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Nexus Clash :: View topic - THE RULES (Updated April 5, 2021)
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THE RULES (Updated April 5, 2021)

 
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BobGeneric
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 8:48 am    Post subject: THE RULES (Updated April 5, 2021) Reply with quote

Welcome to the Nexus! Like any community, we have a set of rules and guidelines in place that we expect you to be familiar with and adhere to. This thread outlines the code of conduct you are expected to adhere to while interacting with our community, whether it is on Discord, on these Forums, or within the Game itself, and it is expected that before you post in Discord, post on the Forums, or play the game you have taken a moment to read this. I promise I'll try to get all of the information you need to you in as short a post as possible, so even if you think it's long, please take the time to read it anyway. There are only nine rules, and most of them are pretty short. Your permission to use the site is predicated on the idea that you have read and agree to these rules; if you cannot follow them, your access will be revoked.

RULE 1: USE YOUR HEAD

Perhaps this should go without saying, but it's always a good reminder. A good dose of common sense and human decency will get you a long way in life in general, and in the game, forums, and discord it's no exception. If you think something looks wrong, it probably is, so bring it to our attention - but remember that this is a hobby we do on the side and most of us are busy professionals so we may not always respond as quickly as you like. Also, using your head means understanding the spirit of the laws and following that, not just trying cleave to the letter of the law alone. Be considerate and everyone will have a more pleasant time here.

RULE 2: PLAY REASONABLY NICELY

Just because we're all playing a bunch of sociopaths in a murder simulator doesn't mean we have to be jerks about it. Cases of griefing or harassment may be brought to the attention of an admin. This doesn't mean that you should complain each time you are raided - part of playing this game is the expectation that you will die a lot, but if it seems like someone has singled you out to pick on, or if someone is being rude and insulting, please get an admin involved.

RULE 3: DON'T ARGUE ABOUT THE RULES

If a moderator or admin tells you that you are out of line, don't try to debate it. It's also a bad idea to ignore a direct warning or trying to sneak something past a moderator admin. If you feel that an admin has made a bad call, there is an appeal system in place; use that instead. Once a decision on an appeal is rendered, it is considered final.

RULE 4: DON'T EXPLOIT BUGS FOR ANY REASON

When you find a bug, the proper thing to do is to report it, then not abuse it. We will ask you to "use your head" and report minor bugs in the Bug Reporting forum. If a bug is ripe for abuse and/or gamebreaking, do NOT report it in the bug reporting forum (thus making it public knowledge for others to abuse) but instead send a PM to an admin or dev team member so we can patch it. We do have bug-reporting swag to hand out for such reports. Once you know a bug exists, try to avoid doing the thing that triggers it. Definitely do not abuse bugs for your amusement; remember, your actions are logged and should we find a bug and find out you knew about it and abused it instead of reporting it, that is cause for disciplinary action.

RULE 5: PLAY REASONABLY FAIR

The development team does not claim to be perfect. We make mistakes in design. We overlook stuff. And we don't think of every possible screwball thing you might think up. If you come up with some unusual trick to allow you to do something while your enemies are powerless to retaliate, you should probably talk to an admin before you try it.

Examples of this may include, but are not limited to:
Quote:
Creating a 1 man closed faction for the sole purpose of capping a flag, revoking the stronghold, then disbanding the faction so that your enemy can't recap.

Excessive alt swapping. e.g. swapping in your Archon to take part in a raid while your Lich builds an army in a nearby stronghold, and then swapping the 2 of them after capping so the faction has a bigger pet shield to defend with. Especially if you swap back later when planning to raid again.


RULE 6: REPORT PROBLEM BEHAVIOR TO ADMINS

Do not post it on the forums or in discord or elsewhere - this just creates unnecessary drama. If you believe that someone else is cheating, exploiting bugs, harassing another user, or anything else that you feel deserves admin intervention please make sure to follow these simple steps:

Quote:
1: Gather as much information as you have. This includes logs, links to character profiles, screenshots, anything you can get.

2: PM all of that to an Admin. Current admins are Rincewind, BobGeneric, and Kandarin.

3: Let us take care of it from there.


The admin will be able to review logs and to take action if warranted. More detailed information on the disciplinary process may be found at: https://www.nexusclash.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=89996#89996

RULE 7: IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE DISCIPLINED UNFAIRLY, USE THE APPEAL PROCESS

We have an appeal process in place if you feel you have been disciplined unfairly. Don't complain about the discipline publicly (that just creates drama); instead, present your side of the story by way of following the appeal process outlined in the link to the disciplinary process (at the end of Rule 6 above) - send a PM to multiple admins and/or use the email address provided there to submit your appeal; this ensures that multiple admins will have access to your side of the story as your case is reviewed.

We hope if your appeal is denied, it will be clear that your behavior WAS out of line, and we hope at this point you will change your behavior and not need to be disciplined again. If you follow the rules listed here you shouldn't have any problems. If you do receive a warning, you shouldn't have any problems as long as you heed that warning. If you do not heed that warning, it creates problems. If it becomes a frequent thing, you may find yourself permanently banned from the entire site. This way, you stop being our problem.

RULE 8: CERTAIN CONTENT IS NOT ALLOWED ON THE FORUMS, DISCORD, OR IN-GAME; DON'T POST OR LINK TO THAT TYPE OF CONTENT

There are forms of content that we do not permit to be posted here; neither the content itself nor links to the content should be posted. The following forms of content are not permitted:

  • Do not post personal information about other people. I don't care if you dislike someone or they are a jerk or not, you do not have the right to expose their phone number, address, or other information to a gazillion people.
  • Do not post pornography of ANY KIND. The internet is full of porn - people can get it elsewhere. If you need a "not safe for work" tag, it's not appropriate.
  • Do not post graphic, gory, or otherwise "Shocking" images. Again, if this is the kind of thing that floats your boat, you can get it elsewhere.
  • Do not use words that are widely accepted as being hurtful, not even in some self-indulgent idea of "irony." It's pathetic.
  • Do not harass other users. Picking on people is something you do before you become an adult. We're all adults, here, right?
  • Nazi-ism/Nazi worship is not tolerated under any circumstances.
  • Mod sass is not permitted. If a mod locks your thread or deletes your post, do not troll other threads whining about it. PM an admin and the situation will be reviewd.
  • Lawyering is not permitted. If staff tells you to knock it off, knock it off.

RULE 9: YOUR CHARACTERS IN THE GAME MUST BE USED INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER

As you have probably noticed, it is possible to have multiple characters. In order to prevent any one PLAYER from exerting undue influence upon the game, the following are the "laws" of how you may - and may not - use those characters (if you donate to get extra slots, these rules still apply). These are presented in a style similar to Isaac Aasimov's "Three Laws of Robotics."

Quote:

ALT ABUSE RULE ONE:
A player shall not attempt to use multiple characters that he controls to gain an advantage in a particular area or against a particular character or faction. A player shall not aid nor abet another player in attempting to use multiple characters in this fashion. (This is often shortened to "keep your dudes away from each other" though mere proximity is not necessarily a violation of this rule - for example, multiple characters might make use of a high-traffic portal to get to different locations, since no advantage is gained, this is not a violation).

ALT ABUSE RULE TWO:
A player shall not use knowledge gained by one character he controls to affect the actions another character he controls EXCEPT as is necessary to comply with Rule One.

ALT ABUSE RULE THREE:
It is your OWN actions that determine whether or not you are keeping your dudes away from each other, not someone else's.

There is a 24-hour cooling period on this rule, meaning that once 24 hours have passed from the first character interacting in an area or against a particular character or faction, it is acceptable to bring a different character in (this of course puts a 24-hour cooling period on using any other characters, including the first).

This 24-hour cooling period is subject to Rule 1, Rule 2 and Rule 5. This timeline is there to ensure that keeping track of alt interactions doesn't hinder your characters too seriously from doing things that they would plausibly do in character. The admin team is aware that there are ways to use multiple characters to harass a particular player, character or faction that do not technically violate the 24-hour rule. Such actions will still be considered violations of Rules 1, 2 and 5.

It should also be noted that game-external methods of communication (e.g., Discord, Faction Forums, etc.) that would logically be tied to one character (e.g., membership in a Discord channel dedicated to a particular faction and granted based on you having a character in that faction) should be considered to fall under Rule 2.

Below are rules setting out some common scenarios in game that tend to come up with playing with multiple characters.
Quote:

SCENARIO ONE: Character A's faction is going to raid Character B's faction.
It is acceptable to move Character B out of his faction's stronghold to allow Character A to participate in the raid (since Rule 1 restricts involvement to one character, the character may use knowledge gained to move Character B without violating Rule 2).
It is acceptable to leave Character B in the stronghold to be a passive target (i.e., no taking of defensive measures against the raid) and not bring Character A.
It is NOT acceptable to have Character B actively take defensive measures against the raid (violates Rule 2 as it uses knowledge gained by one character to benefit another)
It is NOT acceptable to move Character B out of the way to allow Character C to participate in the raid (violates Rule 2 as it uses knowledge gained by one character to benefit another).

SCENARIO TWO: Character D kills Character E and then moves to another location and attacks but does not kill Character F. Characters E, F and G all belong to the same player.
It is acceptable to retaliate with Character F, as character D is the one selecting the field of battle.
It is NOT acceptable to move character F out of the way so character E can retaliate unless character E has an independent method of knowing Character D's location such as the Revenant's ability to track his killer (knowledge sharing violates Rule 2).
It is NOT acceptable to use move character F out of the way so that Character G can retaliate against Character D (knowledge sharing violates Rule 2).


This policy updates and supersedes the following previous policies:
1. "Alt Abuse and Zerging" - https://www.nexusclash.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=109
2. "The big scary rules thread" - https://www.nexusclash.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2485
3. "Forum posting guidelines" - https://www.nexusclash.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2775
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BobGeneric
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:54 pm    Post subject: ON BOTS AND SCRIPTS Reply with quote

ON BOTS AND SCRIPTS

One of the underlying assumptions with NexusClash mechanics is that the game is being played by humans. This assumption presupposes periods where the human player behind a character is otherwise occupied and the character is "sleeping" - not taking any actions and unaware of what is going on in the game world. We also understand that our GUI is far from perfect and that there may be ways to better optimize what is displayed for human consumption.

To that end, scripts that enhance or modify the information presented by the web page are not only allowed but encouraged (e.g., scripts that automatically highlight information or scripts that assist complex actions, such as scripts that help you manage your inventory to make sure you have the right components to brew potions). In other words, scripts that assist you in taking manual actions are permitted. Similarly, scripts that create logs of actions you take for later human perusal are permitted.

These are tools that augment the information being passed to the humans playing the game, and give a small efficiency advantage to the player (or players) using them, but do not materially alter the gameplay experience for others as they do not replace the need for human interaction in order to react to events in the game.

Scripts that monitor information from the game, usually to trigger automated actions (usually called "Bots") including such things as alerting an otherwise inattentive player or pinging a Discord channel are NOT permitted. These go against one of the basic assumptions of the game - that any information provided by the game is going directly to a human whose attention is currently focused on the game itself. By their nature, these materially alter the gameplay experience for others by providing a massive advantage to the player who uses them. This violates several of our rules, including, but not limited to:

Quote:
RULE ONE: USE YOUR HEAD

Perhaps this should go without saying, but it's always a good reminder. A good dose of common sense and human decency will get you a long way in life in general, and in the game, forums, and discord it's no exception. If you think something looks wrong, it probably is, so bring it to our attention - but remember that this is a hobby we do on the side and most of us are busy professionals so we may not always respond as quickly as you like. Also, using your head means understanding the spirit of the laws and following that, not just trying cleave to the letter of the law alone. Be considerate and everyone will have a more pleasant time here.

RULE 4: DON'T EXPLOIT BUGS FOR ANY REASON

When you find a bug, the proper thing to do is to report it, then not abuse it. We will ask you to "use your head" and report minor bugs in the Bug Reporting forum. If a bug is ripe for abuse and/or gamebreaking, do NOT report it in the bug reporting forum (thus making it public knowledge for others to abuse) but instead send a PM to an admin or dev team member so we can patch it. We do have bug-reporting swag to hand out for such reports. Once you know a bug exists, try to avoid doing the thing that triggers it. Definitely do not abuse bugs for your amusement; remember, your actions are logged and should we find a bug and find out you knew about it and abused it instead of reporting it, that is cause for disciplinary action.

RULE 5: PLAY REASONABLY FAIR

The development team does not claim to be perfect. We make mistakes in design. We overlook stuff. And we don't think of every possible screwball thing you might think up. If you come up with some unusual trick to allow you to do something while your enemies are powerless to retaliate, you should probably talk to an admin before you try it.

DISCIPLINARY POLICY:

3. Severe infractions (e.g., severe and repeated bug exploitation before being discovered, an infraction as in #2 above after receiving the one-week ban and warning) generally come with a permanent ban (may be reduced to a month at the discretion of the admin team, but the default is permanent ban absent extenuating circumstances). A permanent ban involves your forum account being disabled and a Discord ban. All permanent bans are accompanied by an email to the email address on file for your forum account and may be appealed via sending an email to that address.
...
The above are guidelines and examples given are not intended to be comprehensive; there are far more ways to attempt to break, subvert, or weaponize the game and its rules than could be exhaustively listed. These policies are in place to prevent people who are unwilling to follow the rules laid out - including things that go against the spirit of the laws - from polluting the environment by making it less enjoyable for those who are willing to follow the rules.


This problem of "bots" is not unique to NexusClash. Allowing bots in any game threatens to turn the game experience from a "human" vs "human" experience to a "who can write the most efficient bot" experience. There ARE games out there that welcome bots and for which the experience is now designed to be a "who can write the most efficient bot." This is not one of those games - this is antithetical to many of the fundamental assumptions underlying design of this game.

TL;DR -

Using scripts to improve your gameplay experience is fine. Using a bot to gain an unfair advantage will get you perma-banned (I think you'll find most games that assume a human behind the controls work this way).
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