Membership FAQ

Glossary of Important Terms

IC: in-character NPC: non-player character PC: persona character OOC: out-of-character RTH: River Twine Holt

Import Club Email Addresses

council@rivertwine.com help@rivertwine.com wiki@rivertwine.com stories@rivertwine.com artwork@rivertwine.com contests@rivertwine.com characters@rivertwine.com cisadmin@rivertwine.com joining@rivertwine.com

Additionally, all current members have email aliases determined by the persona they own and operate (i.e.: farscout@rivertwine.com, willow@rivertwine.com).

OOC History of River Twine Holt

The River Twine Holt was founded in June 2006 by Tommy Jeffers, with the encouragement of more than a dozen fellow former members of the defunct Rushwater Holt (www.rushwaterholt.com, ? to December 2004). Tommy determined the club's basic premise: a traditional wolfrider tribe on the Rushwater Holt model, where membership was limited to the number of available characters. He named the tribe and retained for himself the title of Chief, and delegated all of the world-building duties to other members, along with the creation of the club's initial yahoo groups mailing list and the club's website and message boards. Within weeks, Tommy was pressed by members into creating a Council of advisors, in an effort to better organize and manage club details such as character development, story approvals, and all of the world-building. Tommy left the club in (x) of 2006, leaving control of the group to the Council.

The primary focus during the first six months of the club was the creation of the existing cast of characters, including NPCs. Different members volunteered to oversee the development of different arenas of world building, including: flora (Amy), fauna (Cindy), human tribes (Joan), Preservers (Trena), tribal genealogy (Whitney), tribal genealogy (Holly & Whitney), trolls (Heidi & Vicki), and wolves (Fey, Holly & Whitney).

Some RTH Firsts

The first piece of art submitted was Vicki Stephanson's portrait of Evervale (June 2006); the first story submitted was "Ghosts" by Whitney Ware (July 2006). Our club's website went live in July 2006.

How does the Council operate?

A Holt run by a single "chief" survives upon the dedication and motivation of a single member. A Holt operated by a board of directors can harness the shared dedication and motiviation of multiple members, providing the entire organization with a safety net in terms of long-term survivabilty. As a result, members may experience more of a duration between making proposals and receiving a "yay" or "nay" answer.

The first five members of the Council were selected in (x 2006) by Chief Tommy Jeffers. There is currently no term limits policy for Council members, in practice, council members serve until they choose to resign, and new Council members are selected by vote of the existing Council, from candidates who have volunteered for the duty. Members of the Council expect to be held accountable for club decisions by the membership, and Council members rely on club members to raise issues, concerns,and questions to the Council.

What is expected of Council members?

The Council hopes to meet the following communication standards:

• Members who ask for Council feedback will receive an immediate response assuring them that their question has been received, and promising a timely response. Questions directed at the Council via the message boards will have a post made notifying members that the Council is taking up the item for discussion.

• The Council will attempt to resolve questions within a 5-day turnaround -- of course this is not always possible, but it's a goal we will strive to meet. When more than five days are necessary to bring a matter to a resolution, the Council will send the asking member a courtesy note to let them know the matter hasn't dropped into limbo.

• When issues are resolved, the individual who asked the question will receive a personal note from a Council member regarding the decision; likewise, when an issue is raised via the message boards, public notes will be left on mb threads indicating the Council's decision. Decisions made by the Council will be recorded in the Decisions Log thread, and when appropriated, added to the wikisite as well.

• If the Council makes a public promise, that promise must be kept! If there are delays regarding a self-imposed deadline, then recognition of those delays should be made publicly; council members who need help should ask for help to meet that deadline as soon as possible. Council members have the responsibility to help one another meet these public promises.

Additionally, Chief Windburn is currently under the ownership of the Council. For as long as the Council owns & operates this NPC, each Council member will be responsible for at least one submission of their choice per year for Windburn (this can include art or fic trades).

Council members who are team leaders of a specific team (such as character approvals team or story approvals team) are expected to be proactive and involved members of that team, shouldering a fair share of the team workload. Council members who are mods for specific discussion threads on the message boards are expected to cycle out old discussion threads to the general archives in a timely way, such as once every month for the heaviest traffic parts of the board.

Past Council Members

• Trena Driessen (x to ?)
• Mary Jo Jeffers (x to ?)

Current Council Members

• Heidi Henderson (x to present)
• Leonie Jonk (x to present)
• Joan Milligan (x to present)
• Ellen Million (x to present)
• Whitney Ware (x to present)

Founding Members of River Twine Holt

• Linda Aarts (Snowfall)
• Amy Chandler (Longshot)
• Trena Driessen (Whispersilk)
• Sarah Clawfoot (Suddendusk)
• Wendy Fowler (Nightstorm)
• Gills (Windsong)
• Mary Jo Jeffers (Chicory)
• Tommy Jeffers (Chief Far Cry)
• Heidi Henderson (Willow)
• Leonie Jonk (Dreamflight)
• Stacy Lucas (Moss)
• Fey McKercher (Rainpace)
• Joan Milligan (Crackle)
• Ellen Million (Greenweave)
• Cindy Pruitt (Quick Fang)
• Vicki Stephenson (Evervale)
• Rachel Vardys (Cloudfern)
• Whitney Ware (Farscout)
• Christina Westgate (Goldspice)
• Matt ?(Thornbow)
•  ? (Foxtail)

What happens when a new member asks to join?

When new members join River Twine Holt, their request automatically goes to the River Twine Council. Our Character Administrator (currently Leonie) gives the new member their official welcome (within 24 hours whenever possible), and assigns one or more mentors to the member. Additionally, our Character Admin team leader (currently Leonie) will hold a friendly interview with the new member, cc'd to the rest of the Council, regarding the member's wishes toward character adoption. The Council's goal is to both ensure a new member's happy transition into the club, and to make sure that the new member is adopting a character they will prove compatible with. Members who find they've adopted the wrong character will be welcome at any time to trade in their character for another available NPC.

All members are required to join under their real identities; it's fine for members to participate under pseudonyms, but the Council needs to know a member's real name. Joining the club under false pretenses is grounds for immediate dismissal. Additionally, sockpuppeting a false membership is also grounds for immediate dismissal from the club.

What is RTH's policy for returning members?

Former members who wish to return to River Twine Holt are welcomed back with open arms. Returning members will be treated the same as any other new member -- they will be welcome to adopt any of the available characters. (Previously owned personas will not be removed from another member in order to be returned to a returning member.) All artwork and stories previously submitted will be relinked to a returning member. However, returning members are required to rejoin under their original name & identity.

Note: Sockpuppeting (operating an email account under false pretenses) will be grounds for immediate expulsion. Please remember: honesty is always the best policy!

Can I create a wanderer character?

While it is very likely that there are other tribes of elves existing on the world, the elves of River Twine Holt have never encountered other elves since Wolfsister and her band split from their band of High Ones and first-generation offspring, a little more than two thousand years ago. No "wandering elves" or "sole survivors of their destroyed tribe" elves can be introduced into the River Twine Holt.

In early 2006, the Council was asked to consider the introduction of tribe of sea elves and a tribe of gliders. At that time, the Council declined to pursue the development of any additional elf tribes, as doing so would prove a huge investment of time and creative energy, and distract members from the existing world-building that was still ongoing. This is a decision that can be revisited someday in the future, if a time comes when the Council finds that expanding the club's creative focus won't prove distracting from the existing tribe and characters.

Can I play two elves at once?

No. Members can only own one elf persona at a time.

Can I own and operate an ancestor character?

At this time, members can only own and operate one elf (living) persona at a time. Ancestor characters can be further developed by individual members, but creative control of all ancestors reverts to the club's Council. (Tip: if you're particularly enamoured with an ancestor elf, be sure to write up a detailed CIS, as the CIS is what the Council uses to determine whether or not NPC usage is kept in-character!)

Can I own a troll character, or one of the Ebea or Bukno-Baha humans?

Possibly. That's a bridge we haven't crossed yet, but may consider in the future.

When I join and adopt a character, how much freedom do I have to alter that character to my liking?

Great question -- and one that takes a little consideration first. In many clubs, characters are temporary elements that cycle in and out as membership fluctuates. At River Twine Holt, the entire club is structured around a stable population of elves. New elves will be born and existing characters will die in the cycle of life in their fictional world, but characters won't disappear on command with changes in membership, and strange new elves won't just suddenly appear on the horizon. After the last of the existing elves of the tribe were created and approved in December of 2006, new members to the club are required to adopt existing NPCs. These characters come with established histories and established "looks" which may or may not completely appeal to their new owners.

The club's baseline for adopted characters is that a newly adopted character cannot be significantly altered from what's already "in print" -- by that, we mean approved in a character sheet or posted in existing art or fiction. Once a character fact goes into the club's continuity, that character fact needs to be respected and left unaltered. However, this still gives a perceptive new member some wriggle-room. Most of the elves in the tribe have been alive for decades, or even hundreds of years. That means there is a *lot* of opportunity for new stories to be told about those as-yet-unexplored life experiences. Likewise, new storylines can be developed to show a character's personality developing in new ways. And a character's physical appearance can always be altered -- within reason. Hair color and eye color won't change, but clothing can always be retailored (and again -- especially for characters who've been around for decades or centuries, there's always room to explore and detail a character's previous fashion history). Any really dramatic change in a character's appearance (new clothing, change in hairstyle, etc.) will require some in-character explanation... but that just means you've got great possibility for new storylines in your hands, and if as a new member you can't think of a why to explain a new fall fashion for your newly adopted character, then please post a note to the message boards and recruit a collaborator to tell that tale!

What if I find I'm tired of my current character?

If that happens, you're welcome to trade in your existing elf in favor of one of the current NPCs. Or contact the Council and put your name on a waiting list, in order to get first dibs on adoption when babies get born, or current characters turn NPC.