Rules : Why you get more of them...

[Rudo]

(edited to make it more succinct.)

My Suggestion:

Loosen the rules. They are indeed too tight and only generate pointless debate and annoyance.

But put up a 'MUST READ - ALL SERVER INHABITANTS' document that states in clear and bold letters that the gaming experiences of other players must be taken into consideration on equal footing as your own. Don't be a bully, take that attitude outside and do something productive with your life for once.

Everyone should be told clearly that proper roleplay and good sportsmanlike conduct should take precedence over 'winning', and that we're all friends here. The key word here is sportsmanship. If you have a clear advantage, don't be an ass about it. Make sure things are clear with the other party, rather than squashing them simply because they didn't bring as big a ship as you.

I'd be all for going easier on those that bend the little hair-splitting rules, but come down like the Monty Python Foot of God on those that are simply treating the game as a means of alleviating personal aggression.

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[caylith]

When romer and I first started playing Discovery it was a busy night if you saw 20 players on. It was a small, tight-knit community as Virus stated earlier. There were many nights where you could see every single person that posted on the forums flying around in game. When new players came on, we welcomed them with open arms and showed them around the place. That's one of the reasons I made The Angels.

Now, about a year into this peaceful time, the Void server was shut down for maintenance. We were inundated with guys who only PvPed and did it damn well. I remember being killed 3 times and told (by none other than Axe, who has become a great member here) that I was killed 3 times and couldn't come back in the fight. I was like, wha? We didn't even have a reengagement rule then. I thought about it and said ok. That was just the beginning. More players came in and started doing things that we never dreamed of! You know what their excuse was? There ain't no rule against it so go suck it. Alas, our little server was getting more popular and getting out of control. Older members were leaving because they were getting harrassed and the game just wasn't fun anymore. I left for a couple of months and romer has only recently come back.

Slowly, these rules that seemingly make no sense were enacted to keep the server from imploding upon itself. I sometimes look back on those days and become a little bit sad. But then I look at the bigger picture and realize we've done pretty damn well for ourselves here. We've changed with the influx of new players, we've made it better. If we hadn't, Disco would no longer exist. As it is right now, Disco has a lot more life left in her and we will have to continue to adapt in order to survive.

[romer]

Gone are the days when a tad bit of creativity could get you into some fun though. Now it seems that things have to be airtight. This is a result of endless abuses and countless 'dramas' that noone wishes to relive.

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[Stoat]

Slowly, these rules that seemingly make no sense were enacted to keep the server from imploding upon itself. I sometimes look back on those days and become a little bit sad. But then I look at the bigger picture and realize we've done pretty damn well for ourselves here. We've changed with the influx of new players, we've made it better. If we hadn't, Disco would no longer exist. As it is right now, Disco has a lot more life left in her and we will have to continue to adapt in order to survive.

Gone are the days when a tad bit of creativity could get you into some fun though. Now it seems that things have to be airtight. This is a result of endless abuses and countless 'dramas' that noone wishes to relive.

Considering when you two first started here, it's frankly amazing you're still here. This, I think, is what gives Disco much of its strength. Its old members stick around and help guide the direction the server takes. It also helps give this place a real sense of community and history that is frankly lacking on other servers.

It's a shame that the rules we have in place are required, and that new ones need to keep on getting drawn up, but while there are those who like using the excuse "Well there's no rule against it", things aint gonna change any time soon. But those rules do protect Discovery, and long may that continue. Only when the vast majority start showing more consideration for other players, and when they start showing a decent amount of common sense, will these rules be able to be relaxed. Until then, they'll continue. It's unfortunate, but necessary.

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My Stories

[kingvaillant]

@ caylith, maybe some publicity for the [Angels] should be done, in the late days I haven't seen one in space helping new folks.

Best for all of us is really to make new players realize the principles of respect and fairplay here. Some, most of the time, don't even realize that the guy in front of them has emotions.

---

Director of the Liberty Security Force: Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity

The Amundsen Zone-21 Restrictions

[McNeo]

I find myself agreeing with Caylith in particular.

Discovery has come a long way, and needs the structure to support it. Sure, this creates animosity and the detached feel that someone has in a city rather than the tight-knit feel that someone has in a village, but its a price that everyone has to pay to allow growth.

In many ways, disco is worse than it used to be, but in many more, its better. Busy days see close to 200, 72 more than the hardcoded limit of the game. Encounters happen everywhere, from the most remote systems to the most populated, all the time. Even at the times of lowest activity, the playercount is higher than it was at its peak times two years ago.

The price that was paid in the forms of rules and regulations is worth it for what we've gained. Of course, we'd like to have none of the drawbacks at once, but that isnt possible. As Stoat says, common sense is needed from the overwhelming majority, but I just dont think that will happen.

[Zig]

<signed with a sharpie>

Well said.

---

Luls:

Role-play is not the be all and end all.

[Blodo]

Gentlemen, the big problem we have here is that the outcry against the recent tightening up is seen as a some sort of rebellious and childish outburst against all rules, when that is simply not the case. The rules that were already established before akumabito came here and conducted his lawyering rampage are perfectly fine and make sense, and without them playing on this server would be far less enjoyable.
But then there are the rules that infringe on the ability to conduct RP, and these are the only ones that are protested against. Now I do understand that the community is confused about this, and that we wish every day that all OORPers just be taken away for silently killing others or for hunting bounties when there aren't any, but by Jove I have not once seen a thread where somebody demanded that something like this be made into a rule, nor was there one concerning a discussion whether the community wants this as a rule. This is because such a rule would either be impossible to follow in a strict guideline or it would impede RP. The admins chose the latter without consulting with the people that they are supposed to be working with (e.g. the community), something which I find myself disagreeing with completely, and hence why I had a few talks about it on skype (thank the Almighty I have the privilege, as most people here don't) and unfortunately I have to say that not much came out of it.

What we have here is a case of whether we choose to accept a Discovery form of "PATRIOT Act" or speak out against it. I understand the mild dramatisation I have commited here, but its purpose is simply to underline my point: No matter what we face, this server's principle is that it allows unique RP to progress unhindered, with the admins standing as supervisors to preserve fairness. But when my mercenary can no longer follow a job that he has been hired to do ingame because it wasn't posted on the forums immediately after, or when I get sanctioned for saying two words before a fight when I should have said three, that is the moment when we drift away from that principle. And I am afraid, gents, that I will not sit it out quietly but I will state my opinion openly: I disagree.

[frozen]

pardon if me post seems rather pointless, but blodo has hit the nail right on the head with not a hammer, but a 20 tonne weight dropped with accuracy of a sniper rifle popping a round into an exposed enemy head at the range of 100 meters.

EDIT: we arent here forever, but those who still are here and playing, they deserve a GOOD gaming experience, not a gaming experience which they spend 70% of their time online taking screenshots of which commodity they buy, which gun they sell, which base they land on, who they see on their scanners, and which npc they just killed.

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[pchwang]

While I see where Blodo and frozen are coming from, I must say that I disagree. I personally don't think that the root of the issue are the admin, but the fact that there still remains a minority of players here from way-back-when.

I too, was around when this server consisted of a small community, when 20 players was considered incredible for the server population.

We are extremely blessed today to have the server that we have today, but with every blessing comes a curse, much like the great pile of useless, torn-to-shreds gift wrapping paper that comes along with every Christmas greeting. The thing is, this is no longer the Discovery that wolfpack hosted so long ago. This discovery is no longer a playground for a few individuals who decided to come and mess around, play fight, or come up with interesting stories and plots for their friends to play in.

What the people who used to experience the server like that, such as myself, need to realize is the fact that the heydey of the old Discovery is over. Instead of attempting to relive the past, we need to grasp the future.

Personally, while I say this, I do not know if I myself can accept it. All I know is that everything is ephemeral and that only time will tell.

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[7:42:05 PM][6:51:36 PM] Igor (Smokey): btw terry
[6:51:48 PM] Terrance Cooper: Ye?
[6:52:00 PM] Igor (Smokey): nothin
[6:52:03 PM] Igor (Smokey): just sayin btw
[6:52:05 PM] Terrance Cooper: &lt;_&lt;

Johnny_Haas: you shot anti criuse speed rockets!!!
Johnny_Haas: but why????
Johnny_Haas: ??
Johnny_Haas: why you shoot criuse speed rockets?