Greetings, Royal Sisters!

All right. Over the past month or so, things have been getting a little bit out of control here at MLG. We've had some candidates apply for folders, get them, and then drop completely off the face of the planet; we've had some behavioral issues; we've had a TON of submission errors and problems following rules. Not only is this affecting me, but I know for a fact that it is affecting most of you ladies and gents as well. It is definitely time for a major group overhaul.

This journal is here to provide old and new members with a refresher course on the group rules and policies, as well as new rules and overall attitudes and participation expected from each and every one of you. I don't want to make this sound as if anyone is in trouble - you're not in trouble, this is not school. I just really need to stress to everyone that this group has guidelines that need to be followed, and those rules and guidelines are what makes this community what it has grown to become.

Please take a few minutes to read through all information here, as many things have been changed from the original schematics of the rules.

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GENERAL GROUP RULES

This is a group for SUPER MARIO BROTHERS PRINCESS OCS ONLY. No Legend of Zelda, no Final Fantasy, nothing else. I do not accept any character that is not a princess (THE ONLY EXCEPTION to this is if your princess already has a side gig where she is under an alternate identity at times, or if she is related to Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, or any other non-royal Mario character and double-acts as a plumber.) If your princess has a lover that is not a canon Mario character, he/she is allowed to be a part of your princess's folder. It is perfectly okay to have your princess relate to other series (for example, Princess Ginger's kingdom holds the Banjo-Kazooie setting within its boundaries), but their kingdom CANNOT be within that universe, and they MUST relate to Mario characters specifically.

TROLLING, INAPPROPRIATE AND DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IS NOT TOLERATED HERE. This is a friendly community - negativity and drama is an unwelcome disturbance. Everyone has bad days and sometimes natural reactions to things that can be interpreted as hostile, and I can understand that, but please refrain from doing that here.

                        Misconduct or negative behavior will receive 1 warning, and 1 warning only. If the problem is not corrected immediately, the user will be banned from the group for 6 months and will lose their folders.
                        TROLLING IS ZERO TOLERANCE. Anyone caught trolling will be permanently banned from the group and reported to the admins of dA.

Please keep your profanity to a minimum on group discussions, comments, and journals. I understand that cussing is a part of life (I do it all the time, believe me), but when it comes to this community, I would just rather not see it if it can be helped.

This group has an open-door policy. If you have ANY  kind of question, comment, or concern, please please PLEASE (I cannot stress this enough) come to me about it. I do not bite, I will not yell at you - I want to know if there is something I can do to help you. No problem is too big, no question is bad - just bring me your problems, and I will do what I can to solve them.

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HOW TO APPLY FOR A FOLDER

I know most of your already know this process, and have done it once or twice in your time here, but for the new members that don't know what to do, here is all the information you are going to need. PLEASE PAY STRICT ATTENTION TO THESE RULES.

-FOLDER PRE-REQUISITES-

All new members who would like to apply for a folder, there are some pre-requisites that you need first.

                        You MUST have 25 qualifying deviations of your princess character before you can fill out the application. This group has had several problems in the past with members applying for folders, receiving them, and then disappearing off the face of the earth. (We will cover this scenario later on.) IF YOU DO NOT HAVE 25 PICTURES READY WHEN YOU FIRST SIGN UP FOR THE GROUP, YOU MAY SUBMIT WHAT PICTURES YOU DO HAVE INTO THE FOLDER CANDIDATES FOLDER. This is also another topic that we will be discussing several times throughout these rules, because we have had several problems with this process in the past as well.
                        SOLO PICTURES, PICTURES OF YOUR PRINCESS AND HER LOVER/FAMILY, AND LITERATURE ARE THE ONLY THINGS THAT COUNT TOWARDS THE 25 QUALIFYING DEVIATIONS FOR YOUR FOLDER. Group pictures with multiple OCs, pictures of your princess with canon Mario characters, and anything else WILL NOT COUNT. The only exception to this rule is Double Character Folders, which will be covered explicitly in the "Folder Guidelines" section.

                       
-APPLICATION-

This is the application, which MUST BE FILLED OUT WHEN APPLYING FOR A FOLDER. Please remember that you may NOT submit an application until you have 25 pictures of your princess that follow the guidelines stated above, as well as the guidelines covered in the "Artwork Guidelines" section below.

This process is simple - Answer the questions below in a note, link all 25 qualifying pictures into the note, and send the note to me.

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1. What is your princess's full name and royal title?
(EXAMPLE: Her Most Royal Highness, Princess Ginger Zest II.)

2. What kingdom does your princess rule over, and where is it located?
(EXAMPLE: Princess Ginger presides over the Piquancy Kingdom, located to the southwest of the Mushroom Kingdom.)

3. Does your princess have any special pets/ magic / talents that set her apart from the others?
(EXAMPLE: Princess Ginger has latent magical abilities; she adopted an orphaned Jinjo named Juko, who is part of her royal cabinet and is her best friend. The Jinjos have become loyal to her since she rescued their village from Gruntilda the Witch, and faithfully serve her.)

4. What are the relationships between your princess and the Mario characters?
(EXAMPLE: Princess Ginger has been close friends with Princess Peach since childhood; she has a small crush on Luigi; she has a small rivalry with Princess Daisy due to aforementioned crush on Luigi; she is good friends with Mario; she holds a neutral truce with Bowser, despite being one of Peach's closest allies; and she nearly dated Waluigi when she was in her teens. No real relationship with Wario or Yoshi.)

5. How did your princess first become introduced to the Mario World?
(EXAMPLE: Fawful targeted Piquancy's trade routes as a way to cut off supplies to the Mushroom Kingdom, and in the process he kidnapped Princess Ginger and intended to use her as an example against Princess Peach. Mario and Luigi were deployed to rescue her.)  

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The answers to this application will be posted in your folder (including all of the folders currently in existence) as a short bio for people admiring your character. Not only will this give your folder an official feel, but it will also help others with drawing your princess (this will help them understand her likes, dislikes, relationships, etc.)

                         If you try to apply for a folder before you have 25 qualifying deviations of your princess, your request will be denied. You will be told to submit what pictures and literature you have into the Folder Candidates folder until you reach 25. If this is unclear to you, please re-read through this section.
                         If you lie about having 25 qualifying deviations after you have received a folder, YOU WILL BE BANNED FROM THE GROUP FOR A MONTH AND YOU WILL LOSE YOUR FOLDER.

REMEMBER: YOU CAN ONLY FILL OUT THIS APPLICATION WHEN YOU HAVE 25 QUALIFYING DEVIATIONS OF YOUR PRINCESS READY. If you aren't sure what a 'qualifying deviation' is, please re-read the 'Folder Pre-requisites' section above.

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SECTION OF THESE RULES. If you do not understand them, note me and I will clarify them for you. If you do not follow them, YOU WILL BE BANNED.

When you join this group and you do NOT have 25 qualifying deviations ready, you will submit your artwork into the FOLDER CANDIDATES folder. If you submit your artwork anywhere but there at first, whether by accident or purposefully, your submission will be denied and you will receive a comment telling you to redirect your artwork to the correct folder. This is not a disciplinary action - this is simply reminding you where to properly submit your artwork.

If you continue to submit your artwork into any other folder that is NOT Folder Candidates (or any other proper location for your deviation), your submission will be denied and you will receive a warning. Unless you state otherwise or correct your mistake before I get to it, this will be taken as deliberate negligence of the rules.

If you continue to submit your deviations incorrectly, YOU WILL BE SUSPENDED FROM SUBMITTING DEVIATIONS FOR 3 DAYS. It is very stressful to have to deal with this issue, and frankly, I will not tolerate it any longer. I understand that if you are new you may get confused, but this is why I cannot stress enough for you to pay strict attention and read through these rules very carefully.

THERE ARE ONLY TO BE 5 SUBMISSIONS PER FOLDER, PER DAY. PERIOD. END OF STORY. I will no longer tolerate having my inbox, as well as the entire groups inboxes, flooded with submission messages. It is unnecessary, cluttering, and stressful. And if you can imagine getting 50+ messages with most submitted incorrectly...you can see how this subject makes me want to pull my hair out. Please, for the love of all that is holy, DO NOT SUBMIT MORE THAN 5 DEVIATIONS A DAY. I have the folder limits all preset to 5, but if anyone purposefully bypasses this setting somehow, YOU WILL BE PERMANENTLY BANNED.

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ARTWORK GUIDELINES

This should be a no-brainer, but we're going to cover it anyway.

All artwork submitted should be done to the best of the artist's ability. Not everyone is Picaso. I understand this. But I DO NOT want to see stick people. I know for a fact that everyone in this group has amazing talent; put it on display for the world to see!

Bases are okay to use, but are NOT preferred. Again, you all have amazing skills - put them to use!

Artwork of your princess that is created by others (I.E requests, art trades, commissions, etc.) IS OKAY TO SUBMIT. She is your character; if other people draw her for you, by all means submit it!

ABSOLUTELY NO DEPICTIONS OF ANYTHING LEWD, CRUDE, OR RUDE WILL BE TOLERATED. Artwork that depicts the use of drugs or alcohol, acts of violence above and beyond what is normal for video game standards (I.E slapping, punching, kicking is okay TO AN EXTENT; depictions of physical, mental, sexual, or psychological abuse IS NOT OKAY), gore, sex, slander against religion, race, or orientation WILL RESULT IN PERMANENT BANNING. These things are NOT okay to depict in this sort of environment.  

-Everything that is mentioned above also applies to works of literature.-

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FOLDER GUIDELINES

This section is also an extremely important part of the rules. PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY.

Each member may have up to 5 separate folders within the group. This means 1 character per folder. The only exception to this rule is double-folders.
                         Double-Folders are the folders in which a member or members owns two characters that are CONSTANTLY TOGETHER. The only double-folders we have right now are Princesses Luna and Dylaila, and Princesses Rose and Snow. It is a rare occurrence, but it DOES happen and it IS acceptable.

Once you have a folder, you are expected to remain an active member within the group.
                          If complete inactivity occurs over a span of 2 months straight, you will be notified. If the notification is ignored (I.E I haven't received a response in two weeks), your folder will automatically be deleted. If notification is responded to with promise of activity, you will be given 1 month to submit a deviation.
                          Real life happens. I understand this - it has happened to me numerous times. If something is going on in real life that is causing you to be inactive, LET ME KNOW. I will do what I can to accommodate your needs. We are all here to support you.

-INACTIVITY HAS BEEN A HUGE PROBLEM IN THE PAST. If you are inactive without notice, YOU WILL HAVE YOUR FOLDER DELETED!!-

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If there is anything else that anyone would like to discuss, or you have any personal questions, comments, or concerns for me, please do not hesitate to note me! As I said before, I will do everything in my power to help you navigate our community. The lovely ladies and gentlemen of this group will also help you if you are in need as well, so do not be afraid to shout for help if you need it!

My last two requirements are this: when you have completely read through and understand these rules fully, please leave a comment with your name below. Almost like a signature if you will. Also, if older members would please resubmit your application answers to me, that would be wonderful. It would really help with the folder updates mentioned above, rather than me having to dig through my entire inbox trying to find your information.

I hope this helps, and a big THANK YOU to everyone who brought these issues to my attention recently!

Yours Truly,