goose_ooc | ANNOUNCEMENTS: August 23!

Alright everyone, we have just about one week until the game opens! Yay! A few things to note:

We're still waiting on resubmissions from a small number of returning characters (i.e. anyone whose name has yet to be linked on the roster). If you don't get your resubmission in before Sep 1, they will be permanently removed from the roster! We're serious!!! :(

If you've held a new character, your hold ends on Sep 1 and you must wait 24 hours to rehold.

We'll try very hard to process all new character apps we receive before the game opens, but we apologize in advance if we end up with delays.

The plot calendar will be going up on Aug 31 at 8 AM MT, and there will be an IC/OOC on Sep 1 which will feature:
- The bus ride to school.
- Lunch and socializing.
- The Sorting Ceremony.
The IC community will open to journal posts on Sep 1 at 8 AM MT. There will be a message from Martin Pratt about some updates he made to the journals.

We're making some rule changes, so please read more below! Especially the bit about the three strikes policy!

DIVINATION:
Due to how MASSIVE this game has gotten, we've revised how Divination will work in the story. We've folded events that students can predict into the Plot Calendar, so you no longer need to rely on mod responses to get in some divining.

DIVINATION PREDICTIONS:

Divination students may select one event marked with this symbol (❋) to accurately predict at some point before the event takes place.

There are a limited number of these, and we can’t make enough for every Divination student to get one every month. If we notice that you’re grabbing one for three months in a row and other characters are unable to get one on time, we may force you to take a month off. Conversely, if you haven’t been able to claim one in three months, let us know and we will guarantee you one the coming month.

Your character may divine this information through any means you see fit EXCEPT by true prophecy. Those are reserved for fully fledged Seers, and there’s only one of those at Gooseberry, and he’s your teacher.

When you select an event, you may pick two of the following for your character to accurately predict:
- WHO: The character this event is happening to. If it’s a school-wide event or doesn’t happen to a particular character, your little Seer will instead get the sense that this is something with a larger scope.
- WHAT: What will happen to the character, but only in vague terms. For instance, if your character selects the event where someone gets locked in the storage room, they might know someone is going to get trapped somewhere. The mods will tell you exactly what your character knows. Please don't deviate from it.
- WHEN: The exact date the event takes place.
Reply to the Divination comment on the plot calendar claiming a prediction, and tell us which two aspects you’d like to predict. The mods will give you the exact information your character will be able to See.

You may choose when they make this prediction.

Claims are first come first serve.

These do not count as your plot calendar slot for that character.

Example: Suzy selects an event on September 18th, which will have Davy falling into a well. Suzy's player selects that she will know WHO and WHAT, so she replies to the mod Divination comment saying so. The mod account then replies to let Suzy know she can predict the following information accurately: "Davy is going to fall into something deep." The idea is that your character will not have enough information to stop the event and accidentally create a time paradox and/or ruin the person's plot.

THREE STRIKES POLICY:
In the interest of cutting down on the number of inactive characters, we've made our three strikes policy harsher. Previously it was three strikes per character, but from now on it'll be three strikes per player, regardless of which character(s) you were inactive with. (So, if you don't make activity with two of your characters in one month, you'll earn two strikes.) If you earn three strikes total, you will be asked to drop one of your characters.

We feel our activity requirements are pretty lax, so if you're regularly posting with all of your characters, this shouldn't be an issue. If you know you have a character you rarely play, please consider letting them go. If you're in a situation where you know you can't post and it'll negatively impact your activity, make use of the hiatus page to avoid earning a strike.