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FreeRealms: Permissions, Development, and Marketing

As we move closer to the deployment of FreeRealms, there are some things which need to be addressed in regards to player and DM permissions, as well as site development.

Permissions
Here we are not talking about permissions to ownership or rights on materials, we are talking about access permissions. One of the crucial things that is often lacking is information safeguarding, as well as restricting access to certain areas of a website. It is with that concept in mind that the following permissions will be the basis of setting up things in FreeRealms:

• General - General permissions will allow a visitor to the site to have access to the General Boards to post a comment or question, read up on the history or background of a world, submit a character to that particular world, or obtain contact information for the DMs involved in the particular world they have visited.
• Player - Player permissions are granted to someone who has submitted a valid character sheet to a particular world. Once validated, that person will have permissions to use the Chat and Search functions, as well as the ability to post on all forums of that world and create new threads (in appropriate areas).
• DM/GM - The DM/GM permissions will grant access to that person's world's Player and DM Boards. During the DM Registration process, the DM must designate whether he/she wishes to solely DM in that world or have split access (DM & PC in different editions). Because the elements of the backstory are being designed to cover all versions/editions in a particular world, some information will be available to all DMs.
  • DM^α Those DMs who wish to only DM will have high-level access on the DM Boards. In addition, these DMs will be the only DMs to have full access and the decision making power on the workableness of a DM's proposed campaign in that world.
  • DM^β Those DMs who wish to DM in one version/edition and play in another version/edition of the same world will onlyhave low-level access on the DM Boards.
  You can look at it from the governmental aspect; an intern has low-level security clearance to goverment documents while a senator has a high-level security clearance.
• Masters Access - Masters Access is only granted to the developing DMs and only to those DMs who wish to be DM^αs. This permission grants access to the Masters Boards, a place for discussion on site development, future deployment, storyline implementation, general site management, and resolution voting. The easiest way to describe it would be a much more involved DMC with site administration powers.
• Total Access - This is reserved for only one or two people at any time. This access is primarily for the SysOp, granting access to all boards and information. Usually, this will be reserved for website developers, and require that it be a DM^α that is not playing in any world at all.

Development
For the initial purposes of the deployment of FreeRealms, the initial development of the first world will be by DM Phoenix and DM Gralbor only. This is being done to facilitate a fast upstart time and is in no way intended to keep other DMs out of the development process, rather it is for to alleviate a potential problem of "too many cooks in the kitchen". The first world is being developed with the mindset of an initial starting position with multiple undiscovered areas, left intentionally undiscovered to facilitate future DM involvement and development, but there will be certain elements that will be considered solid productions in the first world. The details of Creation, deities, races, and more will be finalized in the following month, and it is our intent to have a fully interactive and functioning first world in FreeRealms by Labor Day.

Marketing
Getting our name out there will be relatively easy considering we have an online community already at Thardferr AD&D, and we have precedent of advertising by granting DM Mageblood permission to post on the OOC Board the location and information pertaining to the world he is trying to get started. But, after the initial run of FreeRealms, we will need to market FreeRealms somehow (other than submitting it to search engine databases). This includes the initial arrival to the FreeRealms website. I have already received a wonderful snippet pertaining to the potentials of FreeRealms from T'schir:

FreeRealms: providing adaptable, pre-made Worlds which are multi-RPG functional, complete with maps, backgrounds, and technical gaming accessories.

I thought this was great and would welcome development in other marketing aspects.

DM Gralbor