Introduction

This page contains the official rule set for the Particle’s Custom RPG server located at the official address (current IP is always listed on the Server page). Should you choose to play on Particle’s Custom RPG server (hereafter referred to as “the server”), you acknowledge to having read these rules and having agreed to them. Lacking that, you at least agree to the contents of this rule set and any rules, guidelines, and punishments that may entail—even if it only comes up in the event of an infraction.

Just to make it clear here and now, this rule set is a basic guideline for conduct on the server. It is not necessarily a “holy text” of absolute rigidity that must be followed. Bear in mind though, that as a player, YOU are expected to rigidly follow these rules. The administration on the server is not required to enforce these rules in every reported or observed case, is not required to follow the exact punishment guidelines provided, and will not be held responsible by the players for any deviance from this rule set. These are guidelines for the administration and absolute rules for the normal players.

The administration is not out to cause problems, however. In the event that an administrator or peacekeeper is acting outside of acceptable limits, they may be dealt with by me or another outranking administrator at his or her discretion with or without my permission or knowledge as determined on a case-by-case basis of need. Obvious grounds for termination are good enough for the immediate termination of an administrator or peacekeeper without my direct interaction, though it should be reported promptly.

For you as a player to gain the most (or indeed anything at all) from this document, you absolutely MUST realize the following: THIS RULES DOCUMENT IS SIMPLY AN ASSISTANT TO HELP YOU REALIZE WHAT AN ACCEPTABLE FORM OF BEHAVIOR IS. WHAT THIS ALL REALLY COMES DOWN TO IS GOOD OR NEUTRAL SPORTSMANSHIP VERSUS BAD SPORTSMANSHIP. BAD SPORTSMANSHIP WILL BE PUNISHED. As such, this document is not all-inclusive. Nor is this document set in stone so to speak.

All headings and section/subsection titles are provided purely for convenience of the reader and may not be used as a way to change the obviously implied interpretation of the following rule set.

Section 1: Etiquette, Courtesies, and General Conduct

Subsection A: General Player Conduct
Players on the server are expected to follow a basic pattern of behavior. That behavior is being nice, courteous, and respectful of the other players on the server. You are not entitled to play on the server and have no more rights than any other player on the server. You are allowed to do whatever it is that maximizes your concept of the game and of having fun, granted that it does not violate this rule set or otherwise infringe upon the other players of the server, the operation of the server, or cause any technical problems with the game itself.

Subsection B: Specific Etiquette and Courtesies
As a player on this server, you are expected to follow a code of etiquette. It is not very difficult to do, as it is really just an adaptation of common manners. Here are some things that you are specifically forbidden to do:

• Violate this rule set

• Willingly and purposely cause others to violate this rule set

• Spam the chat with ANYTHING, no matter if you consider it useful or not

• Purposely cause frustration to other players or administrators

Section 2: Communications

Subsection A: Spam
Spamming in the global channel is very annoying and frustrating to other players. There is no purposeful reason to spam in the global or zone channels especially. You are considered to be spamming if you repeat the same text, an obviously similar, or other content more than two times repeatedly within any reasonably short span of time. I hesitate to define a specific number of seconds, since spam can be infrequent but at regular intervals, frequent but one time only, or any combination. General conversation is of course acceptable, and you will not be penalized for rapidly conversing with other players. The administration will determine weather or not you should be penalized for your conduct when in violation of this rule. You will only be considered in violation if your content is deemed “spam” by the administration.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection A.

Subsection B: Global Channel
The global channel serves two main function in the world of TRPG. Firstly, the global channel is a convenient way to communicate with players across the entire game concerning game related content. This has proven to be a highly useful way for newcomers to the modification and veterans alike to receive help for problems they are encountering. The second main function is that TRPG is a very chatroomesque game. Unlike other RPGs, TRPG is restricted to a relatively small number of players who can each chat with all of the other players in the game simultaneously via the global channel. While this chatroom environment is entertaining and obviously convenient, it is possible to abuse this function. You should not use the global channel for private conversations, such as those between you and an administrator or peacekeeper regarding game matters. Additionally, you should not use the global channel for arguing with some other player on the server. Both of these activities should be kept in private “tell” channels. Similar abuses of the global channel should also be avoided. Remember that not everybody wants to know everything you want to say. By default, everybody can see what you are sending to the global channel, however. It is not acceptable to expect another player to turn off his or her global channel feed solely because of your abuses of it.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection A.

Subsection C: Unacceptable Uses of In-Game Communications
There are many forms of communication provided in TRPG. In addition to the global channel there is a private channel, a zone channel, and even delayed messages when certain bots are present in the server. Never should you communicate any of the following types of messages, or act in the manner outlined by the following, even if a particular action is not specifically mentioned:

• pornographic or sexually suggestive

• hateful, derogatory, racist, or negatively stereotypical

• otherwise illegal under United States law, Kansas or Texas state laws, or the laws applicable to by the government under which you are subject if you do not live in either Kansas or Texas

• abusive or hurtful

The one and only exception to this section is if the receiving player has previously given you permission to send such messages. It is not my intention to block forms of communication that do not hurt others (unlike spam or arguments in the global channel) and is acceptable between two parties. Do not mistake this exception as an ability to ignore this rule.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection B with Severe Emphasis.

Section 3: Game Functionality

Subsection A: Abuse of Intended Services
The game provides a service to you, allowing you to play the game known as TRPG. As with any service, you are not entitled to the use of it. You are merely allowed to use the service so long as you do not become a liability or otherwise undesirable. This will commonly be a user who is abusive to other players, attempts to gain unauthorized access to features (or bugs) in the game, or who is otherwise disruptive. Should you attempt or be successful in violating intended access levels or exploit features and/or bugs in the game, you are in violation of the terms of service for this server. This includes:

• hacking

• crashing

• misuse

• denial of service

• stealing information

• other unforeseen violations

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection B with Severe Emphasis.

Section 4: Core Gameplay

Subsection A: Inter-Character Killing
TribesRPG provides the necessary abilities to allow the destruction of another character's virtual life. While doing so is not illegal or a moral obstacle for most, please do realize that players are often very fond of the result of their online labor in this virtual world. Killing another player's character is a serious event. In the past, a specific amount of killings in a definite amount of time was defined as acceptable. As it turns out, such a system proved to be inappropriate. Instead, this matter reduces to a simpler matter of harassment. If you are killing another player more than a couple times in a day or two, you are likely bordering on harassment. Should the other player become frustrated with your pursuit of his or her character's life, you should stop. There are plenty of other players to interact with. Consider your interlude with the former character finished. Additionally, if another player's character has no reasonable means of defense against your character (a severe mismatch in remort or level as determined by the administration), you are not allowed to initiate an attack or intentionally provoke an attack with that other character without prior permission.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection B without special emphasis.

Subsection B: Shoving
While the ability to shove in TribesRPG can be quite useful for moving an AFK player out of the way or shoving a bot out of attacking distance, it can also be abused. You should not be using shoving in a particularly offensive manner such as shoving somebody off of a potentially lethal height. Nor should you use shove to harass another player such as shoving them off of an area that is difficult or time consuming to get back to. Error on the side of caution. Even an accident is still an intentional act, and your having not foreseen the consequences is no excuse for your responsibility.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection A with the exception that if this subsection is intentionally used to evade another part of the rules or intended conduct outlined by the rules the punishment should be derived from Section 7, Subsection B with Severe Emphasis.

Subsection C: The Condition of AFK
When AFK, all gameplay-related protections (Sections 1, 2, and 3 still apply) provided to you as a player are forfeit for the duration of your AFK status. If a character is non-responsive for an extended period of time ranging from five minutes and up, the character is said to be AFK. Exceptions to this are administrators and specially defined characters such as the Tokath or Bromide bots.

No punishments will be provided if a character's protections as outlined above are forfeit, however, invoking this subsection falsely will lead to a punishment of your character or characters.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection A.

Subsection D: Theft
Theft of all legitimate kinds (intended game processes) is allowed among characters in the server. The theft of both valuable and invaluable objects is equally permissible provided that it does not violate one of the following specific circumstances:

• Prevent a player from being able to play the game short of creating a new character. While you are not expected to know if a player is capable of continuing, there are some obvious situations where this is so. For instance, stealing a pickaxe from a fairly new character is prohibited.

• Theft of a pickaxe is disallowed if the player only has one on him. The reason for this is that it prevents the prior scenario from ever happening. A player will always be able to mine and kill so long as they have the pickaxe and will not have to restart the game with a new character.

• You are not allowed to steal special items that cannot be obtained within the normal scope of the game such as the lightning blade.

Punishments for offenses of the type of the first two bullets will be derived from Section 7, Subsection B with Severe Emphasis. Punishments for offenses of the type of the last bullet will be derived from Section 7, Subsection A.

Section 5: Abusive Gameplay

Subsection A: General Harassment
This subject is not easily defined due to the subjectivity of the matter involved. As previously stated, you are allowed to do whatever you like in order to pursue your own entertainment while on the server provided that it does not interfere with another player's ability to do the same, does not violate any specific rules outlined here, and especially does not involve a misuse or abuse of the server or any other related services provided. Should you be found being the instigator of a harassment incident, you will be severely punished. Do not misunderstand this rule—harassment will be decided on a per-case basis by an administrator or peacekeeper. This rule is not a generic subsection that can be invoked as revenge on another player or otherwise falsely. Doing so will be considered not only harassment of the administration but also a misuse of services provided.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection B with Severe Emphasis.

Subsection B: Zone Hoarding
Remember that you are not entitled to your place in the server. Your character exists for your entertainment shy of being a problem for others or the server as has been defined previously. As such, you are not allowed to prevent the usage of any given game zone by another player. If you have tented or otherwise blocked a zone, are guarding a zone to prevent its use, are dominating a disruptive number of NPCs, or are performing a similar action you will be punished.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection B.

Subsection C: Pack Guarding
A dropped pack that is protected from collection by anyone other than a specific character may not be guarded by another player. To be more clear, you are not allowed to directly or indirectly prevent a player from retrieving his or her pack if it is protected. If the pack is unprotected, the pack is fair game for anyone who wants it. Incorrect LCK settings or being out of LCK is not an excuse for the responsibility of this situation, which falls upon the person who dropped the pack initially either due to pack creation or death. You may not kill another player simply to get around this rule, either. Doing so is also punishable. You are allowed, however, to kill another player with the intention of looting if it falls outside of the scope of this and all other rules.

Punishments for offenses of this type will be derived from Section 7, Subsection B.

Section 6: Definition of Authority

Subsection A: Administrators
The administrators of the server are allowed to deviate from the guideline outlined in these rules as required by a given situation in order to maintain control and order. These administrators serve an important role that helps maintain the smoothness and enjoyability of the server while players are connected and interacting. They are not required to necessarily adhere to this rule set, however that is encouraged. Should an administrator be discovered to having been abusive toward another player outside of the scope of his or her official duties, he or she will have their position of authority swiftly terminated. Do not be afraid to bring forth concerns regarding administrators. If you don't report it, I will never know there is a problem.

Subsection B: Peacekeepers
Unlike administrators, peacekeepers are meant to be normal players. Their characters are not allowed to be enhanced directly or indirectly by their powers outside of the scope of their intended function. Should a peacekeeper be found to having been manipulating other players for the pursuit of their own interests instead of the best interests of the server as a whole, their position of authority will be swiftly terminated.

Small disputes are designed to be handled by peacekeepers. Do not go to an administrator first if your complaint is of small, petty, or limited nature. If the peacekeeper doesn't have the authority to handle your issue, it will be referred to an administrator by that peacekeeper. Do not forward the complaint to an administrator by yourself.

Section 7: Guidelines for Punishment

Subsection A: General Offense
Violation of the rule in question will normally result in the following grade of punishments. Administrators may choose to skip levels or choose alternative punishments as they deem necessary and desirable to accomplish the goal of motivating the violator to cease violation of this rule. Warnings may be brief or skipped entirely on a regular basis as they are rarely effective. A player’s known persona may warrant the need to skip such measures.

1^st Offense: Warning that the violator is in violation of the particular rule

2^nd Offense: Jail time of a minimum of 2 minutes up to 15 minutes

3^rd Offense: Jail time of a minimum of 5 minutes up to 60 minutes, and/or kicking.

4^th Offense: Jail time of a minimum of two hours, possible fines up to 50% of the player’s wealth, and the possibility of a temporary ban. Jail time may be required to be served without being AFK.

5^th Offense: Character and all characters corresponding to that character’s ownership may be deleted without the possibility of restoration.

If offenses are spaced out wider than a 30 day span, the total offenses number is reset. Also, the punishments listed here are a guideline. Based on the circumstances of the offense, your punishment may differ. This is up to the administrator or peacekeeper who is assigning your punishment. I trust in their judgment. Do not assume that I will override their decision just because you do not like the punishment you received. Detected manipulation of this guideline by a player to violate the rule in question without receiving the intended punishments is prohibited and will most likely get your character temporarily banned or cleared.

Subsection B: Case-By-Case Special Offense
Violation of the rule in question will normally result in a punishment determined sufficient and warranted by the administrator or peacekeeper who is enforcing the particular instance of infraction. If the rule is determined to be in violation of known laws above the server's power to make and/or enforce, your characters may become forfeit. This entails the deletion and permanent blockage of potential restoration in the future. Breaking laws or core rules on the server will not be tolerated.

If Severe Emphasis is involved in an infraction that falls into this category, the punishment's severity will be intentionally increased. An appropriate minimum punishment will be a suspension from the server for one week. This is not to say that this type of punishment without any special emphasis cannot lead to punishments that are just as harsh as with Severe Emphasis. The minimum is simply raised.

Conclusion

Without further rambling, I present to you the end of this document.  I hope that the examples and definitions contained within help you to be a better player and maybe even a better person.

Sincerely,
Particle