Handy Guide to the Riddle Room.
If you're here then it probably means you've come into the Riddle Room. You may be a little disoriented.
The Riddle Room is the second chat thread of the Writers Forum, the first being -------------read the STICKIES, kthxbai!!111---------------- (also known as the Eleventyone or 111).
As of 03:01 GMT on 06/02/2010, as a result of a cleanup of the Writers Forum, the Riddle Room has been moved to Friends Chat and the 111 has been moved to the Recycle Bin. You can still post in both.
It is still a riddle thread and there is generally an active riddle, unless we are waiting for the riddler to come up with one. It is also a chat thread though, so don't be surprised if the conversation you see has nothing to do with riddles.
To find the riddle, ask one of the regulars or follow the link to my profile in the first post or the link in my signature. I keep track of the riddle, clues and guesses in my journal.
As the thread title asks, please read the first post. It is important for getting your bearings and understanding the nature of the thread.
Please try to follow these rules and guidelines and be polite. It may be typed but it's still a conversation and the regulars won't like you spamming and being rude to them.
Riddles
The Riddle Room is still a riddle thread, even if it may not seem like one, so there will, in all likelihood, be a riddle active when you come in. If you can't find it, ask in the thread or look in my journal for the most recent one. It's best not to go looking in the backlog. The Riddle Room has been active for over ten thousand pages and the first riddles were answered a long time ago. Contrary to what most newcomers think, we have not been stuck on one riddle for all of this time.
Make guesses in the thread, don't make them in my journal since the person who posted the riddle won't check there and that is what the thread is for. Don't be nervous about getting it wrong, there can be only one correct guess, after all, so most of the guesses won't be right.
If you get the riddle right, you have 24 hours to post a new one, starting from the time when your guess is confirmed by the current riddler as being right.
Riddles must be original but that is the only rule. They can be about anything you like, can be in any style and any length (within reason).
You can only post a riddle if you have answered the previous riddle correctly or if 'Open Floor' has been declared. (See Glossary section for an explanation of 'Open Floor'.)
There's no limit on the amount of time a riddle can go on for but if we spend too long misguessing and can't seem to make any progress, we will want clues. Remember this when you're making a riddle. A hard riddle and a riddle too vague to guess are not the same thing.
If a riddle seems difficult at first, don't get annoyed and start asking for a new one. Someone will answer it eventually or you might get a clue which makes it really easy to answer.
Chat
You've probably noticed that the chat is not just people talking. The Riddle Room, as mentioned in the first post, is an RP (Role Play) chat thread. Most people post in the standard Roleplay format; Speech marks for speech, plain text for action.
Example
Sen activated the barrier around her couch as the couch appeared. "The SF may have a new arch nemesis..."
Please don't use asterisks (*action*) for actions. They aren't necessary. Try to structure your posts as though you were writing.
In addition, try to post in colours and sizes we can read without straining our eyes and don't clutter up your posts too much with song lyrics or picures; those are just an eyesore and we prefer to find out about what sort of person you are by talking to you.
We also like literacy. Whole words, capital letters and punctuation are a must. We are writers and we appreciate them. It also makes posts easier to understand when they are written in full English. While 'txt tlk' may save you a few precious seconds, it often wastes minutes of time for those trying to decode what you have written.
RP
The nature of the Roleplay in the Riddle Room is a little different to that in most Roleplay threads. You don't have to think of a character, just be yourself. You can create one if you like but it isn't mandatory. There are no character sheets, no application forms, no cheesy anime pictures.
There is also no OOC (Out Of Character) chat in the Riddle Room. We post as ourselves, just as you would in an ordinary chat thread but we do it in a Roleplay format, because that is how the Room began and it makes everything more fun.
We would prefer it if you posted in third person (He, She, It) rather than first (I). Everyone else posts in third person and when you post in first person, it makes you sound like you think you are more important than everyone else (Think of it like a book; everyone talks in the third person and every 'character' within the room is equal. In a book, there is generally only one person able to speak in the first person and that person is generally the main character - set above everyone else in terms of importance). You're a character but not the Main Character. First person is fine for speech, since everyone speaks in the first person.
One thing we do have in common with other Roleplay threads is a dislike of Godmodding and things like that. Give others a chance to respond, don't try to control them (we do not assume the right to take control of others. That is not how the RP of the RR works) and if someone tries to interact with you, please don't just ignore them; it's rude. Have fun by all means but not at the expense of others. Remember that, even though it is a roleplay thread, you are sharing the space with others. It is not a toybox for you to mess about with however you please because that spoils it for other people and the riddlers will not tolerate such behaviour.
As with many old threads, the Riddle Room has developed its own mythos. There are cushion fortresses, armies of chairs and dozens of other interesting features not mentioned in this Guide so if there's something you hear and want to know about, just ask.
Glossary
IRL - In Real Life
MC - Monthly Collectible or Main Character depending on context.
Newb/newbie/noob - (Often interchangable so be prepared.) Someone who is new to the thread or has not been around for long. How long you remain a newb varies depending on who you are talking to.
Oldbie - Someone who has been around for a long time (how long varies).
OOC - Out Of Character
Open Floor - When the new riddler has not posted a new riddle before the 24 hour deadline or when the new riddler does not want to write a new riddle, Open Floor is declared. It means that anyone can post a new riddle and the first person to post one becomes the new riddler so you have to be quick.
Pit - A pit. Also a network of tunnels leading, eventually, to the Anti-Riddle Room, where people shout out their own riddles willy nilly and all speak in txt tlk. Anarchy.
RL - Real Life
RP - Roleplay
RR - Riddle Room
RRR - Riddle Room Regular (A person who is often in the Riddle Room).
WF - Writers Forum; the forum in which the Riddle Room is was located.
Yuletide - Giant white rabbit butler of the Riddle Room. Brings drinks, clears up messes etc, etc. Technically the only NPC (Non-Player Character) in the Riddle Room and can therefore be controlled by anyone. If you want a drink, just call Yuletide and have him bring you one.
Community Member
This is a riddle thread, but it is also a chat thread, and the current riddle in play might not be immediately visible on the last page. The regulars should be able to direct you to the current riddle, or you can look for a journal link in the signature of Risu the Troll who will try to keep track of whatever is current.
Below you will find the first riddle(posted in April 2003, long resolved), as an example, as well as the game rules in detail.
In a private function room lined with panels of polished wood and a lush burgundy carpet on the floor, Shaoli stands on the small platform to address the gathered writers and poets.
Raising a glass of clear, pale gold wine, she opens the night's challange with a simple riddle.
It can't be bought
It can be won
It is much sought
Sometimes a con
And here is how the real you tell
It has a flame no cold can quell
Worth more than pearls and gems and wealth
It's real when you forget yourself.
"The rules stand as such," she continues. "Only the poet with the first correct answer gets to come up and present his or her original riddle. We will now begin."
She sips her drink in its crystal glass, and scans the audience.
I'll lay down the purpose behind this thread in plain English, to anyone who didn't manage to process the roleplay in the first post.
This thread was not made to cater to the casual exchange of riddles and answers that many of you have been pushing to implement because the activity in this forum has picked up so much. This is a game. This game has rules. You will play the game as it was meant to be played, or you will take your business elsewhere.
As it stands, you have to have been the first to answer a riddle correctly before you're permitted to post your own. These riddles must be your own creation.
I had reasons for laying down these playing rules. I wanted to give every piece of original writing the due attention that every writer desires. Other writers waiting to take their turn on the stage would have incentive to take effort in appreciating and deciphering each riddle, and would receive as much participation when they posed theirs. The competition and the small victories in a friendly battle of wit and wile don't hurt, either.
The Riddle Room was also not meant to be run without a host. If someone should forfeit, have to give the answer because the riddle was too difficult, or take too long to return and there were too many players waiting for the stage, it was the host who had been expected to kick things off again. I don't come around as often as I used to though, so I'll trust the regulars to maintain their own order.
As of now there I see one additional factor which might restore order to this thread. We need a clearly stipulated time limit. Should the players who answer not be able to return within that time limit, they would have to state so when they answered, or before they took leave.
Henceforth, a winner (or the riddle's writer) must take the stage 24 hours from the last post he/she made in the thread, or the position is forfeit, and the thread regulars can help to keep track.