Role Play LS do have quite a few rules, but nothing really stressful. The rules are just simply "How" to Role Play while in the shell. So a Basic overview or RP Ls Rules:
The Golden Rule: Anything said or done IC, should not be taken personaly OOC. Many people might RP as a total jerk, but OOC they're usualy cool ^^ so please don't take offense to IC happenings.
There are two forms of Chat; IC = In Character and OOC = Out of Character.
IC Chat: IC chat is used when actively role playing. It should avoid use of common internet slang like: Lol, brb, omw, whm, rdm, war. Obviously these aren't things you would go around saying in real life, so they shouldn't be said IC. When someone is In Character they are basicly pretending Vana Diel is the real world, and our world doesn't exist (Not that I haven't had RPers who fell through some rift in time and came from our world to Vana Diel
)
Out Of Character Chat: Out of Character Chat is where you're going to talk about Real Life or game mechanics that wouldn't exist if Vana Diel were in Fact Reality. This Form of Chat is seperated by these nifty lil (( )). (( An example of how OOC chat would look is like this )). When talking out of character in the shell (( The use of bracketts is mandatory to help us differentiate. ))
New Members to the Shell: Because if Vana Diel was in fact reality, we would not be able to read people's names over a link pearl, but instead we would hear their voice. When there is a new member to a shell it is common not to adress them by name until they have introduced themself, unless of course this person is a friend.
Refering to Levels IC: When refering to levels our shell has two styles. For melee characters a level is called a "Season". A Melee RPer may say "I have been working on increasing my <job> skills, and have achieved the 50th season" for example. A Mage, or any job that uses a scroll would normaly say they have "advanced a chapter". Chapters refer to spell proficiency and increased knowledge of the number of spells.
Tells: Tells are usually considered OOC, but if it were sent in an IC manner the reciever usually knows ^_~. If it really needs to be explained, we call it contacting people over a personal linkshell number.
Other: The Other rules involve the basic respect and courtesy rules. No Character should have ultimate power over others (IE: Being able to level a city to the ground) and we do request everyone try to keep things fair. IC Altercations should be handled in a Ballista/Brenner environment, but IC Duels are just fine as well. Level difference, though usualy a concern in these altercations is viewed as thus: If a level 75 consent's to losing to a level 1 (just an example) for IC and RP purposes, it's ok =D. Also in the pursuit of fairness, capped ballista is recommended.
The History of the shell: IC I would like to not have a "Shell Leader". Because I want everyone to be equals the history and creation of our shell is unknown, though plans of discovering it's history have been discussed. Pearls are usually found on the ground, though in some cases a pearl may be stolen. People who have pearl sacs are explained as simply "Collecting" stray pearls they find on their travels around vana diel. An example of the vast ways someone could find a pearl; one of my members RPs an an exorcist from the cathedrale in San d'oria, and he found his pearl on a demon he had exorcised and slain.
These are the basic rules of our shell. If future problems do occur they will be adressed, although so far we haven't had any abuses of power and the like IC. I Hope it stays that way. For those of you who managaed to read this through to the end, Many thanks.