Rules: These are the rules you must follow. Any breach of these can warrant punishment from a simple caution or warning through to immediate deletion of your federation. The level of the punishment will be at the GM Leader’s discretion and will depend on the severity of the infraction.
You will get 2 warnings and on the 3rd warning your federation will be removed. You can ask a GM Leader at any stage as to the amount of warning you have received.
If you dispute a decision by a GM Leader then you should first discuss it privately with them and if you are still not happy with the decision you can then take it to Abdel whose decision will be final. We do not want people airing their laundry in public on the forums or in the GM section. This just creates conflict and is likely to earn you another warning. Now the rules …
- No WWE content of any sort, images, videos, logos, or anything else that refers to their trademarked intellectual property. This includes any ECW or WCW images past or present.
- There is to be NO HTML code in the name of your federation or show in the TWG settings ( where you name your shows and federation ). This includes bold, underlined and italic. The reason for this is some people were using buggy code to try get an advantage in their show listing placing and it stuffed up tables and what not. So I can't just 'ban' bad code so I am banning all use of code - it's not needed and it's more fair if all feds just use the standard practice of regular text for their show/federation names. Offenders will be asked nicely a couple of times to remove their code but if they persist then warnings will be issued.
- Use of other copyrighted/trademarked material should only be with the owner’s permission - this includes images from Google etc. If the image clearly shows a copyright/trademark logo and TWG receives a complaint about your using it then you risk losing your fed. Especially never try pass off other people’s ( including other federations ) work as your own.
- No swearing of any kind, offensive images, videos, or music. Vulgarity, Racism, and Nudity, are not to be in a show. There are other of course other off limited topics too ( they come under the blanket of ‘offensive’ ) so use common sense for these. The GM is responsible for ensuring the content does not offend anyone.
Censoring swears is considered ok within reason but please try to use (censored) or (beep) rather than #$%# style masking as it doesn't look as good. - e.g. "I hate him! He is such an (censored)!" - I would consider ok. Usually 1-5 censored words per RP is ok to put across some emphasis. The swear should try to be unobvious also e.g. "he (censored) up this time and he will pay!" is not as good as "He (censored) this time and he will pay!"
Also the content containing the censored words will be judged so if you are discussing something offensive and disgusting and think it's fine as you censored the bad words then it will still be breaching the rule of offensive content. e.g. talking of lude, sexual acts but censoring the bad words.
Monitoring censoring will be at GML discretion and cautions will be issued if complaints are received or it is viewed as harsh by the GML's themselves. Warning will be issued directly in severe cases.
- On Server 1 each Regional roster MUST have 30 members to run a show. All other federations in all other sections must have 40 members.
(If you are under these marks when your show is due to air then don't confirm your show until you get the necessary numbers to avoid punishment).
On Server 3 only rosters in their first season can by with 30 members, all rosters into their 2nd season or more MUST have 40.
- Boosting show income by solely booking title matches is prohibited unless the story calls for it. Title Matches are only to be used within a storyline that involves an actual Title shot or match. For example if we see you booking 10 title matches and we read your show and do not see a story supporting the use of these title matches then this will be considered cheating and your federation will be facing deletion if we deem it necessary. If you do decide to write a story in such a way that every match of every show is a title match remember that this will probably look quite stupid and ruin your chances of being nominated for the monthly federation voting rewards.
- No Reference to other federations, their wrestler or non-contracted wrestlers UNLESS you have their permission. To show the leaders that permission has been gained you must be do the following ( this is to be done by the person hosting the other federations material e.g. wrestler or banner ):
1. Create a post in the Advertising and Collaboration thread of the GM section.
2. Put your post in the following format-
*-Your federation and ingame GM name:
*-Name of federation and ingame name of GM you are dealing with:
*-Date of the other federations show ( put permanent if this is a permanent deal ):
*-Nature of collaboration: e.g. Advertisement, wrestler (Name) appearing in a match etc.
3. The other GM will then to need to post in the same thread that they accept this collaboration.
4. If the other GM is also wanting something from your show they go back to step 1 and repeat.
5. once a deal is accepted it will be added to the table in the Advertising and Collaboration thread and the posts deleted, it wil lbe removed ocne it expires.
6. If you wish to break a deal then simply post in the Advertising and Collaboration thread saying so and it will be removed from the table. If it was a 2 way deal either yourself or the other GM can state they want both sides removed.
If this seems like too much effort or work then fine. Don't bother putting any content from other feds into your shows or yours into other shows. This is how it is to be done.
As to using wrestlers that leave your federation a rule of thumb is, if a wrestler left your fed suddenly in mid season you could use him once more in one more show to make a storyline about his dismissal.
- Making a show that contains only booked matches is strictly against the rules. You have been entrusted with a roster to create entertaining shows – not to generate easy income for yourself or your friends. The amount of content that will be deemed minimum will be at the GM Leaders discretion and any warnings about lack of content will be discussed between them all before a warning is issued if they are in agreement. GM Leaders are chosen for their maturity and impartiality so you can rest assured if you know that you put in a good effort into your show that you have nothing to worry about. Also note we will not accept excuses like “I lost my net last night” when it’s 24 hours before your show – you get a week to work on 2 shows and have the ability to appoint as much staff as you want to help you. If you do feel unforeseen circumstances have hindered your progress then please contact a GM Leader BEFORE the show airs to get an exception if possible. Remember warnings are not handed out for missing shows so sometimes it could be better to have no show at all than to risk a warning.
- Breaking any chat/forum rules and getting yourself banned can result in you getting punished towards your federation. You are all considered staff of TWG as GM’s so you are required to act like it.
- There is to be no federation contract talk or recruitment in chat. Simple.
- As English is the primary language of TWG all shows must be in English. Exceptions to this might be if you decide to include a foreign speaking wrestler to your fed as a gimmick but you must ensure the language he sues doesn’t break any of the content rules.
- For the monthly show voting you are not to go around offering any rewards of any sort to anyone to vote for you. All you can do is ask people to view your show and if they like it then to vote for you. Anything we find that is used to try boost your voting illegitimately will disqualify you from the voting and earn you punishment.
- Any GM found to be using illegal means to boost ticket sales or popularity or anything at all will face instant dismissal. This can range from exploiting the code of the game to not reporting a flaw in the system that you have found out and not bothered to tell anyone about. If you find any flaws that you think are giving you an unfair advantage/disadvantage you are to report these to a GM Leader immediately. An example of this would be if you were booking a show with special matches, titles matches and then when you confirmed it you notice the cost never came off effectively giving you a free show. GM Leaders will be getting the ability to see federations finances so any exploits will be quickly picked up on so do the right thing and be honest to get the game running fairly for everyone.
- Any GM who goes idle in game for 14 days or longer will be removed from his position come the end of the current season. If you need an exception please msg a GM Leader to arrange one. Of course exceptional circumstances like disasters or what not will be accepted but it can't be helped if we don't know about it and you are gone over the removal period and your federation is removed. At best all we can do in these circumstances is offer you your fed back at our discretion ( depends on the reason for being away ) but it would have to restart at regional level.
- Blacklist - The blacklist is a guideline for GM's to know if a potential wrestler they are planning on signing is trustworthy or has any sort of bad record. This is not a rule saying you must not hire these people - it is purely a guide to help you in your choices.
There are no minimum requirements to what you can or cannot TRY add a person to the blacklist for but the decision to put them on will be at the GM Leaders discretion. It is important when adding someone you put down their game name and a clear reason why you want them added. In serious cases the GM Leader may follow it up with the person being blacklisted to get both sides of the story.
NOTE: There is to be NO sharing blacklisted names with non GMs - period. The only exception to this is if someone applies to your fed you may say "No sorry you are blacklisted" but that's it - if they want more information or the reason you send them to DocSpock. I do not want GM's being hassled by people for adding them to the blacklist because another GM told them "such and such just blacklisted you" - anyone I find giving out such information will receive an official warning.
- No contract negotiations of any kind with other wrestlers signed under another federation. Tempting other wrestlers to leave their federations to join yours, under any circumstances, will be considered cheating, and we will deal with it accordingly. Your staff can recruit off contract wrestlers on your behalf ( this is change to the old rule of only a GM could discuss contracts with people ) if you choose to let them but remember if they break the rule of contacting on contract staff ( even if it’s a friend of theirs ) then it’s the same as if you did it yourself and will be just as punishable … which brings us to the last rule.
*Update to this rule - if a GM has announced is resignation publically ( via forums ) then are you now entitled to contact any and all of his wrestlers whilst they are signed to his fed or free agents. Be careful though that when discussing with them they haven't already signed to another federation as that would be breaking the above rule.
- You are solely responsible for EVERYTHING that happens with your federation. If a VGM confirm one of yours shows be it accidentally or on purpose … to bad, you chose them as VGM so you need to be very careful who you allow as a VGM. If any of your staff does anything to break any of the above rules then it’s on you. An exception to this though is if you fire someone and they start going around doing malicious activities with the sole purpose of getting you into trouble. We advise then that if you are wanting to fire people you screenshot/log any activity if they refuse to go in case they do do something malicious it can back you up against their actions. This will be until we can get the GM’s the ability to breach contracts ( with a penalty of some sort of course – same as wrestlers face ) then there is no excuse if one of their wrestlers runs off trying to get them into trouble.
Guidelines: These are some general guidelines to help new and current GM’s get a feel for what they can do to improve their shows. Nothing here is a rule and if you decide to ignore this advice then you can do so albeit at the risk of receiving less votes for your show.
Forum: It is requested that you create a forum account with your in game name and post in the thread:
http://thewrestlinggame.com/public/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11534&sid=f47bd2690f9317b58ce42ba603e5726f to get access to the private GM section and have the ability to create your own recruitment thread. This helps you keep up to date with all the latest developments and also your recruitment thread will help you fill your roster.
Booking: Try to only book your wrestlers for their contracted amount of appearances. Anytime they start going over this it will mean a loss in popularity and and attendance for their matches which means it can affect your rankings and overall income.
Reality: You should try to keep your shows realistic and wrestling related. Super powers, supernatural events, or other such fantastical events may want to be avoided. Your shows content must be convincing if you want to succeed and votes you get are the best reflection of your work. Remember this is a wrestling community so don’t be surprised if you do decide to ignore the wrestling aspect of it that some people feel negatively about it.
Illustrations: Images are a crucial part of a show. Your show can’t be entertaining without pictures. The TWG community has come to expect a high level of quality in their federation product and to this end role-plays just aren’t enough any more. No images and just a bunch of text will not attract people and you might find people giving up reading it after the first few lines. The trick though is to find a good balance between some subtle imagery that helps explain things and makes your show look awesome to going way over the top and viewer Bob then has time to go make 10 cups of tea whilst he waits for it all to load. Odds are if it’s too graphic heavy some people may not even bother letting it load. Also if you are only using images for your staff/wrestlers etc. when they speak maybe you should re think this as often without some simple text stating the person’s name your viewers could have trouble figuring out what is going on. As I said above – try to find a good balance.
Role-Plays: The heart and soul of a show. Roleplay’s should tell a story and that story should continue from week to week. That is to say if Wrestler A attacks Wrestler B in the first week don’t forget about it in the second week and have them off being buddy and facing Wrestler’s C and D. Having a story flow is what I call continuity and is one of THE most looked over parts of a show. The art of putting it altogether and ensuring it all makes sense and one part doesn’t contradict another.
You should try to do whatever possible to try encourage your roster to roleplay – sometimes it is the best interest to offer the top contracts to the role players and staff as opposed to those that just have the biggest entrances or fans.
Commentary: No show is complete without commentators. Commentary is what gives matches their identity, and it’s the best way to represent wrestlers gimmicks, history, accomplishments, future anticipations about their career in your roster… etc.
Plus it serves to act as great separator between the monotony of a match because most TWG players have seen thousands of matches before and if you want them to read what is in your match then the best way is to put in some commentary.
Cards and Profiles: Try to create a uniform set of cards for your wrestlers. It gives an elegant view, and an easier way to browse your show. Give commentators and announcers a specific picture to identify them too. If you do use your cards for identifying the speaker in a role play ensure that you viewers can tell who the wrestler name is also be it from the card itself or from the some text stating the name underneath.
Presentation: Always use a dialogue form instead of narrative discourses.
(i.e: Use “Wrestler1: Speech” Instead of “speech” says wrestler1)
Videos: Try to reduce from their use, or not to use them at all. They just slow down your shows, preventing visitors from fully browsing the show, which eventually end up in repelling viewers instead of attracting them. If you want them maybe have one for the start of your show but giving them to every wrestler is a waste of time because honestly … noone cares what song some wrestler in your fed got off Youtube to use for his theme.
The exception to this is if you create your very own custom video’s. If that’s the case be sure to find a way to promote the fact they are custom because then people will probably want to see what you have created.
Originality: Try to come up with original storylines, original graphics, original matches. Anything and everything original as this will help get people hooked on watching your shows. Sometimes even trying to keep an original roster can help because I can assure you people have seen more than enough John Cena’s or Stone Cold Steve Austin’s and there various variations over the years.
