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Whitelisting applications do’s and don’ts:

I’m no application team member, FM, GM, or anyone with any application authority at all, but I read apps a lot and observe which are accepted and denied just for my own reference, and I’ve seen some correlation between content and acceptance. So here’s my opinion on the do’s and don’ts of some whitelisting application:

Don’t Copy-paste other’s applications (for formatting)

Even if you’re erasing the answers and using their formatting. You never know if someone else’s application is the wrong format too. If it’s accepted it could still be an old format. You can find the newest information on formatting here: http://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/topic/43580-official-lord-of-the-craft-application-format/

Don’t Plagiarize ever ever ever ever!

Under no circumstances EVER plagiarize ANY application EVER. I cannot stress this enough. You will be found out, and banned for plagiarizing of any application. It may seem like you won’t get caught, but it’s like putting on a disguise to get into someplace you’re not a member of. It’ll look like you belong, but very quickly people will recognize you don’t know what your doing. When that happens on the server, they’ll check your app and realize it’s plagiarized. You don’t want that to happen.

Don’t Do the bare minimum asked for.

The question may sound like a “yes” or “no”, or it’ll say “at least 2 paragraphs long”, but really what the point of the questions isn’t just to see if you can follow the directions, but rather to see if you understand what it’s asking and if you have the capability to role-play a long with the rest of the server. No, it’s not easy, and yes, it’s a very strict application system. But don’t let that discourage you. It’s only strict because if anyone could get in the experience would be discouraging for you and would be as fun as everyone makes it out to be now. All it’s asking for is to see if you can put effort into your application and thus your game.

So answer the questions not just what it says to “at least” do, but go beyond and prove to those reading your app that you put effort into it and understand all the concepts!

Don’t Try to be better than other people's characters.

This does not be unique. By all means, make your character different, and give it strengths other people don’t have but also give it weaknesses. The point of role-playing is to create a virtual yet realistic experience of another world. Think “Is it plausible in the real world?” Don’t make your character immune to all sicknesses, have magic, and other things that will almost make your character invincible in game. Think of yourself. You’re better than others at certain things, but you also have weaknesses that others don’t have. Take that into consideration when creating your character.

Don’t message Application Team, FM, or GMs about reading your app.

It only bothers them and actually puts them in a bad mood when they come to your app. Do NOT bump your app (it will take longer to read if you do). I promise you it will get looked at soon. Patience is key to the server, so display that in waiting for your apps acceptance / implementation. When your app is accepted you will NOT be able to immediately log on, it must be implemented (there will be a post saying it was implemented) so again, be patient. If it takes more than 2-3 days to get implemented, that may a point where you should inform a GM about your implementation, but be polite about it. They may have misspelled a name or even not gotten to you. It depends on how slow/fast apps are coming in.

Do Write more than a sentence (or the minimum asked for) in a question

This doesn’t mean go off topic, this means turn a yes or no question into several sentences, give the true answer straight from your heart. This will make people excited to read your application, and will most likely get it accepted, but not if you ramble on for two paragraphs.

Example:

Q: “What is the definition of roleplaying and what does it mean to you?”

Bad A: “Pretending to be someone else in a virtual world”

This is technically correct definition, but not enough to ensure the Application Team that you know what it means, and it also doesn’t explain what it means to you

Good A: “Acting out a character of which you have developed strengths, weakness, and personality traits of and interacting with others in a virtual world, as if it was in real life. To me it means to take on another side of life and look at the world from a different perspective, and see how someone who actually grew up that way might see, and have to make decisions upon that life experience. “

Notice the difference. The answer wasn’t repeated or ramble off topic, it instead gives an enlarged answer with the person true feelings of role-playing and ensures he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to role-playing.

Do Research!

Don’t go around making up a biography off the top of your head with some of the simple information you learned about on the way. Browse the role-play forums, and pinned topics, as well as the lore wiki (http://lordofthecraft.net/wiki) and get some ideas to make your character background as accurate and believable as possible, and you will be sure to be accepted!

Do be original

From looking at hundreds applications and seeing the Application teams responses I notice, unfortunately, a lot of cliche. It’s misleading, I’ll admit, when you think your being original or creating an interesting character, that many have done it before. Even I have. Things I’ve heard often are “my parents were killed by orcs/undead and seek revenge”, or “I grew up as a simple boy of a farming family and my village was burned down by [enter group here] and seek revenge”, or even “I looked up to [person] and vowed to meet them/ grow up to be like them”, all of which is followed by a vow to live the rest of their life to fulfill that goal or gain revenge.

Be. Different. Although to be villainous you’ll need a villain app, you can still think up a different-from-other-people biography. Sometimes even being a plain family boy who grew up without death or destruction surrounding him can be an interesting and unique story. Make a character that can go to a group and tell a story that can both be related to and is different from others. Give your character something it can be an individual with.

Do, most importantly, enjoy the experience.

Making your application should be an interesting fun experience, not annoying and hard. If it is, you’re making too much out of it. It’s just making sure you understand all of the concepts for the OOC part, and then the RP part exercises your imagination and fantasies. If it’s annoying or aggravating, take a break and look at it again in a couple minutes or hours, don’t rush it. LotC isn’t going anywhere.

Put effort, enjoy the experience, be patient, and good luck! Hope this helps you join this great server!

-Alkenaar (Karnath)