The Welcome to Jurassic Park Survival Guide

Greetings, newcomers, and welcome to Jurassic Park! It’s our hope that you’ll enjoy your stay here at W2JP. While in the Park, there are some do’s and don’ts that we need you to keep in mind. Except for the occasional rampaging dinosaur, we run a calm and laid-back community and disturbing the peace is something that won’t be tolerated...unless you are said rampaging dinosaur. But the owner rarely permits those around here. We want members to have fun here, make new friends, engage in friendly discussions and partake in adventurous role plays as well as play various games, but no matter what activity you choose to participate in, there are rules that you must abide by at all times. The Rules of the Park need to be read and understood. Every time you post a message, it must not violate one or more standards outlined in the Rules of the Park. If you've broken a rule and received a warning, we don‘t want to hear that you didn't read the rules, or don't remember the rules ever "saying that." That won’t change a thing. It’s your responsibility to read the rules and, if you‘re uncertain about something, to ask. Also, the rules are not set in stone. If a member does something that is not specified in the rules (I know how creative you can be), but it is clearly wrong, then a new rule will be added pertaining to the situation. We will notify you if any changes are made.

You do possess the right to plead your case. We are merciful, and promise to be very fair. Major decisions of the Park are not made by one individual. If you believe that a moderator or admin is being unfair, you may notify another admin or moderator. We will discuss the situation at length and come to a decision. But when a final decision is made, and we will be as kind as we can about it, it IS final. Decisions are made by an admin/moderator majority vote. Bribes of chocolate will always be accepted, but will not sway us in our decision...

Once you’ve read the rules, you need to then read the Respect and Decency policy. Read it, understand it, and abide by it. If you don’t understand something in or about the policy, you need to ask. We would rather take the time to explain something to you as many times as you need to hear it instead of punishing you. After reading the aforementioned rules and policy, you should have a clear idea of what we allow and what we don’t allow. Basically, hate and aggression are not welcomed in this community and if you can’t treat others with respect and accept opposing viewpoints, then this isn’t a place where you will find your participation to be enjoyable. Freedom of expression is encouraged here but that doesn’t extend to personal attacks and insults. We celebrate diversity and individuality, so any form of intolerance will not be tolerated. We run a friendly, open community where people can be themselves without fear of ridicule and insults. This applies to all conversations and forms of communication, both public (threads, posts, profiles) and private (private messages, e-mail).

In regards to emails and private messages, we administrators do have the ability to monitor what is sent to another member through our board. We do not spy, nor do we play "peeping-tom" with your messages, but as owners, administrators, and moderators of this board, we uphold our right to ensure that a member does not give our board a bad name by using our email and private message systems to send hurtful messages. You will also receive warnings for such conduct. We do not reveal the content of your messages or emails to anyone except their intended recipient. Such a violation of your privacy and trust will not be tolerated by the owner.

Follow the rules, and your survival is guaranteed (unless there’s a hiccup in the power supply that feeds the perimeter fences or a bribed, money-hungry techie running around attempting to smuggle secrets out of the Park for a rival company, then, you’re on your own as we‘ll be in our private, heavily armored helicopter lifting off). Failure to follow the rules will result in warnings, and repeat warnings lead into periods of temporary suspension and ultimately a permanent banning. Remember: if you ever feel a rule is unfair or could be better, tell us. We want to be fair. Open a dialogue with us because that’s the best way to go about building a better community for all. Member involvement, on any level, is extremely encouraged. All requests, suggestions and concerns receive a full and extensive review by the staff.

Now that you’ve done what I’ve asked you to, new members need to be advised that it’s mandatory that one post be made within the first two weeks of registration or the account will be deleted. It stands to reason if you register but don’t post once within a two week period, you aren’t going to post... period. The user account will be deleted and made available should a future user wish to register with that name. Once the first post is made, the only other mandatory posting requirement is that you submit another meaningful post within two months of that first post. If the owner does not see any other activity after these two requirements, then we will check up on you, just to see how you're doing.

In regards to this, we all understand that things happen in real life that we cannot control. These requirements are just a precaution against those who would join, make no substantial posts, and merely have their account sit there. But of course we understand that there are extenuating circumstances. In such a case, the owner merely requests that you send a short note to an admin or moderator explaining that you may not be as active but wish your account to remain open. There is no need to go into detail, we just don't want to think you wandered into the Tyrannosaur Paddock or something...

All new members are encouraged to post an introductory thread in this (the Main Gate) forum. Don’t post your introduction in this thread. Create a new one for yourself and reveal as little or as much as you want (except what’s prohibited in the Rules of the Park).

Then, browse through the Park at your leisure. We have two role playing forums (The Lost World RPG is for Jurassic Park and dinosaur RPs and the Miscellaneous RPG forum is for all other RPs). We have a games forum (Sauropod Hills), but you can also find some games in the Jurassic Park Discussion forum (by the way, that's where you can talk about the three movies and two novels). That forum has a sub=forum where you can speculate about Jurassic Park IV and share your ideas on what the movie should be like as well as read news about the movie (when we get it, we'll post it). If you want to chat about stuff besides dinosaurs (we have a paleontology forum) or general science (go herefor that), and there's the general topic Running and Screaming forum. By screaming, we don't mean that you need to TYPE IN ALL CAPS so watch that "Caps Lock" button...) and also the Velociraptor Valley forum (for sensitive and hot button issues, we moderate that part of the Park very heavily, so keep the rules in mind when posting there! There are parts of the Park where you can show off your artwork or brag about your gaming skills skills, too.

If you need to contact a member of the administrative team, there's Kiva - she's got the whip and the power to make you disappear if you do something that you're not supposed to, and then there's me. No whip (I turned it over to her, she's now the owner), but I can still make you disappear, and you can reach me at w2jp_owner@yahoo.com.

Lastly, some quick links to places of interest (check back for new attractions):

Jurassic Park Caption Contest
Where in the World of Jurassic Park Is That?
Jurassic Park Survivor