the rest

rules/rules.md

@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+
+---
+
 ## Rule 0: Admin Authority
 
 Admins and Above retain the authority to ignore or alter the enforcement of specific rules at their discretion should they feel it is in the best interest of the current round, the server or the player base at large. In the absence of an Admin or higher ranking member of staff, Moderators may exercise this power following their own chain of authority. Any use of Rule 0 holds it’s user fully accountable for the actions taken due to their change of the rulings.
@@ -10,6 +13,8 @@ Rules are enforced as intended. Every example of a rule break cannot be defined
 
 If a staff member gives you an instruction or makes a ruling, do not argue with the staff member and follow the instruction/accept the ruling. You may file a staff report on the forums or take it up with their manager directly if you do not agree with the decision made after the round ends. Arguing with a staff member may lead to you being punished. Staff members are volunteers and will not tolerate toxicity or hostility during the course of their duties.
 
+---
+
 ## Rule 1: No Erotic Role Play (ERP), erotic content, or 18+ sexual content
 
 Roleplay intended to elicit a sexual response from the receiver(s), including but not limited to writing stories (WGW) or posting links to adult content. Doing so will almost always result in an instant permaban from our server. However, these actions could still be susceptible to Marine Law. A good rule of thumb for whether an interaction crosses this line would be to consider if the action would be allowed in a PG-13 rated movie in the USA.
@@ -27,6 +32,8 @@ If you are not sure whether something you wish to say or do is okay, AHelp first
 #### Euphemisms 
 - Euphemisms that also have a sexual meaning are allowed in non-sexual contexts. Common terms or phrases like "Suck my dick" are fine, as long as saying such is not a literal invitation or solicitation to do so.
 
+---
+
 ## Rule 2: Roleplay
 
 CM-SS13 is intended to be a Medium Roleplay server. Play a reasonably realistic character. Treat your character as a separate entity from you, the player. Your character's actions, feelings, and knowledge in-game should be based solely on the character's experiences and not your own as the player. Low roleplay actions that have no regard for your character or the setting (Memes, silly copypaste spam IC) are not acceptable. Character development can occur over rounds but each round is a soft-reset, meaning you can have previous mission experience but your character will never have died or fled the ship in the past. Follow the Roleplay Standards.
@@ -116,4 +123,267 @@ Spamming chat (Local or Radio) with non-english characters, symbols or other gib
 - The USCM does not hold any information about these beings, meaning each contact is unknown regarding them. 
 - Predator Honor Code breaches are handled by the Predator Whitelist Council, who can be contacted on Discord or through Player Reports.
 
+---
+
+## Rule 4: No griefing
+
+Griefing is the intent of one player wanting to cause grief or annoyance to other players or the server without a valid roleplay reason. If Staff believes that the player’s intent is to grief, then action will be taken whether or not it was the player’s intent. Any damage to the station or players caused by griefing can be repaired at an Admin's discretion. If you are being griefed, don’t retaliate - Adminhelp it and you’ll get healed. Shooting a griefer can cause you to get in trouble as well, and the combat logs you’re generating make it harder for Staff to prove who the real griefer is.
+
+### Typical Griefing
+
+- Shooting up medbay at round start.
+- Deliberately OBing the marine frontline.
+
+### End of Round Grief (EORG)
+
+- End of Round Grief (EORG) is fighting and generating any combat logs with friendly players after the round ends and is an immediate 3-hour ban without warning. Exceptions are between normal enemies, such as Marines and Aliens, Marines and UPP, etc.
+    - This includes suicide at the end of the round without a valid RP reason.
+
+---
+
+## Rule 5: Mechanical Exploits
+
+Do not abuse bugs or unintended features to gain an unfair advantage for yourself or your team.
+
+### Marine Exploits
+
+Not Exploits:
+- A standard marine deconstructing a wall.
+
+Exploits:
+- A standard marine creating Ordnance Tech Grenades or Explosives.
+- An Ordnance Tech stacking multiple C4 on one entity or object.
+- A Specialist not selecting a kit, allowing them to use multiple existing kits.
+- Stacking mini turrets and M56Ds.
+
+### Alien Exploits
+
+Not Exploits:
+- Using fuel tanks as explosive traps by acid spitting.
+
+Exploits:
+- Banishing xenos on the Almayer so they can be killed for free larva.
+- Banishing AFK xenos to reclaim larva.
+- Walling off bodies to they cannot be recovered/revived.
+    - Where bodies fall within natural defense lines this is acceptable.
+
+---
+
+## Rule 6: No Metagaming or Metacommunication
+
+Acting upon knowledge your character would not have or providing unknowable information to another player. Should you be in a voice call with other players, you are still expected to relay information through IC channels (talking, radio, etc) to preserve in-game roleplay. IC information should not be posted to any public location where other parties can be given an advantage. Any form of cheating via metacomms will result in a permaban. All public chat on the CM Discord should refrain from talking about any ongoing round information until the round ends.
+
+### Metagaming
+
+Not Metagaming:
+- Xenos destroying colony assets prior to Marine landing, such as APCs, lights, vendors, etc.
+- Xenos & Marines building traps to catch and kill the other side.
+- Marines killing themselves after becoming infected or captured by the Xenos.
+
+Metagaming: 
+- Wordlessly following a friend around without having any IC communications or interactions.
+- Building defenses on the ship before a hostile force is en route.
+- Xenos sitting next to the dropship landing pad to attack right as the Marines open the doors.
+- Xenos melting every colony wall in a specific location to remove a building/defensive point.
+- Killing small hosts as survivor before marines land.
+    - This is explicitly a rulebreak exclusively due to the extensive impact this has on roundstart balance.
+- Surrounding a comms tower entirely with reinforced walls to prevent Xenos attacking it without T3s.
+    - Walls can be used to cover most of the tower, however there must remain access for other xenos IE barricades.
+
+### Metacommunication
+
+Not Metacommunication: 
+- Teaching someone how to play the game and various mechanics through Voicechat, LOOC or other external communication methods.
+
+Metacommunication: 
+- Telling someone where the enemy are, event details or other In-Character information, that would otherwise be inaccessible, through Voicechat, LOOC or other external communication methods.
+
+---
+
+## Rule 7: No Ban Evading / Multi-Keying
+
+Logging in with different accounts at different times, logging in with another account because you died (or were banned), or logging into two separate accounts at the same time. If you have multiple accounts tied to CM-SS13, please ahelp regarding them. Players caught breaking this rule may receive permabans from the server.
+
+Q: Can I use a VPN?
+A: Yes, the use of VPNs is not forbidden, however you may become captured in other people's bans.
+
+Q: Can other people play at my house?
+A: Yes, but please ahelp beforehand so staff are aware and can make a note of it. Your account is held responsible if someone other than you physically plays on your account and violates any of our rules. "My little brother did it, or my friend did it." are not valid excuses or justification.
+
+Q: Can I change my ckey?
+A: You can create a new account at your discretion, but you will need to ahelp ingame with both accounts to transfer your notes and bans. Failure to do this you may result in a ban. Changing your ckey will mean you will not be allowed to use your previous account. Doing so may result in a ban.
+
+---
+
+## Rule 8: Suicide, Rage-Quitting, and Logging off
+
+If you are a marine and need to leave the game, go to Cryo on the ship and put yourself in a cryotube. This will release your job slot and allow another player to join with your job. If you are unable to get to cryo, send an Adminhelp to staff. If you are the Queen, Adminhelp to let staff know. If you leave without cryo-ing yourself or informing staff, you risk a job ban, especially if your job is an important one. Suicide is permitted if you have a reasonable roleplay reason why, such as you are infected with a xenomorph and there is no hope of rescue, or you are the last xenomorph alive and there is no queen. Committing suicide without a valid reason will result in a ban and/or jobban.
+
+### Ghosting and Logging Out
+
+Some roles carry the risk of punishment for logging out or ghosting without notice. This is particularly strict at the start of the round (roughly the first 20 minutes)
+
+#### High Risk Roles
+
+These are some example roles that are likely to be punished for logging out/ghosting without notice.
+
+- Executive Officer
+- Squad Specialist
+- Queen
+
+#### Medium Risk Roles
+
+These are some example roles that might be punished for logging out/ghosting without notice.
+
+- Requisitions Officer
+- Cargo Technician
+- Doctor
+- Xeno
+
+#### Low Risk Roles
+
+These are some example roles that are unlikely to be punished for logging out/ghosting without notice.
+
+- Squad Marine
+- Maintenance Technician
+
+### Suicide
+
+#### Mid-Round Suicide
+
+Suicide in the round is to be limited to critical situations. For example:
+- When you have been abandoned on the Colony after Evacuation.
+- When Xenos are confirmed to have hijacked the shuttle and are inbound.
+- When you are infected and have little to no chance of being saved.
+
+#### Round-End Suicide
+
+Suicide at the end of the round is usually considered EORG and will land an automatic 3 hour ban.
+
+## Rule 9: Character names
+
+Use a reasonable, unique, lore-friendly character name that has a first name and surname. Short reasonable nicknames are allowed inside the name (e.g. Derek 'Double-D' Donahue, Jane 'Crusher' Sanchez). Other character names should not be used, this includes ckeys. Nicknames should not be considered a meme. Nicknames should also not be slurs, 18+ content, etc... You may be a sibling or cousin of another player's character, however you cannot play another player's character unless it's part of a staff event. References can be made to characters in the Official CM-SS13 lore. Xenomorph prefixs should not be 18+ or slurs as well. Staff retain rights to make the final judgement if a name or Xenomorph prefix is acceptable or unacceptable.
+
+- Ranked, titled, honorific, offensive, famous and pop-culture names are not allowed
+- Roman numerals may be used, but should not be excessive.
+- Nicknames should not be written in all Caps Lock
+- Nicknames should at the maximum contain two words.
+
+### Acceptable names
+
+- Arthur Walker
+- Jeremy Bennett
+- Becky Jones
+
+### Unacceptable names
+
+- Adolf Hitler
+- Vladimir Putin
+- Donald Trump
+- Johnny 'Nazi' Johnson
+- Mike Rotch
+- David Weyland
+- Ellen Ripley
+- DIK
+- XIG
+- Names that are sexual puns/references of banned words/topics.
+
+### Exceptions
+
+A name comprised of extremely common names (I.E John Williams) can be excused for being shared with someone otherwise forbidden, provided the player is not attempting to play as the linked person.
+
+### Xeno names
+
+Xeno names cannot be 18+ related, slurs, or abbreviations of other banned words.
+
+---
+
+## Rule 10: Lethal Force
+
+Do not attack another player without a legitimate, explainable roleplay reason that could be applied in a similar, real-life scenario. A fist fight does not suddenly escalate into a gun fight. Should one defend themselves from grief or improper escalation, the staff handling the matter decides if a punishment is given out and to who. Staff may also decide to leave things in character. Even if you are justified, you are still susceptible to Marine Law.
+
+### Escalation
+
+- Fists/General melee
+- Knives/Dangerous melee
+- Lethal Weapons
+- If at any point combat is disengaged and both parties leave the area, you cannot skip escalation and plunge back into a fight. What's done is done.
+
+### Exceptional Circumstances
+
+Some Exceptional Circumstances exist that give cause to bypass typical escalation. These include, but are not limited to the following situations:
+- There is one evac pod left and four people are trying to board it. The Hive is closing in on you, in desperation you kill the marine in front of you to take their place.
+- You are on the frontlines, another marine is enraged at you because you took one of his ammo magazines. You're engaged in a furious battle with the approaching hive and the fellow marine is attempting to disarm and tackle you to the ground. With no barricades around you, and no safe area to take cover within, you shoot the marine.
+
+### Injury & Risk to Life
+
+In cases where there is a serious threat to life, such as being punched to the borders of crit, escalation in the linear sense does not apply. The most important part of escalation is appropriate force, this means that you use an appropriate amount of force to the situation. For example:
+- Being punched twice on full health is not a serious threat to your life. It would not warrant you throwing hell to the wind and blasting away your comrades.
+- Being punched twice after already being critically injured can be seen as a risk to your life, and you can take appropriate action. This is subject to circumstances however and not a greenlight for any situation.
+
+---
+
+## Rule 11: Marine Law
+
+#### Malicious Compliance
+- Malicious Compliance with IC Military Law to impose excessive punishments, make an arrest on a technicality of someone non-disruptive and acting in good faith, or causing intentional delays in processing, release or appeals will fall under rule 3, Community Expectations and are actionable.
+- Malicious Compliance does not apply in any case where IC or OOC provocation is present. (For example, following and taunting/threatening a player, engaging in mundane, but disruptive actions and continuing when asked or told to stop, etc)
+- Malicious Compliance is determined by Staff and reviewed by Management/Head Staff where necessary.
+
+#### Mandatory Obedience
+The following roles are required to follow Marine Law by the server rules. Breaking Marine Law may result in jobbans or further consequences.
+- All Military Police roles
+- Senior Enlisted Advisor
+- USCM Synthetics
+
+#### Exceptions
+- Military Police may ignore Minor Crimes unless ordered to enforce them, but they may not ignore Major or Capital Crimes.
+- Survivor Synthetics are not forced to follow Marine Law, dependent on their chosen alignment (Colony/Survivors/USCM/WY etc.)
+- Marine Law can be broken when necessary to preserve the lives and safety of others.
+
+### Mutinities
+
+Mutinies must be Adminhelped by a chosen leader stating the reasoning and the players directly involved. There must be at least 5 members. with MPs not eligible to mutiny.
+
+- If the mutiny does not have a valid reason, it can't happen.
+    - Staff reserve the right to grant or deny mutinies, and to decide if the reason given is sufficient.
+- Mutiny cannot occur during hijack, and any ongoing mutiny must be ended upon hijack.
+- Only the Acting Commander can be mutinied against for their decisions, actions, or inactions. They must be given a chance to stand down peacefully.
+- During the mutiny, attacking any uninvolved, medical, or surrendered personnel is strictly forbidden, as is perma-killing anyone involved. If you have surrendered during a mutiny, you must remain as such.
+    - Once you have picked a side, it is permanent. No take-backs unless you surrender.
+- Once concluded, all sides must be given medical treatment. Only a Major or higher is able to deny treatment or battlefield execute specific mutineers.
+- Mutinies must have 5 members minimum.
+    - Roles bound to follow Marine Law through Mandatory Obedience are unable to mutiny.
+        - The USCM Synthetic is not required to aid Command in a Mutiny situation if this would put themselves at high risk, however their choice to help or not is binding, and they are unable to change their mind afterwards.
+
+#### Valid Roleplay Reasons
+
+- Commander is thoroughly incompetent, an ineffective leader and the next person in line would be a better leader.
+- Commander is generally noncommunicative and make no effort to lead.
+- Commander is refusing evacuation, either of the AO or ship during hijack
+
+#### Invalid Roleplay Reasons
+
+- Xenos achieved an early or relatively easy victory, outside the control of command.
+- MPs have arrested your specialist.
+
+#### Evacuation Mutinies
+
+- This applies to both the field and the ship during hijack.
+- This is the only permitted mutiny during hijack.
+- AO evacuation refusal requires 5 people to mutiny as there may be reasons beyond the knowledge of one person.
+- Ship evacuation refusal may be mutinied by a single person.
+    - MPs are not required to help the Commander in this mutiny, and may join/aide/start the mutiny themselves.
+    - Ship evacuation mutinies do not REQUIRE ahelps, however it is recommended to ahelp before or after to make intentions known to staff.
+- Ship evacuation refusal mutinies must provide at least one chance for the Commander to authorise evacuation, and must use minimum force to succeed.
+    - No terminating the entire CIC because the Commander doesn't want to evacuate.
+
+---
+
+## Rules Clarification
+
+In most cases, the management team releases rulings on borderline/questionable rule breaks and releases them as rule clarification. These are generally not meant to be read all in one go but should be relied upon to check what isn't or is allowed if you are about to do it.
 
+The wiki & main Colonial Marines discord both contain a repository for these rule clarifications, that allow a player to understand if something borderline (in terms of rules) is allowed or not. So it's recommended:
+- If the main colonial marine discord is easily accessible to you, you frequently check the [#rule-clarification](https://discord.com/channels/150315577943130112/799876013680492544) channel for new & singular historic rulings.
+- You use the wiki page - [Rules Clarification](https://cm-ss13.com/wiki/Rules_Clarification) - for viewing long-standing rulings with quality of life improvements over the standard discord formatting.