The reason for this is fairly simple - a suggestion was put forward to the staff team that debates are sorely lacking on VTM. We wanted to create a safer environment to hold such discussions, which can tend to get personal, without people feeling threatened or offended. We decided that a restricted forum would be great so that we could approve who was about to handle such an environment based on several different factors without the fear of things becoming juvenile and ideas and people being attacked.
That does not mean, however, that this forum is only for a select few - it isn't. Potentially, it can be for everyone but not everyone is going to be interested in serious debates and will be perfectly happy posting in the regular sections of the forum. Likewise, due to its slightly more mature feel, this forum will not be suitable for everyone who would like to take part in it.
Therefore due to the nature of some of the threads that will be opened in here, anyone who wishes to become a member of the Dueling Club must apply for membership. It's not a complicated application - all you need to do is prove to the I.S that you have read and understood the rules. If you are given membership and you then need to be warned by a member of the I.S. or another VTM staff member regarding your posts within the Great Hall, then eventually, you will be evicted from the Great Hall.
There are no real restrictions to entry, but you are more likely to be accepted if you have been a member here for at least a month or so and have contributed to several conversations throughout different threads. If you are a newer member of VTM, give yourself about a month of decent posting in the regular forums before you apply.
Post counts and length of membership are far from the only considerations though - 1000 posts that consist of one liners or only fanfic reviews are not going to be as valued as someone who's got a post count of 20, all 20 of which are good, thoughtful and rule-abiding.
This is an area for reasoned debates only. This is not a place for one-liners or short posts. Netspeak is not allowed on the forums anyway, but it is extremely prohibited in here. You must construct posts properly and they must be polite. Anything else is simply not acceptable in the Duelling Club.
No doubt that the threads will soon grow beyond a few pages making it difficult for newcomers to keep up. However, it is also a condition of membership here that you must read the preceeding few posts and at the very least, a summary of the arguments presented thus far if a debate has grown beyond one thread (i.e is headed 'Thread 2, Thread 3 etc). It is not acceptable in the Great Hall to post without considering what has been said before - it is quite simply rude to ignore what other people have said. If you're only interested in posting your opinion and not in what anyone else has to say, then there are appropriate threads for you outside the Great Hall.
So, if you like what you see here and would like to become a member, please send an e-mail INCLUDING YOUR VTM SCREEN NAME, to:-
vtm_duelling_club@yahoo.com
Please do not PM myselfor any other mods or prefects - the I.S. run this section and the only way to apply is via that e-mail address. Don't forget to mention your username on the forums otherwise the I.S. won't know who you are just from your e-mail address.
In the e-mail, you should make it clear that you have read and understood the rules for the Great Hall, that you agree to abide by them and understand that if you don't, you will be asked to leave. You must also include a very brief response to one of the following debate topics (please only include one response)-
Real-life Related
-Terrorism and fear
-The role of Religion in today's world
-Homosexuality
-The past vs. Modern times (technology, norms, etc.)
HP Related
-What (or who) truly kept the trio's friendship alive?
-Diversity within the Wizarding World
-Is Snape noble for his actions?
-Briefly evaluate one theme from the Harry Potter series (examples include: "Good vs. Evil", "The Power of Love", "Friendship", "Acceptance", etc.)
-Was Dumbledore just in his dealings with Grindelwald?
-or any other major issue from either real life or the HP series that you feel appropriate.
A member of the I.S will let you know via email whether or not you have been granted access. If not, they will explain the reasons to you and it certainly doesn't mean that you can never come in here - all it means is that you may need to look at how you're expressing yourself or perhaps need to consider something you're posting a little more carefully.
It is likely to take up to seven days for approved applications to be granted access into the Great Hall. Please be patient with us. Thanks
Thanks for considering membership with the VTM Dueling Club, and I wish you all the best of luck in your applications!