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Just a reminder that AC for May is waived/will not be posted. Stay safe and sane, everyone!

First off, as of posting this entry, four players are still missing from March's AC post; please go do that in the next day so you don't miss out! Double check to make sure you posted AC if you're not 100% sure. Ask for a save if you need to, and all that jazz.

And now, the real main reason for this post, which is for a couple of important April announcements:

01. To give players a mini break, there will be no activity check post going up for April (everyone gets a free pass for April) because, well ... I think we all know the tenuous state of the world right now. As such, instead of now, the results of the now-closed AC reassessment poll will be posted at the end of April and will be in place starting for May's AC. Anyone who requested an AC save (or was told they needed one) in March will submit it in May's AC post instead.

02. There will also be a mini break on the mod-side, for the same reason! Reserves, while typically on an open month in April, will not be open in April. This does mean as such that there will be no apps in May since this game requires reserves for apps, but we will resume our regular staggered apps/reserves schedule after that. All other mod business such as putting up plot stuff, answering questions, etc., will still obviously be going on during this time.

These disruptions in our usual game functions obviously won't last forever, but this is just where we are in the world now, folks, and we all in this game do this as an unpaid hobby in whatever free time our lives and whatever anxieties afford us even in the best of circumstances.

Aaand that's it! Remember to stay inside and wash your hands a lot (also buy lotion for those hands because soap dries them out like a mofo and no one wants cracks on their hands).

Of those players who voted on the AC post (which was posted and open at the start of this month and was closed yesterday), we are changing the AC requirements starting January 1st, 2020, for that AC period and onward.

This means you need two threads to pass AC now. With flexible backtagging options! As stated in the initial post outlining the options, what we called option two there (which is this one we're implementing) means that backtagged threads can be used for AC while also ensuring that backtagged threads have a better shot at being either played to completion or getting more than a couple tags in before a new AC period comes around.

You may use threads started as late within the last two months IF you have four timestamped comments in each month for however old the thread start is. That's an average of one tag a week at minimum from your character in a thread in backtagged threads. For example, let's look at what January AC might look like for me as a player doing my AC for Sara (canaria) —

I can use a thread started as late as November as long as I have four timestamped comments from canaria dated in November AND four timestamped comments from canaria dated in December.

If I use a thread that was started in December, I need four December-dated timestamped comments from canaria.

If I use a thread that was started in January, I just need more than one January-dated timestamped comment from canaria in it.

Any combination of the above is acceptable, so long as two threads that meet any of those criteria are presented for AC.


And some final points...
✔ AC will still be open all month long, and these AC changes will be reflected when January's AC post goes up tomorrow, as well as our FAQ and Rules pages. Taking an AC 'save' will still be an option for those who don't make AC one month, but I'm still working out what a fair save requirement will be under this system, since the 'five comment thread' of the last system doesn't really fit with this one. I will announce that when I have an answer, which will be long before anyone has to ask for a January AC save.

✔ As an aside, all hiatuses properly announced on the hiatus page are AC check-in exempt as well. Indefinite and consecutive hiatuses still won't be allowed, but AC check-in stress over hiatuses should be pretty well over and done with now. AC exemption does not count if you only post your hiatus to plurk or the OOC comm; it has to be on the hiatus and drops page since that's the only page I'll be checking when I check AC.

▶▶ Questions, comments? This entry is open to them, as well as the always open mod contact page & mod email/PM. (However, comments are not screened in this entry, so if you want to speak to the mod privately, please take it to the mod contact page or PM/email since your privacy won't be able to be ensured in the comments section of this entry.)

While December is going to be an even more stress free AC for everyone, let's chat about AC changes you might like to see starting in 2020, yeah?

First off, hiatuses: There's been more confusion about this, so no matter what you all want to do about AC, any hiatuses will be an automatic exemption from having to check into AC. Indefinite and consecutive hiatuses still won't be allowed, but for that month you need a hiatus? You don't have to check in. You must officially post it to the hiatus page when your hiatus begins, however, but that's it.

And now, AC chatter:

Option one for AC is: Leave it as is. AC is open all month long, just post one link to a thread with more than one comment from your character in it. The thread must be from the month being checked only.

Option two for AC: AC is open all month long, and you can pass AC with two threads (for each character you play) started within the past two months, so long as there are at minimum four comments from your character in each month. That's an average of one tag a week in a thread at minimum. Meaning for April's AC for example: You can use a thread from a post that was started in February as long as your character has four comments timestamped in February and four timestamped in March. If you use a thread from a post that was started in March, you just need four March timestamped comments. If you use a thread from something started in April, you just need more than one comment, just like the current system.

Post your votes and thoughts in the comments! Comments are not screened in this entry, so if you want to speak to the mod privately, please take it to the mod contact page or PM since your privacy won't be able to be ensured in the comments section of this entry.


EDIT DECEMBER 30th, 2019: THIS POST IS NOW CLOSED FOR VOTING. HERE ARE TWO THINGS TO KNOW NOW THAT IT IS CLOSED:
01. → Comments to this entry are temporarily screened while votes are being counted; comments will be unscreened as they are counted (since I couldn't do a traditional DW poll for this -- paid account features, sigh -- this is how I am keeping track of which ones have been counted). Don't worry, your comment will be publicly visible again shortly, unless you reach out and request otherwise of me. meaning that if anyone wants their comment to remain screened after the temporary screen, I will absolutely do so. Just ask!
02. → Expect results to be announced no later than January 1st, as that is when the new AC post will go up. That post will either contain a "no change" message, or one detailing the AC change, depending how this count shakes out.

As promised in the last mod post, here's your rundown on the fourth wall deets — with a preface that there will be a lot of bold and underlined text in here, so, apologies in advance:

DATES: OCTOBER 1st — 31st
A whole month, yes!
(This means your fourth wall characters are in play for a month, then gone and over with the close of the event.)

---

Since membership to the City of Sin communities is moderated — and in the case of the network and logs comm (not the OOC comm), commenting is locked to members only — we will be playing with the 4th wall in a special community! One is already set up (4thwall_cos) and that community will be open for the sole purpose of the fourth wall event. New posts and membership to that comm will be open as of September 30th [since as of currently, membership to 4thwall_cos is moderated], and disallowed once the event is over on October 31st, but backtagging will remain open and welcome for as long as people want to keep started threads going.

(Any fourth wall comments by characters already in game are eligible to be used for AC. This is done on a CHARACTER basis, not PLAYER — meaning: current players can play characters they don't already have in game on this test drive, but they can't use those threads for AC.)

Everything in that community WILL BE GAME CANON; current players and characters, please keep this in mind. As such, you don't have to have your character interact here and can opt out that way, but you may not have them ICly pretend like this event didn't happen at all, because that wouldn't make any sense and would give us two different game canons. And this isn't Avengers: Endgame, for the love of god; I promise that's the only potshot at Markus and McFeely in this entry. I highly advise current players to at least subscribe to the comm even if they don't tag out in the event, so they can still easily keep up with some game canon.

That also means, for anyone not currently in game but joining us for this event, you are a welcomed guest in our community for this event, and as such, please be respectful and aware of the game's rules and settings in turn. Our current players are also always asked to adhere to these rules of conduct as well; no game-breaking stuff, respect OOC boundaries, et cetera. Our game's information is located HERE.

That said, the only two rules I'm allowing be bent for event purposes are:
01 | People messing around with AU versions of their in-game characters if they wish. Anyone else is still welcome to play AU versions too, but hey if you wanna play an AU of your canon character in the fourth wall too and not claim it for AC purposes (see above point regarding what kinds of fourth wall threads are AC eligible), go wild. As long as any AU is not under 18 and/or a pregnant character; neither of those are kosher in AU characters or not, even for the fourth wall. That would just be too much to manage in current game canon and setting.

02 | Duplicates of canon characters in game will be technically allowed in the fourth wall. In our standard rules we don't allow duplicates in game (unless the other is AU), but for fourth wall purposes ONLY, this will be lifted. These duplicate characters would not be able to be apped anyway after the event is over, so I think this just opens up the door for other ways to have temporary fourth-wall fun. Current players who want to tag into the event may obviously opt out of duplicate responses if they would like. While I'm not going to demand screencapped proof that people get permission from the current in-game player of a canon character to play a canon duplicate of theirs in the fourth wall, it is general polite human policy to ask first in any circumstance where you want to consider someone else's preferences and/or feelings. Don't be this:

It just felt like a vaguely appropriate gif to close it out with, okay, I don't know.

Ask any questions in the MOD QUESTIONS thread below.

With the reminder about a new network coming into play here soon, I am here to present a page for list-keeping of apps or features created on this new network. Give it a look, and start thinking. :>

Happy almost (IC) Halloween, players!
🎃💀☠️

Courtesy of these shenanigans are thanks to Team Connor, for being bold, brave, and accidentally poking at things under the sea. Here’s a follow up post by The High Priestess on the matter.

Starting late on the IC date of NOVEMBER 1st and lasting until the early hours of NOVEMBER 3rd (be sure to check the game calendar for corresponding OOC dates), the City will be, um, “treated” to a presence breaking out of the ocean depths -- Cthulhu is going to come say hi to the Chosen -- and wreaking havoc on the City with some of its friends.

👾

These friends will not be nearly as big as Cthulhu, nor quite as formidable, but will resemble versions of things found in the deep sea -- gnarly teeth, worm-like bodies, bioluminescent attachments, et cetera. Players may be as free as they want in their imaginations of these minions, but, as always: if you have any questions, please ask in the mod question thread of this entry.

I will be posting an event log for this when the event starts, so please wait for that to go up before doing any IC threading -- this is your plotting post, for all your plans, questions, and getting ducks in rows.

*drumrolls*...

OTHER BITS OF INFORMATION:
➤ Players on hiatus or who want to opt out of this event can have their characters take relative shelter on one of the other planets, or the Magistrates left will be securing some underground shelters for natives and Chosen who don’t want to or can’t deliver asskickings to cosmic gods.

➤ Cthulhu will do most of its damage mentally (see below point), but also because of its sheer size (yes, we're using the scale size in the linked picture of it above wHOOPS), will also fuck up some structures. Cthulhu's minions, however, will be doing most of the physical damage, especially if they get a person surrounded and overwhelmed.

➤ Prolonged contact or direct near presence with Cthulhu induces insanity. You won't go from 0 to 100 in a half-second, but it'll definitely be a steady medium-to-slow climb, depending on one's mental fortitude. The only people who are 100% immune to the insanity effects are Magistrates, however.

➤ By November 3rd (IC date), the combined efforts to beat back Cthulhu And Friends will have them driven back to the sea to hopefully stay there this time.

➤ If you have plans to kill your character off during this event, run it by the plot post before the event post goes up so we can keep a headcount.

Hi, players! For a small mod-run event/thing coming up, characters will be receiving one item from their home worlds or if they're an AU/CRAU, then they can make a request for something from their AU/CRAU worlds. Not both — AU/CRAU characters can choose where the item comes from, but in the interest of fairness, they can't pick one from each.

A few things of note:

▶ No one is forced to participate; you don't have to make a request if you don't want to.

▶ Fill out the form request for an item; this is so I have a list of who wants what and to make sure it's not too game-breaking. If your item is approved, you will get a comment reply saying so. If it isn't, I'll let you know that too, and you can certainly think of something else.

▶ Players have until the OOC date of AUGUST 15th, 2019 to make a request.

▶ Characters will NOT receive their approved items immediately. More on dates of the 'when' later.

▶ These are OOC requests, not IC ones. Meaning, you pick the item but your character doesn't ICly know about it yet, nor are you to assume has a request for the item been handwaved.

▶ The items can be magical/supernatural in nature, but please explain fully how they are. That is because these items may have to be nerfed some.

▶ The items are to be reasonably sized in nature. AKA: Don't ask for a Death Star.

▶ These requests are open to Chosen characters only. No NPCs/Magistrates.

▶ If you play more than one character, you may make one request per character.

▶ Comments are screened; any questions may be asked in the comments.

---

Item request form:

<b>▶ CHARACTER NAME:</b> <b>▶ ITEM:</b> <b>▶ IS IT FROM THEIR HOME WORLD OR AN AU/CRAU WORLD?:</b> <b>▶ IS IT MAGICAL, SUPERNATURAL, ETC? IF SO, HOW?:</b> <b>▶ ITEM SIZE AND APPROXIMATE WEIGHT:</b> <b>▶ ANY OTHER NOTES/INFO/ETC THE MOD SHOULD KNOW?:</b>

Hi, players! Now that June's app round has concluded and apps will start to be reviewed, I'm coming at you with more tweaks, which I hope aren't too confusing and/or discouraging. I appreciate everyone's patience with me slowly but surely adjusting the administrative processes of the game to fit one mod now at the helm of this place. You're all awesome. ♥

A bit of good news is that this change SHOULD be the last that has more of an impact on what you all see on your end (it's about when apps and reserves open and close). This change switches them out every month as you'll see in the below charts, and this will allow for faster processing of both, since it will not divide modly attention between both at the same time for too much longer. These are effective immediately and these tables have been placed on their respective pages.

RESERVE INFORMATION
WHEN ARE RESERVES OPEN?	WHEN ARE RESERVES CLOSED?
February — All month April — All month June — All month August — All month October — All month December — All month	January — All month March — All month May — All month July — All month September — All month November — All month

APPLICATION INFORMATION
WHEN ARE APPLICATIONS OPEN?	WHEN ARE APPLICATIONS CLOSED?
January — 1st-5th March — 1st-5th May — 1st-5th July — 1st-5th September — 1st-5th November — 1st-5th	February — All month April — All month June — All month August — All month October — All month December — All month

In other words:
If reserves are open that month, applications are closed that same month.
If applications are open that month, reserves are closed that same month.
Which, yes, does mean that reserves will no longer be accepted during a current app round.
Any applications or reserves submitted during their closed periods will not be considered and are invalid.

Reserves are still required to apply and all that jazz; as always, check the FAQ and/or rules if you need reminders or want to check up on them — especially since a few of them have been recently tweaked for a more streamlined approach as well. If anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, or finds some error in the FAQ or rules page that I've missed after staring at and editing those pages for a while over the past few weeks, feel free to give a shout in the mod contact page and I will respond to you ASAP.

Hello, players! Tessa here with some modly-type announcements and updates.

⇒ This is a somewhat transitional period in the game's modship, as our lovely Arma announced that she has hung up her mod-hat after several years doing a kick-ass job (send all heart shaped confetti and appreciation her way), so please excuse any slight bumps we may roll over as I get settled in solo mod capacity after co-modding for a year. I've assured Arma in private -- and now you all in public -- that if I find I need an extra hand down the road, I will ask for it and not let this game suffer. If anyone has any questions, comments, or complaints, the mod contact page always has been and always will be open.

⇒ On the note of mod contact: Private plurks and pings to the mod plurk are, technically, open, but responses will very likely be faster if sent via email or to the mod contact page.

⇒ Our TAKEN LIST has been updated with a new code that (I hope) is still easily manageable for our players. Please take a look, regardless if you're a new or old player, to ensure that I did not leave off your character when I was switching things over. If I did, just fill out the form on the taken list and I will rectify that.

⇒ The PLAYER CONTACT page has also been updated with our new players and new characters, but again — every player please take a look anyway to ensure that all of your information is correct. Again, if it isn't, please fill out the form and I will update that as well.

And now back to your regularly scheduled RP shenanigans,
— Tessa