(Created by Michael Shields, ShadowCaster Site Administrator)

        The goal of ShadowCaster, like any game environment, is to have 
fun.  Here are some quick etiquette guidelines that will help make the 
game interesting and enjoyable for everyone.

        Wandering off unnecessarily creates more work for the GM and may
require other PCs to wait for you. To minimize this problem, the GM may
not give you as much time when you're all alone as when you are with other
players, and may make summarize events much more. 
        On a similar note, while having the group split up can save IC
time (but doesn't always), it often requires much more time and effort
OOCly. The GM may summarize and not go into as much detail when the group
splits up, even if none of the PCs are actually alone. 

        Combat is risky; not only is there risk to your character's life
and limb, but you risk being sidelined during your recovery, just as if
you had wandered off. Endurance speeds recovery, but there's no substitute
for treating combat like the risky business it is.

        The GM's rulings are final. If you feel you lacked sufficient
information as a player, or think a ruling was unfair or mistaken for OOC
reasons, make a polite appeal to the GM via page, and then continue on
with the game, whether the ruling is changed or not. Do not badger the GM.
There's a lot you don't know about the universe that the GM does. 

        Be on time. Give advance warning of absences or lateness whenever
possible, as far ahead as possible.

        During the game sessions, the GM may fast foward, skip, or
summarize casual interaction in the interest of cutting to the chase. 
Casual conversation to fill in gaps or detail summarized RP is encouraged
between game sessions, as long as logs are sent to the GM.  The GM will
only rarely make NPCs available between sessions for a chat or other
relatively unimportant scene; a summary by email or +mail is usually more
approrpiate.

        Try to keep short the sort of communication that others present
cannot paricipate in fully, (letters, phone calls, psychic contact, trump) 
and remember that in most, including trump calls, others present can hear
you speak audibly to the person on the other end or peek over your
shoulder.

        Characters that are team players (whether out of friendship or
more selfish reasons) make the GM's job easier. While you shouldn't break
character at the drop of a hat, you can create a character more likely to
get along with the others, rather than a compulsive loner or easily
provoked psychotic. There is rarely only one "right" way for a character
to react to any given event, and a small amount of consideration for group
dynamics can go a long way. 

        Many people are uncomfortable with detailed or graphic depictions
of violence or sex. Scenes of this sort involving an NPC will generally be
summarized and handled off-camera. In the event that two consenting
players wish to go into the scene in more detail, the GM would ask that
only a summary of any directly game-relevant information be sent, rather
than a full log. In general, the game should be somewhere between a PG and
an R, to use movie ratings. If the GM or another player makes you
uncomfortable, tell the GM at once. 

        Harrassment of another player or the GM is NOT allowed, and
continued harrassment is one of the few cases where a player may be
expelled from the game. Harassment includes but is not limited to OOC
insults about a player or character, unwelcome requests for scenes of a
graphic nature, spamming or otherwise deliberately disrupting a player's
roleplaying time, and unjustified IC conflict caused by OOC differences.
        IC conflict may be part of the game; do not take it personally
or let it turn into a problem between players. If you feel harrassed, or
you aren't getting along with another player, talk to the GM.