Difference between revisions of "News Files"

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'''News Files'''
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This page is currently under construction and will be split into several pages once the final adjustments are complete.
  
----
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* [[News Welcome|Welcome]] - You're new? Then this is what you need
 +
* [[News Rules|Rules]] - Masq's OOC Rules and Discipline Policy
 +
* [[News Apps|Apps]] - How to get that character you've been wanting
 +
* [[News FAQ|FAQ]] Answers to some common questions
 +
* [[News In-Game|In-Game]] - Experience, Superknowledge, and more!
 +
* [[News Building|Building]] - Building and Housing
 +
* [[News Staff|Staff]] A listing of staff by rank and by department
 +
* [[News All|All]] - A list of all news topics.
 +
<nowiki>**</nowiki> indicates new information!
  
 
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[[Category:Core]]
To see the next menu type NEWS <topic> where topic is replaced by
+
[[Category:News]]
the subject listed above.  For example, to read the staff listings,
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type NEWS STAFF. It works this way through all of the menus. To read
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all of our news files (which you are responsible for knowing the
+
contents of), just start at the beginning and follow the suggested
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reading at the end of each file.  Enjoy! To start, type NEWS WELCOME.
+
 
+
 
+
----
+
 
+
 
+
= Welcome          You're new? Then this is what you need =
+
        Getting Started How to get off on the right foot.
+
        Theme          Putting the Dark in World of Darkness.
+
        Setting        Welcome to Albuquerque, New Mexico!
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        Profile        What to expect and what we're about as a game.
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        Copyright      Legalese satisfied.
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        Wiki            Our online Wiki.
+
 
+
=== Theme ===
+
Remember those old stories you used to tell around the campfire,
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trying to scare your friends? Remember the horror films you used
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to watch late at night, pretending that you weren't frightened?
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You couldn't sleep, shivering under the covers, and when you
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finally did drop off, your dreams were filled with twisted,
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terrifying shapes from the darkest depths of your unconscious mind.
+
 
+
What if all those stories were actually true?
+
 
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The basic premise of White Wolf's "World of Darkness" Storyteller
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game systems is that supernatural creatures such as vampires and
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werewolves are actually secretly living amongst us, with humanity
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none the wiser. To protect themselves, the elders of the Camarilla
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came up with the concept of the "Masquerade," essentially doing
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everything in their power to convince people that vampires don't
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exist. Other supernatural races have other means to conceal their
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existence from humanity. But they are all around us: manipulating
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us for their own devices, scheming, plotting, fighting great
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battles, and more.
+
 
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Masquerade's world of Gothic/punk horror is just like our world;
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it's just that all the nightmares are actually real. Tension is
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stronger, cops more corrupt, criminals even more firmly in control.
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It is not a pretty world, though there will always be moments of
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startling beauty, made all the precious by the tarnished setting.
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It is a world where any mistake could be your last.
+
 
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'''Theme 2'''
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Most of you begin play on the game as a mortal, with no knowledge of the
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supernatural that lurks just underneath the mundane seeming of the world.
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More than likely, you scoff at all those silly stories created by fertile
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imaginations to inspire terror and fascination. Vampires and werewolves
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are as real to you as the UFOs you read about in the tabloids.
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There's no such thing as monsters.
+
+
Except some of you ARE the monsters. You have to protect your secret at
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all cost and to try to blend in. You're a simple human...
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just like everybody else, right?
+
 
+
Careful, your fangs are showing...
+
 
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All of you are here to share in a communal storytelling.  Together with
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your new friends, you will tell stories of madness and fear, of lust and
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redemption... tales of things that go bump in the night... tales of peril,
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paranoia, and sinister, shadowy evil. These stories can capture your
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imagination far more easily than any play or movie, because you will be
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creating the story with others, becoming part of the adventure. At the
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heart of these stories is your character, be it mortal, vampire, shifter,
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or something stranger still.
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Welcome to your nightmare. Welcome to the Masquerade!
+
 
+
=== Setting (1/2) ===
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Surrounded by the towering Sandia mountain range to the east, the Manzano
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mountains to the southeast, and a high volcanic mesa to the west,
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Albuquerque sits astride the nurturing Rio Grande River. Dizzying views
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unfold over sweeping vistas across a truly magical landscape, filled
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with a myriad natural wonders.  If New Mexico is truly the "Land of
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Enchantment," then, surely, Albuquerque must be its gateway!
+
+
Founded in 1706  by Spanish settlers, the town was named after the Duke
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of Alburquerque; while the first "r" in the spelling was later dropped,
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Albuquerque is still referred to as "Duke City."  Ancient Indian Pueblo
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culture and the influence of the Spanish settlers combine into a rich and
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unique cultural history which makes Albuquerque, one of the nation's
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oldest inland communities,  an eclectic mix of the past and the present.
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The lure of open space continues to draw people to this fast-growing
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community which still retains a "small-town" feel.
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'''Setting 2'''
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In our online version of the city, set in the recent past, Albuquerque
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has a somewhat darker reality (see NEWS THEME). However, many of the
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surface things remain the same. The grandeur of the natural setting is
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unparalleled; unforgettable sunsets continue to spread out across the
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vast sky. Albuquerque remains a home to the arts, traditional and
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contemporary... it is home to some of the nation's finest high-tech
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research facilities... it houses a nationally ranked University... and
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so much more. Albuquerque continues to be a choice visitor destination
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and a great place to live! Welcome to our Albuquerque!
+
 
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Quick Facts:
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* Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico, with approximately
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  700,000 residents in the greater metropolitan area.
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* Most people assume that Albuquerque is a desert. In fact, although some
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  of the environment is xeric, the city's elevation of 5,314 feet above
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  sea level makes it the highest metropolitan city in the United States.
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  While Albuquerque does enjoy low humidity and warm temperatures around
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  the year, it does, indeed, snow here.
+
 
+
 
+
=== Profile ===
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One of the greatest things about Masq has always been its enduring
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sense of community. After the game closed in 2007, former players
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and staff continued to stay in touch and many sought to have the
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game reopen.  We are grateful for your continued support.
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We believe that all of us, players and staff alike, are here to
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have a good time.  As staff, however, we know that we have an
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additional responsibility to create a fun and interesting
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storytelling  environment for our players. We fully acknowledge
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that a game is nothing without its players and we welcome your
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feedback. We are here to help you. You may not always get exactly
+
what you want, but we will always treat you with the utmost respect
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and consideration.
+
 
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We expect the same sort of adult behavior from our players. We hope
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that you will always treat one another (and staff) with politeness
+
and courtesy. We encourage all Masq players to get involved in our
+
plots, to tell their own stories, and to generate RP for others.
+
We value your enthusiasm and creativity!
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To paraphrase Bill & Ted: be excellent to each other, and RP on, dudes!
+
 
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This is what we are about. We really do believe that this is a
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community -- one that can grow and thrive. We look forward to this
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next phase of Masq's evolution. Let's go out there and have some fun!
+
 
+
-Masquerade staff
+
 
+
=== Copyright Notice ===
+
"Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse are copyright (c)
+
1991-2010 by White Wolf.  All material herein is used with permission
+
from the publisher, and may not be reproduced in any way without permission."
+
 
+
All items created for the MUSH shall remain copyrighted by the original
+
builder or coder. However, MASQ retains the right to keep all publicly
+
used buildings or code after the original author has left.  In English,
+
if you make a building or code, the copyright is yours and you can take
+
it to other games or do as you wish. However, when you leave, we
+
reserve the right to keep using your stuff and to modify it as we need.
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
= Rules            Masq's OOC Rules and Discipline Policy =
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In order to maintain a friendly and orderly environment, the
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staff has composed the following regulations.  We expect players and
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staff to abide by these rules and to treat one another with courtesy and respect.
+
+
        AUP          Masq's Acceptable Use Policy.
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        Conflicts    When you just can't get along with someone.
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        Discipline    What happens when you break the rules.
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        Non-Consent  Just like real life, bad things will happen.
+
        Retirement    When you feel it's time to let go.
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        Housekeeping  Character purges. Don't stay away too long!
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                    ** indicates new information!
+
 
+
=== Acceptable Use Policy ===
+
This AUP is a guideline and not a comprehensive list of prohibited behaviors.
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Conduct that is not expressly defined may be deemed by staff to be in
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violation of the spirit of a particular policy. Staff reserves the right
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to add or modify the AUP at any time; however, changes to the AUP must
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be approved by all of staff.
+
 
+
The following are currently sections of the AUP:
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        Alts       
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        Character Death
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        Database
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        Harassment 
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        Public Forums
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        Spoofing       
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        Spying
+
 
+
If you have questions or want clarification of any rule, please feel free to contact staff.
+
 
+
====ALTS====
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While you are allowed to have alts (alternate characters), you may not:
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  *+xp/vote for your own alts
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  *Hire your alt as an employee or have your alts living together
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  *Create an alt to benefit an existing alt
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  *Fight in the same combat with multiple characters
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  *Share SK or other knowledge between alts
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  *Create an alt to avenge or investigate the death of another alt
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  *Be in a relationship with your own alt (that's playing with yourself
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  - you'll go blind!)
+
Basically, your alts should not do anything which might bring them
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into close IC contact or conflict.
+
 
+
====CHARACTER DEATH====
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* Any character investigating the death or disappearance of a PC must
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  have been created prior to the PC's death.
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  In other words, no one can make a new character to investigate the death
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  of a character... only existing characters can investigate.
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* IC Wills and "notes to be opened in case of my death" must be approved
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  by RP Staff PRIOR TO the character's death.
+
 
+
====DATABASE====
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The following will be treated as grounds for immediate expulsion from the game:
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  *Deliberate malicious tampering with MUSH code
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  *Any attempt to crash the MUSH, destroy the database, or gain unauthorized
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  powers
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  *Attempting to "hack" into someone else's character (aka "identity theft")
+
 
+
====HARASSMENT====
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  * All Masq players have the right to an environment free of harassment.
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    In this instance, harassment is defined as offensive, belittling,
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    stalking, or threatening behavior directed at an individual player
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    or group of players. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.
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  * Deliberately hurting feelings or insulting another player with the
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    intent to cause harm is not allowed.  This includes direct verbal
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    abuse and defamation. The player need not be logged in if said abuse
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    occurs in a public forum.
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  * Verbal abuse can include obscene, profane, and vulgar language directed
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    at another player. While different people have different definitions of
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    "obscene," the language must be stopped immediately if requested by the
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    other player.
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  * Harassment of another player via email or other electronic means shall
+
    be considered a violation of MUSH policy. If you take your harassment
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    off the MUSH and into another forum you will still be subject to the
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    MUSH disciplinary procedure.  {Proof such as the email in question must
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    be provided to establish guilt.}
+
 
+
====PUBLIC FORUMS (+bboards, etc.)====
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  * No prejudicial statements are allowed in public forums regarding race,
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    religion, gender, occupation, sexual orientation, intelligence, or other
+
    personal attributes.
+
  * Obscenity is not permitted in our public forums.  Obscene rants / flames
+
    will be removed at staff discretion.
+
 
+
====SPOOFING====
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  * Malicious spoofing is not allowed. In this instance, we define
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    'malicious spoofing' as using @emit or @pemit to anonymously make nasty
+
    statements or pose questionable actions (or make it look like someone
+
    else did it) for the purpose of causing trouble.
+
 
+
====SPYING====
+
Spying by player characters using the DARK flag or puppet code
+
on other player characters is a sensitive and easily abused matter, as
+
the OOC privacy of players must be balanced against the need for
+
characters to be able to gather information in a covert fashion. Because
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of this, there are strict guidelines of which all players should be aware
+
so that both spying and spied-upon characters know their privileges and
+
obligations.
+
   
+
1) Any IC conversation in a public or private area may be eavesdropped
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  upon.
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2) While OOC conversations taking place via observable means in public
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  places may be observed, OOC conversations taking place via observable
+
  means in private rooms are considered private. Spying upon them is
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  a violation of this policy.  Please note that an OOC conversation is
+
  denoted by use of the OOC speak command.
+
3) Any DARK object used for spying must be approved by the staff, and
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  must be used in a manner that the staff deems appropriate. There are
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  no exceptions to this rule.
+
 
+
Players who violate this policy will have all of their characters
+
disciplined, with punishment up to and including the removal of said
+
characters. Players should be aware that their conversations may be
+
monitored; because of this, staff strongly recommends that all private
+
OOC conversations take place over pages, which are not subject to any
+
kind of eavesdropping.
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
= Apps            How to get that character you've been wanting =
+
 
+
 
+
 
+
= In-Game          Experience, Superknowledge, and more! =
+
 
+
 
+
= Building        Building and Housing =
+
 
+
 
+
= Staff            A listing of staff by rank and by department =
+
 
+
 
+
= All              A list of all news topics. =
+

Latest revision as of 20:22, 4 January 2011

This page is currently under construction and will be split into several pages once the final adjustments are complete.

  • Welcome - You're new? Then this is what you need
  • Rules - Masq's OOC Rules and Discipline Policy
  • Apps - How to get that character you've been wanting
  • FAQ Answers to some common questions
  • In-Game - Experience, Superknowledge, and more!
  • Building - Building and Housing
  • Staff A listing of staff by rank and by department
  • All - A list of all news topics.

** indicates new information!