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    Model Policies?

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    • Bad at Lurking
      Bad at Lurking last edited by

      I am looking for short, clear, reasonable MUSH policies to steal emulate. Does anybody have any favorites?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • sibermaus
        sibermaus last edited by

        • Don't be a jerk. Don't harass or stalk others.
        • Don't cheat or exploit loopholes in the code.
        • Keep IC and OOC separate.

        Those are the top three I usually start with.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
        • Tinuviel
          Tinuviel last edited by

          "Staff reserve the right to ban, exclude, or otherwise punish any player that goes against the spirit of these rules, without necessarily breaking the rules."

          He/Him

          Arkandel 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 11
          • Arkandel
            Arkandel Admin @Tinuviel last edited by

            Yeah, what the other folks said. Don't try to predict every single thing someone can do, that just leads to rules lawyering and similar silliness.

            "Don't be a jerk" should cover it. If anyone has a question about whether something is okay they can ask staff.

            • He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • Misadventure
              Misadventure last edited by

              • Protect yourself.
              • Help staff to protect you and others.

              I have a waggish sense of humor.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • Bad at Lurking
                Bad at Lurking last edited by Bad at Lurking

                Here is what I'm thinking of. It's not perfect, but I think it gets across the important stuff without trying to be some pseudo-legalese charter.

                Rule 0: Be Excellent To One Another.
                Don’t be a jerk to each other or staff. This includes harassment, stalking, exploiting code bugs and anything else that might end up being problematic. Give each other the benefit of a doubt and be kind, OOCly, to your fellow players and staff. We’re all here to have fun together.

                Rule 1: Be An Adult.
                Players and characters must be 18+. No NPCed minor characters may be posed in sexual situations, whether participating or merely present. Whatever players get up to in private scenes is their business, but no sexual situations or violence beyond an R-rating should be posted to the website.

                Rule 2: Be thoughtful.
                Rape, sexual abuse, graphic torture and similar topics are not things we’re exploring on this MUSH. Don’t introduce them as elements in scenes, plot points or parts of backgrounds. In addition, respect your fellow players and staff members and their comfort levels. If somebody asks you to fade to black on a scene they find disturbing, do so. That doesn’t mean the consequences of IC actions are avoided, it just means the players and staff will work out the outcome without the details and stress the player is avoiding.

                If you have a question about any of the above rules or want to discuss the possibility that you or somebody else may be breaking them, please talk to us. Staff can’t enforce rules if we don’t see or hear about the rules being broken and we are eager to work with players to help make the game more comfortable, welcoming and fun for everybody.

                Auspice 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • Auspice
                  Auspice @Bad at Lurking last edited by

                  @Bad-at-Lurking said in Model Policies?:

                  but no sexual situations or violence beyond an R-rating should be posted to the website.

                  One thing I asked on SGM was that anything above a PG-13 rating be tagged (Ares makes this easy with the content tags) for those who read logs at work. Basically: yes we're an R-rated game, but we also know a lot of people like to browse, hang out, and read logs at work, so be mindful of them and just tag it.

                  Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.

                  Bad at Lurking 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                  • Bad at Lurking
                    Bad at Lurking @Auspice last edited by

                    @Auspice That's probably a better policy, all the way around!

                    Auspice 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • Auspice
                      Auspice @Bad at Lurking last edited by

                      @Bad-at-Lurking said in Model Policies?:

                      @Auspice That's probably a better policy, all the way around!

                      It's a policy I like because it lets people feel more free to both read and post logs. That way no one's left going 'ehhhhh can I post this? is it too gory/racy/etc.?' and no one's left stumbling across a section in a log that is not OK to be reading at work (or school or a friend's house or whatever).

                      Plus, I found players start to have fun with their tags. 😄

                      Also, I would suggest (and this is more for you than players) a policy that outlines that Staff are on the game to have fun also. Can include mentions that if a Staffer is on their PC, to not bother them with game stuff. That if Staff isn't having fun, they may take breaks. etc.

                      Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • Chet
                        Chet Banned last edited by

                        1. MUSHing is about world-building, not playing around on your weekend or developing characters. If you focus on the primary function, the latter benefits will follow.

                        2. A good staffer is a legendary villainous heel before being recruited, but not out of character. The villainous heel in character provides elements to the plot crucial to a game's longevity, but the latter trait makes the player an enemy of the state in their own mind. The latter player should be told to start their own project, maybe they might be useful to MUSHing as a whole.

                        3. Proper game design involves an asymmetry that has a potential cheat, the potential cheat being your intended method of direction in the MUSH theme. If there's no way to cheat the game, then there won't be players, and if the cheat doesn't follow theme, your game doesn't follow the intents, it becomes a new animal. Combine the functions, you have steering, automatically.

                        Wizz Auspice 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Wizz
                          Wizz @Chet last edited by

                          @Chet

                          alt text

                          ^_______^
                          (@_____@)
                          ---|---
                          /\

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 6
                          • Auspice
                            Auspice @Chet last edited by

                            @Chet shake head

                            Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Chet
                              Chet Banned last edited by

                              Luthor!

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • Bad at Lurking
                                Bad at Lurking last edited by

                                huh

                                I ... have to admit that I'm a bit hesitant about, um, arch-villaining my potential playerbase. If that was your point?

                                Wait, was that that your point?

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • surreality
                                  surreality last edited by

                                  I... think? the point on #2 was meant to be: 'look for the kind of person who could play a major IC antagonist while maintaining positive relations with all parties they interact with in that role throughout the course of play over time' when considering potential staffers.

                                  I think.

                                  I hope?

                                  While that isn't how I would have put it, I can see that logic (in a very general way).

                                  Oh fucking well.

                                  Derp 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                  • Derp
                                    Derp Admin @surreality last edited by

                                    @surreality

                                    I think that @Chet is generally thinking of game design like I do. Rephrased, I believe that he's saying:

                                    1. A good staffer does not have to be the person that plays the most popular character. You should look for the people that, even when acting as an antagonist, know how to use their actions to further the story as a whole, rather than the one that plays the character everyone likes, as they are more likely to have a fairly balanced hand and be less swayed in their storytelling by the cult of public opinion. Just beware the ones that take their villainy into OOC levels, because then they tend to think that they're on some kind of holy crusade against the injustices of the game.

                                    2. Good game design requires that the odds are stacked against the characters -- but that the characters can find some clever way to overcome those odds. If everything is copacetic, there is nothing for them to work toward or struggle against. Many people try to create worlds where the characters can live their lives in comfort and get all the fuzzy feels, but those games are lacking a major component. If you give the characters something to work toward, even in the face of overwhelming odds, so long as you have some path for them to progress, even if it's trench warfare, then activity will flow.

                                    Racism isn't Tinkerbell. It doesn't need you to believe in it for it to exist.

                                    surreality 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • surreality
                                      surreality @Derp last edited by

                                      @Derp Yeah, that's the translation I came to as well. By 'positive relations' I mean OOC, IC popularity/being loved isn't a factor there.

                                      Oh fucking well.

                                      Derp 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • Derp
                                        Derp Admin @surreality last edited by

                                        @surreality said in Model Policies?:

                                        @Derp Yeah, that's the translation I came to as well. By 'positive relations' I mean OOC, IC popularity/being loved isn't a factor there.

                                        Yeah, I wasn't actually disagreeing. I think we're on the same page. 😄

                                        Racism isn't Tinkerbell. It doesn't need you to believe in it for it to exist.

                                        surreality 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • surreality
                                          surreality @Derp last edited by

                                          @Derp Yup!

                                          Oh fucking well.

                                          Derp 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • Derp
                                            Derp Admin @surreality last edited by

                                            I think that WoD is especially noteworthy in lacking #2. Your main sources of plot (in-game governance and primary antagonists) both tend to be rendered toothless before the game even gets off of the ground. The governments are almost entirely created as some manner of PC-controlled democracy, and primary antagonist factions are all but absent. This turns your game into The Sims with Monsters. You need those sources of conflict, and you need them to be present in a significant enough way that PCs cannot simply ignore them or dispatch them easily.

                                            So one policy that I would put up, though others would disagree with -- no top-tier PC leadership. Many will groan. But you'll ensure that your game actually has more longevity in the long run, despite the players that say "Well if I can't be Queen then what's the point?"

                                            Racism isn't Tinkerbell. It doesn't need you to believe in it for it to exist.

                                            Auspice 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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