A Concise Collection of Server Rules

[Mojo (DayZ) 66]

I posted a reply the other day saying that the forums were the closest thing to a Governmental Gazette or Paper of Record that we administrators had, and that got me thinking that I should create a thread where every administrator can post the rules for the servers they run in a single place, as a quick reference for players, and in an effort to do our due diligence.

We obviously cannot personally call, email, and send out pamphlets to every person in the world in the off chance they might pick up DayZ. We must make due with what we can. I've posted the rules to my servers before, but this might allow a concise publication of server rules and regulations players can reference, and I've also had to make up a surprising amount of new regulations given that the ones I had in place before seem to be ones players generally follow.

So, without further ado:

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For the Chicago 1 Series of servers, these currently being Chicago 1 Original and Chicago 1 Blues:

In-game server rules (in no particular order):

THE DO NOTS:

1. Do not spam microphone voice chat. People will bring this to your attention, and when they do, listen to them. Using in-game voice is acceptable only on the direct channel, which is why voice will never be disabled completely. I recommend that players go into options and unbind ALL VOIP/VON keybinds, then find the keybind that is specifically for Voice on Direct Channel. This way if you ever accidentally broadcast from your mic, it will only be to those around you. It will also switch you from whatever channel you're on (typically side) to the direct, and then automatically switch you back to your previously used channel when you release the mic key. Very handy.

2. Do not spam connections. Connection spamming is not repeatedly pressing enter or spacebar to get into the server. Connection spamming is not waiting 10 minutes or more and attempting to reconnect to this or another server to see if it's a persistent, global problem. Connection spamming is not reconnecting after you spawn in incorrectly, like in the debug forest or ocean. All of those are acceptable and understandable. Connection spamming refers only to repeatedly slamming one or more servers with multiple attempts to connect in a very short period of time. This puts strain on the servers, ranging from desync to outright crashing as the server freaks out. An extreme amount of players doing it can also cause the support apps to begin spitting out errors no matter how many times they're fail-safed and recovered.

3. Do not attempt to depopulate the server or instill "panic." Do not announce that on another server they're handing out free anti-materiel rifles, NVGs, and GPSs. Do not announce server restarts. Beyond anything else, doing this will most likely result in a permanent, irrevocable, unappealable ban.

4. Do not spread misinformation to other players. Players ask what server they're on because finding servers can often prove to be difficult, making it difficult to know which server they've joined. They either want to a) attempt to rejoin the same server or b) inform their friends they've found a working server and get a group organized.

Misinforming them deliberately deprives them of their play experience. You aren't cute and clever when you tell them Chicago 1 Blues is eg. Dallas 1 or US 4. You are being a pain in the ass, and it's nothing against Dallas 1 or US 4 -- you're keeping these players from finding the assets that they've invested time in, such as tents and vehicles, or from playing with their friends.

5. Do not talk about what Internet cliques you belong to, or which stupid Internet clique is the best and how some other Internet clique is the worst. Do not talk about 4chan or Something Awful or reddit or Google+ or MySpace or GeoCities. First of all, "LOLOL U MUST BE FROM [stupid internet website]" isn't much of an insult.

If they are active in that community, they aren't going to take it as an insult (otherwise they wouldn't be part of that community) and if they aren't a part of that community, they're just going to think you're stupid.

So, knowing that, what have you accomplished? You've turned my chat into a stupid slapfight between two idiots flaming each other over shit only the person trying to sling "redditor" or "channer" as an insult would find insulting, and to the rest of us watching this stupid pissing match, you both sound equally idiotic. You also turn the entire chat box into a complete shitfest, and drown out legitimate game talk with your stupidity. The same goes for people raging about Call of Duty or whatever. Don't do it.

You know what community you're all a part of? The DayZ community. Talk about that instead!

6. Do not attempt to override the rules of the administrator. If I tell somebody to stop spamming mic and you run in and go "NO YOU SHUT UP! YOU CAN JUST MUTE HIM!" I could count the amount of fucks I give on one hand and could still do so if I was an amputee. You have your solution to the problem, I have my solution to the problem, and I also have the server and the responsibility for administrating it. Guess which solution trumps the other?

7. No racism/sexism/other discrimination. People have been surprisingly good about following this. I've had to hand out about two warnings about it, and only one ban (to a guy who didn't understand the server was a "no racism server", which, you know, should really just be a general life guideline for you).

8. No pointlessly offensive behaviour. If your username is Idi Amin and you're requesting fire support under the codename Uganda Actual, this is kind of funny and I'll let it slide as long as you keep being entertaining and iconoclastic. If your username is Anders Breivik and you're otherwise just acting like you want attention through shock value, I will be glad to offend your ironically delicate sensibilities when you suddenly find yourself back at the lobby screen.

Ask yourself the following question: "If I walked into a bar with a healthy cross-section of the average population wearing a t-shirt espousing the views or personages I'm espousing with my in-game behaviour, would I get punched in the face?" If you answered yes to that question, avoid engaging in the behaviour at all.

Remember when your mother tried to explain the difference between a person laughing AT you and laughing WITH you? This is similar. If you make us laugh AT death and all the horrible things in the world, that is good. If you find yourself laughing WITH death and all the horrible things in the world, you are foul cunt and ought to be segregated from society.

9. Do not be a stupid Internet lawyer. "BUT MOJO, WHAT ABOUT FREE SPEECH?" you cry. Hang on. "Congress shall make no law..." Alright. Stop right there. My server is not Congress. The end.

10. No far-too-long flame wars. Tying in with the "your Internet clique pissing match turns everything stupid" rule is number ten. This is a game. Gloat and strut over your victories. That's fair. Blow off steam over your losses. That's also fair. Know when to stop. That's mandatory.

I know peoples' tempers can get a little hot when you come out with the short end of the stick and the ones who ended up winning the Makarov showdown at the Cherno Corral can goad them on.

If I intervene and tell you the argument is over, I am not telling you to continue the argument. I'm not telling you to continue the argument with me. I'm not telling you to continue the argument with other players who have asked you to stop your vaguely erotic verbal wrestling match. I am telling you that you have each said your piece and your argument is over.

11. ABSOLUTELY, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, EXPECT SPECIAL TREATMENT if you're from my gimmick clan, Monolith, or are a server donor. I don't care if you gave me money. This should be a disincentive to act like a complete idiot, not an arousal of your sense of entitlement. If you're misbehaving you'll be treated like everybody else. Not everybody has the fortune to have money to spend towards the servers they play on, nor does everybody have the extremely good fortune to have basked in my magnificent presence for several years. That does not mean you can deprive them of their play experience. You are all my little sunshines, no matter what you give or who you know. You will NOT get a reserved slot for knowing me. You will NOT get a reserved slot for donating. You will not be able to demand people be kicked or banned for petty offences.

THE DOS:

1. Inform an administrator and other players if there's a problem with the server. If there's no loot spawning, or no zombies spawning, or hiveauth didn't properly initialize your tent or vehicles, let others know immediately. The more conscientiously people play, the better the server is run. While a single report is rarely enough to actually take action, it goes a long way to establishing a pattern of server behaviour that can be enough for an administrator to take the appropriate steps to correct it. If I happen not to be around at the time, another trusted admin you don't recognize might be. And barring that, other players become aware of it and become able to pass on the message when we do become available.

2. Inform an administrator and other players if there's a problem player on the server. Due to game glitches, odd behaviour, or me simply playing the game and not always monitoring chat, I can always see abusers of the rules. For example, I'll often see a lot of people telling a person to stop using their mic even though for me it appears they're not broadcasting at all. Your admins are neither omnipresent or omnipotent, we rely on you to bring problem players to our attention immediately.

Tell us if you suspect a player is playing illegitimately. Ask us if a weapon is a real drop if you suspect it's hacked in. Let us know if a person disconnected during a gunfight to avoid being killed. Inform us if they then immediately reconnected in a new position to kill you.

Again, like DO #1, a single report is rarely enough to take action unless it's serious. If you spent an hour stalking a guy and he logged out, know a few things. Crashes happen. They happen at times that are inconvenient, either to you or to other players. Know that other players' lives do not revolve around you and your desire to kill them. You can't expect another player to say "Sorry grandma, I can't take you to church right now, some guys in a video game want to kill me and I have to let them, I didn't even know they were there but they might have been stalking me for an hour or so."

On the other hand, that excuse doesn't fly if they reconnect immediately in a new position to kill you. It's hard to argue that you had to stop playing if you keep playing. We, the admins, need to establish a pattern of bad behaviour. That pattern is either established very quickly (based on something like them spawning in jets or disconnect/repositioning) or not at all, whether or not what appeared to be bad behaviour inconvenienced you.

Rest assured that when you make a report to me, I keep a notepad and pen in front of me at all times to write down what you say, who you're accusing of it, etc. I then go through the server logs, the RCon, I make notes of their GUID, when they disconnected, etc. When you inform me of illegitimate player behaviour, it is always taken seriously, even if I can't take action immediately.

3. Do be helpful to other players. This is a matter of saving the most important rule for last. Helpful does not mean 'helping'. It doesn't mean doing zero-PvP or roleplaying the Red Cross, giving blood transfusions to every player in the Cherno church. It means playing the game legitimately, as you wish to play it, but taking the time and effort to engage your fellow players' questions and concerns. If people ask how you force-save, and you know the answer, tell them. If they're trying to figure out keybindings or controls, and you know the answer, tell them.

If you're ambiguous on what I mean by the difference between helping and being helpful, consider it like this: Tell a person that according to convention, white moves first. Then try to get them in checkmate. Explain that baseball has nine innings. Then try to hit a grandslam. Victories are sweeter when you win them on a level playing field, against competent opponents. Help new players become competent opponents -- or competent teammates.

TeamSpeak server rules (in no particular order):

THE DO NOTS:

1. Do not come into a channel just to "hang out" with me. A lot of players do this, and I can't tell you how annoying it is to be trying to actually play the game on the rare occassion I'll sit down with it, and have somebody that just wanders into the channel to make conversation. We're coordinating movements, strategizing, talking about where we keep our tents and vehicles; all things I do not want you to know. I get why you want to be friends with the admin and be on his good side. Doing that is the fastest way to get on my bad side.

2. Seguing from 1, do not metagame. Do not forcefully sit in a publicly accessible channel listening in on another group. The channels are available for group-organization on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you need an additional group channel created, contact an admin and one will be created for you. If you cannot contact an admin at the time, feel free to use one of the other servers' empty group channels until such a time as a new channel can be created for your group. For example, if you're in Chicago 1 Original and all the Group Subchannels for that server are filled, but there are empty group channels for Chicago 1 Blues, use one of the Blues channels. Under no circumstances will an excuse be tolerated for spying. You will gain at best a single minor victory at the cost of access to the TeamSpeak and most likely the game server.

Note that this doesn't apply to doing something like using the group channels for their purpose, but for nefarious ends. Feel free to ingratiated yourself to a group of players, integrate into them, and then betray them. Do not simply follow them through TeamSpeak until they feel the need to quit TS to get away from you listening in on them. A group "owns" a channel they go into until they abandon it. A group is not a single person. If you have any trouble with understanding this and wish to argue it, see "Do Not Be An Internet Lawyer" above.

THE DOS:

1. Do come into any channel I'm in or poke me or private message me to inform me of a problem immediately, even at the cost of interrupting my gameplay. The server, and consequently all players, take priority over my play experience.

2. Do come into any channel I'm or poke me or private message me if you need help running ArmA 2, getting DayZ up and running, or are experiencing other technical issues related to gameplay. I'm more than happy to sit with a player and adjust settings, set up launchers, or just generally troubleshoot any problem you have, from loading errors to crashes to desktop. I want all of my players to have a positive play experience both on my server and with DayZ in general. I've been dealing with Bohemia's quirks since OFP 11 years ago, and continue to do so now. After not playing in over a year, I've reoriented myself to things I thought would remain forgotten, and will happilly let you pick my brain. I don't care if I'm in the middle of something. I don't care what you need help with. I don't care if I need to give up my slot to get you in game to see if it works. I don't care if you're a donor or don't have a dime to spare. I will try anything within my power to get you playing. This is part of what the TeamSpeak is there for.

3. Do help other players on TeamSpeak if they are asking for help or advice. Beyond anything else, I appreciate the players who not only take the time to enjoy the game, but to help others enjoy it as well. Do you know the answer to their question? Please, give it to them. Take two minutes to help them out, and then (politely) ask them to excuse themselves from the channel if they're in your group channel.

[fenrix 9]

yes very... concise... no one is going to wade through all that to get to the rules man.

you should not have to explain a rule for it to be understood. a simple one line sentence is all that should be required. anything else is usually too complicated for 99% of internet gamers.

still. I read it all and very good and well thought out +1

[oilman 72]

I chose a few (Most, actually) of the rules that I feel may as well simply be global rules:

1. Do not spam microphone voice chat.

2. Do not spam connections.

3. Do not spread misinformation to other players.

4. No racism/sexism/other discrimination or pointlessly offensive behaviour.

5. No far-too-long flame wars.

6. No special treatment for clan members or friends of the Admin.

I would then add:

7. No intentional exploiting. (Alt-F4ing in the middle of a firefight, duping items, etc.)

And in my opinion, those seven rules should be applied to all servers.

Just my feelings, though.

And, yet again, thankyou Mojo, this thread should be mandatory reading.

[Mojo (DayZ) 66]

yes very... concise...

The thread is meant to be a concise collection of rules (ie: one thread for all admins to post their rules rather than being spread out willy-nilly and inefficiently), not a collection of concise rules.

And that distinction is why you sometimes need to go the extra step of explaining things with examples ;)

[howichrgelazer 69]

I like the rules you all have posted so far, but I don't know if it works having rules from all servers in one thread. That's technically what the individual server threads are for. But since it's here, I suppose I'll chip in. ;)

Chicago 10 [Veteran] Server

IP Address: 74.91.122.232

Slots: 50

Thread: http://dayzmod.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3258

Rules

• No racial or discriminative slurs
  
• No voice spam
  
• No exiting the server from PvP or other game exploits (ex. duplication of items)
  
• Admins will not kick to make room for community members
  
• Have fun!
  

Please understand the difference of playing the game and personally assaulting another player. DayZ doesn't always end up a friendly game. However, once an issue transcends the game and becomes personal, measures will be taken to resolve the problem.