A reminder about player conduct

[Liareth]

In the last few weeks we have received a number of complaints about the conduct of various players, both in-game and out-of-game. I think it would be useful to reiterate here what we expect from the community.

In-game Conduct

As a server created and run by volunteers, most of whom are amateurs united only by their love of storytelling, it is inevitable that some potential avenues of abuse will be overlooked when implementing new mechanical systems. Just because these oversights exist doesn’t mean it is acceptable for people to abuse them – especially when the abuse negatively impacts the enjoyment of other players!

I’m going to call out a specific scenario here to illustrate exactly what I’m talking about. Recently we were made aware that one or more assassins were gaming the contract system by standing next to a mark before the contract had been placed, then instructing the contractor to place the contract and immediately killing the mark before they had time to respond.

This sort of play is very cheesy and completely unacceptable. Mechanically you can do it, and you can set the situation up so that *technically* no metagaming occurs. You can *dance around the rules*. But that doesn’t make it right, and that doesn’t mean we’re not going to put a stop to it.

If you find yourself playing on Arelith with the sole purposes of winning then you’re probably playing on the wrong server (and you’re probably playing the wrong game). Our server exists for collaborative storytelling. It does *not* exist for gratuitous PvP or mechanical abuse.

Please try to keep in mind the purpose of the server when you play here. The experience of others is as important as your own.

tl;dr:



Out-of-game Conduct

We are not interested in policing what you do outside of the server. If you want to be racist, sexist, mean, or a despicable example of humanity in general in your own time and in your own space, that’s your prerogative! We don’t care what you post on your twitter feed about your least favourite minority.

We do take issue when your actions impact members of our community. As above, I am going to call out a specific scenario here -- Discord.

For those of you who are unaware, Discord is a chat client that is popular with many community members. It can be used to access a community-run chat channel with nearly one hundred members. The chat channel is a place for community members to engage in unmoderated informal discussion about anything at all.

At its best, the channel is a great place for players to socialise, joke around, and vent their frustrations about the flawed status quo (in a measured way). I have met new friends there and I'm very glad for its existence.

At its worst, it can be incredibly toxic echo chamber.

Over the last month I have personally seen some unacceptable behaviour in the channel, and as a team we have received a number of reports from concerned players who have noticed the same. I don’t mean ranting or the usual internet fair, both of which are to be expected -- I mean systematic bullying of certain players because you dislike them or something they’ve done in the past.

It is very important to remember that the Discord chat channel is not a private one. New players often have a poke at the channel before trying the server to get a feel for the community. Its impact is very different to small and personal Skype groups.

Ranting about a certain player in a private chat, while distasteful, might not cause any actual harm. In a public one, like the channel in question, you *are* actively bullying them, even if you can mental gymnastics around it. Your words will influence the opinion of others who are completely disconnected from the situation and may never have even interacted with the target of your hatred!

I have spoken to players who utterly detested others. When I ask them why, they told me, "because they are bad players", and when I prompted them for further information I was told, "<x> said they did <y>". I am sure it goes without saying that this is a *terrible* thing.

Think about how you would feel if everybody hated you and regularly made that clear in a public chat channel, and justified their hatred with their biased perspective while you were unable to defend yourself.

Please try to keep the effect of your words in mind. They do have a very real impact not only on the target of your hatred, but also on how others perceive you. It's all fun and game until you look around and realise nobody can stand to be in your presence for longer than a few minutes because all you've ever accomplished in your life is spewing vitriol. You've become That Guy.

We do not run the channel in question. As such, we have no say in how it is run or moderated. With that said, we are not going to overlook bullying just because it doesn’t occur on the official server, in the same way that a school wouldn’t overlook bullying because it *technically* occurred outwith school grounds.

Going forwards, expect us to treat out-of-game bullying in the same way we would treat in-game bullying.

tl;dr:

[Dunshine]

I've spent a good part of my morning editing forum posts today, so figured a reminder seems necessary. Do not target specific people on the forum. If you have a any issues with specific people, DMs or events, send a PM.

- Complaints about people, events -> PM Active DMs
- Complaints about DMs -> PM Head DM (Innis)
- Complaints about forum conduct -> PM Forum Moderators
- Complaints about anything else -> PM Active Admins

There is nothing wrong with having civilized discussions in the open forums, and constructive critisism about server direction or staff behaviour, on the contrary, but keep it general and polite.

[MalKalz]

It would appear that another reminder and message on conduct is necessary as over the past few weeks we have had several complaints about conduct both IC and OOC. What I would first like to echo to the players are the two messages above, they sum up some concerns and detail the appropriate places to report these. However, it would appear it is also necessary for myself to spend time going over this behaviour.

Arelith is a player community that has persisted for 15 years. Players from all over the world with various backgrounds, beliefs and styles join us and define what our server is. As a person you can act whatever way you want outside of the game - you only define yourselves out there. But, when joining you need to show respect, respect for one another, respect for the staff that spend hours building / designing and respect for the DM team / Admin team.

Two areas that I will focus on are IC and OOC.

IC Conduct

Characters can choose to love or hate one another. This is strictly done through the stories we tell and the behaviour of our characters. However, the actions we take should not reflect the player emotions or find ways to abuse system, mechanics and designs to ruin the fun of players. Players join the server to enjoy their evening and do not need to fear having it ruined purposefully. Some examples would be violations of Rule 2 and the Be Nice rule; this applies to PvP and Settlement powers. Make an effort to tell a story and keep it strictly in-game. If you fear you cannot, turn on -notells and enjoy the peace.

Just because you can do something does not mean you have to. Consider what purpose it has, if it is completely necessary and what doors you are closing. Try to be inclusive and open minded when playing with one another - a collective story has more of an impact than the individual interaction that closes it all off.

And, to be clear, I'll use an example:

Because you dislike a player OOC for whatever reason does not give you the right to target them IC and act differently toward them then your worst enemy purely on an OOC front. We have had reports of this happening which have harmed the fun that can be had on the server and made players uncomfortable and upset.

OOC Conduct

This is the largest contribution to un-fun environments and the majority of our cases as of late. Simply put, I am disgusted with what I have read that has been detailed about fellow community members on the server. There comes a point where a line is crossed, and it being crossed will result in serious punishments for offending parties. While we do not actively police discords, we will act upon them if the behaviour is detrimental to the server and not in line with the expectations we have set forth for the playerbase.

Allow me to bring up one of the biggest culprits -- Discord.

Discord can be a valuable tool for quick communciation, organization and a sense of community. However, there are always two sides to a coin and it is that Discord is also very destructive. Going over another case, creating Discord servers to specifically trash talk an individual or, as a faction, find a way to destroy their enjoyment every time they log in is completely unacceptable. Furthermore, the language and descriptions used of your fellow players, and staff members is appalling. You should simply ask yourself: "Would I want to be spoken to like this? Or spoken about like this?" If you can't answer yes, then do not say anything. It is better to bite your tongue.

Players are entitled to their opinion and are able to vocalize it with friends. However, taking it too far is unnecessary and needs to stop. The team is not against the use of discord, but leave the enjoyment of the game to the IC actions and choices we make, and keep the OOC out.

What is necessary of players is evaluation of themselves. Look at how you conduct yourself. If you are acting in a way to someone that you would like to be treated then you are doing just fine. If you are bullying, harassing, scheming to ruin fun or anything that you wouldn't want done to yourself, reassess your own behaviour before the staff needs to intervene.

I strongly encourage you to read Liareth's post above. I can only say so much that isn't said there. But, we will intervene on out-of-character bullying the same way as in-game. And, the punishments are not light wrist taps.

Regards,

Spyre

[Irongron]

Adding to this thread as I've seen a noticeable slide in forum behaviour over the last couple of weeks.

The topic about 6 months of EE has been enjoyable and encouraging - where players have been able to offer differing viewpoints on an issue without taking an unpleasant tone with those who disagree.

Sadly in some other threads, and with certain individuals, this has not always been the case.

Please remember to be respectful to respectful to other players, even when you may not agree with them.