umipixie
Apr 21, 2003, 08:59 PM
I noticed there was recently a thread in which I was reported to be some kind of maniacal German guy. Well, in order to better serve you (and so we're all clear on what the rules actually are), I will list the rules of the channel and some other important information you should be aware of. There have been similar threads in the past, but it has been a while. Although eRUPT was kind enough to add a "rules" link to the java chat start page, and even though superlime set up one of the bots to message people with the rules when they join, no one seems to have any clue what they are. THIS THREAD IS NOT MEANT TO FLAME, INSULT, PERTURB OR OTHERWISE AGITATE YOU. Please do not turn this thread into an insult war. Just read the dang rules. Thank you.
IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT THE PSOW "CHAT":
1. It's not a "chat room". It's a *channel* on *IRC* (Internet Relay Chat), which is not like getting on Virtual Places or AOL Chat. Please, when you join the channel, don't treat it like some chat room that's going to be full of AOL kiddies.
2. People with an @ sign next to their nicknames are channel operators. Some of them are real people and some of them are programs ("bots").
3. There is no listserv or fserv operating in our channel. If you don't know what that means, good.
4. Most people join the channel and "idle" there for hours without talking, so if you see 40 users but no one is responding to your "hello", it's probably because they are away from their computers doing more important things. Please be patient. If you come in late at night, early in the morning, or on a weekend, it might take someone a while to get to you.
5. Most of the people in our channel are over the age of 18, and more than half of the operators are older than 21. Please do not assume we are the same age as you if you are 15 or younger. It's really irritating.
6. Most people in our channel have been using IRC for MANY years, and they get annoyed if you use too much netspeak (really, when you say "lol" are you actually laughing out loud? we doubt it), so try to limit your use of acronyms to when it is necessary.
7. There are no regular users in our channel who condone cheating. This does not mean you can't come to the channel if you disagree with this sentiment; please just don't talk about it in the channel.
8. The #psow channel doesn't have much to do with this website besides that it is linked to with the java chat page. Some regular users (and one operator) come to this site often, but pretty much none of the ops come here, and the site mods don't really come to the channel very often either. Even though it's a PSO channel, that doesn't mean all we do is sit around talking about PSO all day. Some people in the channel are friends, some are friends in real life...sometimes there's other things to talk about.
9. When you join the channel by using this website, you are using a java chat client. If you "change servers", you will end up in the same channel because there are MANY servers for the network #psow is part of (EFnet). If someone says "anon" they are referring to your hostmask (which is visible to all operators and most users in the channel--it contains your IP information and sometimes your ISP as well), which usually says "[email protected]".
10. The channel is not part of the "free country" you speak of. It is independently owned and operated by people of varying religions, political backgrounds, and ethnicities. At least half of the members of the channel are not even American. If you are accused of being wrong, it's unlikely you will be able to talk your way out of it and the best thing to do is just let it rest. There's no "free speech" in our channel. Believe me, it's a beautiful idea, but in practice it just doesn't work out too well. In the interest maintaining stability and order within our society, we have opted for a more "communism by dictatorship" way of thinking. This means if you are annoying several people, one of the operators will kick you. Sometimes you will get a warning. Sometimes you will get kicked (the rules have been posted, after all). If you say something horrible, some operators might just ban you without any warning at all. I am not one of those operators, but it has been known to happen. In short, #psow is not a democracy, so please be courteous and watch what you say.
THE RULES:
1. Don't spam the channel. This means typing the same line over and over; or joining and pasting links without talking, et cetera. If you say hi and no one says anything, wait. Eventually someone will come around and talk. If no one shows up, come back another time...everyone is probably sleeping or playing games or something. Here is an example of what you should NOT do:
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> hello?
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> HELLO?!!!@#!#!%^!!!!
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> OMG WHY ISN'T ANYONE TALKING TO ME!!?????????????
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> >:( I HATE YOU, YOU ALL SUCK OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2. Don't harass people. If you're bugging someone, either in private messages or in the channel, and they tell you to quit, QUIT. Calling people names for no reason also counts as harassment. This doesn't mean everyone who flings poo gets kicked; sometimes it seems like people are playing, and they don't get The Boot. If you are calling names but it looks like you're playing and someone says "HEY KNOCK IT OFF!" and you keep doing it...POW. Boot.
3. Don't run scripts in our channel. No one cares what fricking MP3 you are listening to. -_-;
4. "No cheating" had to be shortened to fit in the rules message supakiwi messages you with when you join the channel. Originally it was "No talking about cheating, duping, PK, CK, or other shady ways to play the game." I don't care what it has to do with, if you talk about shady dealings, you're getting kicked. None of the operators wants to argue with you on whether or not you think PK is actually bad. The general consensus in our channel is that we don't like it, so please be respectful and leave the PK talk for the cheating forum.
5. No excessive swearing. If you say a nasty word once in a while, it's likely no one will even notice. Sometimes swearing can be quite effective. However, if every other word out of your mouth is unclean, you're getting The Boot.
6. No racist, sexist, homophobic, or xenophobic language. This rule is enforced primarily by myself and kidon. We are both female, we both have gay friends, and we both get really mad when people say ignorant things. This includes racial slurs (including "jap"), gay-bashing and calling people gay when you think they did something stupid (it implies that to be gay is a bad thing), and freaking out about people from different cultures. There is no arguing with anyone about this rule. If you break it, depending on what you said, you will probably be banned. Most of the time, I give a warning first. If kidon is around, however, you may not be so lucky.
7. No netspeak. This is another rule that had to be shortened to fit in the space allowed. Originally, it was "No excessive netspeak." As with swearing, we don't care if you say "lol" once in a while. But please...is it really necessary to shorten the word "you" to "u"? It's two letters! This unnecessary laziness really bugs most of us, and I would suggest you refrain from doing it. As previously mentioned, #psow is not like AOL chat.
8. No colors, flashing text, underline, et cetera. Many of the people in the channel use IRC clients (the program you use to get on IRC) that get all kinds of funky when you use these commands. Some clients do not support them. Not to mention the fact that flashing text is really annoying. Why would you even want to do that? -_-;
9. NO TYPING IN ALL CAPS. It's IRC, not a shouting contest. I will take this opportunity to further reiterate that you're getting on IRC, not AOL chat.
10. No questioning the ops. If you get kicked or banned, deal with it. Yet another rule that had to be shortened due to space limitations. The original rule was "No questioning the ruling of the ops. If you get kicked or banned for breaking the rules, deal with it. You can always come back later after you've learned to use IRC." Arguing with ops about getting kicked just makes it worse. Nine times out of ten, you're going to get permanently banned for arguing. Also, pay attention to who kicked and/or banned you. Messaging the wrong person with obscenities after the swift ruling of The Boot really doesn't help your case.
Q: What happens to me if I break these rules?
A: That depends. If you did it on accident, we can usually tell and someone will tell you to read the rules or to watch yourself. If it's obvious you're a jerk, you're getting kicked. If you come back and keep doing it, you're probably getting banned temporarily. After a while, people will likely forget about you and you can come back, but if you make the same mistake again...Boot. If you message someone with offensive material (i.e. obscene personal insults), we will track your IP and turn you in to your ISP for violating their terms of service agreement. This doesn't happen very often, but please be aware that it is possible. You are not as anonymous as you think you are. ^_^
Just like with any set of rules, sometimes exceptions are made, but don't push it. Nearly everyone in the channel is pretty nice if you get to know them (except HumanHead...who HAS been kicked and banned several times, by the way). Just know where you are and what is appropriate...if you're not sure, just sit there and observe for a while. You wouldn't start a new job by walking in and going "OMG I SO PWN THIS PLACE LOLOLOL", would you? The basic philosophy here is: Be nice to people and they will probably be nice to you in return. You have to earn respect. Your HP bar is not full when you enter #psow, it's at 0. You are dead. As you make friends and prove that you can handle conversation, your HP increases exponentially. What a cheesy analogy, eh? ^_^;;
IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT THE PSOW "CHAT":
1. It's not a "chat room". It's a *channel* on *IRC* (Internet Relay Chat), which is not like getting on Virtual Places or AOL Chat. Please, when you join the channel, don't treat it like some chat room that's going to be full of AOL kiddies.
2. People with an @ sign next to their nicknames are channel operators. Some of them are real people and some of them are programs ("bots").
3. There is no listserv or fserv operating in our channel. If you don't know what that means, good.
4. Most people join the channel and "idle" there for hours without talking, so if you see 40 users but no one is responding to your "hello", it's probably because they are away from their computers doing more important things. Please be patient. If you come in late at night, early in the morning, or on a weekend, it might take someone a while to get to you.
5. Most of the people in our channel are over the age of 18, and more than half of the operators are older than 21. Please do not assume we are the same age as you if you are 15 or younger. It's really irritating.
6. Most people in our channel have been using IRC for MANY years, and they get annoyed if you use too much netspeak (really, when you say "lol" are you actually laughing out loud? we doubt it), so try to limit your use of acronyms to when it is necessary.
7. There are no regular users in our channel who condone cheating. This does not mean you can't come to the channel if you disagree with this sentiment; please just don't talk about it in the channel.
8. The #psow channel doesn't have much to do with this website besides that it is linked to with the java chat page. Some regular users (and one operator) come to this site often, but pretty much none of the ops come here, and the site mods don't really come to the channel very often either. Even though it's a PSO channel, that doesn't mean all we do is sit around talking about PSO all day. Some people in the channel are friends, some are friends in real life...sometimes there's other things to talk about.
9. When you join the channel by using this website, you are using a java chat client. If you "change servers", you will end up in the same channel because there are MANY servers for the network #psow is part of (EFnet). If someone says "anon" they are referring to your hostmask (which is visible to all operators and most users in the channel--it contains your IP information and sometimes your ISP as well), which usually says "[email protected]".
10. The channel is not part of the "free country" you speak of. It is independently owned and operated by people of varying religions, political backgrounds, and ethnicities. At least half of the members of the channel are not even American. If you are accused of being wrong, it's unlikely you will be able to talk your way out of it and the best thing to do is just let it rest. There's no "free speech" in our channel. Believe me, it's a beautiful idea, but in practice it just doesn't work out too well. In the interest maintaining stability and order within our society, we have opted for a more "communism by dictatorship" way of thinking. This means if you are annoying several people, one of the operators will kick you. Sometimes you will get a warning. Sometimes you will get kicked (the rules have been posted, after all). If you say something horrible, some operators might just ban you without any warning at all. I am not one of those operators, but it has been known to happen. In short, #psow is not a democracy, so please be courteous and watch what you say.
THE RULES:
1. Don't spam the channel. This means typing the same line over and over; or joining and pasting links without talking, et cetera. If you say hi and no one says anything, wait. Eventually someone will come around and talk. If no one shows up, come back another time...everyone is probably sleeping or playing games or something. Here is an example of what you should NOT do:
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> hello?
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> HELLO?!!!@#!#!%^!!!!
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> OMG WHY ISN'T ANYONE TALKING TO ME!!?????????????
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> >:( I HATE YOU, YOU ALL SUCK OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
03:21AM <PSO_YAY> HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2. Don't harass people. If you're bugging someone, either in private messages or in the channel, and they tell you to quit, QUIT. Calling people names for no reason also counts as harassment. This doesn't mean everyone who flings poo gets kicked; sometimes it seems like people are playing, and they don't get The Boot. If you are calling names but it looks like you're playing and someone says "HEY KNOCK IT OFF!" and you keep doing it...POW. Boot.
3. Don't run scripts in our channel. No one cares what fricking MP3 you are listening to. -_-;
4. "No cheating" had to be shortened to fit in the rules message supakiwi messages you with when you join the channel. Originally it was "No talking about cheating, duping, PK, CK, or other shady ways to play the game." I don't care what it has to do with, if you talk about shady dealings, you're getting kicked. None of the operators wants to argue with you on whether or not you think PK is actually bad. The general consensus in our channel is that we don't like it, so please be respectful and leave the PK talk for the cheating forum.
5. No excessive swearing. If you say a nasty word once in a while, it's likely no one will even notice. Sometimes swearing can be quite effective. However, if every other word out of your mouth is unclean, you're getting The Boot.
6. No racist, sexist, homophobic, or xenophobic language. This rule is enforced primarily by myself and kidon. We are both female, we both have gay friends, and we both get really mad when people say ignorant things. This includes racial slurs (including "jap"), gay-bashing and calling people gay when you think they did something stupid (it implies that to be gay is a bad thing), and freaking out about people from different cultures. There is no arguing with anyone about this rule. If you break it, depending on what you said, you will probably be banned. Most of the time, I give a warning first. If kidon is around, however, you may not be so lucky.
7. No netspeak. This is another rule that had to be shortened to fit in the space allowed. Originally, it was "No excessive netspeak." As with swearing, we don't care if you say "lol" once in a while. But please...is it really necessary to shorten the word "you" to "u"? It's two letters! This unnecessary laziness really bugs most of us, and I would suggest you refrain from doing it. As previously mentioned, #psow is not like AOL chat.
8. No colors, flashing text, underline, et cetera. Many of the people in the channel use IRC clients (the program you use to get on IRC) that get all kinds of funky when you use these commands. Some clients do not support them. Not to mention the fact that flashing text is really annoying. Why would you even want to do that? -_-;
9. NO TYPING IN ALL CAPS. It's IRC, not a shouting contest. I will take this opportunity to further reiterate that you're getting on IRC, not AOL chat.
10. No questioning the ops. If you get kicked or banned, deal with it. Yet another rule that had to be shortened due to space limitations. The original rule was "No questioning the ruling of the ops. If you get kicked or banned for breaking the rules, deal with it. You can always come back later after you've learned to use IRC." Arguing with ops about getting kicked just makes it worse. Nine times out of ten, you're going to get permanently banned for arguing. Also, pay attention to who kicked and/or banned you. Messaging the wrong person with obscenities after the swift ruling of The Boot really doesn't help your case.
Q: What happens to me if I break these rules?
A: That depends. If you did it on accident, we can usually tell and someone will tell you to read the rules or to watch yourself. If it's obvious you're a jerk, you're getting kicked. If you come back and keep doing it, you're probably getting banned temporarily. After a while, people will likely forget about you and you can come back, but if you make the same mistake again...Boot. If you message someone with offensive material (i.e. obscene personal insults), we will track your IP and turn you in to your ISP for violating their terms of service agreement. This doesn't happen very often, but please be aware that it is possible. You are not as anonymous as you think you are. ^_^
Just like with any set of rules, sometimes exceptions are made, but don't push it. Nearly everyone in the channel is pretty nice if you get to know them (except HumanHead...who HAS been kicked and banned several times, by the way). Just know where you are and what is appropriate...if you're not sure, just sit there and observe for a while. You wouldn't start a new job by walking in and going "OMG I SO PWN THIS PLACE LOLOLOL", would you? The basic philosophy here is: Be nice to people and they will probably be nice to you in return. You have to earn respect. Your HP bar is not full when you enter #psow, it's at 0. You are dead. As you make friends and prove that you can handle conversation, your HP increases exponentially. What a cheesy analogy, eh? ^_^;;