Hey guys! It’s been a fairly quiet January around the roleplay. The flooding arc’s been slow in getting moving, but with some plot developments and events that are planned to begin this afternoon we can hopefully pull in some more organized conflict that will help launch us into our next large-scale arc. Out of character, we’ve celebrated the seventh anniversary of this website’s creation and welcomed in a handful of new members.

Thank you to Angel and Fangchica for suggesting that I discuss important individual scenes in the clans’ history this Monthly Meow, it’s a great topic and I hope to do it next month when I’ll have more time to devote to doing the scenes justice. For this Monthly Meow I’ll be discussing certain rules and procedures around the site that I get a lot of questions about why they exist or why they’re done the way that they are.

All Character Updates Page posts must be in the exact format provided: While I certainly know what posts saying “Examplepelt of MoonClan is expecting” means, when transferring posts from the Character Updates Page I have to retype this to “Examplepelt of MoonClan is pregnant”. This allows me to know exactly what to search if I’m looking for a specific update in my records, as I can type the expected words into the search bar and end up with exactly the record file that I’m looking for. Easily being able to find specific updates allows me to correct page errors and ensure characters are promoted at the proper times without sloughing through weeks of records to find a specific post. As updates can take hours to begin with, it’s much easier for all posts to be ready to simply copy and paste into the records than to retype all of them.

All members must have an up to date character list on their profile: Checking character lists it the best way to sniff out errors on the page and make sure that everyone’s under their character limits. When you receive a message saying a discrepancy was found between your profile list and the clan pages, it isn’t a “got you!”, it’s making certain that an error wasn’t made on the pages, and if one was, ensuring that a correction is posted so the error will be fixed in the next update.

Character limits: While most members have a rough number of characters they naturally hover around, a character limit ensures that the website doesn’t become over-run with characters that aren’t roleplayed. This makes clan populations more meaningful, as the number of cats in each will more closely reflect how active they are in relationship to each other and help us plan events so that all four clans are fairly included and fun to roleplay in.

All cats outside of the clans must be “throw away characters”: The clans provide an organized structure that prevents the plot from derailing, establishes common patterns of conflict between groups, and allows certain tasks to be delegated to the members with high-ranking characters. For example, the possibility of a clan cat being banished will prevent them from disrupting gatherings in a way that would disrupt certain planned events. Barriers like this don’t exist for loners, who don’t have obligations to any groups and therefore would be difficult to organize into coherent plotlines.

Hopefully this Monthly Meow has shown that there’s some method to my madness, if you have questions about why any rules or procedures exist I’d love to answer them in the comments below!

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Murmuringkit: Early February

Morningkit, Jaykit, Ashkit, Snowykit, Chillingkit, Cinnamonkit, ,Tawnykit, Ghostkit, Mudkit: Mid February

Nautilus-kit, Pride, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, Nocturnalkit: Late February

Warriors:

Yusshou, Demonpaw, Thrushpaw, Armouredpaw, Rafflesiapaw, Dragonpaw, Sacredpaw, Pantherpaw, Paladinpaw: Early February

Aisa: Mid February

Floodingpaw, Autumn, Wishingpaw, Tarnishedpaw, Shatteredpaw, Enchantedpaw: Late February

Elders: Cy, Grain-nose

Deaths: Nightheart

NightClan

Apprentices:

Stormkit, Snowflakekit, Coldkit, Crowkit, Battlekit, Ravenkit, Applekit, Oceankit, Lilykit, Tatteredkit, Nightmarekit, Toothkit, Melodykit, Spark-kit, Winterkit: Early February

Dark-kit, Fogkit, Severedkit, Smokekit, Dragonkit, Lightningkit, Morningkit, Nightkit, Eveningkit, Quietkit, Courageouskit, Spottedkit: Mid February

Frozenkit, Nightkit, Silentkit, Skykit, Dusk-kit, Harrowingkit, Leopardkit, Lightningkit, Splatteredkit, Burningkit, Phantomkit, Smudgedkit, Ghostkit, Halfkit: Late February

Warriors:

Risingpaw, Ragnarok: Early February

Blankpaw, Forestpaw, Littlepaw, Foxpaw: Late February

Elders: Stolensong, Woofy, Philosphymirror, Whotella, Grayfeather

Deaths: Willow-whisper

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Taintedkit, Sacredkit, Wavekit, Rootkit, Bearkit, Blizzardkit, Rippedkit, Stainedkit, Purekit, Murkykit, Lambkit, Harrierkit, Stormkit, Tigerkit, Cloudkit, Citruskit, Rowankit, Vixenkit, Damselflykit, Endlesskit, Blazingkit, Topazkit, Otterkit, Meadowkit, Foxkit, Halfkit, Twigkit, Heronkit, Aspenkit, Infernokit, Nightingalekit, Sugarkit, Screamingkit, Mudkit, Murkykit: Early February

Petalkit: Late February

Warriors:

Sorrowpaw: Early February

Shadepaw, Wolfpaw, Howlingpaw: Mid February

Elders: Greywolf, Wolfbreeze, Fawnleap, Darkwing, Asher, Blitzclaw, Scarletheart

SunClan

Apprentices:

Cryingkit, Coyotekit, Hushedkit, awnkit, Stonekit, Cosmickit, Horizonkit, Aurakit, Mercurykit, Thunderkit, Moonkit: Early February

Gingerkit, Borealiskit, Pheonixkit, Kronoskit, Cthulhukit, Seraphkit, Griffinkit, Fabledkit, Pegasuskit, Featherkit, Wyvernkit, Sphynxkit, Hydrakit, Sleepingkit, Chiliadkit, Dawnkit: Mid February

Dragonkit, Lastkit: Late February

Warriors and Medicine Cat:

Fadedpaw, Curlingpaw, Silverpaw, Ashpaw, Owlpaw, Galaxypaw, Wheatpaw, Bluepaw: Early February

Frozenpaw: Mid February

Cavepaw, Cascadingpaw, Rabbitpaw, Ephemeralpaw, Lightningpaw, Eternalpaw: Late February

Deaths: Jupiterstorms, Saturnrings, Eclipsedheart, Silobriar

Elders: Shortstep, Bombay