*Dolphincraft 2003*

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Dolphincraft Advancement and Policy Book
Chapter 1: Advancement to Senior Apprentice
Required classes are listed on the DolphinCraft Apprentice Board, along with marks for ones you have completed. To see your progress, type '@progress focus '.

Apprentices should take all classes listed on the apprentice board. A small project is encouraged but not mandatory. Promotions generally happen at the discretion of the staff, who will consider classes, projects, amount and quality of RP, and IC/OOC knowledge of the craft.

Please, read the whole library! The class summaries are helpful even if you have already had that class, and there is some good basic craft information to be found. Keep in mind that our promotion policy is not terribly rigid; the policies outlined are general guidelines.

Chapter 2: Advancement to Journeyman
Senior apprentice lessons are listed on the Sr. Appy board, with details in the Sr. Appy book. Senior apprentices are encouraged to take all senior apprentice level classes, but it is not impossible to get promoted without /all/ of them. Senior apprentices are expected to teach, and therefore how well and how often they teach will be a big factor in promotions. Classes taken and taught, time in the craft, general RP, and IC/OOC knowledge of the craft will all be taken into consideration.

Projects will be looked upon favorably, but are not mandatory. Project ideas include TPs, updating help files, writing help files for topics that require them, etc. Projects should be cleared with your mentor and the staff.

As a journeyman you will be a representative of the craft, and the journeyman rank is supposed to be the polished refinement of many Turns of works ICly, and several months OOCly. Guidelines: teach a class every 2-3 weeks, barring extenuating circumstances.

Chapter 3: Advancement Beyond Journeyman
Advancement to Senior Journeyman: An aspiring journeyman should create another TP similar to that of becoming a Journeyman. The person must be active, and show dedication to the Craft through teaching, RP, and involvement. Guidelines behind this are that you must have taught at least 10 classes before even being considered for this rank.

Advancement to Master: This person will have done another project, and/or demonstrated exceptional service to the Hall, usually long-term. They will have extensive knowledge both ICly and OOCly of the Craft. There are no set guidelines for advancement to master, as this is basicly at the discretion of the staff and current masters.

Advancement Beyond Master: Becoming a Crafthead, Craftsecond, or Craftmaster is solely decided by the staff, and often based off of current craft TPs.

A Note on Dolphineers: Becoming Partnered with a dolphin after reaching the status of Journeyman is considered a very special affair, but Dolphineer is a title not a rank. Dolphineers are still journeyman, senior journeyman, or masters. For more information, read the chapter on partnering policies or see 'help dolphineer' and 'help partnering'.

Chapter 4: Promotion Policy
The staff of the DolphinCraft keep an active eye out on the people of the Craft, and sometimes, if somebody is promising yet hasn't had all of the classes, they can be promoted upon merit of maturity, contributions to the Craft, long-term service, etc., to the next rank, regardless of whether or not they have completed the requirements.

Also, it is often difficult to get classes due to on-line times or scarcity of teachers, and it is possible to skip classes within reason. If you feel you should be advanced to the next level, or just feel you know a class OOCly and shouldn't need to take it, drop a line to one of the the DolphinCraft Leaders and one of them will set up a meeting time to talk with you about it. They don't bite.

Chapter 5: Lesson Etiquette Policy
Lessons! They're fun, educational, and necessary for promotion! But how do you get them and get the most out of them? The most important thing to remember is that lessons are just another form of RP. Your character's IC lives don't need to revolve around them, so your OOC involvement in the Craft doesn't have to be limited to them either. :) Don't wait for the word 'lesson' to pop up on channel to come out of the dorms or unidle. You can even offer to meet with Dolphineers just to RP--not only will they most likely appreciate being viewed as people and not lesson-teaching machines, but you'll show them that you're more than just a name on the @monitor. Classes are taught when instructors have the time and energy to teach them. Teaching is a demanding form of RP, and sometimes those who teach just want to relax and RP something else. Don't complain or try to guilt folks into giving lessons. Most often, if an instructor feels like giving a lesson, he or she will offer. That isn't to say you can never politely ask for a lesson to be taught some time soon, but instructors' time and responsibilities need to be respected as well. The best way to catch lessons is to hang out and RP, enjoy yourself, and be patient; what you need will be taught eventually.

Once a lesson has been called, that's your chance to show off and make the lesson more fun! Poses of at least 2 lines (or even longer!) are a Good Thing. Poses with dialog, when possible, are better. Don't idle for long periods; try to make a substantial pose every time everyone else in the room does, especially the instructor. You're trying to develop a repartee with your fellow apprentices, and a big part of that is giving those you're with something to respond to. Poses like 'Foofoo nods and listens' are tough to work with. So pose to the other apprentices and the dolphins as well as the instructor. Ask questions, make mistakes, let your character grow. ICly, an apprentice is still in training, so your character doesn't have to be a perfect student all the time.

Then after you've learned a few things, build your RP around the lessons you've been given. If you've had a swimming lesson or two, RP doing laps, going to do them, or having done them. If you've learned something about antiquities, cartography, or research, apply it. Who knows what could wash up on the beach or you could find on a dive! And remember that your character probably has other interests besides just going swimming and hanging out with dolphins. He or she could have hobbies like gitar playing, juggling, or weaving colorful bracelets for everyone in the Hall. Be creative! Have fun!

Chapter 6: Teaching Policy
Senior apprentices and up are expected to teach classes to those of lower rank than them. Senior apprentices need to send in a log to the *dolstaff mailer to get it marked off, but Journeyman and up may score them directly on the board.

Associates may teach, but in the manner of Senior Apprentices, via logging and then mailling for credit. If they show themselves consistently to be capable, the logging requirement can be ignored, and they only have to talk with a jman to get it marked.

Dolphins can teach, but this is iffy. Many of the dolphins, the ones that have been here for quite a while, are capable of teaching. They can even @emit a journeyman to help with the lessen.

Associates and dolphins, please clear it with a Dolphincraft Leader beforehand.

Chapter 7: Relationships Policy
ICly Apprentices and Sr. Apprentices are forbidden handfasting or any serious relationships. Any relationship that takes them away from the Hall and distracts them from their work is also disallowed, including children. Relationships in-Hall /may/ be turned a blind eye to, so long as it is conducted in a discreet and dignified manner.

OOCly, don't get caught. :) Or be prepared to RP the consequences. Duck and cover, that kinda thing. Journeymen and up are allowed to handfast in-hall with permission from the Craftmaster, Crafthead, or Craftsecond. Out-of-Hall relationships are still frowned upon but not disallowed, though handfasting is. Senior Journeymen and Masters are allowed to handfast freely without getting permission.

Chapter 8: Travel Policy
Apprentices, Senior and Junior, should have a good IC excuse (though it is OOCly allowable), to be somewhere where they're not supposed to be. If you're at the Ista Dolphinhall and turn up at High Reaches Weyr, for example, please have an errand or good excuse if you're caught.

Chapter 9: TinyPlots Policy
Any and all TPs, including pranks, should be cleared with staff; if they are large-scale, involving the Hall or Hold, they should be ok'd by the Leader(s) of the Area as well.

Chapter 10: Partnering Policy
ICly, partnering happens at the discretion of the dolphin. If he or she has worked with a journeyman (or higher) for a period of time, and feels that they would like to partner, they will ask the human to do so. OOCly, partnering is generally agreed upon between the human and the dolphin prior to RPing it. Anyone who is a journeyman or higher in the dolphincraft may partner, if the dolphin is willing. Please notify the staff when you wish to partner.

Chapter 11: Search and Impression Policy
Permission from the Area Leaders is required to apply for Search. All dolphincrafters must be in the craft through one complete Search cycle, roughly 3 months, before being allowed to apply. This means that when someone joins the craft, they must wait through one OOC-IC Search/Hatchling before the will be allowed to apply.

Apprentices and Senior Apprentices are allowed to be Searched, providing that they have a discussion of the matter with a Leader. Journeymen as a rule will not be allowed to Search, except in special circumstances. Any Dolphineer being Searched will lose his/her dolphin and rank, as duties as Candidate will render them unable to do their tasks. Masters will never be Searched.

Only three dolphincrafters may Impress in the same Search cycle.

Chapter 12: Player Dolphins
Nobody already part of the Craft may play a player-dolphin as their character, or through an alt. Current player dolphins may not join the craft unless they give up playing the dolphin. This is to be more fair because there aren't very many dolphins available to play, and allows those not already part of the Craft the opportunity to play a role in it. This also prevents players from playing a pdolphin to partner with their own character.

Chapter 13: Return-to-Craft Policy
Anyone will be allowed to return to the craft as either thier old character or a new character with the same rank, providing the circumstances of thier leave-taking were under good terms. This does not apply to characters who were idle-nuked, but does apply to those who left to cross-craft or were Searched.