User:Popecrunch

rules page rewrite wip

GAME RULES:

1. Don't be a jerk. Keep in mind that the other players of this game are people JUST LIKE YOU, so don't do anything that's going to severely impact or remove their ability to enjoy the game unless you have a very good reason (you are an antag, they are a confirmed antag). Uploading murder laws to the AI when you're not an antag, beating people half to death or beyond because they annoyed you, stealing stuff that other players need in order to do their jobs, forcing other players to eat/drink/wear things that will harm them or impact their play, forcibly borging people against their will, treating disconnected players like punching bags or test dummies, spamming the radio - these (not an exhaustive list) are all examples of Being A Jerk. Don't do that!
2. Listen to the admins. We will try to treat you with basic respect, please return the favor: If an admin has to grump at you, take the time to talk to them about it and answer their questions HONESTLY. We have multiple ways of telling if you are lying about stuff, and if we can't trust what you're saying, there's no point to talking so we're probably going to have to reach for the banhammer. Also, although nobody expects you to take a talking-to with a smile and a nod, please try to keep a civil tone. We're just people too, folks.
3. No metagaming. Look, we all know that gamers like talking to other gamers, and doing so while gaming - all we ask is that if you are playing SS13, you do not use any out-of-game means to communicate with another player on the same server. This effectively gives you more eyes and ears on a round than other players, and that's not fair.
4. Bigotry and sexual content is a non-negotiable hard 'no' at the request of our server hosts. In order to avoid a three hour argument over whether a mention of dicks is sexual or not, this is interpreted as 'absolutely no references to sexual organs or related topics whatsoever; absolutely no use of slurs or bigoted statements whatsoever, even ironically or masked with clever misspellings'. This is not negotiable and not open for discussion. If an admin tells you to knock something off because it breaks the no sexual references rule, that is not an invitation for debate. Knock it off or go elsewhere. Rape 'jokes' are considered sexual content. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to use the word rape in this game. This is one of the two only 'do what we say, when we say it, because we say it' rules we have.
5. Do not modify your BYOND client (dreamseeker) in any way, shape or form. This is the other automatic 'no' and is not open to discussion or explanation. If you get a message on connect that implies that the server thinks you're using a modified client, and you're really sure you're not, catch us on IRC and we'll talk about what might have gone wrong - but don't try and pull a fast one. We have ways of knowing if you're telling the truth, and we will not talk about how.
6. Don't carry grudges from round to round. If someone was a tremendous jerk in one round, and you didn't get to enact your revenge before the round ended, kiss it goodbye. If you try to get back at them in a later round, that is Being A Jerk, and see rule number one.
7. Don't use multiple accounts in a single round. If you're Jimmy Poo, and you get killed, don't jump right back in as J. Fred Bloggs. You are welcome to use multiple accounts so long as you only connect to a given round with ONE of them and no other. If you for some reason want to roll up a completely new BYOND account for each and every round you play, we won't stop you, though we may wonder about your sanity. (NOTE: If there are other people in your household playing or otherwise sharing an IP address for some reason, it is worth dropping us a line via the adminhelp command to let us know. All we'll ask is that you not communicate with each other out-of-game about what's happening in the game.)
8. If you are a 'special role' like a Captain, a department head, or an AI, and you have to log out, please let us know via adminhelp before you leave. You don't have to stick around to wait for a reply, just let us know so we can replace you if it's necessary.
9. Don't outright give secrets away. The majority of the fun of secret stuff is the discovery of it, and the knowledge that you know something that isn't general knowledge. Please keep it that way, and don't rob other players of the joy of discovery.
10. Do not impersonate admins under any circumstances. Do not threaten to get other people banned. This will not end well for you!
11. This is not an exhaustive list. Rules-lawyering is STRONGLY discouraged. If an admin asks you to knock something off, 'well it's not in the rules' is not really an argument. If you feel this rule is being abused, please feel absolutely free to make use of the Admin Complaints forum - we won't punish you for posting a complaint.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

1. Warnings aren't necessarily required. Although in general the admins will do their best to have a discussion about any given conflict before enacting a punishment, there are some cases where communication is either impossible or nonproductive.
2. Different admins have different styles. Although we all follow the same general directives, some admins are more or less forgiving on certain issues than others. If you do a thing that gets you a dayban from one admin, and your buddy does the same thing later and gets away with just a talking-to, that is not a thing to complain about. If you DO feel that an admin's actions were inappropriate, please feel absolutely free to make use of the Admin Complaints forum - we won't punish you for posting a complaint.
3. Sploded Clause - this should be ALMOST NEVER used, but we reserve the right to dispose of a consistently terrible player on a permanent basis even if the event the ban is in a direct response to would not normally involve a permaban. If your ban involves the word 'sploded', you should probably wait at least several months before even thinking about appealing it - it means you're really super not fitting in here, and literally the entire server population is better off without you. These cases are EXTREMELY rare.
4. When to use adminhelp vs. when to use mentorhelp vs. when to let it go: If you have a question about the rules, or are reporting another player who you believe has broken them, or you have discovered a bug/exploit, or you have been spawned as a special role (AI, antagonist) and are unable or unwilling to stick around and fulfill your role (help, i got AI and have to leave / help, i rolled traitor and really just want to play with botany / help, i rolled chief engineer and haven't got the first clue about how to run the engine) then use adminhelp. If your question is about game mechanics (help, how do i do genetics / help, where's the bar / help, what does a chaplain even do) then use mentorhelp. If you want to complain about a player who hasn't broken a rule but you think they're annoying, or you want access to an area or an object that you don't have, or you want to talk about some totally sweet music you just heard, or something else that doesn't involve the rules, game engine, or game mechanics, then please just let it go.
5. Although very few topics are expressly forbidden, there are several topics (politics, religion, cartoon horses, several others) that really, really, REALLY don't result in productive or useful conversation. Not exactly a rule, but maybe keep your mouth shut about stuff that's gonna start arguments. Just a thought.
6. The RP server has a different ruleset - that's available here.
7. Borgs and the AI have a list of things that are and are not considered human for the purposes of their laws. That list is available here.
8. If you DO get banned, and you want to not be banned, please visit [the ban appeals forum]. Please read ALL the sticky threads before posting your appeal - they contain important information you will absolutely need!

DEFINITIONS: (MAYBE JUST WORK THESE INTO LINKS TO THE APPROPRIATE WIKI PAGE AS THEY APPEAR IN THE TEXT)

• Antag: Short for antagonist. Traitor, Syndicate Agent, Wizard, Blob, Mindslave, stuff like that. If the game explicitly tells you that you're a badguy this round, this is you.
• Confirmed Antag: CONFIRMED antagonist. This means that you are 100% certain beyond all reasonable doubt that this person is an antag - you have their PDA that's displaying a 'getcher tater gear here' menu, you just saw them casting spells, you've tested their blood and confirmed that they are a changeling, their name is Omegacorp Operative #3 and it's a Nuke round, stuff like that. This is not easy! This is on purpose.
• Metagaming - using information obtained outside of the game within the game. In practice, this means 'communicating outside the game (skype, discord, yelling real loud) with someone else inside the game'. Communicate all you want with the radio, PDA messages, or a complicated system of farts. Just keep the communication ingame and we're all good.
• Mindslave: Some antags have the ability to convert a non-antag player to their side. For the duration of the ability (the game will tell you with big red text when it expires), you MUST. follow their commands and serve their interests, even if it results in your death. You are not to attempt to harm or hinder your master in any way unless they specifically command you to do so. You cannot, however, be commanded to break the rules against bigotry or sexual comments, nor can you be commanded to reveal secrets (including but not limited to secret chemistry recipes). If in doubt on this one, adminhelp. You ARE permitted to retain memories of things you saw, heard, did, experienced, whatever while mindslaved.