What are some standard rules to have for a roleplay?
In my own opinion, in very basic terms, here are some basic rules all roleplays should have
Make sure the askbox of the blog you are applying from is open
You need to be able to communicate with your applicants. This should be made clear.
Does your roleplay allow reservations? If so, what is your policy? How long can they reserve a character for and for you, what does a reservation mean? Also include if your rolepay accepts OCs and/or FC changes. If there are any rules regarding those (such as making sure FC changes are of the same race of the original FC, etc.) make those clear as well.
This isn’t exactly a rule, but I always put it into my rules page. How does accepting go? Do you accept every four days? Do you accept once x amount of applications are in? What time of day do you usually accept? Do you message your applicants once you’ve read their app?
This can be on a separate page or just on the rules page, but tell people what you expect them to do once they’ve been accepted. This usually includes things such as setting up their own blog (not a sideblog) for their character and messaging the main page once it’s set up. It usually includes following people on the masterlist and possibly joining an OOC chat. This could include tags to track or a character introduction post you expect new members to write.
You should have some rules explaining what you expect from your roleplayers. This should include if you are strictly a para rolepay, if you allow gif chats, or chatroom conversations. This should include what person you expect paras to be written in (or say that it doesn’t matter). Explain that ‘bubble’ roleplaying will not be allowed and that everyone should be included. A few other things to include would be if you have an expectation for how long paras should be, that you expect good spelling/grammar, reblogging as text, how to tag things such as starters and paras, anything that you feel should be said about your roleplay.
Most roleplays have some rule regarding activity, such as how long one can be away before being removed from the rolelplay. If you are going to do that, you should include those rules plain and simple. Also, if there is something you expect as regards to activity, put that here to. Such as, you expect at least a para a week. Mention that photos are not considered activity. Also talk about your hiatus policy and what should happen if a player is removed from the roleplay. Are they allowed to apply again?
It’s also important to include rules regarding content. Does your roleplay allow language, gore, smut, and what are your policies regarding that? Must smut be under a read more? Must triggers be tagged in both the tags and the title? Talk about OOC drama and how that will be handled. Also mention if second/third/etc. characters are allowed and how one can go about getting another character. Is there a waiting period or a limit?
RP Guide: Rules by Megan Helps (i.e. the best resource for making rules for your rp)
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