| casting faq |
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Applications are available via WWW or FTP. If neither of these options are available to you, then you may also send mail to the Casting Director requesting an application. The application serves several purposes. The first and foremost is that it lets us know which character you are requesting. However, it is also used as a safety measure for the administrative staff. By returning the application to us, you are declaring that you have read the rules, agree to abide by them and that you realize that failure to follow the rules may result in the revocation of your access to FDCMuck.
The information on the application is also used to maintain a mailing list of the members on FDCMuck. This list is only used by the administrators to announce major changes in policy, so you needn't worry about being spammed by mail. Just be aware that your email address is kept on file in case it is ever needed.
FDCMuck is a multi-user chat program designed around one idea-- that of the Future Disney Cabinet. This idea began as a joke in the mind of a contributer to the Rec.Arts.Disney newsgroup several years ago. As the name implies, we are loosely based on the Walt Disney Company, although we are in no way officially linked to it. It is the general idea of the company that the FDC strives to uphold-- creative, quality entertainment to be enjoyed be all. To do this, each permanent player is asked to chose a character that fits into the spirit of Future Disney Cabinet. For most of our permanent characters, this has meant choosing a character from one of the animated features and portraying that character in the guise of a 'walkaround', or 'face character'. This means that most of the players you will come in contact with are role- playing a particular Disney character. However, due to the nature of our basis, we also have more "Disney, the Company" related characters, such as Imagineers and CEO's.
Both types of characters are acceptable and are welcome to join us.
Any character will be considered, and any character will be approved if it is found to fit these guidelines. The character must be inspired by the idea of "Future Disney Cabinet", whether as a walk-around or as a position within the company. Your character must be Unique, however-- calling yourself 'Beauty' and planning to portray the existing character of 'Belle' is not acceptable. The character must be different from any existing character, regardless of what name is chosen.
If you are unable to think of a character you would like to portray, ask any of the characters on the muck for assistance-- they are almost always willing to assist a new player in coming up with a name. Many players also own books about Disney, so if you tell them you are looking for a dog, they can find all of the dogs who ever appeared in a Disney film, and help you choose from that list.
Hopefully, not less than 48 hours. If more information about your character is needed, the process could take longer, but for applications which are in no way questionable, it shouldn't take more than 48 hours, barring emergencies in the casting director's life. :)
Talk to any admin; they'll see what they can do to extend your passport so that you can continue to play and explore while you're waiting for your confirmation from the Casting Director. Each guest is allowed one extension of a week's time. After that, you must request a permanent character.
The Casting Director reserves the right to deny any character request. If, however, you feel that the denial of your character was unfair, you may request that it be placed on the agenda for Admin discussion and voting.
We don't want you to get the wrong impression of the acceptance/denial of characters, though. Most characters are approved without any discussion whatsoever. There are instances, however, when the Casting Director will ask for more information about your character before agreeing to process your application. This is usually because your character is not a Disney character that is recognized by the Casting Director. In this case, all you have to do is send a quick note explaining the source of your character, and it will usually go through with no problem.
Keep in mind however, that unlike most other Mu*s, FDCMuck is based upon a specialized idea-- The Future Disney Cabinet. This means that characters should in some way be related to the Walt Disney Company, whether as a "Walkaround" character or as a particular position within the company, such as Imagineer or President of Disney University. Also keep in mind that although FDCMuck overlaps several other Mu*s, such as TLKMuck, we encompass all things Disney, and don't want to simply recreate other Mu*s within our borders. The Admins realize that many TLKMuck players want to come to FDCMuck and they want to keep the same character from one to the other, but you will have to convince the Casting Director that your character is significantly different from any of the existing players on FDCMuck before it will be approved.
If your character is denied, and the denial is upheld by the Admin Team, it doesn't mean that you aren't welcome on the Muck, it simply means that you will have to chose a different permanent character name. There are many players on FDCMuck who would be more than happy to help you choose a character that would be acceptable and that you would enjoy portraying.
When you select a character to portray on FDCMuck, we hope that you consider your character carefully before sending in your application. Name changes are highly discouraged by the members of the admin team. This is partially due to the confusion such changes would cause, but also because we find it unfair to the other players on the Muck. Admission to FDCMuck is now, and has always been, based upon a first-come-first-served basis. It was originally opened in November of 1994 to existing members of the FDC who were given the opportunity to join the Muck as their existing FDC character. These FDC members were given first priority for a month.
At that time, membership was opened up to the general public, and all unclaimed names became available. Obviously, some of the more popular characters were claimed immediately. In addition, the characters from the most recent Disney Animated Features were among the first to be claimed. This means that a lot of players had to settle for their second favorite character, and as the Muck population grows, it gets harder to find a character that hasn't already been claimed by someone. We realize this, but we also ask that you take this into consideration as you are deciding on a permanent character. If you need more time to find an acceptable permanent character, don't hesitate to ask an admin to extend your guest pass.
We realize, however, that sometimes name changes have valid reasons behind them. Sometimes a character that you really wanted originally becomes available because it has timed-out. Sometimes a Real Life situation causes the need for a character change. All of these factors are taken into account by the admin team when a player requests a name change.
The official rule of FDCMuck is that there are *NO* name changes. Once you select a permanent character, that is the character that you must play. In practice, this is not entirely true. Players may be allowed (if the circumstances warrant) *ONE* name change. The player must be willing to recycle all objects, actions, and buildings that he/she has created on the Muck. Under *NO* circumstances will a player be allowed more than one name change.
All requests for a name change must be made by sending a new application to Casting Director, along with a note explaining why you desire the change. No request will be considered if these requirements are not met. All requests for name changes are reviewed by the admin team as a whole, and are considered on an individual basis with respect to the situation surrounding the request.
Characters that become available because their player requested a name change will remain inactive for a 60 day period of time before they are available for anyone else to portray them. This is to allow the members of the Muck community time to adjust to the change, and so that the new player is not bothered with other players confusing him with the previous holder of the character name.
Due to the limited number of characters available to use, as well as the limited resources available, FDCMuck has adopted a time-out policy that allows for 60 days of inactivity. If a player does not log on within a sixty day period, the character will time-out, which means that it is available for someone else to claim. All things owned by that player will either be recycled or redistributed around the Muck. A player who has let a character time-out may send in another application to the Casting Director, whether for the same character or for another one. The player will *not*, however, have any kind of priority if there is a waiting list of players requesting the Timed-Out character.
The Muck administrators realize that emergencies can arise when internet access is lost due to the loss of a job, or for any other reason. We try our best to accommodate these emergencies. If you know that you will be losing access, send mail to the Casting Director, and your character will be reserved for you, even if you are unable to log in for more than 60 days. This rule is in effect at all times-- including the summer months, so if you will be 'net-less for the summer, you must let the casting director know so that your character will still be waiting for you when you return at the end of the summer. Reservations can be made for an additional 60 days. However, no character will be allowed to remain inactive for more than 120 days.
A character that has timed-out due to 60 days of inactivity becomes available on the 61st day. If more than one person requests the character, it will be awarded to the first player who requests it, based upon the time stamp on the email that the players send to the Casting Director. Any requests made before the character times out will be considered invalid.
Under normal circumstances, a character is available after 60 days of inactivity-- whether by timing out or 60 days after a name change. There are two exceptions to this rule. One concerns former administrators of FDCMuck. Since these players tend to be high-profile players on the muck, the name will be held in reserve for 12 months. At that time, it will be available as any other character is, to the first person to ask for it. The second instance is one in whch the player has made a 'flashy exit'. This will be left to the judgement of the administrative staff to define as cases arise, but it is there for the same reason-- we don't want new players to have to deal with the ghost of a former player. The period in which these characters will remain unavailable will also be 12 months.
First of all, follow the instructions sent with your confirmation. They'll help you log onto the Muck. Once you log on as your f.*** character, you'll need to find an admin in order to have your name set to the correct thing. Once an admin has reset your name, you should change your password by typing @PASSWORD <your old password> = <your new password> It will tell you that your password was changed. The next time you log in, you will need to use this new password. Note that passwords are case sensitive, although character names are not.
After you have logged in, and your name has been set, you should set
some basic information about yourself. This can be done by typing
'pinfo' and following the instructions. This information will be
displayed whenever another player types 'pinfo
You should also set a description for yourself as soon as you have a
chance. This is done by typing '@desc me=<description without
carriage returns>' or 'mdesc me', which will take you to an editor
which allows you to enter more than one line of text.
You will recieve more information about building and operating on the Muck when you receive your confirmations for your guest and/or permanent characters.
Please do not heistate to send mail to the Casting Director if you have any questions whatsoever.
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