Misc Roleplaying Policy
OOC ERP Courtesy Policy
We are an adult roleplaying server that allows for erotic roleplay. While we are not sex centric, we are sex positive. We are a roleplaying server first, and we will seek to prioritize immersion first. However, we do allow erotic roleplay, given that it is not done in "low roleplay" fashion.
What does this mean for you? This means you will not come across adult activity at every turn. However, you will inevitably come across adult activity at some point. As a result, you should understand you are not protected from seeing these activities. If something triggers you, you are responsible for removing yourself from the situation, unless someone tries to use that to target you in which case we will get involved. Conversely, you are protected from having to participate in such activities, as we do not allow preference breaking.
We want everyone reading this policy to understand this does not affect only people who ERP, rather it affects everyone with a vested interest in roleplay. There have been too many times where strictly clean roleplay, even simple conversations, have been broken up due to people claiming they're ERPing, even when they're not, effectively shattering immersion. This affects every good-faith roleplayer and can completely kill one's appetite to roleplay, often due to very human emotions, all because some people overestimate how much actual ERP happens on the server. You can ask others who can tell you how they've experienced this for themselves. It's too common. As for me, I am personally motivated to write this, as I have experienced the same. Nothing kills a good conversation like someone thinking you're ERPing and then trying to break the discussion apart.
This policy will outline what players are and aren't allowed to do, so one knows what is okay and isn't. Keep in mind that good-faith IC interactions are allowed, however, we will be cracking down hard on OOC toxicity, particularly those OOC-in-IC interactions.
Before we go further, let us set down some definitions.
Public and Private Definitions
Private Area
A private place is essentially an area that is not in public use and is very much out of the way, i.e. located in an enclosed room in maintenance or a locked dorm room.
Public Area
A public place is essentially an area that is used frequently by the entire public with little to no expectation of privacy, i.e. the bar, hallways, department lobbies, and so forth.
Semi-Private Area
A semi-private place is an area that is not visible from the outside but is still able to be accessed by the public with frequency and is not required for the maintenance of the server, a department, or a job. This can be a shower room, an enclosed space within the bar, maintenance bar, and so forth.
Semi-Public Area
A semi-public place is an area that is not accessed by the public with frequency but is mandatory for the maintenance of the station, a department, or a job. This can be a blacked-out bar, the back of the department, the breakroom, the engine room, and so forth.
Exception: Being actively pursued means that you are not entitled to any protection besides the bare minimum from an official search party. This does not apply to people who stumble upon you incidentally. If found under those circumstances, you will be obligated to roleplay with the consequences. Conversely, individuals, who abuse this policy, may be charged with valid-hunting and other rules violations.
Basic ERP Courtesy Guidelines
Anti-Grief Protection Rule
There has been a major increase in the number of individuals getting interrupted while simply roleplaying, talking, or hanging out, because people assume they are ERPing when they are not. As a result, we will be handling these cases with absolute severity, as even non-ERP interactions are being ruined by these individuals. Despite what you think, ERP does not happen that often on Skyrat.
- 1: Do not be a dick. Do not be toxic towards others. Be respectful. While we are a roleplaying server first, we are still sex positive. Our goal is to balance that without becoming sex-centric or toxic towards those who ERP. We seek a balance. Repeat violations of the Anti-Grief Protection Rule will have violators categorized as a griefer if seen acting in bad faith, meaning no-appeal permanent bans will be considered.
- 2: Do not call out ERP over comms. We have seen an influx of people claiming people are having sex over comms, even when they're not, thus ruining roleplay altogether. Do not use ERP as a way to cause drama. You will be banned. If a command staff is urgently needed to lead, please ask for them to do their job, however, do not do this in bad faith. If they do not comply, do not interrupt, instead make an admin-help instead. Staff will ascertain the situation to see if the aforementioned command staff is actually needed. Keep note that abuse of this will result in notes and an eventual ban, especially during shifts where nothing is happening. See #1.
Note: Also, remember that Captain is not security and actually cannot act in capacity as security if there are a sufficient number of security personnel. Lastly, they are not required for security to do their job.
- 3: You are not allowed to interrupt an ERP in a private area without gaining 100% OOC consent. You must LOOC beforehand. Keep in mind that we also have wall-piercing LOOC as an option. You will be noted for each violation, and you will be dealt with if we see a pattern. We have seen an influx of people acting in bad faith, and we will no longer be tolerating this.
- 4: IC Non-consensual ERP must be kept contained to only OOCly consenting parties. This means you must use the subtle or subtler emote if in public. You also cannot cause a scene ICly, meaning that you should not bring the rest of the crew into it. For instance, you should not call out people, accuse them, or act in any way that draws attention to it such as calling for security. Everyone involved must consent to the scene fully and those that do not consent must be allowed to leave. Lastly, you cannot get others involved without the consent of all involved parties. If you wish to use non-consensual ERP scenes for character development, please avoid using names. Basically, do not be a dick, do not create senseless drama, and if you want to roleplay it out along with its IC consequences, go ahead but make sure everyone involved is comfortable with it.
If it is not clear that they are kidnapping you for non-consensual ERP, you may treat it as a normal kidnapping attempt. If they mislead you about the nature of the kidnapping, please alert staff immediately. If anyone attempts to cause a scene that draws in a wider crowd, please alert staff. Those acting in bad faith to create unnecessary drama will be banned.
In the case that someone is breaking your preference, LOOC immediately and tell them firmly to stop first. This prevents miscommunication, and it also allows for documentation that staff can use as evidence. If they fail to heed your LOOC, please alert staff immediately. Please do not handle it ICly.
Note: Subtle and Non-Subtle refers to the use or lack of use of the subtle emotes respectively. Using subtle emotes output emotes like a whisper, while the standard emote outputs emotes normally.
- 5: Non-Subtle Public ERP only have the "do not be a dick" rule protecting them. This means you can interrupt them and possibly break them up, given that you roleplay up to that process. However, you should not be toxic in the process. Failure to abide by the OOC "do not be a dick rule" will result in a ban. With that said, we highly encourage players to use subtle emotes in public if they don't want to be interrupted. Furthermore, this is expected if the fetishes involved are non-vanilla so as to avoid drama.
- 6: Subtle Public ERP has more protection. You can interact with them without being toxic, i.e. breaking #1, but you should not be interrupting them or calling them out. You should only attempt to interrupt them or break them up for relocation if they are significantly in the way of others and are actively impeding work. Do not try to use this in bad faith as an excuse to break up roleplay. A history of this will result in your permanent ban.
- 7: Do report any violations. It will be taken seriously.
Mandated Courtesy Guidelines
Do's
- Do follow the Anti-Grief Protection Rule.
- Do report violations of the Mandated Courtesy Guidelines and Anti-Grief Protection Rule.
- Do follow the preferences in the OOC notes of a player. If in doubt, ask in LOOC.
- Do communicate your preferences in LOOC, especially if you ever feel uncomfortable with the scene. Be clear with your partner to avoid misunderstanding.
- Do use LOOC before admin-helping. The vast majority of problems can be resolved with communication. They may not know your boundaries if you do not LOOC first, and we cannot do anything about it unless you try to handle it on your end first.
- Do work with your partner ICly and OOCly to make your RP/ERP drama-free.
- Do use subtler emotes for non-vanilla kinks when in public.
- Do use subtler emotes when you can for privacy.
- Do remove yourself from the situation if something triggers you. Do report a player if they use that trigger to target you.
- As a head or essential personnel, keep your headset on if engaged in consensual sex. Prioritize your job if needed.
- Do roleplay in good faith, outing the perpetrator in an IC non-con scene without OOC consent makes drama that is disruptive to the whole server, rather than a good story.
Don'ts
- Do not violate the Anti-Grief Protection Rule
- Do not perform antagonist activities in the arrival hub. You can have fights and roleplay on the arrival hub, but you are not allowed to damage the place under any means nor use the hub as a way to safely gather material for antagonistic activities.
- Arrival hub dorms are completely protected. Under no circumstance should these dorms be tampered with or affected in any way. Station dorms no longer have this absolute protection, however, they still have the same private ERP protection given by default in the Anti-Grief Protection Rule #3.
- Do not be toxic towards those that ERP. You will be banned.
- Do not use normal emotes for public, non-vanilla ERP.
- Do not ERP with simple mobs that are real world animals with no humanoid properties, i.e. the station pets. Besides that, feel free to play out your monster fantasy.
- Do not seek to create drama out of ERP. Do not try to shame people for ERPing, and do not out the perpetrator in an IC non-con scene without OOC consent, especially if you are not involved.
- Do not neglect your job to ERP if you are needed on the job. You can always join as an assistant and ERP the whole shift.
- Do not go out of your way to bother people who are ERPing. Let people have their fun.
Public Nudity Policy
Definition of Public Nudity
Public nudity is when your character has their genitalia exposed in public. This means even if they are not fully naked, they can be considered naked in public if their genitalia is exposed. Conversely, if no genitalia can be seen, even if fully naked, this means they are not considered naked in public.
People, who do not have any visible genitalia even if fully naked, will not be considered naked in public. Please keep in mind any visible genital slit, sheath, and so forth are still considered genitalia. You should either be a barbie doll or have fur or fluff covering over any genitalia to the point of not being visible.
Lastly, using gear harnesses does not mean you are exempt, nor is hiding genitalia by using the hide genitals command if there is nothing there to actually hide or cover it.
When is Public Nudity an OOC Issue
Public nudity is an IC issue, unless it is made into an OOC issue by being a nuisance. Public nudity becomes an OOC issue when one of the following happens:
- You constantly get naked every single shift, acting rather LRP in the process.
- You constantly get into trouble with security, get arrested, and refuse to obey Corporate Regulation when it comes to public nudity.
- You constantly ignore your head of department or direct supervisor that asks you to be clothed while on-duty when in said department .
- You act in bad faith when it comes to being nude in public such as intentionally harassing people with your nudity, using your nudity to have an excuse to commit further crimes, and so forth.
Is Intentional Public Nudity Prohibited In General?
It is completely fine to have a character that prefers to be nude, however, you should be more thoughtful and strategic when it comes to the timing. If you want to get naked in the bar, it is fine as long as you do not try every time. You should not force the issue to the point of being a pain, otherwise you will be labeled a nuisance, thereby making this an OOC issue. As long as you don't try to make this an issue every shift and so forth, it is an IC issue.
You can always be naked in a private area. You can also be naked without issue in certain non-public areas. Some areas like a public sauna or swimming pool, it may be acceptable to be naked without incident.
It may be appropriate to expose some skin in semi-public areas, i.e. back of cargo, warehouse, back of your department, or break room. However, if you are fully nude, you should at least make yourself somewhat decent if ordered or asked by your supervisor or head. Again, as long as you're not being openly defiant and making it an issue OOCly, it will be considered an IC issue.