“How long will all this drama drag on, before staff finally puts their foot down and lays out a clearly defined, set of rules regarding language, rather than jailing people on the whim?â€
___
Let’s take a look at the codex...
(
www.uoex.net/codex, under "
6. Behavior, attitude towards other players")
c. No drama. Accept the things you cannot change. If you are in an unresolvable conflict, be the smart one and walk away. Keep the private problems out of public chats, send a private message instead.
(
www.uoex.net/codex, under "
2. Language")
a. Keep chat clean - no cussing, arguing, harassing, etc.
b. No racial/religious/national/ethnical slurs are tolerated. We do not allow promotion of drug abuse.
c. Guild chat and private messages are not monitored - rules there are not being enforced on a regular basis - however, statements can be taken as harassment and reported to staff.
___
Drugs:
Absolutely, no overhead or “[c†chat of any type of narcotic use or illegal over-the-counter drug use. Also, no talking about or hinting toward the cultural aspects of these actions. Examples of this are as follows:
Bob: “Haha, it’s 4:20! =)â€
Bob: “I’m so blazed right nowâ€
We warn first, unless you share a really explicit thing first. In which case, we will likely jail for an hour. If this upsets you, that’s unfortunate. Joining this shard and playing on it is an automatic agreement to follow the rules of the shard, and you subject yourself to the judgment of the staff member(s) online at the time. There is not enough space in the codex to outline every situation and say its wrong, so common sense and reasoning is necessary when interpreting a situation and its status with the codex. We do not jail players “on a whim.†We have a system of checks and balances where we check with the other staff members and ask them for their opinions on the matter. This includes me, a seer, asking a counselor about the fairness of my actions. Also, we need to keep our actions in check because the coordinating administrator, Colibri, always follows up with punishments. It’s not as if we have free reign.
Alcohol:
Alcohol is a part of the game (bars, bartenders, “Melisande’s Wineâ€, etc.). However, talking in overhead and global about personal experience and “omgth, I’m playing OU drunk its fun†is not permitted. This is not only prohibited, but it’s also not necessary. I see no problem in hanging out with friends in your own home or in guild/party chat to talk about these things, but it has no place in global or in front of Brit bank. Examples of what is not allowed:
Bob: “I did a wicked keg stand last nightâ€
Bob: “I just had like, 3 long islands, and I’m feeling goooodâ€
Examples of what is allowed:
Bob: “What is Melisande’s Wine for?â€
Bob: “I prefer Bud Lightâ€
*I realize people drink alcohol, I being one of them, and that children see this in restaurants and family get-togethers. However, talking about irresponsible behavior with alcohol is not allowed.
Sex:
No. Just no. Nobody wants to hear about it, or at least most don’t want to hear it. Talking about how hot an actor or actress is, is one thing. Detail is quite another. Vagueness and general commentary is your best friend for topics like this. So, let’s say:
A: No description of anatomy you wouldn’t see in a PG rated movie
B: No description of behavior you wouldn’t see in a PG rated movie
Example of okay talk:
Bob: “Jessica Beal is hot.â€
Bob: “That guy has amazing hair.â€
Language:
No obvious swear words (S, F, A, B). The word “Hell†is in the game already (Hell Hound), so It’s hard to make a case that it’s not allowed without changing the monster’s name to “Heck Hounds.†But, the use of this word for attacks and overall “look at me†behavior is frowned upon. Telling someone to “go to hellâ€, is deemed a personal attack. Saying in global “Labyrinth is hell†one time over a while is one thing that I would overlook. Saying “Oh Hell!†five times in a row for whatever reason is deemed (in my opinion) as “look at me, I can swear†behavior that will be warned and followed by a short jailing if necessary.
I have yet to see anyone say, “Hold on, I am unpacking my ass (jackass) at Brit bank so I can shrink it.†So, until that day comes that it is consistently used in the right context, I will see the word “Ass†as a swear word that I will warn against using. Also, calling someone a “jackass†may not be deemed as swearing, it is a personal attack.
Even though we have dogs and wolves here, and some are female, it is not alright to say the “B†word in public overhead or global chat.
Even though there are things used for female hygiene in the real world (“DBâ€), they are not here. So, don’t talk about them, or use them in a sentence in public overhead or global chat in any context.
Sigh…anything you can foresee yourself getting in trouble for using, just don’t use it. If you use it, accept the consequences from not being able to use common sense and listening to staff warnings.
Harassment:
From Dictionary.com:
“To disturb persistently; torment, as with troubles or cares; bother continually; pester; persecute.â€
Notice this has nothing about swearing in it. So, just because you are bothering a player repeatedly after they tell you to stop, but you are not swearing, that doesn’t mean you’re squeaky clean. Public overhead chat and global chat use of “black listing†players (action with intention to “inform†the masses about a player in a negative way) is strictly prohibited. Repeated private messaging of players who requested your halting of doing so, is prohibited. Following players around in game with the intent of disrupting their gameplay and enjoyment of the game is also prohibited. The following is a list of behaviors that are deemed as harassment after the player asks for the other player to stop via private message:
Following someone into their private home, following someone and verbally harassing them; kill stealing; looting another player’s kill; using magic to create obstacles the victim must move around to escape or obtain something (stone circle, stone wall, energy field, etc); using creatively named pets and placing them at a players vendor, house gate, or home; using books and message boards to leave undesirable messages for players. (The behavior of harassing is not limited to just these behaviors)
The player being harassed must first send the offending player a private message and wait a few minutes before it can be assumed that an action is a purposeful attempt to harass.
Retribution:
You have NO right to this, beyond speaking your mind in a calm and collected manner without the use of vulgarity, humiliation, swearing, and multiple expressions that may be seen as harassment. Vengeance is ours, and we do our homework when it comes to alleged offenses. We also watch situations that we are warned about, like hawks. So, when you feel that you’ve been wronged and the other player is unresponsive or demeaning, your duty is to report to staff the name of the character, the behavior, and the time it happened. We will investigate.
Soliciting Other Shards:
This is for all methods of communication used in the shard and outside the client, but part of the shard (Global Chat, Overhead Chat, Private Messages, Guild Chat, Party Chat, Using books and passing them out, Forum, Ventrilo). A Ford car lot wouldn’t let a Honda salesman work their floor, why should we allow the competition to advertise here?
Hopefully this eliminates some confusion. Frankly, I am a bit saddened that I needed to type this out. But, here it is, and there are examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. For some of you out there, you need to stop blaming the rules and regulations and start thinking before you act. People don’t need to be told every single situation that is right or wrong, they need to look at a general guideline and use common sense and reasoning skills.
Oh yeah, just because children hear swear words, sexual references, and drug/alcohol use references on a daily basis, is not a rationale for having it on here.
-V
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