Role Play, Rules, and you

[Agmen of Eladesor]

There has been a couple of incidents recently that, due to both the posted reaction, and the root causes, have left a bad taste in my mouth.

Now, first of all this is a game that we presumably all play to have fun. If you're not here to have fun playing, then what exactly are you here for? The friendly competition? That's perfectly fine with me as well. But the key thing is that first and foremost we have rules here, just as you do with any game.

But this isn't just any game, like Monopoly or Risk. This is Discovery, a role-playing game based off of the old Freelancer. So that means that you can't use the simple rules here like you would, say, from Yahtzee. Role playing games have been around for decades. Those of us who are old enough remember playing Dungeons and Dragons, where you assume the role of a heroic warrior, a cunning magician, a sneaky thief, or whatever your imagination (and the dice) would let you create - that was within the rules of the game and that your Dungeon Master could run.

Oh, that's right, you had to have a Dungeon Master, too - the guy that created the world you played in, ran things, and enforced the rules that you had all agreed to play under. Fortunately, in games like that, it was possible for the DM to let some things slide if he wanted to, since you were all sitting around the coffee table, and he would have his screen up so you couldn't really tell if that monster had just scored a natural 20 that would kill your character.

Now - let's move forward in time a few decades (or centuries, depending upon your perpective), into a different genre. Now we have people role-playing as heroic warriors, sneaky pirates, and blue jellys (that since they were the original inhabitants of Sirius, are the real residents, while humans are the aliens - but that's for another topic). But guess what? We still have rules that all of the players have to follow. Those are listed here: http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4040

And instead of Dungeon Masters, we have Server Administrators. It specifically states the responsibilities of the Server Admins in the rules. It is the job of the admins to first, keep the server up and running, and second, fairly enforce the rules for all players, regardless of who they are or any affiliations.

By the same token, one of our players has made an excellent commentary about a responsibility of the player, and that is this:

1. Consult an Admin before you do anything that could seriously affect others. The Admin can tell you where to look. Admins can be reached by PM. Alternately you could ask a Mod, also listed and readily available and always willing to answer questions. Failing all that... Angels... they are there to help, use them.

Please note that this doesn't say run to the creator of Discovery - it says talk to the Admins. If information is not passed on to the people that are involved in the day to day running of the server, then we have to make our call based upon what we know. And while there are some things we can fudge (helping someone with a faction rep, for example), we are both obliged to and required to investigate each sanction report and if a rules violation exists, to deal with it in a fair and impartial manner.

Complaining that we are stifling role play - while at the same time not affording us the courtesy of actually following the rules that we expect and require all players (including ourselves) to follow - is disheartening, to say the least. You are not the only player - or faction - on this server. Certain factions here have special requirements, and we do understand that. But no one, including us, is above the rules.

I agree that role-playing is what our game here is supposed to be all about. And there are occasions when people carry things too far - it is at times easy to get into the persona of the person, being, or thing you are portraying - that's why role-playing is all about acting. We have two aspects of that here - in game and on the forum. In both places, we expect (and require) that you afford each other the common courtesy that you would expect to have applied to you, should the situations be reversed.

In summation, you cannot opt out of being bound by the rules of the server or of the forum. It is your choice to play here. This is a dynamic environment, and things can and do change. We will try to do what we can to let you know about what's going on - and we will always try to be as absolutely fair with each and every one of you that we can. Afford us the courtesy of assuming that we are doing our jobs - that we have been selected to do.

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Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.

[Elsdragon]

Well said Agmen, well said.

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No longer a slave to the man!

[Hidamari]

whats this about o_o ...did sombody phone the big boss direct instead of going through the switchboard ?

i mean its all true, but still..

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[Exsiled_one]

someone has been poking Igiss constantly?:D

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<span style="color:#33CC00">I AM GIVING AWAY MONEY TO CREATIVE MINDS*</span>

[mwerte]

In summation, you cannot opt out of being bound by the rules of the server or of the forum.

[ignorethepersonoverthinkingaboutwordmeanings] Summation is an interesting word. Not sure if it quite fits, but meh. [/ignorethepersonoverthinkingaboutwordmeanings]

Anyway. Last time I checked, this was a community of players. Admins aren't quite "Dungeon Masters" in that they're outside the game itself, admins are players as well. At least, that's how it was.

The rules have been known to be wrong. Admins have been known to do stupid things. They are still people (Except Hoodlum, he's just scaryness incarnate). The interpretation, and wording, of the rules changes constantly. There was a time when there was no limit on how many times you could attack the person that killed you. Then there was a "3 Deaths" limit. Now we have "Cannot enter the same system". Things change, rules are mis-applied or out-of-date or whatever, so no, while we cannot opt out of following the rules, we can change them. 97% of the time, problems with the rules are found when someone smacks into one inadvertently. Then they get changed.

And by the by, Igiss is an admin, so consulting with him is still following:

1. Consult an Admin before you do anything that could seriously affect others. The Admin can tell you where to look. Admins can be reached by PM. Alternately you could ask a Mod, also listed and readily available and always willing to answer questions. Failing all that... Angels... they are there to help, use them.

Except, I can't find where that was written. It's not in the server rules or forum rules. :wacko:

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[masternerdguy]

looks like the endless sea of RP threads finally angered the admin gods....
Now maybe peeps will comment on my idea to add a wolf rayet star...

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Send the fat kid in to see if its a trap

[aerelm]

Let me ask you something Agmen... How many of the violation reports filed, show the possible "violator" doing a pretty good RP (if not perfect) which justifies their actions perfectly, even though the actions might conflict with Rules in one way or another? ... And in how many of those reports, the one filing the report had died to the "Violator"?

I'm not saying this to support the idea of "Roleplay Above Ruleplay", And even though I agree with that, but I understand that it raises certain problems and must be avoided. But Although I understand your point, it's not always the "Violator" that must be looked down at, it's the one reporting it, who is using the Rules as a "Shield" or a way to "Revenge" the Blue Message... Which is Sad!

[Fro]

Except, I can't find where that was written. It's not in the server rules or forum rules. :wacko:

http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=57487