We've all seen it, in one way or another. Just yesterday we saw RHMs slain for their behaviour in our "coffee shops". It's a line that has been drawn, and crossed, then re-drawn, and re-crossed. I believe we need some type of concrete conduct which we can expect out of anyone representing a family. Can we say and do as we please? At least this topic has been addressed for the room #divinelunacy, as Bubba makes sure to remind us "Just because we are separated by a few thousand miles, it doesn't give us the excuse to act in ways that are not acceptable in real life."

But in-game, what are we responsible for? We have to present ourselves respectfully in most venues, or we pay the price. We've decided in one way or another, IRC is a part of this game. Whether it's just as an extra means of communication, or a necessary aspect of our world, we need to decide.

First, IRC is used for a few important instances. 1. HitSquads. Constant communication between 2+ people makes it easy for hitter conversation. 2. Crewleaders. #Crewleader is used entirely for in-game purposes. 3. Families. Families can be accessed easily by joining a "family room", and can also be easy to speak to a larger group of people without mass-mailing. It also assists with responses; people don't have to repeatedly open and close messages, they just read line by line.

Now, I may not have included ALL the ways IRC is beneficial to the game, but I'm sure you can discuss that in responses. I invite everyone to respond, as this affects everyone that uses IRC. Here are what we need to decide:

What conduct are we responsible for on IRC? Do we act in-character, or out-of-character? IRC is a part of the game, therefore we must decide whether words and actions are to be received from an IRC "nick" or an in-game "character".

Where are we to expect this conduct? In essence, what rooms are we in-game, and what are reasonable for OOC? If we can choose this for EACH highly-populated room, we know exactly how to handle any situation that may arise.

My opinion on the matter is that certain rooms should be in-character. Family rooms, HS rooms, #Crewleader. Others, should be left as a place to just hang out. Divinelunacy, game rooms (trivia, vampire), and any room that the owner decides can be OOC.

Either way, this needs to be decided, to relenquish the confusion induced with this new communication machine.

here here well said.

sound bit of advice it will come in handy for new players like myself

Yes i agree with you to an extent Bandit.

There is nothing worse than a blatant respect for others, whether it's in or out of character.

In my honest opinion, if i have something to say in character, then i go to the streets & post in there. If i have something to say that's to do with the game, but i feel it's OOC then i post it in our HQ forum or include it in the chat on IRC.

The trouble is, we have players of all differing ages, creeds, upbringings etc within the game & sometimes things get lost in translation.

For example, i live in Scotland & i could post something that's perfectly acceptable in my country, but someone from say Canada or where ever, might take offence to what i've posted, then come & have a go at me about it ! Meanwhile, i'm sitting thinking what the hell is he/she on about ?

It really is a bit of a grey area, but with a bit of thought shouldn't pose any problems if people think before posting .

If people treat others as they themselves would like to be treated, then there will be no problems.

If people treat others as they themselves would like to be treated, then there will be no problems.

Unless any sadists play.

If you act a certain way on IRC, you should be prepared to receive an in-character response. Some rooms are more "OOC" than others. But if you stroll into #divinelunacy (a generally OOC room) and start ranting about how one of the Godfather's sucks ass, or kicks puppies, or has mediocre taste in films... then you should be prepared to die. Again, different rooms fall into different places on the "OOC v. IC" scale. But anything you do can potentially be responded to in-character, and you should act accordingly.

In fairness, Aurora really does like to wallop puppies.

Calling her out for kicking them is more a statement of fact than anything you should be punished over.

~T~