Hammel Spring 2016 Newsletter

[Sean *]

Hello from Hammel's Staff!

For everyone who missed it, this past March was our sixth anniversary! It’s incredible to think that Hammel has been active for so long, and we have our dedicated members and staff to thank for it. Thank you all for helping Hammel get to where we are. If you would like to give a thank you message to the rest of the board, we have a thread for that

We have a number of announcements for things that have just happened, are happening now, and will happen soon on Hammel!

First, and perhaps most importantly, the Hammel staff wishes a sincere welcome to all of our new members, and a welcome back to our returning members! In this vein, we have instituted a new feature: The New Member Spotlight. This will be used in lieu of the OTMs at present, due to low OTM participation. If all goes well, we might institute a New Character Spotlight as well. Updates to come. In the meantime, let’s wish a hearty welcome to our newest members over the past couple of months: Vio, Pika, Drago, Pastel, Rikki, and Somniloquist! Let us also welcome back returning members, Kallisti, Lugia, and SemiSigh! Please plot with all of these wonderful people.

To make plotting with new characters easier, please have a list of new characters from the past couple of months: Maggie Pobasco (Vio), Eric Liu (Pika), Nicholas Bennett (Drag0), Iris Applegate (Pastel), Jordan Applegate (Pastel), Dr. Katy Sherlock (Pastel), Samantha Rayburn (Pastel), Cleo Warren (Rikki), Phillip Romano (Rikki), Rory Lennox (Rikki), Layla Montgomery (Rikki), Thomas Jenkins (Somniloquist), Vincent Meian (Kallisti), Dr. Nik Kenjutsushi (Kallisti), Appoline Meian (Kallisti), Kateri Rivera (Lugia), Josef Muller (Lugia), Cee Cohen (Lugia), David Reed (SemiSigh), Sandra Murdoch (Dryope), and Doris Hanes (Doro).

Next: Staff recently did a massive thread archival of threads that have not been posted in for at least a month, or for threads with retired participants. If you want a thread reopened after it has been archived, simply PM any member of staff.

We would like to thank Cat and Jonnay for the banners they created to go with our new spring skins! Also, thank you to Dryope who created those new skins for us! She will make new skins for each season, so keep an eye out in a few months for the summer skins. Also, let’s thank Dryope for the board layout changes, which include the addition of the Burlington weather app, the school/activity/office/curfew schedule, and the long-awaited return of our sharkify and cornify buttons!

We are currently in the middle of ourApril Activity Check! Please post there to let us know if you are keeping your characters and if they require updates in the spreadsheet. While you are doing that, please look at our lists and make sure everything is accurate for all of your characters. The Activity Check will close tomorrow, April 17, 2016.

Also, some reminders on our rules:

• Posts are to be written in third person past tense. This looks like: “Sean walked into a room and said, “Hello.” As opposed to present tense, “Sean walks into a room and says, “Hello” or first person, “I walked into a room and said hello.” Please make sure to write your posts consistently for ease of reading/interacting.
  
• Signatures must be 500px or less wide. Otherwise they stretch the board and slow it down with resizing.
  
• Don't change font colors or size in your posts. We have people on the site who have trouble seeing different colors, and the default font colors and sizes were chosen so they would be easily readable. After all, you want people to be able to read what you write!
  
• When making a new character, please be sure to check the Face Claim before choosing your play by. Your character will be pended if their face claim is already taken. 
• Please remember to abide by the Proboards TOS. Hammel is a PG-13 site.
  

For anyone who hasn’t seen it, staff implemented an Application Guide last year. This remains a non-mandatory read, but it’s one of the most thorough documents that staff has ever implemented, and it should answer most questions about what staff look for when reviewing applications.

Coming soon/on the horizon: floor plans for the rest of the school and a map of Pilot Ridge proper! Please contact Sean if you are interested in helping with this project, since it’s difficult to use drafting tools when one doesn’t have fingers.

Also coming soon/on the horizon: a guide to flora, fauna, notable places, and local legends of Vermont.

In addition, if you have documentation that you would like to see, please post it in our Suggestions for Hammel Documentation thread.

If you have other IC or OOC questions about Hammel, the universe, playing rules, character creation, or anything else, our FAQ always takes new submissions.

If you have general site suggestions, please post in our suggestions thread.

We have an ongoing Hammel Timeline Project! Post significant dates to your characters so that they can be merged with everyone else. Also, learn about who else was around during significant moments so that you can plot more easily.

We also have a master birthday list! Post your character's birthday to be added to our calendar.

We have the [a href="http://hammelinstitute.proboards.com/thread/28349/open-threads [/a]. If you need a place to post, please look it over to see threads that need attention. Likewise, if you start an open thread, be sure to link it to the thread index. We have a lot of open threads right now that could use a new participant, so please take a look and consider joining a thread or two.

In order to share the love, if there is someone you want to thank for any reason, we have a Thank You To...thread. We also have the Thread of Never Ending Praise for you to share threads that you are following, and Characters Say the Darndest Things thread for sharing IC quotes you enjoy.

The April Writing Challenge and Graphics Challenge are currently open for entries and will remain open until the morning of April 27, 2016, Eastern Daylight Time. This month’s Writing Challenge is “From Random Page to Story” and our Graphics Challenge is “Spring Is in Bloom. If we get enough participation, there will be challenge polls, so please participate.

If you have suggestions for the monthly writing and graphics challenges, please post them in our suggestion thread. We’ve worked our way through quite a lot of the suggestions over the past couple of years, and we always want new ideas.


We have many events and plots on the horizon!


First, let’s have a roundup of the current events and open plots still ongoing on Hammel:

-For those of you just tuning in: there was chaos at the Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash where someone’s power was augmented beyond control; this led to widespread panic and trampling, and only ended with power suppression. Also, Sean Neville was punched in the face by the PUSE president Joe Honnick, and our cowardly and bigoted District Attorney, Justin Wright, suggested that the Chief of Police shoot into the crowd. Welcome to small town politics.

In the aftermath, there is a mandatory staff thread backdated to immediately after the Bash. Any character who was in town during this period and works at Hammel is required to post here. Your character doesn’t need to have attended the Bash to participate.

-Chuck Miller and the Pilot Ridge Register is holding interviews to get to the bottom of those events. If your character was present, consider making an interview.

-PUSE is gearing up for protests and a war of propaganda; this is the perfect time to make a PUSE character.

-We are still working with ourMarch/April AU Event. This is the off-the-wall time of the year, when you can make any AU your heart desires, as long as it doesn’t violate our TOS. New AU threads can be made until April ends, at which point the event is closed. AU threads already underway can continue until the individual writers close them.

-Related to the above, Etch has an open “Players come to Hammel” AU and the more the merrier! Join her!.

-Do you play a female character between the ages of roughly 22 and 45? Contact Chuck Miller for a date! (Full disclosure: the dates have to be disastrous, but that’s what makes them fun.)

-Our new Head of Housing, Doris Hanes, is on the lookout for contraband and other illegal conduct. Contact Doro to set up a dorm inspection thread.

-There will be a Hammel Spirit Week in the latter half of April. We will take member suggestions for the particular theme days. Since Hammel sports are all club sports, rather than a pep rally, Friday will culminate in a pizza party and water balloon fight in the courtyard.

-If you play a female student character, for the love of everything, please have her beat up Jeff McIntosh. Contact Dryope to make arrangements.


We have a lot on the horizon this spring and summer:

May:

-The Multicultural Club in conjunction with the Student Activities Council will be hosting an International Dinner. This will be a fundraiser of sorts and open to the community and alumni, on a day with nice weather so it can be hosted outside (and to prevent nosy people wholly unaffiliated with Hammel from poking around too much). Weather manipulators will ensure that the weather is nice (Kateri, you will get a bonus in your paycheck that week). Student entry is free and staff participating by providing food have free entry; everyone else – alumni, college students, general community members, non-participating staff members – must pay a cover charge that will go into the student activity fund. The cover charge is for buffet-style meals and entertainment.

There will be a sign up sheet. Students and staff are encouraged to sign up and prepare a dish from their particular ethnic background. Those participating are also expected to write up a one-half to one-page description of their culture to be made into an informational booklet. Dressing up is optional but encouraged.

-The May/June event will be a form of Thread Roulette. For maximum participation, there will be two rounds of roulette, one in May and one in June. The theme has been chosen but will remain secret until the sign up is posted.

-There will be a town hall debate/meeting about the dangers posed by meta-human powers hosted by the local government and PUSE, and resentfully participated in by Hammel faculty members. Sign up to have your character participate on either side of the debate, or otherwise have your character attend and watch.


June:

-Graduation will occur at in mid-to-late June 2016, and the thread will be open to all graduating seniors, their friends and family, and members of the staff.

-Additionally, there will be an OOC thread for all students who are graduating Hammel or otherwise leaving school. Please post there for your graduating characters, so that staff can sort them into the appropriate user group during the following Activity Check.

-Immediately following graduation will be Hammel’s summer break. IC, Hammel will be on summer break from mid-to-late June until mid-to-late July. Your character can go home during this time, or they can remain on campus if that’s easier for them given their situation. There are no classes, and staff members will be on break as well, except for those necessary to keep the school going for any students remaining behind. Classes will resume on in mid-to-late July, no exceptions.

-The LGBT Youth Center will do its annual LGBT Youth prom; theme TBD. Member suggestions welcome.


July:

-The July/August Event will begin on July 1 and run through August 31. This event will be Time Warp, which is a board favorite. This is an event where you can play out your character’s past or future, and more information will be provided when the event begins later this week.

-During the summer, Hammel will hold its Student Activities Council fundraiser, through which the Council funds dances and other social activities throughout the school year. Following a thorough C-Box discussion, by popular request, this summer’s fundraiser will be a bake sale/pie auction/eating contest. This will take place on campus, and sign ups will be posted in the next week or so. This will be a lot of fun and will be open to student/staff participation for entries (possibly for the community pending more discussion) and to everyone in the community for buying/auction bidding. Let’s have a lot of fun, everyone!

-During the first week of classes in July, Dr. Sean Neville will hold his annual sexual education seminar, ominously known as “The Talk.” The Talk is mandatory for all graduating seniors, and any student age 13 or older is allowed to attend. There will be a request for staff assistance in keeping the students from misbehaving, and, as always, the IC/OOC request for questions will go up a week or two before the beginning of the thread.


August:

-The July/August Event: Time Warp will continue through the end of August for new threads. No new threads can be created after the morning of September 1, 2015 when the new event is posted, but threads can be continued until finished.

-The Pilot Ridge Community Field Day/Faire[/a] will occur at the lake. This will take place in early-mid August and is open to every character in the community as long as they are not currently in jail or under house arrest (this includes being grounded by Hammel). Have your character enjoy a relaxing day at the lake, complete with games, food, crafts, rides, and contests, including a charity talent show.

-The annual Hammel camping retreat will occur at the end of August. For newer members, the Hammel camping retreat is a five-day long field trip to camp grounds in New Hampshire. Typical camping activities such as kayaking, hiking, swimming, bonding with nature, and campfires are available. This event is open only to current Hammel students who are not on disciplinary hold, and to volunteer Hammel staff members – no non-Hammel spouses and no alumni. Look for an information thread in August.


September:

-The September/October Event will be posted either on or slightly before September 1. This happens to be Sean’s favorite event, so watch as I get progressively excited as we grow closer to this event. Sign ups for Power Swap will begin with the information thread, so keep an eye out. Power Swap is an AU event, and so all threads are not canon.

-Last year, our beloved member Sydnee proposed an event idea that we want to implement this September pending player availability. This event will be a Team Building/Trust Building Day at Hammel, aimed at helping the students to build relationships and problem-solving skills, and for them to interact with other people that they might not include otherwise. There will be about four IC faculty members leading this. Contact Sean for more information.


We also have a number of group threads, event threads, and member-run ideas in progress or on the horizon:

-Sean is planning a super secret plot. If you are interested in making a new character for board plot purposes and can promise that you have the time to invest in doing so, please contact him to discuss ideas. Staff would like broad participation across already active characters and new ones. Because it’s super secret, please don’t divulge what you’re told if you join, under penalty of making a penguin cry like Snoopy and living with the guilt.

-The Pilot Ridge Register is the newspaper of record in Pilot Ridge. They interview locals for interest columns. Interviews are posted in the Pilot Ridge Register sub-board in the Communications Board. If you would like one of your characters interviewed, please contact Chuck Miller (Played by Dryope) or Stefan Spencer (Played by Abe). We are also always looking for more journalists. So consider making one.

If you have an event that you would like to see, please post it in our suggestion thread.


For the purposes of IC plotting:

The following Hammel Student Clubs and Sports Teams have no faculty advisor:
-Football
-Swimming
-Track
-Art Club
-Chess Club
-Cinema Club
-Culinary Club
-Dance Team
-Environmental Awareness Club
-Newspaper
-Yearbook

If you have any interest in having your Hammel staff member serve as a faculty advisor, please post in the signup thread. Additionally, if you want to make a new club, follow directions in the signup thread.

If you play a student or faculty advisor and you want to hold a club meeting thread, you require no approval to post it. If you want a club activity such as a fundraiser, please contact Sean for OOC planning.

Hammel needs staff in the following areas:
-Main Office Receptionist (Powered or Non-Powered)
Powers Trainers (Must Be Powered)
-Recruiters (Must Be Powered)
-Staff Attorney (Powered or Non-Powered)
-Dorm Monitors (Must Be Powered)
-Science Teachers (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, etc.)(Powered or Non-Powered)
-History Teachers (Global History, U.S. History, etc.) (Powered or Non-Powered)
-Language Teachers (French, Spanish, German, etc.) (Powered or Non-Powered)
-Art Teacher (Powered or Non-Powered)
-Dance Teacher (Powered or Non-Powered)
-Economics Teacher (Powered or Non-Powered)
-Communications Teacher (Powered or Non-Powered)
-Head of Research (Must Be Powered, Contact Sean)
-Researchers (Must be Powered)
-Security Guards (Must Be Powered)
-Power Side Effects Specialist (Must Be Powered)

A reminder that we have a signup list/index for local businesses and job opportunities. Please take a look if you play a student who needs pocket money or work experience, and then contact the appropriate player. If you are a player of a business owner, or if you play a character who works at a business that you OOC created and thus control the NPC owner, and you want to hire students, please post in the signup thread so that students have more opportunities.

If you play a trainer, remember to look at the list of students in need of trainers for plotting purposes. If you are a student in need of a trainer, be sure to post in the Student/Trainer Matching thread A reminder that staff does not assign trainers to students, so all plotting involves the consent and participation of student players and trainer players. Also, we are in dire need of trainers at this point, since we have only a handful of active trainers. If you want to make a staff member character, consider making a powers trainer. You’ll have guaranteed plots and you’ll fill an important IC role!

The PUSE site plot is still ongoing, and we need affiliated characters. Check out our Wanted List for characters, if you would like a character in PUSE, or if you would like a character who is politically-involved and against PUSE. For new members, PUSE is People United for Safety and Equality; it is an anti-meta hate group and community action group situated in Pilot Ridge. PUSE also has a Youth Group that is recruiting. If you have general questions, PM Sean or Dryope. If you have questions about specific IC PUSE plans, contact Izy, who plays Joe Honnick, the PUSE President.


If you are thinking of a new character but do not know where to begin, check out our Wanted Characters! Also, look at our Play Bys We'd Like to See thread, our Powers We’d Like to See thread, and our Jobs We’d Like to See thread.

If you would like a sub-board added, post in the Buildings/Locations We Would Like to See thread or post in the Housing Application if it is your character’s home or business.

We are once again trying to resurrect the Hammel TWITTER and TUMBLR blogs! We are taking submissions from everyone. Blog at us!

Thanks to everyone for making Hammel the wonderful game that it is. Let’s have a fantastic spring and summer for plotting, writing, events, and absurdity.

-Sean and the Hammel Staff