The X-Ville FAQ

Basic Stuff

What's the deal here? Isn't this an X-Files newsgroup?
--Well, it used to be. This group was spawned as a running gag on alt.tv.x-files, but we were too popular, or too loud, or too something or other, and we were asked to leave. Check out the history section.

So what is X-Ville, already?
--X-Ville is a virtual village. It is a place where posters may create or expand upon story lines, events, or places in X-Ville. The comings and goings on in X-Ville can revolve around the TV show "The X-Files" and its characters, but they don't always. X-Files in-jokes are fairly common, and X-Files mythology is considered "fact."

Enough of this crap! I want to talk about my favorite show!
--The best place to do that is alt.tv.x-files. You can also go to alt.tv.x-files.analysis. Atxfa is a moderated group, though, so behave. There are regional newsgroups for whatever your local time line is. For instance, there is aus.tv.x-files and uk.media.tv.sf.x-files. You can talk about the show here, but it takes more work (it should be in character).

OK. So how do I join?
--Come up with a character idea and delurk. It's really that simple. Be creative. We've had anime waifs, maneuverable punks, viking barbarians, radio DJs and crunchy frogs. Be normal. We've had English majors, orphans, pie store owners, and a weather forecaster. Be dead. We've had two ghosts and vampires. Don't be X-Files characters. Flukeman is the exception to this rule. If a character has been in only one episode, its probably OK. Just be forewarned, no one will believe you if you say you're Mulder. If you want to make it look official, you can register yourself at the Welcome to X-Ville site. If you want to make it look really official, fill out and post a character sheet. All of the official stuff is optional, however. By subscribing to the newsgroup, you've already joined.

Delurking is so hard. I don't want to butt in.
--You're in luck. There are currently at least three ways to butt in.
1. Check into a room at the M&S hotel. Murry or Sue can help you check in or their coffee shop where you can be waited on by Dee or Beryl and Jane, her clones.
2. Stop by Puffy's. There you can join in at Open Mic night, or just stop by the bar and ask for Shayne, the friendly barmisstress.
3. Fill out a character sheet. Start out by using this template.
Barring that, find a thread that appeals to you and hop in! Most people do an "introductory post," but it's not always necessary. And a couple of last words about butting in: your enjoyment here is directly proportional to the amount of butting in you do. There are ways to get yourself a cameo appearance in anything.

About this "character sheet" noise, what's up with that?
--I think this was once a fifth business practice that kind of spilled over into public usage, still (sofar) completely optional, but very helpful for those who wish to get to know your character. The sheets are all compiled and posted at the Official X-Ville site.

Are there some rules or etiquette I should know about so as to avoid annoying people?
--There's only one hard and fast rule: don't do anything nasty and/or permanent to someone else's character (or their "property") without their agreement. Discuss the situation with them via e-mail first, and once the two of you have settled on what's going to happen, write up the resulting scene in character and post it. Also, it's perfectly acceptable to push other character's buttons, but if a participant tells you out of character (OOC) that you're pushing his/her buttons, back off. Don't get personal. Other than that, it's all free in love and war. Matter of fact, subjects you avoid at dinner parties-sex, religiong and death-are not only perfectly acceptable here, they're quite the popular topics. But be sure to label you post with a rating if the material could be considered "Rated R."

I was talking to somebody and he suddenly stopped talking to me. He didn't seem angry before. Is he ignoring me? What did I do?
--More than likely, it wasn't you. News servers download and upload messages to and from the rest of the net at fived intervals. If your server and the server of the person you're talking to are on different schedules, it may take days before they see something you've posted. If your post expires of your server before the other person's server checks for new messages, they'll never see your post. So it's common to miss posts. If you think you've missed a post, sometimes you can find it on Deja News, a web site that archives newsgroup postings. If the person stops posting altogether, though, it's possible they could have lost interest and ceased to post, or lost Internet access before they could write an exit scene. Then again, the thread may have just "petered out." A lot of time what you've posted seems "complete," and there's not a whole lot anybody could add. Also, sometimes people are a bit leery about invading someone else's plotline. You are not being ignored (and for all us "oldbies" out there, one really cool thing to do might be to send some fan-mail).

What does OOC mean?
--OOC is used on some role playing newsgroups to mean out of character. IC, in character is its opposite. Right now, neither one is mandatory, although OOC seems to be gaining popularity. IC is assumed.

Is there anything else I need to know?
--Don't forget it's in character. your character may not be having fun if you're not having fun and you need to stop. Remember, the other players don't have it in for you personally. It's all in the game. If you find you're getting mad at other players, firing off angry e-mails, taking out revenge on other characters and in other threads, you're doing something wrong. Take some time off and chill out. It's just a game.

Is this group archived at all?
--Sure is. On Deja News.

Are you guys on the we at all?
--Yup.
Welcome to X-Ville
The X-Ville Author's Page
It used to be called the X-Ville Gallery.
Beagle's Queequeg memorial SYD RH/BS
Fifth Business
The OBSSE Chapel (watch out for the kitchen crew)
We're a Yahoo Category!
There's also a radio station operating in Nevada somewhere that calls itself the virtual X-Ville. We're suing for copyright infringement.

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