[IC] :: You know, it's somewhat annoying that I would need to establish an entire set of rules and guidelines just for you to attend my classes and complete my assignments. I would expect a school of eleven to eighteen year olds to behave or else; however, I was once a student here, too, and I'm not oblivious to what your adventurous, young minds can come up with. For that reason, here are my rules.

► Be on time. If I can get out of bed, get completely ready for the day, have all my materials ready and out to use, and be standing in the class area at the designated time, so can you. Not to mention, I'll have likely completed copious amounts of feeding, watering, milking, bathing, plucking, healing, and harvesting by this time, too.

► Raise your hand to speak. Despite the fact that you are in a barn, you weren't raised in one. We are studying magical creatures, not acting like them.

► Do not harm an animal, not even accidentally. Exercise caution, not stupidity. These are magical creatures, not your housemates, and some do call for highly skilled witches and wizards to handle. Pay attention to directions, or I will feed you to the Giant Squid not be responsible for any unfortunate circumstances you may find yourself in.

► Do not cause any disruptions of any kind. If you're so disruptive that class has stopped and can't continue on your account, then you'll be held responsible by loss of points, detention, or some other consequence I see appropriate. We're here for one reason, and that's to learn how to care for magical creatures. This is not social hour, a chance to score a date, or an opportunity to catch up on the latest school gossip.


[OOC] :: Despite how the IC rules may come across, I'm here for fun and to help you have fun, too! Don't take the IC rules too seriously. Things are going to happen in the RP, and when they do, I'll try to make them as fun as possible for you. Having said that, let me do a little OOC rewrite of what you see above.

► Please try and be on time, because when we RP, we try to make it seem as realistic as possible. Even McGonagall threatened to turn Harry and Ron into a pocket watch or a map for being late. If class has already started by the time you join in, just RP as if your character has been in class all along. Have him or her raise their hand and answer the last question asked, or have them simply start working on the assigned activity if there is one.

► Again, the 'raise your hand when you speak' rule comes from the fact that we try to make the RP seem as realistic as possible. Raising a hand is what most teachers or professors would expect from their students, and it makes little to no sense for everyone to be talking at once. After all, Professor Barlow (IC) wouldn't be able to hear any one person if everyone was talking at once. Having said that, you don't have to wait for Professor Barlow to answer one student before you post and ask your question or give your answer. She won't actually see a hand and call on someone to speak. Just RP your character raising his or her hand, and then have them say what they'd like to say.

► From an OOC standpoint, you may know TONS about magical creatures; but from an IC standpoint, your character is still in school, which means he or she is still learning about magical creatures and is likely not an expert. Neither Professor Barlow nor I expect your character to always have the correct answer, especially if he or she is a younger character. So just enjoy the learning process and always give answers appropriate for your character's age and ability. I tend to award more house points for creative answers than I do answers copied directly from a book or web page.

► I don't expect to ever hold classes without any disruptions or fun taking place. That's all part of the RP, and as I said before, we'll take each situation as it comes and handle it appropriately. Having said that, though, I don't want each class to always have wild and outrageous things happen. Professor Barlow will deduct house points, assign a detention, and/or kick you out of class for hindering the progression of the class. It only makes sense for her to do so, after all. So while I do encourage fun, we're not wide open for unrealistic, continuous disruptions either.

► As far as injuries go, they will realistically happen. However, I can't stop the entire lesson and ignore all the others RPing to act out a scene with just one person. If you choose to have your character get hurt, that's perfectly fine. Just be aware that Professor Barlow will likely have another student take your character to the Hospital Wing, and then class will resume as planned. This may result in you and your character missing the remainder of class and the opportunity for points.

► Have fun! That's what we're all here for, after all.