Code of Conduct: Practical Applications

The Code of Conduct (usually referred to as the "CoC") for ISRP play is now here:
http://www.enworld.org/isrp/codeofconduct.php

But in case there are still questions, here's some additional guidelines:

(1) Just because the people present don't complain to you, doesn't mean it's allowable. They may be avoiding direct confrontation and planning on complaining elsewhere, or they may fume about it privately or with friends, or you may drive people off the site entirely, or they may not mind it at all or even think it's fun, but in any case it's not up to them to remind you of your commitments. It's up to you to follow the CoC without people (Magi or others) constantly pushing at you to do so.

(2) Just because the other player allows it, doesn't mean it's allowable. Whether sexual or violent, overly explicit activities are not allowed on site if they're beyond what's generally considered PG-13 limits (and don't quote particular movies at us). Re-read the CoC. Euphemisms aren't sufficient avoidance if people can see through them (the same way that masking an obscenity with "*"'s isn't sufficient either). And if you're unclear on whether something is within allowable ranges, send a PM and we can talk examples.

(3) Just because your character would do it, doesn't mean it's allowable. It's great to have truly evil characters on site to offer more dimension to the play, but it's still the responsibility of that character's player to stay within the CoC. If you can't "make" your character avoid combat in non-combat rooms or avoid harassing others or avoid getting into overly sexual situations, then it's up to you to tweak the nature of your character to something more subtle or to remove it from the site.

(4) Just because someone else's character did it to yours, doesn't mean it's allowable. Whether they PM you or not, if you allow your character to be involved in activities outside the CoC without protest or attempt to move it back inside the CoC, then you'll face the same penalties. Yes, it's not fair if it seems the only way to avoid a combat in the tavern is to take your character out of it, but PM the other player to tell them how unfair instead of only fuming about it (maybe they'll change their ways, maybe you can come up with a compromise) and/or let one of the Magi know the player wasn't cooperating and we'll talk to them too. And remind them that no one should be forced to go to the clearing, that it's a player's right to refuse combat.

(5) Just because the exact wording that covers the offense isn't in the CoC, doesn't mean it's allowable. We've tried to be as precise as we can, but the more focused a rule becomes then the more loopholes you expose. Try to play by the overall intent of the CoC and you'll be fine. Try to ride the fine edge of it and you may get in trouble, and you'll certainly cause trouble as people look to you for examples of play and as Magi debate whether you're in or out of line.

Hope this helps. As always, PM me if you have questions you don't want to raise openly or if you want to get into talk about explicit examples that shouldn't be posted openly.

- Trelian

In addition, there are often some of us online even if we're not in the chats. I, for one, am more than willing to come in and see what's going on if you're iffy on something you see happening. Poking me on AIM is the best way to get ahold of me (though in the next few weeks I can't guarentee I'll respond as quickly as I otherwise would).

I'm just curious: Would a bard using a bard (more specifically the Ice Singer, as portrayed in an issue of Dragon Magozine as a Bardic Prestige class) using a bardic music ability designed to bring up bad memories be considered 'an open attack'? Recently, I was playing my ice singer online. I was kind enough to politely PM people that she was using bardic music, to allow them to play along as they liked. One person responded in what I thought was a fairly hostile fasion. She reffered to what I was doing as an 'open attack'. To quote, she stated in the pm "And I, as the player, don't appreciate such open attacks in the tavern, and chose to ignore it".
Perhaps it's because I'm so canadian, but i felt slightly offended at this. I did not appreciate it being referred to as an 'open attack' as I never felt it was hostile. I did not post the effects publicly. I told her it was a Mass PM. I don't feel like I broke the CoC, but if I have, I'd really like to know.
I won't mention the name she probably knows who she is. I thankyou for any help.

Well for all intents and purposes, PMing everyone in the room is posting the effects publically. And using hostile magic to cause people harms would constituite an attack that would be detectable by the tavern's many wards which are designed to dampen hostile magics.

That combined with it being common knowledge to adventurers that bardic singing has magical qualities means its plausible for them to put two and two together and spot the attack rather easily if you invoke it on the whole room.

If your bard wants to slyly use their abilities on someone has part of a interaction with an individual or small group, that's fine. However launching into blanket attack on the whole room is likely to be taken as an "open attack", particularly by The House itself who doesn't appreciate people trying to hamper it's business.

I think it should be noted that just because the Magi are not present does not mean it is a free for all and that you can simply forget the COC exist. People are watching and logs safed. Please heed the COC at all times.

I don't generally break CoC, in fact, I never do. It's just I used this same ice singer on the old site, with Wizo's present, and it never seemed to have bothered them before. That's why I was asking. But if I was breaking CoC, then I shall refrain from doing so.

The ability is outlined in the article as working like a bard's fascinate ability, meaning it is meant to distract characters, except with an extend range and period of effect, so I had never felt it was hostile. But, as I said, if it breaks CoC, then I will refrain from using it again.

What people don't realize that the old site was run by Wizards, this site isn't. This is Enworld, and what happened on Wizards doesn't mean it will happen on Enworld.

Yes, during the changeover we took advantage of the opportunity to revise the rules system and Code of Conduct to what you now find posted in the En World section. Some of the revisitions had been in the works for some time, some others were made at the suggestion of people participating in the changeover (Wizo/Magi and non-Magi alike). All of them were approved by everyone who helped out.

So things are a little different now, hopefully for the better when all is said and done.

Yeah, I just didn't think they'd've made as massive an overhaul as they apparently did. I'll have to re-read the CoC.