re: Activity Checks

[somarium_lords]

There are a few issues and clarifications we would like to address in regards to activity checks, especially because we've seen an increased number of these issues pop up during the past few months.

• Posters need to reply back to those who tag it. The point of AC is to show proof of activity! It's not very active if you've simply made a post and never responded to it. Therefore, for a post to count toward AC, we require that it have sufficient activity from the poster. As clarification, this stems from those who make posts but never tag back to those who respond to them, or respond only once and that's it. There is no actual number requirement, but at least tag enough so that respondents can use the threads for their own AC. Also, it is perfectly fine if a post does not receive any replies at all, ie, an empty post. Those will still count toward the AC. This requirement is only for those who do receive replies to their post.
  
  
• Last minute posts will not count. And by last minute, we really do mean last minute. It's pretty hard to show sufficient activity if you've just made a post the day AC ends. Thus a post made within 24 hours of the AC deadline won't pass. A post made the day before the deadline will be perfectly fine. In addition, if for the following month you find yourself pressed for activity, we will allow you to use posts made during the last day of the previous month, as long as a bulk of the threading had been continued onto the next month. (For example, if you made a post on August 31st, it probably won't have sufficient activity to show for August, but if you continue to tag it, you can use that thread for September's AC.)
  
  
• Threads must be at least 3 comments long to count. This means your character has to have had made at least 3 comments in that thread for it to count toward AC! Submitting threads where your character only has 1 or 2 comments, even if you only need 1 or 2 more to pass, will not count.
  
  
• Try to keep threads going. This is less of a requirement and more of a concern we'd like to address. As a courtesy toward other players, we ask that both players try to not drop threads a few comments in, and to keep threads going a little longer. You don't have to reach some definite end or go on forever, but it would be nice at the very least to help someone else have another thread to use for AC. Nobody likes to be left hanging.
  
  
• Do not make a pattern of consecutive hiatus and strikes. We understand that some months are tougher than others, hence our strike system. But we ask that you must make full AC for at least every three consecutive months. That means, if you were on hiatus in July and you took a strike in August, you should make September's AC in full. Attempting to get around AC by making a strike, hiatus, strike pattern every month does count as character squatting.
  
  
• Don't abuse hiatuses. Sometimes things come up, but try not to make last minute hiatuses to evade AC. Similar to the previous note, we don't want to see a pattern of hiatusing toward the end of the month and not filling out AC.

We'd like to ask for your opinions on AC. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let us know in this post.