News/Policy

This page contains information that can be found in the game's +news files, including important information about game policies, as well as items regarding courtesy and etiquette and other assorted tidbits that make the RP world go smoothly 'round.

Even though we play in a fantasy environment, we expect and enforce a measure of realism in regard to age and experience. We do not have sixteen year old proteges who are able to defeat those of the same general sphere of study, but older. There are no superhuman sixteen year old swordsmen defeating those who are twenty-two, for example. We also have general rankings of novice, apprentice, journeyman, and master in areas such as alchemy, healing, magery, or swordplay, and these have age limits about which we are not very flexible.

Crossroads has a a few specific policies regarding alternative characters (alts). Players who have historic exceptions to these policies before they were enacted will be able to maintain their multiple characters, but may not expect to replace them with a new alt of the same nature if one dies/is retired/etc.

1.Players may only have one mage each.

2.Players may only create one land-holding noble. A second is acceptable only when earned through RP, either by Marriage or by inheritance through the death of the current holder. If there is no current PC landholder, a player cannot apply to 'inherit'; they can only app in as an inheritor/sibling if there is already a PC in charge of that land. Note: it is never acceptable to have two landholding nobles in the same dukedom, no matter the circumstance.

In circumstances where players have more than one alt, we vest in players the trust of responsible behavior. There are two main classes of alt abuse that can take place on the game: Inside information and conflict of interests.

• Inside information: Inside information is defined as sharing information between two (or more) of your own characters. This would include both manipulating another player's character into bringing this information to your alt as well as OOC information that you may gather by any means. If you gain information that concerns one of your alts through another PC (player character), and think that the alt receiving this information would react to this information, then you must be able to provide a log to staff showing how you acquired this information. In most cases, it is highly recommended that your characters do not know the others exist. If this is unavoidable, then they should recuse themselves from any situation where an opinion or recommendation for action would be offered to another PC.

Some examples of inside information are as follows:

Alt A (Betty) is in the tavern and learns gossip about Alt B (Suzy). Betty cannot try to influence other characters opinions of Suzy; Betty cannot tell a third party PC that they should tell Suzy what was said about them; Suzy should not get a sudden whim to enter the tavern, having heard the gossip for herself by 'being outside the door', and start up a brawl with the gossiper. In this situation, it is best to just ignore the gossip about Suzy completely.

Alt A (Joe) gets punched by Alt B's (Eric) younger brother. Joe cannot tell Eric about the incident directly or by intentionally sending another PC to inform Eric.

• Conflict of Interest: Conflict of Interest is defined as using one alt to unduly benefit another alt, or to use one of your alts to get revenge/punish/force through power the actions of a third party PC. In these situations, we must all rely on a healthy amount of common sense to dictate what is appropriate behavior and what is not. Again, it's always best that your alts know only minimal information like name or title about your other alts.

Some examples of Conflict of Interest:

Alt A (Bob) is caught in a crime and accused of treason. Alt B (Jeremy) is on the high noble council that is going to hear the cast. Jeremy cannot try to sway the votes of the council. This would be a good time for Jeremy to suddenly get called back to his lands and send an advocate to listen to the trial on his behalf.

Alt A (Darren) is trying to woo the innocent Baron's daughter, Lisa. Alt B (Carmen) is Lisa's older brother and Darren's friend. Alt B cannot berate Lisa for turning down Darren's advances or try to arrange a marriage or dates for Lisa and Darren. A character in power should /never/ try to use his or her power to order a third party PC to favor an alt.

Alt A (Elizabeth) loses a bet to Missy, and Elizabeth has to streak through the village at midnight. James, the man that happens to be trying to woo Elizabeth sees her in her streaking glory and dumps her. Alt B (Mark) hears of the bet through James. Mark thinks it was an inappropriate wager, so he informs the guard to have Missy arrested for either something true or fictional to 'get back' at Missy for causing Elizabeth strife.

This is not an exhaustive list by far, and again common sense is a large factor in these situations. If you have even a small internal nudge that you are assisting an alt, then it is likely an inappropriate alt conflict that should be avoided.

If it is unavoidable that you must make a determination in a situation involving your alt (ex: Your child character gets hit in the head by a flying mug in the tavern and your alt happens to be the only healer on, and the tavern keeper brings your child alt to the infirmary.) Contact admin immediately to explain your intentions to deal with your alt. If no admin are on, log the scene and submit a +ticket explaining your situation. If your actions are reasonable, in theme, and consistent with your character's personality, there will likely be no issue. If you are caught abusing alt policies, admin will address the issue as soon as it is reported to us. Consequences can vary from simple warnings to losing feature characters or restricting the number of alts for probationary periods or even permanently. Repeated violation of alt conflict rules can result in having your privilege of playing on Crossroads revoked. Occasional exceptions in support of tinyplots may be given by admin. However, these exceptions will be narrow in scope, covering specific scenes or relationships, and should never be a blanket permission to repeatedly violate these stated rules with the 'exception' character.

It is against Crossroads' policy to reveal anyone's alts but your own. In the same manner, to reveal the player behind a character and their alts is not allowed. Obviously we can't tell if you personally have a good guess, or know for a fact who someone is, but the moment you start discussing it with other players, it becomes a problem that admin will take very seriously.

One major goal of Crossroads is to make sure that people have ample opportunity to role play with other characters. In our building of the grid we have continued to ask the question: "Will this set-up encourage or distract from RP?" These are the general guidelines for personal rooms and living quarters on the grid. If you want any type of exception, you must be able to prove why you should ICly be the exception. Use the +request system to get approval. Please keep in mind that any rejection of your exception is nothing personal, but a simple evaluation of our theme and your character circumstances. We will try to maintain that exceptions are truly exceptions.

(Placeholder for Bastien's sanity: More information will go here regarding the submission of build projects, including what sort of information staff would like to see before an approval is given.)

Crossroads has an extensive list of channels that cover a variety of topics and are great for socializing with fellow players. Listed below are a few guidelines to keep in mind when using channels:

• Channels are not a place for bashing other people's poses, characters, or the players behind the keyboard. We are all adults, but it can be easy to pack together when one person starts with a disdainful comment, and quickly descend to spreading dislike. Channels are a place for socialization, but when that socialization turns destructive toward a player, character, or the game, we're going to step in. It is not acceptable.

• Channels are not the place to become a Woe Virus. Everyone may have the occasional (or frequent!) problem with IC, OOC, or RL, but channels are not the place to be bemoaning this at length. If it's a game problem then drop a +request to staff. If it's something else we recommend keeping it in pages to close friends rather than spamming a channel.

• Faction channel membership should be kept to characters who are in or who have a significant tie to that faction. 'Significant ties' means a character is sworn into that faction, has been born or raised in that faction, is an initiate into the faction, or has some other major tie that binds them to the faction. This is left to faction head discretion. At any time a faction head can ask someone to leave a faction channel. If you're not certain about whether or not it's appropriate that one of your characters have membership to a certain channel, ask the faction head or staff member responsible for overseeing the channel.

• Unless specifically stated otherwise, all channels are strictly OOC. Players may sometimes chat in the habit or voice of their character, but nothing on channel is IC, nor should it be taken as IC.

• If in doubt about the appropriateness of the content of a specific conversation, consider whether or not you'd want to be a new player on the game listening to the conversation. Specifically, conversation on the Newbie and Public channels is held to a higher standard than others. For the Raunchy channel, add at your own risk and remember that it's 18+-Adults-Only.

For those of you that are kids at heart, Crossroads does encourage the playing of child characters if a few things are kept in mind. Here are a few tips or hints if you decide to bring a child on to the game.

First of all, the village on the main island is not very large. It's the type of small town atmosphere where people just know other people and have known them for years. It's a common philosophy that it really does take a village to raise a child. Because of that mentality, if a shopkeeper sees you being kind to someone on the street or equally causing a world of trouble, they may take matters into their own hands. For kindness, an apple from their cart or a promise to tell your parents that you were a shining example of citizenship. For mischief, it's not uncommon to get scolded, spanked or brought right to your parents who may repeat the same actions as the shopkeeper for having embarrassed them or the family name. Children played on the game should at least respect the authority of the adults for the potential to make your character's life miserable if they choose to do so. No one wants to play off of a child character that spits at their character, stomps on their foot, and then after being disciplined just spits in their face again.

Children are not powerful characters. If they have magic, then it should be limited and frequently cast wrong. If they are a budding alchemist, they should likely mix up ingredients, read the potion making instructions wrong, not have the patience to wait the week it takes to brew the mixture, etc. Farmer's kids should be a little rough on manners or accidentally throw out all of the good apples instead of the bad. Children that are planning to be fighters may be clumsy or prone to injury for trying out things they aren't ready for. Enjoy being young with your child and use errors as a way to grow the child into a teen or adult with a great deal of depth.

Children tend to be rather resilient, playful, curious and unrefined. Don't be afraid to play these aspects. Role play can be stimulated just by having a child walk into an occupied shop and asking the shopkeep question after question or asking them to show a few trade secrets. Give the guard something to play by swiping a piece of fruit from the farmer's market where they might see you. Set up a 'bad guy' trap in an alley on delivery day. No matter what you do (or no matter what the adult does to you), just try to have your child rebound pretty quickly. Corporal punishment is the norm for this day and age, so if your character gets spanked, do not have them go into some catatonic state where they will never recover. Let them learn a lesson that will change them a little bit (even if marginally) for the next time they get a grand idea.

Please keep in mind that not everyone wants to play off of a child character, and some characters just do not ICly like children. Don't take it personally!

The biggest advice that can be offered is to at least talk to admin about people that may be looking for children to be part of their IC family. It will be a much more fun experience if you have parents or a guardian to help teach and mold your character.

Consent: To give assent, as to the proposal of another; to agree.

Crossroads MUSH operates under a limited consent policy: In Character Action = In Character Consequences. This means that you should expect any action you character takes to be met with reasonable consequences.

In situations in which IC conflict must be resolved, whatever individual players decide between themselves is fine. You can always figure things out amongst yourselves without choosing to involve a member of the staff. This section intends to outline the game's general policy concerning the resolution of conflict, which staff will adhere to when dealing with issues that come up.

The following points apply to consent at Crossroads:

• Communication between players is extremely important. Staff cannot stress this enough. If something does not make sense to you or you think your character would understand something that you do not, ask the people you are playing with, or the staff. It's perfectly acceptable to ask for clarification.

• By making a character at Crossroads you are agreeing to allow other players and staff to alter your character's storyline. Consequently, things may not happen to your character exactly as you would otherwise plan them. Players do not need to get the permission of other players to initiate or react to conflict. In many cases it may be the respectful thing to do and players may want to work details out between themselves, but it is not necessary.

• Certain positions inherit a heightened expectation of risk by dint of their very title. All faction heads, nobles (lord, baron, duke, Imperial) and certain political positions (chamberlain, chancellor, specific families, etc.) consent to the possibility of other players seeking to harm them, their families, lands, positions, etc. These storylines will not always be under your control (see the section on Intrigue) and it is also possible that noble positions can be stripped through IC play. If you are not comfortable with this possibility then these positions may not be the right fit for you.

• Should you find yourself in a situation that will affect the long term playability of your character (death, exile, dismemberment, etc.), staff will consult with you in an effort to find an agreeable outcome to the situation. However, the circumstances that got your character into that situation will be taken into consideration when determining the consequences and there may be some situations where this consultation will not change the end result. For example: getting caught attempting to assassinate the Emperor or other characters of significant power (political or illegal in nature) will likely result in your character's death.

• Each player's level of tolerance and interest varies. If you find yourself in a situation that offends you it is your responsibility to remove yourself from it. It is always acceptable to ask to Fade to Black (FTB) for scenes that you do not want to play out. This does not mean the scene does not happen. Example: you're suspected of treason and a knight is going to torture you, but you feel uncomfortable with playing out the details of a violent or bloody scene. You can assume the scene happened without having to role-play the actual torture. Conversely, please respect other players who wish to FTB.

• Respect for the theme and other players are the keys to enjoying the game. There will be a low tolerance and a dim view taken of those players that attempt to use consent as an excuse to avoid the consequences of their RP/IC decisions. No-consenting a situation just because you do not OOCly like the outcome is unacceptable. We understand that some consequences may be unpleasant for your character, but just as in life, overcoming difficulties is usually what gives us personal growth and character. The same is true for your PC.

• Bad things may happen to your character, but that does not mean the players involved dislike you, the player. If you feel like someone is acting against your character because they have an OOC issue with you, you should contact staff. Staff may not be able to tell you what that player is plotting but they will generally be able to verify the reasoning behind the action.

• It is important that everyone remembers we are all here to have a good time! When players want everyone around them to enjoy their playtime as much as we all want to enjoy our own, there is typically no situation in which some compromise and rewarding path of RP can't be found for everyone involved.

• If you are having problems resolving issues of consent, please do not hesitate to contact staff and we will help you work things out. Please submit a ticket if you have questions about your options concerning consent for a storyline, a specific scene, or just in general.

See Also: Power posing

Crossroads MUSH is intended for adult players over the age of 18. As there is no way Admin can verify the real life age of a player, Crossroads disclaims all responsibly for any adult situations or events that take place on the MUSH.

First and foremost, the staff of Crossroads firmly believes that we are all adults and will not police this. Secondly, we're all a very forgiving group and this is simply a gentle reminder of etiquette when dealing with roleplay and a MUSH.

1. Walkthroughs. When you're walking across the grid and you enter a room where someone is, you should pose going through the room. There are several reasons for this. The person in the room might be dying, bleeding, or otherwise doing something that you might want to know about! Just imagine if you walked through without stopping, and you missed out on the free platinum or the murder of a high noble?

2. Idling in public is typically frowned upon. When you're in a public room that other people have permission to enter, then people may go there to scene with you. They may or may not page you first, and they'll enter, expecting someone to be there because you're there.

3. If you have to idle, go to a private room or the OOC Lounge and people will be less frustrated. It wouldn't be proper, however, to then begin to complain that you're not getting any RP if you're not out in public. Private rooms are just that, and someone will seldom head towards your private room without a specific invitation.

4. During a scene, try to minimize your OOC chatter. This is especially true in larger scenes. To help with this, we have created the +Jabber channel. You can access it with @chan/join Jabber and +Jab to talk on it. Since it's an optional channel, it won't interrupt others like usage of the "OOC" command would.

5. Rumors! We all love rumors, and they're a great way to spread information, true or false, around the game. If you're posting something regarding someone else, though, it's typically polite to ask that person if they mind the rumor going up. You should also not post how the public is responding about a particular situation or rumor. You might mention two people in a tavern having a conversation, but don't say that the entire village is overjoyed to hear about it, as the public reaction will be handled by the Admins.

6. Everyone loves logs, because they let us recall what a fantastic scene it was. The absolutely best thing to do is, before you post a log to any public venue, make sure that everyone in that log gives permission. Maybe the Duchess of Green Fields exposed a secret to you in private, but her player isn't comfortable with that log becoming public knowledge. In that case, you wouldn't post it because a player involved objected.

Be polite to each other as players, and we'll all have a great game experience!

Are you traveling to another dukedom? Are you playing something within Gateway that interacts with a particular group (ie knights, thieves, merchants)? Crossroads is organized in a fashion where admins delegate responsibilities for factions to faction heads, particularly with the dukedoms. These faction heads have full authority in their demesne! This way, certain aspects of RP have individuals who are responsible rather than just having busy admin cover everything.

However, in order to delegate these responsibilities, it means that players who are going to be RPing in areas that fall under a faction head MUST inform the faction head and work with them in regard to it.

If you are traveling off of Gateway and plan on having something happen in another dukedom, or if you are playing something in Crossroads that touches on an existing guild/faction, be certain to contact the duke/duchess/faction head) IN ADVANCE to discuss OOC your plans or plot. The reason for this is that the faction heads know their area very well. Every little detail that has been RPed about factions/dukedoms cannot be documented on the web pages; these people can make certain that your RP is within theme, viable, and interesting. They will also be the ones responsible for the reactions of NPCs in their area. They can make certain that it doesn't step on the toes of other IC events that will be happening, and there is the potential that a faction head will wish to participate OOCly in the scene.

In your initial @mail to the faction head, include the following information: what events do you want to have happen while dealing with the faction, what are your expectations, when will this be happening (see +currents if going off isle). Please keep in mind that you may have to be flexible to fit in with the established culture/structure of a faction. The faction head is the authority on anything happening within their faction.

Here's some examples of how faction RP interaction would go. Note: Rhyse didn't really write his response. ;)

Example Letter to Faction Head 

Dear Rhyse,

I would like to have my character have an event on Draught that will play into his backstory. He's got a crazy uncle who is trying to kill him to get his inheritance. While my character (Harry) is travelling to Draught with his friends (Tom and Dick), I want to have a few of my uncle's men ambush me and my friends. Ideally, we'd like to be in some public building, probably indulging in some of Draught's transcendent herbs. I expect that the men will attack and Tom will defend me (he doesn't know this yet, but he better do it) and he'll get wounded some, as will I. Dick'll probably run away, he's like that. Is this okay?

Harry

Example Response 

Dear Harry,

You need new friends! But I digress. First, the setup is fine to have it in the port city in one of our houses for "transcendental herbal experiences". However, we keep good patrols in this area just because people get freaky, and any house would have a security guard and also be able to summon more quickly. Your fight can go on for a bit, but after a few minutes there will be guards there. Nobody wants a reputation for a house that has these problems. In this situation the men (and you) would likely be arrested and questioned, so a lot of information could come out and perhaps prosecution of your uncle. Or you! If you want to avoid that legal confrontation, this needs to happen in the far less reputable area.

I'd like to talk about this realtime, so I can be around this week Tuesday, Thursday, and possibly Friday evenings. Drop me an @mail about which work for you, and we can hammer out details.

Rhyse

cc: admin

If for some reason a faction head cannot assist you or does not respond to your request within a few days (and do be patient, we are all subject to RL), then send a copy of your request to the admin. They will spank the faction head as appropriate and straighten things out.

See +features to find a list of factions and their heads.

On Crossroads MUSH, feature characters are defined as those persons who have IC control over a section of the grid and/or populace. Feature characters are intended for the players to enjoy them, but also carry a weight of responsibility to be the movers and shakers on the game, and to spur along roleplay (start debates or discussions, send non-feature chars to do errands for them that cause them to interact with people they may not normally, etc). As such, features have a few basic requirements upon them about time and experience with the game.

In order to play a feature character, a player must have been active on Crossroads at least thirty days to ensure familiarity with theme and policies.

In general, features must be played at least ten hours a week, and of that two hours must be played in a public spot. Sitting idle in public waiting for people to show up does not count towards this requirement. A features should seek out or create RP if there is none taking place at the time. There may be times during specific TPs when admin request that you try to have a feature character available more. Of course, people have lives that come before the game. Should RL obligations be preventing you from playing your feature character up to the minimum requirements, please let the staff know that there are extenuating circumstances.

People who fail to play a feature character consistently and do not see any chance of more time being available can, at the discretion of staff, be removed from the feature spot. This will usually involve being removed from the title that makes a character a feature, though occasionally a role may be recast.

Feature Characters on Crossroads MUSH are listed by the +features command.

Please see a member of the Staff if you are interested in any of the open feature positions or have an idea for a new feature character.

Number one rule: DON'T.

Harassment is defined as paging and/or OOC discussion that another player has requested cease. Harassment can take several forms. Among them are:

Anger. Using foul language with or degrading another player.

Sexual. Paging and/or trying to maneuver a character (either oocly or icly) into TS when the other player has made it clear they are not interested.

Guilt. Using the 'poor me; no one wants to play with me,' whine.

If you are asked to stop and you continue to page or make ooc remarks after you have been asked to stop ... you are guilty of harassment.

Players being harassed are asked to log the situation as it is happening and @mail or email (crossroadsmush@gmail.com) the log to Admin, who will then take steps to assist the harasser in correcting the behavior. This log should include at least one request to cease the behavior by the harassed. The Admin of Crossroads will not be forgiving of a harasser once they have been warned and repeat offenses will be taken seriously.

We acknowledge that sometimes people do not get along with each other, IC or OOC. We expect people to respect one another's differences.

Crossroads is a growing mush with a wealth of different attitudes and characters, and that diversity makes for a rich RP environment.

What does this mean for you? It means that there will be characters and players you love and some that you don't understand at all. While nobody should be forced to play in a scene they are not comfortable, nor should someone be subject to criticism of the way they choose to play a character. It is all about respect.

If you don't enjoy someone's RP style or characterization, that's entirely your prerogative. However, having people accept your own RP method means that you accept theirs as well. Be gracious enough to allow people their differences without criticism or degradation and simply remove yourself from a scene with some IC excuse if you have problems. Find IC reasons why your character would avoid the other. Paging someone about the flaws in their character or making OOC statements about how you must get out of a scene is a lack of manners and respect; that is unacceptable.

If someone is being critical of you or your character OOC, do not tolerate it. Tell the person to stop, lock yourself against their pages, and log the interaction. Admin will take action against someone who does not respect the RP preferences of another, as this falls under the heading of harassment. Don't just leave the game if you're experiencing this sort of abuse. Bring it to Admin's attention, as this is not an atmosphere that we wish to foster.

Again, let us emphasize that this is all about respecting the style and preferences of other people. This game has a lot of great RPers, and we want everyone to feel comfortable here. If you have problems or questions, please page a wizard.

Crossroads MUSH admin periodically purge inactive characters from the system, or for some characters, make them available for others to play. This process is done manually, and the key to avoid losing a character you wish to play is communication with the admin about planned inactivity.

The policies below represent criteria used by the admin when determining whether to purge or reassign a character:

• Characters which have only logged into the game once may be purged after 14 days of inactivity.
• Feature characters may be made available for others to play after 30 days of inactivity.
• Non-Feature characters inactive for more than 45 days may be made available for others to play if requested.
• Characters may be purged if inactive for more than 60 days.

If you know you will be absent from the game for an extended period, please submit a +ticket to admin explaining your planned absence and requesting a vacation flag.

If you know you no longer wish to play a character, please go through your inventory and objects you may own (@search me) and dispose of these items. You may, optionally, set a &NUKE_OK attribute on your character.

If socialization is the lifeblood of any court, then intrigue is the bones. At the heart of the realm, the struggle for power both legitimate and less so is a war taking place behind courtier's smiles, whispered at silken pillows, and in shadowed back alleys. Political title is not the only existing form of power, so don't be fooled into thinking the commoner you kick on a street corner won't have a way to pursue revenge against you, or that the castle maid you gossip in front of won't whisper your secrets to her lover. Whether between the Emperor and his nobles or guildmasters and more shadowy elements, the seedy underbelly of jockeying for power often includes subtle daggers and unexpected betrayals. Choose your allies wisely, as enemies will choose you based upon who your friends are.

If you are trying to get involved in the subtle currents of intrigue shifting beneath the surface at Crossroads, be careful what you wish for! Those who are too obvious about their goals are often the ones who end up without any parties interested in their abilities or, worse yet, find that they become a target for removal. The game of intrigue is a slow, complex one, and the players are often dangerous and driven.

Intrigue does not just happen, but is the result of individual characters each pursuing their own agenda. Know the motivation of your character, whether it be a quest for power or seeking of revenge. And remember: in a court where everyone is the good guy, there isn't any intrigue to be found. Don't be married to having noble goals, because noble goals rarely gain someone entrance into the halls of power where intrigue dwells.

If you want to enter into the web of intrigue on the game, it's recommended that you bounce your idea off of a wizard for review. Many a fly is caught on the web and devoured.

Power Posing is ANY 'pose' in ic rp that doesn't allow another character to have a pose to react. Most can spot the obvious power pose such as:

Warrior John doesn't like what he hears coming out of the mouth of Warrior Bob and, drawing his sword, lops off Bob's head, watches it roll into the fires of the hearth, wipes off his blade, returns it to his sheathe, and strides out of the tavern.

Obvious, eh? But there are the more discrete power poses that are even more irritating than the above example. These are the poses that fall into the - but ... but ... but ... my character would never have reacted the way you are assuming he/she would react! category. Some of these can be very discrete but do fall into POWER POSING:

Anthony reaches out, his fingers sliding into the soft curls at the nape of Sandra's neck. He pulls her to him, his mouth seeking hers. THIS is a power pose. A better way to say it would be:

Anthony reaches out, his fingers stretching toward the soft curls at the nape of Sandra's neck with the intent of capturing her in his strong grasp. Let Sandra have her pose - she might want to step back, scream, and knee you where it hurts!

While many such poses are intimate and usually acceptable because of the situation and tacit approval between players; there are even some more discrete poses that are examples of power posing.

Young Lord Jamie stands outside his rooms trying to work his puzzle box. Bill spots the young boy and, taking the puzzle, shows him how it works, guiding him through with soft words of encouragement. Yep, BIG TIME power pose - what if Jamie didn't want to give up his box? Didn't want it solved for him? Such a simple thing but a major no-no.

We have spent a lot of time on this file because it is a very important issue. Even in the silliest of scenes, one should always keep in mind and ask oneself if they are posing to another player, am I giving them a reaction point? The best way to spot that is by looking at your pose before you hit send - is there anything in it that assumes some sort of response - or lack of the same - from the other player? If the answer is maybe then, it's a power pose and you need to hit that old 'delete' button!

Sitebanning on Crossroads is reserved for severe infractions of game policy. This can be either in terms of exploiting or abusing code or repeated OOC offenses that require staff interaction.

Sitebans are often temporary to allow a cooling off period. If they are permanent, staff reserves the right to deal with the characters involved as they see fit for storyline. If it is temporary, it is almost guaranteed that staff will not allow a player returning from a siteban to play a noble or feature character. Characters of a sitebanned player will be removed from their titles or positions. Anything earned henceforth will be granted with a measure of OOC consideration and caution.

IC Time elapses on Crossroads at 1:1 time compression and variable calendar compression. This means that day-to-day, the clock is synchronized to GMT-7, which is Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Time. If calendar compression greater than 1:1 is specified, then at midnight each IC day, one or more days are "skipped".

The primary purpose of the time code is to provide for long-term aging of characters, seasonal variations in the weather, and celebration of seasonal "holiday" events. Many players choose to use the IC time as an RP tool, especially in terms of greeting others with a "good" morning, afternoon, evening, etc. However, neither the time nor date is intended to be taken strictly. There will be many times when RP situations call for roleplaying a time or date which is inconvenient (or non-existent, in the case of "tomorrow" scenes at 2:1 compression, which skips every other day). "Back play" and other fudges of time to ensure IC events make sense chronologically are encouraged. There is no need to punish children for being up "past curfew" if they're just taking a bit longer to play a scene intended to be done earlier.

Major MUSH-wide events, such as festivals, tournaments, parties, etc. will have their dates and times announced in RL time, and the IC time assumed for them will be made clear and take precedence over whatever the IC clock happens to say.

Storytelling is not a task that is reserved for staff. We are very committed to empowering players to write stories that become part of the grand picture. Players should feel comfortable telling stories and running events for each other.

To help better empower and reward players as storytellers, staff has put the following supports for player-run stories in place.

There are four defined levels of plots that take place on the grid; anyone can run levels 1-2. The GM faction is here to help with player-run stories. Join them. Use them. Levels 1-2 require no prior staff-approval to running. Try and keep stories centered on the grid. Staff will help you develop your TPs as needed or desired. Players may consult staff during any level of TP. The TP will halt until the questions or concerns are addressed. If you are in doubt of what type of TP qualifies for what level, do not hesitate to contact a staffer or submit a +ticket.

For more information about these levels and what plots do or do not require approval, please see the Storytelling page.

If you're looking for ideas for things to run, a good place to begin is the Roleplay Hooks page!

Crossroads is an adult-themed MUSH, and as such we expect that people will enjoy the full range of RP, including sexual situations.

On Crossroads, the general population has several taboos such as homosexuality, etc, that will have consequence. This is IC policy only and not intended as any OOC indication of judgment as, with a couple of exceptions, most preferences are OOCly accepted.

The Exceptions:

Rape

If two players are interested in playing this sort of RP, it can be reasonable that the title, money, or power wielded by someone could protect them should they decide to attempt rape. However, this is a touchy area that can make people uncomfortable OOC. Keep it private. Should details of it come out IC, rape is a crime punished by death. A character can be lost if such a thing becomes public, and people should keep in mind that we are a limited consent game which can lead to character loss as an ICC for certain RP.

Pedophilia

This is another area that the admin do not wish to deal with on Crossroads. For our purposes, pedophilia is defined as intercourse or sexual activity with someone who is not yet a teenager. In this situation, the same stipulation as for rape apply.

Terms Of Service / Acceptable Use Policy (TOS/AUP)

This game server and its websites ("Crossroads MUSH") consist primarily of user-contributed content. Crossroads MUSH is a game, wherein several forms of interaction between persons are available - IC, OOC, and RL among them. For our purposes, IC conduct is defined as conduct engaged in by a fictional character created by a real person. OOC conduct is defined as conduct engaged in by a real person using their fictionally created character, that is 'out of character' or not affecting game play. Finally, RL conduct is conduct engaged in by a real person and not the fictional character they have created - activities typically done when using e-mail, instant messengers, or activities done away from a computer.

In accessing Crossroads MUSH, you accept that you may not engage in any RL conduct or communication while using Crossroads MUSH which is unlawful or which restricts or inhibits any other player from using Crossroads MUSH. Players agree to use Crossroads MUSH only for lawful purposes. The list of prohibited conduct set forth in Subsections (1) through (7) below provides a few examples of unacceptable conduct. This list is by no means exhaustive and the staff of Crossroads MUSH reserves the right to prohibit or delete characters, or to ban users from Crossroads MUSH, or to delete or alter any communication deemed likely to harm individual players, or the MUSH.

Examples of unacceptable conduct are, but are not limited to:

1. Impersonating any other person whilst using Crossroads MUSH.

2. Posting, uploading, e-mailing, messaging, or otherwise communicating or transmitting through Crossroads MUSH, any material that:

a. You lack a right to communicate or transmit under any law or contractual, ethical, or fiduciary relationship

b. Infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, proprietary secret

c. Is unsolicited or unauthorized promotion, solicitation, advertising, junk mail, ponzi or pyramid schemes, or other communication that may be damaging to the credibility of Crossroads MUSH or harmful to its players

d. Contains or triggers any software viruses or other computer files, code, or hardware designed to destroy, interrupt, or limit the functionality of any telecommunications equipment, computer hardware, computer software, or any electrical appliance or circuit

e. Exhibits or condones OOC or RL harassment based on a persons race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious or political beliefs.

3. Violating intentionally or unintentionally any applicable law or regulation, whether local, state, federal, or international.

4. Engaging in any behavior specifically intended to damage Crossroads MUSH, or its staff and players.

5. Engaging in any unacceptable harassment, as determined solely by the staff, of another player of Crossroads MUSH.

6. Knowingly engaging in sexually suggestive or explicit IC, OOC or RL conversations with any player under the age of 18.

7. Degrading any other player through verbally abuse language (language that you wouldn't hear on prime time U.S. television.)