IMPORTANT! Bulletin Board Censorship: Clarified Guidelines
I know NPC Mods and players alike were waiting on this, so sorry for taking so long on it! D8 Also, to preface, none of this is absolutely 100% set in stone forever, but it is what we'll be initially using for this Dayshift so that all of our NPC Mods are on the same page (otherwise, we have to do a bunch of micromanaging and hold things up, which... I don't think anyone really wants? ;;) In the meantime, though, you guys can tell us your own feelings about the policies on this post and we'll definitely be taking into consideration any general consensus that comes to light as the next Dayshift rolls along and we try to refine rules as best we can.
Anyway, here goes!
It's been pointed out to us that there have been some concerns about the censorship from the players and from the NPC Mods; both are confused about the specifics of what should and should not be censored. In response to this, we've tried to extend and clarify the guidelines for all parties involved.
Some general guidelines:
1) In the interest of both respecting the time and energy that NPC Mods are putting into this, and also due to the logistic impossibility/redundancy of them running every decision by us, please understand that many of these decisions ARE up to the interpretation of a particular NPC Mod and those interpretations, unless directly contradictory to the rules, should be respected. If, after reading all of the below, you feel that an NPC Mod has broken the rules or that they are blatantly abusing their power, you may bring these concerns up with one of the Head Mods either in IM, e-mail, or the Complaints post. (While individual nurse censoring will not require the NPC Mods to identify themselves on every post, I have turned on IP Logging on damned_bulletin so that we can determine the identities of any abusers should that need arise - of course, this is a last resort and we trust that an NPC Mod would come forward if we asked the Mod Comm about a particular thread; in addition to this, some ideas have been tossed around about alternate ways for NPC Mods to identify themselves, but we're still in the process of sorting it all out.)
2) Context and quantity matters. We know there's been a bunch of debate over the validity of language and code usage on the board, so here's some clarification: secondary language and code can help, but they don't make a poster immune, and, in fact, overusage of secondary language and code can be more of a beacon for the nurses than regular speech itself. One post of binary qualified by an explanation of "trying to find someone who can do computer programming" might get by them, sure, but long exchanges of it would certainly garner attention and look suspicious; same goes for any other language - modern, ancient, or otherwise. There is some grey area here, and I couldn't possibly clarify every exact permutation of how these situations will turn out, which again goes back to some interpretation on the part of the NPC Mods.
3) The nurses are ICly trying to impede your characters. This means that, yes, nurses can take down threads and posts even in the middle of a discussion; this means that, yes, nurses would have some room for interpretation when they try to figure out if a post is inappropriate or not. What NPC Mods are trying to do, therefore, is look at these posts from a nurse's perspective. If a nurse were to see long threads in a foreign language or in obvious code, would they be suspicious? Very much so. If they were to see a couple of posts in a foreign language, or see code in the guise of musing about pop culture/historical references, would they realize the significance? Probably not.
4) IC=/=OOC. Yes, characters should be struggling through this first day to figure out what does and does not work with the nurses; after all, they certainly wouldn't automatically know which methods procure the best results. Remember that this censorship was requested and supported in the first place to give characters an extra challenge so that you could have extra fun with them. Torture them! Frustrate them! Force them to creativity! This first day might be rocky for them ICly but it's for the purpose of giving you some fun OOCly. Like I said above, the objective of nurses is to impede your characters, but that does not mean that the objective of NPC Mods is to impede players. Again, IC=/=OOC. The Bulletin Board has just been changed to pose the same level of challenge as the rest of the game; after all, the main RP would lose much of its purpose if characters could use all their powers and knew where monsters appeared beforehand.
Now, some further clarification on some points already brought up:
A) BAD LANGUAGE
This includes all the major cuss words, any slurs, any symbols (like a middle finger or a phallus or steaming pile of poop or something) or anything that the nurses feel is crass or inappropriate. For example: it is not okay for your character to call another patient a "rat bastard." It is okay for your character to call another patient a "weasel," so long as the exchange does not elevate to the level of threats or obvious hostility (see below). Basically, language can stay at a "PG" rating: an occasional "oh my god," "damn," or "hell" isn't going to bring nurse fury down on your character's head, but again, quantity and context is key.
B) SEXUAL REFERENCES
This includes all (non-heavily masked) sexual innuendo, description of sexual exploits, sexual propositioning, or anything that the nurses feel is overly intimate or inappropriate. For example: it is not okay for your character to say they have been "sleeping around with Bob," It is okay for your character to say they have been "getting closer to Bob recently."
C) ORDERS OR THREATS
This includes any (non-heavily masked) orders, any request for orders, any threats against a person's physical/mental/emotional health or their loved ones, or anything that the nurses feel is overly hierarchal, confrontational, or inappropriate. For example: it is not okay for your character to put up a list of "orders"; requests, if worded lightly enough, would be okay. It is also not okay for your character to say they will "blow your brains into bits"; it is okay for them to say that they "hope we can resolve this matter without too much injury."
D) INSTITUTE ACCUSATIONS OR NIGHTSHIFT PLANS
ANY non-heavily masked reveals about the Institute's darker nature or references to Nightshift may be taken down. However, some viable ways around this might be to refer to a vague time "later" (for Nightshift planning) or to make vague references to "dreams" (for exposés). Like everything else, though, getting too detailed in a thread might garner a nurse's attention. For example: it is not okay for your character to say, "Last night, I had a dream that my friends and I walked to the Greenhouse and got attacked by a giant pyramid-headed-meat monster and then we realized that fire could slow it down." It is okay for your character to say, "I've been having dreams where I'm wandering through foliage and a dark figure with a giant head starts chasing me. It only ends when I see a wall of fire." Similarly, it is not okay for your character to say: "Soccer Club is meeting in Mike's room tonight to pick up weapons and go foraging in the kitchen." It is okay to say: "Soccer Club will be meeting with Mike much later today to distribute equipment and plan a bake sale." Also remember that even if a thread is allowed to go on, there might be some consequences later down the line for putting any specific information out in the open...
E) EXTENDED REFERENCES TO "FAKE" LIVES
If only because the alternative would be way, way too difficult to keep track of, characters can refer to each other by their canon names and the nurses will not censor it. Characters can also make vague references to their canon lives and drop a couple of names (location, friend, or otherwise) here and there. However, just like everything else, if these exchanges become extended and overly detailed, the nurses can take them down. For example: it is not okay for your character to say, "Hi, my name is Princess Mary Sue Potter-Cullen of the Wizard Vampire Society and I come from Perfectland, circa 1200, where everything is made of gold and our main power source is fairy dust and I can summon magical dragons." It is okay for your character to say, "Hi, my name is Mary Sue and I come from Perfectland, which is very different from here."
----
Phew! I think that's all for now? Any comments, suggestions, or questions go here, and though we probably won't be changing the above rules for this first Dayshift unless it proves absolutely necessary, we are eager to hear what everyone has to say so that we can make any necessary edits for subsequent Dayshifts once everyone is a little more used to the basics.
I hope these rules seem fair overall, and again, please let us know your thoughts! Thanks so much for your patience and I apologize once again for my delay in getting this up.
Anyway, here goes!
It's been pointed out to us that there have been some concerns about the censorship from the players and from the NPC Mods; both are confused about the specifics of what should and should not be censored. In response to this, we've tried to extend and clarify the guidelines for all parties involved.
Some general guidelines:
1) In the interest of both respecting the time and energy that NPC Mods are putting into this, and also due to the logistic impossibility/redundancy of them running every decision by us, please understand that many of these decisions ARE up to the interpretation of a particular NPC Mod and those interpretations, unless directly contradictory to the rules, should be respected. If, after reading all of the below, you feel that an NPC Mod has broken the rules or that they are blatantly abusing their power, you may bring these concerns up with one of the Head Mods either in IM, e-mail, or the Complaints post. (While individual nurse censoring will not require the NPC Mods to identify themselves on every post, I have turned on IP Logging on damned_bulletin so that we can determine the identities of any abusers should that need arise - of course, this is a last resort and we trust that an NPC Mod would come forward if we asked the Mod Comm about a particular thread; in addition to this, some ideas have been tossed around about alternate ways for NPC Mods to identify themselves, but we're still in the process of sorting it all out.)
2) Context and quantity matters. We know there's been a bunch of debate over the validity of language and code usage on the board, so here's some clarification: secondary language and code can help, but they don't make a poster immune, and, in fact, overusage of secondary language and code can be more of a beacon for the nurses than regular speech itself. One post of binary qualified by an explanation of "trying to find someone who can do computer programming" might get by them, sure, but long exchanges of it would certainly garner attention and look suspicious; same goes for any other language - modern, ancient, or otherwise. There is some grey area here, and I couldn't possibly clarify every exact permutation of how these situations will turn out, which again goes back to some interpretation on the part of the NPC Mods.
3) The nurses are ICly trying to impede your characters. This means that, yes, nurses can take down threads and posts even in the middle of a discussion; this means that, yes, nurses would have some room for interpretation when they try to figure out if a post is inappropriate or not. What NPC Mods are trying to do, therefore, is look at these posts from a nurse's perspective. If a nurse were to see long threads in a foreign language or in obvious code, would they be suspicious? Very much so. If they were to see a couple of posts in a foreign language, or see code in the guise of musing about pop culture/historical references, would they realize the significance? Probably not.
4) IC=/=OOC. Yes, characters should be struggling through this first day to figure out what does and does not work with the nurses; after all, they certainly wouldn't automatically know which methods procure the best results. Remember that this censorship was requested and supported in the first place to give characters an extra challenge so that you could have extra fun with them. Torture them! Frustrate them! Force them to creativity! This first day might be rocky for them ICly but it's for the purpose of giving you some fun OOCly. Like I said above, the objective of nurses is to impede your characters, but that does not mean that the objective of NPC Mods is to impede players. Again, IC=/=OOC. The Bulletin Board has just been changed to pose the same level of challenge as the rest of the game; after all, the main RP would lose much of its purpose if characters could use all their powers and knew where monsters appeared beforehand.
Now, some further clarification on some points already brought up:
A) BAD LANGUAGE
This includes all the major cuss words, any slurs, any symbols (like a middle finger or a phallus or steaming pile of poop or something) or anything that the nurses feel is crass or inappropriate. For example: it is not okay for your character to call another patient a "rat bastard." It is okay for your character to call another patient a "weasel," so long as the exchange does not elevate to the level of threats or obvious hostility (see below). Basically, language can stay at a "PG" rating: an occasional "oh my god," "damn," or "hell" isn't going to bring nurse fury down on your character's head, but again, quantity and context is key.
B) SEXUAL REFERENCES
This includes all (non-heavily masked) sexual innuendo, description of sexual exploits, sexual propositioning, or anything that the nurses feel is overly intimate or inappropriate. For example: it is not okay for your character to say they have been "sleeping around with Bob," It is okay for your character to say they have been "getting closer to Bob recently."
C) ORDERS OR THREATS
This includes any (non-heavily masked) orders, any request for orders, any threats against a person's physical/mental/emotional health or their loved ones, or anything that the nurses feel is overly hierarchal, confrontational, or inappropriate. For example: it is not okay for your character to put up a list of "orders"; requests, if worded lightly enough, would be okay. It is also not okay for your character to say they will "blow your brains into bits"; it is okay for them to say that they "hope we can resolve this matter without too much injury."
D) INSTITUTE ACCUSATIONS OR NIGHTSHIFT PLANS
ANY non-heavily masked reveals about the Institute's darker nature or references to Nightshift may be taken down. However, some viable ways around this might be to refer to a vague time "later" (for Nightshift planning) or to make vague references to "dreams" (for exposés). Like everything else, though, getting too detailed in a thread might garner a nurse's attention. For example: it is not okay for your character to say, "Last night, I had a dream that my friends and I walked to the Greenhouse and got attacked by a giant pyramid-headed-meat monster and then we realized that fire could slow it down." It is okay for your character to say, "I've been having dreams where I'm wandering through foliage and a dark figure with a giant head starts chasing me. It only ends when I see a wall of fire." Similarly, it is not okay for your character to say: "Soccer Club is meeting in Mike's room tonight to pick up weapons and go foraging in the kitchen." It is okay to say: "Soccer Club will be meeting with Mike much later today to distribute equipment and plan a bake sale." Also remember that even if a thread is allowed to go on, there might be some consequences later down the line for putting any specific information out in the open...
E) EXTENDED REFERENCES TO "FAKE" LIVES
If only because the alternative would be way, way too difficult to keep track of, characters can refer to each other by their canon names and the nurses will not censor it. Characters can also make vague references to their canon lives and drop a couple of names (location, friend, or otherwise) here and there. However, just like everything else, if these exchanges become extended and overly detailed, the nurses can take them down. For example: it is not okay for your character to say, "Hi, my name is Princess Mary Sue Potter-Cullen of the Wizard Vampire Society and I come from Perfectland, circa 1200, where everything is made of gold and our main power source is fairy dust and I can summon magical dragons." It is okay for your character to say, "Hi, my name is Mary Sue and I come from Perfectland, which is very different from here."
----
Phew! I think that's all for now? Any comments, suggestions, or questions go here, and though we probably won't be changing the above rules for this first Dayshift unless it proves absolutely necessary, we are eager to hear what everyone has to say so that we can make any necessary edits for subsequent Dayshifts once everyone is a little more used to the basics.
I hope these rules seem fair overall, and again, please let us know your thoughts! Thanks so much for your patience and I apologize once again for my delay in getting this up.