Posting is the "life blood" of a roleplaying game. Without being able to post, a roleplaying game could not exist. Therefore, it is important that all the members of a roleplaying game know how to post a basic storyline and reply. This tutorial has been designed to help you send in your first post and continue to send out quality posts. So, let's begin.

The first step in posting is to create a new email. Using your email program, create a new mail message. It's basically a three step process, and all you need is a mail program.

STEP #1: Address the email to gwtwrpg@yahoogroups.com. This is the list's address, so any information that you wish to send to the list will need to be sent to that address. Once you have filled in the address, you need to create a subject for you email. The best way to create a subject line for your first post is to announce that you are a new member and create a new thread.

STEP #2: Create an introductory message. There are many ways this can be acheived. You can create a situation in which you are alone and someone walks up to you, or you can be at a party and be introduced to someone new. But no matter what you choose, it's best to leave the person (or people) you meet to the other RPGers. Below is a posting example of a new character. Notice how they close the post with an ending that ANYONE can reply to. This is a very important part of a new character posting. If you need help with this, please contact us so that we can help you.

Scarlett sat on the front steps of Tara feeling the cool breeze lift strands of hair away from her temples. "What a beautiful day!" she said in awe. Another cool Georgia day had swept through Clayton County. Just then, a dark, tall figured approached Tara on horseback apparently in a hurry by the speed at which they approached the house. Scarlett stood, her hand at her brow to see who it was and what they could be in such a hurry to get to Tara for. ~Scarlett

STEP #3: Send your email!

If you are replying to a storyline, the process is the same except you don't need to type in a subject line and your email program should automatically reply to the list (be sure to check). When replying to a message please delete the [gwtwrpg] that's in the original message. Your subject line should read: Re: Rhett/Scarlett @ Tara. This makes it easier for everyone to read the subject lines and know which posts apply to them. Please only hit Reply rather than Reply To All. Reply To All will result in duplicate messages being sent to the list. Also, if you are subscribed to the digest version, PLEASE delete everything but the message you are replying to.

A few comments to help you get responses to your posts. Please try and check your mail often. As unfair as it may seem, those that only send posts out once every two weeks don't tend to get much of a response because by the time they get around to responding the other person's character has already moved on to other things in RPG land.

Also, the more descriptive you are in your posts, the more a fellow rp'er has to respond to. A one sentence post with little narrative doesn't give us much to work from. You don't have to write three paragraphs by any means, but describe what your character is wearing, are you in a good mood, give us something to feed off of. You will find that you will get many more indepth storylines going if you provide us some "meat".

Also, please try to refrain from putting actions or words onto another character, unless you've asked permission to do so of course. For instance, Rhett would never say something cruel to Scarlett and state in his post that Scarlett began to cry. That's up to Scarlett's person to decide whether Scarlett is or is not going to cry. Now, if you have a goal in mind as to where you want to take something, drop the person an email and ask for their permission. Once they understand your intentions, they'll probably agree to your request.

Along the subject of putting actions or words onto another character. Another big "no-no" in the world of roleplaying is reading another character's thoughts. Unless the writer specifically gives you an indication that what their character is thinking, ie., his eyes revealed his conflict or he laughed heartily clearly amused by her antics, you cannot know what they're thinking. Their character might think in their post that your character is as ugly as a donkey's back end, but unless they say it aloud there's no way for your character to know they're thinking that. Basically, a good rule to follow is that if it's not said verbally to your character he or she doesn't know about it.

This is also true regarding other storylines going on in the roleplaying game. Just because the mailing list knows that Ashley kissed Scarlett doesn't mean that Melanie or anyone else knows. Ashley and Scarlett, and perhaps a bystander who might have been observing discreetly, are the only people who would know.

Rhett spotted Carreen across the street apparently leaving the Kennedy store. He brushed off his suit jacket, tipping his hat politely as he approached her. Dressed in a finely tailored gray suit, white shirt and black cravat, his simple gold cufflinks glimmered in the sunlight he made a dashing sight as he spoke with a polite smile. "Good afternoon, Miss O'Hara. I hope you're having a good afternoon. Might I help you carry your purchases to your carriage?" He stood with a hand extended in an offer of assistance.

While the post isn't very long, it gives Carreen something to respond to. He's offered to carry her packages for her. She could accept or she could respond to his comment about her having a good day and take her leave from there if she so desired. If you need any help with making your posts "paint a picture" let me know.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, please use your email program's spell checker. I know it may sound petty and trivial, but there are many people who aren't going to read through a post full of typos, run together words, run on sentences and typing in all caps or mixed upper and lower case letters. No, this isn't English class, but still we are attempting to creative write, so let's make our product readable so that people will want to respond.

Happy posting!