First, I am very pleased to make the official announcement of RT's acceptance of "Co-Head GM." She will be assisting Drado in his Head-GM-ness.
Second, I would like to reiterate some stuff, most of which is covered in the FAQ:
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=2304Please read the above link, even if you have already, so that you understand how we as a team are available for you. There have been a few cases lately where I'm not sure that the players are informed enough about how we approve things, what we will approve, and why we ask for approval. I take full blame for not communicating this.
First, as in the post above, it is important for people to know that we approve -everything- that we -can- approve. There seems to be a feeling on the server that you shouldn't bother asking because it will be denied, and that's just so far from the truth. If you want to RP something, please just ask and we'll say yes to everything we can, and offer alternatives to the things we can't. There -are- reasons we may deny, but we'll explain the reason when we can, so long as it doesn't conflict with the "FOIG" concept. This is important to understand, when you are seeing others around RPing DM-approved things and you aren't, it's probably because you didn't ask! Ask -any- GM, and they will get the proper approvals for you. No GM (even me, Drado or RT) can approve on the spot without an internal approval process, so please expect that, but recent changes to how we handle that process should -greatly- improve our response time.
Second, the first and most important reason we ask you to get approvals is simply so that we stay in the loop with your RP, and can back it up. We want you to RP your character, and as such it's important for us to know that something is going on, so that we can include that in DM'd RP and support you. Again we have a "approve first and ask questions later" mindset here, and that is true for -anyone- who asks for approval for RP. The other reason we ask for approvals is so that we can offer alternatives to things that will conflict with the world of Harry Potter, and to make sure that things stay fair for people. Basically when you are asking for approval for something, it's more of a benefit to -you- because once approved, you know that the RP is not only backed by the GM's but also that it's true and consistent with the big picture around your character, and will be solid. It's basically getting the kinks out of the RP before there's a conflict, rather than after the conflict.
Third, many of the veteran players have been having issues with seeing the new players getting tons approved, and RPing things that during the history of the server would have never been approved. This I say to the veteran players: Ask! Just ask, if there's somewhere you would like your RP to go. Yes, things were different in the past, but now, we actually approve things.
Last, there's the "PC Plot" vs "GM Plot" concept, that I think a lot of the veteran players are struggling with as well. In the past, nearly everything was "GM Plot" based. Everything from adventures for your PC, to learning wand spells, to advancing some special ability you would like your character to have. Now with the PC plot concept, you are able to simply ask a GM if you are approved to RP something, and then just go RP that it's happening! You don't need to wait for the GM's schedule and energy to align with yours, just RP at will, once approved. Focus on the elements of RP that you want to focus on, on your own terms. This isn't the way everything should be done, but the concept was created to give the power of the RP to the player. The GM "sponsor" for the RP still sets the "rules and limitations" to the RP if you want to call it that (such as DC's for rolls and whatnot).
Please allow the "PC Plot" concept sink in, especially for the veteran players. This concept is so powerful for you, the player, and that's why it's in place.
