airing: a faux-celeb gpsl
 Welcome to Airing, a faux-celeb GPSL! While we don't claim to be reinventing anything here, we want to state up front that we hope to simplify things by going back to basics, with a strong emphasis on activity and creativity.

I'm sure we all know the basic golden rules of RP at this point, but just in case, a quick refresher: be polite to other people, keep IC and OOC separate, don't plagiarize, and keep your journal up to date. Sounds simple, right?

First off, regarding that GPSL label: we're sure it's more than obvious that Airing was created as a result of a number of active characters needing a home, and in no way do we want to hide that from you. Despite starting with a group of established characters, we all really enjoy the interactive aspect of communities, and very much want to keep that tradition alive - but on a smaller, more personal scale. Airing exists because we want to interact in a diverse group, old and new members alike; we want everyone who's interested in actively writing a character that they care about to be able to do so in a friendly environment.

So, if everyone can apply, what's with the GPSL label? Well, the biggest change is that we won't be offering holds at Airing, and there will be no public storyline subcommunity. We hope to streamline the application process by giving you only one thing to focus on: your character. At Airing, we think that larger communities have created an environment that places too much emphasis on "Who would the members like to see?" or "How many storylines can I accumulate before I start my application?" to the detriment of everyone. Storylines are important, of course (after being accepted, we encourage you to post for some in our members-only OOC community if you'd like to do so!) but there's something more important than that: what kind of character do you want to write? With our small GPSL, comprised of invested writers who want a place to be creative, be active, and interact with others, the answer to "Who would the members like to see?" is just that: invested writers who want a place to be creative, be active, and interact with others.




getting started
 To get started, you'll need the usual basics for your character: an in-character username, an in-character friends only post, and an out-of-character contact post. Additionally, you'll need a directory with some basic character history, but the way you choose to go about it is entirely up to you; as long as the mods & members of Airing can get a handle on your character as a result of reading it, we'll accept it. Want to write out a comprehensive biography? Go for it! Prefer a list of in-depth facts? That works too! Find biographies and facts too clinical, and want to drive right in to writing a magazine article for backstory instead? We'd love that! All we ask is that basic info (name, age/dob, profession, any credits or claims, etc) is also visible in a linkable directory.

Upon applying, we'd also like to get a feel for your writing in some way. If you're applying with a fresh character, we'd like to see 3 examples of past writing, in any form you choose to offer; if you're applying with a character you've already written for some time, your past updates will do just fine!




activity & requirements
 Now for the big one: activity. What we need from you the most is to be active. Remember our mission statement, activity and creativity? There's a reason activity comes first: we're all dead without it. Now, everybody knows real life comes first and none of us are getting paid for this, so things like hiatuses and extensions are always here when needed, but in average everyday circumstances, we want to see your smiling faces (or serious faces, if that's more your thing) around in public. While we hope to operate on an honor system without any formal criteria in place, we will reach out if it's been a while since we've seen you making conversation. But hopefully we won't have to! While we don't want to have to warn or remove anyone, if you aren't contributing publicly, we will.

Here at Airing, we want to bring the feeling of community back to the forefront of all interaction, so we can't stress enough the importance of friendliness, activity, and being inclusive to everyone. While large communities can sometimes promote an environment where it's easy to have isolated activity in a community made up of small groups, we're hoping to accomplish the exact opposite; a small, family-like environment where everyone interacts with everyone. As a result of this, we've decided each writer should please stick to writing one character only. We know this kind of activity isn't for everyone, so if you can't commit to an active, all-inclusive approach, this might not be the place for you!

As for the more concrete stuff: one update consisting of original text is due every 4 weeks. As long as there's some words that you've personally written involved in a post, it counts as an update. We highly encourage collaborative updates between members, be it as big as a member-proposed group-wide update opportunity or as small as 2 members coming up with something juicy for us to read. Of course, you're more than welcome to update as frequently as you like!

Last but not least, we want this to be a place where you want to be active. We understand not every character is a social butterfly, but making this the place we want it to be is a group effort, and part of being in a group is participating. If you feel like posting an activity, go for it! If you have an idea for an activity but would prefer we post it, let us know! We welcome any and all ideas and would be happy to jumpstart things.




credits & creativity
 Credits and claims at Airing will operate under what we consider to be a very important part of faux-celeb: nobody knows your character better than you do. There are, of course, a few basic rules: all careers should stick to the five-year rule between character & claim, actors should develop a diverse filmography with different points of success & failure, and you should be mindful of your character's schedule and plan their career efforts accordingly.

Other than that, where you go is really up to you: we highly encourage and appreciate creativity, so as long as you can show you've put some thought into your decision-making, we're probably going to be excited about your idea. This is faux-celeb, not actual celeb, and we want creative and thoughtful writers to feel like they have an outlet to explore characters, credits, and career paths that interest them - without having to get approval for every detail in the process.

On that note, our final plea for creativity: feel free to throw your character into whatever celebrity-related antics you see fit. For instance, there may not be a suitable IRL "claim" for your character to have been a guest judge on Project Runway, or a presenter at the Oscars, or a guest on Conan - but go ahead and say your character did it anyway; that's the beauty of faux-celeb! If there's one thing we can all agree on it's that Hollywood is weird, and all kinds of ridiculous PR antics are within the realm of possibility.

If we ever have an issue with anything related to credits, claims, or creativity, we'll definitely contact you and ask what's up. But if you hear from us, don't worry! Nobody knows your character like you do, so as long as you can explain your idea or the reasoning behind it, you'll more than likely get our a-okay.




questions
 If there's anything that you're curious about that hasn't been outlined here in enough detail, please don't hesitate to contact us. Be it from a member or a prospective member, we're ready to answer all inquiries on all topics. Anything you want to run by us is always welcomed, be it questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, or a need for clarification. Our mod comment box is open for business, and so are our private messages - just make sure to leave a comment letting us know if you've sent a PM!