News 5 31 - Profile policy information

NEWS article 5-31:

Dateline 11/21/2008: PROFILE POLICY INFORMATION

The PROFILE verb adds a great way to communicate with other players about the way you like to play the game. However, with this expansion of communication, there have been some options added that have policy accompanying them. Specifically, the PvP Stance and Quote sections have policies associated with them. These rules are detailed in the following paragraphs.

Quotes

Your profile quote is a vessel through which to channel your attitude. Your name, PvP, and RP stances may indicate broad things, but you can encapsulate your very essence in a quote. However, this freedom of expression must, as always, walk hand in hand with a modicum of tact and responsibility.

Your quote is visible to the public, and as with all forms of public expression in DR, it must fall within our language policies. If your profile quote causes you to receive a warning, your ability to have a quote *will* *be* *removed*. Six months after your warning, you will be able to petition to Feedback to have it returned. Please note that this is not a guarantee by any means - it is possible that your profile quote will remain locked ad eternum.

As a reminder: Your profile quote remains under all standard language policies, such as vulgarity, harassment, etc. However, since profiles are generally OOC, content that is Out of Genre (such as links to game-related websites) is allowed. Please note that blatantly OOC things such as links to your photo album or a proclamation to your favorite football team are not considered 'okay'.

If you would like to report somebody's profile quote that is against policy, the correct avenue for that is the REPORT verb.

PvP Stance

Your PvP stance is another way to communicate your playing style to other players. You can say that you are not at all interested in any PvP, you're open to PvP within limits and warning, and finally you can make it public that you are open to PvP at any time, in any place. However, since there are an array of PvP policies in DR (see news 5 15, 5 24, and 5 25 for more starters), a profile setting like this is accompanied by policies to show how the two systems mesh. The following paragraphs explain what each of the settings mean with respect to policy.

Closed PvP Stance

If your PvP stance applies, you are still required to follow all consent rules, policies et cetera. In essence, every player has operated on a "Closed" PvP stance before the PROFILE verb existed. Any consent that you've granted or implied (see the news items mentioned above) while your PvP stance is closed may be acted upon righteously and without prejudice, as has always been the case. This stance does not protect you from the consequences of your actions - it is merely a guide that other players can use to find out how to approach conflicts.

Guarded PvP Stance

Similar to Closed, Guarded is merely a way of expressing how you want to approach combat. It indicates that you're open to PvP as a mode of conflict resolution, but that you are still interested in following the general consent rules. You are **not** open to be killed whenever you want, but as with the Closed stance, any consent that you've granted may be acted upon. Having the Guarded stance does not imply any specific policies.

Open PvP Stance

The most simple yet complicated stance is the Open stance. Unlike Guarded and Closed, it has significant policy implications. By having this stance set, you are saying that you are open to all sorts of conflict, combat, etc. It does **not** give you the right to attack others, but it gives others (even others with their PvP stances not set to Open) the right to attack you. The essence of this setting is that all normal rules still apply, except that you completely waive your right to REPORT or ASSIST if attacked without consent. Clearly, this is a complicated subject, and explanations of the tricky bits follow in the next few paragraphs.

ACQUIRING CONSENT

Clearly, consent is not required to attack you - You've noted that you are interested in all sorts of combat by setting this stance. However, if somebody with a lower PvP stance attacks you, they **DO** grant you consent. As noted above, folks with these settings are not immune to the consequences of their actions. However, normal consent rules apply to you - Once consent has been satisfied with another party with a lower PvP Stance, the conflict is *over* and you no longer have consent.

RETAINING CONSENT

What happens if you change your PvP stance back from Open to Closed or Guarded? You will not lose any CONSENT you may have had before the change - Since you can gain and satisfy consent as per normal, this part shouldn't be tricky. You cannot gain or lose consent by changing your PvP setting.

REPORTING UNCONSENTED PVP

To be blunt - By having this PvP Stance, you are **waiving your right to report unconsented PvP**. If you attempt to do this, you will be told shortly that the situation is NOGM. If you continue to do this, you may receive unwanted attention from Staff. We do not advise repeatedly crying wolf.

HARASSMENT

Simply because you are open to conflict does *not* make you a fair target for harassment. One cannot attempt to walk somebody with an Open PvP stance, and repeatedly killing somebody to keep him away from his grave items can also be a violation of harassment policies. Simply because somebody with an Open PvP stance cannot report about unconsented PvP does not prevent him from reporting harassment. However, if you are being "harassed" by being constantly killed due to your stance, your first step should be to change your PvP stance to Guarded or Closed.

Recieving a PvP Warning

If you receive a PvP warning, your PvP stance will be set to Open, and you will be unable to change it for 30 days. If you are attacking people without consent, be prepared to reap what you sow.

PvP Stance and Spouses

If Player A gains consent on Player B while A's PvP stance is set to Open, A's spouse **cannot** act on that consent (Unless, of course, the B's PvP Stance is set to Open as well).