Ever get the funny feeling you’re being watched?

– I think we can all imagine how restrictive the scene is inside “The Real World” Denver house at 1920 Market St. in LoDo. Consider the fixed-angle cameras covering every square inch of the three-story structure (both inside and out), the 24-hour security guards, opaque backlit windows and reports of cops showing up there every few days. But what does all this around-the-clock surveillance really entail?

– We’ve had sporadic reports since starting this blog about the way MTV controls things inside the house, but a few recent messages (including some anonymous e-mails and a couple postings on this site) have found some consensus on the matter.

– First, if you’re chosen to be a “friend” of the “The Real World” cast and allowed into the house, you must not take any pictures of them or tell anyone about what went on in the house. Here’s an account from a reader:

“My buddy got into the house awhile back, and they confiscate everybody’s cell phones. For some reason they didn’t take his. He tried snapping a photo with it and immediately the crew came and made him erase the picture and told him to leave. They also have a maximum amount of ‘randoms’ they allow in the house at any one time, I want to say 15 people or so. Once the waivers at the front door are all signed and gone, no one else is allowed to come in the house.”

The camera trained on the door of “The Real World” Denver house.

– Also, as I’m sure you can guess, MTV screens all incoming and outgoing phone calls and e-mails, whether the cast members are communicating with family members of friends. Once you sign onto the show, you give up your privacy in every way. As past seasons have shown, there’s no such thing as personal when it comes to “he Real World.”

– Deaths in the family, unexpected pregnancies, alcoholism, anorexia and other calamities have all made for storylines. Just like a real soap opera! A tender phone conversation with your mom could be edited into a heartbreaking meditation on homesickness, replete with a backing soundtrack of weepy string music…