Use of Other Characters:

The second thing to look out for is when you use another player's character (star) in your story. If your use of the character is only minor, and doesn't really affect any other storylines currently in progress, then you are probably okay. But if your use of the character is extensive, you may wish to send the player on your intended post before sending it to the whole group. This avoids problems and embarrasments later by preventing misuse of characters.

Stories that require a lot of dialogue between two player characters (PC’s) are usually best handled in a cooperative effort. One player will write out the story, with dialogue for their character and the other PC, and then mail it to the other player for review and / or revision. When they both agree on the final story, it is posted to the rest of the Sim group as an official entry. This kind of cooperation is encouraged and is usually referred to as "Cross-Posting" or "Joint-Posting". When this happens both players should have a signature line at the bottom of the post.

The other way of doing a dialogue sequence between two players is to post a story that puts the two characters face to face, and then each player posts a short entry with their comments, ending it waiting for the other player to respond.

While this can work well for short conversations between two players that frequently check their e-mail for Sim messages and respond promptly, it tends to not work well for longer winded, or confrontational dialogue pieces. These are usually best handled using the Cross-Posting method. This way, a conversation that takes just five minutes of "game time" doesn't spread out over two weeks worth of E-mail postings.

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