T.E.C.TIQUETTE
-
or - You're a newbie and everybody hates you. How to make nice.
Eleven
things that the old-timers wish that newbies knew.
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1 - Don't "approach" other players.
It may
seem the natural thing to do when addressing someone one-on-one but remember,
approach is the first step in attacking. And veterans are paranoid. When
you've been around as long as some of us have and have had your pouch full
of gems lifted by a thief or attacked by some jerk while worn and bleeding
from a round of dump hunting and left for dead you'll be paranoid too.
Veterans have spent a lot of time and effort in getting their characters
where they are and won't take chances on losing them. Some may even attack
you just for approacing them.
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2 - Don't shout in think.
Shouting
in think is typing in all capitol letters. If your thinks are being ignored
or not noticed just keep trying. I don't care if you are bleeding to death
in the sewers there is no more certain way to guarantee that you will piss
everyone off than if you shout in think. And is such a case there is a
good chance that no one will want to help such a rude character anyway.
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3 - Watch yer language.
Even though
you may have decided that your character is a rude, crude sort of fellow,
even in you are playing him to the hilt and being quite IC in doing so,
you will find that TEC tends to attract a more mature customer. And most
players frown upon unnecessary crudity. Keep your remarks appropriate in
public and in think unless you are with a group of characters you know
won't mind. Now, I am talking about "four-letter words" and the public
display of bodily functions here. Being crude in ways that are not sharply
offensive in order to keep your play IC is just fine and dandy. Vino often
gets "drunk" in public (that's part of the character) and can be prone
to fall oll over people, stagger around and even insult others in a drunken
rage. But you'll never catch him using language any more offensive that
"Yah? Well, yer mother wears hobnailed boots! So thar!"
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4 - OOC / IC.
OOC means
out-of-character, IC means in-character. Remember this is a role-playing
game. Emphasis on role-playing. TEC is based on an ancient-roman-type world.
Conduct your character as if you were actually that person. References
to game mechanics, high school gym class and who won the world series are
definitely OOC.
Bear
in mind also that OOC statements in think run the risk of being "muted".
Muting is when a GM or Auxilii hear your OOC think and ban you from think
for a week or so for your excessive abuse. Most GMs and Auxilii, however,
will give you a warning. If they do then you should take it seriously.
Just imagine operating in the game for a week without the ability to "think".
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5 - Dumb names.
When you
name your character give it a little thought. A dumb name, and especially
an OOC name, will surely make it difficult to earn the respect of other
players. And if you run into Vino, he has a nasty habit of thumpin' dumb-names
(fair warning).
Examples
of dumb names: MCHammer, Knuckleberry, Darkavenger, Christ, Biglover.
Examples
of IC names: Idicus, Timitus, Antonusa, Atua, Seraph.
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6 - Don't abuse the emote command.
For those
of you who don't know there is a useful command called emote. The
emote command describes an action by your character that is not
covered by such commands as jump, raise, headshake, etc. To use the command
just type the emote command followed by a description of what you want
others to see you do. Emote places your name immediately before the text
and then shows it to all players in your area.
Example:
The command string: emote coughs loudly. will cause the other players in
the area to see - "Vino coughs loudly."
Example:
The command string: emote squashs a cockroach under his boot. will cause
the other players in the area to see - "Vino squashes a cockroach under
his boot."
As
such the emote command is easy to abuse and can be used to project the
most ridiculous actions as if you had actually performed them. Nothing
irritates players more than this.
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7 - Discard, discard, discard!
If you
have an item and want to throw it away....DISCARD IT! If you notice, the
city is cluttered with crap people have simply dropped and left on the
ground. Normally this doesn't really cause a problem except in two cases:
rat stomachs and sacks. A sack on the floor is a real problem, especially
in shops. Many a player has lost an item they just purchased because they
tried to put it in their sack by typing put <item> in sack (instead
of put <item> in my sack). And of course, the item ended up in that
sack on the floor and the player has no idea what happened to it. Don't
drop any kind of container, discard them.
The
other case is rat stomachs. In the dumps this can be a real teeth-gritter.
Ever noticed how many stomachs there are on the ground out there? Now imagine
trying to find the stomach that you just skinned out of a rat among the
18 empty ones on the ground around it. Please, please, please discard those
stomachs!
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8 - Click those banners.
Most players
come to TEC because it's free (most MUDs aren't). If you enjoy the detailed
and rich world of TEC and like having it available anytime for free then
click a banner every once in a while. It's those banners that keep the
game free. Try to get in the habit of clicking at least one every time
you play.
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9 - Help other newbies.
When you
reach the point where you are familiar with the game and can consider yourself
a veteran , don't forget where you came from. Help newbies to the game
just as others helped you. Remember, it's the new blood that keeps the
game growing.
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10 - Don't attack shopkeepers.
They don't
have anything of value and they will broadcast your name all across the
think-net (and most players tend to take assaults on shopkeepers rather
seriously). You can count on a charge of assault by the constables and
a jail term of at least a couple of hours, not to mention earning the animosity
of most of the population of Iridine.. It's Just Not Worth It.
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11 - Don't steal another guy's kill.
When
in a hunting ground (sewers, dumps, etc.) and you enter an area where a
player is fighting, even if against overwhelming odds, DO NOT jump into
the fight. If you feel you must intervene do not do so without permission
and certainly do not do so without even asking. Remember that each successful
hit on a target (be it rat, osecar, thug, etc.) grants the hunter a certain
number of skill points. Most players hunt for the experience rather than
hides or gems. Jumpin' another guy's kill is just like stealing skill points.
Expect to be pounded if the guy is a veteran player.
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