demon horns mascot
Alter Aeon logo
alteraeon.com 3000

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.



Copyright (C) 2015 DentinMud Internet Services - Contact Us