NEAR DEATH STUDIOS, INC.
The Rules of Play
March, 2002

1. General

   This document is intended to be a guideline for how to work and play well with others while in the world of Meridian 59. Meridian 59 is an online role-playing game (RPG), and you will be interacting with other people. Remember that everyone is here to have fun; having fun at someone else's expense makes them unhappy and usually requires that the administrators step in to correct the problem.

   Every player must follow these rules in order for everyone to have fun in the game. People who insist on violating these rules will be subject to the punishments listed later in this document.

   Please note that these rules can and probably will change as the game changes. It is your responsibility to keep up to date on what the current Rules of Play are. We will make an effort to notify you of any changes by an appropriate medium, which may include a notice on the Message of the Day area during character selection or a post on the newsglobes found in the adventurer's halls and inns in the various cities. Ignorance of the rules or changes to the rules will not lessen the punishment you receive for violations.

   Please note that NDS in this document refers to Near Death Studios, Inc, the current legal owner and operator of the Meridian 59 online game.

2. General Definitions

   “In-game” refers to anything that happens in Meridian 59 as the result of normal gameplay.

   “Public communication” refers to any communication viewed by a large number of people. This can include says, broadcasts, posts on the various newsglobes around the game, and character descriptions and personal URLs.

   “Non-public communication” includes tells and send groups that people have given consent to be added to. It can also include says in restricted areas, such as rentable rooms.

   “Player” refers to the person that controls an in-game character.

   “Character” refers to the in-game representation the Player controls. Please note that this is NOT the same as the Player. Also called the avatar or “toon”.

3. Purpose of the Rules of Play

   Online games are unique compared to more traditional single-player games because you have the opportunity to interact with other people. This interaction with other people can give you a depth of game play that you cannot find in single-player games. Unfortunately, it can also bring people into conflict, especially a game that focus on player vs. player fighting as Meridian 59 does.

   These Rules of Play are intended as a guideline to help people know what is and is not appropriate while playing Meridian 59. As mentioned above, your enjoyment cannot come at the expense of the enjoyment of other players; this will cause other players to stop having fun.

   Since online games are about interacting with other people, the concept of “community” is very important. Anything that harms the sense of community enjoyed by the players of Meridian 59 will most likely violate either the letter or the spirit of these rules and will be punished accordingly.

   Finally, remember that all non-Sacred Haven game servers include an element of player vs. player (PvP) combat. Killing of characters is allowed by the game rules and reasonable PvP combat that happens in the course of gameplay will generally not be seen as violating these rules.

4. NDS Employees and Staff

   Employees are indicated by their character’s green names in the game. Any rules contained in this document will be superceded by any in-game instructions by NDS employees. Refusing to follow the instructions of an NDS employee will be subject to the punishments which are listed in this document.

   Characters with blue names are staff or former developers of Meridian 59. Staff are in the game for very specific purposes, usually to provide customer service support. Former developers like to check in on the game they helped develop and see people enjoying their creation.

   Characters with yellow names are special former developers. They were some of the original people to develop the game.

   Do NOT harass these characters for items, boosts, or any sort of in-game help. Doing so will be considered harassment and will be dealt with appropriately. If you think you have been affected by a bug, you may politely ask for assistance. Remember that these people may be busy or have not been given the ability to help you with your problem; if this is the case, you should contact customer service via the other approved methods.

   All of the harassment policies outlined in this document apply to these characters as well, and will be punished as appropriate.

   Please note that misleading someone in order to convince them that you are a NDS Employee or member of the Staff or former developer is a serious violation of these rules and will be dealt with appropriately.

5. Policies

   Here is a list of current Meridian 59 policies. Please note that this list is NOT exhaustive and we can change this list in any way we see fit as mentioned above.

1. Follow the End User License Agreement (EULA) you agreed to when installing the software and the Terms of Service (TOS) you agreed to when creating an account. Failure to follow these contracts will subject you to the punishments listed in this document as well as further possible actions as outlined in those documents.
2. NO CHEATING: This is a zero-tolerance policy as outlined in the TOS. Exploiting bugs or using third-party programs to give yourself additional capabilities not normally granted to characters is the most serious violation of the rules and will almost always result in the deletion of your account. Even attempted cheating will be grounds for severe punishment. We have ways of detecting these cheats and will add more detection as new cheats are discovered. THIS IS THE ONLY WARNING YOU WILL RECEIVE ABOUT THIS MATTER.
3. No Personal Harassment: Personal attacks based on a player’s race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual preference, or disability will not be tolerated. You should NOT take things to a personal level while in the game. If someone kills you, do not respond with insults of a personal nature. Insults directed at the character itself that do not violate other rules are generally within the bounds of the game if they remain in good taste. For more information, see the section on “Harassment” below.
4. Language Policy: We will tolerate a mild amount of “foul” language in non-public communication between players that do not object. Use of such words in public communication (this includes character descriptions) will be frowned upon and punished as appropriate. Flooding anyone with profanity when they do not wish to see it will count as harassment. We encourage people that do not wish to view foul language or that wish to keep children from seeing such language to become familiar with the language filter for communication built into the client software. Anyone attempting to circumvent language filters by using alternate characters (E.G., “\/\/” (backslash, slash, backslash, slash) for the letter “W”), alternate spellings, backwards spelling, or other languages will face severe punishment.
5. No Sexually Explicit Content: There should be NO sexually explicit content over public communications. This includes providing URLs to outside sites with sexually explicit content in public communication or the personal URL area of the character description. Anything that would violate a “PG” level of content should not be discussed on public channels.
6. General Naming Policy: Names should not violate any other rule or any law (including copyrights, trademarks, etc). Names may not contain the names of any NDS employee or staff. Names should also be in good taste and not be disruptive. Any character with a name that violates this policy will usually be asked to be rerolled and start from scratch. People that do not comply with this request will have their characters manually removed from the account. NDS may offer the opportunity to rename a specific character under certain circumstances.
7. No Disruptive Behavior: Any behavior that violates the “spirit of the game” will be frowned upon and punished as appropriate. This includes things such as stealing the killing blow on a monster that another character has already started killing, stealing valuable items that someone has inadvertently dropped, etc. This area is left intentionally vague because the severity of this behavior is often determined by the events surrounding it. In general, we will know disruptive behavior when we see it.
8. No Illegal Content: This is self-explanatory and includes discussing illegal drugs.
9. No Advertising: You are prohibited from advertising commercial goods or services via public communication. You are also prohibited from advertising or revealing information about unauthorized Meridian 59 servers in any form of communication.
10. No Chain Letters or Pyramid Marketing Schemes: These are illegal. You may not advertise them in the game in any form of communication.
11. No Macroing: You cannot use programs to automate gameplay actions for you. The game is meant to be played and enjoyed. If you let a program do things for you without your intervention, you are using system resources without contributing to the community of Meridian 59.
6. Harassment

   This is a huge topic, and simply cannot be covered in a single document such as this. This information is provided as a general guideline for people to get a feeling of what is and is not appropriate for the game.

   Harassment is one of those “we know it when we see it” things. It is largely based on intent, and not just on the actual words said. Therefore, one person using a certain phrase may not be punished while another person using the same phrase in a different circumstance could find themselves talking to an NDS employee about the inappropriateness of their behavior.

   If you are courteous to other people you should find that you rarely come into conflict with these harassment regulations. We recommend that if you are not familiar with etiquette that you read Miss. Manner’s Book entitled “A Citizen’s Guide to Civility”, or “Netiquette” by Virginia Shea. Both may be found on Amazon.com or ordered at most local bookstores.

   One of the best ways to avoid being punished for harassment is to listen to other people. If someone asks you to stop a certain behavior, you should consider his or her request. By repeatedly doing something that upsets another person, you open yourself up for punishment under these rules of harassment.

   What is NOT harassment? Again, Meridian 59 is a game that contains player vs. player (PvP) combat. Killing another player is generally not considered a violation within certain bounds. If you do not wish to be killed, it is up to you to find ways of protecting yourself, such as joining a guild of strong members to help protect you. If you are killed within the rules of the game, it is likewise up to you to find ways of getting retribution on the player and getting your items back.

   Note that an action such as killing another player can easily slip into the realm of harassment with very little effort. Telling someone something like “I killed you because you are a homo” or using any other slur IS harassment and will be punished.

   Please note that personal attacks based on a player’s race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual preference, or disability will never be tolerated regardless of the reason.

7. Punishments

   If you are found violating any of the rules contained in this document, you will be subject to one of the following punishments. Flagrant, obnoxious, especially disruptive, or repeated violations will be subject to more serious punishment.

   Any punishments that apply to one character of an account can apply to every character on the account if appropriate. Please note that you will NOT be reimbursed for any loss of play time, items or character statistics associated with being punished.

   Please save us all time and avoid using the tired reason of “I was role-playing” when accused of violating the rules. While we encourage role-playing within the context of the game, it is never a valid excuse for violating any rule, especially the rules about harassment.

   If you are determined to have broken a rule, punishments can include:

1. No action: These rules are not infallible, and sometimes a situation arises where strict enforcement of the rules does more harm than good. In these very rare cases, the rules may be changed in the future to reflect special circumstances. As a warning, however, you should not expect to violate rules and get away with it even if you think they are “unfair”.
2. Verbal or Written Warning: You will be contacted in the game by either personal communication or in-game mail about violations.
3. Alteration of Character Information: Character statistics or in-game items acquired by violating these rules may be removed from your character or storage areas.. There is no guarantee that this action will leave statistics or items acquired before the violation unaltered.
4. Restriction to Out of Grace (OOG): Character will be sent to the room “Out of Grace” (commonly referred to as “OOG”) where he or she will be unable to leave the room, play the game, or communicate with other characters. This is generally intended as a “cooling off” period. Further violations while in OOG will be dealt with as appropriate.
5. Temporary Suspension: This will result in loss of ability to access the game with a particular account for a limited period of time. This is generally the last step before an account is removed permanently.
6. Account Deletion: This will result in the complete loss of all account information and characters. This drastic measure will only be used in instances of serious rule violation or cheating. PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY ACCOUNTS WITH ADDITIONAL CHARACTER SLOTS CAN AND WILL BE DELETED AS PER THESE RULES OF PLAY AND WILL NOT BE RECREATED IN THE FUTURE. If you value your additional character slots, please make sure to follow the rules. Removal of an account can also result in a block on the credit card used to pay for the account

8. Reporting Violations

   If you feel that someone or a group of people is harassing you, the first step is to ask them to stop. Many times a polite word or request can help let someone know that you do not appreciate their actions. In some cases, the people may even apologize for their actions. If this resolves the problem, then there is no need to pursue other action.

   If you are being repeatedly harassed or see someone you suspect is breaking a rule, please email us at rules_violations@neardeathstudios.com with an email describing the events you saw. Screenshots should be saved but NOT sent to the address above unless requested in a response to your email. In general, you should grab screenshots of any event you wish to report, as it will help us if we need more information.

   Please note that not every report will generate a response from us by email. Please also be patient with us. Even if we do not seem to take action immediately, we are probably doing something in order to catch the cheaters by either collecting information from logs or from watching them in action. Part of stopping cheating is learning how the cheat occurs and how to stop it in the future; very few cheaters are willing to provide us direct information about how they are cheating.

9. Contact Information

   If you wish to receive more information about a specific rule or decision made by an NDS employee, please email us at rules@neardeathstudios.com with your request. Please be as specific as you can about the information you provide. We will make an attempt to respond to emails as we get them. Again, please understand that we will most likely be very busy keeping the game running and may not have the time to get an immediate response to you.

10. In Conclusion

    Rules documents are not much fun. They specify what you cannot do and why you cannot do it. Unfortunately, they are a necessary part of helping people to work and play together.

    It is important to remember that Meridian 59 is a game. People come here to have fun and to enjoy their time with other people. It is important to have fun in the game.

    Above all, though, respect other people. Behind every character is a real player that has real feelings. Be respectful and courteous. Even the most infamous PKers have found respect from other people by choosing to fight with honor and without cheating or stooping to underhanded tactics.

    Thank you for playing Meridian 59. Welcome back home.