FORCE people to register. Take the mod download off the main www.discoveryfl.com site and put the only link on the forums. Then, make the forum unseeable besides people registered on the forum. That forces them to register. Now, that's not only it. Put the password in a random place in the rules section. Like "Rule 3.4. No OORP in System chat. The way in is Respect." or something to that effect. If you put password, people will copy and paste the entire rules section into wordpad and search the word password. Doing so not only FORCES them to read the rules, but forces them to register to get the mod.
A way to do away with unregistered factions is easy. Don't allow it! If you're not in the faction's listing, you're not a faction and if you have a tag, you get sanctioned and all your guns, money, ammo, and ship are removed along with your name changed back with out a tag! That will stop people from being stupid. And if it doesn't? Keep reporting their stupid a**es! Eventually they'll get it through their thick heads to follow the rules, and have proper RP, and if it doesn't?
Personally I think it's not about PvP getting into/replacing RP, Freelancer has always been PvP-centric unless you'd turn it off on the whole server, so pretty much entire game is flying around PvP aspect of the gameplay, whether you enjoy space combat or not. And speaking strictly space combat is a large part of the roleplay, not just talks in game and stories on forums. This isn't pacifistic server. It's the ignorance to rules and roleplay that happens to be the problem. Much like people who come in, eager to start their own faction/guild/group and putting up tags ahead of time without actually reading the forums in the first place. I do not know what exactly is wrong here, perhaps many things are, for I don't see any reasonable excuse as to why not go and read the forums. Not the whole, not all that roleplay mess, but at least server rules and brief faction list. The rest will come in time, surely we can't ask newcomers to know who is who in the first day and dig the politics flying around (I would even say they better not to, for it is ugly and turns people away from the game).
However there is also another side of the coin I believe some people tend to forget. It's the sheer complexity of the game rules. Yes, they are written and updated to make them idiot-proof, but being left to selves and not restricted by physical bounds of game itself people tend to look for loopholes, for excuses. So there goes those hundred and a half nuances that veterans and even admins end up scratching their head about. The overwhelming amount of information a newcomer should read and understand before starting off, quite a staggering amount if you ask me. About time to write "AD&D rules" book for Discovery.
Finally there is another thing as well: many active servers were closed, their players started looking elsewhere and came to Discovery. Something of a slashdot effect, hence the influx. Difficult to deal with properly, that's quite a lot of work there to be done, but not violently.
So, it's not really that easy. Before people rush to enforce something they better ask what they are enforcing really, how efficient it is and what are the benefits both those new and those playing for a long time. Lynching tendencies coupled with puritanic attitude aren't going to solve the problems, they are most of the time making those people look like elitist jerks, while decent people to turn off from the server and leave. As it is there are enough self-proclaimed rule enforcing policemen and ambulance chasing wannabe-lawyers, quite in unhealthy amount I would note.
My last post.
When I used to play DND back in the 80s, Yeah Im a 25 year veteran roleplayer. Most of the fun was taken out keep consulting the rulebook and arguing. It was only when we learned to sort out our differences with a slight chat the game got fluid and a 15 + person game got enjoyable.
Unless you lock and password the server. With numbers comes adjustment.
Sanctions seem to be the most effective way of getting people to register on the forums; lets just do our best to report people. In truth, we're actually helping them.
They are a MASSIVE part of this server, you take them out and you take out much of the spirit of the game in my opinion.
I am in unofficial and official factions and have to say...they operate exactly the same.
Take PRF for example, we have been around for four months. I've been flying with the group of men for nearly a year and here for seven months.
We are still flying around doing our thing in the RP guidelines we've set out for ourselves because we seem to be refused to be accepted as an official faction. That's OK with me. We will still operate the same either way, legitimized or no.
If they go you will have lots of very unhappy campers. Plus, except for the ones that cause trouble...unofficial factions aren't hurting anything as long as they roleplay properly like we do.
Just my two cents, hopefully I won't be bitten in two for stating it.
Of course they are. I'm just saying, look how many people we've made register on the forums, even if it is just to flame about a sanction. At least now they know better, regardless of the fact that they may choose to act in the same way.
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