1. It is up to individual lodging-house leaders to set a limit for the number of characters each person can create for that house. However, each house should have an overall character limit that does not exceed 20.
2. There is no limit to the overall number of characters you can create for the Union, but please don't make more than you can handle. If you have a character you never write about, you might want to come up with a scenario in which they leave the house (or get dramatically killed off!).
3. Because each house will have a character limit, houses may fill up. Therefore, if you have no characters in the Union yet, please mention that fact when you send in your application. Leaders should take this into consideration (along with the quality of the application, of course) when they decide who to accept.
4. Please take your time with your application. Remember that a whole lot of people will probably be writing about this character; try and make them truly unique and interesting. If your answer to the back-story question is one or two paragraphs long, it probably isn't overkill. Just imagine the possibilities of a character who "grew up in Manhattan, lost both my parents, and moved to Staten Island" vs. a character who "grew up in Little Italy, where my dad was in the Mob, and a rival gangster shot him, and my mother died protecting me, and my brother swore revenge, but I decided to flee Manhattan and put all the violence behind me, and that's why I moved to Staten Island (oh, and they might still be after me)."
5. Lodging-house applicants are not accepted on a "first come, first served" basis. They're accepted based on the quality of the application and how well the leader thinks your character will fit into the house. Don't get mad or discouraged if your application is rejected; you can always make some changes to it, try a different house, or even start your own house!
6. Every member must submit a story about one or more of their characters within three months of joining a lodging house. See the main page for story guidelines. After that, there are no solid rules for how often you must submit and update stories--or how much feedback you must provide to other members--but please try to do both on a fairly regular basis.
7. Historical accuracy is a major priority in the Union. You don't have to go out and start buying books on Old New York, but please check out the historical resources page before you start submitting applications, writing stories, or participating in chats. A few essential facts to keep in mind:
-Girls wore dresses and skirts, period (even totally badass newsgirls). A girl walking around in pants would have about the same impact as a boy walking around in a dress today. (Not that there's anything wrong with either scenario--we're talking about silly social conventions here.)
-Attractive boys and girls were not "hot" or "sexy", they were beautiful or handsome, and you didn't get a "crush" on someone, you were "sweet on" them.
-No one said "cool" or "awesome" (in their modern senses), "make out", "hook up", or even "dating" (go with "seeing" or "calling on").
-Most importantly, newsies had to sell papers. Morning and evening editions, every single day (except Sunday, when only a morning edition was printed). Unless they're badly sick or injured or going through an all-consuming crisis, your characters should be out selling most of the time. Doesn't mean they can't have adventures while they're at it!
8. Know the lodging houses and neighborhoods that you're planning to write about. That's what the floor plans and maps are for, and you don't want anyone's research (or tedious HTML) to go to waste. Don't write that the lobby is on the first floor when it's on the third; don't have your character take a quick stroll from Duane Street to Central Park when the walk would actually take a good forty-five minutes. And be sure to check out fun pages like Other Characters and Places and Organizations; they're full of juicy possibilities for stories and RP.
9. It's the responsibility of lodging-house leaders to regularly update their lodgers' profiles and their houses' timelines and story pages, and to send me a copy of those updates so I can update this site. The "Non-Newsie Characters" and "Places and Organizations" pages will depend on submissions from the various creators of said characters, places, and organizations.
10. RP chats will be held at the discretion of individual lodging-house leaders; members need only attend when and if they wish. The rating for chat content should not exceed PG-13. Violence, sexual situations, etc. can occur, but they should not be graphically described. Language should be kept fairly mild (remember, most people of this era wouldn't be dropping a lot of f-bombs anyway, though 'damn' and 'hell' were probably fairly common among street rats like our newsies). Stories and private RPs can contain any content, as long as they are not posted without the appropriate rating or warnings.
11. NEVER play another person's character in an RP--or have anything major happen to them in a story--without that person's express permission. This is called "godmoding" and is universally frowned upon.
12. Most importantly of all, please be respectful of your fellow Union members and leaders. If you have a problem with something that someone has done, contact them in a friendly manner and try to resolve it. I would love to see the whole Union run smoothly with no out-of-character drama whatsoever. In-character drama, of course, is essential! ^_^