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War 101

From: Toni C. Holm

WAR 101

Dianne Therese deSha created this mini-FAQ for War V. Although some
things have been added since (like the fractions and permission slips),
what she describes is still very accurate and very useful knowledge.
It has been slightly edited and updated, and some additional
information has been added at the end.

"WAR 101" or "So you wanna be in a FK War?"

THINGS TO KNOW:

* Post it right! *

Any war posts go on the _fiction_ list, and should begin with
"WAR:" or "War:" (three letters and a colon - no quotes) so that those
who are set no-WAR will be spared all our nonsense. The colon is the
most important part; it lets the server know this is a topic. Be aware
that some mailers change the colon to a dash on the way out. Make sure
that yours does not! If it does, someone else will have to post for
you.

Remember, the address for the fiction list has recently changed. Posts
should go to Fkfic-l@lists.psu.edu.

Back To Top
How To Post | Mailer Setting | WAR Related Posting | Collaberation | Be Flexible
Not Gory | Permission | Killing Etc | Dibs | Newbies
Participation | How To Play | Rules

IMPORTANT: If you are participating in the WAR, make sure your mailer
is set for War. If you're currently not set to war and you want to be,
send a note to listserv@lists.psu.edu, with no subject, with this
message in the body:

"SET FKFIC-L TOPICS +WAR" (without the quotes)

If you are not currently on the fiction list, you can subscribe by
sending a message to listserv@lists.psu.edu, omitting any subject, and
putting in the body of the message
"Subscribe fkfic-l [your first name] [your lastname]" (without the
quotes). Substitute your first and last names and don't
use the brackets.

If you send the "set fkfic-l topics +WAR" message without being subscribed,
you'll get back a message that you aren't subscribed.

No War-related *discussion* should go to the main FORKNI-L list; handle
it in private e-mail or private loops. Non-participants in War get
very upset when forkni gets spammed with War-related posts.

* Have a big mailbox! *

(Or at least check it often.) A war generates a *huge* number
of postings per day, particularly at the beginning and the end.
If you're gonna participate, you really need to keep up on the
reading--so realize ahead of time what that's gonna involve!
(One possibility is to go digest on other lists--this can
help keep life more manageable! :-)

* (Private) e-mail is your _friend_! *

I mean it. *Really!* Wars are formed, played, re-arranged, and
won behind the scenes. Contact the War Leader of your faction
so that you can get in on the E-mail loop and know what's up. Loop
with your friends on specific storylines.

* Collaborate with others. *

Another quote from a vet: "The best part of the War is writing
stuff WITH people you've never met and barely know. I know
that's half the fun *I* had last time." I agree completely!
My best net friendships are with people I met through war
plotting the last time around.

In addition, the best war plots...uh...I mean "stories" (g) are
always those that are coordinated behind the scenes--both before
and during their posting. Try to collaborate with other people.
Start your own E-mail loop! Just keep connected!

* Be flexible. *

Things change during a war...sometimes at alarming speed. Be
sure that any post you're planning much in advance can be
adapted to the situation at hand. The War Mistress will let us
know what's up when the war is declared, and you'll need to fit
yourself into the stories as they unfold.

* FK Wars are _not_ particularly gory. *

To my knowledge, _no one_ has ever been "killed" (or even
seriously injured) in an FK War. (O.K. Karen and
Jennise...but they didn't _stay_ dead...and that was before
they realized they'd have to spend 4+ more wars in the shadows
ducking garlic ;-)))

As a rule, property suffers, _dignity_ frequently bites the
big one! , but bodily injury is slight. (Oh, and keep
your paws off the Caddie...destroying "that d*mned car" in a
spectacular fashion is Susan Garrett's turf .

* Get permission! *

Ask permission (privately!) before using someone in your post.
_Especially_ do not drag in someone who has not already entered
the war without their express permission. Realize, however, that
by agreeing to enter the war, you've opened yourself up to
everyone involved (and they to you).

* No killing! (Or bringing over! ;-) *

That's the extreme case, of course. The rule is that you can't
do anything _permanent_ to someone else without their
permission. Whatever you do has to be temporary and/or
reversible.

In the same vein (oops! ;-) respect other people's caveats
(i.e. "You can use my apartment, but don't do anything permanent"
or "I'm too busy to write myself in, but you can use me as long
as you warn me first and don't do anything permanent"). Remember,
..someday *you* may need to post your own caveat! :-)

* Respect "dibs." *

That means *two* things. If someone publicly calls "dibs" on
the continuation of a story, respect that. It *also* means
(a) don't call dibs unless you really _need_ it and cough up
the next installment so that others can jump in again *as soon
as humanly possible*! Don't tie up a story for everyone, or
you're likely to lose your dibs...and rightly so. 12 hours was the
limit in the last War, btw. ('Dib' calls should be posted to
FKFIC-L.)

IMPORTANT WAYS TO NOT LOOK LIKE A CLUELESS NEWBIE!!!

* Participate in the war as yourself--only better*

Don't bring in characters from other universes. Don't give yourself
super (or even vampiric) powers. Don't make yourself a sudden
multimillionaire or best buddies with the head of the CIA. Think
of yourself as basically limited in terms of "things you could
do if you could really be as brave/quick-thinking/clever/sneaky/
resourceful in real life as you always are wishing you could be."

Think of it as though all of us are playing a fun, casual
sandlot ball game with each other. If you show up in your
brand shiny new authentic major-league uniform with your
big-$, regulation glove and your fancy ball autographed by Babe
Ruth... what's going to happen? Everyone else is going to take
one look at you and go..."uh...yeah...right." You're gonna
feel awkward [or you should! (g)], we're gonna feel awkward,
it's completely unnecessary, and it basically just messes with
the spirit of a friendly little game.

(Yes, exceptions have happened in past wars, but they are few
and far between and are best done with skill by experienced
warriors. Maybe in your next War.... (vbg))

So don't show up with a million in your pocket...or a laser gun
..or a letter of safe passage from the Pope...or something of
the kind. If you need money, find a way to get it--beg it from
your favorite vampire (and make us believe you'd get it _and_
end up alive afterwards!) or find a way to barter something
else--make a deal, make several, team up....

and this brings us to one of the deepest, darkest secrets of an
FK war :

Back To Top
How To Post | Mailer Setting | WAR Related Posting | Collaberation | Be Flexible
Not Gory | Permission | Killing Etc | Dibs | Newbies
Participation | How To Play | Rules

* The point is really _not_ who wins. *

This time think of it as a giant treasure hunt. Yes, of
course, everyone wants to be first back with everything and to
claim the glory and the prize. But if you're just in it to
race through and beat everyone else, you're really missing the
whole point. The race is just to give everyone a goal and a
purpose. The *real* fun is in hunting down all the weird and
crazy junk you need--in being creative, and resourceful, and
maybe doing a little clever sabotage of your best friends' team
...*not* in blindly racing through just to be first.

Finally, realize that in some senses you're coming in on part 7
of a *very* long extended story. There are plenty of people who
have been participating since War 1 or 2 here. The best way to
know what's going on is, of course, to read up on all the old
wars. If you can't, at least read *one* of them. And whatever
you do, try not to step on the toes of those who really do know
better. (g)

Dianne (with thanks to Diane Echelbarger and Cousin Deborah Menikoff
for assistance and suggestions :-)

ADDENDUM:

Rules of War relating to War VIII will be posted by the Warmistress.
In addition, the Warmistress alone decides the theme and setting for
the War. The first any of us know about it is when the first posts,
written by the Warmistress drop.

We can't emphasize enough how much mail will be generated, especially
in the first and last few days of the War. However much mail you're
expecting, it's always more. :-)

There is a maximum length of 200 lines/post. If your post is longer
than that, split it (1/2 and 2/2).

Most Wars occur in "real time" and we try to keep track of the timing
so as to put the story together at the end. So your posts should
include either a date or time, or a reference to the preceeding post.

Wars run two-three weeks. It currently looks like this one is going to
start in mid-June.

Be creative; be flexible. Whatever gets posted first is the story. If
it contradicts your plans, it's still the story. Figure out a way to
work around it or to work it in. Sometimes, when there's an ongoing
storyline that several different people or different factions have been
collaborating on, it is permissible to call "dibs" on the next part -
but ONLY for a very short period of time. This happens very rarely.

Read prior posts before posting. Otherwise, what you post may end up
not making much sense.

Keep in mind the fact that although use of the main characters may be
limited (because 300 people all want to use them at once, plus they
have to be in certain places at certain times to advance the underlying
storyline), you can be even more flexible if you create "dream
sequences" that don't interfere with the timing or storylines of the
War.

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