Policies
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Tickets & GM Policy
Understand that, while we, the GMs, are going to do our best to get to every issue as quickly as possible, we are only a small group of people and sometimes we get flooded with requests. We also have lives and we sometimes just want to play.
As such, there are a few rules to go by:
1. Do not ask if the GMs received your ticket. If you have the box in the upper right corner of your screen, that means we have it. If that ever disappears, that means you either deleted it or we did. Tickets remain even if you log off. However, keep in mind that we only see your ticket if you are logged on that character that submitted it. This is generally not an issue considering the majority of tickets are item requests.
2. Do not pester GMs about the status of your ticket. If you go for an extended period without hearing back (such as three or four days) you are allowed to ask about the status of your request. Not until then, and not more than once.
3. Do not expect the GMs to drop whatever they are doing to assist you right away, especially on non-pressing issues. We are not your slaves. We will get to things when we get to them.
Punishments for violation of these rules can and will include kicks from the server and possibly worse.
Accounts
Please do not make extra forum accounts in order to create new server accounts. This makes it somewhat difficult to keep track of account associations, and will likely get your extra accounts closed. Should you need more than one account, feel free to PM Kretol stating so.
Remember, to make an account, click the *Game Account* link at the top-right corner of the main site. (You must be logged in to do so)
Naming Policy
I'm effectively copying Blizzard's own naming policy for the RP servers.
Generally, any name that doesn't fit in a fantasy world will be forced to change upon the next log-in. If the person keeps choosing inappropriate names, I'll assign them a name myself until the person submits a ticket for a name of their choosing that's appropriate.
The following also is not allowed in names:
- Trademarks
- Pure Gibberish
- Contain "Leet" or "Dudespeak"
- Titles
- Real World References (This includes names of famous people and anime/movie/other game/book characters.)
- Partial or Complete Sentences
Characters should not have names created by sticking two or more words together unless that is the tradition of that character's race, and even then, be reasonable with your choices. WoWwiki has excellent naming guides for each of the races.
Do not use "word-nicknames" (Door, Lizard, Butterfly, Meatbag) as your in-game name. If you intend your character to only be known by their nickname, only introduce them by their nickname.
If you are forced to rename your character and do not comply (renaming the character the same name with a different spelling or another name that still violates the naming policies), the character will be locked indefinitely. If the behavior continues, your account will be suspended or banned.
Names With Abnormal Characters
Names that have any abnormal alpha characters (such as é, ä, í, etc) are not allowed. Any characters found with such a name will immediately be forced to rename their character, and if the player consistently chooses names with any abnormal characters, then they will be disciplined accordingly.
Changed Names
If your character's name is changed, you may notice that all your settings have been reset. You can restore your settings (macros, hotkeys, etc) by exiting out of WoW, going to the WoW program folder, then heading to the WTF\Account\*ACCOUNTNAME*\Conquest of the Horde folder. (Be sure to replace *ACCOUNTNAME* with the name of the account you use to connect that has your character whose name was changed.)
From there, simply rename the folder that has your character's old name to the new one (if the folder with the new name already exists (ie, if you logged the character in before doing this)), simply delete the new name folder before renaming the old one to the new name.
Character Death
If it happens OOCly, then it stays OOC. Otherwise, read on...
There is no limit on how often a character can be resurrected ICly. However, if the character's life is tossed away (the character kills themself, has another murder them, etc.) then there is no resurrection. If the character is to be resurrected an IC post MUST be made in this forum. Why? We've had some ridiculous deaths and resurrections in the past.
If we feel the resurrection is... bad, for lack of a better term, we reserve the right to deny it pending a better post.
Drawbacks
A character must be dead for one week before it can be rezzed. During this week you must think of what drawbacks come from your death. The drawbacks should be listed at the end of the post. If no drawbacks are posted in the RC thread it will automatically be denied.
Keep in mind that if your character was simply murdered in cold blood (No warning, etc.) you should PM a GM about it, as this is a breach of policy on the murderer's part. However, if this was done in a zone known to be dangerous, or in the threatening or harassing of a guild or player known to have a predisposition for violence, you should accept the consequences (Keep in mind that metagaming and powergaming fall under a separate rule from this.).
Resurrector & Killer
Another addition to the Rezz post must be the addition of who the character was killed by, and who resurrected them.
NPC Abuse
It is unacceptable to assume that simply because an NPC guard does not react visibly to the roleplay around it, that the guard would not react IC'ly. This includes:
a) Attacking/killing guards.
b) Attacking/killing other NPCs within visual/shouting range of guards.
c) Attacking/killing other players within visual/shouting range of guards.
d) Discussing things that would normally alert the guards within speaking range of guards. (ie, theft, murder, conspiracy.)
e) Otherwise harassing guards, NPCs, or players within visual/speaking range of guards.
In-character actions have in-character consequences. If your character is caught doing the above-mentioned actions, you may expect some combination of reactions, depending on the situation and severity:
a) Significant reputation loss with the faction of the city the incident took place in.
b) A shout being issued for more hostile guards, who may attack the character.
c) Increased security in problem areas.
d) Imprisonment.
e) In-character banishment.
f) Lethal force (execution).
"Tantrum" or "Grand" Exits
IN SHORT (for those of you who don't feel like reading all this):
If you feel the need to leave the server, that's fine. But if you throw tantrums and announce that you're "leaving forever", we will make an honest poster of you. Your account will be banned, and you will not be able to return a week or two later to say you've reconsidered.
And now, the details:
In the interest of preserving RP etiquette, please note the following addition to the server policies.
First, a discussion on choices: We are aware that sometimes this server is simply not right for a person and they may choose to leave. This choice may have to do with the price of internet service, the condition of the players computer, the workload of the player, the family life of the player, the health of the player, the interests of the player, conflicting personalities, politics, the price of tea in China... any of these reasons are perfectly acceptable. No other player will (or at least should not) hold it against the player who chooses to leave. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about this.
Second, a discussion on manners and common decency: The right way to make an exit from any server, or in fact any social situation, is to go with dignity. All that is needed is a quiet statement to those who work closely with you (in this case, if your characters are involved in their storyline, or vice versa). You do not need to state your reason for leaving, and in fact if it is for reasons of personality conflict or politics, it may be best, and certainly reflect more favorably on you, not to. If you can state these reasons in a mature fashion, especially involving possible improvements in a constructive fashion, that's fine. Not making a scene shows maturity, and preserves social connections.
That being said, there is definitely a wrong way to leave a server or social situation. This normally does not apply to physical reasons, such as heath or workload, and mainly pertains to the social and political reasons. If a player finds themselves upset with how a server is run, or with others who populate the server, they may feel the need to let the populace of the server know exactly why they are leaving. Discussing private conversations in public channels, calling out other players, making accusatory remarks, and sabatoging storylines are not only impolite and immature, they severely damage your reputation amongst those who experience it. As many roleplayers "hop" from server to server and genre to genre, it can be expected that a damaged reputation will tend to follow the incautious player. In summary: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. You'll be happier for it.
Third, a discussion on the new policy: If a player is leaving the server, that is fine, and is their choice. If they do so quietly and politely and later decide to return, they will be welcomed.
If, however, a player decides to announce their departure in a less mature fashion, by posting brooding statements in the forums and/or being impolite and immature in their farewell statements, public or private*, they will not be welcomed back to the server. This is not a statement that they will be rejected by the populace of the server, it is a warning that the offending account will be banned.
Please note that simply stating "I'm not satisfied with how the server policies handle (insert situation here)" will not get you banned, and may even be taken into consideration for improvements. It's not so much in what you say, it's how you say it.
Obviously, if the player truly has no intention of returning, this will mean nothing, and is in essence a neutral reaction. In the event that the player reconsiders and attempts to rejoin, however, they will be barred from doing so. We hope that this encourages players to consider their words and intentions carefully.
This policy is not retroactive, so if a player has made a goodbye statement and returned, they will not be banned. However, from now on this is a zero-tolerance policy.
* This does not mean we are going to monitor player conversations, or that players cannot voice their displeasure to sympathetic ears. However, if a player decides to harass another just before leaving, either directly or indirectly, it will more than likely come to surface and reflect very poorly.
"Bumping" Profiles
We are hereby forbidding blatant bumping of your profile threads. There is only one page of profiles and a single "I have done some changes" post is more than adequate. We have not forgotten about you, however it may seem. Also remember that we try to work on profiles from the bottom up, so if you bump your profile it gets done last.
Reputation Abuse
Once you have hit the level of reputation with a faction where they will no longer attack you, you need to UN-CHECK “AT WAR”, and then you need to RELOG. This is TRUE, no matter who tells you this. Yes, even if there are no GMs on, this magical remedy STILL WORKS. That’s why your fellow players are asking if you did it while the Orgrimmar Grunts beat you down for the sixth time. DO NOT GET SNOTTY AT PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO HELP YOU. If you are still unclear on this, read Rule Number One. (Hint: There’s a reason it’s #1) If you STILL don’t get it... get off the server. Get lost.
While we do not offer Reborn Shards any longer as a reputation item, these concepts will still apply to any character trying to abuse faction NPCs in any way because they cannot die from it, and are edited to reflect such.
What if my character is sneaking into the city?
Then sneak. Many people have snuck into opposite-faction cities with no reputation change at all, but they have to risk life and limb to do so. If you are making sure that there is no way the guards will attack you, you are metagaming, and we will have words. They will not be nice ones.
What if my character is a diplomat?
Your character is not a diplomat for any opposing nation. Please do not roll one without our permission, assuming the staff finds we would like someone to play one.
What if my character is a mercenary?
Stick to neutral areas unless you have business, and don’t stand within earshot of guards while you’re doing business. Mercenaries of the opposite faction are not allowed within their enemy's cities, for obvious reasons.
What if I have a really good disguise?
Disguises work for getting in and out quickly. They tend to get fairly obvious if you’re hanging out for days on end in the wrong city. Guards can also see through a shoddy disguise, so if you intend on doing this make an effort to cover your bases. A "High Elf" with green eyes will be stuck through with a sword if anyone sees him.
But all my friends are there!
Get to know other people, then. We’re a community-based server. Everyone here has interests are similar to yours. And yes, they all want to RP. It’s true, Virginia.
Keep in mind that some factions do not like certain people in their cities. For example: Night Elves will kill Warlocks and likely toss out any class that does Arcane magic.
The same goes for warlocks sauntering into the Church of Holy Light, or druids hanging out in the Cleft of Shadow. Use your brains, people.
Chat Policies
Please read the Chat FAQs and the Chat Policies.
Kicks, Suspensions, and Bans
Almost every time we issue a kick, we are met with a cry of protest. "I wasn't given any warning!", they declare. Keep this in mind: a kick IS a warning. It usually means that a GM or another player has asked you to stop doing something, which is your pre-warning right there. If no one asked you to stop and you were kicked, it means it was something that is covered in the rules, and reading the rules was your pre-warning.
Advice regarding kicks:
- READ the red text that shows up just prior to your disconnection.
- STOP before signing back on. Usually even only a brief pause to collect yourself will prevent you from doing something stupid when you get back on.
- THINK about what you were doing when you were kicked. Was it against the rules? Obnoxious? Offensive? (The answer is yes to at least one of these.) How would you have handled it differently? Can you log back in and not do that any more, or is it "part of you"?
Respect GM requests and decisions, and treat them as final. Do not argue over kicks, suspensions, or bans unless you HONESTLY feel it was a case of mistaken identity. In that case, you may contact Grakor and make your case. If it is determined that it was not a case of mistaken identity, then do not argue further.
If you are not the person who was suspended, do not appeal kicks, suspensions, or bans. This is the business of the kicked/suspended/banned player ONLY. If you insist on speaking on the behalf of someone else, you will be suspended. Don't do it.
I'm not sure why this comes up so much, but let me make this clear: If you were banned, and you come back, you will be banned AGAIN. Don't look so shocked.
Denied Applications/Introductions
If your introduction is denied, it is because we do not feel you are a good fit for our heavy-duty RP server. This is not a personal attack on you, it is a unanimous decision of the GMs. Considering how many introductions we need to go through, please respect that we usually cannot provide you with the specific reason your introduction was denied. We wish you luck in your RP adventures elsewhere! We trust you to be mature in understanding our decision. However, if you begin to troll the forums, debate, or harass the GMs or other players as a result of this decision, you will be banned. No warnings will be given.
This policy is null at the moment.
