User:Ircher/Standard Ruleset

Notes on Reading This Page

Types of Consequences

Violating these rules will have consequences. The various actions the moderator may take are listed below.

• Thread Notices are messages posted by the moderator in the game thread. Thread notices are general reminders to all players, and no individual players are directly penalized by a thread notice. The moderator reserves the right to issue moderator notices and warnings to individual players in addition to issuing a general thread notice.
• Thread Locking is when the moderator locks the thread for a non-mechanical reason. This is typically used when the moderator is consulting with a list moderator about a potential rule violation.
• Moderator Notices are private messages that are meant to bring to your attention behaviors that are potentially problematic. You do not gain any penalty stars from moderator notices (see the next section).
• Moderator Warnings are private messages that indicate you have broken a rule. You do gain penalty stars from moderator warnings (see the next section).
• Force Replacement means that you are no longer allowed to play in the game. You can be force replaced without receive a warning first if the moderator judges that is the appropriate action to take.
• Modkill are reserved for the most egregious violations. Not only are you no longer allowed to play, you also automatically lose. The moderator must receive list moderator approval before executing a modkill.
• Referral to List Moderators is used when a rule you broke is also a site rule. This ensures that appropriate site consequences are administered in addition to any in-game consequences.

The Star System

• Throughout this wiki page are stars (★).
• When they appear at the beginning of a rule, they indicate the number of stars accumulated when you receive a warning related to that rule.
• If you accumulate five or more penalty stars, you will be force-replaced. This ensures consistency on the moderator's part.
• You may still be force-replaced even if you break a rule that has less than five stars. The star system only prescribes a minimum punishment, not a maximum punishment.

General Rules

This ruleset is meant to be comprehensive and cover almost all situations. Hence, they are very long. If you are short on time, please go to the recap section for a TL;DR version.

Respect

1. ★★★ Follow the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
   1. ★★★★★ Personal attacks, harassment, racism, sexism, and other forms of abuse directed towards others or oneself will not be tolerated.
   2. ★★★ Other forms of toxic behavior that promotes an unpleasant environment are also not allowed.
   3. ★★ Please assume good faith of all players who request replacement. Discussing the reasons behind replacements brings an outside influence into the game, and it is the moderator's job to determine whether a replacement request is tactical in nature. It is also rude and disrespectful to the player who requested replacement.
   4. ★ Avoid bringing personal life events into the game thread. If a player does bring up a personal personal life event, do not attempt to guess the player's motives for doing so. It is best to let real life stay out of the thread as it can be an outside influence on the game. When it does come up, it is unethical to assign ulterior motives to the player bringing it up.
   5. ★★ Do not suggest other players be banned or force-replaced in thread. Do not accuse others of breaking the rules. See this link (rule 2d) for the rationale. If you think a player has broken the rules, you should pm the moderator with a description of why the post(s) in question break the site rules or the moderator's rules. If the player also broke site rules, you should use the report button to refer them to site moderators.
   6. ★★ You are expected to respect pronouns to the best of your ability. While mistakes do sometimes occur, they should not become a habit as that is an indication of sloppiness and lack of respect. Any refusal to respect pronouns is grounds for immediate force-replacement.
   7. ★★★ Others being toxic does not give you license to be toxic yourself. The number one rule is still to treat others as you would like to be treated. If someone else is being toxic and making the game unpleasant for you, please let the moderator know. The moderator will handle the situation, but please be aware that there may not be a direct visible effect from any actions the moderator takes.
2. ★ The use of the "L"-word is strongly discouraged. Please adopt alternatives such as "eliminate", "fade", "launch", etc.
3. Avoid using the plain spoiler (blackout) tag. Use spoiler= instead. This rule exists because the content hidden within a blackout tag is not easily accessed on mobile devices, and many players access and play mafia on mobile devices.
   • [spoiler]This is wrong and will be edited by the moderator.[/spoiler]
   • [spoiler][color=red]You can use the spoiler tag if you use a different color alongside it.[/color][/spoiler]
   • [spoiler=]This is the preferred way to do it.[/spoiler]
4. Please use spoilers in posts containing at least two videos or large images. Large here is relative to the size of a phone screen. This rule exists for users with slower internet connections. It also helps reduce the vertical length of pages which is especially important on mobile devices.
5. ★ Do not spam the thread with constant and persistent off-topic posts. While the occasional tangent is acceptable, excessive off-topic posting makes it harder for other players to find game-relevant content.
6. ★★ Play the game and play to win. By not playing the game, you ruin the experience of other players.
   1. ★ Do not use the dice tag or other forms of provable randomness. It is okay to claim to have used randomness so long as you do not attempt to prove it.
   2. ★★★★★ You must read your role pm! Do not claim otherwise! If the moderator failed to send you a role pm, please notify the moderator privately. You will be force-replaced without warning if you violate this rule. This rule exists because you cannot possibly play to win without knowing your objective.
   3. ★★★ Avoid posting in the main thread until after the moderator acknowledges that you have successfully confirmed your role. During pre-game, wait at least ten minutes after the moderator picks up your response. If the moderator does not respond, then you may post. If you are a replacement, wait until the moderator announces your replacement in the game thread. This rule is related to the above rule.
   4. ★★★★★ Claiming scum by yourself is always okay as long as it is clear to the moderator you are not attempting to throw the game. Claiming scum with other players is fine only on Day 1 provided it is clear to the moderator you are not attempting to throw the game. The Day 1 restriction on claiming scum with others was added to to limit the likelihood the moderator gives away information by acting or not acting in certain situations.
   5. Scum may attempt to kill their teammates at night provided that 1) all living team members agree and 2) there is clear evidence to the moderator that such a move is potentially beneficial and not game-throwing. In all cases, the moderator must explicitly approve of the move for it to be counted.
   6. Players may self-vote at any time and for any reason unless it is a hammer.
   7. ★★ Players should only self-hammer in exceptional circumstances.
7. Please request replacement if you do not have enough time to play the game. Nothing is inherently wrong with replacing out of a game, and you are doing more harm to the game by staying in than you would if you replaced out. For games with long threads (more than seventy-five pages), please think twice before replacing out as it is hard to find replacements for those games.

Honor

1. ★★★★★ Discussion of ongoing games at any time, through any means, and regardless of content, is prohibited as per site rules. See below for clarifications on this important rule.
   1. You are free to communicate with the moderator, backup moderators, and co-moderators about the game at any time for any reason. You may also contact list moderators and administrators who are not players of the game if an issue arises.
   2. ★★★★ Do not discuss players' activities in other games.
   3. ★★★★ Do not reference ongoing games as a reason for a read. Do not hint or imply that ongoing games are a reason for a read. Please refer to here for a more detailed explanation. While you are allowed to use ongoing games a reason to read a player, you cannot use it as justification in the thread.
   4. ★★ Alt-slips and hydra slips must be quoted by your main account as soon as possible. The moderator cannot and will not attempt to guess whether a post made by a player not in the game is from alt or by someone breaking the ongoing games discussion rule.
   5. ★★★ Do not quote or reference any post or statement made in this game in your signature, in your avatar, or on your wiki page while the game is ongoing. Signatures are shown on every post, and wiki pages are publicly accessible.
   6. ★★★★★ You are allowed a single contentless "Bah!" post after you die. Further posts and posts with content are violations of the discussion of ongoing games rule.
   7. ★★★★★ Once the moderator formally states in the game thread that a player is being replaced, that player should cease any and all posting in the game thread.
   8. If your role specifically allows you to communicate about the game outside the game thread, then you may do so in the way dictated by your role.
   9. In general, you are allowed to discuss the game in private topics related to the game.
   10. If you have questions about this rule, please contact the game moderator or a list moderator not the this game.
2. ★★★ Trust tells and other forms of outside influences are prohibited.
   1. ★★★ Do not replace out in such a manner as to confirm your alignment.
   2. ★★★ Do not threaten to replace out. Do not demand others to replace out. If you believe a player should be force-replaced, contact the moderator. All replacement-related communication should be conducted privately with the moderator.
   3. ★★★★ Do not threaten to break a rule.
   4. ★ Bets of any kind including avatar bets that relate to the game should be avoided.
   5. The moderator will only respond to the following requests in-thread: 1) vote count-related questions and corrections 2) V/LAs 3) formatting fixing requests 4) questions about public mechanics and 5) the roles or abilities of flipped players. All other questions including speculative questions should be asked privately. Statements to the effect of "I asked the moderator {question} and they responded with {answer}." are generally fine provided the answer part is paraphrased.
   6. ★★★ Do not discuss actions taken by the moderator while the game is still ongoing. Please save that discussion for post-game. You may privately contact the moderator if you have questions about such actions or disagree with them.
   7. See this thread for more details.
3. ★★★ Cryptography and other forms of codes are not allowed. Breadcrumbs are generally okay.
   1. ★★ Do not attempt to use BBCode to hide messages.
   2. All text should be at least size 75. Text within ooc tags do noes not have to be resized from the default.
4. ★★★★ All private communications should be paraphrased except as noted below. It does not matter how small the snippet is, it must be paraphrased unless an exception is listed below.
   1. The following may be copied (but not quoted) verbatim from role pms: alignment, flavor name (second line of role pm), flip role (second line of role pm), and effective role (normally near the bottom before the win condition).
   2. Investigatives and other power roles may directly copy (not quote) unflavored results they receive. These are generally bolded.
   3. Mafia, masons, and other players with private topics known to consist solely of a single alignment may freely copy and/or quote role pms and result pms into the private topic. They may also submit night actions as a collective there as well by bolding. (Please be aware that in games like Grand Idea Mafia, masonries are not guaranteed to consist of solely one alignment, so this rule does not apply to those groups in those kinds of games.)
   4. ★★★★ Other forms of moderator communication should neither be directly copied nor quoted in the game thread or anywhere else. This includes flavored ability names.
   5. ★★★ Do not reference timestamps, read statuses, private topic access numbers, post numbers from private topics, or other similar forms of metadata in the game thread. If you have a question about whether or not something is allowed, please ask. See this thread for an explanation.
   6. ★★★★ Do not link to private topics for any ongoing game into the main game thread. Do not quote posts from private topics from any ongoing game into the main thread. That includes the game this ruleset applies to. Please see this thread for an explanation.
   7. ★ You may paraphrase anything not covered by these rules unless otherwise specified, but please be careful. Regardless of whether something is actually a direct quote, surrounding it with quotation marks (") to give the impression that it is a direct quote is not acceptable. The moderator will automatically presume that anything that comes from another thread that is surrounded in quotation marks is in fact a direct copy-paste and will take the appropriate action.
5. ★★★ Do not attempt to impersonate the game moderator, backup moderators, co-moderators, or site staff in any fashion.
   1. Purple is the moderator's color in the main thread, and #33AA99 is the moderator's color in private topics. You may use either color as you please provided it is clear you are not trying to impersonate the moderator by doing so.
   2. ★ Player-provided vote counts should be explicitly marked as "Unofficial" and should not use the exact same format as official ones.
6. ★★★ Do not edit or delete your posts.
   1. The moderator will not delete any posts for any reason including in private topics.
   2. For private topics, you are allowed up to 24 hours after the game's conclusion to request redactions of your posts. The moderator will pm you at the end of the game. This does not apply in the dead/spectator PT.
   3. Posts edited by the moderator will be signed by the moderator and include the reason for the edit. Edit: Here is an example. ~Ircher
   4. The moderator will only edit player posts for the following reasons: 1) spoilering large posts on request 2) spoilering images and videos in posts that violate rule Respect$4 3) converting spoiler tags to spoiler= in posts that violate rule Respect$3 4) fixing minor formatting issues on request and 5) changing the font size of posts that violate rule Honor$3b.
7. ★★★★★ Do not cheat and attempt to play the game under multiple accounts.

Miscellaneous

1. ★★ Follow the spirit of the rules in addition to the letter of the rules.
   1. ★★★★ Do not attempt to find loopholes in the ruleset.
   2. While the moderator generally assumes good faith, inadvertent rule breaks are still actionable.
2. ★★★★ Do not pretend to break the rules. Please do not make my job harder than it needs to be.
3. Once a replacement has been found, a player cannot replace back into the game after replacing out. Any deviation from this would requires list moderator approval and is not worth the overhead. Please keep this in mind before replacing out.
4. Players may rescind their replacement requests privately as long as they have not received any information that compromises their slot and replacements have not already been found. Do not post in the game thread.
5. Hydras are not required to sign, but they are encouraged to as some rules may apply per head rather than per slot.
6. The moderator reserves the right to update this ruleset as necessary with notice. New items will be underlined, and deleted items will be striked through. (Note: The markup on this line is an example.)

Recap of General Rules

1. Follow the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
2. Follow all site rules including the ones against discussing ongoing games, threatening to replace out, declaring intent to replace out in-thread, and proving private communication.
3. Do not discuss the reasons behind a player replacing out.
4. Do not use the plain spoiler tag; use spoiler= instead. Be mindful of other users and try to spoiler posts with multiple large images or videos.
5. Play to win the game. This includes reading your role pm and confirming your role to the moderator's satisfaction. Do not claim to have done otherwise.
6. Respect pronouns, and do not use the L-word.
7. Follow both the letter and spirit of the rules.
8. If you disagree with an action the moderator takes, please bring it up privately or wait until post-game. Do not discuss moderator actions in-thread.
9. The moderator may update the ruleset as necessary with notice.
10. This summary is not and cannot be all-inclusive. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the entire ruleset when you get the chance.

Activity and Deadline Rules

Standard Activity and Deadline Rules

1. Day 1 lasts 14 days. Day 2 lasts ten days. All other days last seven days. Nights last two days.
   1. Night actions must be submitted at least twenty (20) minutes before the deadline. This gives the moderator time to resolve actions and promptly start the next phase on time.
   2. Fast night is a possibility if all living players explicitly agree to it. Players must explicitly resubmit their desire for fast night each night regardless of their role.
2. Day extensions are rare and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
   1. A minimum of 24 hours will be granted to any player who replaces in. More time may be granted if the thread is long.
   2. Extensions for holidays (especially American holidays) will be announced in advance. You may request an extension for a holiday that has not been announced in advance.
   3. Extensions for site downtime will be granted as appropriate.
   4. Other extension requests are likely to be rejected.
3. Nights may be extended if a replacement is needed. A minimum of 24 hours will be granted for night actions after a replacement is found.
4. You are expected to post at least once each day. The specific time you post each day does not matter; you can post in the morning one day and the evening the next day without penalty. The moderator will prod you if you have not posted within the last 28 hours when the moderator checks the thread overview. This check occurs once each day around 9:00 PM CDT.
5. You can prod dodge, but two (2) prod dodges are equivalent to a single prod. If you are prodded again from prod dodging, you may not prod dodge. While a subjective rule, prod dodges are defined as posts containing little or no content related to the game. Minimum content is not defined to mitigate abuse, but the moderator tries to apply this rule as objectively as possible.
6. Announce vacation or limited access (V/LA) status in-thread and not by pm. The moderator will not decline a request sent by pm, but your fellow players would like to know when you are gone. You should set V/LA status in the user cp to ensure that the moderator does not forget. Setting the status in the user cp makes it easy for the moderator (and other players) to see who is V/LA and who is not.
7. If you have regular weekend V/LA, it is your responsibility to inform the moderator at the end of each week or to set V/LA status.
8. V/LA players must post at least once every 120 hours (5 days). Players declaring long V/LAs (14 days or longer) may have stricter requirements imposed on them.
9. ★★ Your activity will be closely monitored. The moderator will warn and replace players who are exploiting loopholes in the activity rules.
10. To be clear, you are expected to post more than the bare minimum dictated by the prodding rules.
11. ★ You may double-post, but further posting in a row is heavily discouraged. This rule is intended to cut down on things that needlessly clutter the thread such as spamming one liner quotes when catching up. Such actions clutter the thread and makes it harder to refer back to older posts due to paging. With the advent of phones, this has become a popular and easy method to catch up. On phones, you can use the draft feature in your mail app or use a notes app to combine smaller posts into larger ones. This rule is not meant to be prevent you from posting. If you have something important to say even after posting twice in a row, go ahead and post it. Just try to be conscious of how that affects the thread, and do not make it a habit. For hydras, this restriction is per head as long as the hydras are signing their post.

Experimental Activity and Deadline Rules

These experimental rules are intended to encourage more balanced activity. In today's meta, posting too much is as much a problem as posting too little. A large portion of this section is devoted to explain the moderator's viewpoint on the issue. If you are skimming, focus on the first sentence of each rule and anything that is bolded. None of these rules apply in private topics.

1. All standard activity and deadline rules still apply unless they conflict with one of the rules below. In the case of a conflict, only the conflicting portion is void; the remainder of the rule still holds.
2. ★★ Players that have twice the median number of posts after the first 48 hours of the game will be asked to limit their posts to five posts per 24 hours until their post count is less than twice the median number of posts. An additional two naked vote changes per 24 hours will also be allowed. This rule does not apply when five or fewer players remain. This rule was suggested in a player survey. The intent here is a rule that compromises between hard caps on post counts while also keeping the number of posts to manageable numbers.
3. ★★ During the first 48 hours of the game, players should limit their posting to no more than 50 posts per 24 hours. This translates to two pages per day which should be more than enough in most circumstances. The moderator will not track the exact amount of posts made each day by each player, but the moderator will notify any player whose cumulative number of posts breaks this rule.
4. ★★ After the first 48 hours of the game, players should limit their posting to no more than 25 posts per 24 hours. While one page per player per day may not seem that much, it adds up when everyone is posting that much. The moderator will not track the exact amount of posts made each day by each player, but the moderator will notify any player whose cumulative number of posts breaks this rule.
5. ★★ Players are expected to not excessively spam the thread. This rule is mostly covered by the three preceding ones, but it is still here for emphasis. Remember that not everyone can be online all the time. Be sure to give your fellow players a chance to speak rather than drowning out the thread with posts. Spamming the thread is very inconsiderate to players who are behind. They will become further behind. Please remember to be considerate of your fellow players at all times.

Setup-Specific Rules

These rules may be overridden by a particular setup's rules, but they give a good baseline of what to expect.

Voting, Fading, and Twilight Rules

These rules apply to most games. Main exceptions are games where voting is a central mechanic and some grand idea style games.

1. To vote, use bold (Vote: Player) or the vote tags. The latter is highly recommended to ensure your vote is not missed. Using bold is an antiquated way of voting before vote tags existed.
2. To unvote, use bold (Unvote: Player) or the unvote tags. Hint: As a shortcut, you can use [v]Player[/v] and [uv]Player[/uv] to vote and unvote.
3. You do not have to unvote to change votes. Furthermore, the moderator will only track the last valid vote in your post.
4. Player abbreviations are allowed so long as the moderator can reasonably determine the intended player.
5. Invalid and ambiguous votes will not be counted. The moderator will note such instances. Exceptions to this rule may be made for invalid votes during LimLo situations to prevent voting shenanigans.
6. Hammer occurs when half of all living players (rounded down) plus one cast a vote against the same player (or No Fade). All votes after a hammer will not be counted, and the hammered player is the one who will flip. The time following a hammer is twilight. All players may continue talking during twilight. This rule may be superceded by setup-specific rules or by the experimental activity and deadline rules. Please check the particular ruleset of the game you are in.
7. To be absolutely clear, the same rules for hammers are used for both No Fade and typical eliminations, specifically 50% (rounded down) + 1 votes are required.
8. Players should cease talking as soon as twilight ends. Twilight exists for the moderator not the players. Do not rely too heavily upon it.

Typical Setup Rules for Normal Games

These rules to most explicitly normal games the moderator runs. Please remember that a specific game may override these rules as appropriate.

1. All private topics possess daytalk.
2. Unless otherwise specified, mafia may not perform a kill and use an active ability at the same time.
3. If this is a micro, the game begins with 7 town and 2 scum. If this is a mini, the game begins with 10 town and 3 scum. Player ratios in large normals vary; please check the specific game's ruleset.
4. This setup was approved for normalcy and balance as governed by the Normal Guidelines.
5. Here is a sample role PM (it's very possible the moderator is lazy and does not edit the number or title): Welcome to {Size} Normal {#}: {Title}.
You are a Vanilla Townie.

You possess no special abilities other than your vote and your voice.

You win when all threats to the town are eliminated, and at least one townie is still alive.
Confirm by pm'ing me your alignment and role name.