WW General rules discussion

[Macalaure]

A. Guidelines for Players:

I. Expectations and Responsibilities:
1. Read the rules of the game you are playing in and abide by them.
2. After signing up for a game, you are expected to participate (post at least once per day and vote) throughout the entire game or until your death.
3. If a player cannot participate for a Day, it should be stated and explained on the Admin thread (and only there). Extensive absences can lead to modfire subject to the mod.
4. Remember that the team you are playing on is counting on you. Lack of participation or deviation from your role (in particular its intended alignment) will spoil the game for the other players.

II. General Rules:
1. Name-calling, swearing, and abbreviated/implied swearing are not allowed. This is against the rules of the forum and may lead to consequences beyond the game.
2. Turn your status on invisible so that people do not know when you are online when playing.
3. Editing a post for reasons other than grammar or crossposting is prohibited. Once a post is submitted, the content within it must not be changed.

III. Deadline and Voting:
1. Posting in the game thread has to stop at the deadline.
2. Unless otherwise specified by the mod, votes should be on a separate line, preceded by a "++", and bolded. Otherwise they do not count.
3. Votes are counted up to deadline 'downs time. Votes posted after this time do not count. (F.ex., for a 1pm deadline, a vote posted at 1:00 counts, at 1:01 does not.)
4. Votes can be regarded as non-retractable unless otherwise specified by the mod.

IV. Guidelines on communication between players during a game:
1. No PMing or other outside communication about an ongoing game is allowed, unless your role specifically allows it.
2. No game-related communication between living and dead players is allowed.
3. PMs and other private discussion may not be quoted during the game.
4. Post-game discussion including the dead should not begin until after the final narration or until the mod officially allows it.
5. Admin threads are only intended for rules, signups, game management, and notifications about absences. They are not a place to chat.


B. Guidelines for Mods:

I. Before Signing up for Modding:
1. Would-be mods must have participated in at least X games of Barrowdowns werewolf before modding.
2. When you sign up to mod you should say when you are or aren't able to do it.
3. Mods who miss their turn twice or miss a reserved month once are removed from the list.
4. Members who have already moderated a game cannot mod again until at least 6 months after their last game.
5. It is very strongly recommended that your game should have a Tolkien-related theme.
6. Try to keep the number of traditional and experimental games even.

II. Before the Game:
1. If there is a foreseeable chance that you might not be available at one of the deadlines, consider appointing a co-mod.
2. Among the first posts in the admin thread one post should contain all of the following
- List of players
- List of roles including the respective number.
- Any special rules or events, in particular an announcement of any secret twists.
- Deadline time.
- Deadline for submission of picks (if differing from general deadline).
- Rules in case of a voting tie.
- Modfire rules for no-shows or inappropriate behavior.
3. If your game is experimental, make sure that you thought everything through and that the game has equal chances of victory for all sides.
4. The rules post should be as clear, complete, and detailed as possible.
5. If you change rules, edit the post and point out the change.
6. The mod has to pm the roles to all players, including ordos.

III. During the Game:
1. Mods should abide by their own rules. Should changes be necessary, they have to be made known to everybody.
2. Mods must not make any extra knowledge available to any player outside of what is covered in the rules.
3. Make sure to start/end all days and nights exactly on time.
4. The game thread should contain a list of players and dead players with time of death and role at the end of every Night and Day.
5. The mod should reveal the role of a lynched player within 30 minutes of the deadline.
6. At the end of the game, the mod has to ensure the beginning of post-game discussion within reasonable time.

Don't forget that your players are counting on you. You are responsible to provide them with a well-managed game.

[Macalaure]

I might have gone a bit overboard with the numbering. Feel free to delete them if you want.

I left an 'X' for the number of games you have to have played before you can mod, because I don't think we reached a conclusion about this.

Do you want an introduction for the post? If so, what should be in it?

[Macalaure]

I thought of an addition for the glossary:

ToDay: Since a day is usually 24 hours long and two days are separated by a 24 hour night, the terms Day, toDay, toMorrow, yesterDay are often used to refer to other WW days to avoid confusion.

[Thinlómien]

Looks good, Mac.

Are we still going to come up with a glossary?

And I think x = 5 sounds good, although I would be fine even with something like x = 3.

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Looks good, Mac.

Are we still going to come up with a glossary?

And I think x = 5 sounds good, although I would be fine even with something like x = 3.

I think it'd be fair for a new mod to have to wait as long as a returning mod. Thus, six months should be more than enough time for someone to get a good feel for Downs Werewolf. I think most people (with of course a few exceptions) have played more than twelve games before modding (I personally waited sixteen, for what that's worth) and considering that we average two games a month, a dozen game minimum isn't really all that insane. If we continue the practice of bumping first time mods to the top of the list (which I think is a good practice, honestly, unless of course returning mods have time restrictions on when they can mod their games) a twelve game or so wait and then a bump to the top of the list would ensure that new mods are experienced enough to handle themselves and that everyone, new and returning mods alike, have to wait about the same amount of time to mod their first/next game. It seems fair.

I don't think a person could be ready to mod a Downs WW game after only five times playing. I know I wouldn't have been, or at least have been confident enough to mod very well.

So my suggestion is that if you mod with that few games under your belt, you have to have a co-mod. If you've played more than a dozen (or even ten, for that matter) you can mod on your own, but otherwise I don't feel very comfortable with newer players at the reigns. I have to be honest, it doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

I think it would be a good idea to put a higher limit on minimum games required to mod rather than a lower one, because it could also make it less awkward in the future if, say, Mary Sue comes to play Werewolf here, decides she has an idea for a game after playing three times, and signs up to mod. Mary Sue has been in three games, an early lynch/kill in three of them. We're not putting a limit on how active the person was in their initial games, just that they played; Mary Sue could be modfired in one of those games and it would still count. Granted this is a worst case scenario, but if Mary Sue has played enough games to mod by our rules, who are we to turn her away? Do we really want to be put in the position of having to say, "Listen, Mary Sue, but we don't think you'll make a good mod yet". Or do we let her mod and have a disastrous game? Why not just set a standard by which it's almost impossible to have someone not understanding the game and have that be the rule? Sure, there may be Mary Sues who are ready to mod after only a game or two, but they will not be the norm. Norm, as we know him , is a tricky bloke, and unpredictable. I think it's best to raise the bar a bit.

Besides, consider the recent trend of....erm, not-so-serious Werewolf players. To be frank, we've had players not understanding the DLs even after a couple times playing and we've had some fairly heated games of late, with the possibility of players not understanding their roles or doing things that may be acceptable on other sites but that are frowned upon in Downs Werewolf. A player may be able to handle themselves in running a facebook game (which doesn’t even count, but meh) or on another forum, but that doesn’t mean they understand the atmosphere of Downs wolfing. This is not other Werewolf forums, this is the Downs. You need to get used to the culture and the accepted practice as much as the game, and I don't think everyone can do that in just a handful of games. If people really want to mod, they'll wait their turn.


Note: I say this without any consideration to Paranoia's game, so don't think I'm just picking on him or anything. That's certainly not the case. I would have the same thoughts regardless of his game.

[satansaloser2005]

Also, the glossary sounds like an excellent idea to continue. I'll poke around while I'm in Lincoln today waiting for Master Phantom and will see if there's anything else that needs to be defined.

[mormegil]

Overall it looks good. I will post it in a few days when the is a general consensus. I say 5 games is sufficient before you mod. Also I am VERY tempted to say that Tolkien theme is mandatory. I guess if it is not taken seriously and mods continue to deviate too far too often I will make it such.

Thanks Mac.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by satansaloser2005

Note: I say this without any consideration to Paranoia's game, so don't think I'm just picking on him or anything. That's certainly not the case. I would have the same thoughts regardless of his game.

Except that Paranoia's game was the first I can remember where a mod's newness actually sunk the ship. Which isn't surprising, because it's not like there are hordes of new players clamouring to be mods. (Last, I believe, was Morsul back in March.) And such newbie mods as there have been have usually acquitted themselves pretty well.

No, I'm not trying to pick on the absent Paranoia either, just pointing out that his was a very unusual case. I feel the upper limit may be overkill.

[mormegil]

Is everybody more or less okay with this? I made it 7 games prior to modding.

Originally Posted by Macalaure

A. Guidelines for Players:

I. Expectations and Responsibilities:
1. Read the rules of the game you are playing in and abide by them.
2. After signing up for a game, you are expected to participate (post at least once per day and vote) throughout the entire game or until your death.
3. If a player cannot participate for a Day, it should be stated and explained on the Admin thread (and only there). Extensive absences can lead to modfire subject to the mod.
4. Remember that the team you are playing on is counting on you. Lack of participation or deviation from your role (in particular its intended alignment) will spoil the game for the other players.

II. General Rules:
1. Name-calling, swearing, and abbreviated/implied swearing are not allowed. This is against the rules of the forum and may lead to consequences beyond the game.
2. Turn your status on invisible so that people do not know when you are online when playing.
3. Editing a post for reasons other than grammar or crossposting is prohibited. Once a post is submitted, the content within it must not be changed.

III. Deadline and Voting:
1. Posting in the game thread has to stop at the deadline.
2. Unless otherwise specified by the mod, votes should be on a separate line, preceded by a "++", and bolded. Otherwise they do not count.
3. Votes are counted up to deadline 'downs time. Votes posted after this time do not count. (F.ex., for a 1pm deadline, a vote posted at 1:00 counts, at 1:01 does not.)
4. Votes can be regarded as non-retractable unless otherwise specified by the mod.

IV. Guidelines on communication between players during a game:
1. No PMing or other outside communication about an ongoing game is allowed, unless your role specifically allows it.
2. No game-related communication between living and dead players is allowed.
3. PMs and other private discussion may not be quoted during the game.
4. Post-game discussion including the dead should not begin until after the final narration or until the mod officially allows it.
5. Admin threads are only intended for rules, signups, game management, and notifications about absences. They are not a place to chat.


B. Guidelines for Mods:

I. Before Signing up for Modding:
1. Would-be mods must have participated in at least 7 games of Barrowdowns werewolf before modding.
2. When you sign up to mod you should say when you are or aren't able to do it.
3. Mods who miss their turn twice or miss a reserved month once are removed from the list.
4. Members who have already moderated a game cannot mod again until at least 6 months after their last game.
5. It is very strongly recommended that your game should have a Tolkien-related theme.
6. Try to keep the number of traditional and experimental games even.

II. Before the Game:
1. If there is a foreseeable chance that you might not be available at one of the deadlines, consider appointing a co-mod.
2. Among the first posts in the admin thread one post should contain all of the following
- List of players
- List of roles including the respective number.
- Any special rules or events, in particular an announcement of any secret twists.
- Deadline time.
- Deadline for submission of picks (if differing from general deadline).
- Rules in case of a voting tie.
- Modfire rules for no-shows or inappropriate behavior.
3. If your game is experimental, make sure that you thought everything through and that the game has equal chances of victory for all sides.
4. The rules post should be as clear, complete, and detailed as possible.
5. If you change rules, edit the post and point out the change.
6. The mod has to pm the roles to all players, including ordos.

III. During the Game:
1. Mods should abide by their own rules. Should changes be necessary, they have to be made known to everybody.
2. Mods must not make any extra knowledge available to any player outside of what is covered in the rules.
3. Make sure to start/end all days and nights exactly on time.
4. The game thread should contain a list of players and dead players with time of death and role at the end of every Night and Day.
5. The mod should reveal the role of a lynched player within 30 minutes of the deadline.
6. At the end of the game, the mod has to ensure the beginning of post-game discussion within reasonable time.

Don't forget that your players are counting on you. You are responsible to provide them with a well-managed game.

[Inziladun]

I don't see anything missing from that. Looks like a good, general guide to me.

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Loslote

Also, Celly = Celuin = Xed.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Oh, I forgot her– and Mr Agreeable!

*goes off to fix it*

Oh snerk yes, to both of these.

[mormegil]

I have posted the first sticky thread. Let me know when the other posts are done and I will add them. I made another change and I apologize for forgetting to incorporate that into this draft. It is the part about Tolkien themed. It is required to have it themed or at least a tie into Tolkien.

I also merged SpM's sticky post with mine.

Thank you for all your work on this and helping to make this game better.

[mormegil]

Let me know when the other two posts are done and I will post them too.

thanks

[Nerwen]

Request: can people look over the glossary and names list and see if I've left anything (or anyone) out?