Alter Aeon Rules of Conduct

Rules Section 4 - Scams and Character Sharing

Rule  4.1  - Introduction

This rules section deals with common scams and issues with shared
characters.  For incidents that involve a directed, persistent attack
on a single individual, see the section regarding 'harassment'.

Rule  4.2  - Thou shalt not share passwords or characters

We've had a lot of problems with people sharing passwords and character
theft as a result.  We can't actually prevent this from happening, but
really you should NOT share passwords, even between very close family
members.  (Actually, family members is where we've had the most trouble,
so especially not between family members.)

If you do share passwords and someone takes your character, you're
pretty much screwed.  You have very little, if any, recourse.  Keep
that in mind.

Rule  4.3  - Thou shalt not log in other player's characters

Don't log in another player's character without their consent.  Even if
you somehow manage to guess or obtain another player's password, don't
do it.

Note that using another player's login to harm that player indicates
both premeditation and malicious behaviour, and will be punished much
more harshly.

Rule  4.4  - Thou shalt not steal passwords or run password scams

Password stealing is when someone tries to talk you into telling them your
password, or tries to hack your character by guessing at the password
repeatedly.  It is important that you do not give out your password to
anyone!  If they know your password, they can take your character.

A 'password check' is when a player pretends to be an admin and tries to
get you to expose your password.  Here is an example of a player trying
to scam people with a very stupid 'password check':

------------ EXAMPLE ------------
Devstore gossips, 'ok guys, we are doing a pwd check'
Devstore gossips, 'please type 'gossip echo pwd check your login name and pwd.'
Devstore gossips, 'please note if you dont type echo, your pwd will be passed everyone to gossip'
Devstore gossips, 'so be syure to type 'gossip echo''
---------- END EXAMPLE ----------

This is illegal and you can be deleted for doing this.  It is like
yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater.  It is not funny or even remotely
amusing.

Rule  4.5  - Thou shalt not phish or grossly defraud other players

This one is just common sense.  If you cheat other players out of stuff
in obvious and/or blatant ways, the admin reserves the right to do
horrible things to your characters (any and all of them, even if they
aren't directly involved.)

This category includes all kinds of offenses.  Some obvious examples
might be:

1) "hey man, gimmie the password to your character so I can check out
    the stats on your character"

2) "can I see your bag for a minute?  I just want to see what's in it"

3) "give me 250 credits or I'll turn you in for corpse looting"

4) "I'll sell you this weightless for 50k gold" (but it's not actually
   a weightless)

This also includes things like guessing or stealing passwords.

Rule  4.6  - Thou shalt not run financial scams

This includes any kind of scam where a player asks other players for
loans of money, gold, or credits in-game with a promise to pay it back
with interest in a short time period.  This rule also covers schemes that
encourage players to participate in financial endeavors that violate real
life laws, such as money laundering, racketeering or insider trading.

Dentin does not screw around with money.  If you run financial scams,
you will be removed from the game and your account may be auctioned to
try to recover the debt.

Rule  4.7  - Thou shalt not beg for credits, gold, or money

Panhandling might not be illegal in the real world, but it is here on
Alter Aeon.  If you aggressively panhandle, you will be aggressively
removed from the game and have all your stuff auctioned off.

By 'aggressively panhandle' we mean soliciting players in any common
space, which includes posting on public bulletin boards, using
public/moderated channels, or literally standing in a public room like
Dark Temple Square and begging random players for cash.

Rule  4.8  - Thou shalt not be gullible

This is the opposite of the above rule against phishing and fraud.  You
really should be paying enough attention to things that fraud isn't a
problem.  If you actually get scammed out of something serious, it's at
least partially your fault.

When dealing with fraud and other similar situations, the admin usually
rules in favor of the victim.  There are cases however, when the victim
did something so impossibly brain-damaged that the only suitable
response is to allow the transaction to stand.

In short:  Caveat Emptor - "let the buyer beware".

Rule  4.9  - Thou shalt not use Alter Aeon as a medium to commit crimes

It should go without saying, but this rule is going to spell it out
anyway.  Using bulletin boards or the channel system as a medium to
commit real life crimes is prohibited.  This includes advertisement of
criminal activity on the bulletin boards, or using a channel, public
or private, to communicate criminal plans or intentions, or to
encourage others to commit crimes.

Laws may vary from location to location.  Generally speaking, if you
cannot lawfully do it in real life, then you cannot do it here.  Many
bodies of legal jurisprudence specifically phrase their statutes to
forbid online circumvention of such laws.