The Electric Palace: The Official Guide

Last updated on Monday, August 10, 2009. If you find an inaccuracy in the following guide, please PM one of the admins so they can correct the mistake.



Contents:

-Introduction
-About TEP
-Tour the Forums
-Elections and Running for Office
-Groups
-Money
-The Shop
-Contests
-Story Arcs
-The Rules
-Help
-Links


Introduction:

Welcome to the Electric Palace (TEP)! Thank you for joining our board, we hope you enjoy your time here!


About TEP

Why is the board called "The Electric Palace"?

The name Electric Palace comes from the radio drama "Adventures in Odyssey". It's the name of a store owned by the crazy character Bart Rathbone.


Tour the Forums:

What is Hal's Diner for? Where can I post a prayer request? Is there a place for role play games?

Good questions. To answer those questions, here is a quick overview of the places on this board.

The Front Desk - Where important announcements, decisions, and management stuff is kept.


Elections and Running for Office:

What are the elections for?

The administrators of TEP is an elected group of users that are in charge of how the board is run. Every four months, an election is held and the users of TEP vote for the person that they feel is best suited to lead them on the board.

Who gets to run in the elections?

Any member of the TEP can run in the elections! The rules for elections are as follows:

1. You must pay the non-refundable entry fee, which is $500. As this figure is high, even for our richest members will need to receive financial support from other members of TEP. If you cannot receive enough support from the members of the board to contribute to your campaign, you will not be eligible to
run.

2. The elected admin will hold power for a period of 4 months, which when complete, a new election will take place.

3. An elected admin may only serve for a maximum of 2 terms.

The elected admin then has the power to determine the rules for the board, make important decisions about updates and renovations, help monitor the board to keep it clean and safe, and appoint a team of moderators to help govern the different sections of the board. There are many responsibilities that come with being an administrator of TEP. Make sure that you have the time, energy, and patience to devote before you run in any election.


Groups:

What are groups?

The groups section is where the people of TEP can create and join groups to discuss specific topics, organize events, or have a special place for a group of users. Groups give you access to special forums where the members of the group can function privately.
There are two types of groups, open and closed. Anyone can join an open group, but you have to be added to closed groups by the group moderator.

Where are the groups located?

All of the groups are located in the "Groups" section of the board.

How do I join a group?

To join a group, visit the "Usergroups" page, and select a group that you would like to join. Once you are viewing the group page, either click "Join this group" if it's an open group, or PM the moderator of the group if it's closed.

Can I create my own group?

Yes! Anyone that wants to create a group can. All you need is $200 and at least three members. If you don't have enough money, you can get other members of your group to help fund it. Every group has to be approved by the admin team to have it added.

Money:

How can I get money and what's it for?

The money is a special feature of this board. It allows you to buy things from the shop, and do other fun stuff! But money has to be earned. Some of the ways you can earn money include posting messages, selling user created items, winning contests, and more!

Posting Messages - One of the best ways to earn money is to post messages on the board. There are many places to talk and share with the other members, so you can get a lot by doing this! You will get $2.00 by starting a new thread, and $1.00 by replying to an existing thread. The ony exception to this is The Broken Light Bulbs Aisle, which although it tolerates a little spam, it can get out of hand. Therefore, it doesn't pay money.

Selling User Created Items - You can also create things like avatars and signatures, and sell them in *The Graphics Gallery* (see "The Graphics Gallery" section)! All you have to do is go to The Graphics Gallery, and create a new thread that will be your shop. The first shop you create doesn't cost, but if you want to create more shops you have to pay $25.00. Learn more about creating your own shop by visiting "*The Guide to The Graphics Gallery*".

Winning Contests - Users of TEP can create their own contests (see the "Contests" section), and a popular prize is money. Just go to "Rodney's Contest Corner" to see all of the current contests.


The Shop:

Contests:

Story Arcs:

The Rules:

Note: If changes need to be made, or rules added, they will be. Thank you for reading and following them.


1. Posts

1.1 - Double posting
Posting twice in a row in the same thread is not allowed. If you are the last person who has posted in a thread and you must reply, please use the "Edit" button located at the top of that post.

1.2 - Short Replies (ie. one or two words or smilies)
Often times members may feel the need to post a reply that is only one or two words. This is not good message board etiquette, short replies such as "yeah", "ditto", "don't care", "huh?", "nothing", "not interested", etc... are not encouraged (neither are single smiley faces). As a general rule, if a thread deals with an issue or poses a question that you have little interest in or cannot answer a question with anything but "nothing" or "don't know", please do not respond.

1.3 - ALL CAPS
Please do not type in all capital letters. These kind of posts are difficult to read and it makes it look like you are shouting. Other members view this kind of behavior as rude and inappropriate, and posts that are written in all capital letters will be removed.

1.4 - Excessive Emoticons
Please limit your use of emoticons. Three or four in a row should be the maximum used.

1.5 - Spam
Common forms of spam would be starting the same topic more than once, posting just so that you can be the most recent poster in several different threads (thus seeing your name scrolling down the page in the "Last Post" column). Please try to avoid it.

The Broken Light Bulbs Aisle is a lot more lenient when it comes to strict enforcing of spam rules, but it is still expected that the above rules are followed for most of the threads. It is a place to be goofy, not a place to break the rules.

1.6 - Plagarism
If you have not written the text, please enclose the text in the BBcode quote box or link directly to its location.


2. User Account Restrictions

2.1 - Double Accounts
Only one account per person is allowed. Please do not sign up under more than one username. If you have more than one account, please contact an administrator so they can remove the extra one(s) for you. Accounts are monitored on a regular basis to ensure compliance with this rule.

2.2 - Private Messaging
Please do not PM multiple people on the board with the same message to promote yourself, gain attention, or attract supporters. The private message system allows two people to have a private discussion – it is not a way to promote one's TEP shop, TEP thread, TEP political campaign, or to serve as a personal message board by PMing everybody who is online at the moment, or everyone on the board. If you feel you need to communicate with a large number of members, please use the message board itself... a thread will get more attention and save you from alienating those who feel they have just received TEP Junk Mail.

2.3 - You can only have 2 sigs.


Help:

Links: