Policy 18 Updated

Author: GS4-LOTHWYN
Date: 3/4/2008 12:33:09 PM

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Policy 18 has been updated. Please take the moment to read over the new policy governing scripting practices.

Thanks,

SGM Lothwyn

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GemStone IV Player Policy: Scripting Abuse Policy

Any activity that derives ANY benefit to either yourself or another player while being unresponsive to the gaming environment will be considered against policy.

If your attention is not on the game window, you should log out of the game or stop ALL SCRIPTED activities (including but not limited to: artisan skill use, guild skill use, healing, lock picking, purifying gems, spell casting, and hunting) to avoid being warned. The use of character "bots" that provide third parties an in-game advantage while being AFK are strictly prohibited. The excuse that you looked away from the monitor or left your desk for a few minutes will not prevent you from being issued a warning since the Staff of GemStone IV will have no way of verifying that fact.

Warnings for scripting or any unresponsive activities are based on the Staff's observation of the character, and the Staff's judgment may vary from instance to instance. Therefore, each instance of scripting abuse will be judged independently. Furthermore, GameMasters have the right to verify that any and all characters are following this policy at any time.

Exceptions

In general, if you are running a script or are in Rest Mode and are not gaining any NEW experience, skills, money, or providing other players or characters with an in-game advantage (e.g., casting spells), it does not fall under this policy. ANY activity that is deemed by Staff to be disruptive or not in the best interest of the game or its players can be warned when discovered. Examples include, but are not limited to:

--If you are script moving in and out of a room, a warning may be issued because it causes undue screen scroll.
--If you are gaining skills passively or providing other characters with an in-game advantage, a warning may be issued based on your being unresponsive to the gaming environment.
--If your "Rest Mode" message is determined to be inappropriate, a warning may be issued based on the messaging being Out of Character (OOC) or disruptive.
--If you set up a character "bot" to provide services (e.g., healing, lock picking, spell casting) to others while being AFK, you will be issued a warning.

Character "Bots"

For the purpose of this policy, a character "bot" is defined as any character that is unresponsive to the gaming environment except for scripted responses to triggers which can be executed by third parties to perform automatic "services" (e.g., healing, lock picking, spell casting, etc.).

Any participation in the use of character "bots" witnessed by Staff, even if the AFK character(s) is not connected to your account, will be considered against policy and result in a warning and or other penalties. For example, if you knowingly activate a script run by another character who is AFK (such as set up to cast spells when "tapped"), you will receive a warning for Scripting Abuse.

Multiple Accounts

The use of multiple accounts is not prohibited by GemStone IV Policy; however, if a player chooses to run multiple accounts at the same time, and they are being controlled by AFK scripts and are gaining ANY benefit to the character or other surrounding characters, the player must be actively responsive to the gaming environment from EACH character's perspective.

Violation Penalties

For the purpose of this policy, all offenses by any character on an account can be treated as having occurred to the same character. As with other policy violations that lead to lockouts, accounts that are "linked" by any method, including but not limited to name, address or other billing information, password sharing, or account access, can be treated as the same account in regards to disciplinary action.

First Offense: Player receives a formal warning, is moved to a consultation room, loses ALL field experience (unabsorbed experience) and an experience inefficiency penalty is added, and must reread and agree to policy before being released. If the character was scripting an Artisan Guild skill or Adventurer's Guild task, will lose HALF of their current bounty points or 50 ranks in an artisan's guild or 10 ranks in a professional guild skill.

Second Offense: In addition to the second warning, substanial penalties may be assessed, including experience inefficiency penalities, and the loss of all current outstanding bounty points. The character may also be removed from the Adventurer's Guild for 30 days, and lose up to HALF of ALL ranks in an artisan or professional guild skill.

Third Offense: The account, plus all related accounts, can be locked out for 30 days. In addition, substantial experience inefficiency penalities can be assessed, all Artisan's or profession guild skill ranks may be removed, and all characters on the account may be removed from the Adventurer's Guild for at least 30 days and forfeit all current rewards.

This message was originally posted in Help for Players, Policy Discussions. To discuss the above follow the link below.

http://www.play.net/forums/messages.asp?forum=102&category=2&topic=14&message=1052