In just a little bit, I'll be pushing some updates live concerning the POLICY command. This is mostly a transparency update to give you, the player, information on your status.

The POLICY command will now show you how many warnings you've had on that character, your last warning date, your last scripting violation, if you're a high maintenance customer (HMC), if you're being monitored for vulgarity, and the last time you read the policy in full.

Keep in mind, this update will only show the character you're using the command on, not the entire account(s). When it comes to penalties and lockouts, warnings follow the account and any linked accounts. To get an idea of the entire account, you'll need to check on each character separately.

The vulgarity system will inform you that you're violating policy every now and then. Originally, the system was pretty invisible to the player. We're just noticing an uptick in using vulgarity though. If you use severe vulgarity, it mutes your message. This is just to help you know more of what is happening from now on. There isn't anything new, other than the transparency.

With all of this, POLICY 3 and 20 are also a little more clear on what they all entail.

I know there will likely be some questions, so I'm going to preemptively answer some of them.

>>Why doesn't it show the dates of my last warnings?

Retroactive dates aren't possible. The time stamps are a new feature that are being stored in game. Future warnings will show your dates.

>>I don't recall being warned on [insert date], can I get further clarification?

You can ASSIST and request a referral to speak with a GameMaster to talk about any previous warnings you have on your account.

>>Why am I being monitored for vulgarity?

There are many reasons that you were set up to be monitored for vulgarity. I'll touch on a few common reasons.

- You used vulgarity and it was reported or seen by game staff.
- You're on a new character.
- You're around others who use vulgarity.
- You've been warned for some form of vulgarity infraction.

Being monitored doesn't necessarily mean you've violated the policy. I just want to make that clear.

>>How long am I going to be monitored for vulgarity?

The system is pretty automated. If you don't use any vulgarity, it eventually stops monitoring you.

>>Will I get in trouble if I'm only using vulgarity around friends?

If you're in a public area of the game, the monitoring system will pick it up. This includes tables, hunting areas, major sanctuaries, and bath houses. Keeping it to whispers in public areas is recommended. You can review POLICY 3 and 17 to learn more about the vulgarity policy and privacy.

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Wyrom, PM

Heh! Can't think of any cases where we'd do that!

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Wyrom, PM

Well now I know Wyrom has never watched me from behind the scenes.... and kind of disappointed stories of the gnome's picklefest performance or peeing in Emeradan's boots (I think it was Em, anyway....been a LONG time...seems there was another GM at one point or another too..) aren't being told by staff as cautionary tales....

Starchitin, the OG

A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.

>poli review
You've not been warned on the character Starchitin. You haven't been flagged as a high maintenance customer. You're not being monitored for vulgarity.


Challenge accepted.


Starchitin, the OG

A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.

For clarification of the output. Can you tell us after what DATE we'll be able to see timestamped warning & scripting dates? Also, I take it that the total # of warnings is a sum of all offenses, which includes your scripting violations.

For posterity, I'll use myself and be fully transparent that I know I've been caught afk scripting 3 times in my character's lifespan/history. With the last one being 2014/2015 if memory serves me correct.

You've been warned 3 times on the character Tysong. You haven't been flagged as a high maintenance customer. You're not being monitored for vulgarity. You've last read the policy in full on Wed Jul 19 17:56:00 ET 2017.

So based on that messaging, due to the timestamped tracking being recent, it doesn't show my scripting violation. But it does say I've been warned 3 times. Which I take it would be those 3 scripting violations. Just trying to clarify the output possibilities of the messaging. Thanks.

Can you add a START DATE on there too please, going by when the character exited the mangler?

E.g. NAME was created on MM/DD/YYYY. You've been warned 12 times on the character NAME. You haven't been flagged as a high maintenance customer. You're not being monitored for vulgarity. You haven't read the policy in full.

I feel like such an under-achiever: Krakii's the only one of my actually-played characters who has a Warning, and at that only a single.

"The one where you did [blank]? Yeah, it's still on my list." -- Wyrom

That's the one.

Should I continue not-doing it, in anticipation of it becoming prohibited?
(As an alternative, I'd be happy to make hay while the sun shines, because I could use some levels...)

>>>>Can you add a START DATE on there too please, going by when the character exited the mangler?

>>Hmm. Yeah, let me see what I can do there. Good suggestion.

I like that idea, but recall there was some trouble with getting date you started playing, but first date of premium is recorded.

Ideal would have been to have had it coded into the PIN.



Clunk

(Buy your swords at CBD weapons in Zul Logoth.)

<and added "Threatening violence, using hate speech, and engaging in any sort of personal harassment shall be grounds for immediate account termination, regardless of if it happening in or out of game." to General Behavior.>


Elves are naethin but a bunch of snotty, droolin, pointy-eared giants good fer naething but fryin they fingers ta be dipped in ranch dressin an enjoyed at a play. ::flees::


Starchitin, the OG

A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.

I like the new update . but there is no way this is correct with the mouth that i have both in-game and IRL

>policy review
You've been warned 5 times on the character Hoodtralfeck. You haven't been flagged as a high maintenance customer. You're not being monitored for vulgarity. You've last read the policy in full on Sun Nov 20 23:41:34 ET 2016.

It has got to be ALOT more then that . I think I was able to sweet-talk or Bull(**)my way out of at least 5 times . This number should be double what it is . I feel like im slacking seeing other people with 12 and up

>>So Wyrom, did you anticipate that you'd have players arguing that the numbers were too LOW?

Heh! Today's standards are you always are talked to if you're getting an official warning. If you're AFK scripting, you're left in limbo, but that's really the only case where you might not know you were talked to.

I can't speak of any practices where you may have been warned and never knew about it. Is it possible? Sure.

Now some people may think you're being warned if you're soaped, a GM [SEND] tells you to watch the language, or an automated system response fires off, but those are mostly nudges. An official warning gives a specific message.

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Wyrom, PM

<So Wyrom, did you anticipate that you'd have players arguing that the numbers were too LOW?>

It is shedding light on some misconceptions about warnings and such.

However, my messed up sense of humor saw certain people treating it like FAME and seeing who could rack up the most warnings, using Lich to create a policy list similar to the FAME list.

On an unrelated note, I would almost pay for a couple folk from the past come back for a month just to see what it said in their POLICY REVIEW....


Starchitin, the OG

A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.

"An official warning gives a specific message." -- Wyrom

I have an extremely clear recollection of having created a file names "warntext.txt", specifically so that I had it to refer to, but I'm hanged if I can locate the darn thing. <mutter>

Fortunately, since at one point I needed the text for putting together a bridal gift--this one time, when I was Maid of Honor--I was able to look up the text of the Warning that I had GM Mitra send me.

---

**********************************************************


Mitra, this is an official warning that Sexually Explicit Language is against policy in GemStone III.
[Mitra, this is your SECOND official warning, that Sexually Explicit Language is against GemStone III policy. Further warnings could result in your being temporarily locked out of the game.]

You can review GS3 policy by going to page 931, option 2, "GemStone Policy Information."
[You can review Simutronics Policy by clicking on "POLICY" which is located in the frame on the left side of your screen while in any non-game area of the Simutronics Web Site.]

If you feel this warning was received in error, please speak to a GameMaster by typing ASSIST.

You can also get official GemStone III policy information online by typing "POLICY" now.

*

**********************************************************

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Uhhhh... it looks like this was still on Genie, given the reference to page 931. <cough>

>> possible START DATE addition to policy/whatever things...

Would this be from the very, very, VERY start of a character's life, or just from the last time they left the mangler fresh?

(aka, I started Cylnthia as a bard, but rerolled her into a warrior later, and then converted to a paladin even later... where would the 'start date' start from, in that case?)

In any form, I would love to see when I actually started most/all my characters!

~Cylnthia Kythnis Ardenai
~Paragon of Kuon
~Rose Guardian, House Sylvanfair

so in checking on a character that i purchased, i find 3 policy warnings. Is there a way for me to find out what those warnings were for, and when they occurred?

So... uh... are we no longer politely pretending characters never change hands?

Asking for a friend.

>>So... uh... are we no longer politely pretending characters never change hands?

I'll answer this part. No, we're not pretending. We're not oblivious that it happens. There are some things to keep in mind though. Warnings follow the player(s), not just the account. If the previous owner gets a new warning, it can have an effect on the new owner. If you have more than one account that are all clean of warnings and pick up a new character that has 3 warnings in the current year, you have effectively placed 3 warnings on all of your accounts.

With the above in mind, we do try to be as fair as possible when considering account history. You just run the risk of taking on some poor records when you do it. You can also get involved in a lockout when the previous owner gets locked out.

Hopefully that helps with any misunderstandings there.

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Wyrom, PM

What is high maintenance customer (HMC)?

<What is high maintenance customer (HMC)?>


GemStone IV Player Policy: High Maintenance Guests

In certain situations, the overall pattern of behavior on an account or a set of linked accounts may be determined to be disruptive or abusive, even if not one single act clearly violates any specific policy.

Simutronics reserves the right to determine what patterns of behavior are defined as "high-maintenance" or "disruptive" and may take action against the account(s). High maintenance customers (HMC) will be consulted on a case-by-case scenario.

High maintenance customers (HMC) can become locked out for the following activities:
* Continued disruptive behavior in game, on the forums, or on the wiki.
* Any in-game violation of policy or forum violation beyond a notification.
* High volume of assists, reports, and emails.

HMC status may also hinder the ability of getting timely assistance and responses from both onsite and offsite staff. HMC cannot hold a position of leadership such as an officer in an MHO, CHE, or other GM maintained group. They cannot be mentors, GameHosts, GameMaster, or any form of moderator.

Once a player is flagged as HMC, it is a permanent decision on all linked accounts, even if the account transfers hands.