Rules

The owner of STAR WARS: Dark Horizons MUSH has laid down the following rules to guide players and staff as to acceptable behavior and content.
If you find that any player is violating the game rules, please report their actions to a staff member. This staff member will either make a judgement as to the violation of the rules and appropriate punishment, or pass judgement on to a higher staff member.
If you are dissatisfied with a staff member's judgement or if a staffer violated the rules, you should appeal to a higher level of staff. Any staff member may refuse to deal with your complaint, though this will only be done for a very good reason. 
Remember, this game is not a democracy, and these rules are not laws. These rules are open to interpretation by the staff. We will strictly punish obvious violations of the spirit as well as the letter of these rules. I, the owner, reserve the right to change the rules as necessary, and my interpretation of the rules is considered binding. I reserve the right to remove any player who cannot abide by the spirit and letter of these rules or who proves a permanent detriment to the Dark Horizons MUSH community. 
By playing on Star Wars: Dark Horizons, you consent to follow these rules.
==Player Rules==
We have put in several rules to ensure your maximum enjoyment. We expect all players on our game to act maturely, to the best of their ability. While players of all ages are allowed to play, they should exhibit adult standards of behavior, judgement, common sense, and courtesy.
 
:1. Should any differences arise between you and another player, be it harassment, dispute, personality clashes, or whatever else, try to work it out with them without Staff intervention. Staff intervention is the last resort, not the first; as a mature and responsible player, you should not need Staff resolution unless you have already made every honest effort to resolve your differences and every other option has been exhausted. 
:2. Harassment is absolutely forbidden. This includes, but is not limited to: slandering, pestering people after they've told you to stop, spreading malicious rumors about them, swearing, calling them out. Should a player continue to bother and harass you, page lock them. Should they do so in public, try to resolve the dispute with them privately. Should the problem persist, send a PM to the game wizards (listed on +Staff) with log(s) of their harassment AND your attempts to resolve the situation. NOTE: If we see public harassment in progress, we will not wait for a complaint; we will suspend the harasser's communication privileges for several hours and note the offense in his/her file.
:3. Do NOT cheat. This means, but is not limited to: vandalism of game property, hacking, manipulating game objects and yourself for advantage, taking advantage of exploits. If you cheat, expect yourself to be at the very least, temporarily banned and all advantages of the exploit removed. If you find an exploit, -immediately- report it to the Wizards in a PM. Any benefits derived from an exploit will be destroyed one way or another.
:4. Keep your IC in your IC, and your OOC in your OOC. Not vice versa. This means that you are not your character. While attachment is to be expected, you are expected to be able to separate yourself from what happens to your character. If your character is blown into bits, stuffed into a shredder, then dumped into a black hole, we expect you to show good sportsmanship OOCly. Should you find that someone is breaking this rule and adversely affecting your game experience, attempt to resolve the problem with them in private. If every option has been exhausted and all attempts have been made, PM the Wizards with log(s) of their infraction AND your attempt(s) at resolution.
:5. If a Staff member asks for your cooperation, cooperate. If you are absolutely convinced that they are breaking the spirit of the rules, or breaking the spirit and mandates of the Staff Oath, STILL comply, but log the incident and forward it, with your comments, to their direct superior. For a Storyteller, that's the Senior Storytellers. For a Senior Storyteller, that's the Wizards. Staff misbehavior is not acceptable, and when detected will be punished harshly. However, for the good of the game, Staff rulings and requests should be followed without defiance or conflict and potential abuses reported and investigated, rather than escalated into crisis by players. This policy is essential to a smoothly-run game.
:6. Tiny Sex is absolutely not tolerated. You can RP kissing, undressing, and so on, if you must. Do not RP sex. If you absolutely must, do it by an instant-messenger program rather than on the MUSH server. We have no way of verifying player ages, and don't want to deal with any liability issues that might rise from minors being involved in sex chat on our game. We also want to keep the spirit of the game in keeping with that of the Star Wars Trilogy, which is romantic at times but never explicit.
:7. If you are uncomfortable with what's being RPed, you can fade-to-black or OOCly remove yourself from the scene. For example, Leia's player might be uncomfortable RPing Jabba licking her face. She can fade-to-black or not RP the rest of the scene -- but ICly, her character's face is still going to be licked. Should you OOCly remove yourself from a scene, you surrender all control of your characters' actions to discretion of Staff.
==Disciplinary Action==
All disciplinary action will be noted and added to a player's file.
Punishment is at the discretion of Staff, but a general guideline: 
Minor Offenses: 
:1. Warning. Light fine of CP/XP. 
:2. Temporary ban. Heavy fine of CP/XP. 
:3. Permanent ban.
Major Offenses: 
:1. Temporary ban. Heavy fine of CP/XP. 
:2. Permanent ban.
Grievous Offenses:
:1. Permanent Ban.
When a Staff member makes a judgment or decision that you strongly feel is against the spirit of the rules, the Staff Oath, and impartiality, the decision still stands. There will be no freezes on RP. However, you may make your case in a polite private message that lays out your concerns in detail to their respective superior, with log(s) of the infraction. (If it's a Storyteller, report to a Senior Storyteller, if it's a Senior Storyteller, report it to all the Wizards.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Player Liaisons are a very useful avenue for bringing your concerns. As fellow players, they do not have Staff responsibilities and thus avoid any potential Staff-oriented conflicts of interest. They are essentially ombudsmen, player-selected players who have a direct avenue of communication to the Wizards. If you bring your concerns to a Player Liaison, and they find your concerns have merit, they can choose to take those concerns directly to the Wizards. However, if they do not think you
have a case, they are under no obligation to argue in your favor. Remember that their reputation is on the line when they choose to bring someone's case straight to the Wizards. See news Player Liasons for more details.
Category:Policy