Difference between revisions of "Membership FAQ"

Revision as of 13:13, 3 October 2008

(Return to the River Twine Holt website.)

Glossary of Important Terms

• CIS: character information sheet
• IC: in-character
• MB: message board
• NPC: non-player character -- generally an adoptable waiting to be adopted.
• PC: persona character
• OOC: out-of-character
• RP: role-playing
• RTH: River Twine Holt

Import Club Email Addresses

• council@rivertwine.com
• help@rivertwine.com
• wiki@rivertwine.com
• stories@rivertwine.com
• artwork@rivertwine.com
• contests@rivertwine.com
• characters@rivertwine.com
• cisadmin@rivertwine.com
• joining@rivertwine.com

Additionally, all current members have email aliases determined by the persona they own and operate (i.e.: farscout@rivertwine.com, willow@rivertwine.com).

Important Club Dates

• Winter Quarter: January 1 through March 31
• Spring Quarter: April 1 through June 30
• Summer Quarter: July 1 through Sept. 30
• Autumn Quarter: October 1 through December 31
• Annual CIS updates: required between June 1 and June 30.
• Annual Secret Santa holiday gift program: sign-up deadline in October; submissions due by December 23.
• Regular art trades and fic trades are opt-in, and run on a two-month cycle.

OOC History of River Twine Holt

River Twine Holt was created in May of 2006 by former members of Rushwater Holt, who lamented the loss of the story- and art-based 'zine-style club. Hopes of reviving Rushwater turned to the opportunity of creating a new Holt, with new characters and a new traditional wolfrider setting. A chief was declared, a council of five members was selected to serve as the chief's advisers, a messageboard was set up, a webpage was crafted, and RTH was off to the races.

The Council's first trial by fire was to enforce the participation and communication agreements decided on by the group as a whole, which resulted the dismissal of the chief himself for lack of participation. The chief character became a council-supported NPC, to be run and approved by agreement of the council.

The primary focus during the first six months of the club was the creation of the existing cast of characters, including NPCs. Different members volunteered to oversee the development of different arenas of world building, including: flora (Amy), fauna (Cindy), human tribes (Joan), Preservers (Trena), tribal genealogy (Whitney), tribal history (Holly & Whitney), trolls (Heidi & Vicki), and wolves (Fey, Holly & Whitney). Ellen Million was responsible for the creation of the message boards and website, with input from Whitney's husband, Ron Swartzendruber.

Some RTH Firsts

The first piece of art submitted was Vicki Stephanson's portrait of Evervale (June 2006); the first story submitted was "Ghosts" by Whitney Ware (June 2006). Our club's website went live in July 2006.

How does the Council operate?

A Holt run by a single "chief" survives upon the dedication and motivation of a single member. A Holt operated by a board of directors can harness the shared dedication and motivation of multiple members, providing the entire organization with a safety net in terms of long-term survivability.

The first five members of the Council were selected in May 2006 by Chief Tommy Jeffers. There is currently no term limits policy for Council members; in practice, council members serve until they choose to resign, and new Council members are selected by vote of the existing Council from candidates who have volunteered for the duty. Members of the Council expect to be held accountable for club decisions by the membership, and Council members rely on club members to raise issues, concerns,and questions to the Council.

What is expected of Council members?

The Council hopes to meet the following communication standards:

• Members who ask for Council feedback will receive an immediate response assuring them that their question has been received, and promising a timely response. Questions directed at the Council via the message boards will have a post made notifying members that the Council is taking up the item for discussion.

• The Council will attempt to resolve questions within a 5-day turnaround -- of course this is not always possible, but it's a goal we will strive to meet. When more than five days are necessary to bring a matter to a resolution, the Council will send the asking member a courtesy note to let them know the matter hasn't dropped into limbo.

• When issues are resolved, the individual who asked the question will receive a personal note from a Council member regarding the decision; likewise, when an issue is raised via the message boards, public notes will be left on mb threads indicating the Council's decision. Decisions made by the Council will be recorded in the Decisions Log thread, and when appropriated, added to the wikisite as well.

• If the Council makes a public promise, that promise must be kept! If there are delays regarding a self-imposed deadline, then recognition of those delays should be made publicly; council members who need help should ask for help to meet that deadline as soon as possible. Council members have the responsibility to help one another meet these public promises.

Additionally, Chief Windburn is currently under the ownership of the Council. For as long as the Council owns & operates this NPC, each Council member will be responsible for at least one submission of their choice per year for Windburn (this can include art or fic trades).

Council members who are team leaders of a specific team (such as character approvals team or story approvals team) are expected to be proactive and involved members of that team, shouldering a fair share of the team workload. Council members who are mods for specific discussion threads on the message boards are expected to cycle out old discussion threads to the general archives in a timely way, such as once every month for the heaviest traffic parts of the board.

Past Council Members

• Trena Driessen (August 2006 to March 2007)
• Mary Jo Jeffers (August 2006 to April 2007)
• Ellen Million (April 2007 to December 2007)

Current Council Members

• Heidi Henderson (August 2006 to present)
• Holly Hutchison (January 2008 to present)
• Leonie Jonk (August 2006 to present)
• Joan Milligan (August 2006 to present)
• Whitney Ware (March 2007 to present)

Founding Members of River Twine Holt

The following members all joined within the first few weeks of the club and are responsible for the creation of the first player-character owned elves.

• Linda Aarts (Snowfall)
• Amy Chandler (Longshot)
• Trena Driessen (Whispersilk)
• Sarah Clawfoot (Suddendusk)
• Wendy Fowler (Nightstorm)
• Kim Gaeble (Kestrel)
• Gills (Windsong)
• Jaci Heinen (Foxtail)
• Heidi Henderson (Willow)
• Mary Jo Jeffers (Chicory)
• Tommy Jeffers (Chief Far Cry)
• Leonie Jonk (Dreamflight)
• Stacy Lucas (Moss)
• Fey McKercher (Rainpace)
• Joan Milligan (Crackle)
• Ellen Million (Greenweave)
• Cindy Pruitt (Quick Fang)
• Vicki Stephenson (Evervale)
• Rachel Vardys (Cloudfern)
• Whitney Ware (Farscout)
• Christina Westgate (Goldspice)
• Matt (Thornbow)

What happens when a new member asks to join?

When new members join River Twine Holt, their request automatically goes to the River Twine Council. Our Character Administrator (currently Leonie) gives the new member their official welcome (within 24 hours whenever possible), and assigns one or more mentors to the member. Additionally, our Character Admin team leader (currently Leonie) will hold a friendly interview with the new member, cc'd to the rest of the Council, regarding the member's wishes toward character adoption. The Council's goal is to both ensure a new member's happy transition into the club, and to make sure that the new member is adopting a character they will prove compatible with. Members who find they've adopted the wrong character will be welcome at any time to trade in their character for another available NPC.

Once new members join, they are given a website account, a RTH alias email, and are asked to create a MB account. The website and the MB are two different systems, and members have to apply for their account to the MB.

All members are required to join under their real identities; it's fine for members to participate under pseudonyms, but the Council needs to know a member's real name. Joining the club under false pretenses is grounds for immediate dismissal. Additionally, sockpuppeting a false membership is also grounds for immediate dismissal from the club.

What will my participation requirements be when I first join?

Acknowledging that new members join while a quarter is in progress, the council has clarified what the expectations are for new member participation. New members must participate (meaning, submit art or writing) by the end of the first *full* quarter after they join. While we would of course like to see a new member begin participating as soon as possible, they may not have time to do so in the partial quarter in which they join. But, if a new member has not submitted anything by the end of the next (full) quarter, they will be deactivated.

If a new member joins very late in the quarter, or finds it difficult to meet the participation requirements, they are welcome to contact the Council before the quarterly deadline, and the Council would be glad to help.

What is RTH's policy for returning members?

Former members who wish to return to River Twine Holt are welcomed back with open arms. Returning members will be treated the same as any other new member -- they will be welcome to adopt any of the available characters. (Previously owned personas will not be removed from another member in order to be returned to a returning member.) All artwork and stories previously submitted will be relinked to a returning member. However, returning members are required to rejoin under their original name & identity.

Note: Sockpuppeting (operating an email account under false pretenses) will be grounds for immediate expulsion. Please remember: honesty is always the best policy!

How does the art approval process work?

All art to the club is submitted to artwork@rivertwine.com. Artists are expected to have received approval for art featuring other members' characters before a piece is submitted. Once art is submitted, it is thumbnailed and uploaded into the website's database, where it is then linked to all appropriate gallery categories. The club's first Art Director was Trena Driessen; the current Art Director is Whitney Ware.

Value of "doll" art: Doll art is always awarded at "sketch" level (.5). Doll art is only accepted for existing developed personas; doll art is not being accepted to represent ancestors, unless existing ancestor art for that individual already appears on the club website.

Recycled art: We're happy to accept recycled art (art created originally for another club), so long as the artwork is art is equally representative of the RTH tribe or environment. Regardless of whether a showcase, sketch, or finished piece, will only earn a certain amount of points (.5). Recycled art cannot be applied toward the quarterly participation requirements. No more than eight pieces/four points of recycled art will be counted per quarter towards our seasonal participation awards.

Copying, References, and Plagiarism: Plagiarism of any form (tracing someone else’s artwork or claiming someone else’s writing for your own) is grounds for immediate cancellation of your membership. While drawing freehand from references is fine, tracing or mechanical copying of other artwork is not allowed (even if it is adapted). Art that is considered too much a copy of another existing artwork will not be posted (this determination will be made by the council, and it will be discussed with the artist). Plagiarism (trying to pass others' work off as your own, including close copies of others' work) is grounds for loss of membership.

How does the story approval process work?

Review Process: Members are expected to receive all necessary approvals for a story before it is submitted to the Story Approval Team for review; members are also expected to run a spell check on their submission, perform basic line editing for punctuation, grammar, and date the story for placement on the timeline. Stories are submitted to stories@rivertwine.com. Once submitted, stories are posted to the Story Review Team on the message boards, where members of the team review the story. The team goal is to return reviews within a seven day turnaround, when possible. Once the story reviews are made, then a single individual (called the "handler") compiles those comments into a single constructive review, which is returned to the member for revisions. Some stories may take more than one revision before they are cleared to be posted on the website, and some stories are cleared to be posted without any revision requests at all.

The Story Approval Team has a sometimes-tricky task of trying to balance the individual needs of the writer with overall club continuity. They keep an eye on the use of NPCs and ensure that NPCs remain consistent to character, try to ensure that group continuity remains consistent with the world of River Twine Holt, etc. The current Story Approval Team members are Heidi Henderson (Team Leader), Amy Chandler, Holly Hutchison, Joan Milligan, and Whitney Ware. Interested volunteers for the team should contact Heidi at willow@rivertwine.com.

Some storylines will by necessity require approval of the Council: any encounter with humans, any encounter with trolls, any encounter with wild magic. Additionally, any storyline which has a wide impact on the tribe (for example: an elf child goes missing for several days) should be consulted with the Council, to help determine what the Chief's response will be.

Value of Fic: Stories are counted on the basis of 650 words = 1 page = 1 point.

Value of Poetry: Poetry is generally considered to be worth .5 points. However, if a member believes their poem is longer than usual, a personal masterwork, or otherwise demonstrates more effort, they may request more points, to a maximum of 2. Final point distribution is decided by the story approval team.

Token "No Elf Is An Island" Reminder: In such a small and interwoven community like the River Twine tribe, no elf is an island and that events are rarely isolated to affecting only one character. There is no character of the tribe who does not have close relatives or close friends, and part of the fun (and the challenge!) of a club like River Twine is seeing how events and story threads weave unexpected from one author's work to the next. So never hesitate to ask yourself "How does the events in this story affect my elf?" and follow the ripples from their source!

How does the character approvals process work?

All living persona characters with the tribe have been created and approved, but members who are interested in creating ancestor characters may do so by writing up a CIS and submitting it to cisadmin@rivertwine. All ancestors are considered NPCs, but by creating a CIS the author functionally establishes important details about that ancestor which will be taken into account for portrayal of that ancestor by future writers and artists. The current Character Approval Team is Leonie Jonk (Team Leader), Holly Hutchison and Whitney Ware.

Can I create a wanderer character?

While it is very likely that there are other tribes of elves existing on the world, the elves of River Twine Holt have never encountered other elves since Wolfsister and her band split from their band of High Ones and first-generation offspring, a little more than two thousand years ago. No "wandering elves" or "sole survivors of their destroyed tribe" elves can be introduced into the River Twine Holt.

In early 2006, the Council was asked to consider the introduction of tribe of sea elves and a tribe of gliders. At that time, the Council declined to pursue the development of any additional elf tribes, as doing so would prove a huge investment of time and creative energy, and distract members from the existing world-building that was still ongoing. This is a decision that can be revisited someday in the future, if a time comes when the Council finds that expanding the club's creative focus won't prove distracting from the existing tribe and characters.

Can I play two elves at once?

No. Members can only own one elf persona at a time. However -- members are always welcome and encouraged to create art and fic about NPCs or about other member-owned characters; if you have ideas you wish to pursue about other characters, please approach that character's owner or (in the case of NPCs) the Council.

Can I own and operate an ancestor character?

At this time, members can only own and operate one elf (living) persona at a time. Ancestor characters can be further developed by individual members, but creative control of all ancestors reverts to the club's Council. (Tip: if you're particularly enamoured with an ancestor elf, be sure to write up a detailed CIS, as the CIS is what the Council uses to determine whether or not NPC usage is kept in-character!)

Can I own a troll character, or one of the Ebea or Bukno-Baha humans?

Possibly. That's a bridge we haven't crossed yet, but may consider in the future.

When I join and adopt a character, how much freedom do I have to alter that character to my liking?

Great question -- and one that takes a little consideration first. In many clubs, characters are temporary elements that cycle in and out as membership fluctuates. At River Twine Holt, the entire club is structured around a stable population of elves. New elves will be born and existing characters will die in the cycle of life in their fictional world, but characters won't disappear on command with changes in membership, and strange new elves won't just suddenly appear on the horizon. After the last of the existing elves of the tribe were created and approved in December of 2006, new members to the club are required to adopt existing NPCs. These characters come with established histories and established "looks" which may or may not completely appeal to their new owners.

The club's baseline for adopted characters is that a newly adopted character cannot be significantly altered from what's already "in print" -- by that, we mean approved in a character sheet or posted in existing art or fiction. Once a character fact goes into the club's continuity, that character fact needs to be respected and left unaltered. However, this still gives a perceptive new member some wriggle-room. Most of the elves in the tribe have been alive for decades, or even hundreds of years. That means there is a *lot* of opportunity for new stories to be told about those as-yet-unexplored life experiences. Likewise, new storylines can be developed to show a character's personality developing in new ways. And a character's physical appearance can always be altered -- within reason. Hair color and eye color won't change, but clothing can always be retailored (and again -- especially for characters who've been around for decades or centuries, there's always room to explore and detail a character's previous fashion history). Any really dramatic change in a character's appearance (new clothing, change in hairstyle, etc.) will require some in-character explanation... but that just means you've got great possibility for new storylines in your hands, and if as a new member you can't think of a why to explain a new fall fashion for your newly adopted character, then please post a note to the message boards and recruit a collaborator to tell that tale!

What if I find I'm tired of my current character?

If that happens, you're welcome to trade in your existing elf in favor of one of the current NPCs. Or contact the Council and put your name on a waiting list, in order to get first dibs on adoption when babies get born, or current characters turn NPC.

What happens when I decide I need to leave the club?

The continuity of River Twine Holt is built upon the existing characters, and all of the artwork and stories created in support of those characters. As a result, River Twine Holt refuses to ever "disappear" a character owned and operated by a departing member, and we are reluctant to remove from our archives and website any artwork or stories created in support of a character. Each departing member's requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and the Council will do it's best to juggle the individual's needs versus the continuity needs of the entire group. If you have specific requests or requires upon your departure, please discussion them with the Council, and we will work with you to find an end-result that best respects your needs, and the needs of the club as a whole.

As a matter of standard practice, the MB forum handles of departing members will be changed if the member had been operating under the name of a tribal character (i.e. Farscout, Greenweave, Longshot). Likewise, email accounts featuring the character's name (i.e. farscout@rivertwine.com) will be deactived until the character has been readopted by new ownership.

What is the mentor program, and how does it work?

It always helps new members who join to have a friendly mentor who's willing to help answer questions and welcome a new member to the club. At River Twine Holt, mentors are volunteers who are ready and willing to to assist the Council by performing the following tasks when they've been assigned a new member:

• Mentors are asked to make early friendly contact with new members and give them a warm welcome to the club.
• Mentors are asked to help a new member "learn the ropes" as much as the new member needs. This means asking to answer any questions a new member has, and if necessary, direct the new member to the admin who can answer it.
• Mentors are asked to remain in close contact with a new member during their first few weeks in the club.
• Mentors should be aware that some new members will be "self starters" and some will need more mentoring than others. Mentors are asked to take some initiative in helping a new member get jump-started in the club -- this could include one or more of the following: offering to participate with a new member with their first collab, hosting a story-building RP for a new member, helping brainstorm with a new member regarding possible storylines, etc.

Any member who wishes to volunteer to be a mentor for River Twine Holt is welcome to volunteer by emailing cisadmin@rivertwine.com, or simply council@rivertwine.com.

How do the Art and Fiction Contests work?

Fic or Art Contests are generally scheduled to run every three months, although the schedule can vary. Each contest will have a theme, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize award icons will be given to the winners chosen by vote on the message boards; additional bonus prizes may be offered as well by contest sponsors. Participants can contribute as many entries as they desire; however, if there are multiple participants, each individual may only receive one award. Individual members are welcome to host their own private contests as well, with prior approval from the Council.

All contest art and fiction must feature River Twine Holt characters and the River Twine Holt setting (unless specifically stated otherwise in the contest description). All contest entries must receive member approvals where necessary; the Council will help non-member participants in obtaining any necessary approvals.

Public Participation in Fic or Art Contests: Non-members will be invited at times to participate in the regularly scheduled River Twine art & fic contests. Non-members will be eligible for participation under the same rules as members, and will be granted prizes (1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize award icons, with winners chosen by public vote on the River Twine message boards. Participants can contribute as many entries as they desire; however, if there are multiple participants, each individual may only receive one award. Unless otherwise noted in the description for each contest, all contest art should be generally PG13 in rating.

Non-member contest participation does NOT equate membership to River Twine Holt. Non-member contest participants are entitled to receive all comments on their work and any awards won, but no other members-only benefits such as persona ownership or full access to the message boards. By participating, non-members agree to their work being displayed on the River Twine website; River Twine Holt guarantees the work being credited to its creator.

A contests@rivertwine.com account exists for members to submit their contest entries too.

Message Board Etiquette

• All members are asked to create Message Board accounts using their character name. Character names are reserved for use by the current owner of a character.
• Message board access is limited to members-only.
• MB threads are NOT to be erased. All old threads are to be transferred into the appropriate archive, so they will be available for future reference.
• Threads asking for volunteers or concerning volunteer assignments should not be archived until those assignments/commitments are either turned in, or the member indicates they are unable or unwilling to complete their tasks.
• Signatures have been enabled at the boards, however, there will be restrictions on them. First, no graphics (i.e. banners) are allowed. Second, you get three lines of standard sized text or 500 characters, whichever comes first. It should include your real name (or whatever it is you are called as a person), and your elfname if it is not already your username. Violations will be edited by the forum mods.

Annual required CIS updates

Members are required to update their persona CISs once a year. A mandatory update period is to be held each June; members are required to review their persona's CIS during the course of that month, and make any necessary updates during that time. "Necessary" updates are as the member sees fit, but must include at the minimum an adjustment of the character's age to show the passage of an additional time since the last update.

Suggestions to keep in mind:

• changes in a character's relationships
• any change in status of wolf-friend
• any new possessions of note?
• any change in skills or hobbies worth note?
• take a moment to review the artwork and stories in which your character has participate in the past year. Anything there to inspire you to update in the CIS?

What are the membership requirements again for keeping my RTH character?

All members must support their character through the submission of one piece of art or one or more written submissions (totaling 500 words or more) per annual quarter. Members who fail to participate for more than two quarters in a row may have their membership revoked. Submission requirements need not necessarily feature your own character to meeting this requirement: for example, an art trade picture you've created of another member's elf satisfies our quarterly submission requirement.

What happens if I fail to meet my submission requirements for a quarter?

A member who fails to participate during a quarter gets put on probationary status. Probationary members can return to non-probationary status simply by participating during the successive quarter (and of course, by completing any fic or art commitments they may be overdue on, particularly art trade or fic trade commitments). Probationary members MUST meet the participation requirements for the second quarter; while it's appreciated if they can retroactively meet the missed participation requirements, this is not required (a probationary member is not in a hole they must dig themselves out of). However, if a probationary member fails to meet the participation requirements for the successive quarter, their membership is revoked and their character becomes an NPC. (Rest assured -- this decision never takes place without ample communication from the Council first.)

Can I repost my RTH art or stories elsewhere?

Individual members have the right to repost their own art and stories as they see fit. We especially appreciate it when a plug is made for River Twine (we've got banners available), and/or if you mention the names of the owners who approved the use of their art/characters in your.

How does the art trade/fic trade system work?

The Art Trade and Fic Trade program runs regularly throughout the year. In general, each time members are asked to sign up if they wish to participate. Participants are then given character assignments based on which other members are participating for that particular trade session, and are given a two-month deadline to create art or fic for character they've been assigned.

Art Trade: runs on a two-month schedule. Artists sign up to portray another artist’s character; in return, they’ll be receiving artwork featuring their character.

Fic Trade: runs on a two-month schedule. Writers sign up to write a story or poem featuring another writer’s character; in return, they’ll be receiving a story or poetry featuring their character.

George (Art/Fic) Trade: runs on a three-month schedule. Artist and writer members are paired off to trade their respective skills, featuring one another’s characters. Partnered members determine for themselves how independent or collaborative their respective efforts will be.

It's not unusual for artists or authors to find they need more time to finish an assignment; some overlapping assignments will be allowed, but once a member has there or more overdue assignments, they cannot participate in future art or fic trades (or Secret Santa assignments) until the overdue assignments have been completed.

All art or George trade artwork should be submitted to artwork@rivertwine.com; all fic trade stories should be submitted to stories@rivertwine.com. Character approvals for art & stories must be obtained (where necessary) before submission are made.

I signed up for the art trade/fic trade, but failed to produce my trade by deadline. What happens to me now?

It's understood that when a member signs up for an art trade or fic trade, that they will make good on their commitment, especially since they are receiving someone else's efforts in trade. It's also understood that sometimes, finishing a project may take longer than expected. Members who are overdue on three or more trade commitments will be cut off from further participation until all of their overdue commitments have been completed.[/b]

What if I've got a great idea about doing something differently?

Write to the Council and give them a detailed proposal of what it is you want to do! The world of River Twine Holt is a shared creative effort, and everyone is encouraged to make their own creative stamp.

Where do I find the RP?

We understand that most ElfQuest clubs out there today are based on RP (role playing), either through message boards or by email. River Twine Holt is different: we're role playing the old school way, through the creation of stories and artwork. As a result, we do not have organized RP.

We do have a section on the message boards where individual members can host a public or private RP (some of our authors enjoy generating stories in this fashion). And of course, individual members are welcome to hold private email RPs with one another (again, another method of story writing that some of our authors enjoy). But by and large, our RP opportunities are very limited, and if you really want to RP, expect to host the opportunity for yourself through recruiting other members on the MB or via email.

Additionally, nothing that happens in an RP is included in club canon: it's not "real" until you turn it into a story or put it in art.