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ddd_news2009-06-18 12:25 pm
samuraiprosecutor) wrote in ddd_news2009-06-18 12:25 pm
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TL;DR ANNOUNCEMENT. ALL PLAYERS PLEASE READ.
Announcement time, gang! As you’ll hopefully remember, about two weeks ago we made another How’s Our Driving post, where you all could bring us any concerns, suggestions, or complaints on the game and the mod team’s performance. This time we had an awesome turn-out, and a lot of things were brought to the table. After reviewing everything, we’ve amended some policies and decided there are a few things that need to be addressed to the game as a whole.
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• Sensitive content
While a large portion of our player base is 18 or older, our minimum applicant age is 15, and we feel our content should reflect that. DDD is not an 18+ game; even if it were, comfort levels aren’t restricted by age groups, and not everyone is going to have the same reaction to all material. We don’t want to hamper anyone’s creativity, but we also don’t want DDD to be a place that people can’t feel comfortable in.
To this end, we’ve amended our policy on posts that involve sensitive content. From this point on, posts involving explicit content—whether graphic violence and extensive gore, overtly or explicitly sexual content, or the other content outlined on our sensitive topics list—should be locked and placed behind an LJ-cut with all applicable warnings. This applies to both community content and content on personal journals. Previously posted content doesn’t need to be amended, but anything posted as of this announcement must follow this rule.
Please be aware of warnings before viewing a post’s content. If it looks as though a post might be something you’d find objectionable, it can then be easily avoided. Again, this rule isn’t meant to hamper players’ creativity, but to help prevent the discomfort that can occur when dealing with content of this nature. You’re still free to explore such subjects; we’re only asking for these topics to be handled with the care appropriate to a 15+ game.
These changes are in addition to the guidelines we already have on sensitive topics that need mod approval, which are defined in the Mod Approval Requests post.
• Characters who are minors and the LJ Terms of Service
For those who aren’t aware, sexualized depictions of a minor (which is, as defined by California law, anyone under 18) are against Livejournal’s TOS. If reported, the distribution of anything that can be considered child pornography could have dire consequences for the game and the people who run it, up to and including legal action. As none of the mod team can really afford a visit from Chris Hansen, we have to set some guidelines on this content.
Currently, this subject’s still under discussion. When we have a more concrete decision on the guidelines for this type of content, we’ll make a detailed announcement, but for now, we’re asking that all overtly sexual content involving a character who’s under the age of 18 is locked to members only and given the appropriate warnings.
We are aware that some of you play from canons where the age of consent is lower or unstated, or canons where there are no restrictions/issues/scandal involved in characters being sexually active at the age of 15, but again, LJ’s TOS is based on California law which sets age of consent at 18+. The argument on fiction vs. actual depictions isn’t a guarantee of safety on this, either, as the Australian case involving Simpsons porn and LJ’s own Strikethrough ‘07 made clear. At this time, we’d rather be safe than sorry.
If you guys have any comments or suggestions on how this content can be handled, please share it with us. Anonymous commenting is enabled for this post, and our HMD and ‘Suggestions and Complaints’ posts will be linked at the bottom of this one. Please don’t hesitate to bring us any opinions on the subject, but we do ask that all discussions be conducted civilly and constructively.
• IC =/= OOC or “What happens on the community stays on the community.”
As it should be apparent within a few days of starting on DDD, not all the characters on DDD are the best of friends. Many of the characters are opinionated, argumentative, or downright mean, and the clashes that result can be a hell of a lot of fun to play out.
But when a character insults another, that’s all the insult is: a rude gesture from one character to another. It should never be meant as a personal insult, just as it should never be assumed that it is one without substantial evidence. The characters we play aren’t tools for expressing our own opinions or venting our own frustrations. Just like with any group of people, drama will occasionally happen between players, but when characters are interacting, that drama needs to be left behind. If you’re ever given reason to believe that it hasn’t been, please feel free to bring the situation to the mods for review.
Furthermore, if we feel that comments or conversations between characters are displaying a level of aggression that is beyond what’s called for by their characterization or we’re given reason to suspect that more than IC interactions are going on there, we may feel the need to investigate. If we approach you regarding it, please keep in mind that you are not necessarily in trouble. We have no intention of punishing anyone for simply having their characters behave as their characters would, but we do want to be sure that tensions aren’t rising unnecessarily.
• Breaking the 4th Wall, Infomoding, and Godmoding, oh my!
Most of us are aware that controlling another person’s character without permission is considered godmoding and is prohibited on DDD. But there are other actions that also fall under godmoding, and these are equally objectionable.
Godmoding: Controlling another player’s character without permission. This can be in the form of assumptions on what their next action will be or delegating their next action. Suggesting they were in a situation they were never in can also be a form of godmoding, as it involves a player in something that they may or may not want to be involved in. While some characters like to lie and play tricks on others, a player should always have permission before directly involving another player’s character.
Breaking the 4th wall or Canon Puncturing: Having a character explain to another that they’re fictional is also godmoding unless it’s done with permission. Part of the fun of exposing characters to the many mores of the community is exposing them to the fact that on some of these worlds, they’re characters in a movie/book/video game. But it is always up to the player to decide when they’re ready to have the character deal with that issue. We know it’s tempting to give new characters a ‘warm welcome,’ but please leave out the “You’re a cartoon!” response, unless you’ve verified with the player that they’re comfortable with it.
Along the same lines, there are many characters on the community who have secret identities. Superheroes like Batman and Superman, spies, phantom thieves, assassins: many of these characters can become extremely difficult to play if their extracurricular activities are spread throughout the community. Oftentimes a character’s setting will allow them to know the other character’s identity, and the players are usually fine with the character being recognized, but the character should never be publicly outed without permission. Before doing so, you should always check for a permissions post or contact the player directly for permission.
Infomoding: Giving a character knowledge that they couldn’t realistically have is considered infomoding. This, in particular, has been a real problem lately, and when dealing with other characters, you should always keep in mind how much and what type of information your character could conceivably have access to. If the character was a cheerleader in his high school years, but hasn’t made any mention of anything remotely related to the sport, no one should know that but the character himself, and occasionally canonmates or characters with specific, in-game reasons to know.
Additionally, going back to the subject of canon puncturing, even if your character knows that character as fictional, you should never have your character reveal that by bringing up the deep, dark secret, unless the other player has given you permission. Unless you’ve asked the player or their permissions post indicates that information is up for grabs, do not assume you have permission to spill a character’s secrets.
Finally, if you have an omnipotent character with access to information that others don’t have, make a permissions post for your character or check our existing permissions posts before revealing or utilizing any of that information. If a player hasn’t given you permission, or has given you permission for only limited information, that information is all that your character knows, regardless of what they may ICly have access to. Always ask before revealing information that you don’t have permission for.
Godmoding of any sort is prohibited. If it happens, players are within their rights to ask the other player to remove that content from their post/response or to screen the comment themselves until the situation is resolved. If it happens frequently or repeatedly, it should be brought to the mods’ attention. All forms of godmoding are against the rules, and if repeat offenders make no effort to curb the behavior the mods reserve the right to strip a player of an offending character.
______
We all want to thank you for the participation we had on this community HMD. We got a lot of comments and some wonderful feedback, for which we’re really grateful. If you guys have any questions on any of these bullets, you can address them to us either here (anonymously or otherwise), on the HMD post, where comments are screened, or through AIM to any of the mods or modpoles. Please remember that the Suggestions and Complaints post is always open if you ever need to voice your concerns. The mods and modpoles are here to serve you guys, but we can’t help out with problems if we aren’t aware they are problems.
And one final reminder… The ratio of filled to unfilled stuff is still really low, so if you haven’t filled anything out yet, stop by and see if anything tickles your fancy. :3
• Sensitive content
While a large portion of our player base is 18 or older, our minimum applicant age is 15, and we feel our content should reflect that. DDD is not an 18+ game; even if it were, comfort levels aren’t restricted by age groups, and not everyone is going to have the same reaction to all material. We don’t want to hamper anyone’s creativity, but we also don’t want DDD to be a place that people can’t feel comfortable in.
To this end, we’ve amended our policy on posts that involve sensitive content. From this point on, posts involving explicit content—whether graphic violence and extensive gore, overtly or explicitly sexual content, or the other content outlined on our sensitive topics list—should be locked and placed behind an LJ-cut with all applicable warnings. This applies to both community content and content on personal journals. Previously posted content doesn’t need to be amended, but anything posted as of this announcement must follow this rule.
Please be aware of warnings before viewing a post’s content. If it looks as though a post might be something you’d find objectionable, it can then be easily avoided. Again, this rule isn’t meant to hamper players’ creativity, but to help prevent the discomfort that can occur when dealing with content of this nature. You’re still free to explore such subjects; we’re only asking for these topics to be handled with the care appropriate to a 15+ game.
These changes are in addition to the guidelines we already have on sensitive topics that need mod approval, which are defined in the Mod Approval Requests post.
• Characters who are minors and the LJ Terms of Service
For those who aren’t aware, sexualized depictions of a minor (which is, as defined by California law, anyone under 18) are against Livejournal’s TOS. If reported, the distribution of anything that can be considered child pornography could have dire consequences for the game and the people who run it, up to and including legal action. As none of the mod team can really afford a visit from Chris Hansen, we have to set some guidelines on this content.
Currently, this subject’s still under discussion. When we have a more concrete decision on the guidelines for this type of content, we’ll make a detailed announcement, but for now, we’re asking that all overtly sexual content involving a character who’s under the age of 18 is locked to members only and given the appropriate warnings.
We are aware that some of you play from canons where the age of consent is lower or unstated, or canons where there are no restrictions/issues/scandal involved in characters being sexually active at the age of 15, but again, LJ’s TOS is based on California law which sets age of consent at 18+. The argument on fiction vs. actual depictions isn’t a guarantee of safety on this, either, as the Australian case involving Simpsons porn and LJ’s own Strikethrough ‘07 made clear. At this time, we’d rather be safe than sorry.
If you guys have any comments or suggestions on how this content can be handled, please share it with us. Anonymous commenting is enabled for this post, and our HMD and ‘Suggestions and Complaints’ posts will be linked at the bottom of this one. Please don’t hesitate to bring us any opinions on the subject, but we do ask that all discussions be conducted civilly and constructively.
• IC =/= OOC or “What happens on the community stays on the community.”
As it should be apparent within a few days of starting on DDD, not all the characters on DDD are the best of friends. Many of the characters are opinionated, argumentative, or downright mean, and the clashes that result can be a hell of a lot of fun to play out.
But when a character insults another, that’s all the insult is: a rude gesture from one character to another. It should never be meant as a personal insult, just as it should never be assumed that it is one without substantial evidence. The characters we play aren’t tools for expressing our own opinions or venting our own frustrations. Just like with any group of people, drama will occasionally happen between players, but when characters are interacting, that drama needs to be left behind. If you’re ever given reason to believe that it hasn’t been, please feel free to bring the situation to the mods for review.
Furthermore, if we feel that comments or conversations between characters are displaying a level of aggression that is beyond what’s called for by their characterization or we’re given reason to suspect that more than IC interactions are going on there, we may feel the need to investigate. If we approach you regarding it, please keep in mind that you are not necessarily in trouble. We have no intention of punishing anyone for simply having their characters behave as their characters would, but we do want to be sure that tensions aren’t rising unnecessarily.
• Breaking the 4th Wall, Infomoding, and Godmoding, oh my!
Most of us are aware that controlling another person’s character without permission is considered godmoding and is prohibited on DDD. But there are other actions that also fall under godmoding, and these are equally objectionable.
Godmoding: Controlling another player’s character without permission. This can be in the form of assumptions on what their next action will be or delegating their next action. Suggesting they were in a situation they were never in can also be a form of godmoding, as it involves a player in something that they may or may not want to be involved in. While some characters like to lie and play tricks on others, a player should always have permission before directly involving another player’s character.
Breaking the 4th wall or Canon Puncturing: Having a character explain to another that they’re fictional is also godmoding unless it’s done with permission. Part of the fun of exposing characters to the many mores of the community is exposing them to the fact that on some of these worlds, they’re characters in a movie/book/video game. But it is always up to the player to decide when they’re ready to have the character deal with that issue. We know it’s tempting to give new characters a ‘warm welcome,’ but please leave out the “You’re a cartoon!” response, unless you’ve verified with the player that they’re comfortable with it.
Along the same lines, there are many characters on the community who have secret identities. Superheroes like Batman and Superman, spies, phantom thieves, assassins: many of these characters can become extremely difficult to play if their extracurricular activities are spread throughout the community. Oftentimes a character’s setting will allow them to know the other character’s identity, and the players are usually fine with the character being recognized, but the character should never be publicly outed without permission. Before doing so, you should always check for a permissions post or contact the player directly for permission.
Infomoding: Giving a character knowledge that they couldn’t realistically have is considered infomoding. This, in particular, has been a real problem lately, and when dealing with other characters, you should always keep in mind how much and what type of information your character could conceivably have access to. If the character was a cheerleader in his high school years, but hasn’t made any mention of anything remotely related to the sport, no one should know that but the character himself, and occasionally canonmates or characters with specific, in-game reasons to know.
Additionally, going back to the subject of canon puncturing, even if your character knows that character as fictional, you should never have your character reveal that by bringing up the deep, dark secret, unless the other player has given you permission. Unless you’ve asked the player or their permissions post indicates that information is up for grabs, do not assume you have permission to spill a character’s secrets.
Finally, if you have an omnipotent character with access to information that others don’t have, make a permissions post for your character or check our existing permissions posts before revealing or utilizing any of that information. If a player hasn’t given you permission, or has given you permission for only limited information, that information is all that your character knows, regardless of what they may ICly have access to. Always ask before revealing information that you don’t have permission for.
Godmoding of any sort is prohibited. If it happens, players are within their rights to ask the other player to remove that content from their post/response or to screen the comment themselves until the situation is resolved. If it happens frequently or repeatedly, it should be brought to the mods’ attention. All forms of godmoding are against the rules, and if repeat offenders make no effort to curb the behavior the mods reserve the right to strip a player of an offending character.
We all want to thank you for the participation we had on this community HMD. We got a lot of comments and some wonderful feedback, for which we’re really grateful. If you guys have any questions on any of these bullets, you can address them to us either here (anonymously or otherwise), on the HMD post, where comments are screened, or through AIM to any of the mods or modpoles. Please remember that the Suggestions and Complaints post is always open if you ever need to voice your concerns. The mods and modpoles are here to serve you guys, but we can’t help out with problems if we aren’t aware they are problems.
And one final reminder… The ratio of filled to unfilled stuff is still really low, so if you haven’t filled anything out yet, stop by and see if anything tickles your fancy. :3
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And on the godmodding, I'm glad something has been put in place.
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We actually already had rules against godmoding, but it's been happening lately so we felt it needed to be brought up, in case there were people who weren't aware the rule was in place.
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Two questions, one just me being curious and other for clarification.
1) What exactly does locking the content do, beyond hide it from non-friends?
2) Relevant journal is relevant. While her official age hasn't been given in canon (The only time she herself stated her age it was in a joking context, so it's not entirely clear), Haibara is considered to at least be 18 at youngest. Right now she's caught in a child's body but with her mental state at her "real" age. This also applies to Conan, who I think Kinz is playing at 18. What is the stance on these two?
Not that I would dream of doing it, just a clarification question.
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2. I would strongly discourage you from posting sexual content with these characters because of the bodies they preside in; however, were they to 'accidentally' or by virus, curse, etc, be given a body that matches their age, that's fine. Flirting is fine, of course, everybody flirts, just be aware of your audience here. Someone might see the icons and go WHAT and not exactly know the age of the character because they're not familiar with the series; in fact, it may be worth it to declare that on their profile or something if you haven't already XD Idk, I'm paranoid about the popo and getting hansen'd, haha. If any of the other mods want to chime in on this with their own opinions, I'd love that as this is solely my own :>
/not as eloquent as Tif :|;;
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2) Like I said, I wouldn't dream of it with Haibs. And that's a good idea on the profile thing. I still have to fill hers out so I'll add that in once I get done uploading some adult!Haibara icons (Didn't have them before because of lol, 15 icons)
/pats. Thank you much~!
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Keep rockin' ♥
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Hey, I got your IM from last night, did you still need to talk?
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Thank you again. :D
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