Big Brother Rulebook

[KC]

Hello and thank you for considering joining URTV! Please read through these rules and regulations so you have a familiar idea of what you're signing up to. Failure to follow the guidelines could result negatively, some even resulting in expulsion.

First and foremost, you must be C-O-M-M-I-T-T-E-D! If you're one of those people that sign up to any ORG you see just for the sake of doing so, do not sign up. Period. This game will require you to check the board often in order to keep up with the game. How the game will be scheduled and when you need to be here will be explained below.

SCHEDULING

I run ORGs on what I call "real-time scheduling". Basically what this means is that it closely resembles an actual Big Brother week. All weeks will be 7-8 days in length. I do this so everyone can live their life, people in power can discuss their options, and nominees can campaign to the best of their ability. This also gives ample time for challenges to be scheduled and agreed upon. There will be three challenges that you'll have to complete within the weeks as well. This goes along with paying attention to the ongoings, strategizing, keeping your Diary Room updated, etc. If you cannot handle this, do not sign up. Simple as that.

And yes, obviously this means that game won't be finished in a month. So if you prefer games that finish quick, fast, and easy - this game probably isn't for you either.

SIGN-UP

Due to the vast amount of people interested in reserving a spot in this season, the URTV staff all agreed that an overhaul to the casting process was needed.

Say goodbye to first come, first served. Say 'welcome back' to applications.

To sign-up for URTV8, you will be filling out an anonymous application and sending it to us. The 20 best applicants will be chosen to be in the cast. For full details on how to sign up, check the sign-up board.

Absolutely no bias will be put into this process. We are basing our opinion of you for this game, reputation in past games is nonexistent. So I don't want to hear about your epic 10-page argument with Colby in Survivor: Staten Island or amazing comeback story where you took down a 10-person alliance by yourself. Any friends of mine that attempt to show up will have no advantage in casting, nor will any enemies have a disadvantage (Unless you're blacklisted (see below)).

CHARACTERS

UPDATE AS OF OCTOBER 22nd 2009:

We're doing a complete and utter overhaul of the URTV8 system of casting characters. Originally this was going to be a 20-person redo of the complete All-Stars cast, including the rejects. However, we have determined that want high morale and people to be excited about this season. Since the last season before All-Stars will only allow you to choose people from Seasons 10 & 11, we're going to open the floor to let people from Seasons 1-7 be allowed in this game.

I hope this makes casting a bit more exciting and squashes the fears of people getting someone they absolutely hate.

Note that the character you choose is simply an alias and picture base for you in this game. You do not have to be a strategical mastermind if you play Will or a under the radar skank if you're playing Erika. If you wish to roleplay a bit, that's fine. However you act is up to you.

And since it's asked a lot - no - I do not supply avatars or force a dress code. Dress yourself however you like.

AIM

AOL is a crucial part to any ORG. We use AIM for various competitions, but it could also be essential to your social game.

SKYPE

Skype is not required for this game, however the live finale for this game will be held on it. If you are interested on attending the finale, make sure you have Skype around then. More details on the finale will be posted around the endgame.

HOUSE

Once the game begins, you'll be allowed to enter the house and post away. Let me give you a short tour.

Livingroom - This is the meeting area. You'll introduce yourselves here when the game first begins. Afterwards, all ceremonies will take place here.

Social Grounds - The backyard, kitchen, and bathroom will be here. This is just general chit-chat forums for houseguests in the game.

Bedrooms - Everyone will be able to have their own bedroom. Each room will be exclusive to only a handful of houseguests.

Diary Room - Your own personal room. Only you and the staff will be able to see what's inside. Keeping a very active DR highly increases your chances of making All-Stars.

There is also the HOH Bedroom. The person who wins HOH will receive this private room that nobody else will be able to see unless invited. You will also receive a gift basket filled with things you answered in your survey.

COMPETITIONS

Competitions are a big part of the game. There are three main competitions in the game.

HOH Competition - This weekly challenge to determine the Head of Household. These competitions are usually non-live or in sessions, but they can be live too. Win this challenge and you will earn the right to your own bedroom, a pass off slop, immunity for the week, and more importantly the duty to nominate two people for eviction.

POV Competition - This challenge will have the HOH, the two nominees, and three other houseguests that are randomly drawn. These challenges are usually live and will require you to be here, but other times it might not be. The winner of this competition will have the Power of Veto - the powerful medallion which can save someone from the nomination block, including themself.

Food Competition - These challenges will test your teamwork with the others. You will have to work together to keep you and others off the dreaded slop. "Slop" comes in three elements which won't halter your gameplay experience, but will make your appearance more upsetting. Your sig will be replaced with a slop banner, your avatar will be sized down, and you will be given the special slop skin. When on slop, you must stay on it until Eviction night.

RULES & GUIDELINES

I'm pretty lenient when it comes to rules, but we do have to follow some guidelines to retain order around here. Abusing the rules will earn you a spot on the blacklist.

Cheating

- No cheating under any circumstances. Every single competition here is to be done ON YOUR OWN unless specifically stated otherwise. You are never to share answers. Also do not ever hound Housecalls Staff for information.

- When you're evicted, you're evicted. Simple as that. Don't get involved to help your ol' pals. A lot of competitions in this game will be based off evicted houseguests. The point of them is that the evicted houeguests are gone and only they should know the answers. If evicted houeguests do get involved in competitions, they will be banned from the board. Additionally, whoever they helped will be disqualified and given a warning.

We didn't start the flame war

- Never under any such circumstances are you to use someone's real life picture or identity to embarrass, humiliate, or hurt someone. That is completely over the line and unnecessary. If you absolutely, positively have to make a satirical picture, use the head of the houseguest they're playing in this game.

- I don't want to see harassment from evicted people or people outside the game. Do not get people not in this game involved in arguments nor do I want pre-jury or jury members attempting to pick a fight with someone still in the game.

BAAAAAAAWWWWWW!

- Don't be a bitch. If you plan to play this game by going on DR boycotts, bitching to HC about things not being fair, and all the like - don't even bother signing up. I try my best to be a professional host, but when people act like this, it's hard to.

- I'm not a fan of moaning, bitching, and complaining. Note that all twists & competitions from this game are 100% pre-planned in the staff area. Complaining about this game being fixed or unfair will get you a boot in the teeth. Shut your mouth and take it like a man if you something doesn't go your way.

Quitting

- Quitting itself isn't much of a rule since the person in question who is probably doesn't give a fuck. Just know that once you quit, you're put on the blacklist for at least once game. Do it again and you're permanently blacklisted. This does not include sacrificing yourself in the game. I'm talking about people who are pissed about something that happened and quit in a fit of rage.

The Blacklist

- Abusing the rules will earn you a spot on the blacklist. If on the blacklist, any application you send in future games will be ignored and overlooked. You may also be banned from future boards depending on how serious the reason was.

THANK YOU!

I hope you took the time to read these rules. If you have read and understood them, feel free to sign up and get started immediately! Enjoy your stay at the Big Brother House!

[KC]

F.A.Q.

Q: What is your AIM for contact?
A: You can contact me at URTV Host*

Q: Hey what's the deal, I thought I was reserved for this season?
A: A lot of people were reserved this season, but it gets to a point where there's so many people reserved from people sharing the link when they weren't supposed to and so forth that it gets way too hectic to maintain. There's a lot of people who want to play this game and rather than whoever asks me first, I feel the most fair way to handle it is through applications and showing us why you'd make a good houseguest in this game. We haven't had a true application based game since URTV3 and most people agree that going back to that system would work a lot better.

Q: Do you hold live competitions on AIM?
A: Sometimes. I'm usually very lenient on time though. If everyone can't be there, I'll work the competition to be in sessions.

Q: I have dial-up internet. Will I have a disadvantage?
A: I know what's it like. I myself had Dial-Up up until just a few years ago. It sucks and for games like these you always feel like you have no chance in live competitions because of it. I will always try to modify challenges to help give you a handicap. On that note - don't even attempt to lie about having dial-up in an attempt to get an advantage. I have ways of finding out what your Internet connection is.

Q: I'm in All-Stars already, but I want to play. Can I?
A: No.

Q: I fucking hate you. Will you still cast me?
A: I try my best to be professional as a host. I think it goes without saying that I've had plenty of people I don't get along with play in my series. Most of them it isn't a problem. And in some cases, we get on much better terms once the game is over. But if you don't like me and plan on playing this game for the simple fact of making this game hell for me (Or constantly abusing any of the "General Stupidity" rules above), you will likely be scanned over in any future game.

Q: I'm trying to say something and some picture comes up instead.
A: It's censored. Stop saying it.

Q: I'm going on vacation and won't be around for awhile. What do I do?
A: The #1 most important thing when you're not going to be around for awhile is to tell me ASAP! This way I can attempt to fix the schedule so that it won't hinder you. If you're only gone for a few days, I'll have absolutely no problem biding some time until you get back. Obviously if someone is gone for a month or two... that might be a problem. But, I'll always attempt to fit you somewhere in the schedule so you aren't totally screwed.

Q: I'm uncomfortable with someone on your Housecalls staff. Can you demote them?
A: No. If you personally don't like someone HC, just ignore them. If you really do feel someone is leaking information or trying to hinder you, talk to me about it.

Q: How do I become Housecalls?
A: I use to be VERY lenient with this, but now I have to put my foot down. I will be hand-selecting certain people to join the staff before the season begins. Once the season starts, HC will be left unaltered and untouched. If you wish to still watch the game from the sidelines, feel free to ask for fan club access.

Q: What is the point of the URTV Fan Club?
A: It consists of people who were either didn't make it, recently found out about URTV, or people who just didn't feel like playing this season. The Fan Club can watch the season unfold, participate in polls, and discuss the events of the game. Near the end of the season, the Fan Club members will be the first to see the upcoming game.

Q: How does one become part of the URTV Fan Club?
A: Ask me or one of the Housecalls staff. There really doesn't need to be a certain criteria of people - you want it, you got it. Well, unless you're a houseguest in the game. Don't do that. Serously. That's not cool.

Q: What is 'reputation' and what is it's purpose?
A: Reputation is the same exact thing as Karma with a different name. It has no purpose, really. If someone does something you like, tell them they rule and their reputation goes up. If someone does something you don't like, tell them they suck and their reputation goes down. That's really all there is to it.

Q: Can I make a new account just to abuse the reputation system.
A: Reputation is just something that's there for fun. When people get so serious about it to the fact where they need to go between alternate accounts just to tell someone they suck, it becomes a mess and usually leads to me turning it off. Don't do that. Please.

Q: I'm now off slop, how do I change my skin back?
A: You can change skins via your profile. There should be a dropdown for it near the bottom of the page.

Q: Why is my avatar so small?
A: I have not uploaded it to the master avatar list yet. Most of the time if I see someone just add an avatar, I'll add it. However, sometimes I do overlook people so just simply PM me to give me a heads up if I do.

Q: My ally doesn't trust me and I want to let them see my Diary Room. Can I give my password to them?
A: No. Figure it out on your own. If you really want to, you may take a screenshot of something in your DR. Never give your password out, though.

Q: Am I allowed to forge a convo so I can make my enemy look bad?
A: Of course. Twisting things around and lying is all in the context of the game.

Q: How do I turn that chatbox on the bottom off?
A: You can't turn it off, it'll always be down there. However - if the sounds or the radio is bothering you, simply use the sliders to turn it off.

Q: What is the Kombi Van/Bunny Suit/Automatic Veto Ball/etc?
A: URTV does have a few hand-me-down twists that I've been using for many seasons. While regulars are familiar, I understand some of the newcomers may not be too familiar with them. So, here's a short list of some of the most frequently asked about ones. I may add to this list in the future:

Kombi Van - If you watched the last season of Big Brother Austrailia, I'm sure you've seen this before. The poor soul who enters the Kombi Van will be locked from the entire house except for the backyard. This means they cannot even see the Livingroom. The person here will have to rely on other people to tell them what's going down.

Bunny Suit - Based off the unitard, banana suit, etc. For the bunny suit I simply put your houseguest in a bunny costume. That will be your new avatar for an allotted amount of time.

Big Brother Slop - When you're on slop - just like the real Big Brother houseguests - you'll likely be sick to your stomach in no time. Not only will your avatar be taken off the master list and your sig made into a slop banner, you will also do deal with having the dreaded slop skin.

Automatic Veto Ball - A nifty little reward. When you possess this, you will be able to force yourself to be picked for any veto competition. Additionally if you are nominated or the current HOH, you can use the ball to spawn a Houseguest's Choice for you.

Vacation Package - Vacations in URTV are very rare and only pop up every few games. A vacation, however, is a very important prize. You get to take a vacation down to the location described. There, you will be in bliss and paradise away from the Big Brother house for one week. You are free from being nominated, won't compete in veto, and cannot be replaced. However, relaxation comes at a price. You will arrive home after Eviction night, which means you will miss the Head of Household competition.

Q: I deleted my account out of anger and frustration. Can I come back?
A: Yes. The rule with deleted accounts is that you must come back by the next task/competition or else you are expelled for "inactivity". Either that, or you must be clear that you are actually quitting. I understand people get mad and angry, so they end up deleting their account. By no means am I justifying this or saying that everyone should do it. I advise you don't do it.

Q: I think you are a very unfair and biased host. Do you agree?
A: Boston Rob says hi.

* - My Big Brother name is currently have problems. I'll have another one by the time the game starts. Please feel free to PM me any questions as I did not receive any offlines you may have sent.