Rules have been set forth to maintain consistency and quality within our writing community, not to stifle creativity. Nearly all have been discussed and approved by the cast at large, rather than the moderators. All rules established should be respected and should guide the actions of our cast members. Only the moderators should edit this page!


With regards to writers...

• Community Moderators uphold the integrity of the game and are seams that hold the fabric of the community together. They prefer to be advisory rather than regulatory, and are writers first and foremost. Additions to the moderating team will not be made without cast consultation.

• There is no set number of characters a writer may apply to write. Final decisions on character approval, including number of characters, remain within the moderating team's hands.

• You must be at least 17 years-old to write here. It is the responsibility of the cast to use 'lj-cut' tags to indicate 'adult content' portions of posts. It is the responsibility of viewers under 17 to abstain from reading what has been designated as 'adult content'.

• Disagreements among writers are inevitable. We expect that writers will bring their concerns to one another before spreading their concerns to the rest of the cast. If an issue can't be resolved at that level, a Moderator will step in and attempt to mediate. We pride ourselves on being a relatively drama-free zone. The well-being of the community and its cast will be protected and so excessive pot-stirring, or an unwillingness to resolve issues, may result in removal from the community.

With regards to content...

• Plagiarism is discouraged. Please credit large passages taken from another source. When possible, please credit your characters' icons to their artists (in the comments or keywords).

• Victorian Nocturne is not a crossover. It exists in an original universe. Please don't use other supernatural genres for plots or characters (ex. Charmed, Vampire: The Masquerade, Buffy/Angel, Blade, etc.).

• Posting once a week per character is encouraged (for the benefit of the community). Entries should be posted to the community itself and not just character journals. That's because most of our writers friend the community, rather than all the character journals and it's easier for non-members to follow along with our story.

• This community contains mature situations (violence and sexuality) and is 'adult content-friendly', although not 'adult content-centric'. When adult content (which we define as explicit, heavy violence or sexuality) appears, we give a nod to class and good taste by carefully considering the language used and level of detail necessary (Victorian Nocturne uses more delicate wording than is necessary in some RPGs). We're out to create quality writing rather than pornography.

• Explicit portions of scenes (sexuality or violence) should be placed behind separate lj-cut tags with an appropriate, clear notification. Ex.: Placing 'Adult Content: Sexuality' in the cut-tag label. For violent content, use 'Adult Content: Violence'. The act of sexual assault is not barred from our storylines, but for the comfort of the cast, we ask that writers avoid explicit depictions of it. We urge writers to completely refrain from depicting sexual acts involving children.

• Several entry formats are supported.

1. Solos: These are free form. Use any style you prefer. All entries made as though they're part of a character's diary will be considered private.
2. Pairs or Groups: For scenes involving multiple writers, we write in paragraph form, so that the writing resembles a novel. We write in 3rd person in the past tense. If you use AOL Instant Messenger, please remove the screen names before posting. If you do a thread on the forum, please don't let it stretch for more than a handful of days. Many of us use GoogleDocs to compose our scenes.

• Entries should be spell-/grammar-checked before posting.

• Please commit to creating meaningful, high-quality entries which help advance character development and plot. Please don't post a string of 'meme' entries for your character!

• Any action which will have a major effect on another character should not be taken without writer-to-writer consultation. Similarly, major community or rule changes should not be made without cast consultation. Please respect ownership of NPCs (Non-Player Characters, either living or in the form of locations) which other writers may create. When in doubt, ask first!

• The moderators request that scenes are cut-tagged within 1-4 paragraphs of the opener. It helps reduce scrolling on the main page.

• Please put your character's profile (from your application) on their InsaneJournal user info page! It helps other writers recall your character's background information.