FILTERS

Filter Tags

A small reminder in hopes of avoiding both player irritation and information godmodding:

To give a practical example: if a character posts a message tagged “filtered against X and his allies”, any ally of X’s that has not (to the char’s IC knowledge) revealed himself as an ally of X can still read that post.

To proceed otherwise is to assume that the character somehow magically knows the intentions and allegiance of every other character in the City.

Similarly, if your character makes a post “filtered to all those who are PRO this issue”, then the only characters who should be able to respond to it are those that your character specifically knows to be pro that particular issue.

This does NOT mean that you are expected to enumerate every character your tag is filtered for/against – you can still use tags that define groups. Just bear in mind that those tags can never be as general as including people whose identity or opinion on the filtered subject your character has never ICly heard of - unless, of course, you want your character running the risk of their being busted by the “bad guys.”

HOW'S MY DRIVING

So are you ever driving on those long and winding roads, minding your own business, only to find yourself stuck behind a semi-truck going 25 mph and swerving like a lunatic? We sincerely hope not, but chances are there’s a bumper sticker somewhere on that guy’s rear end that gives you a number, an incentive, and the age old HOW’S MY DRIVING? question.

While we don't like to think of our version of said concept in quite that drastic of a way, the truth is that this event sometimes does leave people feeling as if they’ve been run over with a truck. The standard operation procedure of How’s My Driving (hereon referred to as HMD for the typist’s sake) is to wait until the moderators throw the post up to the main community and then submit a comment to said post in the following format, just ‘cause it’s easiest:

character | fandom | username

The idea is for other players to be able to tell you, in polite terms, what they may find slightly out of focus in terms of character portrayal or, on a better note, what they really enjoy about how you play your characters! Although constructive criticism can, at times, be difficult to swallow, we of course do not advocate hostile behavior by any means and, in the past, have taken necessary measures to stop trolling or outright bashing of players. After all, helpful comments are one thing, but downright meanness will not and has never been tolerated; however, unless comments are seen as a complete personal attack, remarks made – though sometimes hurtful – in response to the characterization of your character will always be allowed.

In the same vein, don’t feel shy about posting comments regarding the characterization of other characters as well, whether those comments are more of the helpful variety or whether you’re just expressing all that love and adoration that’s been building up for a couple months now.

Always, always, always keep in mind that everyone gets a little toasted by the HMD thread, and it is of course up to your discretion what to take into consideration. This is supposed to be a helpful tool, and we hope that it can be treated as such. Where in the past we have employed the use of anon commenting and turning off IP logging, that is no longer the case, and these days we’re more invested in putting a face to concerns by switching off anonymous comments and turning on IP logging so that the trolling and rude remarks that have been experienced in the past can be more easily watched and reported on.

With this new plan of action, we’re also employing the use of an essay-type response system to go along with HMD from here on out, in order to better explain something that may give other players cause for alarm and that will encourage better communication between players. The idea is to, if you so choose, along with offering constructive crit when commenting to players who offer up their characters, ask a question pertaining to the character if you feel something needs better explanation. For example:

Player A: Why does Character X like toast so much when it’s established in canon that he hates toast?

Player B: Oh, that’s an easy one! You see, it all started with this curse blah blah blah.

Development within a setting can often clear up misconceptions about characters, and we encourage these types of inquiries. The questions, of course, can and probably will range in form from serious to lulzy – which everyone likes – but the idea is that it will give you a better platform with which to explain the decisions you have made regarding your character and his or her present actions, especially if they are confusing to other players.

To sum up, the How’s My Driving thread is meant to be an open form of communication. It’s meant to offer advice, praise, and constructive criticism to players who are putting their feelings on the line and who are opening themselves up to probable stress. We always, always ask that people play nice and abide by the rules. Make it a fun and helpful time for everyone. Also, if you as a player have a personal concrit thread set up for your character, please don’t hesitate to link players to it as an external resource for future reference.

TL;DR

• Post to a HMD post in a logical and readable format
• Await comments and questions from your fellow Polyites
• Some of it may be praise
• Some of it might not be praise but criticism. It’s up to you to take it maturely
• Comment to your fellow Polyites in the same fashion
• Answer questions asked of your characterization to clear up any misconceptions
• Anonymous commenting is not allowed and IP logging is turned on
&bull Use this tool responsibly and not as a way to bash fellow players, as bashing will not be tolerated

JOBS & BUSINESSES

Jobs and businesses are not to be considered sources of stress. Instead consider them gameplay opportunities. All characters of working age and ability are expected to have some source of income to cover rent and food, but it does not have to be a legal source, it does not have to be something that is played out regularly, and an employer can be an NPC business.

If you want to open a business, you can drop a quick email or IM to a mod just to make sure there are no complications you're unaware of. You do not have to play out site rental or business licenses.

But please see our section on zoning laws before throwing up a massive structure for your business.

Once you have a business set up, make sure to list it on poly_places so everyone can find it and make use of it.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Please make liberal use of OOC communication with your fellow players. Not just your close friends, but anyone in the game that you have IC contact with. Miscommunication can be most easily avoided by, funnily enough, communication.

Most entries on the Taken List will include instant messenger and email contacts. You can find moderator contact information located here, on the berryfloss journal.

POLYchromatic has a chat room in AIM titled, aptly enough, "polychromatic". It will not receive mod oversight, but we will attempt to have a mod available for questions and just to hang out. We're people too, we just play gods on the internetz.