PLAY NICE, BOYS AND GIRLS… [Author: wirehead]
This was posted on an EQ dev board.
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Play Nice Policies: A revision to the GM/Guide FAQ and Rules of Conduct.
Kill Stealing will now be regarded as disruption and will result in disciplinary action when witnessed by any GM or Guide. The GM or Guide will review these situations on an individual basis and issue a decision which is considered binding upon all parties involved. This may include a requirement to depart the immediate zone or spawn area. Kill Stealing is defined as attacking an NPC with the intent to deprive another player or group of the experience or loot from that NPC. This practice commonly occurs in popular spawn areas. In these instances, the player or group who was first on the scene will have the rights to the kill. Players are encouraged to cooperate in these situations!
Intentional Training of NPC’s and PvP Switch Avoidance will result in immediate disciplinary action when witnessed by a GM or Guide. We are aware that accidents often happen causing unintentional Trains, and will scrutinize each report of this activity closely.
Fraud in all transactions between players will result in disciplinary action when confirmed by a GM. An example of this activity would be offering to recover the possessions from the corpse of another player, and refusing to return that property to it’s owner. Secure Trade Window Circumvention involving the sale of items in-game between players will also be prohibited and punishable under this rule.
The definition of Harassment will be expanded to include any use of any functionality to harm or otherwise inconvenience another player. An example of this would be dispelling another player’s protective spells without his consent. As always, measures will be taken in game code to prevent these activities.
Yielding the Right of Way is an issue where players choose to camp spawn sites (usually for treasure) where the monsters do not provide experience. This problem is initially being addressed in a broad plan involving changes to popular spawn areas and the inclusion of new quests. If and when we are comfortable with the success of these changes, we will consider the implementation of the Yield rule. This will require higher-level players or groups to yield to lower-level players in any situation where the NPC’s being fought consider green to the higher-level players. Due to the controversial nature of this issue, we will be conducting a comprehensive poll on this specific subject.
In the PvP+ environment, several issues will now be included in the definition of harassment. Bind Point Camping, or the practice of killing a player multiple times at his or her bind point. Corpse Camping, in which players lie in wait (often invisible or hidden) to kill another player who is returning to loot their corpse after a death. Zone Border Camping, which occurs when players attack other players before they obtain control of their character after crossing a zone boundary.
Disciplinary issues involving guilds will also be addressed on a broader basis. Guilds whose members habitually violate any of the Rules of Conduct may be disbanded. In addition, Monopolizing numerous spawn areas with the intent to exclude other players will not be permitted. If investigated and verified by a GM, Monopolizing will result in the disbanding of the guild.
I will paraphrase from the current GM/Guide FAQ as a reminder for anyone who may not be familiar with our responsibilities as they relate to the enforcement of our customer service policies. Verant GM Administrators review records of disciplinary incidents on a daily basis. Action is taken based on the severity and nature of the offense, and/or the number of warnings issued to the customer. These
actions may include but are not limited to, temporary suspension or permanent banning from the game. Be advised that you may not receive any notification or warnings, in-game or otherwise, prior to disciplinary action being taken against your account.
As an additional note, please be aware that the /report command is to be used in conjunction with the /petition function for players to inform us of violations of the Rules of Conduct in all issues related to verbal harassment or threats and offensive language. After executing the /report command in one of these situations, remember to follow up with a /petition so that the situation can be promptly addressed.
We will be using the polling function of the Chat Server to gather your opinions on these subjects, and determine what issues are most important to you as EverQuest players. Implementation of the Play Nice Policies, in whole or in part, will be made contingent upon that determination. You will see an official notice on the patch server
message and at www.everquest.com prior to the enforcement of these policies. Until that time, the standard policies will remain in effect.
Although you’re in OUR world now, YOU are the characters whose lives and stories make EverQuest what it is today. You are the most important part of our world. We will continue to improve our policies and service to provide you with the best online gaming experience possible.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this. From myself, the
GM’s and Guides, and everyone in the EverQuest Customer Service Department, have fun and Play Nice!!!
-Jeff Butler
Lead GM EverQuest
Customer Service Manager
Verant Interactive, Inc.