We are going to try "play by post" on the forums.  Here are some quotes about what that is.  Mostly cause I am lazy and they say it just fine.

"Play By Post is a form of interactive gaming in which players use a forum to communicate and play. Just as in any paper RPG, every player takes on a character, and a GM creates a setting and plot for the story, and manipulating the NPCs. The main difference is that the playing is done over the web.

Instead of telling the other players and the GM what a character is doing, however, the players will write that out in narrative (story) form. Each piece of the story that a player writes is called a post. After a player has posted, the post is read by the other players, who will respond with posts for their own characters. Now, this doesn't mean that each post is supposed to be an entire novel; an average post is generally somewhere around two paragraphs, though it can be much longer or much shorter...In a PBP, a character is not simply identified by what they say and do; a player can include a character's thoughts, go into great detail about character appearance, and even include flashbacks in their posts."  from gamegrene

"The first message posted onto a thread of that nature is usually one person laying down the scenario, starting a story about their character and inviting others. The thread then becomes an ongoing story in which players periodically advance the plot by reading the latest reply and then typing what their character does and how the environment changes in response. These replies are often open-ended so that other players can continue."  from wikipedia 

Tips a la the gamegrene article above

1. Communicate. Because everyone isn't sitting in the same room, it can sometimes be difficult to work with the other players if you don't talk outside of your posts. [note: I will keep an out of character forum running for just such a purpose, as well as one for ideas on things you'd like to see.] The more you're able to ask questions and toss around plot ideas, the better.
2. Be courteous. Avoid any out-of-character wars with other players; if a conflict arises, bring it up through the GM or a moderator. Players at each other's throats is one of the worst things that can happen to a PBP.
3. Read the rules. Usually, the GM will put up a list of rules for the PBP, and it is extremely important that you read and follow them. Believe it or not, every last one of them has a purpose; most have been gained from the GM's personal experience, and will help the RPG run smoothly. [see the notes below, they're not rules, really more like guidelines.]
   
4. Spend time on your character. Figure out what happened in his past, the way he thinks and feels, and things he might say. The more you get to know your character, the better time you'll have in the game.
5. Post often. The faster players respond, the sooner the story gets rolling.
6. Start playing! The best way to learn how to be in an PBP is by doing it, or at least observing how the game flows.

Notes About Play-By-Post

• Please write in-character in the third person present tense  (ie. Saykoo moves sneakily to the other end of the room.)
• Out of character statements or clarifications can be made by enclosing the words in brackets.  
• Please limit your posting so that others can respond.  Try not to do more than two posts in a row and as often as possible limit it to just one.
• These will need little "gm-ing" if done properly.  It will be mostly social actions and day to day stuff, ie. discussing what to do as a strategy for the next session which involves getting into a castle.  As such, please keep the posts to actions that you can safely assume your character can suceed at.  Please avoid combat for this reason.  If you have a question about in-game knowledge you believe you character would have, either note it in out of character brackets or send me an email.
• These are all about establishing the social aspect of your character- how they interact with the group and others, and what they do when they are not adventuring.  
• I'll handle the npcs for now, but after we get a feel for it, other people can run some npcs too.
• While this is certainly not an English paper, please take the time to make sure what you write is actually a sentence and makes sense.  Avoid abbreviations.  Think of this as all of us collectively writing a story.
• Avoid going off on your own for more than two posts.  If you want to do an individual or side project, upgrade your character, buy anything detailed when the group is not in the location of the seller, or anything else that can be done between just you and me, send me an email.
• Keep it open-ended, that is, don't force the other players to a limited response or back them into a corner.
  
• Yes you will be rewarded bewaya for what you put into this.  Here is how you can spend it.
• http://www.alatha.com/YourCharacter'sName   has all the info on your character as well as a link to the interview with your character (if you did it)     You can find the full list of player characters here as well as many of the npcs here