Certs & Official Graphics

Q: Where is my cert?
A: See the "Getting Started" thread for information on setting up your diary and finding your cert. Hint: Our Photobucket account is public for a reason.

Q: Why are there no dates on the cert?
A: Because this way, you can set your child's birthday to be whatever you like ICly. You can backdate it or forward date it. The day your child appears in the Patch does not have to be the day of their birth.

Q: What do I do if there's something wrong on my cert/official graphics?
A: Tell us, please! We try not to make mistakes but sometimes we do anyway. We're always happy to fix them! You can post in the main thread or PM the mule and someone will take care of it asap.

Q: Can I direct-link?
A: Absolutely! In fact, it's encouraged! We have a premium Photobucket account, so there's no problem with bandwidth restrictions.

Q: What should I do if I would like a new image placed on my cert?
A: PM the image to the mule. You must have the permission of the artist to use the picture in the Patch. There is a six month minimum between image changes. You must wait six months following an official growth, and six months after every subsequent image change. The image you supply must reflect your child's current stage of life and actually be of your child. (An anime character who resembles your child is NOT acceptable.) The image must have minimal background and be at least waist-up. You must be an active player in good standing with the shop -- please remember this is a totally free service! We reserve the right to deny player-supplied images for any reason.
Your child doesn't have to be an adult for you to supply a new image, it just must be at least six months since your last growth/image update. The six-month rule doesn't apply to official growths, obviously, just to free cert changes!


Roleplay & Setting

Q: Where is the Lab?
A: The Lab is halfway between Barton and Towns. IT IS NOT PART OF THE LIBERTY CENTER.
The ONLY thing that happens at the lab is adoption of babies/cabbages!

Q: Can I create a shop employee?
A: YES! In fact, it's encouraged! Feel free to create employees or use existing characters. There are a few restrictions:
- Liberty Center personnel only, no Lab employees.
- You MUST PM your character idea to the shop mule first for approval.
We are most happy to employ guardian characters, and older children (teen and above) from Breedables shops, and there are tons of jobs available at the Center. If you need ideas, just ask!

Q: What sort of care does my cabbage require?
A: Remember, our cabbages are not mere vegetables, they're indestructible biocomputers! All they need is a bit of a light and some water.

Q: Is the cabbage special in any way?
A: Mostly, it's just an indestructible plant. Very rarely, a cabbage may display some form of external clue as to the child inside, such as an odor or aura of some sort. They are not sentient in the same way as people and will not react to outside stimuli. Their indestructible exterior is also a barrier to all technological, magical, and psychic communication or tampering.

Q: What is it like when my child emerges from the cabbage?
A: It's different for every child. Sometimes the cabbage just opens up and there's a happy little child inside, ready to go! Sometimes there's some sticky liquid stuff, or not-so-sticky liquid stuff, like an afterbirth. Your child can appear clothed or totally naked! (The cabbages can make people, making clothing isn't any more difficult.) It's up to you how you want to play it! If you want to make sure your idea is okay to do, just PM and ask.

Q: Do I have to RP my child's emergence?
A: No, we don't force you to write any specific situations in the Patch (except for the very first post requirement, and even then you have a choice). At the Patch, we believe in implied events. This means you can just say something has happened without needing to write every minute of it. That goes for your child's birth, school lessons, getting dressed in the morning, etc.!

Q: After my child has appeared, can I keep the cabbage?
A: Sorry, no. There are only so many cabbages in Akari's garden, and they're reuseable, so once your child has emerged, you need to take your cabbage back to the Lab, or it will simply vanish mysteriously one day. (We have ways!)

Q: How do I get my cabbage?
A: You can receive your cabbage any way you like. You can go and get one from the lab directly, or have one mysteriously turn up on your doorstep, whatever you like! If you want to make sure what you want to do is okay, just PM and ask.

Q: When my child grows, what is it like?
A: Yet another thing that's totally up to you! You can look at growths one of two ways: as a sudden, dramatic spurt, or as an update to reflect your child's gradual development. It doesn't have to be a sudden if you don't want it to be.

Q: What is the difference between the Liberty Center and the Lab?
A: The Lab is a research complex. Cabbages come from the Lab, and you can also adopt a baby from the on-site nursery. The Liberty Center is an independent school. They have nothing to do with cabbages, or adoption, or anything of the sort. They are purely an educational institution. The Lab provides flyers for the Liberty Center, but the two organizations are not affiliated. You cannot get adoption information at the Liberty Center, nor can they provide you any assistance with cabbages.

Q: Are all the students at the Liberty Center from the Patch?
A: No! The Liberty Center is open to children from ALL walks of life, and that means not only other Breedables shops, but also children in general. Patch children comprise less than half of the student population. You are more than welcome to enroll any other Breedables children you play, or to create your own NPC students.


Diaries, Journals & Activity

Q: What are the activity requirements?
A: If you don't know this one, you may want to read the rules on the main thread a little more carefully! In case you have forgotten, we have two: minimum one post per six months, and at least six posts per year. Years are counted from when you receive your child, so be sure to have six RP posts in your diary before your kid turns one year old!

Q: Do I have to put my cert in the first post of my diary?
A: No, but somewhere near the top of the page is desirable, where people can see it.

Q: What if I don't have my cert on my diary thread?
A: A million innocent puppies die, and we give you dirty looks. Plus, it just ticks Em off a lot and makes her not want to do things like grow your child in a timely manner.

Q: How do I make that funny >> character for my topic title?
A: Just copy-paste it.

Q: Why do we have to do our first diary post?
A: Because we know that some people like having extra info in that post, some people don't, some people like a header graphic, some don't, etc., and it would be too big a hassle for people to have to ask shop staff every time they need something. Besides, if you look at shops that include extra text information in the first post, it usually doesn't get updated in a timely fashion anyway! And having a teenager whose favorite food is "mashed bananas" is no fun!

Q: Are there any rules about diary posts? Anything I can or can't post? Length restrictions?
A: The content of your diary posts is up to you, provided your posts follow Gaia's TOS. The length of your diary post is up to you as well, however, if you want to count a post towards your growth requirements, it must meet the requirements set forth in the growth post on the main thread. (link)

Q: I just did a 20-page group RP with five other people! Do I have to post the entire thing in my diary??
A: No! If you do a roleplay in the Patch guild, you can just make a post with a link to the RP thread. If you do the roleplay outside our forum, though, we do ask that you compile the RP for your diary. But... if you really can't be bothered to, we'll accept a link, 'cause we try to be nice people around here.

Q: Does my entry have to be written?
A: No, we encourage creativity! If you had some idea for a diary entry that wasn't written, we're cool with that. But! If you want to count it towards growth, you'd need to discuss that with us, and it would have to be something you yourself created. (In other words, not an art commission drawn by someone else.)

Q: What counts as activity?
A: There are a few restrictions when it comes to activity.
- Except for the cabbage stage, all posts must involve your Patch child in order to be counted. Posts that involve a guardian or other character can count so long as there's a reasonable connection to the child. Posts that have absolutely nothing to do with your Patch child do not count. Posts that just mention your child in vague passing may be counted towards general activity (but not growth) at the discretion of the staff. Please note that if you make a lot of those kinds of posts, you are much less likely to have them counted towards activity, because it will look to us like you're not giving your Patch child enough attention.
- Empty/reserve posts do not count. (Otherwise all you would need to do is post six "blah blah post goes here" things a year, and that's just not cool or fair to anyone else.)
- Your diary set-up posts count towards your six months activity, but not your six posts per year activity.
- Posting in the main thread, while heavily encouraged, does not count towards child activity, sorry! It's just too hard to keep track.
- Roleplaying in the guild, while also heavily encouraged, is too hard for us to track. If you do an RP, please link to it in your diary! If you have a link in your diary, then we will stop by the RP to see when your last post was before we issue you any activity warnings.
- Only posts made by you, the child's player, count. You can post from a mule account, but things like gift drop-offs or invitations posted by other players don't count towards your activity.

Q: I have more than one Patch child. Do I have to complete double the activity requirements?
A: You don't have to complete double, but you do have to complete the same activity requirements for both. If you make a post involving one child, it can only be counted as activity for that child. If you make a post involving both children, you can count it as activity for both. But you can't have two Patch kids and only roleplay with one, completely ignoring the other.

Q; What date do you use when you check for 6-month activity, the date on the post or the date I've added?
A: We do not require you to add dates to your post, but if you do, we will generally use the latest date available with regards to tracking activity. If you made a reserve post June 17th and then filled it later and marked it as July 11th, we'll count it as July 11th. If you made a post June 17th but the post was backdated and you supplied a date of May 20th, we'll use June 17th. If your post has no date typed in, we just use the post date.

Q: Do artists have different activity requirements?
A: Yes. Provided an artist has supplied as least two official growths in the past six months (not including any children they may be drawing for themselves) they are considered active in the shop and their children will not be rehomed. This ONLY applies to children created through a shop trade or arrangement, not children attained by means open to all Gaians(such as flatsales, raffles, and contests).
The simple reason is that artists are what make this shop possible, and their having Patch is more so they can hang out and interact with players. If an artist lapses in both RP and shop activity, their children may be rehomed, depending on the wishes of the artist drawing the child in question.

Q: I did a roleplay involving my Patch child in another thread outside of the guild. Can I count that towards my growth reqs?
A: Yes, but only as a Closed RP. You MUST conduct open roleplays in the Patch guild if you wish to count them as ORPs.


Growths & Requirements

Q: I want to grow my child. What do I do?
A: See the Growth Notice thread in the guild for detailed instructions. The very short answer is:
- Make sure you've met your growth requirements.
- Post the growth form in your artist's thread.
- Post a growth notice in the guild.
- Your growth will be processed as quickly as we can! Thanks for your patience.

Q: I know you have the art for my child and I completed my requirements and posted my growth notice, why haven't you done my growth yet?
A: Could be one of two reasons.
a) Em is busy, she has a life. While I really do try to get Patch stuff done in a timely manner, I cannot promise nor provide instant service for most things in the Patch, and that includes growths.
b) Em doesn't like to post too many growths at once, she likes to give people at least a day or two to appreciate the new art. If there are already recent growths, you might just have to wait a few days for yours. Also, she grew up having the same birthday as another girl in elementary school and it was not fun, so she tries not to do that to people's characters as a general rule. (But it happens sometimes when there are just too many growths to do, or as a special occasion.)
c) Spacing out our growths also keeps our thread more active and helps fight thread death.

Q: I wrote more than was required for my last growth. Can I count the extra work I did towards my next growth?
A: Sorry, no. Think of the growth requirements more as experience requirements for your child. Your child must have X amount of experience as a child before growing into a teen. Extra time spent as a baby would not help. You should always aim to write more than the requirements, though, because... we DO check, and that includes checking the word counts of your post, and if you have not met your requirements in some regard, you WILL get warned. These warnings are the same as inactivity ones. Get too many, and you will lose the roleplay rights to your child.

Q: I can't seem to get my solo diary posts over 400 words. Can I just combine the word counts from multiple posts?
A: Yes, but you may only combine whole, complete posts, not raw word count. You cannot combine a 300-word post with a 500-word post and go "oh! 800 words, that equals two 400-word posts!" You can, however, combine two 300-word posts, counting them as a single 600-word post.

Q: I wrote a solo post that's 2000 words long! Can I count that as multiple solo posts for my growth?
A: No.

Q: I'm in an RP and even though it's not complete, can I count it towards my growth requirements?
A: While you should always aim to write a little extra than the minimum growth requirements and thus not have to worry about one or two RPs being unfinished, we do understand that sometimes those joint RPs just take forever. If you have made the word and post requirements in an RP and it was started over three months ago, you may count it towards your growth reqs.

Q: I did an RP in a guild thread, is there anything more I have to do?
A: As stated above, guild RP is too hard for us to track, please link to your roleplays somewhere in your diary. Or, if you prefer, compile your roleplays for diary posts. If it's not in your diary, it's unreasonable to expect us to go and look for it through the many miles of activity in our guild.

Q: I have a Shop NPC, can I count roleplays I do with this character towards my growth requirements?
A: Yes, because people who play Shop NPCs make our world go 'round, but at least 3/4 of your growth reqs must involve your actual child. You don't have to post any RPs in your journal if they don't involve your child or guardian character, but you must link to said RPs in the diary post where you keep track of your growth requirements for us, else shop staff might not realize the RPs exist when checking to make sure you've completed the requirements. Also, you can only count a Shop NPC RP towards the growth for one child, not every child you own. XD;

Q: (Insert name here) didn't complete her requirements but she got a growth!
A: Not really a question, but, we generally trust you guys! We only check for requirement completion every once in a while, so you probably won't get checked every single time you post for growth, but rest assured checking DOES happen and if we notice you have not completed the requirements, you will be warned! Remember, you get two warnings, and on the third strike you're out. The wisest thing to do would be to always write a little extra so no one will have any doubts. If you notice someone who has not completed their requirements, please do PM the shop and tell us!

Q: My child has an additional/bonus stage that is not covered by the regular RP requirements. What do I need to complete to get past this stage?
A: For in-between and bonus stages, such as cocoons, magical artifacts (see Character Creation below), or anything else that is not an officially-designated baby/child/teen/youth/adult, you only have to make one post of any kind to move out of the bonus stage and into the next "true" one.
Say you have a child. You complete the requirements for the next stage, post for your growth, and your child turns into a ball of glowing light. Now you just have to make one post and then you can post another growth request and your child will grow into the next "real" stage.
RPs done during the bonus stage do not count towards the next stage's growth requirements. So, in our example, any posts you make during the ball of light stage will not count towards your teen becoming a youth.
Please note that standard waiting times and growth queues apply, so even though you might get your bonus stage and post another growth request five minutes later, you will not get your next stage instantaneously. Please see "Q: I know you have the art for my child and I completed my requirements and posted my growth notice, why haven't you done my growth yet?" above for more info on why growths aren't instantaneous.

Q: I posted my growth request before X, why did her child grow first?
A: Growths are done when two requirements are met:
a) a growth request has been made, and
b) the artist has turned in the art.
Because of this, you will notice predrawn children grow almost immediately when their growth requests are posted: their art is already complete.
Also, priority is given to cabbage>baby growths so that people can start roleplaying with their children sooner. If your growth has not happened yet, chances are the art hasn't been turned in, or there are a lot of growths ready to be posted and baby stages were prioritized over your growth to a later stage. Additionally, individual artists may sometimes complete growths out of order as inspiration strikes them, but rest assured effort is made to get everything done in roughly the order it is received.


Character Creation

Q: What restrictions are there on what sort of character I can have?
A: Aside from the no living people rule on the main page? One and only one. Your child must have come from a cabbage, and the cabbages come from the lab. NO EXCEPTIONS. How your child came to be created by the cabbage, however, is totally up to you! Your child could have been implanted in the cabbage by mystic forces, or aliens, or randomly, or by direct request, or by wishing really hard, or by ghosts, or by fate... Seriously, Patch kids can be ANYTHING, and how cabbages choose what children end up inside them is a mystery not even Dr. Akari fully knows! It's different for every child! In fact, it can even be as simple as you, the roleplayer, wanting to saddle your guardian character with a child. The IC Lab can handle OOC requests and is very discrete about it, so your character need never know s/he is actually just a character in a story beign controlled by some crazy person in another universe!

Q: My dream child actually doesn't come from a cabbage, but is born via a scroll/book/charm/artifact/magic DVD/egg/paper clip/starts off as an animal/etc.
A: Well, you're in luck, because cabbages can create AN-Y-THING. They can make inanimate objects and animals besides humanoids! Cabbages can create things that magically turn into children! BUT, it's totally up to the artist involved if they want to draw you an item or other nonhuman stage and whether that stage is a regular one (with the full growth requirements!) or a bonus stage (with reduced growth requirements).