General Rules:
This is a MUCK geared towards the mature and responsible individual. You don't have to be an experienced MUCKer, or even an experienced RPer, but a certain level of maturity is expected from all players.
All of the rules effectively boil down to one: be respectful of other players. Don't harass people, do try to compromise whenever possible, and be aware that others may not share your sense of propriety. Don't powergame or twink; other people's characters deserve a chance to play, too. Absolutely, under all conditions, separate IC and OOC - try not to let OOC issues, however large or small, slop over into RP. This is a place to step away from RL and be someone else for a while. Also, don't take advantage of OOC knowledge in RP; what you know is -not- necessarily what your character knows.
This MUCK can be considered as having a generally high PG-13 / low R rating. Violence and profanity may be encountered during scenes, as the MUCK's theme involves plenty of conflict. However, TS is not encouraged, and any such scenes must be RPed in private rooms between players above the age of majority. Anyone who logs on only to TS will be warned, and if nothing changes, lose the right to play here; if you're not taking part in the story at large, you might as well not be on this MUCK.
Any and all questions, comments, suggestions, and complaints are welcomed, on this and other subjects.
Server Logging, Personal Logging, and Log Posting:
The server logs everything, although it doesn't keep stuff forever; records are automatically maintained for the past ten restarts. Only the headwizard and the server host have access to these files, and they will only be read in one of two situations: either to troubleshoot a technical problem or for evidence when punitive action is on the table.
Most players on the MUCK keep logs of scenes and/or conversations; there is no restriction on this and no requirement that they ask permission first. Generally speaking, the MUCK is a public place, shared among the playerbase; while the admin will make all reasonable efforts not to invade one's privacy, they will not take on the headache of trying to enforce its maintenance.
Many players post logs of scenes, either in character journals or on the MUCK website. It is STRONGLY encouraged for players to post their cleaned logs to this site, so we have a central log dump for easy access to past events. It is expected that event/plot scenes will be so archived.
Tinyplots and Megaplots:
Players are certainly welcome to run their own plots without admin oversight, IF the plot is small. It can only affect a few characters and/or a limited area, and cannot result in their obtaining a significant 'bonus' (be it material, some sort of power expansion, or anything else). In such cases, players are still welcome to run their own plots, but must at least get the admin's stamp of approval on the idea first.
Players are also welcome to ask the admin to run any scene for them, if they don't want to GM it themselves. If a proposed scene has widescale effects, the admin may insist on doing the GMing.
If you run a plot, or even have a personal, everyday sort of scene that has the potential to affect others, PLEASE make some sort of general notice about it. This could be a post on the rumor board, a news report, or just an FYI announcement. That way, other people know they can incorporate it in their own scenes, without crossing the OOC/IC knowledge boundary.
Staff Rules:
A staff position is not a privilege, but a responsibility, if a voluntary one. Staffers are expected to be very active and involved with the game, especially within their particular speciality. If a staffer becomes too inactive to keep up with their duties, then their position may be revoked at the headwizard's discretion. They are also required to treat all players with as much impartiality as possible in all situations.
Under most circumstances, the word of a staffer is final within the scope of their speciality. The headwizard may interfere if she sees fit; under -all- circumstances, her word is THE final one. All issues that impact a significant portion of the MUCK must be brought to her attention before being acted upon, unless time is a critical factor. Such topics range from large-scale plots to troublemaking players and punitive actions, and will in most cases be discussed by at least a quorum of the admin before any action is taken.
All admin are just as bound by the general rules as any player.
Consent:
Marvel: Destinies is a consent-based game in that all combat is decided through RP, not through any sort of code. It's also good manners to tell other players when their characters are ICly going to get in trouble, and give them a chance to back out. However, the MUCK also has an ICA=ICC policy that all players are expected to adhere to, and which will be enforced.
In Character Actions -> In Character Consequences
If you go picking a fight with someone, expect to get hurt. Perhaps even killed. While in most situations a desire to keep your char alive can be accomodated, the best method is to stay out of the thick of dangerous situations in the first place. Twinking (posing another's action or inaction) and powergaming (acting like you're the best, strongest, fastest, immune to damage, etc. when you really aren't) are not permitted. In a fight, if a character doesn't totally outclass their opponent, they will most likely be hurt, and you are expected to pose accordingly.
Alternate Characters:
There is at present a loose cap of seven alternate characters. This is not retroactive, meaning that players who had more than seven on Marvel MUCK are not required to whittle down their altlists. Neither is it a strict limit; anyone who is seen to be reasonably active with all or nearly all of their existing characters will be allowed to app an eighth (or ninth, etc.) if they so desire. If they later drop below that level of activity, the extra characters will not be deleted arbitrarily, but any futher apps are likely to be denied unless and until the player either discards extra chars or brings their activity back up.
The limit of three feature characters is absolute. You can't have any more than that, and they count towards your total number of alts.
There is no set restriction on how many characters you can have in a single group or faction. However, the admin may choose to deny an additional app if they feel you have more characters in a group than that group can support. For example, Xavier's School can deal with a few people who have two or three student characters each because it is a large group. A smaller faction which has only a handful of characters isn't likely to get far if two players have two alts apiece in its ranks. Additionally, if you app for a second FC within the same faction as your first, it will likely be denied.
Activity:
A feature character is expected to be around for at least a couple of hours per week on average. This is also true for characters, FC or OC, who hold important positions. If they cannot maintain around 10 hours of connection time per month, they may be warned, and after that warning, the position may be recast at admin discretion. If the character is not ICly crucial, the admin may feel no pressing need to recast it. Hence the qualifiers.
Original characters and FCs who are not key to IC plots and events will be allowed two months' grace time. If, over those two months, a player cannot come up with at least a few hours to spend RPing, admin may give a warning and then idledest their character if no response is received after a reasonable period.
Anyone going on a vacation, or facing RL complications that might keep them from being active on the MUCK need only put a post on the MUCK bulletin board, inform one of the admin, or send an email to the staff account specifying how long they are likely to be absent. That time period will be exempted from idledest-related activity counting.