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What are these standards things?

Standards are minimum requirements for a given classification - in this case a measure of RP quality. The lower the level, the lower the standards, the lower the quality. Intermediate RPs are ones that put in considerably more than the minimum of effort but may lack depth or be uncreative.

The following are the characteristics of an Intermediate RP.

Technical Writing
Technical errors include mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Intermediate RPs can have some technical errors but they should be minor. The following technical errors are discouraged in an intermediate RP:
- Misspelling or using the wrong words
- Using ellipsis ( ... ), dashes, and other punctuation to construct run-on sentences.
- Not spacing paragraphs
- Improper capitalization. The beginning of every sentence should be capitalizes as should proper nouns (names).
- Using :: or ~ or * in place of quotation marks or to show action.

Preparation
Preparation helps players join the RP. Preparation includes the length and detail of the setup and any explanation of rules. Intermediate RPs show a decent amount of preparation, with setups spread across multiple posts. Intermediate setups give the players a good idea of what kind of characters are needed and what those characters will be doing in the RP. The characters should have a problem or mystery to solve or complete. Intermediate RP setups will include rules and explanation of how to join as well as information on the world.

Style
Skillful writing and wordplay should be used to give an RP style to engage and entertain the reader. Intermediate RPs should give a clear sense of the tone of the RP and include style guidelines in their setup (what tense and point of view to write in). An Intermediate GM should have the ability to make a comedy a comedy and a horror a horror. An Intermediate RP should have a decent vocabulary at a high school level.

GM Character(s)
A GM's character should reflect the level of effort that the GM expects from the other players without taking center stage. Intermediate RPs should have a GM character displayed or a very good opening post with an NPC/character. An Intermediate GM can make characters that do not take the spotlight but still influence the direction of the RP.

Screening
A screening process should be stated clearly within an RP's setup. Intermediate RPs always screen new players, either by using a character profile or by viewing a sample of RP. Intermediate GMs need to be able to critique characters that do not fit in with the genre, tone, or other details of the RP. Most Intermediate RPs do not allow pictures to take the place of a character description.

Aesthetics
GMs should put effort into their RP to make it organized, readable, and eye catching. Intermediate RPs usually have a pleasant-looking setup that is easy to read, so that information is readily available to the players. Intermediate GMs will not allow the use of bright font colors and will discourage the following post formatting:
- Bolding or coloring dialog
- Centering long blocks of text
- Using tiny fonts
- Using large images that stretch the page
- Squishing text into short columns beside an image
- Using emoticons