With the prospect of new players joining, as well as a refresher for those of us who have been here for a while, we feel that a reminder should be sent out to everyone who frequents the forums.
When to report a post
-Trolling: This is if someone is blatantly being rude and/or offensive. For example, "You're only saying that because you suck at life and I'm so much more better than you". Report it, since that is blatant trolling. -Trial by Forum: Someone calls out a specific person/player/shipname. No example needed, you know what this is. -Out of context: Someone is posting in a non-flood thread that has nothing to do with the topic and is causing issues/arguing. This is a little more based on the type of posts, and the discretion would be that if you are not the OP, then just send a PM to a Mod. If you are the OP, and the offender is clearly derailing the thread in a non-constructive way, then report it. -Overly sexual or violent images: If it contains nudity or a picture of a overtly sexual nature, report it. If it is overtly violent, report it. If it is making light or promoting a tragedy, report it. (The latter would be if someone talked about the Holocaust in a positive light or something of that nature) -Swearing: If someone uses symbols to bypass the swear filter, report it. -Any Forum Rules being broken: Self-explanatory really. Just report if it CLEARLY breaks forum rules.
When not to report a post
-Flood threads: These are comical/meant to be a non-serious, off-topic threads. If someone isn't doing the above, or isn't breaking any clearly defined rules, then don't report it. Send a PM if it REALLY is causing you grief, not if you just saw something you don't agree with. -Signatures: If you see one that is huge, then just send a Mod a PM. Don't report. Please don't go in and do exact measurements either. That's just irritating. -Non-active threads/Threads over a month old: Self-explanatory. If you grave-dig and find a post that you don't like that is not an active thread or is older than say a month or two, don't report it.
The reason for this is that a few people have been using the report button excessively, and this is a reminder that report button is only for emergencies and on-the-spot reporting. It's not intended to be used on a large quantity of threads or old ones that no longer have any use. It also serves as a reminder that we all have opinions, and just because one person may be offended by something that someone else isn't, doesn't mean it is breaking rules. As mentioned above, if you are unsure, then don't report it. Send a Forum PM or Skype PM.
Well hello again everyone. Time for another of uncle Finn's "Do and do not" threads. Today's topic, "Trial by forum". Many times, trial by forums are unintentional and the poster does not realize it. Other times, the person knows exactly what they are doing.
What is "Trial by Forum"
-Naming a person/ship directly: If you are on the forums, and you mention someone's forum name or someone's ship in a negative light, calling them out for something they did wrong, that is trial by forum. It is not allowed. -Blatantly hinting at someone that everyone knows: For instance, saying "that guy who's name rhymes with Ginn was being a jerk and shouldn't play". That is trial by forum and is not allowed. -Calling out a particular group or faction: Similar to the above. Saying a faction is being stupid, or should not belong in Disco, is considered trial by forum. We may have personal opinions, and even if we know many agree, that is still not allowed.
-Replying to a post negatively: If someone says something you don't agree with, do not reply and quote them, and then harass them or say something demeaning. This is bad and you should feel bad.
What is not "Trial by Forum"
-Mentioning a person/ship without naming them in an effort to clarify something: Say you were fighting someone, and they did something that you didn't think was right or may be considered wrong, but you are unsure. Post a thread saying "I was fighting a Rogue, and this happened. Is this ok?". You are not naming anyone, but you are still requesting people give their opinions. -Giving feedback or Kudo's: You are providing a positive or constructive comment about someone and either their roleplay or actions, and want others to know about it. You don't have to be negative or calling someone out for wrong doing. You can try to help them better to understand the situation or genuinely try to help them. -Informing the staff: If someone ingame does something blatantly wrong, and you have check the rules, submit a report or PM a mod/admin. Do not call them out publicly, but instead inform the staff and we will take appropriate measures. It is our job, not yours.
Just keep a level head about things on the forums or ingame. We are all here to have fun, and we all have different background/cultures/opinions. The best we can do is respect one another. Be understanding, be willing to help someone out. If they aren't receptive, ignore them or inform the staff.
Oh hey! Welcome to another addition of "Rules with Finn". Tonight, we're going to discuss POB's in House space, and can you dock a ship there that you otherwise could not dock in House space. Let's begin:
Can I dock on a POB in House space
-What is a POB in terms of server rules: A POB is not considered an NPC base, but is player made/owned (obviously). This also means that the IFF, the docking rights, and the weapons (Placement, type, etc) is all under control of the player. Since this is the case, it was decided by the admins that it is not considered a NPC affiliation base that you can dock on outside of ID rules. -What is your ID: Check your ID. Does it say "-Cannot dock transports with more than 3,600 cargo within any House, except on <insert name here> bases.", or "-Cannot dock Cruisers and Battleships on any base within any house, except <insert name here> bases."? If so, then sadly you cannot dock on a POB that either you built or that is the same IFF of your affiliation if you are in a transport bigger than 3,600 or a Cruiser or bigger.
There have been multiple threads with Admins clarifying this. For example, this post by Jensen here.
Tl;dr - If there is a POB in House space that is the same affiliation as you, it does not qualify as a base that you can dock on per your ID rules.
Well it has been some time since I made a post here. But, after a few PM's and such, and with the forum rollback and things lost, thought it best that we touch on a subject that has been up for debate recently:
Are POB commodities and items considered hidden from public view?
The short answers, yes - commodities and items on POB's are hidden inRP.
Long answer: It has been up for debate when say a police or lawful characters that dock on a quasi-lawful or unlawful base could see items/commodities that are considered illegal or contraband. Yes some POB owners have their bases freely open to all, or to a select few. This has even given way to covert ships docking on a POB to find illegal materials. InRP though, those items would be hidden from any unknown person, and any random person docking wouldn't be able to see them. Since there is no ingame mechanism currently for POB owners to "hide" commodities or items, it's not fair for people to dock, take a screenshot of all commodities aboard, and report them when inRP those would be hidden from plain sight. As such, we wanted to make a statement to clarify that commodities/items on a lawful, quasi-lawful, or unlawful POB are hidden inRP.
Now, you catch someone docking on a POB or leaving a POB with contraband? Oh snap. They got caught and that is inRP. On the flip-sdie, you may think "well what about transports! Can't you just say that stuff is hidden too?". I'd ask then that you stop and think. Finding contraband in say your car is WAY easier than going into an office building and finding such, just to use a RL illustration.
Hope this helps alleviate any concerns/questions regarding such disputes.