Star Trek: Distant Horizons

Writing Guidelines / General Rules of Conduct

Although Star Trek: Distant Horizons encourages writers to write for other characters besides their own there are some very important rules and guidelines that each and every writer must abide by when contributing to the ongoing story.

1) All writers are required to be respectful to one another as well as to other Sims / RPGs / Forums, this both in play and RL (Real Life).  Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but verbal disparaging, assault and even simple insults will NOT BE PERMITTED.

2) "All powerful" being (such as Q) are not permitted to be included in anyone's writing.  Only a unit's Lead Writer may do so and only under very specific circumstances in order to help solve otherwise impossible plot conflicts.

3) A character and all NPCs associated with that character remain the intellectual property of their creator.

4) No character or NPC can be permanently injured, affected or modified by any means through anyone else's writing without the explicit consent of that character's or NPC's intellectual owner.

5) No character or NPC can be made to be the hero of a situation through the writing of their intellectual owner. (ie: no grandstanding)

6) When writing for someone else' character, a writer automatically agrees to the following:
6.1) To respect the character's established background and history
6.2) To respect the character's established mannerisms and attitude
6.3) To respect the character's body and personal belongings
6.4) To respect the character's position within the chain of command
Failure to follow any of the above list will result in corrective measures to be taken which may include, but not be limited to, a partial / complete rewrite of the post, or a full removal of said post.

7) At any time, a writer can request that their character and/or NPCs not be included or written for by any other writers.

8) No writer can introduce additions or modifications to any established facts associated to the universe of Star Trek: Distant Horizons without the explicit permission of the unit's lead writer who will consider the impact of the proposed addition / change to the rest of the established universe.

The above is not meant as a tool of restriction but as a clearly established set of parameters to protect the intellectual property of each and every writer.