Rule Tweaks, Changes, and Clarifications

[lute]

The purpose of this thread is to provide a singular location where rule updates and clarifications can be found. Massive, sweeping changes will probably still have their own threads, but for more general tweaks and addenda, you can find them easily here.

Rule changes, updates, and clarifications:

1:
10) Replacing is only for emergencies; do not tell players otherwise

Do not recruit players to your game under the premise that they can replace out for anything less than an emergency. Do not accept /ins on conditions such as "I will need to be subbed out if I am still alive on Day X."

2:

9b. Concessions: Do not discuss concessions in any capacity in game threads. This includes, but is not limited to, asking why someone or some team has not conceded, calling for a team or individual to concede, or using arguments such as "In this position as [alignment] I/[player] would always concede." Any and all actual requests of concession should remain between the conceding party and the game host.

3:

Users will be informed on the outcome of reported posts.

4:

The moderation staff is ceding full control of the #debate channel on the Discord server to Makaze. They will be the sole arbiter of corrective action within that space. They cannot ban you from the server at large, but they CAN remove your access to that channel.

5:

There is one code of conduct for MU forums and Discord.

6: and 7:

It is no longer permissible to mention that you are multitabling (playing more than one mafia game simultaneously).

[lute]

We added a clarification to the Hosting Guidelines, which can be seen underlined in context below:

10) Replacing is only for emergencies; do not tell players otherwise

Do not recruit players to your game under the premise that they can replace out for anything less than an emergency. Do not accept /ins on conditions such as "I will need to be subbed out if I am still alive on Day X."

If a player knows that they'll need to be subbed out at some point, they shouldn't /in. Simple as that.

[lute]

We added/tweaked/clarified a rule on concession talk as seen below:

9b. Concessions: Do not discuss concessions in any capacity in game threads. This includes, but is not limited to, asking why someone or some team has not conceded, calling for a team or individual to concede, or using arguments such as "In this position as [alignment] I/[player] would always concede." Any and all actual requests of concession should remain between the conceding party and the game host.

Talk of concessions falls under the same gross OGI-y umbrella as discussing host communication and sub talk, so it's a no-go. Lenience may be given to blatant banter. The exact wording of this may be subject to change since I'm tired but the spirit of the law's there.

I also fixed a bunch of random spacing errors I noticed in The Big Fat Rules Post that existed for some unknown, nefarious purpose.

[Ampharos]

We're making the following changes to our policy with regards to communicating with users who make reports, in an effort to increase transparency.

From now on, whenever a report you make is closed out, you'll be contacted by a moderator, who will inform you whether or not any action was taken. Please note: in this case, "action" can mean anything from a brief talking-to to a ban, and in the interest of privacy it's unlikely that the exact degree of action will be expounded on (though I'm hoping the latter case would be evident enough on its own). In the event that no action is taken, we'll do our best to briefly explain why - again, within the bounds of the reported user's privacy.

Ideally, this does a couple of things. It lets you guys know about how long it takes for something to get handled, it lets you know that things ARE being handled, and in the case that no action is taken, it should help clarify where we personally see the "line" on behavior to be. Please note that this is not necessarily an invitation to argue about where the line should be, but simply an attempt to show where it is.

Additionally, whenever you make a report by contacting an individual moderator rather than using the forum's report system, you'll be contacted by a separate moderator within 24 hours to let you know that your report has been received. This is simply intended to provide an additional layer of accountability on our end - nobody wants to get left thinking their report's been flushed down the toilet.

The line between not shaming people for their actions and letting others know what's going on is a fairly tricky one to walk, but it's the belief of the staff that we've been overcorrecting on the side of clamming up. This may not completely clear up the black box, but it's my hope that it's moving towards a lighter shade of gray.

[Ampharos]

This felt like it should be a separate post because it's somewhat unrelated to the above:

The moderation staff is ceding full control of the #debate channel on the Discord server to Makaze. They will be the sole arbiter of corrective action within that space. They cannot ban you from the server at large, but they CAN remove your access to that channel.

(yes, I'm serious)

[Ampharos]

Upon review, I found it confusing and somewhat silly that we had separate Codes of Conduct for the site and Discord, so I've combined the two into one joint Code of Conduct, which can be found here. Feel free to review, though you shouldn't find any of it unfamiliar.

Additionally, the Discord rules have been updated (and heavily simplified). These can be found here.

[Newcomb]

Tweak to OGI rules:

It is permissible to mention that you are multitabling (playing more than one mafia game simultaneously), as long as you leave it at that bare fact and don't mention details.

If another player in your game mentions that they are multitabling, do not comment on this fact.

Ultimately, this is something most players want to be able to say - that they're in another game - but the natural line of questioning this creates leads to "why'd you mention that?" and "what game, can you link it?", so we need everyone to exercise restraint and common sense when someone brings up the fact that they're multitabling.

This is a tweak that we might reverse at some point if it causes more problems than it solves.

[dyachei]

In Feburary of 2019, we made a change to allow for the mention of multitabling in games. Since the advent of this allowance, we've seen an increase in the number of times players are talking about other games, past the simple statement that they are multitabling.
So we are rescinding this rule. You are no longer allowed to talk about other games - including just mentioning the fact that you're playing in other games. If you feel it vitally necessary to mention this, it means you probably shouldn't be multitabling to begin with.

Tweak to OGI rules:

It is permissible to mention that you are multitabling (playing more than one mafia game simultaneously), as long as you leave it at that bare fact and don't mention details.

If another player in your game mentions that they are multitabling, do not comment on this fact.

Ultimately, this is something most players want to be able to say - that they're in another game - but the natural line of questioning this creates leads to "why'd you mention that?" and "what game, can you link it?", so we need everyone to exercise restraint and common sense when someone brings up the fact that they're multitabling.

This is a tweak that we might reverse at some point if it causes more problems than it solves.