclave. They have limited moderation control over the school, but not elsewhere. While a Scholar can not warn a troublemaker, the Alliance moderation staff will act in their stead should a Scholar report an issue.

Current Scholars: WillieSea, InsanitySorrow, DarkRider, Hanaisse

*Note - For Skyrim's Release many Scholars evolved to a Steel Blue in lieu of Orange they wore throughout Oblivion's term though some teach in both schools.

TESA Team Unveiled:

Red Staff Tags:

These are held by all members of the TES Alliance Team. Like with all staff ranks, the more stars on the tag the higher the level of power that staff member has on site. The most common rank on the Team is Captain. Captains act as senior moderators and are the general leadership of the forums. However Captains possess no Administrative powers and can only handle staff actions on site.

Current Captains: _echo, greenwarden, lilith, InsanitySorrow

About Senior Staff:

The highest ranking members of the TES Alliance Team are the senior staff members and they have varying degrees of administrative power. They perform the same on site tasks as the subordinate Captains, but in addition to those tasks they also handle staff actions behind the scenes such as name changes, ftp imports, software maintenance, theme editing, etc.

The Major is a senior ranked Team Member who serves a similar role as a Captain, however, Majors also have some limited Administrative powers and can perform basic Administrative duties like group promotions, or name changes, ban lifts, etc.

Current Majors: darkstone

The Lt. Commander is a secondary Admin in command and has full administrator powers; he/she can make administrative decisions in the event that the Commander is not available to do so.

Current Lt. Commanders: HeyYou, WindmillTilter

The Site Commander is the lead admin and acts as head of the site and the TES Alliance Team. The Commander controls all registers, and has final say on all matters within the forum. You agreed upon registration that you would abide by the Commander's decisions, although agreement with them is left at your discretion.

The Site Commander has the final say on everything.

Current Site Commander: DarkRider

Common Staff Actions:

• Locking a Topic: Topics are locked when issues are resolved, OP requests a lock, threads reach a post count of 200, or for derailing
• Deletion of Posts/Topics: Threads are removed when a topic is not appropriate and in someway violates the tos for this community. Such posts/topics are not hard deleted, but rather binned in a secure forum for staff reference.
• Splitting Posts: One post is separated to create a new topic - this action will be taken if a good topic is hijacked by a valid and appropriate topic, but discussions lead in separate ways.
• Merging Posts: This action is taken when two posts of similar content run in parallel, and are combined into one topic.
• Moving Topics: This action is taken when a poster starts a new topic in a forum unrelated to their topic. Most often moving a topic is done so to help the poster receive the proper responses desired in a timely manner.
• Changing User IDs: This site has explicit rules regarding what is acceptable in a user ID. Any IDs that violate those rules are changed by an Administrator and it most likely will not be something you like. So before you put some nasty comment in your ID, or type a line of gibberish, or whip out your best L33t speak profanity, ask yourself "Do I want to risk ending up as FluffyKittenWhiskers"?

Common Disciplinary Actions:

• Polite Correction: When rule blunders are made, a staff member will politely remind the offender of the rules. If the user complies, the action typically stops there. In general, staffers are expected to give users one polite correction; anything more than that is a gift.
• Warn with No Action: This action may be taken when a polite correction is ignored or defied. Such as continuing an argument after being told to stop, repeating the same offenses, etc. You will see your warn level increase, but no action against your account permissions will be made. Warns may be reduced after a time of good behavior but that is at the discretion of the senior staff.
• Post Moderation: This action is taken when you demonstrate an inability to post acceptable content. Your posts will be hidden on submission and Moderators will have to check your content and decide which of the posts you make are viable to allow onto the board, deleting those that are not. Moderation typically begins at 24hrs, increasing with each offense. [Note: major repeat offenders will likely be banned for being a spammer]
• Post Privilege Revocation: This action is taken when a user demonstrates an antagonistic posting behavior (this usually comes on suddenly), posting rants, arguing with staff publicly, picking fights, etc. During this time you will be unable to post anywhere on the site. It will stay in effect for either a few hours, days, or indefinitely - at staff discretion.
• Account Suspension: Your account will be disabled for a set amount of time when the staff decide that you need a complete "break" from the forum. This is one level down from an outright ban. Suspensions are typically 7-90 days in length.

All of these actions are reversible with time, compliance, or pardon.

• General Banning: This action is taken when a user's warn level reaches 100%, when they demonstrate aggressive or spam behavior, for demonstrating aggressive/belligerent behavior on site, or violating any rule marked as a bannable offense in our published rules. A general ban will block all access to the forums.
• IP Ban: This is for the most serious offenses. Law breaking or blatant rule breaking. Your computer ID will be banned from the site altogether. No access is available.
• ISP Contact: this action will be taken when any user commits a crime on TESA, threatens to harm another person or themselves. Do not be foolish enough to think the internet means no one can find you. We will contact your service provider and deliver the local authorities to your front door for these offenses if we have no other choice.

A Note on Account Deletion: Because this action is extremely disruptive to the site function, this is not an action that may be requested simply because a user wishes to "leave" the community. We do not delete accounts. We ban accounts, we alter accounts, but we do not delete anyone. If you wish to leave TESA, turn off the notifications in your profile, change your email address to something made up, and take your leave.

[DarkRider]

Posting Advice and Tips

• When posting, make sure it is in the correct forum, and has appropriate detail, and content.
• When replying, think of an appropriate response, do not respond because you can, respond when you have something worth saying. Make sure everything is readable, and makes sense before clicking the reply button.
• Read all sticky topics, they usually have important information in them.
• If you find yourself in a bad situation, leave your posts alone, do not edit them, report the topic.
• Do not diffuse situations yourselves, report the problem, and let our staff handle them.
• Treat people how you would like to be treated.
• When posting, be polite, a polite post will get more results, especially when you are requesting something.

Common Thread Tags

[WIPz]

-A [WIPz] thread is a work in progress thread. These are threads for modding projects that have already been started, some work is completed, and the author has something to show for it. These threads typically should include, Author name, Mod Title, Description, and Screenshots. Additional optional info includes, F.A.Q., Team member info, help requests, and progress reports.

Where to Post on TESA: [WIPz] threads belong in these forums:
[WIPz] Skyrim [WIPz] Oblivion [WIPz] Morrowind [WIPz] Fallout 3 and [WIPz] Fallout New Vegas

[RELz]

-A [RELz] thread is a release thread. These threads replace a project's [WIPz] thread when the mod is released to the public. These threads typically should include, Author name, Mod Title, Description, Screenshots, and download links. Additional info includes, F.A.Q., Team Member Info, Known Bugs/Issues, Requirements, and Credits.

Where to Post on TESA: [RELz] threads belong in these forums:
[RELz] Skyrim [RELz] Oblivion [RELz] Morrowind [RELz] Fallout 3 and [RELz] Fallout New Vegas

[WIPz/RELz]

-A [WIPz/RELz] thread is a release thread for a mod that is still being developed, but has been released for public testing. These threads are setup like [WIPz] thread (see [WIPz] above) but also contain additional information relevant to release such as download information.

Where to Post on TESA: [WIPz/RELz] threads belong in these forums:
[WIPz/RELz] Skyrim [WIPz/RELz] Oblivion [WIPz/RELz] Morrowind [WIPz/RELz] Fallout 3 and [WIPz/RELz] Fallout New Vegas

[REQz]

-A [REQz] thread is a request thread. The proper use of a request thread is to request case-by-case help for your modding projects or to request a small mod (such as a weapon or clothing item) be made for you. A [REQz] thread should include a description of what you need, what it's for, and any images you might have to demonstrate what you want to the modders who might be willing to help. Courtesy is a must, rude requests are typically ignored. It is considered bad form to use a request thread to recruit a team member for a modding project (where at least 50% of the work is being requested) instead create a [WIPz] thread and try to recruit a partner. Large unrealistic REQz threads will be locked to prevent flaming.

Where to Post on TESA: [REQz] threads belong in these forums All [REQz] Threads

Custom BBCodes:

Embed Steam ID


Code:

[steamprofile]SteamID[/steamprofile]

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Use Table Code to Highlight Points

Use Table BBCodes to create a special point highlight and draw your reader's attention to important points in threads and tutorials.

[table][tr][td]Image Link[/td][td]Content Text[/td][/tr][/table]

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[DarkRider]

These are the specific guidelines for polite decorum in the Modding School. Be sure you read them carefully.

Enclave Etiquette

• Treat your fellow students politely and with respect, it's not a competition. Senior students should encourage new students and new students should look to senior students for the set example.
  
• Do not instruct students in a classroom if you are not the assigned scholar. While it is tempting to help someone in need, resist. Scholars do not appreciate having inexperienced students confused by second opinions, no matter how well intentioned, and answering questions helps Scholars develop the class.
  
• Do not post in a classroom thread if you are not participating as student or professor. It clutters the thread and derails clear teaching.
  
• All guest workshops and guides must be approved by the assigned scholar before being posted to a classroom.
  
• Advanced modders participating in classes for forum medals must adhere to the guidelines established for the class.
  
• If you have questions, post them in the proper classroom for the professor, OR post in the Study Hall for peer-to-peer advice and suggestions which can give you more timely responses. Anyone can offer support in the Study Hall.

[DarkRider]

These are the guidelines and rules for participating in any of the hosted roleplaying games here on TESA. Please read carefully and PM and staff member if you have questions relating to a particular game.

General Roleplaying Rules

These Rules apply to all Roleplaying Games hosted on TESA.

• Have fun: the RP games offered on TESA are GAMES! Enjoy reading what others have written and the challenge of moving the stories further in an interesting way.
• Do not post to correct typos made by others or to comment on the action. These things stop the momentum of the story. Out of character discussions on the action should be posted in the current OOC thread for that game.
• You may use a placeholder "WIP" post to save your spot while you write (essentially pausing the story so others don't post ahead of you) but you must post within a reasonable amount of time. Story In Progress or Writing in Progress posts shouldn't be up for longer than an hour or so unless other writers have agreed to a longer wait. Everyone else want to play too so be prompt.
• Do not kill off other players. You may kill off your own character if you'd like but don't kill off people who are still enjoying the game.
• Catch up! The story has been going for awhile, read back a few passages to catch up before posting!
• Single sentence story posts are frowned upon. Roleplaying is a writer's game. If you are not a writer or do not take pleasure in writing, then these games are just not a good fit for you.
• While you may write about the characters of others, your own must always be present somewhere in the story. You may not steal someone else's character unless otherwise agreed upon.
• Before you enter the story, post a bio of your character in the character thread for that RP. This is as much for your easy reference as for the other players. You should also read the bios of the other active players so you can portray them accurately in your writings.
• If you are going to join the game, please do not add once and then vanish for a week or more leaving your character to be used as an NPC by those who add regularly. Such characters will be removed and their writers barred from playing again.
• No child main characters*. The RPs on TESA center around a world of adult rogues and adventurers, it's typically not a world for children. We also don't want to see child characters behaving as adults in ways that are inappropriate in an effort to keep up. As such, the only child characters permitted must have "in story" adult supervision: a parent, a mentor, a guardian, whose writer is willing to assume that role and give logical reasoning for that child to be there. (*A child main character with an adult sponsor already in the game is permitted, however, all conduct must be child appropriate.)
• While characters may experience love and relationships, describing sexual encounters in detail is not permitted. Players who bridge too close to this content restriction will be censored. This is a PG-13 forum; blatant sexual content is not permitted.
• Plagiarism is not permitted; this is a writing game so you must submit your own work and not submit material from outside sources. If resources are used, resources must be properly credited.
• Characters should have a reasonable name. Other people will have to write the name repeatedly, and lengthy or complex fantasy names are difficult to remember for others and can make your character less memorable or popular as a result. As an exception, you may use a complex name, if the character is also given a known nickname that is easier to remember off the cuff.
• The active writing collective of each game reserves the right to expel individual players from the game via a majority vote. Players can be expelled for Inactivity, Spam Activities, Rule Breaking, and/or Not Meeting Required Skill Level for the game.
• Be respectful! That pretty much speaks for itself.

About Skill Levels

There are several Roleplaying writing games currently on TESA. Each has a required skill level for the players meaning that your writing skills must be to a certain level in order to play some of the games. So how do you know what your skill level is? This guide will help you decide

• Beginner: Writers who have never played a writing game, have little writing practice, do not understand basic grammar and dialogue rules, cannot form (with relative ease) an entire page length story (600-700 words), are more comfortable with short excerpts focusing primarily on their own character, cannot lead a storyline.
• Intermediate: Writers who have played in an RP game before, understand basic rules of RPing, have some writing experience, understand how to use grammar and properly insert dialogue, can easily form a one page entry (600-700 words), are comfortable writing other character and with other writers, can lead a basic storyline.
• Advanced: Writers who have played in more than one RP game before, understand the rules of RPing, have a lot of writing experience, understand how to use, grammar and insert dialogue, can easily form a 3 page entry (2000-2100 words), are comfortable writing other characters and with other writers, can lead a complex storyline, can smoothly move their character in and out of group adventures to solo and back.

Active Roleplaying Games

This is a list of the active roleplaying games on TESA, where to find them, and the required skill level to participate in each. It's important to choose the game appropriate to your level so that you can keep up without disrupting the game.

• Bruma Court: ES based roleplay centered in Tamriel for Beginner to Advanced Players
  Go to Bruma Court
• Rikanda: ES inspired roleplay centered in Rikanda City for Intermediate to Advanced Players
  Go to Rikanda
• Fallout Chronicles: FO3 based roleplay centered in the Wastelands for Intermediate to Advanced Players
  Go To Fallout Chronicles
• Tavern Tales: ES based roleplay centered on an unknown Tavern in County Kvatch for Advanced Players
  Go to Tavern Tales