Policy

The policy is divided into four sections: the Policy itself, the Mudiquette, the Immortal Law and the Mortal Law. In the game, policy shows the rules and help mudiquette the mudiquette.

The Policy #

The policy consists of some rules which must be obeyed under all circumstances. It describes the minimum behaviour expected of players. These rules are there to let the majority of the people here have fun, to foster socialising with others, and to keep this game - it is a game, after all - fair for everyone.

Roleplay is no excuse for disregarding the policy! Not having read or understood the policy is no excuse either! Interpretation, and especially stretching, of these rules is not up to you! Enforcement is a matter for the elder gods (immortals above God level), and can take the form of severe punishments, up to the deletion of characters and the banning of sites, i.e. exclusion from the Realm.

The Rules #

1. It is forbidden to harm the integrity of the MUD as a program, a game and a society on purpose. Examples of such actions:

   • excessive harm wrought on others
   • picking on newbies
   • making the MUD a political forum
   • spreading radical thoughts or discriminating ideas in general
   • sexual harassment
   • crashing the MUD
   • abusing bugs or features

   The punishments for these actions are most likely to be severe! As a guideline, avoid any excessive behaviour, and any behaviour you would not like either if you were its victim.

2. Crimes which are not covered by the policy may be dealt with by a mortal law system, which applies to mortals only. The mortal folk can change the mortal law in this way: they have to make a public proposal to change the law at least a week in advance, writing it on the mortal board. This is followed by a common vote. Any law which is against the policy is void.

3. It is not allowed to have more than one character in the MUD at any one time, or to use any other way of helping one character with another - e.g. handing over equipment and money directly or via third persons, preparing mobs for an easier fight, creating characters to store equipment, etc. This rule is there to foster grouping and to keep the game fair.

4. The language of the MUD is ENGLISH. So don't use any other language on the public channels and boards either.

5. It is forbidden to give established characters away to others, or to share one character with another player. This is to maintain the identity of the player behind the character, and for roleplay.

6. It is forbidden to have a character played entirely by an automated client program or script (otherwise known as a robot). The main reason is that this is considered harmful to the social environment in the long run.

The Mudiquette #

The mudiquette describes how players should best behave. It is not binding, but according to the policy, disregarding the mudiquette can have consequences if it happens often or in a serious way.

• The main aim of this MUD is to have fun and to let others have fun too.
• Everyone should have the chance to play the role they want to play, as long as their role doesn't keep others from playing theirs.
• If you have "fun" with others, make sure that your victim sees it as fun too! If someone does something silly, they have to repair the "damage" they did.
• Everyone is responsible for their own actions.
• If roleplaying (e.g. membership of the order of Assassins) demands doing some evil things, the player has to be punished by the mortal law if caught. But if they overdo it, they may damage the integrity of the MUD (see above).
• If you feel you were treated unfairly, speak up! That is what the boards and the judges in the game are for. Do it at once, not a few days later...
• The political climate the gods want in this little world can be summed up in the words newbie-friendly, democratic, clear, sensible, and maybe happy. More precisely, this means that we want players to help other players within sensible limits, for example by telling them how to eat, or by bringing them to their corpses.
• Use reasonable language, not far from the language you use in real life. If you use bad language, other people will try to do "better" than you by using worse language. You can never foresee what a single action of yours will do to the climate of the world, so you are advised to act as cautiously as possible. If you are friendly, other beings will probably become friendlier too, even if that happens very slowly.
• The gods should try to listen to the mortals and answer them, if the questions are reasonable.
• Immortals can make mistakes too. They will try to repair them, but only if it is really proven that damage was done. Damage means that stats of items or mobs were changed.
• Be sure to use the correct communication channel:

Using worldwide channels for minor reasons can be very annoying to players who experience lag, or to immortals who are creating. Spamming the channels is tolerated if you do it two or three times, but if you spam too much, it annoys everyone.

Remember that there are living, feeling human beings sitting behind the terminals, who are probably trying to escape the cruel real world right now. Don't make their virtual lives a horror trip too. Act wisely at all times, and if you can't, log off and sleep, or do something nice with your loved one.

The Immortal Law #

The immortal law describes the rules the immortals must follow. The Greater Gods and Implementors will enforce these laws if needed. The immortal laws are directed only at the immortals, not at the mortals. Once the laws are in place, they can be changed and/or added to by the elders (level 46 and above).

1. The handbook has to be obeyed!
2. The lower immortals do not have any administrative rights. It is the task of the higher gods to enforce the policy and/or the mudiquette. Only in special, extraordinary situations are the lower immortals allowed to keep players from damaging the integrity of the MUD.
3. You are responsible for everything you do! So if you act foolishly, you have to bear the consequences. Denying your actions will be treated as damaging the integrity of the MUD.
4. We try to have a democratic climate here in the immortal spheres, but if necessary, you have to accept the hierarchy. We don't want you to go around cursing the administration, but sometimes criticism has to be heard - except when an immortal has to be punished.
5. If you think something is going wrong, you have to say so! No one is allowed to punish you just because you said what you think (as long as it is in line with the integrity of the MUD and the policy).
6. Besides the handbook, you also have to follow the words of the wise priest (room #1209).

The Mortal Law #

See Mortal Law (members only), or help mortal law in the game.

Addendum #

Thank you for reading this...

- The Administration -

PS: If you come across someone violating the policy, please inform the administration. The Implementors and Greater Gods will take care of the problem.