Introduction
Welcome to the RPC Authority Wiki! We are happy to have you aboard our creative writing project and hope you enjoy your stay.
All works posted on this wiki, unless otherwise stated, are works of fiction. This is not a roleplay site. The Authority does not exist. RPC objects do not exist.
You are reading the Guide for Newbies, your introduction to site etiquette and standards. However you may have found your way here, we welcome you as a member and a potential author of RPCs and RPC-related stories and documents.
Let's start from the beginning; how to move from a casual reader to a site member.
- 1. You need to make an account with Wikidot. Go here to do so.
- 2. Even with a Wikidot account, you still aren't a member of the RPC Authority site itself. To join the site itself, you have to go to this page and write your application. To get your application approved, you have to follow all the instructions on the Join The Site page. That includes reading this guide, so you're off to a good start. You are required to read all of the tabs on this page before joining the site.
- 3. Once you finish all the steps above, simply wait a few days for your application to be processed. When it is approved, you will now be able to rate pages, view authors, view changes over time, edit pages, and even publish an article.
If you're interested in joining the chat or writing for the site, you'll find additional pages linked to from this guide which will help you out.
You are expected to know the Site Rules before posting any comments, and you are expected to have read our Formatting Guide before writing any articles.
IF YOU'RE ON THIS PAGE TO APPLY FOR THE SITE, PLEASE READ ALL THE TAB SECTIONS ON THIS PAGE. To navigate this page, scroll to the top and click on another tab. (The next one is "Site Behavior," if that helps.)
If you are reading this page to find out how to become a site member, finishing this first tab is not enough. Your application will be denied if you only read this section.
Site Behavior
The rules page contains a very clinical list of things you are allowed to do, things you are expected to do, and things you are not allowed to do. However, the RPC Authority is a writing community, and no list of hard-and-fast rules will explain the nuances of social interaction for you. There are some behaviors that will simply grate on different people's nerves; you can't, as the quote says, please everyone. There are, however, behaviors that annoy everyone, and these will get you banned. Keep this in mind:
So much of your life and your time here at the Authority will be much easier if you remember this.
Sassing the Mods: We are volunteers, not paid workers, who are curating a list of quality horror. We are not easily prone to anger by sarcasm or jokes, but repeated harassment of staff will result in a ban.
- That said: Moderators and Administrators are allowed to have and express opinions just as writers and site members. You are advised not to behave obnoxiously towards them (or anyone—see the first rule), but you as a member are allowed to debate, disagree with, and discuss whatever you like, however you like (as long as you're civil), with Mods or Admins in their capacity as members. You will not be banned for disagreeing with a staff member.
Harassment: It will be noted that the RPC Authority does indeed allow users to speak their minds freely on topics of any kind without fear of being banned. However, there is a difference between speaking one's mind freely, and making a user feel uncomfortable. Repeated and purposeful harassment of users will not be tolerated. Harassment could be categorized in the following:
- 1. Threats of violence towards a user/users.
- 2. Spamming a user/users with insults
- 3. Targeting a user, or a group of users, with false allegations and insults.
- 4. Falsifying evidence to have another user banned.
- 5. Insults or threats to a user's family member.
- 6. Vandalizing or group raiding an article
Raiding: Raiding is the act of targeting an article or website with the intention of disrupting, harassing, and/or angering a user or community. Raiding is done by either spamming, down-voting, or harassing people related to a community or article. With this being said raiding of a user's article or a community is strictly forbidden and is a bannable offense.
Staff/Mod/Admin Posts: This is a member of staff acting in a position of Authority. They will be clearly marked as "Staff Post", "Mod Post", or "Admin Post". Those are generally discussions to be read by members, but contributed to by Staff.
- Moderative Posts: Moderative posts will have a specific title. These titles are used to indicate specific types of posts, and should only be responded to in certain situations.
- Stop Order - Do not respond to this post. If a staff member ends a discussion, it is over. Do not try to get the final word in; just stop.
- Closed - Do not respond to this post. Staff is posting a statement that does not require a reply.
- Open - You can respond to this post if you want.
Writing: If you are interested in writing an article for the RPC Authority there are is a specific process that you must familiarize yourself with. This writing process should be followed in order to improve your writing and to avoid "coldposting". If any article is coldposted it will be removed.
- Starting out: Join the RPC Authority Sandbox. Click "Join" and then type in the name you wish your sandbox to be called. Click "create sandbox" and start working on your new page. You do not have to join the sandbox, but it allows you to test out your formatting and present your articles to others easily. Before beginning your RPC, check out the Writers Guide and the Formatting Guide. Once you have reviewed these you should be ready to start writing.
- Rough Draft: Once you have written the basics of your article and are happy with your progress, post your draft to the Draft forums. Users are required to submit a draft once they have finished writing the basic parts of their articles. Every article uploaded to the official site is expected to have received at least two thorough pieces of criticism in the draft stage, consisting of at least five points. If this step is not completed the article will be deleted for coldposting. At this point, users viewing the draft are recommended to point out any sort of errors they find. Once you have received criticism on the forums you are expected to calmly take and apply a majority of it to your article. If you disagree with the criticism given to you then you do not have to apply it, but you are expected to receive and apply criticism from more users. While we do not punish people for responding poorly to criticism, it reflects badly on the writer's character.
- Final Draft: After completing a rough draft and acting upon criticism an article is expected to have most or all of its plot holes, grammar and other remaining issues fixed. It is encouraged to update your rough draft posted on the forums to reflect these changes. When this is done you may seek out more criticism to further improve your writing.
- Publish/Post Publishing: Before publishing your article give it one last read over. If you feel confident in your article and have followed the previous steps then you are ready to post it. If you are uploading an RPC, find a number that you desire on the main list that has not been taken (marked with "ACCESS DENIED"). Click the number link and press "Click here" to open up the editor. Paste your article into the space provided and edit the title (Change the title Rpc 1111 to RPC-1111). Make sure to edit the rating module as well ([[include component:rate]]). Once you have saved your article go to the bottom of the Main list and edit the slot next to your chosen number. Change "ACCESS DENIED" to an original title that describes your article. Once you have done this check out the Tagging Guide and edit the Tags section at the bottom of your article. Congratulations! your article is now an official part of the site. If you ever feel that the article could be improved on, you are free to make edits. Note if the article ever remains under 2.7 stars with 6 user ratings, the article will be removed.
Editing: The RPC Authority is a wiki, meaning users are encouraged to write and contribute to the site. Likewise, users are permitted to improve the site by editing existing pages, to an extent. Editing is broken up into different ranks:
- Minor edits: These include minor grammar, spelling, or punctuation fixes, or adding (correct) tags to a page. The rule is: as long as the change doesn't alter a sentence's meaning, the edit is fine. If a user plans to do a lot of minor edits, be sure to let a moderator and/or author know, to avoid misunderstandings about the changes.
Also important: Make sure you know what you're doing when you edit. Don't make a sentence worse by a) changing something that is supposed to be whatever it is, like an intentional misspelling, formatting quirk, or an acceptable but alternate spelling of a word (color/colour, analog/analogue, etc.), or b) fixing something that literally isn't wrong in the first place. Remember: every edit you make is visible for all to see.
- Major edits: This includes changing paragraphs changes, altering pictures, or other concept changes. These types of changes should be run past the original author if possible. If the original author can't be found, ask a moderator or administrator for permission or advice.
Appropriate Content: Any images portraying real gore and pornographic content, is a bannable offense due to breaking Wikidot's Terms of Service.
In-character Behavior: The RPC Authority is NOT a role-playing wiki, it is a site dedicated to writing pieces of fiction. So, when interacting in the wiki, do not act as if you are in the RPC Authority universe, talk how you normally do. If you are looking for a place to role-play, you're in the wrong place.
Spam: Don't bring up your new RPC every two minutes, and don't bump threads you created. Additionally, don't post content that warrants no response to forum posts. To put it simply, don't bring up an idea repetitively and don't post meaningless things.
Profile: Do not link to material that wouldn't be allowed on the site or make such material as your avatar. Additionally, do not name your profile after a pre-existing character in the RPC Authority universe, this could be seen as role-playing. Note that this not to say you can't put titles like "Doctor", "Professor", or "Private" as your profile name. The only thing that would be a problem is naming yourself out of an already existing character. One recommendation we have on profile names is to not name a character after your username, this could be seen as role-playing and self-inserting, which may lead to backlash by your readers.
- To join the site, type in the following phrase in the proper location on the Join Page: "Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit." This is the pass phrase. Your application must also explain why you wish to join the site. The entirety of your application must be grammatically correct with proper punctuation and spelling. If your application does not include this information and the above phrase, it will be automatically denied.
For a complete list of the things we do and do not allow on the site, check the Site Rules.
