Afterwind Rules: A General Discussion

As stated in the sticky, the rules are as follows:

1. Be polite to other players (this includes no insults, racist remarks, or other forms of harassment)
2. Use English only (other languages may be used in private or clan chat, and in private, password protected games)
3. Do not spam in chat or forum (including flagrantly off topic posts)
4. Do not farm, or exploit bugs (please report bugs using the in game feature or send a PM)

I just today found these rules after months of playing afterwind, and almost a week of going on the forum. It took me 10 minutes to give up and ask someone if there was even a rule statement and get linked to the sticky. I believe that there should be a "Rules" tab right next to the FAQ, or within the FAQ since "what are the rules?" is probably a frequently asked question. Putting it as a forum topic isn't the best place for visibility and is often overlooked by new players.

On top of the visibility issue, I was very surprised at how few and vague these rules are.

Politeness is in the eye of the beholder, not an objective enforceable concept. Some people think it's harassment to join a game they're in and fight them. Some people get offended at being private messaged more than once, or having their nation of origin talked about. The concept of being polite to other players is a great idea to base rules upon. But it is not a good rule by itself and is much too vague. Insults and racist remarks are rightfully and clearly stated to be against the rules, which is good. But, "Other forms of harassment" leaves a huge gray area which I believe should be defined.

The spam rule is also vague and I believe abused by mods. I have seen multiple mods in room chat completely shut down conversation in the name of spam. Even though no single person was spamming, together the chat was moving very fast and was considered spam at the time. I noticed there is no specific rule stating the uses of each game chat, while many mods like to dictate this. It does not say anywhere except for from the mods mouth (if they will even make a statement) that "global should only be used for advertising games" or "this isn't what room chat is for, take it to a game". The only justification for these statements I can find is the gray area of rule 3. This rule tries to cover way too many areas with a simple statement leaving enforcement completely up to what a moderator considers "spam", which can greatly differ between moderators.

These are the problems I see with the current set of rules. This topic is for the discussion by the players of this game about improvement and additions to the current set of rules. Please post with any suggestions for modification, addition or subtraction of rules.

Actually, besides the "OH GOD THEN LET'S TROLOLOLOLOL" this is a viable concern.
Rather.
Few changes to the rules are in order.
Additions and such. Clarifying the rules will help the new members to an infinite extent.

This is going to be a very short thread because the rules aren't up for discussion.

Sorry you seem to have so much trouble understanding the rules; the overwhelming majority of players don't.

As Ivan put it:

Qu0t3:

The rules are very simple and very easy to follow

I'll leave this thread open for the time being, but please think before you post here, because I'll not tolerate any nonsense.

Wr1tt3n by Guest14502, 14.11.2011 at 20:38

This is going to be a very short thread because the rules aren't up for discussion.

Sorry you seem to have so much trouble understanding the rules; the overwhelming majority of players don't.

As Ivan put it:

Qu0t3:

The rules are very simple and very easy to follow

I'll leave this thread open for the time being, but please think before you post here, because I'll not tolerate any nonsense.

I think what you meant to say is the rules aren't up for revision. Everything is up for discussion at all times.

Also as a moderator, I believe you have no place in this thread. Because, it is a thread about players concerns with the rules. You enforce the rules,not follow them. It's a given you think everything is fine. So please refrain from posting to discourage discussion.

I should mention even the mods follow the rules. Everyone does. Their more of morale code than rules. Anyways, since it seem's the "majority" of players as Guest put it, cannot understand the rules, I advise rephrasing them.

1: Be a "nice" player, this includes absolutely no trolling, flaming, racism, and any sort of harassment.

2: Please only use English, it is much easier to communicate under one language in the game, if you wish to speak your native language please make your own game or clan for it.

3: Do not "spam" any sort of chat or forum, this includes pressing "ready" over and over before a game starts, re-posting on the forums, or any sort of post that is far from the conversation or trolling.

4: Do not "farm"- the act of gaining sp unfairly is not permitted. Exploiting bugs that also give more sp is also against the rules.

----

I think a fifth should be added:

5: Please respect other player's privacy, such as private games and personal information. If it is not public then they obviously don't want you to see it.

Wr1tt3n by Garde, 14.11.2011 at 21:10

I should mention even the mods follow the rules. Everyone does. Their more of morale code than rules. Anyways, since it seem's the "majority" of players as Guest put it, cannot understand the rules, I advise rephrasing them.

1: Be a "nice" player, this includes absolutely no trolling, flaming, racism, and any sort of harassment.

2: Please only use English, it is much easier to communicate under one language in the game, if you wish to speak your native language please make your own game or clan for it.

3: Do not "spam" any sort of chat or forum, this includes pressing "ready" over and over before a game starts, re-posting on the forums, or any sort of post that is far from the conversation or trolling.

4: Do not "farm"- the act of gaining sp unfairly is not permitted. Exploiting bugs that also give more sp is also against the rules.

----

I think a fifth should be added:

5: Please respect other player's privacy, such as private games and personal information. If it is not public then they obviously don't want you to see it.

Garde, if you read Guest's post. He was trying to instantly shut down this topic by saying players "DO" understand the rules. So your post is irrelevant. Though I agree a rephrase would be a good step in the right direction.

Wr1tt3n by Houdini, 14.11.2011 at 21:18

Wr1tt3n by Garde, 14.11.2011 at 21:10

I should mention even the mods follow the rules. Everyone does. Their more of morale code than rules. Anyways, since it seem's the "majority" of players as Guest put it, cannot understand the rules, I advise rephrasing them.

1: Be a "nice" player, this includes absolutely no trolling, flaming, racism, and any sort of harassment.

2: Please only use English, it is much easier to communicate under one language in the game, if you wish to speak your native language please make your own game or clan for it.

3: Do not "spam" any sort of chat or forum, this includes pressing "ready" over and over before a game starts, re-posting on the forums, or any sort of post that is far from the conversation or trolling.

4: Do not "farm"- the act of gaining sp unfairly is not permitted. Exploiting bugs that also give more sp is also against the rules.

----

I think a fifth should be added:

5: Please respect other player's privacy, such as private games and personal information. If it is not public then they obviously don't want you to see it.

Garde, if you read Guest's post. He was trying to instantly shut down this topic by saying players "DO" understand the rules. So your post is irrelevant. Though I agree a rephrase would be a good step in the right direction.

Sorry if I seem misunderstood, I took what he said the wrong way. I thought he meant that the majority of player's don't understand the rules.

''Be a "nice" player, this includes absolutely no trolling''

We should all walk on eggshells and call each other darling every 3 sentences to make sure everyone knows how polite and anti racist we all are.

Wr1tt3n by Tik-Tok, 15.11.2011 at 17:15

''Be a "nice" player, this includes absolutely no trolling''

We should all walk on eggshells and call each other darling every 3 sentences to make sure everyone knows how polite and anti racist we all are.

Okay darling, would you like some listen to the rules with that?

I agree with the original post. The rules are very vague and are easily exploitable by mods (can mute/ban someone for no reason due to vagueness of rules), and should be specified. Generally, law doesn't work with 4 very vague ideas.

Wr1tt3n by Houdini, 14.11.2011 at 19:56

I believe that there should be a "Rules" tab right next to the FAQ, or a link within the FAQ since "what are the rules?" is probably a frequently asked question.

With all these nice new rules they should be accessible without having to go to the forum directly and look for them.

Wr1tt3n by Houdini, 30.11.2011 at 12:09

Wr1tt3n by Houdini, 14.11.2011 at 19:56

I believe that there should be a "Rules" tab right next to the FAQ, or a link within the FAQ since "what are the rules?" is probably a frequently asked question.

With all these nice new rules they should be accessible without having to go to the forum directly and look for them.

I agree, I think they should also include a terms and conditions when signing up for the game, explaining the rules and such.

Seriously? Everyone just needs to use common sense and there wont ever be an issue. Commenting on the vagueness of the rules is irrelevant. If you use common sense in how you talk to other players then I do not see why you would ever need to be concerned. Politeness is not in the "eye of the beholder." It is quite easy to tell when someone is going out of their way to be overtly rude. Being respectful is a universal virtue.

Wr1tt3n by NateBaller, 30.11.2011 at 14:05

Seriously? Everyone just needs to use common sense and there wont ever be an issue. Commenting on the vagueness of the rules is irrelevant. If you use common sense in how you talk to other players then I do not see why you would ever need to be concerned. Politeness is not in the "eye of the beholder." It is quite easy to tell when someone is going out of their way to be overtly rude. Being respectful is a universal virtue.

Lol dude, i've been muted before when I didn't even know I was offending anyone. The rules are very vague.

I love how the people complaining about the rule system are doing so not because they want to have a nice friendly community, but want to be able to not get banned for Trolling. Yeah let's see how we can change the rules so we can Troll more without getting banned. Fail post, please lock.

Wr1tt3n by the99percent, 30.11.2011 at 14:18

I love how the people complaining about the rule system are doing so not because they want to have a nice friendly community, but want to be able to not get banned for Trolling. Yeah let's see how we can change the rules so we can Troll more without getting banned. Fail post, please lock.

How do you figure? I'm against trolling most of the time and I support this thread...I think if the rules were less vague, and more explanatory but still simple it would work a lot better.

Lol. just lol. Already suggested this sort of thing a long time ago, mods don't care. then again, neither do the admins. just sayin.

Wr1tt3n by Garde, 30.11.2011 at 14:22

How do you figure? I'm against trolling most of the time and I support this thread...I think if the rules were less vague, and more explanatory but still simple it would work a lot better.

I only like to troll people on my enemy list. Everyone else is uasually safe from getting trolled with a 50% chance of surviving. It all has to do with luck.

"LilD" I fell off

Wr1tt3n by Psychostick, 02.12.2011 at 09:56

Lol. just lol. Already suggested this sort of thing a long time ago, mods don't care. then again, neither do the admins. just sayin.

It's interesting that you say that when the rules were just recently changed. By the, you should just check the new version of it here.

The new rules are like some bad impersonation of a legal document.

Wr1tt3n by ncmbad, 02.12.2011 at 12:57

The new rules are like some bad impersonation of a legal document.

I agree

"LilD" Young G. We Da Best

You guys are blind, there is only one rule.
There will always be areas that will be handled on a per incident basis by moderators. Even when not specified, staff has the sole right and final judgement of how to interpret and apply these Rules and Guidelines to any specific circumstance and situation, including proper punishment.

Wr1tt3n by Aristosseur, 02.12.2011 at 15:25

You guys are blind, there is only one rule.
There will always be areas that will be handled on a per incident basis by moderators. Even when not specified, staff has the sole right and final judgement of how to interpret and apply these Rules and Guidelines to any specific circumstance and situation, including proper punishment.

5/5.
Just wish there were ways to appeal and stuff, like a court system, but with 1 witness or friend, the accused, and 2 mods that could last 2 minutes.

Yes, what's wrong with that? It's impossible to make a rule for any possible situation. Judges, sport referees and so on also react by their judgement in some situation.

You obviously don't get or pretend not to the "sole right and final judgement of how to interpret and apply".
I'll make it clearer: you say I am to be banned because I violated rule 14 (which couldn't be more vague and prone to any interpretation). I will be banned and nothing I can do no matter who's right or wrong; nobody checks you. This removes all mod responsibility and accountability, must be covering for the last 3 bans by pinheiro which got annulled (Fruit and VAGlNEER same day, VAGlNEER some days later).

Wr1tt3n by Caulerpa, 02.12.2011 at 15:37

Yes, what's wrong with that rule? It's impossible to make a rule for any possible situation. Judges, sport referees and so on also react by their judgement in some situation.

It throws out moderator accountability to the rules because it gives them control over the rules. In effect the moderators make the rules.

Wr1tt3n by Aristosseur, 02.12.2011 at 15:44

You obviously don't get or pretend not to the "sole right and final judgement of how to interpret and apply".
I'll make it clearer: you say I am to be banned because I violated rule 14. I will be banned and nothing I can do no matter who's right or wrong; nobody checks you. This removes all mod responsibility and accountability, must be covering for the last 3 bans by pinheiro which got annulled (Fruit and VAGlNEER same day, VAGlNEER some days later).

Sorry for kind-of spam, but 5/5.

Like I said, their should be some sort of fairer system for this, the only thing I can relate the current system to right now is Judge Dredd.
Kid: Sir, i'm so sorry for stealing that candy bar. I'll return it.
Judge: You have violated rule 694 of act 3654.
Judge: You have been sentenced to execution.
Kid: WHAT?!?!?!?
*execution*
Judge: You have been judged.

Guys, we previously had a problem with having to argue with every disciplinary action whether or not it was 'in the rules'. This clause simply removes that problem. I can assure you that in the event that there is some abuse of the rules by moderators it will be handled appropriately. These rules are not up for debate, they are final. Even moderators do not decide what the rules are. All of these rules have been approved by admin. If you think that a moderator has been unfair, you can always pm another moderator or admin and staff will discuss the action in question.

Wr1tt3n by Sificvoid, 02.12.2011 at 17:22

Guys, we previously had a problem with having to argue with every disciplinary action whether or not it was 'in the rules'. This clause simply removes that problem. I can assure you that in the event that there is some abuse of the rules by moderators it will be handled appropriately. These rules are not up for debate, they are final. Even moderators do not decide what the rules are. All of these rules have been approved by admin. If you think that a moderator has been unfair, you can always pm another moderator or admin and staff will discuss the action in question.

Has a moderator ever abused? Absolutely!
Has a moderator ever been held accountable for his abuse of the rules? Not once.

Wr1tt3n by YOBA, 02.12.2011 at 17:56

Has a moderator ever abused? Absolutely!
Has a moderator ever been held accountable for his abuse of the rules? Not once.

This claim has nothing to support it. It's not like we would dance around with his head on a pole or anything lol. We have had instances when a moderator was told that the decision and resulting action was wrong and steps were taken to ensure that the action in question would not happen again.