Intro Block Format

Title: [Required]
PCs: [Optional if there are no PCs in the post]
RCs: [Optional if there are no RCs in the post]
NPCs: [Optional if there are no NPCs in the post]
Subject: [Optional]
Location: [Required]
Weather/Date: [Required]
Mentioned: [Optional if there are no mentions in the post]
Notes: [Optional]
Released: [Optional]

Title:

This is the title of your post or series. Titles can be descrptive or artistic or fun or anything you can think up. *g*

PCs:

This is the line where you mark down all the different PC characters that are within the post, or in the case of a copost, at least one PC from each writer. If there are no PCs in the post at all, then this line may be omitted.

RCs:

This is the line where you mark down all of the different RC characters that are within the post. If there are no RCs in the post at all, then this line may be omitted.

NPCs:

This is the line where you mark down any NPC/frees or NPCs of your own creation that are within the post. Please specify whether the characters are NPC/frees or just NPCs. If there are no NPC/frees or NPCs in the post at all, then this line may be omitted.

Subject:

This line can have a quote from the post or a little explanatory note or a plain statement about what the post is about (such as "An argument between XXX and YYY") or pretty much anything. This line is optional and may be omitted at any time.

Location:

This is where your post happens. The most common case is to use the correct abbreviation (can be found below on this guide), FTH for Founders' Tip Hold, IW for Ithaca Weyr, and so on, but you can also just write out the location name.

Weather/date:

This is the weather of the day that your post happens. Weather details can be found on the web page, under Places of IoP, Weather & Threadfall charts. This is also the line for the date that your post happens. The usual form to use is month/day, such as m3/d2 for the second day of month three.

Mentioned:

On this line you put the names of the characters you only mention in your post. If there are no mentions within the post, then this line may be omitted.

Notes:

Anything else you want to add. This could be a space to explain something that happens in the post, or could simply be a request for feedback. This line is optional.

Released:

This line is the date when you send the post out to the list. This line is useful for keeping records of when posts were sent for your own record-keeping purposes. This line is optional.

Body Format

This is where the text of your story goes. Set this off from your intro block in some manner; a series of asterisks or dashes is the most common method.

Always write your posts in third person, objective tense, i.e., “The blue rider walked down the corridor.” Please use plain text and not HTML format. Always be sure to proofread, grammar, and spellcheck posts before sending them to the list. Posts with more than the occasional misspelling or misplaced comma are often not read as poor grammar and spelling are distracting to the reader.

Use single spacing for your text, but double space between each paragraph. Do not indent paragraphs; block form is preferable. If you are writing dialogue, make sure that there is a space between each speaker. This includes dragon thoughts, dolphin speech, and firelizard/wher emotions.

The following are the appropriate symbols to use in your writing:

“ “	Human Speech
** **	Human Thought
}: :{	Dragon Communication
~~ ~~	Fire Lizard Emotions
[ ]	Wher Emotions
^^ ^^	Dolphin Speech
ALL CAPS	Shouting
_emphasis_	Special Emphasis

Signature Block Format

Set the signature block off from the body of the post. The following information should be in your signature:

Persona’s name (and name of dragon/dolphin/wher if applicable)
Persona’s rank and location
Persona’s pets (fire lizards, felines, etc.) if applicable
Email address

When mentioning your persona’s location, feel free to write it out or use one of the following abbreviations:

FTH	Founders' Tip Hold
IH	Ithaca Hold
IW	Ithaca Weyr
SH	Smithcraft Hall
W-1R	Western-1 Runner Station

If you are writing for a dragonrider, be sure to include his or her Wing with the location. The following abbreviations may be used for the Wings at Ithaca Weyr.

IW:GW	Ithaca Weyr: Gold Wing
IW:BW	Ithaca Weyr: Bronze Wing
IW:IW	Ithaca Weyr: Iron Wing
IW:SW	Ithaca Weyr: Silver Wing
IW:PW	Ithaca Weyr: Platinum Wing
IW:W36-2	Ithaca Weyr: Weyrling Class 36-2
IW:W37-1	Ithaca Weyr: Weyrling Class 37-1

The Main List, sometimes called the Islands of Pern Mailing List (iofpern), is where all storyline posts are sent. The iofpern has a PG-15 rating. New members will be automatically subscribed to this list. Members should only send posts to the list. Announcements of AFKs and LOAs should be made either to the Conclave directly, who will periodically release special announcements onto iofpern, or to the Islands of Pern Chat List.

The Adult List (iofpernadult) is for those posts that have more adult themed sexual or violent content. It has an NC-17 rating. Only members who express interest, and who can provide evidence of being eighteen years of age or older, will be signed up on this list. Members are in no way required to participate in iofpernadult; the vast majority of storylines are G to PG-15 themed and go through iofpern. Iofpernadult is generally reserved for those posts that are written after a fade to black moment in the IML posts.

The Chat List (iofpernchat) is for personal announcements and general communication with other club members. People use iofpernchat to talk about Pern related issues, club issues, movies, literature, etc. In general the club administration does request, however, that personal politics and religious views be kept off the list. Also, iofpernchat has a PG-15 rating. Therefore no explicitly sexual or violent material should be posted. Iofpernchat is meant to foster a convivial atmosphere. Please respect other people and their opinions. Flaming, swearing at other members, etc. is not allowed. Members are encouraged to join iofpernchat, but it is not mandatory.