Rules

If you have any questions about these rules or any rules in general, please PM a staff member. Thank you for reading, we sincerely hope you enjoy your stay!

Respect
This applies to everyone. Respect the other members, the staff and even the guests, whether they're nice or not. Yes, even them. If you can't respect other people, you will be asked to chill or leave. If you don't comply and continue to disrespect others, you will be banned. If you feel like you are being treated unfairly or someone is harassing you, or if you witness misbehavior, please report it to an admin through a private message.

Swearing
In character swearing is fine. However, out of character and in the chat box there is a policy for swearing. The smaller cusses such as 'hell' and 'shit' are tolerated, but any swearing rampages will have you banned. When in doubt, keep your mouth to a minimum. Do not direct insults or swear words at other members, staff or guests. If you are found doing this you will receive one warning. Any offenses after that will result in a temporary ban.

Posting
If any member on this forum fails to post a minimum of at least two hundred words, said member will not be able to continue to role play until their post is at least two hundred words long. This being said, this only applies to in-character posts. We're all literate to advanced here, and we should all hold the capability to post a minimum of two hundred words with proper spelling and punctuation. When in character, you may use any point of view you'd like so long as it's understandable, but first-person or third-person is suggested. If you feel that your post has grammatical or punctual errors, please use Google to your advantage and search for a word counter or a punctuation/grammar corrector. If you don't have access to an available search engine, ask someone to link you to a word-counter or punctuation/grammar corrector.

Activity
If you're going on vacation or something has come up where you aren't going to be around for a while, let a staff member know. There is a board to post away threads in, so use it to your advantage, though try not to spam. Activity checks will be posted about every few months, more or less, and if you fail to keep your account active for three real-life months, it will be deleted. If your account has been deleted there will be no way to resurrect it or to retrieve the information that was on it and you will be required to make a new account should you choose to do so.

Chat Speak
This is not permitted at Full Swing. Short terms such as 'brb', 'g2g', and 'lol' are acceptable in the cbox of course, but anything remotely related to 'hay guize wutz up?' or 'Im not gunna b on 2day' will not be permitted. Not even on the forums. We all have the capability to post coherent, understandable sentences that aren't required to be missing letters or be filled with numbers or other unnecessary characters. In character, absolutely NO chat speak will be allowed. We all presumably know how to speak the English language, and here at Full Swing, you are expected to do exactly that.

Spam
This is not accepted here. Spamming, whether in the c-box or in a thread, is not tolerated and looks very messy. Edit your post if you need to. Don't fill up the chat box with unnecessary phrases or comments. If you're having a full on conversation that will be more than three posts in the chat box, that is understandable, but we don't want to see the same six posts in a row by the same person. Try to keep it neat. If you are having a lengthy conversation and you aren't sure if it will be considered spam, take it to a private message or some sort of other means of communication outside of Full Swing.

Maturity
Our site is rated PG13 for language, descriptive fighting, and fade-to-blacks. We expect every single member that comes here to be mature about a plethora of things. Drama or issues that are not in-character should be dealt with outside of Full Swing or with a staff member's help. If escalated drama starts up on site, two warnings will be issued to each member involved. If it comes up again, temporary bans will pursue. Any further warnings will result in a permanent ban. However, if you feel like being a complete happy-high lunatic, feel free to express yourself.

Enjoyment
Enjoy yourselves! Full Swing is here solely for your entertainment, and we want you to have fun! Make friends and have a good time. We want you to be as comfortable as possible during your duration here at Full Swing. (:

Usernames
Please register your account with the first name of your character to ensure that our tagging system works properly. Your account's user name should pertain to your character's name, unless you intend to use your account as your out-of-character account. Please keep your usernames simple. We want to call you what you want to be called, as long as it abides by the rules. If you think your username is taken, you can check the list of <a href="http://fullswing.boards.net/members">current members</a> to make sure the name you want is open. If you think your username will be a problem before you register it, contact an administrator or ask in the chat box. Be original, and please don't use pornographic phrases or other sensitive material that could get you banned in your user name. Ten 'Shadow's or 'Snow's will drive us crazy, and your username will be changed without warning.

Accounts
You are allowed one account per each character you have, plus an ooc account should you choose to make one. You will not be able to role play all characters through one account, and instead may find the account switcher very handy. Staff members have their own separate staff accounts for you to contact. If you have more than one account, feel free to utilize the account switcher to the best of your abilities. If you're having trouble accessing or operating the account switcher, contact a staff member or ask in the chat box.

Avatars
Also known as your account icon, these may be no wider than 230px, and no taller than 400px. If you don't resize your avatar, it will automatically resize for you. If you are asked to resize your avatar and do not comply, it will be removed. Three requests without obedience will result in a warning and the fourth will result in a temporary ban. Any other warnings will issue a permanent ban.

Signatures
Signatures must be a reasonable size. If you are asked to resize your signature and do not comply, it will be removed. Three requests without obedience will result in a warning and the fourth will result in a temporary ban. Any other warnings will issue a permanent ban. This is as simple as sizing your avatars. If you want an estimated size for your signature, try 500x300 pixels.

Graphics
Don't let your graphics stretch the board. If your images don't automatically resize and you don't know how to resize them, ask someone to do it for you or have them removed. People are more than generous and will usually comply. If you need a character picture or some other type of graphic, post in a member's graphic studio or post a request in the appropriate thread located in the Graphics board - that's what they're there for. Don't post inappropriate images, (images pertaining to pornography, racial or ethnic hate/slurs, graphic violence, etc.) and don't claim the work of someone else as your own. Failure to abide by these rules is prohibited and will result in a permanent ban without warning. If you are found stealing the work of others or repeatedly linking to any of the above, you will be permanently banned and you will not be permitted to return to Full Swing.

God-Modding
NO GOD-MODDING. This will not be tolerated at all, so if you don't know what god-modding is, do some research. Everyone gets hurt! People hurt themselves frequently, whether it's something major or minor. Animals do the same. Nothing is more irritating than a character that is constantly over powering another character or dodging every attack during a battle. If you are found god-modding, you will receive a maximum of two warnings. A third warning will result in a temporary one-week ban and any other warnings after the third will result in a permanent ban.

Power-playing
NO POWER-PLAYING. This will not be tolerated at all, so if you don't know what power-playing is, do some research. It's as equally annoying as god-modding, and if you post another character's actions in your post, said post will be deleted. If you have the other member's permission, make sure it's stated in the post to avoid confusion. If you are found power-playing without permission, you will receive a maximum of two warnings. A third warning will result in a temporary one-week ban and any other warnings thereafter will result in a permanent ban.

Relationships
Try to avoid threads where two characters fall in love immediately. Love does not come immediately; this kind of thing takes time, and we expect you to have at least two full threads - that's four or more posts from each participating member - before your characters begin to consider having feelings for each other. You can not have two of your own characters fall for each other, either. If you decide that you and another member would like your characters to elope, three total threads of four or more posts from each member must be completed before you can apply for a litter.

Realism
As far as our fantasy rating goes, we're pretty fantasmical. I mean, we've got wolves with wings, horns, and powers. What's up? If you need a picture to represent the appearance of your character, post a request in a graphic studio. If you don't want to do that, leave your character's picture blank unless you have your own. Images cannot correlate to an existing character from a show or movie; ie: your character can not be Kiba from wolf's rain with a different name or personality. If you have any questions about this rule, PM a staff member.

Liquid Time
Liquid time is allowed here at Full Swing, but your character will only be allowed to participate in up to three threads at a time so long as they can physically move to and from each thread. The time line for the threads must also make sense. Any other threads after this limit will be removed. There will be no willy-nilly hopping to-and-from threads as you please. If you want to pull said character out of one thread to put them in another, feel free to do so, but you must finish one thread to make room for another.

Breeds
We only allow species native to Full Swing here. We have specific wolf species that can be played, though you will not be able to create a character that is a different species separate from those listed on-site. There may be specific breeds that can be obtained in the future through the shop or through contests, or by other means as well.

Breeding
Breeding is allowed. However, characters are only permitted to breed during the breeding season, and are only able to birth litters during the birthing season. A minimum of three threads is required upon requesting a litter, and more than two of your characters cannot breed at one time. You cannot breed your own characters - you must breed with the character of another member. Pleasure breeding is allowed, but a fade-to-black method or other censorship is required. Graphic breeding is not allowed, so if you wish to do this, find some other means outside of Full Swing. If you and another member decide you both would like your characters to elope, three total threads of four or more posts from each member must be completed before you can apply for a litter. Not all breeding may result in a litter. If you wish to create pups, post in the corresponding board for litters.

Battles
Casual fighting is allowed. However if it is over something such as pack leadership or territory claims, let a staff member know to allow us to judge it fairly. Remember to allow your character to be injured or get tired - it helps to keep things realistic. Fighting allows eight posts per player - four attacks, and four dodges, before the fight is over. If a fight occurs where multiple characters are present, try to even up the sides. However, if the outnumbered character is a trespasser and the member chooses to do so, said trespasser has the choice to leave the thread to 'save' their character. Canines can only die in battle if a member gives permission. Graphic fighting is permitted, but threads that include graphic descriptions of fighting must be labeled with a mature content tag. (ie: [M], [MATURE], [MC], [MATURE CONTENT], [TRIGGER WARNING], [TW], [18+], etc.)

There are no breed or gender restrictions, for it is possible for anyone to lead a pack. However, age should remain realistic, as it would be unrealistic for a pup to lead a pack of older wolves. The allowed number of actively existing packs is a maximum of four at a time. Pack alphas must have at least 4 individual followers to form a pack, putting the total at five including the leader. Claiming a territory requires an in-character thread claiming that land, and the claiming thread must be replied to by at least four following individuals that are part of the pack making the claim. This means that members looking to create a pack should post a thread in the desired territory that they wish to claim with the leader and four followers claiming that territory when a slot is open to create a pack. Once the pack has been formed and the territory claimed, the pack leader may post a thread in the packs board concerning the rules, ranks, and regulations of the pack - be sure to read up and follow them should you decide to join. Packs are allowed to claim any territory boards labeled 'unclaimed'. For every new territory the pack claims, the pack must have at least three additional members(so if you have just created a pack and claimed a territory, you have a total of five members to start. When you go to claim your next territory, you must have eight members, then eleven members for the third, then fourteen for the fourth, and so on) to ensure the pack will be able to withhold the territory. Alphas have a time period in which they can't be challenged for their rank that occurs directly after someone has challenged them for the position and lasts for two real-life weeks. If a pack's number of active members decreases and they can't hold more than one territory, they will lose the rest of the lands they have claimed and those places will go back to being open for others to claim.