1)IC posts shall be made in third person. When posting, I prefer you begin your post with your character's name and class in bold at the top of the post:
,Gorg the Magnificent, Fighter
Gorg flexes his mighty thews and swings his blade. "This is just the beginning!" he roars.
for instance. I am not going to enforce this, it is just a preference. When posting IC please phrase applicable actions as intentions. For instance, you can go ahead and post "Gorg climbs the stairs". However, post "Gorg swings at the orc" as opposed to "Gorg strikes the orc with his sword". You will not know if you hit until I post it.
2)I would like for dialogue to be indicated with quotation marks as opposed to text colors. I would also like spoilers to be placed inside a spoiler block. Please make an effort to use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I would also like to limit the use of smilies or emoticons IC. I know that English is often a second language, and I personally post from my phone frequently, so I will be understanding in most cases.
3)I make all rolls. I will make all rolls transparent, as well. In my other game I have been made aware that including links in the IC posts make them susceptible to being blocked by certain office software, so I will be adding a "Rolls" thread wherein a link to all rolls will be kept, when possible. I do not fudge rolls.
4)I would like to shoot for a post a day from everyone. I know this is not always realistic. I do also try and keep to a strict 24-hour turn-around for combat. If I do not hear from someone in a while, I will not GMPC their character. They will become "Lost in the Dark", essentially not present if/until the player returns. This means they will not die in combat, they will not gain XP for any monsters slain during an absence, etc. If you know you will be absent for an extended period, please let me know in advance.
5)In order to keep things moving I will post IC once 51% of the party has voted in favor of a plan. For example, if the party is trying to determine whether to go left or right I will post once 4 people have posted in favor of one direction. I know this tends to favor more frequent posters, but I feel it is more important to keep the action flowing in pbp than wait for slow posters. Sorry. In that vein, please post what you would like your character to do when you post, if applicable. Please, please, please do not post "Jessup doesn't care which way we go. He will follow whatever the group decides." The social contract implies that yes, you will do what the group decided. So please, have an opinion. Be forceful.
6)We will establish some SOP to speed things up. For instance, I typically assume that when a party comes to a closed door the thief moves forward, listens, checks for traps, etc. You do not have to specify these actions as long as we establish them at the beginning of play.
7)As I will be making all rolls I must insist that all players keep their character sheets up to date, both in terms of equipment, hit points, spells and abilities. If it is not on your character sheet your character does not have it.
8)I will be providing a map of the campaign setting that is gradually revealed through exploration. All other mapping done during exploration is the purview of the players! I do offer a 5% bonus to XP for characters who map during adventures.
I hope this does not come across as anal or controlling. I try to run successful, quality games, and have found through both playing and GMing that these steps help to ensure everyone has fun. Please ask if there are any questions.