( RULES. )

[silentspringmods]

Community Guidelines


At Silent Spring we try to give players as much leeway to be creative as we can, but this is a curated, actively vetted community, and the rules that we do have are firm and non-negotiable. Because this is a private game being run with more of the spirit of a GPSL that members of the general public are (with discretion) allowed to join in on, the rules may be more specific than players are used to, and are based on the kind of game environment I, the creator of the game, want to mod.

‣ Responses to event prompts, unless they're of a sexual NSFW nature, need to be posted in a reply to the event comment, NOT a catchall log post, even if they're closed between two characters. Responses to TDM prompts may be put in catchalls.

‣ Smut is allowed, but not on event posts. It needs to be properly warned for and posted in the log comm. No underage, noncon, or bestiality is allowed.

‣ Players are expected to include content warnings in their toplevels for things that the event post doesn't already warn for. The lists for each prompt are pretty exhaustive, and it's a player's responsibility to look at the warnings for each prompt before scrolling down.

‣ Activity rules are a bare guideline, and not indicated to be representative of all of players' activity. Getting by AC on technicalities like posting toplevels every month without actually threading out any AC length threads, inactivity through most of the month and last-minute tagging specifically for AC at the end of the month, etc. are noticed and are not acceptable. This happening once or twice is a circumstance; months in a row, it's a pattern.

‣ Players are responsible for controlling their own experience. This means not knowingly engaging with content that they are unable to comfortably handle.

‣ Behavioral expectations extend to plurk, too. Do not discuss irl trauma or pet death in the game plurks, appropriately warn, and try not to dominate conversation. Everyone wants to talk about their characters, so it's necessary to be mindful and share the floor.

‣ There will not be a public game discord, and players are not allowed to create a "unofficial" discord. Many of the players in this game do not even have a discord account, whereas anyone can comment on a post in the ooc plotting comm and anyone can read game update plurks. Moderating an entire discord is a tremendous timesink, and a completely unsupervised player interaction space opens the door to a litany of potential conflicts.

‣ No breaking the fourth wall.

‣ Respect opt-outs, and don't argue with them or ask for a reason if one isn't given. The person who opted out may not be comfortable talking about what is upsetting to them or why, and you're not owed that information. If you are found to be doing this, you will be banned.

‣ Some elements of this horror, as well as IC consequences, are not opt-out. See Premise and FAQ for the full list.

‣ If players are found to be repeatedly evading IC consequences or trying to play as though the setting restraints and roles don't apply to their character, they will be warned once and then dismissed.

‣ Punishments affect all characters equally. Nobody has a worse, unexpected reaction that's different than the outlined result of a particular treatment or punishment, and nobody is less affected - the character administering the drugs is a medical doctor, not a layman, and knows characters' medical history and knows what he's doing.

‣ No character "has" to take anachronistic medications because of the pharmacy mechanic detailed in the Disabilities and Illness section of the FAQ/Premise. If a character takes a 1960s medication, it must be because THEY chose to. Saying they had to contradicts the setting and plot.

‣ Evidence of OOC homophobia, transphobia, racism**, antisemitism**, ableism, sexism, or other discriminatory or hateful conduct within the past two years* without evidence of a sincere apology made before mods became aware of it is grounds for dismissal from the game even if the behavior happened outside of the game. This is a curated space and participation in the game is a privilege that may be revoked for the good of the other participants at any time.

* possibly longer, at mod discretion.
** this includes visual racism/antisemitism. Characters drawn as racial/antisemitic caricatures won't be approved to begin with, but apping characters with art you drew that looks like antisemitic/racist propaganda is an indication of cultural insensitivity (at best) that you need to resolve outside of this game. The mods reserve the right to ban players who app OCs rooted in racially offensive stereotypes.

‣ OOC discussion of right-wing politics is banned. This game being a vetted safe environment - and a private game that I am running in a way that I find enjoyable and sustainable - means it is not a politically neutral space. Denial of or apologia for crimes against humanity committed during the 60s (ex: United Fruit meddling, MK-ULTRA, My Lai) will get you banned. Players are expected to handle the time period maturely and respectfully. Likewise, "there are only two genders" nonsense is not welcome here, nor is imperialism.

‣ Public sour grapesing about the game will get you prebanned.

‣ The mod has the full right to reject any app at any time for any reason and is not obligated to disclose that reason.

‣ If you have a problem or need mediation, PM this journal! People have histories in this hobby. It's unavoidable. I want everyone to be comfortable, and sometimes that involves opting out or avoiding a player and that's okay. Requests to not be assigned housing with a specific player's character(s), etc will be kept strictly confidential, as will reports to mods.

‣ The mod has the full right to kick anyone for any reason - these rules are extensive, but sometimes people manage to come up with unforseen ways to violate the intent and atmosphere of the game. Players who break the rules are not owed the right to participate in the game, the identities of people who come to me in confidence, screenshots of their own behavior, a thorough explanation, a conversation, or a chance to "defend" themselves in the face of objective evidence or argue with me. The fact that I do not want to spend my free time modding for them in a game I run for free is justification enough and that is the nature of non public, D&D style games.