Alter Aeon Rules of Conduct

Rules Section 18 - Globally Destructive Behavior

Rule 18.1  - Thou shalt not be socially destructive

This is a catch all rule for cases of player toxicity, where the admin
have determined that it would be better for the long term health of
the game if a player stopped playing.

This is a "rule of last resort" that is typically used to deal with
long term, persistent problems that don't really meet the requirements
of a more specific rule.

This rule is a "rule of last resort" because it is so vague, but past
experience leads us to believe that an escape clause like this is
necessary.  It has been used exactly three times in the history of Alter
Aeon, and perhaps those examples will help clarify it:

- Around 1998, a player was asked to stop playing the game due to
  multi-year long term persistent bug abuse.  She left voluntarily
  and remained on good terms with the staff.

- Somewhere in the 2005-2010 time frame, a player was banned for
  being the driver of the Kindred Hate Machine, which was focused
  primarily on Dentin.

- In 2017, two players were banned for being generally toxic,
  including encouraging others to quit, attacking builders and
  moderators, and advertising other games.

In all three of these cases, we only took action after an extended
time, a lot of investigation, and a lot of deliberation.  In each case,
we came to the conclusion that it would be better for the long term
health of Alter Aeon if those players stopped playing.

Rule 18.2  - Informational - "socially destructive" really is last resort

In cases where a more specific rule applies, that rule should be used
instead of the "socially destructive" rule.

For example, there have been two other recent cases which could have
been covered by the "socially destructive" rule:  a set of death
threats, and the Tyrant permanent player ban.

In the case of the death threats, there was an explicit rule against
threatening real-life harm to other players.  That rule was more than
sufficient to handle the case.

In the case of Tyrant, his persistent attacks on other players were
easily covered by the harassment rules and were more than sufficient
to justify a permanent ban from Alter Aeon.

Rule 18.3  - Informational - what is a "Hate Machine"?

A hate machine is when a small number of dedicated players feed off
each other to create an endless cycle of hate against other players,
the AA staff, or even the game itself.  Hate machines generally require
a minimum of three people, and often have only one person who is the
most vocal primary driver.  At least two other people seem to be
required to produce an echo chamber.

Hate machines are problematic because this very small core of dedicated
people cause a huge amount of unhappiness and discontent among others.
They tend to generate a lot of misinformation and selective/pessimistic
interpretation of facts.

There are many parallels to hate machines in the Real World, largely in
politics and online forums that are lightly moderated.  The unrestricted
presence of a hate machine can drive other people completely away from a
forum, game, or political party, effectively killing it.

The easiest solution for dealing with a hate machine in an online forum
is to ban with prejudice the primary instigators.  Without ringleaders,
the machine tends to stall and the social coalitions around it fall apart.

Rule 18.4  - Informational - we hate the "socially destructive" rule too

We never like making decisions based on this rule.  It shouldn't be
necessary, and we shouldn't have to agonize and second guess ourselves
over whether it's really justified.  Ultimately, it comes down to
making a decision, and no matter what decision we make, people are
going to be upset.

As the staff of Alter Aeon, we have to do what we think is best for
the long term health of the game, no matter how much it sucks.