Community News 1.5.14: Cool Things to Know and Keeping Snoot on the Down Low!

Diana

LOOK HOW CALM SHE IS
Original poster
ADMINISTRATOR
MYTHICAL MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Not accepting invites at this time
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
  2. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
10AM - 10PM Daily
Writing Levels
  1. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
Genres
Romance, Supernatural, Fantasy, Thriller, Space Exploration, Slice of Life
We were going to wait until next weekend to do our first mini update, but with recent events, we wanted to get some important stuff out sooner rather than later!

With our expansion over the past few weeks, we've had some instances with old members getting uncomfortable with new faces and new members not being used to a new community. For the most part, everybody has been wonderful and really getting in to the spirit of exciting new things. <3 However, we're gonna bring up some problems we have seen and we ask ALL members to work with us in starting off the year right.

We're not a sex site. We will up and ban you if you're soliciting for it.
As mentioned in our newsletter, Iwaku is all about the ROLEPLAYING. We create stories, characters, and plots. Mature roleplay is a legitimate story-telling medium - but we will boot you out in two seconds flat if you look like you're just soliciting members for cyber sex. If anyone EVER messages you and asks for your Skype/AIM/Etc and then proceeds to ask you dirty inappropriate questions REPORT THEM.

If you have said anything like "Why are you messaging me? Why are you inviting me to things? I don't know you." you're being a jerk.
It takes a lot of courage for some members to message a stranger. Whether it's because they are trying to make new friends, looking for partners, or trying to advertise their roleplay. Most people are doing it for legit and innocent reasons. Don't be a jackass just because someone you don't know is trying to talk to you. On Iwaku we encourage members to get out there and meet people, to actually advertise their roleplays and make connections. The only exception is when someone is advertising off-site content. We have an Advertising Forum for that.

Don't perpetuate the LITERATE myth or be rude to people about their writing skills!
Not only is the use of "literate" totally WRONG usage of the word, it's a horrible way to treat people! Everyone needs a place to learn and grow. We want to give people this opportunity. Make sure you put clear standards on your Signup sheets without being elitist, condescending or snotty. Try to give our less experienced roleplayers a chance to grow and improve.

Are you familiar with the Iwaku Rules? Give them a read!
Iwaku's rules are REALLY EASY. Most stuff is total common sense, and we allow a little bending here and there as long as nobody is a jerk. The most important thing on Iwaku is BEING RESPECTFUL. This is why Iwaku is such a cool place to be. Treat your fellow members with respect and we will remain a welcoming, relaxed and super badass community!




With THAT stuff out of the way, don't forget to check out some of our recent announcements. Iwaku has Site Hosting now to help cover our monster server. Try to avoid being an abusive roleplay partner. And we are not keen on people using multiple accounts, so don't do it!
 
I'm not trying to be a jerk when I discourage random people from private messaging me, but the fact of the matter is, I had way too many people messaging me out of the blue asking for mature roleplays and it made me really uncomfortable to the point I had to make a status. Writing on my wall is one thing, pming me is a totally different :/
 
AH! That's another thing I forgot to note, but I think it's mentioned in the newsletter. O_O Sending people PMs about mature roleplays is a BAD idea, cause you can't be guaranteed that they are in your correct age group or even DO mature roleplays.

Always make sure to check people's Roleplay Resumes, and request roleplays in the RIGHT place!
 
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Always make sure to check people's Roleplay Resumes, and request roleplays in the RIGHT place!

THIS! ALL OF THIS! I get people messaging me to do rps that are outside my roleplaying comfort zone! I do like when I get messages or wall postings about genres I'm interested in, but some people CLEARLY don't read the entire resume. While I like branching out a little there has been a case where I was pushed into a role I wasn't going to be good at. Granted I don't regret it but there HAVE been points where people haven't read the resume and have tried to push something on me that I said I was against. So I had to say "Sorry, I can't continue the rp" or something to that effect.