Welcome, and a brief summary of this section of the forums
First of all, welcome to the Open National forum. I'll be your tour guide. B)
You'll see, upon first arriving here, two subforums, labelled Game-related RP (IC) and Fantasy RP (IC), respectively.
The first should be self-explanatory, but in case it is not, here's a brief summary. Anything that happens to you in the game itself, whether the Standard Edition or the Tournament edition, can be RP'ed here. This goes for anything--spy attacks, trades (and sanctions), the global radiation level, wars, and even individual events within the wars, if you so desire. Anything that happens in-game is acceptable to RP out more fully here.
The Fantasy RP, however, is a little more ambiguous. While the things that are RP'd in the Game-related RP (IC) can still be RP'ed here, also permitted in the Fantasy section are RP's that have little to no connection with ingame events. You can RP Science-fiction, Fantasy, or other things having nothing to do with the game itself. By far the biggest Role-Playing universe is termed, simply, Cybernations Role-Play (CNRP).
Both of these forums are IC. OOC should be avoided unless necessary, and if it becomes necessary...that is what the Open World Forum itself is for.
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FAQ's
Q: What is CNRP?
A: Cybernations Role-play. It is a role-play that is losely based upon certain ingame statistics, but is otherwise uninvolved with the game. Ingame alliances, feuds, wars, disagreements, etc, generally do not exist here.
Q: Do I have to RP in CNRP to Rp in the Fantasy forum?
A: No. And do not be put off by those who post in your threads saying various things like, "are you on the map?" or "No way is possible." These are simply CNRP'ers wondering if you are joining CNRP.
Q: In CNRP do I have to have my nation on the map RP?
A: Not necessarily. CNRP includes not only role-playing between nations, but role-playing on a small scale, or even with individual characters. A number of players have RP'd without bothering establishing a nation on the map.
Q: I have an RP thread that hasn't been active in about a month. Am I allowed to finish it?
A: Yes. Gravedigging has a looser interpretation in these three forums. While the rest of the forums only allow seven days before it is called gravedigging and you get warned, here, you are allowed greeter leeway--as long as the thread isn't three months old, or on something like the 25th page, feel free to finish it. The only thing not allowed in this case, however, is a one or two word post (in other words, contentless) whose sole purpose is to bump the topic.
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This list is not complete. Feel free to ask questions about the forums here, and I and my fellow Mods will do my best to answer them. Do not be shy.
Also, other RP'ers can feel free to answer questions, as long as the answers remain respectful.