Event planning

Players may request Ocean Master assistance (advice, prizes, logistical help, etc.) for events they plan and run on their own. To make such a request, players may email [mailto:events@puzzlepirates.com events@puzzlepirates.com], providing the following information:


 * Pirate name: (Name and Ocean of the Pirate running the event.)
 * Name of Event:
 * Brief description: (This should be a brief, one-paragraph overview of the event.)
 * Venue: (Where the event will take place, such as Forum, Midnight Ocean, Dragon's Nest on the Viridian Ocean, All oceans, etc.)
 * Participation: (How many players do you expect to take part? If there is a maximum number of participants, note that as well. If participation is in teams, crews or flags, note the number of teams as well as the expected number of pirates per team).
 * Expected Start Time: (When you plan on the event starting. Date and time if known. If you need assistance with the event or with prizes, you should allow at least 2 weeks between sending the email and your planned event start date.)
 * Planned Duration: (This should probably include overall length, e.g. 2 hours, 3 weeks, as well as how many separate sessions are expected and how much time will be needed for each section. For example: three writing periods over three weeks, each lasting one hour.)
 * Judging Duration: (How much time any judging will take. Also note if there is any other post-event cleanup that will be required, and how much time that will take.)
 * Desired Support:
 * Ocean Master assistance (For instance, any broadcasts or news posts, judging support, and policing during the event.)
 * Ocean Master prizes (Include a list of desired prizes, including familiars, trinkets, ship renames, or other items.)
 * Broadcasts will not be agreed for every event. As a minimum, broadcast events need to be non-profit events with significant prizes, open to a large number of pirates.
 * If you get approval for a broadcast, you should prepare a short informative message that includes the url for your event post, a contact name, and an event title. The message should be no longer than what would fit in a normal /speak or /tell message. About one hour before you need the broadcast, you can send in a petition with the prepared broadcast message. OMs on duty will only carry out broadcasts for events that have agreed them in advance. As stated elsewhere, broadcasts remain at the discretion of the OM on duty. They will always try their best to help you with broadcasts, but if they are unable to do so, please respect their decision.
 * When requesting prizes, remember that we are more likely to offer help with prizes for events where some prizes are already being provided by the event organizer. For example, we are much more likely to agree to rename a prize ship that you are providing than to provide the ship ourselves.
 * We prefer prizes that are easy to hand over to the event planners so that we can arrange prizes at our convenience, rather than needing to arrange meetings. Trinkets, clothing, mugs, bludgeons, swords and ship renames (given an existing ship!) are all straightforward prizes for us to provide.
 * Event Proposal: (Write a full event proposal. This should be descriptive and complete for how your event will play out. You should include at least a draft of the forum post for the event. This may be your starting point, but you should also include any additional information, such as the following.)
 * Rules
 * Sign-up Guidelines
 * Specific Judging Guidelines
 * Prize Breakdown (including the desired prize support above)
 * Expected Player Assistance: (How much help you expect from other players. This should include prizes, personnel, or other assistance.)
 * Possible Foreseen Problems: (What are some problems that may possibly arise during your event? Do you have any plans for how to deal with them?)
 * Similar Events: (Provide links to similar events that have been run in the past, whether by you or someone else.)
 * Results of Event Testing: (If at all possible, you should run a test event first. In this section, you should provide us a breakdown of how the test went. What problems arose, and how were they dealt with? What changes have you made? Note that it is very unusual for a brand new event to be a familiar event ? usually smaller-scale events of that type have been run first.)
 * Other Events Run: (Provide links to other events that you have run, if possible, and of the level of events support that you have from elsewhere (e.g. your crew, flag, hearties). We ask this so that we know how likely it is that the event will be run, and run successfully. A good track record of event management will make us more confident in supporting your event.)

Other Notes

 * Allow enough time for discussion of your event, and allow enough time for people to see and join your event.
 * To get OM assistance, you should email your event proposal at least 2-4 weeks before the planned posting date. If the event is complex, or if you are requesting valuable prizes, then you should expect a much longer timescale for discussion.
 * If you are receiving OM assistance, your event needs to be posted on the Events forum and linked on the YPPedia Current Events page for at least one week before the event date, or at least two weeks before the closing date for creative / ongoing contests.
 * You can, of course, continue to post and run your own events, subject to the normal rules and restrictions. Ocean Master assistance will only be given to event proposals following this application process, though.
 * If you have a general query or a simple question, rather than a full event proposal, then there is no need to use the template given above, and you can continue to use the [mailto:events@puzzlepirates.com events@puzzlepirates.com] email address.
 * These guidelines are subject to change!