FAQ
Q: What does 'OOC' mean?
A: OOC means out of character. It's basically anything that you yourself are saying, not your character. For example, if you want to make a comment on a post above you, you would type OOC so people know that it isn't your character talking.
Q: Ok, now what about 'IC'?
A: I see is the opposite of OOC. IC= In character. So if it IS your character talking and you already posted something OOC, you'd type IC before you type the post that you'd like to make as your character.
Q: Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute. It says on the application form that you want our character’s blood type. What the heck, how are we supposed to know that?
A: When we're asking for blood type we aren't asking for O- or anything, we're asking for pure, half, or muggleborn.
Q: What in the name of Viviane Ashing is a PM?
A: A PM is a private message. Much like an e-mail, but it's an over-the-board action.
Q: Why aren't we allowed to have celebrities as a representation of our characters?
A: Simply put, we'll have 2 to the power of 2079 Keira Knightly's and Leonardo Decaprio's. Not only that, but that would be declaring that your character is well . . . Hollywood worthy. How many people do you see walking down the street that look like that?
Q: What the heck, why does it say I'm a bludger?
A: This is your user title. It changes every so many posts, and after a while you can personalize it yourself.
Q: How do I post?
A: It depends on what you want to do.
To MAKE A TOPIC-
Go to the forum you want to make a topic in and click on the "New Thread" button on the right hand side of the screen. Once the page loads, enter a title in the space that says topic title, and in the big white box type whatever you want to say. When done, scroll down a little more and hit the 'post new topic' button.
To MAKE A REPLY-
Same thing as making a topic, but click on 'Post Reply'. You cannot make a title with this, though, and the button you press to submit the post says 'Add reply'.
Q: Why can't my name be randomcoolness432***, why does it have to be a name?
A: It helps people know who is who. It's easier to remember that Melanie Hunter is Melanie Hunter in character than xXMyJunkisYouXx is Melanie Hunter in character. In short, putting your character name is less confusing and helps the site be more organized.
LUMOS FOR DUMMIES
WHAT IS LUMOS?
Lumos was started in July of 2005 by Viviane Ashing. Since then Vi has had to leave for personal reasons, but the site is still going strong. It used to have an extraordinarily horrible server, and after a while the server decided to . . . well . . . not serve and made the old site go CAPLUT. Luckily the admins got together and recreated it on a MUCH MUCH MUCH better server, and it's all better now.
ROLEPLAYING FORMAT
Oh yes, yes, yes, there are MANY different ways, but there are specific guidelines you have to follow.
-Separate all actions from speaking somehow. You can do this in the following ways:
Actions
*
<
{
[
-
Dialog
"
'
You'll put whichever symbol you choose around the actions, just like you would with quotes.
-Post in 3rd person past tense please!
-If you have a super long post, try to put spaces between the actions and the dialog so it's easier to read.
GODDING
Ooh, these are the kinds of things that every role player absolutely HATES. Gods are almost as bad as, or are, Mary Sues/Gary Stues. They perform the actions of other characters or speak for them, or they never get hit by spells, or can take down an adult wizard - a whole myriad of things. It's against the Lumos rules, right? Yup. If you couldn't answer that, you need to reread the rules, by the way. Godding is making your character invincible and all powerful on one level. On another level it's taking control of someone else's character. Basically, it's taking the power of making your posts out of control and creating unrealistic circumstances. Just . . . don't do it, ok?
MARY SUES AND GARY STUES
These are, essentially, perfect characters. Do everything right, go out with canons, flawless appearance (100 bajillion extra Mary Sue/Gary Stu points if they're a veela or part veela) and - basically the person that you absolutely love to hate. AND THEY ARE BAD. They create boring roleplaying and never do anything wrong. They make you want to punch your monitor.
HELP THE FIGHT AGAINST MARY SUES, TAKE A MARY SUE LITMUS TEST!
http://www.onlyfiction.net/marysue.htmlhttp://www.theninemuses.net/hp/work/marysue.htmlNote that the results of these tests ARE NOT necessarily 100% accurate. Your character could get two points on a test and be the most Mary Sueish character ever, meanwhile they could get 40 points and not. Generally, if you do score a lot of points, they are a Mary Sue.
IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT A MARY SUE/GARY STUISH CHARACTER, FEEL FREE TO ASK AN ADMIN FOR HELP ON DEVELOPING THE CHARACTER! Yes, we do offer Mary Sue Character Rehab.
PLOTS
There's a big difference between good plots and absolutely not going to work uncanon plots. An example of a bad (but not unoriginal) plot would be two talking flying llamas having a face off (We still lurve you Paige). Good plot? I'll quote my friend Vana Sage (I miss you) on this:
"When trying to think of a plot, and are wondering if it’s good enough to spend your time, ask yourself that question. Would it bring conflict to your character's heart? Of course your immediate answer is ‘DUH’, but sometimes plots are just stupid because there's no emotional conflict. And without emotional conflict, there's no point. Just something to keep in mind."
POSTS
Just like plots, there are good posts and bad posts. Good post= descriptive and informative. Not necessarily long, but it gets the point across well. You could have the longest post in the history of the universe and it could still be absolutely horrible, so, like in many things, size DOESN'T matter. A BAD post on the other hand would be one that rambles on about nothing or only tells you what they did in the simplest form possible, with no description whatsoever.
Good post:
*Lucy ran down the hallway, causing the papers in her open backpack to fly out and scatter about the floor. Her blonde hair whipped about her face as she hurried to get to the library before it closed. When she finally got there, she stopped to catch her breath, as she was panting like a dog. When she looked up, she saw that the doors were shut and locked, meaning that the library had already closed*
Lucy:"What?" *she cried disbelievingly*"I ran all the way from the Gryffindor tower for THIS?"
Bad post:
*Lucy ran to the library only to find out it was closed*
Lucy:"What? I ran all the way from the Gryffindor tower for THIS?"
Remember- try to make your posts about three lines long on the typing screen.
TOPIC TITLES
Okay, it's not that hard. All you need to do for topic titles is enter in the title of the topic. It really gets annoying when you add in special little characters in random places ( &..:Like.T|his;:) or tYpE iT lIkE tHiS. It's unnecessary and kind of annoying. If you do it to know what topics are yours, I suggest making topic titles that are easier to remember.
Also, subtitles, make sure you read them. Most people don't get mad over this, but I'm sure some people do. If the subtitle says "For (enter name here)" or has a character's name in it, don't post there unless you ask the member and they say it's okay. Normally if the charrie's name is in the subtitle, it's meant for that character and no one else. This might seem rude, like people don't want to post with you, but there will be some things in some plots that require it. If you really want to post with that person, you can PM them and ask if they want to make a topic with you. They'll probably say yes. If not...they're a meanie. :P
PROPER ETIQUETTE
Just like in real life, you want people to be respectful toward you, so, just like in real life, we expect you to treat others with the respect that they deserve and be kind to them, no matter how much you hate them.
Unacceptable things include:
-Bashing other websites. There might be a member from that site on our site, and we don't want them to be offended. I do know of several sites who allow this, which I think is wrong, but hey, it's not my site to run, is it?
-Bashing other people. Just because they're different or have a differing opinion doesn't mean that you need to insult them
-Bashing opinions. Just because it isn’t, yours doesn't mean that it isn't anyone's.
-Prejudice/Racism/etc. We have a large group of people from all over the world, and just because their customs, appearance, and whatever else is different does not give you a reason to hate them or to trash them. If you're mad at someone OFF OF THE SITE for something they did to you, go ahead, but just try to avoid on site conflict.
-Keep conflicts private. If one arises, discuss it over a PM or IM or even an e-mail.
-Please censor swear words/foul words. Use your good judgment on what should be censored and what shouldn’t.
-Personal Lives are personal for a reason. Feel free to discuss your boy/girlfriend, but we don't want to hear about a snogging session or anything of a sexual nature, thank you.
CREATING A CHARACTER
Ah, characters. They make up RPG sites, of course. But they make a site boring if they’re
ALL
THE
SAME
Most characters are those that are made in 5 minutes. Sometimes those are good, sometimes they’re horrible, it really depends on who makes it. Most of them are excruciatingly bland, though. So here’s some things you should avoid:
- Perfect appearances/lame weaknesses. Let’s face it, people like their characters to be perfect. Like I said earlier, that’s Mary Sue/Gary Stuish. Some people might SEEM perfect to you, but they do have flaw. Weak bones are not a good physical flaw. Try something that people can actually see. Maybe they have acne or have glasses. Yes, glasses count as a flaw. It means they have imperfect vision, and you know the world. People think glasses are dorky. You might see a flaw in your mind that you don't write in your description; you only tell us the good. No, we want to see the character in as close to the same way as you do. Give us everything. Okay, we don't need to know the size of their shirts or underclothes, but you know what I mean. Describe them as well as you possibly can, because chances are you'll find a flaw.
-Blandness. Definition of bland? Nice, funny, helpful, and friendly. Wow. That’s wonderful. Uh huh, not going to happen. Put some SPICE and INDIVIDUALITY into your character. Like maybe they have a weird habit of sucking on their hair. That’s DEFINITELY individual.
- CONTRADICTIONS. What kind of character is soft spoken yet gets in duels where they spit out vulgarity after vulgarity and taunt after taunt EVERY day?
- Try to add some diversity. Not everyone in the world is white or tanned, you know. Add a little pizzazz to the school! Maybe even a funky accent! That doesn't mean they have to be completely weird though. Just different.
- Have fun with your character. Make them someone who will be interesting to read and write about!
As an actor, I've found that a really good way to develop your character is too look up as much about they're time period and location as you can. Look up some cities in the UK, find one you like, then research it further. Some of the information you find can help you create your character. For instance, if they get teased because of their accent. I know Mel, Alex, and Ian do by those bloody Newcastle United fans (look it up). Research is truly your best friend. It can also help you in posts, but I'll get into that later.
PHOTOCOPYING
Every now and then we get people who think they're really smart and say "Oh, I'm just going to use this person's application as a guideline." And end up making them almost identical to the 'base'. I like to call that photocopying. When you think you'll get off easy but really...I think we MIGHT be able to notice something familiar. And occasionally we get those Einsteins that actually copy and paste the whole application of a person. Let me just say that that's not the way to go. It loses a lot of points from the "Good RPer" jar, and adds some to your warn bar.
What's a good way to avoid having a photocopy?
-Give them an interesting feature, something that would make you separate them from the crowd.
-Give them a not-so-common weakness. Ok I'm not talking about a foot that's two sizes larger than the other, but what I'm talking about is something like big ears or acne. A lot of people don't want to go out there and say that because they want a pretty character, but here's a little newsflash- NOT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD HAS A SCAR. If I went into a Wal-Mart right now and asked everyone in there if they had a scar (Wow that'd take a long time to do) probably only a few of them would answer 'yes'.
*That's another point. SCARS. EW. Everyone gives their character a scar as their weakness and I'm downright SICK of it. Get creative. I know you don't want to show your characters weakness but gosh darndit people go out there and strut their stuff every day so let your character do the same. Besides, if they cover up their scar with long sleeve shirts won't they got hot and sweaty in the summer? Of course that leads to B.O., another weakness, but I don't think you would want a scar AND b.o. if you're too afraid to show the scar in the first place.
The point of this? Give them something NOTICEABLE!
-Uncommon on Lumos at the moment? Any kind of diversity whatsoever (almost EVERYONE is White, come on, no place is like that). I'm almost begging for some Asian, Middle Eastern, or Black characters. What about being overweight? No one. Will make their character. Overweight. What's so wrong with that? There's tons of fat people in the real world. Sure, you might not like it, but it's real, and it's a weakness that really does exist.
-Really dig deep into your character. How tall are they? How much to they way? How do they dress? Do they like to style their hair a certain way? Do they prefer to wear a certain color? What are they afraid of? What are they interested in? What do they like to do?
Every. Little. Thing. MATTERS.
I can't stress how important it is to me that you express individuality in your character!
THE SLYTHERIN/GRYFFINDOR ISSUE
I call it the Slytherin/Gryffindor issue because that's what it started as- everyone wanting to be in those two houses. Now the problem is that people complain to me when they don't get in the house that they requested. PLEASE, I did it for a reason. Unless it's absolutely vital to your character's being, there is a chance that you will NOT be put in the house you request. So why do we have that field? It gives us a base for our judgment. PLEASE, I'm begging you, IF YOU DON'T GET THE HOUSE YOU WANT, THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD NOT RP ON HERE. YOU WILL GET OVER IT, TRUST ME. Sometimes, it needs to be done. The houses need to have relatively equal numbers, so you might be put somewhere to even it out.
MORE ON SORTING
If you aren't sorted right away, we ARE NOT ignoring you! Most likely, there's something in your application that I (normally me, anyway) am not sure about. It's generally the weaknesses. Some of them are weak..and...I ask for other admin opinons, or you have to look to make sure that I didn't ask you to change something in your application.
Another time that you might not get sorted for a while is if you stealing the whole character name from History, Literature, or a celebrity, or if you have a celeb in your sig. If their name is Victor Hugo, I might ask you to change it unless you provide good reasoning for it (like their mother being a fan of the person). The celebrity-in-sig thing shows that you didn't read the rules. The stealing of the names shows a mild lack of originality and makes me vomit in my mouth a little bit.
HOW TO MAKE THINGS REAL
Here's where Your-Good-Friend-Research comes back in. If something drastic happens to your character, research it. If someone close to them died, look up how real people reacted in that same situation. Try to learn the 7 Stages of Grief. It's so helpful for when your character is dealing with a tragic event, because it's the levels that people travel through after a traumatic situation.
Another thing you can do is place yourself in the situation. How would you feel? How would you react? Use this as a basis for your character's actions, even if they're completely different from you. You now know where the emotion is coming from. You can fathom completely how the character would feel unless you really have experienced the same situation, but you get a sense of it.
OR you could relate the situation to something that has happened to you that's similar. If it's a happy event? Maybe relate it to how you felt on your favorite vacation. Sad? Try to think of the time when you were most sad in your life.
OR think of something that would be majorly awful or good or irritating to you.
Take your emotion and mold it into their emotion.
What I'm trying to say is that you kind of have to be an actor. If you're really crazy or are in to theatre in the first place, go buy some books on acting technique or look some stuff up online. It sounds totally crazy, but it's worked for me. It's brought me to tears on many occasions.
PROBLEMS/ISSUES
If something is bothering you on our site or there's something you think needs to be reported or goes against the rules, please contact an admin. We don't bite . . . unless you're covered in chocolate which I highly doubt you are.
The Admins are listed at the top of the page, but just for a little note we are:
Melanie Hunter
Kiley Stewert
Tyrin Yates
Coldstone Harshing
Good Harry Potter Encyclopedia's for in game references/confusion:
Mugglenet HP encyclopedia
HP-Lexicon
- Melanie Hunter May 7, 2006
-Edited by Melanie Hunter on June 29, 2006
-Edited by Melanie Hunter on August 28, 2006
-Edited by Melanie Hunter on October 26, 2006
-Edited by Melanie Hunter on January 20, 2007
-Edited by Tyrin Yates on July 12th, 2007
-Edited by Melanie Hunter on December 28th, 2007