Why? Because people don't like jerks, it's a fact!

Marvel Champions (MCu) strives to be a welcoming, friendly, inclusive community that sponsors a smart, progressive roleplay based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As such, we expect our members to conduct themselves as mature adults and not engage in deliberately hurtful behavior. We do not endorse, nor will we tolerate, xenophobic behavior, such as homophobic, racist, transphobic, or any other forms of generalized hate speech or action. If you voted for or would vote for Donald Trump, we are likely not the right community for you.
   Below, you will find some simple, easy-to-understand rules for participating in the Marvel Champions community and roleplay.
   We ask that all members join our Discord. While we post all announcements and updates on our forum, we use Discord as our primary form of communication.
   If you're wrong, apologize. Everyone makes mistakes; this is something we believe everyone can agree upon. If you make a mistake, own it, apologize, and do what you can to rectify it. You will garner more respect for owning your mistakes than for digging in your heels. When apologizing, say the word "Sorry," state what you did wrong, and explain how you'll avoid it in the future. Apologizing is about ownership and accountability.
   If someone apologizes, accept it and move on. We all make mistakes, and it does no good to nurture a grudge over an unintended slight. MCu is a space for adults to have fun, and part of being an adult is knowing how to resolve differences. If you are incapable of this, MCu may not be the place for you.
   Sarcasm — keep it off public Discord. Sarcasm often does not translate well into toneless, text-based communication.
   Give people the benefit of the doubt. Most people aren't trying to offend or upset you. If someone says or does something that bothers you, reach out privately via direct message and work to resolve the issue respectfully. If you fail to attempt this, do not ask staff to intervene. We will ask to see communication logs regarding your resolution attempts before taking any action.
   So, in summary, don't be a jerk.

In large sites, cliques naturally form. If we get large, cliques will form. That's okay, as people gravitate toward others with shared interests. What's not okay is excluding others. Everyone should always be welcome. Our primary requirement is that everyone roleplays with someone they haven't before. Our system will track this. If you've RP'd with everyone, ask yourself who you haven't RP'd with recently and reach out.
   If you think you're doing something wrong or "getting away with something," you probably are. Sooner or later, we'll catch on, and it'll be "catch you later" as we show you the door. Don't cheat.

ACTIVITY? MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THIS BOX
Unlike other sites, we use personalized 30-day rolling activity checks based on your character's approval date. This means that if your character was approved on the 12th, they have until the 30th of the following month to meet the activity check. If they fail, it's okay. We use these checks to rate players, not immediately punish. We evaluate a character and handler's posting habits over a 3-6 month period. Long-term consistency matters. NOTE: If you don't post for three out of six months (50%), that will be taken into account. Both post frequency and quality are evaluated. We're looking for active characters, not just "seat fillers."

CHARACTER BLEED
This should go without saying, but you are not your character
. Keep this in mind at all times. While you, as the handler, might be aware of board-wide plots, your character is not. Play accordingly. Don't be offended if someone dislikes your character. What happens in-character, stays in-character. If you have an issue with another player, take it to private messages (PM) or off-site. The only drama we want is the kind that unfolds in-character for everyone to read with popcorn in hand.

FAULT-FINDING. DON'T YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO?
Everyone makes mistakes; it's a simple fact. We get by on the grace of others because we are all imperfect and bound to make occasional missteps. If someone fails to mention your character in a post, don't lose your cool. It was likely an oversight. Let's give people the benefit of the doubt. If it's a repeated issue, document it, communicate respectfully, and work it out. Remember, we're adults, and hopefully, we're friends first. Friends talk things out.

GOD MODDING, DON'T.
God-modding is when you try to control another character's actions or twist the narrative to negate what another player intended. If you do this, you'll receive a surprising warning — we'll re-write your post in a way that really screws your character over, and you'll be expected to roleplay the aftermath. Play fair. We don't want to be jerks because you're being a jerk.

MISTAKES Pt 1. OWN THEM.
If you make a mistake, or if someone objects to something you've done, apologize. Then try to work it out. Agree on a reasonable course of action and follow through. If something seems unreasonable, reach out to staff for advice on how to proceed.

MISTAKES Pt 2. DON'T HAVE A COW.
If someone missteps, assume it's unintentional. Actions speak louder than words. Let's judge people by what they do, not what they say. Take each misstep as just that, a mistake, unless it becomes a pattern over time. Let's give people the benefit of the doubt. If that's too much for you, this isn't the place for you.

POST, OFTEN.
MCu is intentionally small. We prefer fewer characters with higher post counts. One person having 12 characters doesn't help if half of them never post. We ask for two posts per month for each character. For each additional character, add two posts. Thus, if you have three characters, we expect six posts per month. This encourages threads to move along rather than stagnate due to neglect.

POSTING ORDER, RESPECT IT.
Posting orders can be confusing. To simplify, we ask that, after the first round, posting follows alphabetical order by character codename. Our site's system will help maintain this order. Unless it's a conversational thread, stick to this order.

QUALITY vs. QUANTITY
We're a simple RPG for adults who want to have fun. Proofread your posts, check grammar, and avoid using internet slang like "LOL" or "OMG." Posts should be written in third-person past tense. If this is a challenge for you, you'll be limited to one character until you demonstrate proficiency in this style.

RULES LAWYERING, ANOTHER BIG DON'T.
A "Rules Lawyer" exploits technicalities to their advantage. We care about the spirit of the rules, not the grammar. Don't be a jerk by nitpicking the rules for personal gain.

SKIPPING. LET'S MOVE IT ALONG.
If three days pass without a post in a group thread, the next person can post to move things along. The skipped player can insert their post later, provided it doesn't conflict with the story's progression. If a character is skipped twice, they'll be dropped from the thread.

TAG WHEN NEEDED. While you won't have to tag always due to our site automations, there will be times when you will need to add or revise your tags. When it makes sense to do so, do so. We've built our systems so that when you hit reply to a thread, a lot happens including automatic tagging based on what is currently in motion. That said, nothing is infallible, so check to see who is going to be tagged, and if you see someone who should be included, or someone who is included that should no longer be included or has been by mistake, edit them out. Doing so will keep tags meaningful. Others will do this for you, and they expect you to do the same.

As a courtesy, you are well to tag members in our Discord #tags channel.
TIMESTAMPS, CHECK YOUR WATCH. A thread's initial date, time, location, and weather are all set in the initial scene-set; this information is passed automatically from post to post with the time automatically incrementing by at least two minutes per post. The site handles this time management for you, so you don't have to worry about it, but pay attention to the time of day and such; the time is there for a reason.

If someone apologizes, accept it and move on. As stated above, everyone makes mistakes. If someone has made a mistake and they apologize for that mistake, please accept it and let the issue go. It does not do anyone any good to nurture a grudge over an unintended slight. MCu is a space for adults to have fun; part of being an adult is knowing how to and being capable of resolving differences. If you are incapable of this, then MCu is not the place for you.

SARCASM, WHY? Text-based communication is a "toneless" environment; as such, sarcasm typically does not translate well, hence it is best avoided as it can lead to unintentional slights and/or confusion. So let's keep it off the Discord if, when possible.

Give people the benefit of the doubt. Most people are not trying to offend you or upset you. If someone says or does something which you find an issue with, please reach out to that person via private Discord direct message (D/DM/DDM) and work to resolve the perceived slight in a respectful, adult manner. If you fail to attempt this, do not ask staff to intervene as we will ask to see the communication logs regarding attempted resolution before considering any actions.

Marvel Champions is a mature roleplay as noted by our site rating (3 | 3 | 3) which strives to be open and welcoming to those capable of conducting themselves in a mature, adult fashion and not given to excessive OOC drama. If you choose to join us, we will gladly welcome you, but we will also expect you to be capable of managing your personal issues and not sling them all about. If you're giving birth to a cow, get off the Discord and deal with it however you can, but don't drop that cow on us. We are here to have fun and to support one another. There is a difference between sharing a bad day and being a jerk to others because you had a bad day.

CONTENT. IT'S A SPICY MEATBALL. We are adults here theoretically, and as such, we should all be capable of handling adult language and mature subjects in general conversation. We aren't in your mom's kitchen. We aren't gabbing in front of a six-year-old. Conversation will at times be spicy, but it will also always be respectful to all those involved. That said, use your words; the F-bomb is not a verb, adjective, pronoun, etc. The same can be said about flirtatious sexual language. Innuendo is one thing, but let's not turn the Discord into a blue light district.

RESPECT. GIVE IT TO GET IT. This should go without being stated. We shouldn't have to state it. This should be a de facto understanding by all people. That stated, we will state this often if you haven't already noticed: respect others and act accordingly. Most of us don't really know one another, so it's not very likely that anyone is plotting against you. We like to think that our Discord is a safe space for all. This means that we treat each other with respect, and we are free to say what we want and feel so long as it's not intentionally inflammatory or meant to outrage others. Hate speech and baiting are unacceptable. We expect everyone to act in a civil adult manner; if you aren't capable of this, this likely isn't the right site for you.

APPS. YOU SUBMITTED ONE, WE KNOW THIS. If you want to see the status of your character, it is always visible on the character app as to what stage it is in. At this time, we are a staff of one, so please know that we will get to your app as soon as possible because we not only want you to RP with us, we want to RP with you too!