Rules
General Conduct
1. Normal forum rules apply in Eutopia, regardless whether players post IC or OOC.
2. Eutopia should provide a friendly gaming environment for everyone - please act accordingly. Stay civil. Do not direct personal insults at other players. Do not judge people based on the actions of their in-game character, or vice versa. Don't forget that this is only a game, so don't take things too seriously.
3. Discussions of the RL politics and history of "other" countries are to be avoided, unless they are part of a wider discussion that *clearly* focuses on Eutopia.
4. In-game activities must not spill over into RL political advocacy. Consequently, players may not use RL symbols, pictures, photographs, texts and documents which are recognizably linked with an actually existing movement or organization, unless the get prior approval from the GM Admin (PM the GM Admin with the material, its intended use, and any relevant context).
Sign-Up and Character Creation
5. Anyone may register as a Eutopian citizen and thus become a full participant in the game. To register as a citizen, simply go to the Citizen Registry-sticky and post a brief (five lines) description of your in-game character; you will be considered a citizen from that point on. If, at some point, you quit the game, please remove your post from the citizen registry in order to simplify game administration.
6. Players are free to create any character they like but are expected to be somewhat reasonable: a billionaire businessman who is also a brilliant scientist working on a cure for cancer, personally edits a daily newspaper, holds an active commission in the military, is running for President, *and* crushes crime at night in a spiffy spandex get-up is likely to encounter business disasters, chemical spills in the lab, acute ink shortages, severe indigestion or other problems at the hands of the GM.
7. Players can have one (and only one!) character in the game. While players can on occasion start over with a new character, the GM usually expect some sort of explanation (a) why the player wishes to start a new character and (b) how the new character is different from the player’s old character. The GM will not normally approve a new character that is simply a clone of a player's old character, since this would open the door to abuse. Specifically, creating a new character is *not* considered a legitimate way to get out of tough situations your current character may be in. In other words, if character "Yogi Berra" experiences bad karma, don't expect the GM to allow you to simply ditch him and reincarnate as "Yogi Berra Mk. 2."
Character Restrictions
8. Players and their characters may not own or edit more than one media outlet at any one time. The same restriction applies to organizations (parties, interest groups etc.).
9. Role-playing militay personnel or police: for game purposes, initial military or law enforcement appointments will be handled by the GM Content. If a player wishes to assume the role of a member of the forces or police, s/he will need to get approval from the GM Content first (specifically regarding his/her rank).
10. Player characters in the military or law enforcement may order about NPCs/drones of lower rank, but GMs will generally determine what those NPCs/drones do.
11. Role-playing Members of Provincial Assemblies, First Ministers and Mayors: local and provincial elections are simulated and decided by the GM. If you are interested in playing any of these, contact the GM Content by PM.
12. Role-playing foreign citizens: players can play the role of foreign citizens in Eutopia, provided they get approval from the GM Content. If so, they cannot become citizens, cast votes or run for public office in Eutopia. They should not sign up in the citizen registry, but are welcome to post in the Game Character Biographies thread.
13. Restoration of the Monarchy: in the event that the Monarchy should be restored in Eutopia at some point, the Monarch will be an NPC. Players cannot become Monarch of Eutopia.
Using Drones and Anonymous Posts
14. Players can use "drones" in their posts. Drones are fictitious third person characters that interact with a player's regular character. For example, a player may have a conversation with a drone secretary, assistant, or employee to help explain something or to set up an action, or have such a drone respond to other characters if the player's character is "away" (in the US, in a bunker, trapped in a box car, jailed for stealing a waffle iron etc.).
15. Drones do not have an existence outside the posts of the player in question: they cannot act on Eutopian society, and players cannot attribute Eutopian events to them. Drones should be used sparingly and should not develop into secondary characters.
16. Players may not control drones in such a way as to affect other players' characters. I.e., no drone body guards beating up people, planting bombs, etc.
17. Players may make/send "anonymous" posts and PMs; those will not be attributed to a player's regular character. Anonymous posts/PMs need to be clearly marked as such at the top and will still be subject to the same rules as "normal" posts (e.g. as regards posting in restricted threads).
Posting - What (Not) to Do
18. All threads in the main Eutopia forum are public: every citizen may post in them and quote, cite or refer to information they contain. However, some threads in the main forum may restrict posting rights to specific citizens (e.g., only Members of the National Assembly may post in Assembly threads); those threads will be clearly marked in the thread title. Threads with restricted posting rights may still be cited and quoted by everybody.
19. All threads in the "Eutopia - Private Threads" sub-forum are private, meaning that (a) players who are not members of a group may not post in that group’s thread, and (b) all posts made in the "private threads" sub-forum are privileged information: players who cannot post in a given thread are not allowed to use or refer to its contents in any way (except in OOC-discussions).
20. OOC/IC threads/posts: unless a thread title contains OOC, all threads and all posts in those threads should be IC. If a player needs to make an OOC-comment in an IC-thread (e.g. for administrative purposes), they should put that comment in brackets [ ] and mark it with OOC at the beginning.
21. Do not submit multiple posts that are identical or virtually identical. If you have identical questions or comments for several different groups or player characters, post them in the Townhall or use PM.
22. Avoid clutter. Players are free to start new threads, but please check first whether your post may fit into an already existing thread.
23. Non-editors/owners need to submit their posts to a media outlet's editor for approval before they can be published in that outlet (even if the media outlet in question is not in the "private threads" sub-forum, or is not marked as restricted). If posting in a media outlet that is not theirs, players need to indicate clearly that they did get approval from the owner/editor for posting. This rule does not apply to call-in or debate shows.
24. Media outlets can only have *one* owner/editor.
25. Parties and organizations may set up two threads: one headquarter in the "private threads" sub-forum, and one communication office in the main forum to facilitate discussion with non-members. Additional threads may be allowed for special reasons if the players obtain prior approval from the GM Admin. For example, parties may wish to open a campaign thread during election time.
In-Game Actions and Game Parameters
26. Players cannot determine the fate of another player's character.
27. If a player plans something which looks like it might be a major event, they need to get approval first (usually from the GM Events, maybe also from the GM Content if it involves game background and setting).
28. If a player posts an event which the GM Events or GM Content decide is (a) fairly major and doesn't fit their plans, or (b) doesn't fit the game background and setting, they will remove that post (or request its removal).
29. Some game parameters (constitution, policies etc.) may be changed by the player community through the course of gameplay. Otherwise, they are adjudicated by the GM.
Submitting Ideas for Official Game Events
30. Proposals for events should be sent by PM to the GM Events.
31. Do your homework: please read the FAQ and other background information. Suggesting things that are impossible (such as driving to Europe) are not looked upon favourably.
32. Stick to what you control: if you want to suggest something that has nothing to do with your character (such as meteor strikes, foreign nations declaring war, etc.) you are allowed to suggest them, but they are unlikely to happen. Events that relate to what your character can realistically do will be given serious consideration. Events that have no real bearing to what you can control will be less likely to be considered.
33. Be realistic: one person should not be able to take over an aircraft carrier, even if he is a former Navy SEAL but now a pastry chef. One should not expect to mug someone and steal one million ducats. One person should not claim to have cured cancer.
34. You do not control NPCs: do not submit events that depend upon NPC actions and then predetermine what those NPC actions are. You can say what you *would* do if an NPC did something, but you cannot say what the NPC will do. Example: "If the guard believes my story, I will sneak in and steal Blade!'s wallet. If not, I will run like crazy" is good. "I will pay the President's guards to kill him and then I will make myself king" is not.
When in Doubt...
35. ... ask. For example, you can always ask about an event idea (many creative events are player generated) or about that nifty photograph you found on the web and would like to use in your next IC-propaganda piece.
36. Make sure to ask the right GM. This will prevent duplication of efforts and delays.
