Welcome to Gaia! ::

- Follow all of Gaia’s rules in the ToS.

- To be a part of Salem Witches Institute, you must be a member of the guild (with the exception of any Holiday Events).

- Do not create threads in the Main Forum. That area is reserved for announcements from Caretakers, Professors, and the Headmistress (basically crew).

- You may advertise this guild, but do so in a civil manner. Do not harass people into joining.

- Observe all posted stickies and announcements. They are strictly focused on that particular subforum, posting important hints and information for your use.

- You must post at least once a week. If I (Akureikami) see you are inactive a week after your last post, I will send you a message. I (Akureikami) will wait a maximum of five days for a reply before I (Akureikami) remove you from the guild.

- If you have not posted at all since you joined, you will have two weeks to post before either I (Akureikami) or the crew removes you. If you know you will be absent, post in the Absences thread; I (Akureikami) will always check there before I (Akureikami) remove members.

- We will remove members who join and do not post. We will announce many times before this happens. New members who are unfortunate to be removed due to "inactivity" during this time may reapply explaining that they were new and will not be counted for the following rule:

- Once expelled, you’ll have one more chance. After that, there’s no returning to SWI.

- Check the announcements regularly. Akureikami and the Vice Captains will communicate with the whole guild via Guild Announcements. Please make sure to read these and keep up with them! If you miss an announcement, you may be out of the loop.

- Times used in this forum are in the Central Standard Time or CST.

- Semesters are one month & two weeks in real life time. Therefore, a whole SWI year is equivalent to three months in real time.

- Holidays and any special events will be announced. Each year will only have one holiday event.

- If you feel threatened, hurt, or insulted by any member of the guild, please talk to them before coming to me (Akureikami). Chances are, they’re just being their character. If it doesn’t change and you know it’s more personal, then feel free to PM Akurekami, please make it clear in the message subject line what your complaint is and who you are.

- If a crew member asks you to do something, please do it without questioning them. They are the authority around here. If there is any trouble, I will become involved. Attitude could result in removal.

- Crew members are in charge whenever Akureikami is gone for a week.

- Direct your questions and concerns to the correct Crew Member. See here for more information. ~This rule Under construction


- Users must sign these rules prior to roleplaying. The user has three chances, each chance posted in red in their posts stating that they must sign the rules. They have three chances before they are removed from the guild.



- When you wish to talk out of character (ooc), please use a form of brackets to show others. (e.g. ((Hey, I’m gonna log off now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.)) )

- In your post, please mention what house you're in and your character name, you may make this as pretty as you like and even including pictures is encouraged.

- Do not talk in chatspeak. Type every individual letter out.

- This is a Semi-Lit to Lit roleplay.

- Keep it PG-13. No one wants to read about someone’s guts splattering to the floor. Also, try to keep cussing to a minimum (but be creative about it!). We don't want intense romance either. The only exception to the PG-13 rule is in the Staffroom, which is pushing more into the PG-17 rating (due to cursing, alcoholic usage, and bad humor). You have been warned.

- No cybering.

-Use spell check as often as you can. Open a Word Document or Google the word to make sure it’s correct. Most internet browsers have the option to right click a word highlighted in red and select the correct spelling. Also make use of The Dictionary

- Stay in character! Don’t make a character just to change the way they act! If your character plans to be a mean person, that’s fine. As long as it’s in your profile that they are that way, you may be as mean as you like. Just don’t overdo it.

- Godmodding is unacceptable. That means taking control of another’s character or forcing them to do something with their character without giving them a chance to post. This also includes overpowered characters, characters who never get hit, and characters who are flawless. If you’re not sure if you’re doing this, PM Akureikami.




- This is a roleplay guild for the wizarding world invented by J.K. Rowling. We are set in Post Second Wizarding War times, continuing the traditions of wizard schools in a Semi-Literate to Literate roleplaying fashion. Everything has been reconstructed and fixed at Hogwarts and there is no more threat of the Dark Lord.

- Caretakers will wander the hallways (general chat areas such as the Common Room, Staircases to classes, etc.). Anyone who is causing trouble will be shooed along, may lose house points, and/or receive a detention.

- Students are rewarded points for good performance and answering questions correctly. Points are also deducted for bad behavior and breaking the rules.

- Only Professors, Caretakers, and the Headmaster have the ability to deduct house points and give detentions. If a Caretaker gives out a detention, the student will be forced to attend the detention service at one of the following: Apothecary, Green House, Mail Room.


- No student is allowed to swim freely in "The Pond".

- First Formers are allowed to be flying on brooms, though please keep from doing so around the campis. Any person who voliates this rule, will receive immediate detention service.

- First Formers are not allowed in Salem (proper), without a Caretaker or an Overseer.

- Under-aged witches and wizards must refrain from using magic outside of Salem Institute unless in defense. It is a violation of Salem and American Administration of Magic (AAM) rules.

- *Students are not allowed to Apparate onto the school grounds. Salem (proper) is not technically part of SWI therefore, any student may Apparate there. A student must be seventeen to Apparate and must take the class.*

- Fifth years are required to take either the C.A.T's (Cumulative Assessment Tests ) or W.I.T.S (Wickly Insidious Test of Skills).

- Salem is full of surprises, so don't be surprised if one day a guild announcement claims that there is a dark bomb about to go off inside the main building.

Grades

- Students are graded on a scale as follows:
•O = Outstanding
•E = Exceeds Expectations
•A = Acceptable
•P = Poor
•D = Dreadful
•T = Troll

- Students need passing grades. Those who do not pass must re-take that class their next years until they do and may only graduate when all their credits are completed.

- Elective policy is U/C

- If a student is awarded an O for a quiz then an A on another quiz, their grades should average out to be an E. Should a professor award a student an O for a quiz then a P on another quiz, there is no even letter for it, so it will just round up to an E. Akureikami will be averaging out all grades sent in.

- If a student fails a class such as Advanced Potions I in their first year, they must take both Potions I and II at the same time to make up their failed grade.

- Test grades should weigh more. For example, if you are awarded an O for a quiz then a T on a test, the final grade would end up being a P.

- When the year ends, all students will have their grades posted on their character profiles. When the new school year starts, the grades on the grade sheet linked above will be wiped.
*To be Edited!


- I want original characters. This means no Samantha Potter, or Ronald Granger.

- Please post your Profiles in the correct locations. If you have a student profile, post it here. If you have a professor profile, post it here, all other profiles go here

- Here is the process of creating a student character. Please follow the instructions; it's there for your use!

- Note that if you post a profile that does not follow all the rules it will be labeled as "Needs Editing" which you will have one week to fix your profile. If the profile is not edited by the end of one week it will be removed

- Any character profile that has not updated their House after being sorted or does not go to be sorted within a week will be removed. Daem0nsw0lf is far too busy to be editing for you.

- If a profile has been edited and accepted BUT the owner of the profile changes it back to their original, unedited profile after being accepted, the profile WILL be removed, and will be removed from the guild as a warning.

- If you are new to the guild and wish to be a student, you must be a first year. This also means you must be 13-years-old. This is because we would like our new members to become acquainted with the school system and also because our years are only two months in real life. This means a student would go up in years faster. So, starting from a first year onward is perhaps the most efficient way to enjoy your seven years at SWI.

- Not everyone is allowed to be a teacher. Please ask Akureikami or a Vice Captain before applying. If neither of us have responded within a week, you may post a professor profile, but you risk greater chance of it being rejected I will be testing your roleplay ability, so make sure you are able to handle it!

- If you are interested in owning a store at Salem (proper), make sure to read every Sticky and Announcements in that subforum and follow all instructions. There you will find separate rules that must be followed in that subforum. Signing here confirms that you will follow the rules for that subforum, should you participate in its activities.

- More-Than-Average characters (animagus, metamorphic, parseltongue, etc.) are accepted, but please note of the current accepting status. An announcement sticky in the student profiles subforum will exist to tell you the status of being allowed to apply as such.

- Animagus characters will now be required to learn this skill and may not be an Animagi until their third year. You must learn to be an Animagus; it isn’t hereditary. In your profile, you must state that you are going to learn to be an Animagus, but it can’t be official until your third year.

-Since SWI is located in the United States they must be living in the USA when they receive their acceptance letter, I understand the the USA is a hub of immigration, so students may be born in other countries and have different cultural backgrounds, but MUST BE RESIDENTS OF THE USA BEFORE RECEIVING THEIR ACCEPTANCE LETTER. They cannot just move to the USA specifically to attend SWI.


- You must be sorted in this guild if you are a student. Please don't pick a dorm without first being sorted into that house. The purpose of the Sorting is more of a ceremony and for others to see what house you're in. Not only that, but it helps keep track of how many students were placed into each house.

- If the school year begins and you would like to make a new character, you may post their character profile, but know that it won't be accepted until the next enrollment period (after two months). The character profile will have "Pending" in its title until the next school year starts

- Non-students will not be allowed to post in the general SWI areas. They can, however, post at Salem (proper), in the OOC subforum, or in the holiday event subforum (if it’s open). Any posts made by a non-student will be deleted with a warning sent to the User.

Classrooms

- Professors must have a classroom; classes are held in the classrooms.

- If a professor is teaching a class which has more than one year attending it (e.g. first years, second years, third years, etc.), they must make separate classrooms for each year in their correct subforums. The classes then must be labeled as such (e.g. Charms I, Charms II, Charms III, etc.).

- For those teaching electives, you must have a class for third years and up (with the exception of Muggle Studies, as that is for second years and up) and must create the classrooms starting in the Third Year Classes subforum. You will then label it as such (e.g. in the Third Year Classes subforum, you would have your Divination I, then in the Fourth Year Classes subforum, you would have your Divination II, etc.)

- Classes should be updated on a weekly basis. If a professor’s scheduled update is on a Friday, then the professor will post an assignment on a Friday. Students may work on that assignment anytime they would like between the Friday that the assignment was posted until the next Friday. On the Friday (a week after the assignment was posted), the professor will then post another assignment for the students to finish.

- Assignments will be available for one week before a new assignment is posted by the professor.

- Classrooms will stay unlocked forever.

- Students are required to roleplay in the classroom.

- Students are not required to be in their classrooms everyday.

- Classrooms should be Normal posts and not Stickies. *To be Edited!*

Professors

- Professors must have a classroom.

- Every year, Professors will be subject to Professor Evaluations.

-Professors must now post all points awarded/deducted in Points thread (link to come)

- If you will be absent for a long period of time, please post in the Teacher Lounge Absence Thread so we can find you a suitable substitute until you return.

- If you can’t become a professor any longer PM Akureikami about it. Do not just up and leave. We need to know if we need to replace you.

- If you are ever confused when it comes to a topic about professors, please speak to Akureikami or a VC.

Once you have read these rules, please Sign them