TwitterPonies "Do"s and "Don't"s

These are part of the Guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules. Nothing here is written in stone. The idea is to provide a guide of Do's and Don'ts and When-In-Doubts to help folks succeed, especially those new to the RolePlay.

Interacting

It's all about the give-and-take with others. Here are some guidelines.

Talk to folks who are active and talking

DO interact with other folks who are "awake" and around you and who are interacting with others, if it makes sense at that moment (and if you're not blatantly interrupting).
DO include an @ mention, how else will they see you if they're not following you?
DON'T interact with folks who are "asleep" or are clearly somewhere else. See two or more characters talking? Don't just jump in, wait a moment, find out where they are, make sure it makes sense you'd be there and have a reason to enter the conversation.
DON'T latch on to the topic and immediately feel you have to top it. "Oh, are you guys talking about unicorn magic? Well, I'm a unicorn and my specialty is ice and watch, now all of Equestria is entombed in a glacier!"
DON'T force the topic to something you'd rather talk about. Just plain rude.
DON'T stand there sighing and going, "Gee, I'd love to join in this conversation, but I better wait until they address me first, gosh, I'm so lonely!"--that's passive aggression.
WHEN IN DOUBT, DirectMessage (DM) the accounts you want to interact with, and talk to them--if they don't respond, assume it's a bad idea to charge in (remember, only Twitter accounts that are following one another, so be sure they got the message and you'll get theirs).

Start a conversation

DO feel free to engage someone if it makes sense at the moment, if it's clear they're awake and are receptive.
DON'T force it. It's alienating to have someone barge in and demand a response.
DO include an @ mention, how else will they see you if they're not following you?
DON'T freak out if they fail to respond. Maybe they're not interested. Maybe they just went to bed. Maybe they're trying to DM you but it hasn't gotten through. Just move on with your life. Remember the GOLDEN RULE OF TWITTERPONIES: Have Fun!
DON'T come in with an emergency that they simply MUST respond to. No one likes to be put in that position--it prevents them from choosing to act or not, to accept or reject your offer. They have the right not to want to play with you, don't make it so that if they choose not to, they're letting Ponyville burn to the ground.
DON'T talk just to talk. If you go up to someone who just got finished plowing the snow, don't say, "Gee, did you just plow the snow?" It's not easy to start a conversation, but the rule is, if you know the answer to what you're about to ask, don't ask it! Nothing worse than being made to explain what everyone already knows, just as a conversation starter.
WHEN IN DOUBT, DirectMessage (DM) the accounts you want to interact with, and talk to them--if they don't respond, assume it's a bad idea to charge in (remember, only Twitter accounts that are following one another, so be sure they got the message and you'll get theirs).

Engaging with Mane 6, Royalty or Other "Show" Characters

The players behind "show" characters, including the royals and "Mane 6" (Rarity, Twilight, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash) know folks want to interact with them. Just follow some guidelines:

Meet the Show Ponies

DO feel free to introduce yourself (or otherwise organically meet) a show pony. Nothing wrong with that, they're all friendly!
DO do some research. Okay, you notice a show character you really want your character to interact with has posed somewhere near you, awesome! But, before you dive in and start RPing, read their last hour or so of tweets. Sometimes they are in the middle of something, and acknowledging you would either force them to be rude to you, or ruin the scene they are creating. Either making them a jerk, or ruin what they spent time creating. We all sincerely want to interact with everypony, but sometimes it just isn't reasonable, and when we ignore you we look like jerks. Which we really don't want to be!
DON'T swarm. When a show character becomes active, folks have a tendency to bend heaven and earth to find a way to be around them and talk to them. Look around: are they super busy? Give them a break.
DON'T go out of your way to meet them. Show characters are all around plenty, you can rest assured you'll eventually have your chance. No need to go nuts finding reasons to get that first introduction.
DON'T force some kind of "deep connection." Show characters are happy to meet a new potential friend (or rival or antagonist or whatever). They're not happy to meet a "long lost sister" or someone who's "sworn to vengeance against them" or "psychically bonded" with them or anything like that.
DON'T ask a show character about something you've seen in an episode. "Hey, Spike, what do you do at this library, are you someone's assistant?" This isn't being "true to your character" (who, admittedly, couldn't know Spike is Twilight's assistant), but the real reason you're asking is because you have nothing else to say and you're forcing the show character to break the ice by recounting something ever player already knows.
DON'T treat show characters like your dancing monkeys. Don't make them say/repeat things just for the giggles, or just so you can go, "Oh, I see!" and hope that now you've forged a "connection" and can call them your friend. Earn that friendship with a little more effort.

Moving Around

Hey, something interesting is happening over there! I want in! Here are some guidelines.

Go where the action is

DO go where the action is, if it's appropriate. No reason not to, but use your judgment.
DO use normal transporation: your hooves, your wings, a pegacoach, a train, a cart, a balloon (rare, make sure there's a reason you have one or access to one), or magic (EXTREMELY rare, only a Princess/Alicorn should be able to teleport over long distances or otherwise provide magical transport, only Spike can use FireBreath, only Doctor Whooves has a space/time machine, and so on).
DON'T panic that it's all going to end before you get there, that'll just make you try and force it.
DON'T force it. If you're in Ponyville and the action's happening in Canterlot, don't try and think up some crazy reason to get to Canterlot and just happen to show up wherever things are going down. That's desperate, and desperation is no fun.
DON'T worry if there's no reasonable, organic way to get you to the action. Sit this one out. There will be others.
WHEN IN DOUBT, skip it. A relaxed attitude is your best friend.

Don't go where the action is

DO create your own action, all alone at first if that's what makes sense.
DO fun things that attract other folks, so they want to come to you.
DON'T demand folks come to you by creating artificial emergencies. "Help! @MLP_Twilight! Come here!" (when there's nothing wrong with the pony) That's seeking for attention and not fun at all for both parties.
DON'T beg: @mentioning someone, calling them, shouting, "Hey, get over here!" is desperate, not fun. No one likes to be forced.

General Do's and Don'ts

These apply everywhere, all the time:

Things to remember

DO keep in mind that there's a person behind every pony, and that person may be nothing at all like you imagine them to be. Some of our players are students, some are computer programmers with a family and a mortgage. Some of our players are very young children. And you can't really tell who's who from how they post. So be careful of both what you do, and who you do it with. The RP should be fun-- it shouldn't be a one-way ticket to creepytown.
DO make things happen. Invite other ponies out to lunch. Compliment other ponies. ("I really like your mane!" is a good default.) Ask other ponies to come over and play ball or something.
DON'T post passive-aggressive wishes for somepony to come and interact with you. ("Sigh... I'm so lonely sitting here in my house. I wish something cool would happen.") First, it's annoying. Second, nopony's going to come bursting into your house and whisk you off on an adventure. After all, you're not exactly whisking anypony ELSE off, are you? Why would they do something you aren't?
DO take breaks from the RP from time to time. You'll burn out if you don't, which will ruin your fun and can lead to OMG RAEGQUIT DRAMA, which also ruins everyone's else's fun.
DON'T have OMG RAEGQUIT DRAMA. It's annoying and makes you look foolish.

Don't be a jerk

DO be part of the world of TwitterPonies, which means acting like a character from the show: there are antagonists and "mean" characters, but never mistake a character quality for being a jerk of a player!
DON'T point out inequalities. That's right, Doctor Whooves has a space/time machine. That's right, Twibot is a robot/golem. There's tons of exceptions to the Guidelines. We know it, everyone knows it. That's why they're "guidelines" and not laws. Not everything is a precedent meant to establish you can do whatever you want. That's against the spirit of TwitterPonies. And pointing them out and crying foul "why can't I!?" is a jerk move. Remember, there are no rules: do what you want, but the more you stray from the guidelines, or the more of a jerk you are, the fewer folks will follow/interact with you.
DON'T go, "I'm bored!" It's like waving a big sign that says, "I'm boring." You're in a magical world of pastel ponies--if you're bored, it's your own fault. Advertising it just scares people away.
DON'T make Out-Of-Character (OOC) tweets unless absolutely necessary. We have a convention of double parentheses "(( ))" showing someone is speaking as their player. It's great for little things, "((AFK))" "away from keyboard"; "((Back in 1 hr))" if you happen to be pulled away in the middle of a conversation/scene, but not every single time. And if you're using OOC tweets more than two or three a day, it's a problem, people will stop following you. We're not here to OOC, we're here to pony.
DO send a direct message (DM) to @mlp_Mod if you have questions or problems.
DON'T send a DM to @mlp_Mod if the problem can be solved by ignoring the offending person, blocking the offending person, or stopping all interaction with the offending person--because that's all @mlp_Mod is going to tell you to do. Remember, nothing more can really be done.
DON'T ask players if they have other characters they control. It is neither important, nor hard to figure out on your own.

Don't be a powergamer

DO revel in the powers you have as a natural party of being in TwitterPonies. Fly, pegasus, fly! Sew, magic unicorn with a sewing cutiemark, sew! Enjoy galloping, earth pony!
DON'T give yourself any powers beyond that. Look at your character, your bio, your everything: if it makes you "special" or able to do something no other (or very few other) ponies can, then drop it.
DON'T force other players to do something. This is the true definition of "powergaming," using your Tweets to stuff actions or words or opinions into the mouths of others without giving them any way around it. Example of a bad force: "Oh, I only have one wing because @mlp_Luna cursed me a century ago to be the One Winged Pony!" This is very bad: now you've made Luna into a jerk, forced upon her backstory and actions she never agreed to, and taken control over her decisions.
DO give "good forces." Sometimes a "force" is hilarious, and a great way to have fun. It's a subtle difference between a bad force and a good one. Example of a good force: "@mlp_Twilight makes a face, 'Oh come on, @mlp_Spike, you've never been able to make that rabbit-out-of-a-hat trick work!" Sure it forces Spike to be bad at something, and even forces him to acknowledge that he's tried it in the past and failed. It's almost powergaming, but the stakes are low, it's funny, and it gives Spike a chance to do something fun, like fail again (funny!) or succeed horribly (pull a lion out). Use your judgment.

Cheating!

DO cheat well! A "cheat" is when you skip over a lot of boring Tweets to get somewhere or get something done. Examples of "good cheating": "Wow, that was a long pegacoach flight, but we're finally here in Canterlot!" or "@mlp_Twilight sees the manticore, 'Good thing I brought manticore-spray!'" This could be perilously close to powergaming (see above), so be careful.
DON'T cheat poorly. A bad cheat is when you include a bad force (see above) or overdo the stakes or worse. Examples of "bad cheating": "I can get into this vault no problem, Celestia gave me a key years ago!" or "@mlp_Twilight sees the manticore, 'Good thing I brought this magic ring that renders all manticores paralyzed and unable to do anything at all!'" Again, subtle difference, but important.

Tips For New Twitter Ponies

DO slowly work your way into the roleplay. Take some time to get to know your surroundings. Explain how you came to wherever you live. Example: *Steps Off The Train* Wow! Ponyville! It's so different from Manehatten (Or wherever you came from) I'd better find the inn! Now we know where your pony is from and how they came here. Now you can go on to traveling to the inn, or just how heavy your bags are
DON'T start roleplaying with other ponies immediatly. As said before, get to know your surroundings and learn what other ponies are talking about. Example of a bad beginning: *Runs up to Apple Jack* Hi Apple Jack! Oh Wait! I need to go see Pinkie Pie Now! *Runs over to Sugar Cube Corners* HI PINKIE!
DO put double parenthesis when you are out of character or else people will always assume you're in character Good- ((Holy Cow! I just saw a baby in a dino coustume!)) Bad- OMG! I just saw a baby in a dino coustume!
DON'T swear. Simple as that. Don't even say crap or frick or anything along those lines. Bleeping it out with stars is also a no no. We are based off of a CHILDRENS SHOW! You can however say ponyfied versions in context. Good Words to say - What the Hay/Hayseeds, Oh Manure, What The Buck, ect. Use of these words should be used minimally and rarely.

Other Things To Know

DON'T complain if somepony (or someponies) unfollow(s) you in OOC brackets. It's bad ettiquite and it gives you a bad reputation. (e.g. ((Why did @mlp_Examplus unfollow me? I didn't do anything to him/her!)) or ((Why is everypony unfollowing me?)) )
DON'T use ((Anypony want to RP?)) or any variants, ever. It makes you look like you're desperate for attention.

The Formula for Success

The basic formula for success in TwitterPonies: The closer you adhere to the spirit and letter and play your character accounts within the letter and spirit of the following guidelines, the more likely you are to get Followers, avoid Blockers, be Included in conversations and adventures and have fun.

The converse is true also: the further you stray from the formula, the fewer followers you'll get, the less involved you'll be in conversations or adventures, and you might get blocked.