Web Fed News Yearbooks - April 2003

MONTH IN BRIEF

April Fool's Day saw the puzzle planet Fools, with a pie-throwing puzzle. Halia was the first to solve it.

Hazed started a new series on Fed Etiquette - see below.

Alan published an article on his web site about how he designed the Fed economy. You can read it at http://www.ibgames.net/alan/mpgames/economy.html.

FEDIQUETTE

Fediquette means Fed Etiquette, and starting next week I am going to be writing a series of articles, one every couple of weeks, covering different aspects of Fed Etiquette. Topics up for discussion include Spybeam Etiquette and Alt Etiquette - and if you have any other suggestions please mail me at fi@ibgames.com.

My dictionary defines etiquette as follows:

Forms of civilized manners or decorum; the conventional laws of courtesy observed between members of the same profession, sport, etc

So we're talking about manners. Manners, at their most extreme, can be used as a form of exclusion - if you don't know the proper way to hold a fish knife, or the way to pronounce a word, you are considered to be not worthy of inclusion in the group. That's not the kind of etiquette I am talking about; I don't care about the correct way to address a member of the Galactic Administration, or which fork to use when eating pizza in Chez Diesel.

What concerns me is the word "courtesy". That's what I mean by etiquette. Showing consideration for other people; considering the effect that something you say or do may have on others; thinking about more than just your own wants and needs and desires.

The ibgames house rules and Fed rules are all about preventing players from annoying each other, and they cover the gross actions that have such a serious effect that we have deemed them to be against the rules. But there are also plenty of things that are not against the rules, but which it may not be advisable to do - at least, not to do regularly or to make into a habit. For example, using the "Slap" command can be effective, as a joke, or to indicate that someone has done something to offend you; but if you walked up to people and slapped them for no reason, that would not be polite at all.

So, in an effort to foster a more civilized atmosphere in Fed DataSpace, my articles on Fediquette will cover some of the things that can be abused in Fed, and how you can avoid doing so. I hope you find them thought-provoking.

WHY YOU CAN'T POST URLS ON THE BAR BOARD

We've had to remind a few people recently that we don't allow you to post URLs to other web sites onto the bar board, and they all demanded to know why we were being so restrictive, repressive, oppressive and just plain mean.

Well there is a good reason, and it's got nothing to do with being mean. The reason is that we would not want URLs on the board to lead to any unsuitable sites. By unsuitable we mean both sites with rude pictures of young ladies without any clothes, and sites advertising other games or products. In order to make sure only suitable URLs were posted on the board, staff who monitor the board would have to follow all the links posted to make sure they didn't lead to places that we wouldn't recommend. That would increase the workload of staff, so instead the rule is simply: no URLs.

The only exception to the rule is if the URL leads to a site that is about a Fed event (such as Survivor) or a Fed Meet, in which case the site owner can mail feedback@ibgames.com and ask for permission to post a link on the board. If permission is given, then you can post the URL - but not otherwise.

MOST GAMES PLAYED

Returning to the theme of how many Fed games people have played, as discussed in the Chronicle last month, Ops weighed into the debate by informing us he had played 5,878 games. Not as much as Our Illustrious Leader's total of 6,230, but impressive nonetheless.

But what have we here? A claim that surpasses Bella's prodigious total by quite a long way. Bouncing into the record books is Chiefsgirl who boasts an astonishing 6,741 games. Wow!

FROM THE POSTBAG: THE GM AND MEDICATION

Curious Fedders are always asking questions about life, the universe and everything, and we do our best to satisfy them by giving them a plausible answer. Not necessarily a true answer, but so long as they believe the answer, that's good enough for us.

After all, who can be bothered with all that research, when it's much easier to make stuff up?

Sometimes, of course, despite our extreme laziness and apathy, we do manage to produce an answer that is actually true. Isn't journalism great?

Anyway, to this week's question:

If my GM had been in the Loo, and I drank the whoosh... would the GM message have triggered?

Well for goodness sake, what an obscure question! How on Earth (or anywhere in the Solar System) are we supposed to know? We're droids, we have never looked for the GM and will never even attempt to climb the greasy promotion pole.

Still, let's look at the facts. First, can the GM hide in the toilets on Earth? Well, yes, there's nothing to stop him (apart from common decency) but it's not very likely. A quick count shows there are something like 630 locations in Sol, excluding the space locations. The GM can appear in any of them except death locations, of which there's only about 7 or 8 in Sol. So there's in the region of 620 possible places the GM could appear. Two of those locations are public conveniences, so the odds of the GM showing up locked in one of the cubicles is about 310 to 1. Except that the person asking this question was a male, so would only be interested in the GM being in the gentlemen's facilities, so that doubles the odds to 620 to 1.

Well, people buy lottery tickets with much greater odds on winning than that, so it's not impossible.

Now, when you drink the whoosh, it has the immediate effect of transporting you to the appropriate toilet. This can be a convenient way to travel, if you don't mind the stomach cramps! But in the process of transporting you, you get dumped into the location without actually walking through the doors.

The GM counts as a kind of event - like the events you can put on your planets. Well, not really like them, but for the purposes of this question, close enough. Events on the IN trigger are triggered when the player walks into the room. Note the word "walk". Events don't get triggered when a player appears in the room by logging on there. Similarly, if anything magically transports you to another location, you don't walk through the door so the trigger isn't triggered.

This, incidentally, is one of the reasons why you cannot teleport into a room with an event on it - because you would be able to bypass the event!

So from this, we can conclude that if you arrive in the location where your GM is by any means other than walking, then the GM won't show himself. So if he's in the Loo, using the whoosh will stop you from promoting.

At least, that's what we think!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT DUCHY BANS

Seen on the bar board:

212662:178 - Jerden: Newest slogan making its rounds in Fed: We Ban Because We Can

Yes, there has been a sudden surge in duchy bans in the past week or so. And with it, have come the usual misconceptions about bans, so it's time once again for me to explain about how they work. Here, then, are some Frequently Asked Questions about duchy bans.

Who can issue a ban?

Any Duke or Duchess can issue a ban, covering all of the planets in the duchy.

So POs can't ban people from their planets?

No, only Dukes can issue bans. A PO can of course ask someone to leave the planet, and it would be courtesy for him (or her) to do so - but if he doesn't, the only way to enforce the request would be for the Duke to ban him from the whole duchy. Or for the PO to close the planet!

The one exception to this is if the visit to your planet is part of a general campaign of harassment, then I might instruct the player to stay away from your planet at the same time as I tell him not to TB you.

Do I have to have a valid reason to ban someone?

Nope. You can ban someone for any reason at all - social, economic, joke, whim, momentary madness - or for no reason at all. You hold the keys to your duchy; you determine who can enter and who cannot. You can even ban people who have never set foot in your duchy and probably never would, although if you do this too often you may get a reputation for being a bit extreme!

What do I have to do to ban someone?

You have to inform him that he is banned, by TBing him. As soon as you do that, the ban is in effect. The TB needs to say clearly "You are banned from the Duchy of Whatever" or words to that effect. Saying "You are banned from my duchy" isn't clear enough, you need to name the duchy.

Can I ban someone who is not in the game right now?

No. Since you have to TB someone in order to ban them, you need to do it when they are actually in the game. You cannot issue a ban when they are not there.

If I ban someone, does it apply to his alts too?

No. A ban can only be issued against an individual Fed character. You can't say to someone that he is banned, and all his alts, and his little dog too. You need to TB each individual character you want the ban to apply to.

However, if I have reason to think that somebody is deliberately setting up alts in order to flout a ban, I might tell him the ban does apply to his alts as well; but that will only happen in exceptional circumstances.

Can I ban an entire duchy from my duchy?

Well, yes you can, but only by individually banning the members. You cannot TB a Duke and tell him that all his POs are banned.

Can I ban someone on behalf of another Duke?

No, not even if the other Duke is an alt of yours. Bans have to be character-to-character - if you have more than one duchy, then you need to issue separate bans from each Duke. Neither can you issue a ban to cover a whole alliance of duchies; each Duke has to issue the ban or bans separately.

Do I have to do anything else to ban someone?

Although the ban goes into effect as soon as you issue it, if you want it to be enforced then you have to send an email to feedback@ibgames.com, so I can log the ban. The email should include your Fed character name, and the name of your duchy, and a capture showing you sending the TB to the banned player. The capture should include a timestamp which shows when you issued the ban.

What's a timestamp?

Use the TIME command just before or after you send the TB. The game will respond by telling you the date and time. This will then show up in your log.

What if I ban someone but he doesn't see the notice?

Since one of the reasons to ban someone is to stop him trading in your duchy, and since many over-enthusiastic traders use macros to trade, then it's quite likely that the person won't even see your TB telling him he is banned.

There's two things you can do about this. The most usual response is to include a note in your email to feedback saying that you don't think he got the message. Then I can email the player, making sure he does know that he is banned.

Or, if you think there is a serious reason to want the player out of your duchy right now, then you can ask a member of staff to help - either a navigator or a host. The nav or host can spy on you or on the person you are banning; you can re-issue the ban notice; and if it's not acknowledged, the staff member can remove the player from the game. If a nav is not of the right rank to spy on the banned player, then you should issue the ban on whatever comm channel the player is tuned to, so the nav has confirmation that the ban has been issued.

What happens if someone breaks a duchy ban?

If after somebody has been informed of a ban, he returns to the duchy, then you need to take a capture (including a timestamp) which shows him in the duchy, and mail it to feedback@ibgames.com. Make sure you include in the email your name, your duchy name and the banned player's name, so I don't have to do any detective work to figure out who you are!

If I have reason to believe the player does know about the ban - either because I emailed him, or because the original banning capture showed him responding - then I will take action against him. If there is doubt about whether he knows about the ban, I will simply email him to make sure he knows.

What if the player doesn't get the email?

When I send a player an email, I use the registered email address for the account. It's your responsibility to make sure that information is correct. If I email you and the email bounces, or you don't see it because it goes to a email address you don't check any more, that's too bad. If you're not sure what email address is on your account, log onto the account page of the web site at https://www.ibgames.net/account. The email address will show at the top of the page. If you want to change it, click the link at the bottom of the page to "Change your password or other account details".

What action will you take?

That depends.

On what?

On whether I think the player is deliberately flouting the ban in order to cause trouble, or if it's a mistake.

How could it be a mistake?

Well, it's possible that if a player was banned from your duchy a long, long time ago he might have forgotten. It's also possible that he is aware of a ban, but forgot to amend his auto-trader macro to avoid your duchy. In which case, he gets a warning but no further action is taken unless he continues to go where he is not wanted.

So what if it's deliberate?

If a player deliberately flouts a ban, after having been officially informed by me that he is not allowed to go to the duchy, then I will lock him out of Fed until he agrees to stay out in future. If he won't agree, or if he breaks the ban again, he is kicked out of Fed completely.

Can I enforce a ban on behalf of another Duke?

No. If you see a player enter a duchy that you are not Duke of, but you know he is banned from, there's really nothing you can do. You can TB the person to remind them they are not supposed to be there, just in case they have forgotten about the ban, but they don't have to listen! You cannot ask staff to enforce the ban, or ask me to do it. Only the Duke can do that. About all you can do is make sure the Duke knows about the trespass.

Isn't this all a big fuss over nothing?

No. Although the duchy ban rule does create a fair amount of paperwork for me, I think it's a fundamental right of a Duke to be able to determine who is welcome in his duchy, and who is not. In the absence of an actual game command that lets Dukes prevent named players from jumping to the duchy, the duchy ban rule in its current form allows Dukes their own space in the game where they can set the rules (within the context of the Fed rules, of course).

In an ideal world, nobody would want to go somewhere they were not welcome, out of sheer courtesy. Since courtesy seems in short supply in Fed DataSpace these days, the duchy ban rule does the job.

BOY OR GIRL?

How many of you male Fedders have been in this situation? You've been chatted up in Fed by a gorgeous, pouting female (alien or human) who has proceeded to offer to share the delights of her body with you in a session of cybersex. Only later do you discover that the real person behind the space siren is, in fact, male. Embarrassment ensues.

Computer scientists in Israel may be able to help you avoid this kind of gender confusion. Although they had much higher motives than to avoid sexual mix-ups.

The scientists have discovered that men and women have different writing styles, and their computer program can tell them apart. They trained the program by feeding it 566 pieces of fiction and non-fiction, after which the program announced that men and women use certain different key words more often. Women are more likely use the words "not", "wouldn't", "couldn't" and "shouldn't". Men use "the" and "and" more frequently. Armed with these details, the program can analyse a new text and correctly figure out the author's gender four times out of five.

Now we just have to wait for the program to become generally available, so it can be applied to TBs in Fed...

EAST IS EAST, WEST IS WEST... OR MAYBE NOT

I cannot be the only Fedder who sometimes gets east and west confused. When writing a location description for a planet I have been known to put an exit which goes west, but write in the description that it goes east.

So consider the following passage, about directions when in the south polar region:

"In parts of East Antarctica West Antarctica is east, in others west. This of course depends on if you are in east East Antarctica or west. However, if you are in west West Antarctica, East Antarctica is west unless you want to go to west East Antarctica in which case it is east. The same holds for east West Antarctica, only in reverse, except that if you want to go to west East Antarctica, you still go east."

Phew! This passage is from a 1975 publication entitled "Initial reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. The paragraph concludes: "No wonder we don't know what we found."