Rules

BY ENTERING INSILICO, YOU AGREE THAT YOU ARE OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN AND AGREE TO ABIDE BY THESE RULES. YOU AGREE THAT YOU ARE NOT OFFENDED BY VIOLENCE, ADULT LANGUAGE OR SEXUAL CONTENT, AND WILL NOT HOLD THE OWNER OF THE SIM, OR ITS LEGAL PARTICIPANTS LIABLE. PARTIES NOT OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN ARE HEREBY CONSIDERED TRESPASSING AND ARE LEGALLY LIABLE FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS. YOU FURTHERMORE AGREE THAT THE OWNER OF THIS SIM AND ITS LEGAL PARTICIPANTS DEFER ONTO THE TRESPASSING PARTY ALL RESPONSIBILITY BEYOND THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LEGAL LIABILITIES.

YOUR ENTRANCE INTO THIS SIM, DECLARES THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS; IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND AND AGREE, DO NOT ENTER THIS SIM.

Intro

We want to encourage good roleplaying, and will happily help you. For best results, spend some time and $L on your avatar, and quietly watch others play before participating. There is no Observer or Visitor tag needed, just try not to break the immersion. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask a local member. Do not ask for help in public chat in non-OOC areas, instead send an Instant Message (IM).

Make sure you read everything and understand the following rules clearly. It is your responsibility to know the rules! This is a private sim and what we and our admins say goes. We do not have to explain ourselves to people who like to argue.

To join the Roleplay please do a search in groups for "IN SILICO Metro", enrollment is free. It’s a great way to keep up with RP story lines and to be in the know about changes to the city and updates to the rules. If you are here to stay and want to make INSILICO your home you might want to rent an apartment here, too.

Rules

Rentals

Rules regarding our commercial and residential rentals can be found here.

Mature content

This is a MATURE roleplaying SIM with violent and sexual content of varying orientation that can include sexual fantasies, forced fantasies, BDSM, fetishistic behavior as well as combat and general violence. If this is not your interest, please leave!

Griefing

Griefing will be defined broadly and treated harshly. You'll get a warning on a good day, but we are prepared to ban anyone who doesn't play to our standards. The Community Standards apply here as well.

Vehicles & Pets

Vehicles should not be rezzed/driven in the Mall or Landing Zone unless approved by staff.

Rezzing your own vehicle is not a problem as long as it fits the theme and is not lagging the sim or other people. Be mindful of not griefing in your vehicles. Drive/Fly carefully.

Pets of any kind have to be approved by staff… Even if they just follow you around or fly at your shoulder, they're not allowed. Period. This includes but is not limited to bats, cats, dogs, wolves, horses, etc… This also includes riding animals.

Avatar Appearance & Characters

We want realistic, immersive roleplay, Avatars that do not fit the theme of this sim and disrupt immersion are not allowed in IC areas. You don't have to look 100% cyber or like a "true" cyberpunk. anything you and we can imagine in a city like this works. There are no "X-Men" or "Super Heros". Suggested adaptations/mutations can be found in the Character guidelines. Those who wish to roleplay common domestic non-talking animals must be approved by staff.

But to make it clear, this means: No Furries, Nekos, Angels/Demons, Vampires, Dragons, Cartoon Characters, supernatural fantasy-beings, blingtards, naked noobs and sorts. We work very hard to protect the quality of the RP here. Please respect that. No powers beyond logical reason will be recognized. Avatars such as these or any other that is deemed distracting from the RP experience of others will be asked to either change or leave.

There are plenty of other RP sims with a player base consisting of almost 100% Neko and demons etc, please understand that we have absolutely nothing against you, we are just aiming for a specific setting and realistic cyberpunk roleplay.
If you want to be a part of it, please respect that fact.

Military characters are ok but have to comply the local authorities. Giant Mech / Robot Avatars of any kind may only be used occasionally and have to be approved by staff.

Also, please have an eye on your avatar rendering cost. keep your avatar appearance efficient, especially when there are many people. Scanners, Spy-Scripts and other similar attachments are not permitted here. Please keep attachments to a minimum in general and comply if asked to remove something. This greatly reduces SIM issues (lag) and is consistent with the Linden Community Standards.

Roleplay

Roleplaying is not enforced within INSILICO's IC areas but encouraged. No one forces you to take part in Scenes actively, just keep it realistic please and say you are on the phone or on your way to work etc or simply remain quiet and act as bystander. Everywhere is IC except following OOC areas: Landing Zone and Mall, Clubs (during Events) and inside the Apartments.

• No Observer or Visitor tag needed, just try not to break the immersion or even disturb roleplay. There is no need to talk about yourself in the 3rd person all the time. Spoken Words should be spoken in chat - quotes are to be avoided. In the end it's up to the players how they want to play their characters, but most of us encourage a realistic realtime style. Just be yourself, but in theme. Don't write Novels in chat, keep it realistic but don't lose yourself in details. Keep IC conversations in english when you are not alone.

• Roleplay is based on consent. That means that no one is forced to roleplay with you. You must obtain consent from the other party before roleplaying with them. Sometimes consent is assumed automatically in simple scenes such as a conversation. Other times it would be wise to get consent OOC before starting a RP scene. Scenes involving combat is encouraged to be consented before starting. This reduces the risk of OOC drama. No forced rape!

• Voiding is allowed. That means you can ignore another players RP as a last resort. Be fair about it, remember that people will rarely want to RP with you again if you voided their RP. Voiding should only be used if there is no way to work out your OOC differences.

• Power-gaming is not allowed. Don’t leave your fellow players with no choice than to void your actions. Leave your posts open to be countered by the other party. Don’t be invincible in emoted combat. Play fair and try and take as many hits as your opponent.

• Special access to hard to obtain items: Be realistic! Often enough the logistics of making it possible would be staggering. So if you intent to gain any such access, contact the respective Faction Leader and present them your plan/intentions and hear their reasons why they allow or not allow this to happen. It is their decision and certainly dependent on facts as it being plot-related or done just for boredom.

• Consent must be given to cause damage to a building. So no random bombings, fires and raids. Damage to the structure would alter RP for some time and has consequences for stories outside of your own.

• Extra special hearing/seeing devices, spying/hacking: If two people have gone into a locked room it is common sense that they have done so for privacy. Respect it! Of course there are ways. But as with most RP, be able to back it up with display of actual knowledge on the topic. If you claim to be a master lock smith able to pick any lock, you will have to be able to act like one. And actually display some technical knowledge about locks in your emotes. As with all RP, obtain OOC-consent from all parties involved before taking a potentially unwanted action.

• Public nudity as part of a RP scene is allowed but might get you arrested. RP scenes require actual RP, this sim is not here for people to have sex in. If you are just visiting, please keep your clothing on.

• No Kid Avatars under 16 in IC areas and absolutely no ageplay! (under 18)

Events

Anyone may throw an event IC or OOC with the consent of Administration Team. Events may have a custom rule set.

Combat

Background

Tensions often run high in Insilico and violence is a part of everyday life. While it is preferred that disputes be settled amicably and without resorting to violence, it doesn't take much to provoke a fist fight or an all-out firefight. The Insilico authorities don't concern themselves with the violence so long as it doesn't affect business, which mostly leaves the citizens to police themselves.

Scripted DCS2 combat is meant to enhance, not replace RP. Insilico is not a combat sim. People coming to Insilico and starting firefights contrary to the rules laid out below will be ejected.

Rules

We are using the DCS2 combat system in Insilico. DCS2 is an optional combat tool for those who do not wish to emote their combat. It is entirely up to your preference if you want to RP your fights, or use the DCS2. For more details on the current DCS2 configuration, go to http://insilico.ning.com/profiles/blogs/changes-to-dcs2

There must be a legitimate reason for combat in Insilico. However, in a city where tensions are high and the populace is armed, valid reasons are not hard to come by. They include but are not limited to the following:

• Arguments. Arguments can lead to fighting which may lead to gunfire.

• Being collateral damage. If you are somewhere when a firefight breaks out and you are injured you have a legitimate grievance against the party that caused the injury. For example, if you're enjoying a bowl of noodles at the Buddha Bowl and take a bullet meant for someone else or catch shrapnel from a grenade, you have a legitimate grievance.

• Being part of a rival faction. For example, if you're in a Syndicate that is at war with another Syndicate and you see a member of the rival group, you are certainly permitted to attack that person without warning.

• Under contract. Assassins can be hired to perform a hit, but the person hiring the assassin must have a legitimate grievance with the target and the assassin must have a contract created by the person hiring that can be passed to a GM for verification.

• If you are victorious of a fight involving DCS2 combat, the victim is not dead. They are unconscious or otherwise incapacitated and at your mercy. If your opponent does not wish to RP the scene, a 'Fade to Black' approach must be respected.

• Any situation involving the death of a character requires prior OOC consent and must be role-played.

Weapons
Conventional weapons such as guns, knives, and low yield grenades are allowed. Lightsabers and other "force" powers are not. Keep your weapons in theme, remember, it’s the year 2478, not 40,000. If you are unsure, ask a GM about your weapon.

• Guns must be set to an RP mode. That means no casings, no pushing, no gimmick bullets unless explainable through RP. If your gun doesn't have an RP mode, don't use it in Insilico.

• No caging (You may use a cage as a prop only with the consent of the other party). Physical bombs or devices that cause large-scale disturbances will be ejected and banned without the courtesy of a warning. No mass-area affecting weapons. Nukers, particle laggers, and people using avatar blocking weapons that clear the sim will be dealt with very harshly and will be pursued to the point of a hard code ban from SL through Linden Lab.

• No shields, combat or radar HUDs, or any other fancy and unneeded gadgets allowed, keep it low lag for everyone!

• Do not use more than two hand/wrist-guns during a combat or one rifle at the same time. This is necessary to avoid unfair combat situations. Also consider to which extent your character is able to use different types of arms. A delicate human woman will very likely not be able to shoot with a rocket launcher on her shoulder. However, if you have certain body enhancements or are playing an android/cyborg etc., these powers can be explained.

• Movement enhancers are fine if they can be explained by cybernetics or genetic enhancement. No TP to cam in scenes, only when no one can see you, to save time.

• Flying is allowed as long as it is realistic. Use a jetpack, vehicle or similar device.

Obligation to roleplay combat/warning
If someone insults you or does anything else that would realistically prompt a confrontation, then that is all the "warning" one is required to give. Make sure that you have a reason for fighting. You can't pick a fight just to have an excuse to start shooting.

Again, DCS2 scripted combat is a tool, not a replacement for RP in Insilico. If you just want to walk around and shoot people go to a combat sim.

Once two parties have an established grievance, no further warning is needed between them thereafter. From that point on, they walk around Insilico knowing the other party is gunning for them.

There is an exception for IPS, however, who should attempt arrest before engaging in a firefight. IPS may announce themselves either verbally or non-verbally with things like teargas.

Out of Bounds
The mall is currently the only OOC area in Insilico. Apartments are OOC or IC at the discretion of the renter living there. Clubs are IC, unless a special event is taking place. All these areas are out of bounds for DCS2 combat.

Defeat is not permanent, but no accusations of cheating or foul play against others (nothing is ever entirely balanced, especially in the freedom of SL, though we do our best to keep it fair). Be ready to accept responsibility, whatever the outcome. You cannot win all battles, and losing a battle is still having good RP.

And finally, have fun, be mature, and if you have any problems, contact a GM for assistance. Understand that if you choose to wear the DCS2, combat will find you, and most encounters will only have one walking away.

Healing

All defeated avatars are considered grievously wounded and may ONLY heal naturally by visiting the Medical Center or by a healer class. Treatment there will fully restore one's health over a time of your own choosing.

Public OOC Chat & Voice

OOC CHAT HAS TO BE MARKED WITH BRACKETS FROM NOW ON (either (( or [[ or use tools to display OOC chat like the built in DCS2 OOC function /9 ooc <text>) When no one else is around you dont have to mark your chat as OOC of course, but please as soon as you aren't alone any more switch to IC, as they will most likely approach you IC!

This is a common rule in all RP sims, most of them even have Voice turned off aswell.

EXCESSIVE RL AND OOC CHATTER IN PUBLIC WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, keep it to a MINIMUM around those who ARE roleplaying, or preferably use IM's. Disturbing others is not acceptable. People found breaking the roleplay will be asked to either participate or leave. If you want to have an OOC discussion, PLEASE USE IMS OR AN OOC AREA.
Shouting must be kept to a minimum and always in character. Using Second Life's Voice Feature for RP is not allowed, since the text people would miss out. You are free to use Voice OOC as much as you like. If you are roleplaying and voice is annoying you, just mute the volume or disable voice, that's the easiest way for all. Although people abusing Voice to play music or make noise with crappy mics will be warned and on the next occasion banned (this applies to excessive gesture usage as well). Keep it immersible or voice will be shut down globally.

Disputes

Disputes about Roleplay is inevitable. If you find yourself in a situation, remain calm. Refrain from acting childishly and start personal OOC attacks. Remember it’s just a story that we are telling together in a game.

Feel free to ask a Moderator to look at a scene gone bad. Please explain in full your situation and include chat-logs with description of peoples locations and so forth. Snapshots are a good tool as well.

Further, do not attack someone if they break the rules. Contact a Moderator via IM. Likewise, if a Moderator calls for a halt to the combat/RP, stop. Don't interfere while they are correcting a problem.

An Admin’s decision is final. There is no complaint department higher than the Admin’s.

Pool Rules

The pool in Insilico West is for public use but has it's own set of unique rules.

• No weapons or combat in the pool area.

• No clothing is allowed inside the pool area, though swim wear is an exception.

Failure to follow these rules can and most likely will lead to ejection from the area.