[IN-DEPTH] Explanation of IG Rules with Precedents

[maramizo]

DISCLAIMER

 

This thread does not replace Rule 0: administrative discretion is always in play. This thread however aims to:

• Create a degree of consistency so that you wouldn't face wildly fluctuating results depending on the handling administrator.
• Aid players in understanding how rules are applied in depth through a quick skim of conclusions and precedents set by administrators.
• Aid administrators by having a plethora of conclusions previously reached to standardize administrative response and expedite report handling times.

 

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INTRODUCTION

 

Just like real life laws, many of the server rules are vague at best. This causes the issue of having people be unable to interpret the rules in the same manner that admins do. This thread aims to list precedents of rule breaks, and show examples & summarize how each rule was broken, which should aid not only players in the future by preventing them from misinterpreting the rules, but expedite administrative processes by having administrators simply see whether or not the case they're reviewing has an existing precedent. I plan to maintain this thread by updating it when new incidents occur (weekly updates is what I have in mind), but if I fail to do so, hopefully forum administrators would maintain it as it would be helpful to both players and administrators alike. Note that the summary could be a direct quote, but for the most part it's usually a simple summary of what the precedent is that was said. It doesn't even have to be something that was said by the admin at all. If an admin does not punish, warn or call out an act, it is deemed sufficient and reasonable.

 

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METHODOLOGY

 

• Sift through all the player reports (newest to oldest).
• Jump immediately to the administrator's conclusion.
• This conclusion is then broken down based on the situational evidence, and is abstracted as much as possibly by me while still maintaining all of the situational evidence (i.e: if someone robbed a person outside of a bank and got voided, I'll add it as "Robbing outside a NCZ". If there are strong situational factors, I'll add them as a note - i.e "Robbing outside an NCZ (VHQ while a ceremony was taking place)".

 

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TL;DR

 

Contains (highly specific!) examples of rules being broken to expedite handling reports & help players interpret the rules in a way that aligns with server administration. The format is SUMMARY - ADMIN NAME (click for thread URL). Precedents that are re-enforced will be SUMMARY - ADMIN NAME (1) (click for first thread) - SECOND ADMIN NAME (2) (click for second thread) (note). Note section is to try and include information specific to the report to prevent it being taken out of context.

 

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#1 COMMON COURTESY/GENERAL RULEBREAKS

 

Quote

1. Players are not obligated to /showitems if others players ask them to if the RP is deemed "minimal" (i.e searching only someone's pockets) - MrsHamster (1) - mj2002 (2)
2. A cop opening a menu by a misclick & then crashing due to it may cause their situation to get voided - Jax
3. Typing in /sendlocation accounts for the IC emote of stopping and actually sending a location during a chase if your phone's already out - Bospy
4. Provoking with the excuse of being a "loud mouthed teenager" is poor roleplay and any escalation with that reasoning is poor escalation - mj2002 
5. Placing items requires /stashinfo otherwise they are assumed to be in plain sight -  effion
6. Removing batteries from vehicles is not sufficient to disable anti-theft -  Fenrir
7. Mocking character names through emotes (i.e: /ame with a mispronounced name that mocks a character) is not acceptable -  mj2002
8. All parties involved agreeing to void makes parties eligible for refund requests - Jax (situation occurred due to a linguistic misunderstanding)
9. Being of a race, ethnicity, religion, etc does not allow you to use derogatory terms against said group - nateX
10. Being AFK does not prevent parties from furthering a roleplay with your character - effion (this is a known rule from other servers as well, just not available in In Game Rules)
11. Combat Pistols are fully sized hand guns and are to be roleplayed as such - Moonsong
12. Surviving a GSW to the head is possible if grievous harm is roleplayed - mj2002 (victim was in downed state, not in killed state)

 

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#2 POWERGAMING

 

Quote

1. Being shot may prevent you from even being a passenger on a bike based on your injuries - mj2002
2. Non scripted CCTVs are not to be RPed without consent - HaveADream
3. Players perm banned over failing to RP fear - mj2002 (players had an existing record)
4. Failing to RP fear (performing dangerous acts) because your character's a drug addict is not an excuse (i.e: beating someone up for drugs) - Jax
5. RP brawls take precedence over script brawls - Moonsong
6. Engaging gang members with unaffiliated + undeveloped characters can be considered as failure to RP fear - mj2002:
7. Editing court RP is considered PG - Moonsong
8. Escalating a fight as an unaffiliated individual on known gang turf when outnumbered is not allowed - mj2002 (individual in this case had no reason for vengeance or other causes to fight outside of the situation)
9. Suicide by cop to PK is considered failure to RP fear - Nightmare Night (known rule, not listed in In Game Rules)

 

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#3 METAGAMING

 

Quote

1. Presuming a robbery because someone's nametag is wearing a mask is metagaming - Invictus
2. Faction members killed in a faction war may not discuss any of its events with other players, and any discussions of said war to PK'd players are always void & MG - Bospy
3. /showitems should be done post robberies, not before or during (not strictly punishable, but suggests metagaming) - mj2002 (1) - mj2002 (2)
4. Extorting a part through a solely negative approach (i.e "give me money or I will burn your bar") is considered subpar, outdated roleplay. Players are encouraged to find extortion methods that benefit both parties (i.e turning it into a "deal" where the extorting party has the upper hand) - Jax
5. Writing character background information in /me's that others don't have access to (i.e /me can't handle rejection) is considered inciting MG - Moonsong

 

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#4 DEATHMATCHING

 

Quote

1. Shooting potentially innocent civilians (even if within the same, privately owner interior - i.e apartment) is classified as DM (even if they aren't civs) - MrsHamster
2. Tackling someone after you've already lost a fight against them is considered poor escalation -  mj2002
3. Taking assumptions without having IC proof of involvement is not sufficient to kill someone -  Jax (1) - H0uston (2)
4. Killing players requires direct proof of imminent danger - Moonsong (this obviously does not count for situations where a person is getting revenge, etc)

 

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#6 CHARACTER RULES

 

Quote

1. Namechanging is interchangeable with deleting a character - mj2002 (in response to deleting a character during a court case)
2. Namechanging when there are active ties to the character - mj2002
3. Players cannot request a CK during a court case - Jax

 

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#9 OFFENSIVE ROLEPLAY

Quote

1. An act occurring in public in real life (even if it's legal) is not an excuse for it to occur in game -  Moonsong

 

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#11 PROPERTY DESTRUCTION

Quote

1. Roleplay of destroying properties may not proceed until the report is accepted, and is punishable if RP starts without an admin even if a report is made - Invictus

 

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#12 CRIME FREE AREAS

 

Quote

1. Killing someone who's roleplaying momentarily coming out of a crime free area is still subpar roleplay and may be considered a breach - Invictus
2. Lockpicking a vehicle directly outside a NCZ still counts as a breach of the rule - Soup (player lockpicked a car outside of VHQ while a graduation ceremony was also being held)

 

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#14 REAL WORLD TRADING

Quote

1. Asking OOC friends to help you get revenge IC on someone (even with RP) can still be classified as a "fake deal" (although no items were traded) - Jonesy 

 

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#19 SEXUAL ROLEPLAY

Quote

1. Failing to /ex characters prior to performing ANY sexually suggestive acts OR failing to request OOC permission will get you in trouble - MrsHamster
2. Minors may not display clear intent to have sexual roleplay with non-consenting characters - Moonsong (depending on the context)

 

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More will be added with time. Currently covers 13 out of 130 pages.

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by maramizo
13 pages covered, new reports included

[sCrax]

Props to you, man. This is dope.

[Moonsong]

Thanks for the effort in this thread. However I'd just like to note for anyone reading it that many of the highlighted posts are very subjective and context sensitive. Meaning the administrators application of each rule may change depending on the situation, what might be ok in one situation may not be in another.

[Engelbert]

Presuming a robbery when someone is "Seen wearing a mask" is okay. Presuming a robbery when someone's "Nametag is seen as a mask" is what they meant. 

[maramizo]

1 minute ago, Engelbert said:

Presuming a robbery when someone is "Seen wearing a mask" is okay. Presuming a robbery when someone's "Nametag is seen as a mask" is what they meant. 

Thank you!! Criticism like this is what will keep this thread relevant and useful.

[Engelbert]

9 minutes ago, maramizo said:

Thank you!! Criticism like this is what will keep this thread relevant and useful.

I agree with the last one though. I'd modify the rules if I could and ban the portrayal of teens below fifteen. For a simple reason, GTA character creation process does not contain such features, if you wanna make your character super young, you'd need...at best give them feminine looks.  So the only thing, that actually keeps your 12+ character alive are your attributes. And if you ask me, it's still supercringe. Seeing a 12 year old calling my 30 y/o char a shawty and act like they own the damn street. Then they complain when someone shoots them. LS is not Africa and they are not Kony's battaglion.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Engelbert

[shrike.]

So, while well intended, this could be very misleading, despite its purpose. You want to open up the rules, get people informed about their interpretations, but these examples might be mistaken for gospel. 

 

Might be worth adding a few notes about subjectivity or some kind of blurb warning about how the rules, while fixed, do not apply to stringent fixed events and circumstances, but complicated and layered events and circumstances that alter how outcomes come about. Variables are not accounted for. That's where arbitrators - our admins - come in. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by shrike.

[maramizo]

7 minutes ago, shrike. said:

So, while well intended, this could be very misleading, despite its purpose. You want to open up the rules, get people informed about their interpretations, but these examples might be mistaken for gospel. 

 

Might be worth adding a few notes about subjectivity or some kind of blurb warning about how the rules, while fixed, do not apply to stringent fixed events and circumstances, but complicated and layered events and circumstances that alter how outcomes come about. Variables are not accounted for. That's where arbitrators - our admins - come in. 

Every situation has abstracted elements that affect the outcome, that much is known. However, in legal and logical terms, turning these abstractions into concrete examples allows us all to understand where the server itself stands on what's acceptable and what isn't. Administrative decisions have often been arbitrary and at times downright contradictory (some admins will allow you to RP X, while others will punish you for it. The exact same RP with the exact same abstracted environmental elements).

 

This thread aims to prevent such contradictions by cementing said abstractions, so that the inherent vagueness of the rules becomes apparent through precedents (again, much like the law IRL).

[Martyn]

I love this, please keep updating it. 

[MomoIsHere]

Highly appreciated.