[STAFF]: WARNING

[Semir Gerkhan]

I'm also in favor of regulating things a little more, but I don't think it's an all or nothing thing. I don't believe we've to choose between having a legal code that contains thousands of assumptions, or having a few lines of rules that basically boil down to "behave yourself."

I'm aware that, as @EisenSeele says, this is not a country, but an online game. I understand that it's not necessary to set up a complete legal system, and that it's also much easier for the staff to make public some very basic guidelines for behaviour, and then decide for themselves what behaviours may be acceptable and what not, in each case. That way there is no written rule that the offender can use to try to shield himself behind, because the only thing that decides whether something is acceptable or not is the staff member's sole interpretation. It's obvious that this makes things easier to a staff that works for free in their RL leisure time to keep this community going, and that without a doubt in many cases is very overworked. A staff that constantly has to deal with some people who seem to enjoy creating chaos and causing trouble. With this in mind, it's more than logical that they look for ways to make their work easier.

However, this is a double-edged sword. As many members of the staff have acknowledged, they're human beings and therefore fallible. So it's necessary for players in the community to feel that they've some assurance that the staff's application of the rules is based on something tangible. If this doesn't happen, it can foster a feeling that they're acting arbitrarily. There are already accusations from some members of the community that the staff is acting arbitrarily, and whether this is true or not, it's encouraged by the fact that the rules are tremendously indeterminate.

Of course there will always be people who will continue to cause trouble, and use every possible means to try to get their way unfairly, regardless of what you do. If the rules are too specific they will become lawyers, looking for the dots and commas in the written text to argue that they're right. If the rules are too generic they will argue that the staff's interpretation is incorrect and motivated by their personal feelings. But I think that when you try to make rules of coexistence, which is what these server rules are, they have to be made towards people who are not antisocial elements, but towards the vast majority of players who just want to have a good time playing this game.

I think right now the community is reflecting quite logically on an old problem: the vagueness of the rules. I insist, I understand very well why the staff is reluctant to specify more what can and cannot be done, but it is quite clear to me that this has many more disadvantages than advantages. I'm not saying that the staff should now start legislating and writing extensive rules compendiums. But it occurs to me that when there is some kind of controversial situation, a clarifying thread should be made later that links the rules thread, as has already been done very well with the issue of ganking.

That way, when something similar happens again, which it will, we'll only have to refer to the clarification that was made at the time so that both staff and offenders, as well as the rest of the community, know what to expect. I honestly believe that this may be a middle ground that works for the future, and allows to have a clear and public basis of interpretation of rules for everyone, even if it's based on precedents.