Code of Conduct

It goes without saying that everyone participating in Star Wars: A Fading Hope should be adult enough and intelligent enough to understand and follow not just what is written here, but the spirit in which it was written. Please take the time to read it, because you will be held accountable for your actions on the chat based on this and all other chat documents regarding behavior and conduct.

Courtesy and Respect

First and foremost - be patient with each other. Remember that some of the people on the chat may not be native English speakers. Some are not expert typists, or grammar and spelling fanatics. Others may be new to the tar Wars Saga Edition Game or a particular venue. Be helpful and offer advice to the newcomers if you can't, then refer them to someone who can.

In Out-of-Character Rooms

Treat everyone on the chat courteously and with a modicum of respect. It's that simple. In this small online community that makes up those of us who enjoy Star Wars Saga Edition, it's inevitable that someone you dislike will be involved with this chat, or that you will come into dispute with someone on the chat. We are all highly individualistic people with very strong opinions. Flaming, harassing, name-calling or any other such behavior towards another player will result in a warning and can get you banned if the behavior persists. If you dislike someone, place them on Ignore (a much under-used chat feature).

We encourage people to discuss and debate any number of topics in the OOC room. The sole caveat is that it must remain a civil discussion. In any and all cases, speak to the topic or issue, not to the person. Personal attacks are never warranted. Any GM or Admin has the right to end any discussion should they feel it has gotten out of control. Anyone continuing the discussion after an GM or Admin has asked that it cease may be given an unofficial or official warning.

If you yourself are attacked or harassed or if you witness something that you feel goes against this Code of Conduct, the correct response is a polite and firm (and preferably public, not in PM) request for them to stop. If the situation continues, then please follow the procedure for reporting OOC problems in the General FAQ.

In In-Character Rooms

Please refrain from excessive OOC commentary in an IC chat room. If you want to shoot the OOC breeze with your friends while you play, use the PM feature of the chat or any one of the alternate messaging systems available for free on the internet.

There are times when players may find themselves in a scene that has gotten to the point where they feel a GM's presence is required. Players are within their rights to ask that the scene be frozen. No one is to be forced into continuing a scene after he/she has asked for it to be frozen. Do not attempt to change the player's mind, talk the player into continuing, or in any way coerce him/her. The moment any player participating in a scene requests that the scene be frozen the scene stops. Please see the General FAQ for the proper procedure to follow when freezing a scene. If there are questions about dice rolls or some rolling has already taken place, take screenshots of the DR page so that the GM can go back over the rolls.

With GameMasters and Administrators

You will not PM GMs and/or Admins who are logged into the chat in a PC skin with chat-related business. This includes, but is not limited to: complaints, requests for scenes, experience, specific questions about chat rules or a scene you are currently in, in other words, when a GM is off-duty, they are off duty. Period. Do not assume that your issue is a special case: it isn't. Not even if you are a personal friend of the GMs; you of all people should respect their need for time off. There is no such thing as an emergency; if you are in a scene and there is a problem, you have two options. You can PM an GM that is on-duty and ask for assistance. If they are, for whatever reason, unable to help you, do not badger them. If another GM cannot help you, or if there are no GMs currently logged into the chat and on-duty, ask that the scene be frozen until such time as an GM is available to assist. Please see the General FAQ for the proper procedure to follow when freezing a scene.

Honesty

Out-of-Character

We expect everyone to be honest in their dealings with each other; do not pass on false or misleading information about another player, GM or Admin.

In-Character

Obviously, characters are going to lie and cheat and steal. However, you as a player should not be lying when it comes down to your character's particular skills in the case of dice rolls. Be sure you take the time to read the chat's House Rules, and refer back to them during a scene as necessary, don't just "guess". It takes only a few moments to double-check, and this can avoid misunderstanding and conflict later on.

Don't immediately assume that someone is cheating. Give the person the benefit of the doubt and assume they simply made a mistake and politely point it out and then help get it corrected in a way that is acceptable to everyone in the scene. That might mean re-rolling, or simply re-calculating the number of successes of a roll based on the new difficulty. On the other side - if someone points out that you've made a mistake, don't get upset. Apologize and then again, work with everyone on the scene to correct it.

Meta-gaming

There is a fact of life that everyone playing any sort of RPG has to face: meta-gaming happens. Not all of it is deliberate; in fact, much of it isn't. It is also a fact of life that our actions are colored by what we know. If you know something OOC, even if you consciously work not to use that knowledge, it will color how you think and affect how you react IC. Thus, accidental meta-gaming is very much a reality.

So, what's to be done? Do your best to keep yourself out of situations where you will learn something your character wouldn't know. We also suggest you try and refrain from talking about current/ongoing SLs in OOC rooms. Doing so passes along information other players characters may not have (and should not have) and thus can result in meta-gaming. Besides, it's much more fun for all involved to let IC secrets come out (or not!) IC in due time.

PKing

Indiscriminate killing of other players characters will not be tolerated. Please respect the time and energy that other players have put into the creation and playing of their characters.

That said given the integration of the venues as well as the SLs we intend to run, we fully expect that PCs will engage in combat and may kill each other. Your PC may be killed by another PC because of your PC's IC actions. If your PC is attacked, you have every right to retaliate appropriately. You as a player should be mature enough to handle the IC consequences of your character's IC actions. If you aren't please don't play here.

If you are in a scene in which no GM is present and in which conflict between PCs has arisen and is at the point where combat is about to begin, stop. Before going any further, check with the other players and make sure everyone involved is comfortable with proceeding without a GM. As always, if one player wants the scene to be frozen, then the scene must stop. Please see the General FAQ for the proper procedure to follow when freezing a scene.

In any and all cases, if the GMs or Admins suspect that a player is PKing simply for "fun", they will be given an official warning and may face de-sanctioning or banning. On the other side if the GMs or Admins suspect or see a player taking "revenge" on another player because of a PC death by harassing them OOC or IC, said player may also face de-sanctioning or banning.

Fantasy vs. Reality

IC and OOC are two completely separate entities, and never the two shall meet. Never assume that a person's character is "just like them". Within the context of this game, it is assumed that PCs will come to hate and despise one another, plot against one another, and as mentioned above, even occasionally kill one another. None of this has anything to do with what happens OOC.

Never assume that because a player's character says or does something, it reflects the player's feelings, thoughts, or actions. The player doesn't want to kill you or hurt you, nor does the player want to marry you and they are most likely not in love with you.

We strongly urge players to be cautious in giving out personal information to other players. This can lead to uncomfortable and even possibly dangerous situations offline. If at any time, a player or situation starts to make you uncomfortable, be honest with the other player and if they do not cease, follow the procedure outlined in the General FAQ for reporting OOC issues and problems.

When participating in the game or playing your character, keep in mind that the game is just a form of entertainment. What happens on this chat is not real, and has absolutely no effect on your real life. If at any point, the Admin or GMs become concerned that a player is not of sound mind and is having difficulty in distinguishing real-life from the game or if a player continuously takes IC issues OOC (an example would be assuming a player dislikes you because their character did something unpleasant to yours or because their character dislikes your character), we reserve the right to ban them from the site.

Last Words

Have Fun.

This is a game, but even more, this is a story; everyone here on this chat is helping to craft a story in which their PCs are characters. Yes, there will be unhappy or unpleasant situations occurring in the game itself, but part of the enjoyment of the game is playing the ups and downs of your character. Stop and think for a moment about how boring a movie would be if the main characters never failed, never lost. Losing and failure are a part of life.