RULES
Please note that these rules are merely a reflection of the actual rules, which are most up-to-date on the MUD itself.
- Rules for Gameplay and Social Interaction
- All players are expected to know and follow the following rules.
1) No griefing or harassing other players. Try not to be a huge jerk.
2) Speak in English on public channels, and don't spam.
3) Don't try to abuse bugs or clearly unintended features to cheat or break the game. We want you to actually play it!
4) If you're not paying full attention to the game, your character shouldn't be doing anything. Triggers are allowed if you're playing the game, but we want you to actually play it!
5) There are restrictions on the creation of multiple characters by the same player. For more information, type 'help seconds' in the game.
These are guidelines which hopefully explain enough for players to understand the spirit of the rules and be able to follow them. If they are unclear, see below for an FAQ with precise examples of what these rules mean to you. If they are still unclear, feel free to ask a wizard or administrator in the game.
- Rules FAQ
- The following is an FAQ on rules applications, for people wondering if they're allowed to do something specific, and not sure if it breaks one of the rules. This isn't all-inclusive, it's just a list of examples that have come up in the past.
Rule 1: No griefing or harassing other players.
- Q: How do the rules apply to misleading new players?
A: Of course people will poke fun or make jokes on the gossip channel. However, the newbie channel is dedicated to Q&A about the game. Despite the name, it's not just for new players: it's a place where anyone can ask a question about the game, and get an honest answer (there is to be no lying on newbie.)
- Q: How does UOSSMUD handle sexual harassment?
A: Sexual harassment is treated very seriously. If you feel you have been harassed, sexually or otherwise, please record a log of the event and mail it to one of the active wizards or, if necessary, an administrator. (You can find a list of wizards and administrators using the 'wizlist' command.)
- Q: What about spoiling people on games/movies/etc?
A: Of course, nobody wants to be spoiled accidentally, so we have some simple social guidelines regarding spoilers for recent media in public communications. Movies are considered "recent" for two weeks. Games are considered "recent" for six months. On private channels, you can say whatever you want as long as everyone has consented to spoilers.
- Q: Is swearing allowed?
A: Some swears are automatically censored on the major public channels. Please don't be excessively vile in global communication that all players can see.
- Q: Does PK count as griefing?
A: No, we have a PK system for people who enjoy it, and you can choose to opt into PK mode if you want. PK mode is optional, and if you don't turn it on, you can't be killed. But if you do become a PKer, there are some rules about how it works. Type 'help pk' for more information about it, if you're interested. Also, if you're not a PKer, please don't help people who are PKers kill each-other. They can't kill you back, so it's not fair.
- Q: What if I just want to kill someone a little, not be PK-4-lyfe?
A: We have arenas below center for no XP loss group and single combat. Knock yourself out! Or get knocked out by someone else.
Rule 2: Speak in English on public channels, and don't spam.
- Q: Why can't we foreign languages on public channels?
A: If you're using foreign languages, we just can't tell what's going on, which makes it very hard to moderate. Additionally, it kinda goes against the point of communicating effectively over channels, which is a lot like spamming. Basically, be considerate, stick to English.
- Q: Can I use foreign languages in private?
A: Yes, feel free to make a private channel and invite whoever you want to it, and moderate it yourself using whatever guidelines you want. Though if you start harassing people on private channels, that's still not acceptable.
- Q: What if I have a big block of text I actually need to share with everyone, just once?
A: We have a dedicated 'spam' channel for delivering large blocks of text. You can also use the 'mail' command to send a large message to another player. Otherwise, try to keep messages below 5 lines of text, and be reasonable.
Rule 3: Don't try to abuse bugs or clearly unintended features to cheat or break the game. We want you to actually play it!
- Q: If I discover a bug in the game, what should I do?
A: Please report it using the 'bug' command and it will be fixed as soon as possible. If you got killed because of it, we'll try to reimburse you. If it is an emergency, you can use the 'wizcall' command, just like a tell, to alert all wizards that are currently on.
- Q: I want to help a friend but he's too low level for me to add to my party. Can I help him while we're not partied?
A: Helping people out a reasonable amount is fine. If you see someone having trouble, feel free to cast a spell to help them along. We actually encourage players to raise others, and have a channel (the 'death' channel) to make that easier for everyone to do (go ahead and turn it on now!) But don't just follow someone around as they fight monsters and heal them every round when they're not in your party. And please don't attack enemies until they're at very low HP, and then let someone else get the final hit so they get all the experience. The reason we have a limit on who you can party with is to keep people from just overwhelming all the game's challenges without any effort on their own part.
Rule 4: If you're not paying full attention to the game, your character shouldn't be doing anything. Triggers are allowed if you're playing the game, but we want you to actually play it!
- Q: What kinds of automatic triggers are allowed?
A: Combat is pretty fast, especially in a party, and you're allowed to use triggers to keep up with it as long as you're paying attention. But don't go completely on auto-pilot. If you're not at the computer, doing at least part of the gameplay yourself, your character should not be doing anything. If it does, it's called botting, and it's illegal.
- Q: Does that include automatically relogging, or using a trigger to keep myself unidle so I don't get kicked off?
A: Yeah, it does. We have a system that logs you out after 3 hours, so please don't try to get around it. If you're getting logged out much faster than 3 hours by your internet provider, you can use the active_idle command to stop that from happening. Type 'help active_idle' for more information.
General Information
- Q: You've scattered a lot of random references to helpful things in this file. Can I just have a quick summary?
A: Sure can! In addition to 'help bin' and 'help commands':
- 'wizlist' to get a list of all wizards and administrators
- 'bug' and 'typo' to report bugs and typos when you see them (help bug has more informaiton on how to file a good bug report.)
- 'wizcall' for emergency immediate wizard contact.
- 'chan death' is the channel for asking for raises.
- 'help grouping' has information about making a party.
- 'help pk' is the help file for people who want to PK.
- 'help active_idle' if you're having trouble with your connection timing out early.
- Q: What happens if someone breaks these rules?
A: Well, you're responsible for trying to follow the rules, but a simple slip-up can happen to anyone. No will be very sad about the broken rule, and any number of punishments may be applied, based on the severity of the infraction. Type 'help punishments' in the game to a list of the most common types of punishments and some cases in which they've been applied.