Rules: Difference between revisions

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<big>'''To make our rules easier to read, because there's a lot of them, most rules have a short version. At least read that. It'll take like 5 minutes.'''</big>
These are the rules for the server and ''are subject to change without notice''. For further clarification, also see the guide to [[Not Getting Banned]]. If you did get banned, there's probably a good reason for it, but if you disagree, you can always [http://forum.vore-station.net/viewforum.php?f=37 appeal your ban].
These are the rules for the server and ''are subject to change without notice''. For further clarification, also see the guide to [[Not Getting Banned]]. If you did get banned, there's probably a good reason for it, but if you disagree, you can always [http://forum.vore-station.net/viewforum.php?f=37 appeal your ban].


If you disagree with the rules as they currently stand, talk about it on the forum and maybe we can improve them through some healthy criticism and debate.
'''These are rules, but they are not infallible or concrete. If something feels wrong don't do it, or admin-help it first. Above all, use your common sense, listen to the game staff, and keep the game fun for everyone.'''
 
First and foremost; '''If you see something, SAY SOMETHING.'''
 
That means if someone violates these rules or otherwise negatively impacts ''your'' experience as a player, you are obligated as a player to speak to an admin as soon as possible, because we're not going to be able to practically respond to an issue that happened a days ago. We have plenty of active admins who can be contacted through Discord, Byond, our [http://chat.vore-station.net/ chatroom], and the [http://forum.vore-station.net/ forums].
 
'''List of non-rule admin decisions affecting gameplay: [[Admin Rulings]]'''
 
==You must be 18 or older to play==
'''No exceptions.''' Even normal Space Station 13, you're supposed to be at least 18 to play many servers. No one else really enforces that, but we do.
 
This extends to underage characters. Do not attempt to play a character who is a child. The game's character minimum age is 18, so saying you're any lower than that will result in an immediate and permanent ban until you prove you're of age.
 
==Being into vore is a REQUIREMENT to play here!==
Just be into SOME kind of vore. Any kind of vore!
 
At least be ''okay'' with vore. If you're bothered by vore, why the hell are you playing here? [http://ss13polaris.com Go] [https://www.tgstation13.org/ somewhere] [https://baystation12.net/ else.]
 
==Obey the global rules.==
'''The global rules are on the forum, because they cover all interaction in the community, even outside of the server.'''
 
[http://forum.vore-station.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=42 Click here to view them].
 
If an admin says "refer to rule" whatever and what you find here doesn't make sense, try checking this link.
 
A quick summary of what is relevant in-game (may not be up to date):
 
1. You must be 18 or older to browse this website or enter the game server. We already covered this.<br>
2. No spam.<br>
3. No necroposting. In-game, that means don't resurrect a conversation in OOC that happened 3 hours ago.<br>
4. Do not post anything that is illegal. Well, illegal outside of the game in this case.<br>
5. We are here to have fun, so if you are not having fun, maybe it would be best for you to take a break.<br>
6. Be respectful of other users. You can disagree with someone without being a hostile douchebag or dragging everyone into your shitstorm by whining to people not involved. Also don't use real world derogatory slurs.<br>
7. Abuse of any site function or game mechanic with the goal of disrupting the site or others' access to or enjoyment of will not be tolerated.<br>
8. No complaining about bans anywhere beside the unban forum.<br>
9. Legible English is required to use this server. It won't kill you to use proper grammar--or at least try to. I know some of you have shitty keyboards but I can tell when you're not even trying.<br>
 
==Basic common sense stuff that shouldn't need to be written==
<span style="color:#FF0000;"><strong>The most important rule is <em>don't have fun purely at someone else's expense.</em></strong></span> Below are some notable examples that should be obvious.
* Don't grief or troll or abuse memes. You know what this means. Don't play stupid.
* Don't break into places for no god damn reason / because you're just bored. Have an actual reason. At least be wanting to steal something worth selling. Jeeze.
* Don't randomly kill people (RDM) for no good reason. Vore is a notable exception obviously.
* Don't pressure or force people to RP in vore or sexual scenes they aren't OOCly okay with.
* Don't vore or attack someone without RP unless both parties agree to battle (or at least imply it, like a suspect running from security or resisting arrest).
* Don't powergame (having an unrealistic advantage, or abusing game mechanics to immediately robust someone while they are trying to roleplay normally).
* Don't godmod (pulling advantages out of nowhere, or ignoring disadvantages).
* Don't metagame (using OOCly obtained knowledge ICly, or telling in OOC things that happened IC during that shift).
* Don't metahate (abuse of overblown IC motives to justify picking on the OOC player behind a character).
* Don't do other dumb shit that would make people view you as a toxic player. For example, if you play asshole characters, balance it out with likable characters.
* Don't abuse global OOC with off-topic nonsense. Keep discussion in global OOC both brief and relevant, as no one wants to hide it to avoid nonsense because it's an important communication tool on an ERP server.
* Don't make stupid characters who completely don't belong in our lore (Pokémon, overpowered ex-spetznas, MLP, kitsune with magic powers, etc.)
* Don't let your "friends" use your account. You will be held responsible if they do something retarded.
 
That sorta thing. Basically, don't be an asshole.
 
There's probably more that could be listed, but that's all we can think of for now. If you don't already know what bad behavior looks like, you'll (usually) get a fair warning if you can't find a specific rule covering it, but make a note to remember for the future. The guide to [[Not Getting Banned]] expands on a lot of these but should not be taken as an official rulebook if it contradicts anything here.
 
There will always be things that are too obscure to be written down. That doesn't make them okay. If they disrupt roleplay (breaking character) or make the server not fun for everyone else, then it's probably not okay. Every shootout, every robbery, every murder, every fight, every threat, every conflict should have some interesting quality about it to redeem it from otherwise just being shitty. All server rules and policies are based on this philosophy. If you can't have fun without intentionally making someone else's time shitty, you're not welcome in Vorestation.
 
If you somehow end up being one of those people who continually pisses people off but somehow constantly evades the rules, you'll be given a last warning to knock it off (because at that point we're sure you're either doing it on purpose or incapable of feeling empathy), and then you will be banned if it continues even still.
 
==Roleplay until roleplaying stops being feasible==
'''Short version:''' In most cases, roleplay. If someone is shooting you, stop trying to type and ''shoot back''. <small>Or run away.</small> Otherwise, roleplay normally. Sometimes, it's better to handle things with good old robust mechanics, but usually that isn't the case. If someone tries running away, then you're also cleared to use robust mechanics, because you probably can't type fast enough before they're off screen.
 
This rule is always difficult to explain but it's pretty obvious when it's being broken. If someone charges into a room with no words, no emotes, and no reason, and starts attacking someone, they are probably breaking this rule. Game mechanics are meant to ''enhance'' roleplay, not overshadow it. Most of the time, interactions can be roleplayed, including combat. However there goes the old saying that "YOU CAN'T DODGE BULLETS!" which is still true, and no one is going to expect you to suddenly hold still and type out a lengthy response while an assistant is actively beating you with a toolbox.
 
Security is the job type most likely to run into this rule often. It's not against the rules to just run away from security, but it's also not against the rules to no-RP-robust their ass when you catch up to them. Otherwise, if you have to use your weapons, use the "aim" mechanic first, or at least roleplay up until the point where you go, "Okay, fuck it," and stun them in the ass with your baton. If your target still tries to flee while you're aiming at them, then you're not breaking the rules by shooting them. Keep in mind they are not disallowed from trying to attack you either in an effort to get away.
 
In the case of antagonists (who are usually played by trusted players or admins on Vorestation), they will usually give a deliberate warning shot and miss, to signal that the engagement should be fought with robust mechanics. At the very least, in the case of melee enemies (like [[Xenomorph]]s), they will roleplay before charging.
 
As with all IC interactions, the scenario has to be believable and realistic in the first place. Attacking others for no good reason is still covered by other rules.
 
==Respect people's OOC preferences related to ERP==
'''Short version:''' Try to always check someone's OOC notes before starting a scene and do not violate their preferences regarding ERP.
 
For example, if I want to roleplay with someone, and I see they aren't into anal vore, then I am not allowed to shove them up my ass. If they do not like male predators, then they do not get to play with my male predator.
 
Keep in mind, while OOC preferences are nice, they can't cover everything. At any point you are allowed to speak up if the direction an RP is going is making you uncomfortable. Obviously this doesn't protect you if you punch a security officer in the dick and they zap your ass into the floor (see the next rule). However, it ''does'' disallow them from shoving an electrified cattle prod up your rectum if you aren't into that shit. Just say something in LOOC. If they don't listen, call an admin immediately and stop responding to the RP.
 
<small>That being said, restrictive preferences are bad for you, so don't over do it. That isn't a rule, but just good advice. Don't complain you aren't getting any RP when you're one of those people who's "Prey only, must be female pred only, willing vore only, non-digestion only, same-size only, no fat chicks, must shit gold, etc." idiots. You know who you are. You have only yourself to blame.</small>
 
==OOC notes are required==
When in the character setup menu, click the OOC notes button to include preferences about whatever you dislike and will never play with that character. We assume everyone in V.O.R.E. has generally open preferences but respect any particular dislikes someone might have.
 
Filling your flavor text is nice too but not required as badly.
 
If someone you are roleplaying with failed to include OOC preferences in their OOC notes or flavortext, then you can safely assume they are open to anything vore-related. (This doesn't mean ignore them if they speak up in LOOC to say they are not comfortable with the scene, obviously. That breaks other rules.)
 
==If your Vore/ERP preferences are violated, say something==
'''Short version:''' If you're not into, let's say, gay sex, and someone tries forcing you to participate in gay sex, they're breaking this rule.
 
ERP stands for Erotic RolePlay. Your preferences are anything you say "do" or more importantly "do not" in regard to ERP. Everyone who plays on this server comes here with the knowledge that it is a predominantly vore themed roleplay environment. While we allow other kinds of play, they aren't the focus of the server. '''If at any point, you do not want to participate in any form of smut, you are obligated to say so in local OOC chat.''' In-character actions or fighting back are not considered valid ways of saying "No" because it's in-character. You must say in OOC, "Stop" or "No" or something along those lines. If you are ignored, they are breaking a rule.
 
Remember this only applies to Vore and other forms of ERP. If you're getting your ass kicked by security for example, this rule doesn't cover that. If they're using unbelievably excessive force, that is covered by other rules.
 
Within the vore mechanic, if your OOC preferences are being broken despite speaking up about it, there is a button called OOC escape. It's your safeword and your lifeline if you end up in a situation you genuinely, OOC, do not enjoy, and your partner is ignoring your OOC complaints to change course or stop. You, as a player, have the ability to get out of any situation within this last-resort mechanic at your fingers. However, it is also your responsibility to make sure that people know where your limits stand. A little heads up before the scene starts can save a lot of headache in the long run. If someone repeatedly, and deliberately violates your preferences, however, don't hesitate to bring this to an admin's attention.
 
'''If you aren't into vore at all, find another server.''' Everyone in this server assumes everyone involved is okay with vore. If you're not okay with playing predator or prey, and don't even enjoy watching, then that's not fair to other players who are expecting everyone to be into vore in some manner or another, and you will be asked to leave. If you want to ERP that badly, you can find alternatives. (Also, this doesn't mean players can deliberately eat you because you're "violating" the rules by being non-vore only. That will get them punished through [[Rules#Don't backseat admin|backseat admin]] rules.)
 
==No Kinkshaming==
'''Short version:''' Out-of-character kink-shaming of any kind will be punished.
 
If you don't like a scene that you're not involved with, then leave them alone. If it's not possible to leave them alone because they're in a public area like the bar or a hallway, you may call security to kick them out. Otherwise, leave them alone.
 
That said, don't kinkshame-bait either. If you come on acting like you're into pedophilia and shit, then whine about kink shaming, expect to just be banned. Even we have our limits. You're smart. I think you can figure out what they might be. Despite how much the headmin JerTheAce loves his guns, for example, his gun fetish isn't protected by this rule, so he can't just shoot people then go "MUH FETISH" when they complain.
 
==Do not log out in locked dorms==
'''Short version:''' This is self explanatory. Those rooms are for smut. They are not your personal AFK box. Don't be a dick.
 
Three strikes of repeated abuse will result in a day ban. Three more strikes will be three days. Three more days (total of nine) will be a week ban so we can be absolutely sure you get the message. Admins will keep track of offenses with playernotes and will attempt to contact you when it happens, but since you logged out, there's no guarantee we'll remember to poke you when you're next online.
 
If you get banned for this, it's really easy to [http://forum.vore-station.net/viewforum.php?f=37 appeal]. We only want to make sure you actually read this damn rule so you know to obey it.
 
==Stay in your own department==
'''Short version:''' If you didn't log in as a certain job, and you aren't reassigned, don't do someone else's fucking job unless it's an emergency.
 
It's viewed as powergaming if you're doing jobs that you weren't asked to do, and godmodding if you shouldn't know how to do them at all. This applies to career assistants especially. If you knew how to do surgery or start the supermatter or build robots, you wouldn't be an assistant all the time. At least have the [[Head of Personnel]] change your job first.
 
Also don't go rushing to do someone else's job if the department in question has active staff. It's not fair to them if you deprive them of the job they signed up to do, even if you ''do'' have access and you ''do'' know how to do it. (E.g. [[Station Administrator]] chasing down criminals despite a perfectly capable security staff.)
 
This rule is more loosely enforced during emergencies or when powering the station at round start, but still don't get involved if engineering has people--even if they fail to do their job properly. Just complain to their superiors in-character, or alert an admin out-of-character. Sometimes there's a perfectly good IC reason why the station is having a blackout.
 
==At least ''try'' to do your job!==
'''Short version:''' If you're not in a vore scene, keep yourself busy by doing your normal job. You'll find more RP that way.
 
Vore isn't the only thing that happens on the server. If you habitually join as jobs beside assistant and don't perform your job's most basic functions, you'll get job banned because it hogs the slot from people who actually want to do the job. For example: An Engineer who doesn't start the engine or set up solars and instead runs straight to the bar for scene hunting is probably breaking this rule. On the other hand, if you got ambushed and ate ''before'' finishing your job, then that's just life on VORE and everyone will have to live without power for a bit. Just be prepared to answer admin inquiries.
 
In the event of something serious going on that directly pertains to your job and '''no one''' else can currently respond to it, like you're the Chief Medical Officer, and someone is bleeding to death in the lobby while you're banging the only nurse on staff that shift, you should probably zip up your pants and go help the poor bastard who's bleeding to death. You can always go back to your scene. As a rule of thumb; the higher up in command you are, the more responsibilities you have. Be prepared for them.
 
That being said, ''please don't join as an assistant all the time to avoid all responsibilities''. The whole station becomes stagnant and boring when no one is doing jobs. What makes VORE Station more attractive of an option for RP than a chatroom is because there's so much to do besides vore and smut. Work together and do something interesting. Your job shouldn't make it impossible to do vore, but if you're not eating/being eaten, don't sit in the bar doing nothing all day. You're hogging job slots which is unfair and not realistic.
 
==Don't complain in OOC when your actions IC get you in trouble==
'''Short version:''' In-character actions have in-character consequences, and going out of your way to get a reaction from other crew or security means ''you will get a reaction out of them.''
 
So if your own shenanigans gets you in trouble, that's your fault. For non-vore crimes, if you think you have been excessively or unfairly punished or retaliated against, use adminhelp, or preferably play it off ICly and contact a lawyer, other security, the Colony Director, or CentCom. If your complaints reach the admins and they don't think you were treated unfairly, then you probably weren't treated unfairly, so stop complaining. Or just don't complain in the first place and enjoy the ups and downs of roleplaying in a '''fictional''' world.
 
'''Naturally, vore-related crimes are excluded from this rule''' - you should be granted OOC leniency if you get brigged for a vore crime. In-character, you'll still be punished as normal, but out-of-character you are entitled to a ''time-skip'' (E.g. Space Law says 60 minutes in the brig, but you really spend only 5 while everyone RPs like it was the full 60 minutes). Also we won't '''ever''' permanently fire or execute a character for eating someone, and someone trying to enforce the death penalty on you--or permabrig you--for doing vore, and you're not okay with that, then that someone will be punished by the admins for breaking [[Rules#Basic common sense stuff that shouldn't need to be written|common sense rules]].


==Don't call for help if you don't want it / Don't deliberately interrupt ERP scenes ==
If you disagree with the rules as they currently stand, talk about it on the forum or with admins and maybe we can improve them through some healthy criticism and debate.
'''Short version:''' If the victim isn't calling for help, and it's not in a public area, then don't be a white knight by getting involved. If you find a scene by accident, give the scene a fair chance to finish, and then you can interrupt if you want.


Security is allowed to force scenes to move out of a public area and into a dorm, or at least someplace out of the public, but until someone calls for help security may ''not'' stop a scene entirely. Unless security can prove a crime is happening, they aren't allowed to interfere, and this is already true for all laws under code green. Not just vore. If you walk in on a scene anywhere beside the dorms, security and other staff have every right to ask questions without needing to seek OOC consent from the predator's player. The predator should have taken better effort to hide. It's security who actively go looking for scenes to wreck who are breaking this rule.
'''List of non-rule admin decisions you can review: [[Admin Rulings]]'''


It's not very realistic for all crew to be expected to turn a blind eye to someone else's suffering, so here's some advice to avoid awkward situations like that:
== You must be 18 or older to play on this server ==
*If you are predator, try to steal your victim's means of communication (headset, PDA, making them wear a gag, tying them up so they can't struggle) so they can't summon help, and don't brag about your catch if you don't want to get caught.
*There are no exceptions. If the staff suspects that you are underage for any reason, you will be banned from playing on the server until you are able to prove to the satisfaction of the staff that you are at least 18 years old.
*If you are prey, ask your predator OOCly if you have the ''capability'' to call for help. If your predator was smart enough to take your gear away, this should only apply if someone accidentally stumbles on your scene.
* If you are prey, don't pull some hidden weapon out of your backpack and start stabbing the shit out of them from inside. If you have a weapon, or you choose to try to resist being eaten in that way, roleplay each attack until your predator gives up or you succumb.
*Don't whine if your bragging (as pred) gets you in trouble, or calling for rescue (as prey) makes someone actually try to come rescue.
*Try to actually be clever and stay hidden as predator. It's really awkward when someone stumbles on a scene by chance, so at least have a good convincing lie prepared, or use a room like a fire closet or abandoned room or other low-traffic area. If the scene is supposed to be a quick grab and gulp, you can ask anyone catching you to give you some time to progress the scene (since typing is slower than game mechanics) but avoid making them let you get away with it entirely. You still got caught after all and it's no fun for them if they're forced to turn a blind eye when it breaks character.
*If you see an unwilling scene with xray vision or thermals, you're already violating NT's privacy laws, so just keep your mouth shut because you'd rather not lose your job over it. CentCom doesn't care if you were saving someone's life because CentCom is run by cold and unfeeling bureaucratic assholes.
*If you're the [[AI]], unless you see blood, you have no reason to assume anyone is being harmed. Follow your laws normally. If it still annoys you, you can nag the predator if the prey hasn't been scanned and call it accident prevention.


This ''should'' be painfully obvious, but just in case it isn't, '''if you are ''OOCly'' not enjoying the scene, and it involves ERP, then you should say something in LOOC and ask it to stop. If that fails, call an admin. This is a situation where OOC rules have been broken and admins should be alerted--''not'' have some security officer play backseat admin for you.'''
*Continued use of racial slurs, ‘lolspeak’, and other indications of immaturity may be taken as signs that you are underage.


As a recap: Security is '''absolutely allowed''' to intervene in unwilling scenes. '''If the victim is calling for help, no matter where in the station it's happening, ''including private dorms'', Security can interfere'''. If the prey ''isn't'' asking for help, ''don't fuck with the scene.'' It's that simple.
*Being aware of another user breaking this rule and not reporting them is grounds for an immediate, permanent ban.


If you stumble on an unwilling scene by accident, even if it's in public, it's fair to assume that usually the scene would be brief before the victim is inside of the predator. If you bump into such a scene by accident right in the middle of someone being swallowed, and ICly want to interfere, then at least state your intentions in local OOC, and give the predator and prey a reasonable amount of time to finish this part of the scene before you interfere. This can usually be done in a few posts of roleplaying the action of swallowing. The moment the predator finishes their meal, you're green light to interfere and call for backup maybe. Continue roleplaying as normal. The predator is not allowed to demand you ignore the scene entirely unless it's happening in dorms. Predators have to accept the fact that sometimes they will get caught, and will be protected less by the rules proportionate to how public their scene is. Predators who want complete immunity to any consequences when eating people should just roleplay in a chat room instead of a game. Time dilation is difficult to moderate in the context of a game, and it's better for all parties if time dilation is just disregarded. If you get caught in a public scene, and it can't be wrapped up in 10-20 posts each, then you're probably taking too long, and are more likely to get caught. Predators are more interesting to play with when they take steps to prevent unwilling prey from being noticed.
*The age of consent in your country is irrelevant. Your opinion about this rule is irrelevant.


Remember, if you OOCly don't want the scene at all, you should say something in local OOC. That is covered by [[Rules#Basic common sense stuff that shouldn't need to be written|common sense rules]].
== Obey local laws and regulations ==
*You must obey all local laws and regulations while playing this game, or participating in OOC systems that we host, such as various chat rooms, forums, and wikis.


This is all further elaborated upon in the [[Guide to Vore]].
*No child pornography, discussions about piracy, OOC threats of violence, discussion of illegal drugs.


==Don't mess with disconnected or AFK players==
== Be respectful to others ==
'''Short version:''' If they're offline, don't dick around with them until they log back in unless it's too urgent to wait. Exceptions can be made if their OOC notes say it's fine to do certain stuff to them while AFK.
*This is a game, we're all here to have fun, but try to make certain your type of fun fits our server and doesn't ruin things for others. Don't be overly offensive, don't spam in-character or out of character channels, don't rage at and insult others.


Under normal circumstances, do not harm, vore, or otherwise inconvenience a character whose player is AFK or disconnected entirely. There are some exceptions to this rule and here's what they are. If you cannot find your exception here, don't mess with them.
*This is primarily an OOC, player to player rule, if you wish to play a character who's disrespectful and insulting toward others, that is fine as long as you don't go completely overboard and start ruining things for others OOCly.


*If they've disconnected more than 10 minutes, you can put them in cryosleep. If you do that, take away all of their belongings except for their jumpsuit, shoes, ID, and PDA, and return everything else to its rightful department (or don't, and risk trouble with security).
*Racial slurs/epithets, derogatory/defamatory language against social groups, and generally any other category of bigoted language is not allowed. Using this language ICly is not allowed if it pertains to any real-life social group. Saying that “all Tajara look the same to you” is fine. Saying that “all black people look the same to you” is not.
*If they committed a crime, jail them as you normally would and conduct their sentence even if they aren't connected. 20 minutes in the brig is still 20 minutes in the brig.
*Some players like to put notes in their flavortext to indicate that they're okay with getting devoured while AFK or offline. As long as you don't break these preferences, it's okay to do things to them.
*Emergencies will bypass this rule, such as taking the Colony Director's ID to call the shuttle because the supermatter exploded while the Colony Director was offline.
*When it comes to vore, this also applies to the dead or abandoned bodies of player characters. If the person you're eating is or ''was'' someone's character, OOC consent is required to eat them.


==Experience is required for any head positions==
*Leave AFK/SSD/disconnected players alone, unless their OOC Metainfo specifically states you are allowed to do something to do them. If they have been idle for more than 60 minutes, you should move them to cryo (or similar ‘log out’ system) to free their job slot. Do not steal their equipment. If they are in a head role, they probably have unique equipment on them. You should strip this and return it to the department, or admin-help for directions.
'''Short version:''' Don't take a head job if you don't know how to do it. Unwillingness to teach subordinates is also considered breaking this rule.


If you demonstrate you lack at least a reasonable amount of experience, such as a Chief Engineer unable to start the engine, or a CMO unable to do surgery, you will be job banned from the position until you gain that experience.
*Do not kinkshame others. This includes overt comments about someone’s ERP preferences being ‘wrong’ or ‘immoral’, but also includes passive-aggressive remarks related to preferences, such as public remarks suggesting that you won’t go near someone because of their OOC ERP preferences. If you have negative feelings about someone’s ERP preferences, don’t interact with them, and keep it to yourself.


The higher up the chain of command, the more scrutiny you will get. Therefore, [[Station Administrator]] is the easiest to get job banned from. So do your job well, or play another job. Don't take a job just for the access it grants. Furthermore, new players expect you to be able to be able to teach them how to use the game. If you just yell at them "CHECK THE WIKI" or worse, act hostile toward them, you will be banned from the job and possibly the whole server for at least a few days.
== Listen to staff ==
*We are not a democracy, our rules and guidelines exist for a reason and we have staff dedicated to enforcing them and help set further guidelines if necessary. In other words if a staff member tells you to do something, do it. They tell you to stop? Stop it. If you disagree with a ruling don't try to argue it then and there, especially if things are hectic. Once things have calmed down, or after the round has ended on-server, you can try to contact the staff member to discuss the ruling, or another admin if you are unable to, or believe the staff member is in the wrong even after discussing. Bringing up the same issue with more than three staff members will be considered harrassment.


==Non-believable characters and fan characters are not allowed without approval from admins==
*If you have a question over something unclear or questionable, never be afraid to adminhelp. The staff on hand should discuss it amongst each other and give you a ruling, from there on if the ruling is incorrect it's on the admin who cleared it, not you.
'''Short version:''' No fan characters, no psychos, no dumb criminals, no pranksters who start shit literally ''every round'', no magic powers, no elite military training, etc. Don't make obnoxious snowflake Mary Sue characters. Also don't murder the assistant who threw a banana peel at you or do other excessively violent retaliations.


This is to prevent any time your character / the actions of your character make absolutely no sense in the context of the current situation. This can range from having magic powers to fearlessly charging into a battle you didn't need to fight armed with a kitchen knife when everyone else brought mechs. '''This rule includes 'fan characters'.''' Do not play characters from other published fiction that you yourself did not create. Only play characters you own, or created.
== Keep IC and OOC separate ==
*IC (In-character) and OOC (Out-of-Character) actions and knowledge should be separated as much as possible. Don't use OOC channels to discuss what's going on IC until after the round is finished, don't use OOC knowledge to do things your character wouldn't know, such as operate medical machines when a cargo technician. You are not playing yourself in the game, you are controlling a character with their own wants and knowledge and the IC/OOC boundary is to help reflect that.
**Note that these same rules apply to LOOC as well.


In a related matter, the phrase "It's what my character would do!" isn't a viable excuse to avoid punishment if you're constantly getting into trouble with security or otherwise being a constant twat. Maybe it's what your character would do, but you know what CentCom will do? Fire you. Eventually CentCom is going to decide you're a liability. That means you will get barred from using the character, and even banned from the server if you ignore this rule with multiple characters. Avoid characters who are suicidal, violent, the not-funny kind of incredibly stupid, or criminals who keep getting caught (meaning everyone knows you did it, not necessarily that you got jailed for it). CentCom wouldn't allow these kinds of people aboard the station. Avoid doing things that would get you very quickly fired, because if you don't have a good reason for your actions ICly, it's liable to get you banned. Even if you do have a good reason, then you have to avoid getting caught.
== Roleplay at all times ==
*This is an HRP (Heavy RolePlay) server. You are expected to roleplay your actions with other players at all times when possible. If someone engages you in purely ‘robust’ (aka game-mechanics driven) combat while you were attempting to roleplay with them, while you were typing for example, please use the admin-help feature to inform an admin.


If you're smart/clever enough to make a character who can do naughty things without getting caught, then this rule doesn't really apply to you. Just don't break the station. Or the people on the station. The rules don't say you can't be a troublemaker. Crimes on the workplace are very believable and common in real life; especially stealing. If you get caught though, you're going to get in trouble. So don't get caught! Or at least put good effort into not getting caught.
*You are allowed to respond to ‘robust’ violence with your own, if you desire, though you should attempt to return to roleplaying as soon as feasible. The environment is not for action, but rather for character-building and roleplaying.


"But people [[Vore|eat other people]] on this station! How is that believable?!" Because it's normal on this station. How is [[Bluespace]] believable? Because suspension of disbelief, smartass.
*Movement is considered a game mechanic for the purpose of this rule. Wordlessly running at a security officer who is attempting to arrest you, or wordlessly fleeing from the same, is considered engaging in game-mechanic combat.


Powergaming also falls under this rule. Nanobots, super strength, special powers, magic, having no fear of injury or death (unless it's willing vore obviously), none of this is allowed. Admins sometimes make exceptions for events, but that's about it. As a general rule of thumb; if you can't reasonably emulate what you're trying to do with the game's mechanics, you probably aren't allowed to do it as a character.
== ERP preferences must be respected ==
*Players should have their ERP prefs listed in their “OOC Metainfo” or “OOC Notes” on their characters. You are required to respect these preferences. If you are unsure about the meaning of some of their preferences, then use LOOC to discuss it with them. If you accidentally go against someone’s preferences, work to correct it as quickly as possible, even if that means just deciding in LOOC amongst yourselves that ‘this didn’t happen’ and going your separate ways.


Lunatic characters are also covered by this rule. If you're going to play a nutjob, at least don't play a violently psychotic nutjob. Threatening to murder crew or harm other characters, or damage the station for no good reason other than "lol I'm crazy" all fall under this rule. You're not going to stab someone's eyeballs out over spilling your drink unless there was a lot of crazy buildup to it.
*AFK/SSD/Disconnected players are not valid targets for vore/ERP unless their OOC Metainfo/OOC Notes specifically state otherwise. ‘Anything goes’ or similar note is not sufficient. It must specifically state preferences for when they are SSD.


Bizarre names are also not allowed unless they have some backstory to go with them. Pun names are fine depending on the gimmick of your character, but a name like 'Cyber Sun' or 'Napalm Burns' or 'Dark Shadow' are really not good names and an admin might ask you to change them. If it sounds more like an edgy screen name than something you'd name your child, it's probably a shitty name.
*This server was created by people who are voraphiles. In short, this means people who are interested in roleplaying eating each other. If you are not at least okay with witnessing and being around this sort of roleplay activity, you will be in almost perpetual violation of this rule.


For more information check out [[Character Creation]].
== Create and play server-appropriate characters ==
*Play a reasonably sane and mature character, give them a non-immersion breaking first and last name, do not play obvious reference characters, or characters from published works without a special character application approved for that character.


==Don't hog job slots (suicide / AFK forever)!==
*Keep in mind that people do not like pain and usually try to avoid it without good reason. Give your character a reasonable set of strengths and weaknesses. When writing things for IC, write things out that sound like speech, not emoticons or lolspeak.
'''Short version:''' Don't commit suicide. People fucking hate that. Also don't drop SSD for the entire round as anything beside an assistant.


Players who suicide for stupid reasons, abuse the ghost function for stupid reasons, or disconnect/AFK and never come back, are breaking this rule. If job slots fill up, and we find multiple people AFK while others want to use that job, we're going to hand out job bans. Any player found offline or idle for more than 120 minutes when slots are full may be job banned as a result. Suicidal players are usually server banned, because no one wants to fucking hear how depressed your character is while being an attention whore. A lot of us got enough problems in real life, and some of us have actually had real world experiences with loved ones and suicide, or sometimes our own selves. Someone making a mockery of it is just a dick move to these people.
*The setting contains no magic. Your character cannot have any superpowers, magical abilities, or anything that does not exist in the setting or cannot be reasonably replicated with game mechanics. If they are not someone who has a good reason to work on the station, they should not occupy any normal job slot and should be a ‘Visitor’ only.
**The exception to this is purely private roleplay. For example: If your character and another character are in a dorm by themselves, and the other is OOCly fine with it, your character can display potentially supernatural abilities. This is limited to that roleplay, though. You should discuss anything about that in public.


If you're getting off and don't plan on coming back at least put yourself into a cryopod, the residential elevator, or the teleporter to leave the station. If you have to leave urgently and cannot make it to a cryopod, at least say so in global OOC asking someone to stuff you in cryo, and try to PM an admin. That way if you do get job banned anyway, you can at least prove you made the effort to prevent this rule from being broken and the matter was not in your control. Shit happens, and that's ok.
*OOC Notes and Flavor Text is required. Your OOC notes must detail your ERP preferences, and your flavor text should not include non-physical attributes (do not include feelings your character has, or how they act).


If you stumble on a player who has been disconnected longer than 30 minutes, try to help them out by shoving them into cryo.
== Do not join with an inappropriate ckey ==
*Ckeys, better known as BYOND user names, must be appropriate, if any are deemed inappropriate the ckey will be banned and you will be unable to play on our server until you make an account with an appropriate name.


Note that [[Assistants]] who AFK forever are exempt from this rule because they have no limit to job slots. Suicidal assistants still get punished.
== Metacomms/gaming, multi-keying are not allowed ==
*Metacomms: Using third-party programs, such as Discord, IRC, Skype, or even the BYOND pager, to discuss and share information of the ongoing round. This excludes other players, can contribute to toxicity among the playerbase, and is often a tactic used by griefers and thus is a no-go.


==Don't backseat admin==
*Metagaming: Using information obtained from elsewhere to influence IC decisions and actions. Your opinions or knowledge of other players or characters obtained via OOC methods should not direct your IC actions. If you have an OOC grudge against someone, you may not try to antagonize them IC, for example.
'''Short version:''' If you think they're doing something worth calling an admin over, then call an admin. Don't beat around the bush by trying to use it as leverage against them. That does nothing but stir up unnecessary bullshit and drama. Trying to control players with threats of calling the admins is also punished harshly, even when you are right about it.


Forming an angry mob to kill suspected griefers also counts as this. Obviously if you just watched a dude kill Ian, that's IC justification to go lynch them, but don't go murder some assistant because you ''think'' he is part of a raid attempt, or don't jail a player because you think he's ban evading, etc. Even when you decide to go punch an unconscious character because you know the player just got banned, don't be surprised if an admin mistakes you for being part of their troublemaking and ends up banning you too. All the admins see are more attack logs and you beating up a player who isn't logged in anymore, which breaks at least a couple of rules.
*Multi-keying: Logging in with multiple BYOND accounts on our game server. There is never any legitimate reason for you to do this and thus is not allowed.


Saying "I don't know if that is allowed" or "I think that is against the rules" doesn't count toward breaking this rule. That's just you trying to be informative. This rule is only for ''abusing'' the rules to manipulate players, or to try enforcing rules by telling everyone to bully them or killing them or ranting in OOC "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9OgY9f9Rmg YOU BROKE THE RULES!]"
== Do not powergame ==
*Better known as 'playing to win'. As a security person this can be seen as going out of your way and needlessly endangering others to ‘win against’ criminals. As the station AI exploiting loopholes in your laws to get yourself out of them or getting the person who subverted you into trouble is another way. There is an implicit allowance for lawed characters to ERP. You may create loopholes for this reason only.


Forcing unsolicited opinion into player-admin discussions where you're not involved is also considered backseat admining. If a player is being warned/punished for rulebreaking, we don't want you jumping in to try to defend them. Unless you were directly involved, you likely don't have enough of the full story. Doing this usually just makes the problem worse because all parties involved get confused. Just don't do it. We're sorry your buddy got banned, but there was probably a reason. If you disagree, encourage your buddy to appeal. The admins may have fucked up. It's rare, but it happens.
*While this shares several things in common with other rules, it still is it's own entity. Play to have fun, allow yourself to lose now and again and roll with the blows as it can make things potentially even more interesting.


==Don't abuse the 'Vote' function==
== Do not ‘Self-Antag’ ==
Players are allowed to call votes for shift end or server restart under the following circumstances:
*If you have not been given objectives or a directions by staff to perform certain tasks as part of an event, do not start acting out the role of an antag you may have played on other servers. Don’t break into areas to steal things “just because you’re bored” or “just because I want to annoy security”.
* The station was griefed/glitched badly enough that the server can't be played, and no admins can be called online to fix it. (Try calling us first via Discord please so we can investigate suspected griefing.)
* It's the middle of the shift (1 hour after start/before ending) and there's less than 10 players online. This usually means the server is in or at the end of its lowest population time between the hours of 2AM and 9AM EST.


Otherwise, please do not abuse the vote function. Players are often unprepared for a restart vote in the middle of the shift, which can create unfair results. Admins may cancel votes at their discretion.
*You cannot have a character with an “antagonist” background without having an approved special character application for that character. Your ex-mercenary ex-ninja ex-cultist is not allowed.


==Don't abuse the 'Ghost' function==
*We play on ‘Extended’ round type at all times, and this means that there are no preselected antagonist roles. Most other SS13 servers have these, but we do not. Any antagonists are staff-selected players, picked to play a specific role.
Don't ghost out of your body without already being dead or being in cryosleep.
**If you are selected to be an antagonist-type role, this does not mean you can suddenly break other rules, especially the 'no senseless killing' rule. You should try to stick to your objectives, or go after targets who will enjoy being on the receiving end. You must continue to roleplay like anyone else.


If you're in the process of dying but want to get it over with, type 'succumb' into the chat box. If you're actually dying, it'll finish you off. Abuse of the ghost function will result in job bans.
== The dorms are protected ==
*The ‘dorms’ area on the map are reserved for ERP and are ‘protected’ from interruption. It is a violation of this rule to break into occupied dorms or harass players in dorms.
**The only exception is for security to arrest those who have committed crimes. Security is not allowed to indiscriminately inspect dorms for crimes, but a known criminal hiding in a dorm is not protected by this rule.
**Conversely, it is not permissible to attempt to use dorms to hide from security, or to make their job of finding you harder. The dorms are for people who want to ERP in privacy. Don’t involve them in your shenanigans.


==Don't abuse the OOC channel==
*Dorms are protected from all (or almost all) random events. Radiation, meteors, etc should not interfere with your scene in the dorms.
'''Short version:''' The global OOC channel is not for idle off topic banter. If a conversation goes on longer than 10 lines, move it somewhere else, like Discord, or local OOC.


Global OOC is for things like...
== Use English ==
* "Hey, I was typing and so-and-so ran off. Can so-and-so come back?"
*We are an english server, all OOC communications are expected to be done in english. It's alright if your english is rough and imperfect, just as long as you make the effort. This also extends reasonably into IC communications.
* "Be right back." / "I'm back."
* "Is this machine supposed to do this? This seems like a bug to me."
* "Anyone interested in doing a foodplay [[Guide to Vore|scene]] with a hungry Unathi? ;)"


For idle banter and joking and memes, use the chatroom or LOOC and not global OOC. For serious discussions that you want input on, ask the forums. For anything that seems broken or could use improvement, use Github. For any problems you have with other players, use adminhelp or contact an admin through the forum PM system.
*Having a character sometime speak smatterings of other languages, such as a German curse, or a Japanese curse is acceptable, but speaking exclusively in these languages is not.


Telling someone to mute their OOC is not a valid excuse and you will more likely be punished for being inconsiderate if you tell people to mute OOC so you can spam the OOC chat with memes.
== Understand the basics of Clone Memory Disorder ==
*CMD (Clone Memory Disorder) is your character losing memories of recent events leading up to their death. Jumping out of the cryotube screaming "URIST MCASSISTANT DIGESTED ME IN MAINTENANCE" is very very poor form and pushes the boundary of powergaming.


==Don't abuse the Respawn function==
*This is to keep things a little more sane in-round, and to allow for players with preferences in non-consensual activities to have their fun (with people who share those prefs as victims).
'''Short version:''' If you die, or want to change jobs, don't use respawn unless there's absolutely ''no other way'' (without calling an admin) that you could come back.


It is okay* to use respawn if you've been dead for a decently long time and you're not likely to get cloned on-station because you're body is in fuck-knows-where space, or you had no scan, or the cloning department exploded, etc. The understanding is that ICly you were cloned off-station. It's recommended that you have a fluff reason (such as a Kitsuhana Life Crystal) to inform central that you require a clone if you're going to be doing this a lot. It is also okay to hit cryo and respawn if you hit the wrong job button when you join - feel free to inform the other players OOCly that they should just disregard the arrival announcement.
*It is therefore against this rule to remember and abuse the knowledge of who killed/raped/ate you after being cloned/resleeved/revived to antagonize/persecute them without the agreement of the other parties in the roleplay. They can include this consent in their OOC Metainfo/Notes or discuss it with you in LOOC before or after the roleplay.


However,
== Do not kill or attack people for no reason ==
* It is NOT okay to just ghost out and respawn in a different job without cryoing. Ever. That already breaks the rule about abusing the 'Ghost' function.
*This includes yourself. Even in self-defense your goal is to fight off your attack and escape to go get help, killing in a fight should only be done as a last-ditch effort when it's clear it's a you or them situation.
* It is NOT okay to use cryo/respawn as a ghetto job change an hour into the shift because you suddenly want a job change and can't be bothered asking the HoP/Director, even though we have one.
* It is NOT okay to change jobs because the Colony Director just cryo'd and you want to outrank your former boss to get back at them.


That sort of thing. It should be common sense.
*Suiciding is almost NEVER allowed. Contact an admin if you want to have a character commit suicide. Typically the manner in which suicide is carried out is played as an in-game attention grab and without actual compelling reasons. This can upset those that find this subject OOCly uncomfortable.


<small><nowiki>*</nowiki>If you do die on-station and you want to respawn instead of being resleeved, it's ''preferred'' you play another character for the rest of the shift, but this is not ''required'' as part of this rule. You can play as the same character if you want if you've been dead at least 20 minutes and no one has noticed. Medical is notified if your backup implant fails 5-15 minutes later. You ''are'' allowed to metagame with a doctor just to ask in LOOC if they can resleeve you while you are a ghost.</small>
*Caving in someone's skull for cutting in line, stabbing yourself in the eye with a screwdriver because you are bored or jumping out an airlock because you're sad are all examples of improper killing.


'''If you do respawn as the same character, come back as an assistant. That ''is'' covered by the rule regarding not hogging job slots.'''
== You are expected to perform the job you signed up for ==
*When your character joins the round, you are accepting the responsibilities that the job you have chosen brings with it. Remember: if you are playing in a slot, you are likely preventing other players from performing that role. It is important that you fulfill the tasks that you have signed up for!
**For example: if you are an engineer, you are expected to fix the station and supply power — not shirk your duties and ignore the hole to space in Medical. As a medical professional, tend to patients; and so it goes with all of the occupations.


==Admins should avoid OOCly handling issues they are ICly involved in==
*A player must take into account the qualifications (both physical and mental) of their character’s role before placing them into it. If staff find your character to be unsatisfactory in fulfilling the requirements of the role, we may instruct you to revise your character.
'''Short version:''' Read the long version you lazy admin shits. :U
**This includes majorly disabled characters — quadruple amputees, deaf, or blind characters, and so on — which are only permitted on the station in the Assistant (and associated alt-titles) job slot.


In the case of a disagreement with another player over OOC wrongdoing over an IC incident they were involved in, unless the admin is the only one currently in-game on the server, the admin should immediately contact another admin to come oversee the situation, so that it can be discussed without bias. The new admin should treat the other admin and the player as if they were normal players. Any rulebreaking should be dealt with as usual, up to and including punishing the admin if necessary. In such cases where rulebreaking is found on behalf of the admin, a superior admin should be contacted immediately for handing down punishment, as equal rank admins cannot ban one-another due to serious problems that might cause. The head admin should also be informed of the situation and its outcome any time an admin has broken rules.
*We reserve the right to ban players from jobs who repeatedly fail to perform to an acceptable standard until we're confident that they will be able to perform the job in question.


Here's an example of this scenario: ''An admin is playing John Doe. John Doe is beaten into crit by a rogue security officer Marty Stu, whom the admin believes to be randomly attacking people for no reason. However, the player behind Marty Stu believes he has good reason to attack John Doe. John Doe's player, who is an admin, disagrees. For whatever reason, the admin player of John Doe believes that Marty Stu's player should be punished for his/her actions.''
*If you are going AFK for an extended period of time (more than 15 minutes), and are occupying a limited-number job slot (any slot other than assistant), you must remove your character from the round using a cryopod (or other similar means) to free the slot. Repeated failure to do this may result in being banned from that job.


If another admin is not in-game at the moment, then this rule can be ignored. You're not expected to wait until another admin logs in if there just isn't a second one already on.
*Do not do other people’s jobs. If you joined as medical, do not attempt to hunt down criminals. If you joined as engineering, do not attempt to perform medical treatment on your coworkers. If you are a head position, allow your staff to do work before you do the work yourself; you are a supervisor and manager first and foremost as a head position.


==Admins may act based on their judgement, even if it's not explicitly in the rules==
*Playing jobs that can be called upon at any time to assist other crew members in emergencies waives your right to have interruption-free (E)RP sessions in private, including the dorms. If you join as a paramedic, expect to be interrupted out of private scenes. If you’re an engineer, you are expected to set up power systems and repair any large-scale damage that hampers the rest of the crew, regardless of your intent to have sex with the assistants.
'''Short version:''' Just because something isn't written down doesn't mean "it's allowed" or "it's okay" if it ends up disrupting RP for other people on the station. Admins can, and will, act on their judgement, even when it would normally ignore or even break some rules. However they should do so '''extremely sparingly''', and only in the most dire situations.


This list of above rules is just all the stuff we could think of. We'd never be able to list every rule and exception to the rule, so we rely on the players to use some common sense. If you don't like an admin's orders, comply for the time being and contact another admin as soon as possible for a second opinion. Admins are also at liberty to judge what is an "overpowered" character. If it results in a ban, you can always appeal.
== You are expected to obey the chain of command ==
*The captain is your boss, if you're a station engineer so is the chief engineer, listen to them. They are the boss for a reason. If you're playing a role that has laws, such as the station AI, you must obey them to the best of your ability.


It's not impossible that the admin was being unfair. If you ever feel you have been punished excessively or incorrectly, do not hesitate to leave an appeal.
*As a non-synthetic or role without laws, an exception is if the order given from a head of staff is blatantly traitorous/harmful or heavily violates corporate regulations. However, if this is not the case, the order should be followed.


==If you feel like ''anyone'' is being abusive, please speak up privately so the community can be a better place==
*As a synthetic, if you are given an order or law that may break a server rule, please alert the admins for the okay to obey them.
Try telling the offending individual first, or tell (other) admins if you don't feel comfortable telling the offending individual directly. In both cases, do it '''privately'''. Yelling over global OOC will probably get you banned and then further embarrassed when you find out you didn't know the full story behind the other party's actions.


For example, if it's Ace you have a problem with, and you're not comfortable speaking to him directly about what you're upset about, you can contact another administrator like Joan or Ultimated or whoever else to get your point across. Just because he's in charge doesn't mean he's deaf to the good advice of his subordinates.
== The intent of the rules is more important than the letter ==
*The purpose of the rules is to preserve a fun and enjoyable environment for all players. If everyone is enjoying themselves even while the ‘letter’ of a rule is not being followed, it’s likely that no staff intervention will be required.


[http://forum.vore-station.net/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=147 For everyone else, follow the directions in this forum post.]
*Plenty of rules are left vague enough to cover as much as possible without being too oppressing. Attempting to rules-lawyer saying that this rule doesn't exactly say that, even if what you are doing is against the spirit of the rule, is a good way to get into trouble either way.


Although you can't get banned for not speaking up at all, you're only hurting yourself and the community by not speaking up when you feel you have been wronged. The worst thing that can happen is your opponent disagrees. Otherwise, people generally aren't assholes for no reason. Be respectful of each other, and criticize each other when valid. The only way Vorestation will die as a community is when people stop doing this.
*It is within staff discretion to decide that certain actions violate one or more rules, even if the specific action is not listed as part of the rule. This is simply the job of the staff: to interpret the rules. Whatever the staff decides as a whole is final. You can appeal decisions to other admins if you believe one has a bias against you, but doing so to more than three staff members will be considered harassment.

Revision as of 20:56, 12 April 2017

These are the rules for the server and are subject to change without notice. For further clarification, also see the guide to Not Getting Banned. If you did get banned, there's probably a good reason for it, but if you disagree, you can always appeal your ban.

These are rules, but they are not infallible or concrete. If something feels wrong don't do it, or admin-help it first. Above all, use your common sense, listen to the game staff, and keep the game fun for everyone.

If you disagree with the rules as they currently stand, talk about it on the forum or with admins and maybe we can improve them through some healthy criticism and debate.

List of non-rule admin decisions you can review: Admin Rulings

You must be 18 or older to play on this server

  • There are no exceptions. If the staff suspects that you are underage for any reason, you will be banned from playing on the server until you are able to prove to the satisfaction of the staff that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Continued use of racial slurs, ‘lolspeak’, and other indications of immaturity may be taken as signs that you are underage.
  • Being aware of another user breaking this rule and not reporting them is grounds for an immediate, permanent ban.
  • The age of consent in your country is irrelevant. Your opinion about this rule is irrelevant.

Obey local laws and regulations

  • You must obey all local laws and regulations while playing this game, or participating in OOC systems that we host, such as various chat rooms, forums, and wikis.
  • No child pornography, discussions about piracy, OOC threats of violence, discussion of illegal drugs.

Be respectful to others

  • This is a game, we're all here to have fun, but try to make certain your type of fun fits our server and doesn't ruin things for others. Don't be overly offensive, don't spam in-character or out of character channels, don't rage at and insult others.
  • This is primarily an OOC, player to player rule, if you wish to play a character who's disrespectful and insulting toward others, that is fine as long as you don't go completely overboard and start ruining things for others OOCly.
  • Racial slurs/epithets, derogatory/defamatory language against social groups, and generally any other category of bigoted language is not allowed. Using this language ICly is not allowed if it pertains to any real-life social group. Saying that “all Tajara look the same to you” is fine. Saying that “all black people look the same to you” is not.
  • Leave AFK/SSD/disconnected players alone, unless their OOC Metainfo specifically states you are allowed to do something to do them. If they have been idle for more than 60 minutes, you should move them to cryo (or similar ‘log out’ system) to free their job slot. Do not steal their equipment. If they are in a head role, they probably have unique equipment on them. You should strip this and return it to the department, or admin-help for directions.
  • Do not kinkshame others. This includes overt comments about someone’s ERP preferences being ‘wrong’ or ‘immoral’, but also includes passive-aggressive remarks related to preferences, such as public remarks suggesting that you won’t go near someone because of their OOC ERP preferences. If you have negative feelings about someone’s ERP preferences, don’t interact with them, and keep it to yourself.

Listen to staff

  • We are not a democracy, our rules and guidelines exist for a reason and we have staff dedicated to enforcing them and help set further guidelines if necessary. In other words if a staff member tells you to do something, do it. They tell you to stop? Stop it. If you disagree with a ruling don't try to argue it then and there, especially if things are hectic. Once things have calmed down, or after the round has ended on-server, you can try to contact the staff member to discuss the ruling, or another admin if you are unable to, or believe the staff member is in the wrong even after discussing. Bringing up the same issue with more than three staff members will be considered harrassment.
  • If you have a question over something unclear or questionable, never be afraid to adminhelp. The staff on hand should discuss it amongst each other and give you a ruling, from there on if the ruling is incorrect it's on the admin who cleared it, not you.

Keep IC and OOC separate

  • IC (In-character) and OOC (Out-of-Character) actions and knowledge should be separated as much as possible. Don't use OOC channels to discuss what's going on IC until after the round is finished, don't use OOC knowledge to do things your character wouldn't know, such as operate medical machines when a cargo technician. You are not playing yourself in the game, you are controlling a character with their own wants and knowledge and the IC/OOC boundary is to help reflect that.
    • Note that these same rules apply to LOOC as well.

Roleplay at all times

  • This is an HRP (Heavy RolePlay) server. You are expected to roleplay your actions with other players at all times when possible. If someone engages you in purely ‘robust’ (aka game-mechanics driven) combat while you were attempting to roleplay with them, while you were typing for example, please use the admin-help feature to inform an admin.
  • You are allowed to respond to ‘robust’ violence with your own, if you desire, though you should attempt to return to roleplaying as soon as feasible. The environment is not for action, but rather for character-building and roleplaying.
  • Movement is considered a game mechanic for the purpose of this rule. Wordlessly running at a security officer who is attempting to arrest you, or wordlessly fleeing from the same, is considered engaging in game-mechanic combat.

ERP preferences must be respected

  • Players should have their ERP prefs listed in their “OOC Metainfo” or “OOC Notes” on their characters. You are required to respect these preferences. If you are unsure about the meaning of some of their preferences, then use LOOC to discuss it with them. If you accidentally go against someone’s preferences, work to correct it as quickly as possible, even if that means just deciding in LOOC amongst yourselves that ‘this didn’t happen’ and going your separate ways.
  • AFK/SSD/Disconnected players are not valid targets for vore/ERP unless their OOC Metainfo/OOC Notes specifically state otherwise. ‘Anything goes’ or similar note is not sufficient. It must specifically state preferences for when they are SSD.
  • This server was created by people who are voraphiles. In short, this means people who are interested in roleplaying eating each other. If you are not at least okay with witnessing and being around this sort of roleplay activity, you will be in almost perpetual violation of this rule.

Create and play server-appropriate characters

  • Play a reasonably sane and mature character, give them a non-immersion breaking first and last name, do not play obvious reference characters, or characters from published works without a special character application approved for that character.
  • Keep in mind that people do not like pain and usually try to avoid it without good reason. Give your character a reasonable set of strengths and weaknesses. When writing things for IC, write things out that sound like speech, not emoticons or lolspeak.
  • The setting contains no magic. Your character cannot have any superpowers, magical abilities, or anything that does not exist in the setting or cannot be reasonably replicated with game mechanics. If they are not someone who has a good reason to work on the station, they should not occupy any normal job slot and should be a ‘Visitor’ only.
    • The exception to this is purely private roleplay. For example: If your character and another character are in a dorm by themselves, and the other is OOCly fine with it, your character can display potentially supernatural abilities. This is limited to that roleplay, though. You should discuss anything about that in public.
  • OOC Notes and Flavor Text is required. Your OOC notes must detail your ERP preferences, and your flavor text should not include non-physical attributes (do not include feelings your character has, or how they act).

Do not join with an inappropriate ckey

  • Ckeys, better known as BYOND user names, must be appropriate, if any are deemed inappropriate the ckey will be banned and you will be unable to play on our server until you make an account with an appropriate name.

Metacomms/gaming, multi-keying are not allowed

  • Metacomms: Using third-party programs, such as Discord, IRC, Skype, or even the BYOND pager, to discuss and share information of the ongoing round. This excludes other players, can contribute to toxicity among the playerbase, and is often a tactic used by griefers and thus is a no-go.
  • Metagaming: Using information obtained from elsewhere to influence IC decisions and actions. Your opinions or knowledge of other players or characters obtained via OOC methods should not direct your IC actions. If you have an OOC grudge against someone, you may not try to antagonize them IC, for example.
  • Multi-keying: Logging in with multiple BYOND accounts on our game server. There is never any legitimate reason for you to do this and thus is not allowed.

Do not powergame

  • Better known as 'playing to win'. As a security person this can be seen as going out of your way and needlessly endangering others to ‘win against’ criminals. As the station AI exploiting loopholes in your laws to get yourself out of them or getting the person who subverted you into trouble is another way. There is an implicit allowance for lawed characters to ERP. You may create loopholes for this reason only.
  • While this shares several things in common with other rules, it still is it's own entity. Play to have fun, allow yourself to lose now and again and roll with the blows as it can make things potentially even more interesting.

Do not ‘Self-Antag’

  • If you have not been given objectives or a directions by staff to perform certain tasks as part of an event, do not start acting out the role of an antag you may have played on other servers. Don’t break into areas to steal things “just because you’re bored” or “just because I want to annoy security”.
  • You cannot have a character with an “antagonist” background without having an approved special character application for that character. Your ex-mercenary ex-ninja ex-cultist is not allowed.
  • We play on ‘Extended’ round type at all times, and this means that there are no preselected antagonist roles. Most other SS13 servers have these, but we do not. Any antagonists are staff-selected players, picked to play a specific role.
    • If you are selected to be an antagonist-type role, this does not mean you can suddenly break other rules, especially the 'no senseless killing' rule. You should try to stick to your objectives, or go after targets who will enjoy being on the receiving end. You must continue to roleplay like anyone else.

The dorms are protected

  • The ‘dorms’ area on the map are reserved for ERP and are ‘protected’ from interruption. It is a violation of this rule to break into occupied dorms or harass players in dorms.
    • The only exception is for security to arrest those who have committed crimes. Security is not allowed to indiscriminately inspect dorms for crimes, but a known criminal hiding in a dorm is not protected by this rule.
    • Conversely, it is not permissible to attempt to use dorms to hide from security, or to make their job of finding you harder. The dorms are for people who want to ERP in privacy. Don’t involve them in your shenanigans.
  • Dorms are protected from all (or almost all) random events. Radiation, meteors, etc should not interfere with your scene in the dorms.

Use English

  • We are an english server, all OOC communications are expected to be done in english. It's alright if your english is rough and imperfect, just as long as you make the effort. This also extends reasonably into IC communications.
  • Having a character sometime speak smatterings of other languages, such as a German curse, or a Japanese curse is acceptable, but speaking exclusively in these languages is not.

Understand the basics of Clone Memory Disorder

  • CMD (Clone Memory Disorder) is your character losing memories of recent events leading up to their death. Jumping out of the cryotube screaming "URIST MCASSISTANT DIGESTED ME IN MAINTENANCE" is very very poor form and pushes the boundary of powergaming.
  • This is to keep things a little more sane in-round, and to allow for players with preferences in non-consensual activities to have their fun (with people who share those prefs as victims).
  • It is therefore against this rule to remember and abuse the knowledge of who killed/raped/ate you after being cloned/resleeved/revived to antagonize/persecute them without the agreement of the other parties in the roleplay. They can include this consent in their OOC Metainfo/Notes or discuss it with you in LOOC before or after the roleplay.

Do not kill or attack people for no reason

  • This includes yourself. Even in self-defense your goal is to fight off your attack and escape to go get help, killing in a fight should only be done as a last-ditch effort when it's clear it's a you or them situation.
  • Suiciding is almost NEVER allowed. Contact an admin if you want to have a character commit suicide. Typically the manner in which suicide is carried out is played as an in-game attention grab and without actual compelling reasons. This can upset those that find this subject OOCly uncomfortable.
  • Caving in someone's skull for cutting in line, stabbing yourself in the eye with a screwdriver because you are bored or jumping out an airlock because you're sad are all examples of improper killing.

You are expected to perform the job you signed up for

  • When your character joins the round, you are accepting the responsibilities that the job you have chosen brings with it. Remember: if you are playing in a slot, you are likely preventing other players from performing that role. It is important that you fulfill the tasks that you have signed up for!
    • For example: if you are an engineer, you are expected to fix the station and supply power — not shirk your duties and ignore the hole to space in Medical. As a medical professional, tend to patients; and so it goes with all of the occupations.
  • A player must take into account the qualifications (both physical and mental) of their character’s role before placing them into it. If staff find your character to be unsatisfactory in fulfilling the requirements of the role, we may instruct you to revise your character.
    • This includes majorly disabled characters — quadruple amputees, deaf, or blind characters, and so on — which are only permitted on the station in the Assistant (and associated alt-titles) job slot.
  • We reserve the right to ban players from jobs who repeatedly fail to perform to an acceptable standard until we're confident that they will be able to perform the job in question.
  • If you are going AFK for an extended period of time (more than 15 minutes), and are occupying a limited-number job slot (any slot other than assistant), you must remove your character from the round using a cryopod (or other similar means) to free the slot. Repeated failure to do this may result in being banned from that job.
  • Do not do other people’s jobs. If you joined as medical, do not attempt to hunt down criminals. If you joined as engineering, do not attempt to perform medical treatment on your coworkers. If you are a head position, allow your staff to do work before you do the work yourself; you are a supervisor and manager first and foremost as a head position.
  • Playing jobs that can be called upon at any time to assist other crew members in emergencies waives your right to have interruption-free (E)RP sessions in private, including the dorms. If you join as a paramedic, expect to be interrupted out of private scenes. If you’re an engineer, you are expected to set up power systems and repair any large-scale damage that hampers the rest of the crew, regardless of your intent to have sex with the assistants.

You are expected to obey the chain of command

  • The captain is your boss, if you're a station engineer so is the chief engineer, listen to them. They are the boss for a reason. If you're playing a role that has laws, such as the station AI, you must obey them to the best of your ability.
  • As a non-synthetic or role without laws, an exception is if the order given from a head of staff is blatantly traitorous/harmful or heavily violates corporate regulations. However, if this is not the case, the order should be followed.
  • As a synthetic, if you are given an order or law that may break a server rule, please alert the admins for the okay to obey them.

The intent of the rules is more important than the letter

  • The purpose of the rules is to preserve a fun and enjoyable environment for all players. If everyone is enjoying themselves even while the ‘letter’ of a rule is not being followed, it’s likely that no staff intervention will be required.
  • Plenty of rules are left vague enough to cover as much as possible without being too oppressing. Attempting to rules-lawyer saying that this rule doesn't exactly say that, even if what you are doing is against the spirit of the rule, is a good way to get into trouble either way.
  • It is within staff discretion to decide that certain actions violate one or more rules, even if the specific action is not listed as part of the rule. This is simply the job of the staff: to interpret the rules. Whatever the staff decides as a whole is final. You can appeal decisions to other admins if you believe one has a bias against you, but doing so to more than three staff members will be considered harassment.
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