Signing Up:
• First of all, familiarise yourself with the rules.
• If you're interested in joining as a character that has appeared on the show, make sure you check first off to ensure that they haven't already been taken.
• If you're interested in taking up a role on a field team, go here to see what positions are on demand.
Once you've done all that, head on over to the application form to apply for membership. Make sure you fill in all of the app fields before sending, and if you're unsure about anything try the app help page (for examples of character bios, you can also check out the personnel section). Then it's just a matter of waiting for a response. Your application will usually be reviewed within 24 hours.
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Assignments:
Field Units - Field teams are made up of Atlantis personnel who travel together (usually) on offworld missions assigned by the admin. They are comprised of military and civilian specialists in various areas of expertise.

Base Staff - Base personnel include civilian specialists, medical personnel and base security. They are not assigned to a specific field team, but may join in field missions at times - if the vast and largely unexplored city itself isn't enough to keep them occupied. ;)

Daedalus Crew - Military and technical personnel assigned to Earth's BC-303 battle cruiser, the Daedalus.

Offworlders - This is a fairly broad category which can be generally summed up as "everybody else". From Athosians residing on Atlantis's mainland, to Wraith, to any other alien species your brain can concoct.

For the time being, all first-time roleplayers will be restricted to applying for Atlantis/Daedalus personnel and Athosian characters. Players seeking to take up original alien characters are advised to discuss their ideas with the mod first.
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Ranks and Promotion:
Ranks are assigned to personnel by the admin. Generally, all new characters that don't specifically require a higher rank will start off as a Second Lieutenant (or any other equivalent). Enlisted military characters will be inducted at a rank between Airman and Staff Sergeant (or any other equivalent).

There are plenty of chances for characters to achieve promotions in the course of the game. This is usually based on the person's activity and participation within the RP and is decided in collaboration with the team COs.
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Posting:
The game is run via the Lost City messageboard, where all roleplaying and out of character posting takes place.

Posts should be written in third person, past tense and narrative format (ie. Just as you'd read in a book). Although we're not sticklers for length, do try to give your post some substance.

We don't expect our players to be perfect -- we're all only human, after all -- but basic knowledge of English spelling and grammar is expected. If in doubt, use a spellcheck (the boards are equipped with this function, so it's not hard).

As far as posting frequency goes, this really will depend on the kind and amount of roleplay each individual player is involved in - however, each player should aim to login at least several times a week. With canons, this is an expectation.
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Godmoding and Powerplaying:
A lot of us come from different roleplaying backgrounds and many of us have different definitions of the terms godmoding and powerplaying. For the purposes of this site, godmoding is defined as consistently and unrealistically avoiding negative consequences of their actions and others' (for instance, never being injured, or being gravely injured and yet still able to function unhampered), essentially giving one's characters god-like status.

Powerplaying is controlling other players' characters without express permission. While this is acceptable where only minor or insignificant actions are concerned, it's otherwise expected that you'll consult with a player before controlling their character/s in your posts.

In this sense, we are trusting that each player will take a certain amount of responsibility for their characters; for instance, ensuring that IC actions are met with IC consequences. However, if a mod does see or is alerted to a breach of these rules (for instance, a character consistently running into the line of fire and coming out scot-free), they may very well balance things out by assigning the consequences themself (oops, said character was just shot in the head! Serves him right for running out in front of a whole lot of people with guns).
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Missions/Storylines:
Traditionally, field missions have not been the focal point of our game, which tends to be centered on Atlantis itself. That said, they are a fun part of the game in which anybody is welcome to participate.

Missions are "officially" assigned by the admin, however it's your game and a lot of the missions spring from your ideas. So whether you're a member of a field team, an offworlder or just a player with a cool idea, don't be shy in bringing anything up -- I'll rarely say no to anything. As a general rule of thumb, field teams have one mission going at a time (however, you're perfectly welcome to ask for more if you so desire!).

Beyond field missions, which do need to be checked over by the admin first, players have pretty much free reign over what and where they post. We're very easy with this kind of thing, and we invite you to strike up your own storylines and hop into others as it suits you.

There's no restriction on how many or how few RP threads your character can be in at any one time.
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Player Absences:
In joining The Lost City, you are expressing a certain level of commitment to the game. When one person falls inactive in a role-playing thread it can significantly impact -- or even halt altogether -- the progression of that storyline. This is especially the case for any players involved in offworld missions.

That being said, we all have lives and none of us make any pretense of the fact that what's going on outside is a lot more important than anything happening in the game. However, please -- whenever possible -- drop us a message to let everybody know when you'll be gone so that arrangements can be made for your character. It makes it so much easier for everybody involved.

If you're going to be away for an extended period of time, make a post or email me requesting a Leave of Absence (LOA).
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The Website:
The Research Lab is our repository of knowledge, so to speak. It contains background information -- on Atlantis itself, technology, worlds encountered both in the show and in the game, and the like -- as well as a range of character-building resources.

Character profiles can be accessed through the Personnel Manifest; while joining information, frequently asked questions and, yes, rules, may be accessed from the Rules page.
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