Policy
Game Policy and Guidelines
Entries
Question: This game has a bannings bulletin board? What's up with that?
Answer: Yes, this game has a bannings bulletin board. Should anyone be banned, it will be posted publicly on this board. The reasoning behind this is:
1. It will let everyone know that their character(s) are not going to be following up on any commitments they may have made.
2. There will be no misunderstanding on why the person was banned. The reason will be public, though no other names will be mentioned. (ie - should someone be banned for harassing another player, the other player's name will not be mentioned, to protect their privacy.)
While we do hope that this board stays empty forever, the staff of Shards of Amber reserves the right to ban players for harassment, whether of players or staff.
Question: Actions performed on another character should not reduce their RP
Answer: Sometimes, you may inflict meaningful consequences on another character that, in the real world, would have the effect of sequestering them or reducing their ability to interact with the world. Blinding, imprisoning, or even guarding them could have these effects.
It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that they are not hindered in finding RP. The rule of Dramatic Interactions applies here - they should always be able to decide to RP with someone, even if they cannot break out, and it can be assumed that this is not because your efforts are in vain, but because dramatic rules indicate they should be able to talk. Your ability to imprison or guard a person is deemed to always have the caveat that they can have interactions as they wish.
This does NOT mean that they can act as they wish within their cell, or escape at whim.
Question: If I know something out of character, does my character know? If one character knows, do all my characters?
Answer: The short answer is - maybe.
First IC stands for in-character, and OOC stands for out--of-character. This represents the difference between what a player knows, and what the character they play knows.
In short, if you know something OOC, unless there is an IC reason for your character to know it, they don't. And if one of your characters knows something, they are not permitted to tell your other characters, nor may you assume they know such details unless they too learn it icly.
However, it is of course possible for your characters to know the same things, and to know what you know OOCly, if such knowledge is transferred ICly.
Question: This is a PG-13 MUSH in every public area and on every channel. There are no exceptions.
Answer: Occasional swearing or brief off-colour actions are part of being out in the world, but nobody wants to be forced to look at things they find unpleasant. Some people find overt sexual content or violence worrying or distressing, and any scene in public is one in which someone could come in at a bad moment. It does not matter how quickly you think you can stop yourself from pressing Enter.
If people point out the PG-13 rating and ask you to dial back, then do so. The rating is not there for the benefit of those people who may not see a problem, but for the people who would not necessarily know they can speak up. So, if they do so, listen.
We do not wish to stop you from playing difficult themes, but it should be kept in private, where out of character consent can be managed.
Additionally, there are some themes that are explicitly prohibited: child abuse, torture, rape are not permitted themes to be role played on this game.
Question: Are there themes and things we should avoid on this game? What things and behaviour might get someone banned?
Answer: First, please consider this to be a PG13 Mush in every public area. If you're in doubt, consider it PG13.
OOC Harassment of any sort will not be tolerated and is grounds for banning.
Staff is not here to police your rp. We expect that all payers are adults and will conduct themselves as reasonable human beings. This does mean OOC agreement on any adult themes, and should you be engaging in rp that might make others uncomfortable, please keep it in private rooms, and make sure that those participating are oocly in agreement.
Additionally, there are some themes that are explicitly prohibited: child abuse, torture, and rape are not permitted themes on this MUSH. If it is reported to us that this has happened, we will check game logs, and warn those who have done it never to do it again; a second offence will see someone banned.
Question: Rooms are flagged either public or private and should be treated as such.
Answer: Private rooms are those owned by players and marked private during building. If you are not invited in, please do not wander into someone's private room.
Public rooms are those marked Public during building, regardless of who owns the room. While in public, it is entirely possible that anyone might come by, and join in the scene. While it might be nice if they ask first, the going assumption is expected to be "public room = public scene." If you have a private scene, please use a private room.
Question: If I create my own character, will it be placed on an available roster when I leave?
Answer: There is a roster! If you would like to create characters for the available roster, you are welcome to do so!
However, anyone who creates their own character and then stops playing for whatever reason (or whose character dies) will have their character moved to the "Away" or "RIP" rosters, and they will NOT become available for someone else to play.
Characters are considered idle if they have not been logged on in 30 days (1 month) and may be moved to available/away rosters as appropriate, based on whether they are a roster or original character. If you are expecting to be away for an extended period, please let staff know, to avoid this from happening to your character(s).