The following represents an official Offtopian Handbook, Codex, and set of Rules applying to all members. It is published by Sylver19 (The Bleeding Raven, Master of the Twilight Throne, Grand Inquisitor of the New Empire, Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel, Veteran Raider, Earl of the King’s Obsidian Merchant’s Guild, Chronicler of the Outer Animal Fighting League, along with other affiliations.) This document is open to public quotation, but may not be altered in any form. [b]1. Destiny [/b] Destiny is most commonly referred to as "Density." Any and all topics relevant to Destiny are taboo and may lead to immediate transfer to thought reassignment camps. [b]2. Political Posts [/b] You will see political posts around, mainly be ECCHO SIERRA (supporting the right wing), and REDACTED (supporting the left.) Never take these posts too seriously. They do this for fun/as a hobby and all political posts should be taken with a grain of salt, lest you lose your sanity. [b]3. Governing Bodies [/b] Due to Offtopic's tendencies to go to war with itself and devolve into chaos, a number of factions have formed to keep people tame through allegiance. The most prominent being the Offtopic Presidency, ran by RingLeader77, and the New Empire, run by Liam_Gue. There are also a number of other factions, such as the Brotherhood of Steel, etc. [b]4. Moderation[/b] While the Ninjas (elite moderators overseen by big boi Ninja “Spawn” and community managers “dmg04” and “Cozmo”) tend to more or less leave Offtopic alone, as well as the Offtopic Ninjas being rather chill, you still must be careful. Remember that: •Threads about locked threads will be locked. •Threads about banned users will be locked. •Threads “naming and shaming” other users will be locked. •Threads prompting Ninjas to say “lmao watch me lock this thread” will be locked. [b]5. Special Topics[/b] Offtopic has multiple recurring topics, some of which are taboo. These include holidays as well as ongoing post topics. •Pie vs Cake - A dangerous topic, to say the least. While it may seem lighthearted, this simple question is what lead to the Great Pie War, along with a purge (a merciless ban-wave). •Porch Day - Porch Day originally sparked from an Offtopian-made copypasta back in ye olden days. Like the Great Pie War, it caused an endless flood of porch posts, resulting in a purge. Unlike the Pie War, Porch Day is looked back on fondly and celebrated annually. Generally, most users add “Porch” to their name in some way leading up to the holiday. •User Appreciation Day (July 14th) - The most wholesome of Offtopian Holidays is User Appreciation Day. It was started by Cell-3 and celebrates the users of Offtopic, which subsequently means celebrating your experience in Offtopic. As the saying goes, “Part of the ship, part of the crew.” •Spooktober - This is the Spooky Month, in which many people change their names in some way to spookify them. [b]6. Rules[/b] There a few absolutes that must be followed in Offtopic regarding certain topics. •A. Density posts shall be responded to with anything along the lines of “Density reeee,” “Begone, THOT,” “You picked the wrong subforum, fool!” etc. If you believe the post deserving and effort has gone into it, redirect the poster to the correct subforum. If the poster refuses and your attempts make no difference, proceed to ignore the post until it is lost. •B: Within RP posts and groups, RP fairly. Do not attempt to take advantage of a GM’s world nor go against a GM’s wishes. All interactions between manmade characters must be decided upon fairly by both sides. •C. All three-option polls shall be voted upon in the manner in which the center option has over 50% votes, while the top and bottom options have equal amounts, to create a proper “PP Poll.” •D. One shall not steal another’s gimmick in an attempt to gain attention or popularity. Everyone’s gimmick is supposed to be unique to and represent them, and it is a heinous crime to copy or infringe upon another’s gimmick. •E. Be patient with your own popularity. You will come into Offtopic as a Literal Whomst’ve, and will slowly rise your way into recognition. Do not feel jealous nor try to create scandal to force your way to the spotlight; simply be active. Depending on how active you are and how much you interact with people you may rise from a Literal Who in a couple of weeks, or several months. [b]7. RP Posts[/b] Many Offtopians enjoy creating or participating in RP posts, but these are often done differently from the traditional. RP posts are generally conducted in a manner of which the creator acts as a GM over all actions, deciding whether or not you succeed, or how to the world around you interacts. Some RP’s (almost entirely done in groups or groupchats) function similarly to a DND campaign, in which the characters can have stats, and the GM often rolls to decide actions. [b]8. Stories[/b] One of the most central roles of Offtopic is the stories people write. For many people, Offtopic represents a much-needed hub of sharing their writing. Writers will often create signups, in which people can create characters to put in the story. If you see a story you believe is good or well-written but is not getting enough recognition, you are strongly encouraged to bump (commenting to push a thread up in Trending as well as pushing it to the top of New) and like the thread. [b]9. History [/b] Offtopic has a very long history, starting many years ago with the original Flood. Below is the 4th Edition History of the Flood, updated until August of 2014. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/67503871?sort=1&page=0 ------------------------ This document is open to editing and has free use for public quotation. Recommendations and suggestions may be commented on this thread or DM’d to Sylver19 for consideration. This document has been officially approved and recognized by: • RingLeader77, President of the Offtopian Presidency • Liam_Gue, Emperor of the New Offtopian Empire • Lee, Sheriff of Offtopic • Lord Graviton, Head of the Void Council • Virus, Harbinger of Disorder • Agent Wyoming, Judge Supreme of the Offtopic Courts and High Arena Master of the Offtopic Galactic Combat Ring • Ephixa, Grandmaster of the Offtopian Bounty Hunter's Guild • Saber-2, Ambassador of the Warframe Community • RheubenThePig, Lord of Bait •man_of_war_r2, Veteran Bounty Hunter of Offtopic • Orcinus Orca, Literally the King of the Ocean • Mandalorian 16_1, Invented Star Wars • Sumathian "Pig" "Sumpig-2" Piglestone the Second of House Snout, Keeper of the Ring of Corruption • Shiv-Ren-Nurudo, Representative of the Chiss Ascendency and Definitely Not Scholar Mind • Qeox “Storm,” Dredgen of Storms • CowboyCobaltMan, General of the Halberd Corps 1st MI • “Sans” Undertale, Ambassador of Reddit