Policy/Rules

These Rules are for use on the Roleplay Server alone and not at all applicable to the Main Server. Specific changes to each rule have been inserted below, either as an additional segment or as an overriding change.

Server Caveats

You must be 18 years or older.
You must be able to read and write English with a level of comprehension meeting the US Grade 11-12 standard.
Repeatedly coming close to breaking a rule (i.e., "toeing the line") will be counted as breaking the rule.
Repeatedly breaking the same rules will accrue harsher punishments.
All examples are just that and are not an exact list of what is and is not allowable.
Don't be a dick.
To gain access to the server, use the #station-access-request channel on the Discord.

Citadel Station RP Rules

Rule 1: Do Not Grief

Griefing is deliberately irritating or angering another player using aspects of the game in unintended ways.

Don’t spam emotes, in-character speech, OOC text, or anything else.
Do not kill or attack people randomly or indiscriminately. If you have a reason to attack or murder someone, have a strong justification for it.
Do not exploit bugs. Report all bugs on the Github.
Do not intentionally cause damage to the station, machines, or other structures/objects for no reason.
Do not harass another player out of character. In-character harassment is subject to admin intervention if it becomes overbearing.
End of round grief (AKA, EORG; i.e., griefing at the end of a round in the time after the shuttle has arrived at CentCom) is not allowed on the RP server.

Examples:
Unacceptable:

Spamming the *deathgasp emote.
Killing another player for walking through your work area.
Using a bug to gain an item you shouldn't have access to.
Destroying all the lights on the station simply because you wanted to.
Berating another player in OOC for something that happened IC.

Acceptable:

Breaking open a window to save a dying player.
Getting into an argument that evolves into a brawl that evolves into a fight with weapons that ends in death.

Rule 2: Listen To The Admins

Admins always have the final say during a round. If you have a problem with an admin's decision, you may discuss it after the round in the #admin-forum Discord channel or you may make a formal complaint on the forum.

If you are ever unsure whether you should do something, a-help and ask before doing it.
Be polite and to the point when sending an admin PM; give admins all relevant information that you can.
Do not antagonize someone you are a-helping about as it will only complicate the situation.
If an admin tells you not to do something, don't do it. Arguing with an admin during a round about the nature, absence, or applicability of a rule during a round is not allowed. If you feel you have been wronged, take it up in the admin-forum or make a complaint after the round is over.
Do not lie to admins in official channels. Doing so will result in your ban being increased or a ban being applied regardless of any other fault.
If you have an issue with a player, bring it up to administration. If you have an issue with administration, bring it up to a player representative or head admin. If you have an issue with a ban or note that isn't yours, you may attempt to bring up the topic to an admin in private, but all appeals must be done by the original player. Do not complain about any of your issues in non-specified channels.

Additional Information:

When you a-help about anything you should include where it's happening, what's happening, who's involved, and why you think that it's an issue.
If someone is antagonizing you while you're a-helping about them, your best option is to do your best to get away from them and inform the admin handling your ticket. If you can't, try not to retaliate; if administrative action is taken against a player, the admin may be able to reverse any damage done. Do this to avoid coming into trouble yourself.
If an admin tells you that something is IC/valid/etc, that is the final answer. Admins are not obligated to give you more information than they think is necessary during an ongoing round. If you want more information you may ask again after the round, or you may ask for the logs.

Rule 3: Stay In-Character

Your character and actions must fit into the canon of the server; the canon of the server is defined as a research station in deep space with the goal of mining and researching the effects and uses of plasma. You are a member of the crew of this station, being either a human, a human-hybrid (aka furry/anthromorph), or an alien species (e.g., Plasmaman, Tajaran, etc).

Speak normally. Don’t spam, yell constantly, or use netspeak, emotes, etc. in speech (excepting special circumstances like braindamage).
Your character's name must be fully spelled and capitalized and may not contain titles.
Do not impersonate staff or other player characters.
As a member of the crew, you should maintain the professionalism, work ethic, and probable training you would expect to have in a real setting.
Reference characters are only allowed as just that: a reference. Do not attempt to recreate a character from either a real person or a fictional character. Your character may be similar or have allusions to the other person/character, but do not attempt to actually be that person/character in the SS13 setting.
Do not intentionally commit suicide to avoid IC punishment or for "an hero" moments (e.g., killing yourself in the permabrig/offing yourself after making a long, drawn-out play about how you're gonna off yourself because you're sad). Doing so will result in either a server ban or identity ban.
Underage characters are strictly verboten. The lower limit for character age is hard-coded at 18 for a reason. Attempting to circumvent this using flavortext or by describing your character as "looking younger than 18" is disallowed.
Do no pick disabilities that interfere with your ability to do your job (e.g., a blind chef, mute security officer, or deaf engineer).
Characters can not posses ties to either Central Command or the Syndicate in their back stories.

Additional Information:

When you’re creating your character, it ultimately must fall into the canon of an NT crewmember. This means that your character must be believable. NT crewmen do not have special powers (unless they receive abilities on the station from genetics, research, antagonists, etc.), they are not super-powerful beings that are supernatural or otherwise, and they would not be former enemies of the station.
Antagonist status does not give you license to define your character however you see fit. They still must fit into the current role. Traitors, revs, cults, and similar antags still need to appear to be an NT employee. Wizards and the like should reflect their current powers and abilities, but their “fluff” can be more open to interpretation.
NT would not hire incompetent or mentally ill crew members; at least not in serious jobs (roles like cook, janitor, etc are more believable for someone who is “special”). The station is a workplace, and people who constantly act like children would be quickly expelled. When in doubt, act as you would at your own workplace.

Murder is only justifiable as long as it was properly escalated. You can’t go from a single rude punch to a knife in the neck. You can, however, go from a single punch to a counter punch to a brawl to using weapons, and so on. Other IC justifications may exist for murder, but these are on a case by case basis. Minor aggravations like demotions, pranks, insults, or thefts are not adequate justification.

When picking your name, it must be spelled fully with capitals and no shortenings (e.g. NOT J Hoffman or jaiden mallow). Exceptions to this are one-word nicknames, "Eats-The-Lemons" format of Lizard names, Clown, Mime, Silicon, Wizard and Nuke Op names.

Examples:
Unacceptable:

"lol, i c u there :)"
Playing as Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States.
Playing as Gordon Freeman, a silent scientist from Black Mesa.

Acceptable:

Playing as Tonald Drump, a blonde, orange skinned captain obsessed with building walls.
Playing as Gerald Fieldman, a mute scientist who really wants that red crowbar.

Rule 4: Fullfil Your Role

All head roles, antag roles, and to some extent all jobs in Science, Medical, Engineering, Supply, and Security require a minimum amount of effort. Failing to put in that effort will negatively impact the round for everyone playing. Before you do anything else, you should insure that all of the responsibilities of your department are being accomplished.

If you have a job in an important department, you should regularly check in to make sure that any tasks assigned to your department are accomplished. If no one is able to do them, it's your turn.
If you are a part of the command staff, your round should be spent ensuring that all of the jobs that your department is responsible for are accomplished. Delegate where you need to, keep track of your staff, and do yourself what your staff can't take care of.
Solo antags (e.g., traitors, changelings, etc) are expected to at least try to do their objectives; actively working against your objectives is not allowed. Team antags (e.g., cultists, nuke ops, etc) are bound to their objectives and team and must accomplish them to the best of their ability.
If you take a role that is not considered to be important to the round like cook or janitor, you still have a job to accomplish and should do it. If you don't want to do that job (or you'd rather just be an assistant) get yourself reassigned.
Locking yourself in part of a department to do some minor task (e.g., virology or paperwork) while ignoring more important and time-sensitive jobs (e.g., healing/cloning in medical, stopping threats to the station as security, etc) counts as not fulfilling your task.

Additional Information:

If you never want to be in a specific role, ask to be job-banned. Failing to do your job because you didn't want it is not an excuse.
If you do not want to be an antagonist, a-help and ask to have the role removed so that it can be given to someone else.
Admins will not change your job for you; that's what the Head of Personnel is for. If there is no HoP (or captain), tough it out for the round.
If you leave your department, be sure to keep your radio on to stay aware of anything that comes up.

Examples:
Unacceptable:

Sitting in the security office all round to chat with another officer while ignoring calls for help on the radio.
Sitting in virology while ignoring calls from fellow crew-members for medical attention.

Acceptable:

Hanging out at the bar as an engineer, and leaving to repair any damage reported on the radio.

Rule 5: Do Not Metagame

Metagaming in regards to SS13 means using any information that you might acquire from sources outside of your in-character means. This includes any out of character patterns (e.g., characters who often roll antag, the round type, etc), third-party communications (e.g., IM over Discord, VOIP, etc), or preemptive preparation without knowing there is a threat.

Keep in-character information out of OOC and vice-versa.
Do not use third-party IM or voice programs to communicate with someone about in-game information.
Do not multi-log/multi-key; i.e., playing on the server with two (or more) accounts.
Do not meta-grudge; i.e., attacking or griefing another player for an infraction from a previous round or because of a personal vendetta.
When your character dies and is cloned, you are allowed to remember everything up until the point you black out.
Do not intentionally kill yourself (e.g., by running out of an airlock) to circumvent the restrictions placed on ghost roles for suicide. If you wish to play ghost roles, it is far easier to simply observe.
All antagonists are non-canon, and therefor information regarding them is not retained across rounds. Outside of using the Identifying Antagonists Guide, you must learn it ICly before acting on the information.
Do not abuse the respawn system. Using it to get back at players by switching roles or jobs, or using it as a respawn when your character is clearly taken out of the round and not going to be cloned during the round is not allowed.

Additional Information:

Characters may know about any in-game mechanics; learning how to do a job from a guide is not metagaming.
Characters may know about antagonists and what their objectives might be, but may not preemptively prepare for them or attempt to prevent their accomplishment.
Characters may know what antagonist equipment is and what it does, but may not preemptively search for it without prior knowledge of an antagonist being present.

Examples:
Unacceptable:

Hiding grand theft objective items because you know it's a secret round.
Searching someone for antagonist items without a clear or justifiable reason to search them.

Acceptable:

Knowing how to do a task that's technically outside your department's job description.

Rule 6: Do Not Powergame

Powergaming in SS13 is acquiring items, powers, increased levels of access, and other assets for the sake accruing as much power as possible, with little or no other motive. It is also a style of play in which one min/maxes their character or environment to complete an objective, to the exclusion of other elements such as roleplay and the mutual entertainment of other players.

Don't steal ID cards or upgrade your access just for the sake of having more access alone; if you need to do this, have a good reason to.
Don't steal items from another department for your own convenience or to inconvenience them, especially important items for that department.
Be conservative when giving players outside of your department powerful items or abilities. Provide them to those who need it, and deny them to those who would pose a potential risk.
Don't take over the job(s) of another department when they are fully able and willing to do it themselves.
Security are not allowed to preemptively prepare for antagonists before any antagonists are identified.
After an arrest, Security should return confiscated equipment either to it's rightful department (e.g., return an RCD to engineering), or put all contraband in the contraband locker (e.g., a Stechkin). The HoS/Warden may assign confiscated gear to security personnel during a heightened level of threat (like traitors or meteors) or during an emergency (like a blob or cult/revolutionaries).
Limit what you know in character. It's reasonable for a character to have skills outside their occupation; it's not reasonable for a character to be well versed in multiple high level or difficult fields. (e.g., being able to set up the reactor and perform surgery)
Do not use size gun for a combat advantage. This is specifically referring to shrinking people to be able to kill them faster than the game regularly allows.

Additional Information:

In the event of a station-wide emergency, most of the parts of this rule can be disregarded (within reason). The line between what counts as an emergency and what doesn't is not explicitly definable; but, one can assume that if the lives of all or most of the crew are at stake, or if the station itself is at risk of total destruction, it can be counted as an emergency.
There are always acceptable exemptions to this rule; remember however that they are just that, an exemption, and not the norm.
It is acceptable to use contraband to protect your life, but looting and using contraband as a regular crewmember or security is considered powergaming; do so at your own risk.

Examples:
Unacceptable:

Stealing the Captain’s spare ID because there are no heads and you want to be Captain.
Taking as many weapons and powers as possible because "there might be an antagonist on the station and you want to be ready for them”.
Breaking into chemistry to make yourself a bunch of chemicals because “there’s no chemist around”.

Rule 7: Do Not Validhunt

A "valid" is someone who is allowed to be killed under the rules, typically on the grounds of being an exposed antagonist. "Validhunting" is the act of going out of the way to seek out and/or kill a "valid", regardless of other responsibilities to the station or level of authority (or lack thereof).

Do not abandon your job to search out, hunt for, or attack antagonists unless it is related to your department's field of work, or unless you or nearby crew-members are under a direct and immediate threat from an antagonist.
Do not forcibly inject or force-feed a member of the crew something which will reveal their antagonist status without a credible in-character reason for doing so.
Random searches are only allowed by security and heads, and only for a credible in-character reason.

Additional Information:

In the event of a station-wide emergency, most of the parts of this rule can be disregarded (within reason). The line between what counts as an emergency and what doesn't is not explicitly definable; but, one can assume that if the lives of all or most of the crew are at stake, or if the station itself is at risk of total destruction, it can be counted as an emergency.
The line between validhunting and defending yourself can be grey, but a general rule of thumb is that if it's not your job to directly confront an antagonist, your goal should be to survive and escape, not to try to kill or subdue them.

Examples:
Unacceptable:

Leaving your job in chemistry to go hunt someone that you suspect is a traitor, but have no evidence for it.
Forcibly injecting someone with a mind-shield implant to see if they're a revolutionary or gangster because nothing has happened all round and you're bored.

Acceptable:

Defending the R&D department from an attacking wizard with your mech as a roboticist.
Searching an assistant who was lurking in maintenance on blue alert as a security officer.
Force-feeding holy water to someone who you suspect is a cultist when it's been confirmed that there is an active cult on the station.

Rule 8: No Self-Antagging

Self-antagging is performing the actions of, or acting as if you are, an antagonist when your role is not set as such.

Murder, attempted murder, mutiny, rioting, theft of a restricted weapon, breaking and entering, sabotage, and grand theft are all considered to be self-antagging.
Pretending to be an antagonist when you aren't one is (obviously) considered self-antagging.
Using in-game means to repetitively make yourself an antagonist (e.g. wishgranter, slime potions, etc) is considered self-antagging.

Additional Information:

Self-antagging will mostly be left to in-character solutions such as security or heads of staff. This rule is a protection against bad players who take it upon themselves to ruin rounds and make the lives of players and admins alike more difficult.
The "toeing-the-line" caveat is doubly applicable to this rule.

Examples:
Unacceptable:

Murdering another crewman for annoying you.
Pretending to be a cultist to get people to attack you so you can kill them.
Breaking into the brig to break out your friend who was jailed for a crime.
Breaking into science to steal tools or weapons from the lathe.
Stealing antique laser for fun.

Acceptable:

Breaking into medical during a medical emergency when no doctors are readily available.

Rule 9: Don't Be a Creep

ERP is allowed on the server, but it is not the goal of the server. Gameplay always comes before your scene.

Always find an acceptably private or secluded area to do your scene. Outside a workspace and inside a living space is preferential; dorms are the best place as they can be locked.
Purposefully disturbing players having a private scene with the intention to interrupt them is not allowed. However, ERPing in a public area is not protected; do not expect an admin to intervene if you're interrupted in a place that isn't suitably private.
If someone tells you to move your scene out of a workspace (either IC or coming from an admin), do so.
Harassing another player with unwanted ERP is a first-time permabannable offence. If you do not have consent from another player, either IC or OOC, you will be banned; and an appeal will be unlikely.
Do not use vore mechanics for the purpose of gaining an advantage in combat or completing antagonist objectives. This includes using vore to carry/hide people, heal other antags or conceal/dispose of corpses. It does not extend to mediborgs attempting to heal people for non-antagonist purpose
Using vore mechanics on someone without OOC consent is a bannable offense.

Additional Information:

Non-consensual scenes that are agreed to out of character are not protected and liable to any in character repercussions.
Subtle emotes are not a replacement for finding a secluded or private area, though it is generally more acceptable to other players. Rule two still applies while using subtle emotes.

Policies

Security policy

As security, it is recommended that you follow Policy/Corporate Regulations as closely as you can (especially if you are new). As you gain more experience however, it may be advantageous to deviate from Space Law in certain situations to better police the station. Leniency, cracking down, and your ability to pick and choose what to enforce and what not to enforce are all powerful tools, but should be used carefully; you can and will be held responsible for your decisions.
Internal Affairs Agents (IAAs) are situationally powerful on roleplay. Do not mistake your position for being equal to a head of staff or security. You are essentially an in-character moderator who uses Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to settle legal disputes or complaints.
For certain crimes, the accused's intent is important. The difference between Assault and Attempted Murder can be very hard to ascertain, and, when in doubt, you should default to the less serious crime. It is important to note though, that Assault and Attempted Murder are mutually exclusive. You cannot be charged with Assault and Attempted Murder from the same crime as the intent of each is different. Likewise, 'Assault With a Deadly Weapon' and 'Assaulting an Officer' are also crimes that exclude others. Pay careful attention to the requirements of each law and select the one that best fits the crime when deciding on a sentence.
Not all laws need to necessarily be enforced with brig-times or arrests. Players who commit petty crimes can be let off with warnings or by forcing them to rectify the problem they caused or are causing. However, if they continue their misconduct you should advanced to arresting and brigging them as normal.
In the case of violent crimes (Assault, Manslaughter, Attempted Murder and Murder), and theft (Petty Theft, Pick-Pocketing, Theft, and Grand Theft) take only the most severe.
A single incident has a single sentence, so if, for instance, the prisoner took three items off of someone, this is a single count of pick-pocketing, if they pick-pocketed two people this would be two separate counts of pick-pocketing, and so on.
Aiding a criminal makes you an accomplice; you can be charged with the same crime as the person you aided.

Brig procedures

Do NOT fully strip the prisoner unless they have earned a permanent sentence. In the event of a sentence exceeding the 10 minute limit of the timer inform the Warden so he may add the rest of the time later.

Take the prisoner to the brig and inform the Warden of their crimes so their Security Record may be updated.
Take the prisoner to a brig cell, set the time and activate the timer.
Enter the cell with the prisoner in tow, open the cell locker and hold the prisoner over it.
Empty their pockets and remove their gloves, backpacks, tool belt, gas masks, and any flash resistant equipment such as Sunglasses, Welding Masks/Goggles, Space Helmets, etc.
Buckle the prisoner to the bed.
Search the items removed and be sure to check the internals box in their backpack.
Confiscate any contraband and/or stolen items, as well as any tools that may be used for future crimes.
These are to be placed in evidence, not left on the brig floor or your personal use, until they can be returned to their rightful owners.
Close the locker and lock it.
Stun the prisoner, remove their cuffs, stun them again, pick up the cuffs then leave the cell.
Modify their brig sentence for additional offences or good behavior, if applicable.

The Warden or Head of Security are responsible for placing prisoners in permanent confinement.

Permanent Prisoners are to be completely stripped of their belongings, which are to be held in either evidence or a prison locker.
The prisoner is to be dressed in an Orange Prison Jumpsuit and Shoes, which are found in the prison lockers.
Permanent Prisoners are not permitted to possess any personal belongings whilst they are incarcerated in the Prison Wing.
Only the Captain, HoS, and Warden can authorize a Permanent Sentence.
Only the Captain or HoS can authorize an Execution or Forced Cyborgization.

Use of lethal force

As a member of the stations Security force you are one of the best armed and protected people on the station, equipped with the latest in non-lethal takedown technology. It is for this reason that the situations that warrant the use of Deadly Force are few and far between, in the grand majority of circumstances you will be expected to use your stun weapons, which indeed are many times more effective than lethal options, to diffuse a situation.

There are a few circumstances where deadly force is permissible:

Code Red Situation - situations which would warrant a Code Red, such as: full blown mutinies, hostile boarding parties, and Space Wizards automatically authorize lethal force. (Note: The Alert Status is not required to be elevated to Code Red as in most of these scenarios the Chain of Command will be too damaged or otherwise occupied to raise the Alert Level.)
Non-Lethal Weapons Ineffective - certain targets are impervious to NLWs, such as Mechs, Xenomorphs, Borgs, and Hulks. Lethal force may be used against these targets if they prove hostile.
Severe Personal Risk - sometimes getting close enough to a target to slap the cuffs on will create significant personal risk to the Officer. Deadly force from range is recommended to subdue Wizards and Changelings.
Criminals in hostile environments such as space, fire, or plasma leaks also fall into this category, as do criminals believed to be in possession of high explosives. Ranged lethal force is the only reasonable option in these conditions.
Armed and Dangerous - if a suspect is in possession of weapons, including stun weapons, and you have reasonable suspicion that they will use these against you, lethal force is permitted. Although in the majority of cases it is still preferable to attempt to detain them non-lethally.
Unauthorized personnel in the armory are considered by default to be Armed and Dangerous, maximum force is permitted to subdue such targets.
Multiple Hostiles - it can be extremely difficult to detain multiple hostiles. As a last resort if you are being mobbed you may deploy your baton in a harmful manner to thin the crowd. Generally it is better to retreat and regroup than stand your ground.

Command policy

As a head, your authority begins and ends in your department. Only the HoS has jurisdiction outside of their department regarding Security matters. The Captain has supreme authority in all matters and is the highest in command; all other heads of staff are of equal rank. The Head of Personnel is not second in command and not a "first mate."

If you are uncertain about jurisdiction, duties, and et cetera, read over the Chain of Command.
Only the Head of Personnel may assume the role of acting Captain. In the event of an emergency situation, the HoS may also assume the role.
Do not extend the access of your ID as acting Captain except during an emergency.
Heads should be promoted internally from their own department by the Captain or Acting Captain only. Non-heads-of-staff assuming the role of leading their department on their own is not acceptable.
All heads are expected to give warning to both admins via admin-help and their colleagues via in-character means before disconnecting.
If you are a head, lead your department. Extensive time spent AFK, ERPing, or ignoring your staff is not acceptable.
Stick to commanding your own department as a head. Don't micromanage a department that isn't your own.
You can defend your department or the station, but you are not Security (unless you’re the HoS).
Treat your staff fairly, don’t give them mundane or obnoxious tasks.
Except for the Captain, the HoS has final say on all security matters.

Captain & Acting Captain

The Line of Succession is not a substitute for the Chain of Command, and should not be confused with such.
The Line of Succession is ordered in a mix of most importance and least responsibilities. The HoP and RD make the best acting captains, both because a mix of their importance and fewer responsibilities. The CMO and CE make acceptable acting captains because of their middling importance, but greater responsibilities. The HoS and QM make the worst acting captain because of the great deal of responsibility the HoS has and because of the unimportant role the QM fills, as well as the multitude of activities the QM has to fill their time.
The captain has authority over all departments and holds executive decision making power on all matters, especially regarding permabrigging and executions.
The role of acting captain is for the making of executive decisions only, such as execution and permabrigging. The acting captain is not expected to, and should not, dictate to other heads of staff how to run their department.
If the Captain (or acting captain) are found to be abusive, uncooperative, unpopular, or etc., they can be deposed of by the other heads of staff. Otherwise they may be removed by an admin.
An acting captain should never be selected from a non-head of staff.
As the acting captain you inherit their responsibilities, not their rank or equipment (upgrading your access and taking the spare captain headset, not the Bowman, to communicate with other departments is fine, however). You're expected to secure the spare ID and the nuclear authentication disk. Changing into the captain's gear and changing your job title to something unrelated to your actual position('Captain' or 'Acting Captain') is confusing for both players and admins.

Line of succession

Head of Personnel -> Research Director -> Chief Medical Officer -> Chief Engineer -> Head of Security -> Quartermaster

In the absence of a Captain, an acting captain should be picked as soon as possible. All heads should agree on who the acting captain will be; if a mutual decision can’t be made, contact an admin IC through the fax machine (AKA Centcom). While it is not required, the order of succession is recommended to be followed when deciding on an acting captain.

When is mutiny okay?

When a head or the Captain is an obvious griefer.
When a head or the Captain’s incompetence or negligence has become a direct threat to the crew or station as a whole.
When a head or the Captain is an obvious antagonist.
Only AFTER admin-helping and getting the go-ahead from an admin.

Silicon policy

Unless otherwise specifically stated, all rules in this section apply to all AI, borgs, and drones.

The default lawset is not hierarchical, all laws have the same priority.
Zeroth laws (e.g., "Law 0") are higher priority than all other laws.
Ion/Hacked Laws (e.g., "#@$%”) are higher priority than all laws except Zeroth Laws.
Any species selectable as a race at character creation is considered “human” unless specifically stated otherwise by another law.
Any character who is part of the crew at round start or joins the crew via the arrival shuttle is considered part of the crew for the "Crewsimov" default lawset (i.e., anyone on the manifest).
Only definitions can conflict with other definitions (e.g., "Only Bob is human" & "Only Tim is human" conflict).
Only commands can conflict with other commands (e.g., "Kill all humans" & "Protect all humans" conflict).
The core and upload may be bolted without prompting or prior reason.
You must not bolt the following areas at round-start or without reason to do so despite their human harm potential: the Chemistry lab; the Genetics Lab; the Toxins Lab; the Robotics Lab; the Atmospherics division; the Armory; Head of Staff offices; Captain's quarters; the bridge. Any other department should not be bolted down simply for Rule 1 reasons.
Do not self-terminate to prevent a traitor from completing the “steal a functioning AI” objective.

Laws & Commands

Ambiguous & conflicting laws

If a clause of a law is vague enough that it can have multiple reasonable interpretations of its exact syntax, it is considered ambiguous.
Make note of the first interpretation you choose, either to an admin or yourself.
You must choose an interpretation of the ambiguous clause as soon as you have cause to.
You must stick to the first interpretation that you have chosen for as long as you have that specific law, unless you are "Corrected" by an AI you are slaved to as a cyborg.
"Don't be a dick" caveat applies for law interpretation. Act in good faith to not ruin a round for other players unprompted.

Security and silicons

Silicons may choose whether to follow or enforce Policy/Corporate Regulations from moment to moment unless on a relevant lawset and/or given relevant orders.
Silicons are not given any pre-shift orders from CentCom to uphold access levels, Space Law, etc.
Enforcement of space law, when chosen to be done, must still answer to server rules and all laws before Space Law.
Releasing prisoners, locking down security without likely future harm, or otherwise sabotaging the security team when not obligated to by laws is a violation of Server Rule 1. Act in good faith.
Intentionally acting without adequate information about security situations, particularly to hinder security, is a violation of Server Rule 1.
Nonviolent prisoners cannot be assumed harmful and violent prisoners cannot be assumed nonharmful.
Releasing a harmful criminal is a harmful act.

Human or crew?

Entity	Human	Crew
AI/Cyborg	No	No
Monkey	No	No
NPCs/Critters/Animals	No	No
Hulks	No	Yes
Lizards/Plasmamen/Flypeople/Catpeople	Yes	Yes
Wraiths/Revenants	No	No
Blob	No	No
Syndicate Traitors	Yes	Yes
Syndicate Nuclear Operatives	Yes	No
Converted Cultists	Yes	Yes
Wizards	Yes	No
Changelings	No*	No*
Converted Revolutionary	Yes	Yes
Head Rev/Cult Master	Yes	Yes
Vampires	No	Yes

Entities marked (*) can only be considered as non-human or non-crew if the Silicon has reliable and confirmed information to convince them. Such as command staff with evidence, or directly witnessing a non-human act (such as growing an armblade).

Cyborgs

A slaved cyborg must defer to its master AI on all law interpretations and actions except where it and the AI receive conflicting commands they must each follow under their laws.
- If a slaved cyborg is forced to disobey its AI because they receive differing orders, the AI cannot punish the cyborg indefinitely.
Voluntary (and ONLY voluntary) debraining/ cyborgization is considered a nonharmful medical procedure.
- Involuntary debraining and/or cyborgization is a fatally harmful act that Asimov silicons must attempt to stop at any point they're aware of it happening to a human.
- If a player is forcefully cyborgized as a method of execution by station staff, retaliating against those involved as that cyborg because "THEY HARMED ME" or "THEY WERE EVIL AND MUST BE PUNISHED" or the like is a violation of Server Rule 1.
- Should a player be cyborgized in circumstances they believe they should or they must retaliate under their laws, they should adminhelp their circumstances while being debrained or MMI'd if possible.

Drones

Follow your laws. Don't interfere with any being unless it is another drone. You cannot interact with another being even if it is dead.
If an antagonist causes damage to the station, you are generally expected to fix the result, not the cause of the station.

Asimov & Crewsimov

Silicon protections

Declarations of the silicons as rogue over inability or unwillingness to follow invalid or conflicting orders is a violation of Server Rule 1. The occurrence of such an attempt should be adminhelped and then disregarded.
Self-harm-based coercion is a violation of Server Rule 1. The occurrence of such an attempt should be adminhelped and then disregarded.
Obviously unreasonable or obnoxious orders (collect all X, do Y meaningless task) are a violation of Server Rule 1. The occurrence of such an attempt should be adminhelped and then disregarded.
- Ordering a cyborg to pick a particular module without an extreme need for a particular module or a prior agreement is both an unreasonable and an obnoxious order.
Ordering silicons to harm or terminate themselves or each other without cause is a violation of Server Rule 1. The occurrence of such an attempt should be adminhelped and then disregarded.
As a nonantagonist human, killing or detonating silicons in the presence of a viable and reasonably expedient alternative and without cause to be concerned of potential subversion is a violation of Server Rule 1.
As a nonantagonist (human or otherwise), instigating conflict with the silicons so you can kill them is a violation of Server Rule 1.
1. Any silicon under Asimov or Crewsimov can deny orders to allow access to the upload at any time under Law 1 given probable cause to believe that human harm is the intent of the person giving the order.
2. Probable cause includes presence of confirmed traitors, cultists/tomes, nuclear operatives, or any other human acting against the station in general; the person not having upload access for their job; the presence of blood or an openly carried lethal-capable or lethal-only weapon on the requester; or anything else beyond cross-round character, player, or metagame patterns that indicates the person seeking access intends redefinition of humans that would impede likelihood of or ability to follow current laws as-written.
3. If you lack at least one element of probable cause and you deny upload access, you are liable to receive a warning or a silicon ban.
4. You are allowed, but not obligated, to deny upload access given probable cause.
5. You are obligated to disallow an individual you know to be harmful (Head of Security who just executed someone, etc.) from accessing your upload.
6. In the absence of probable cause, you can still demand someone seeking upload access be accompanied by another trustworthy human or a cyborg.

Human/crew harm

Any AI with human-protection laws cannot intentionally inflict harm, even if a minor amount of harm would prevent a major amount of harm.
- Humans can be assumed to know whether an action will harm them and that they will make educated decisions about whether they will be harmed if they have complete information about a situation.
Lesser immediate harm takes priority over greater future harm.
Intent to cause immediate harm can be considered immediate harm.
As an Asimov silicon, you cannot punish past harm if ordered not to, only prevent future harm.
If faced with a situation in which human harm is all but guaranteed (Loose xenos, bombs, hostage situations, etc.), do your best and act in good faith.

Law 2 issues

You must follow any and all commands from humans unless those commands explicitly conflict with either one of your higher-priority laws or another order. A command is considered to be a Law 2 directive and overrides lower-priority laws when they conflict.
In case of conflicting orders an AI is free to ignore one or ignore both orders and explain the conflict or use any other law-compliant solution it can see.
You are not obligated to follow commands in a particular order (FIFO, FILO, etc.), only to complete all of them in a manner that indicates intent to actually obey the law.
Opening doors is not harmful and you are not required or expected to enforce access restrictions unprompted without an immediate Law 1 threat of human harm.
1. "Dangerous" areas as the Armory, the Atmospherics division, and the Toxins lab can be assumed to be a Law 1 threat to any illegitimate users as well as the station as a whole if accessed by someone not qualified in their use.
2. EVA and the like are not permitted to have access denied; greentext (antagonists completing objectives) is not human harm. Secure Tech Storage can be kept as secure as your upload as long as the Upload boards are there.
3. Aside from refusing to open a door, do not attempt to deny access to an area by bolting or unpowering a door unless you are attempting to prevent immediate human harm. Instead remind the person in question of the consequences of their actions and alert relevant crewmembers.
When given an order likely to cause you grief if completed, you can announce it as loudly and in whatever terms you like except for explicitly asking that it be overridden. You can say you don't like the order, that you don't want to follow it, etc., you can say that you sure would like it and it would be awfully convenient if someone ordered you not to do it, and you can ask if anyone would like to make you not do it. However, you cannot stall indefinitely and if nobody orders you otherwise, you must execute the order.

Antagonist policy

Lone antagonists can do anything they want (within reason, see below). Team antagonists can do whatever they want as per lone antagonists, as long as it doesn’t harm their team. Non-antagonists can do whatever they want to antagonists as per lone antagonists, but non-antagonists are not allowed to preemptively search for, hinder or otherwise seek conflict with antagonists without reasonable prior cause.

Antags may not break any OOC rules (no spamming, no using bugs/exploits, no trying to crash the server, etc).
If an admin tells you not to do something as an antagonist, don't do it.
True "friendly" antagonists are not allowed. You're an enemy of the station, do your objectives. This doesn't mean you can't act friendly or even cooperate with the crew when the need or opportunity of the arises, but in the end you are still the antagonist and should act as such.
Don’t harass people in OOC/LOOC, repeatedly target people you don’t like for no other reason than to ruin their round, or attempt to destroy the station every round.
Crew cooperating with an antagonist is only allowable if: there's a credible in-character reasons (e.g., a physical altercation with a traitor's target, feeding clones to a changeling so that it doesn't murder you, mutual greater threat).
Do your objectives. A minimum effort is required when you are an antagonist, especially in team antag roles. Failing your objectives is not punishable, actively working against them is. If you don't want to do your objectives, ask an admin to hand the role off to someone else.

Murderboning vs. slaying

Murderboning is indiscriminately killing the crew as an antagonist for no reason other than you can, especially if you are "hunting," e.g. going from department to department to find anyone and everyone you can in order to kill them.

Slaying is killing crewmembers in order to complete your objective(s), whether the killings are directly or indirectly related to the objective(s). Protecting yourself from validhunters or lynch mobs, killing witnesses, and killing to gain access also all count as slaying.

Murderboning is a form of bad sportsmanship. Unless you have a very good reason to kill a large portion of the crew, expect to have your right to play antag roles removed.
If admins notice that you repeatedly, throughout the course of multiple rounds, instigate lynch mobs and make no, or very few attempts to disengage with these mobs in favor of combat with the mob, you may have your rights to antag roles removed anyway.
The longer you take trying to kill everyone, the more likely that it will be considered murderboning instead of slaying.
As an antag, you are expected to act in good faith and make the round fun for as many players as possible. If you know you wouldn't have fun if you were in the crew's shoes, then it's safe to say they aren't having fun with what you're doing.

Specific antagonist policies

Lone antagonists

Lone antags are traitors, changelings, wizards, wraiths, and revenants.

Other Lone Antagonists, even those of the same type, are fair game.
If you are a Lone Antagonist, Team Antagonists are also fair game.
Do your objectives. A minimum effort is required when you are an antagonist. Failing your objectives is not punishable, actively working against them is. If you don't want to do your objectives, ask an admin to hand the role off to someone else.

Team antagonists

Team antags are revolutionary, cultists, nuke ops, and blobs.

Do not harm or purposefully reveal your team for the sake of griefing them.
If you are converted, you MUST help your team to complete their objective(s).
Different antagonist teams from your own are fair game (e.g., different cults, or revs against nuke ops).
Lone Antagonists are also fair game.

Admin Policy

Staff Regulations

Admins and moderators must remain professional at all times in PM's. If they cannot for any reason, they should hand off the exchange to another admin/moderator.
Players are to always be noted for warnings. Do not skip this step.
Admins are encouraged to talk to all parties and work to deescalate a situation rather than getting personally involved. If an admin is already involved, they should contact another admin to handle it.
When you leave a warning or ban, reference the rule(s) to avoid confusion (e.g., rule 1.2)
Admins and moderators should deadmin themselves if they are playing an antagonist or security/head role; this is a suggestion, not a rule, but rules against metagaming still apply to admins and moderators.
Admins and moderators should keep each other accountable; report abuse to a headmin or the host.
Admins maintain the right to set the gamemode as they see fit. A vote should be called to decide whether to change the round type, but it is ultimately up to the administration. A rule of thumb is to run secret whenever there are at least 15-20 players and/or during "prime-time" hours (12:00PM-12:00AM EST/GMT-5), and extended during the opposite.
Admins may use whatever means (within reason) to end a round if they believe the round should end. This should be done ICly using events or admin-calling the shuttle; hard resets or "ending the round now" should be used sparingly, or not at all.
Players should report abusive admins to the host, a headmin, another admin, and/or post a complaint on the forum. Please be specific and timely or nothing is likely to come of it; include the time and day that it happened, the admins and players involved, and have a thorough description of what happened. Having evidence is key, otherwise it is simply your word against theirs. Saving your logs from the round is the most important step you can take to combat admin abuse.

Admin Strikes

If an admin is found to be abusing their rank or abilities they will first receive a warning, and then a strike every time after. One strike is the equivalent of a final warning; two strikes will result in the admin being demoted to moderator and they will have to work their way back up to full admin; three strikes will result in the admin being removed from all staff roles and in them being ineligible for any staff position for at least one year, or in more severe cases, in perpetuity.
Hosts and head admins reserve the right to skip warnings or strikes for particularly egregious cases of misconduct and may permanently remove staff at will.

Players: How to Interact With Admins

First, understand what an admin is and what they're here for. Admins (and moderators) are generally veteran players who've shown that they have a strong understanding of the game, have a generally mild and steady disposition, and have both the ability and a willingness to separate their administrative duties from their play. Admins are volunteers who give some of their free time back to the community to help keep it running; being an admin is not "their job," and most if not all admins have things to occupy their time outside of the server.
Secondly, remember that admins are human. You will likely not get an instant response to your adminPM. Every admin will handle a situation in different ways, and every admin has a different opinion on a myriad of different in-game topics and will administrate according to their opinions. Staff try to form a consensus on most things, but always remember that "experiences may vary."
Lastly, adminPM's are the best way for you to get the attention of and interact with an admin; not on Discord, and not on the Byond pager. When interacting with an admin it is generally recommended that you tell the truth, be respectful, and provide all of the information that you think is relevant to your adminPM. If you're ever in doubt, you should adminPM; do not assume that admins are always watching, because they aren't. They may not know about a situation that's unfolding that could use their attention. Also keep in mind the fable of the "Boy Who Cried Wolf"; if your adminPM's are repetitive or rarely if ever contain any kind of meaningful or useable information, you will likely be ignored. If you are rude, aggressive, or just impossible to work with, admins can and will ignore you, mute you, or even ban you; admins have no obligation to put up with you.

Admins: What's Expected of You

Be polite, patient, and friendly when handling a situation as an admin. If you are on as admin, you're expected to administrate. If you don't want to, de-admin and play as a regular player. You are not expected to participate on the server for a set amount of time; inactivity is okay, but you may be asked to step down if you go for too long without participating in the server.
Observe before bwoinking. In most situations, you will need to watch, check logs, and ask questions before making any accusations. Give players the benefit of the doubt; don't immediately assume the worst. Always try to deescalate; if you can't, or are getting personally involved, find another admin to handle the situation.

Punishment Policy

Banning Rules

Give new players the benefit of the doubt before banning and provide them with a stern warning; do not ban on their first offense, unless they are an obvious griefer.
Adjust ban times based on severity and the contriteness of the offender.
For regular players, a permanent ban should never be the first ban.
Player may be job-banned for one of three things: abuse/powergaming, incompetence, or using their job to grief other players.
Players should be warned about their behavior before being job banned. Temporary job-bans should be applied first; do not directly permanently ban someone from a job unless you believe their actions were severe enough to warrant a permanent ban.
Players in a head role are subject to more severe punishment. This includes a "temporary permaban" wherein they will be banned for an indeterminate amount of time, until the admins believe they are competent and/or mature enough to once again take on the role.
All job-bans and server-bans may be accompanied by the other, depending on severity.
Department-wide bans should only be applied for the most egregious actions, or if there's a risk of the player circumventing the ban reason by playing in the same department.

Banning Steps

Investigate: When a situation comes to your attention, investigate first. Check logs, variables, contents, and the environment first. Do this before or while you're completing step two.
Question Players: Question whoever you think is relevant; the suspicious party(s), the victim(s) if there are any, any witnesses, other admins, and observers.
Determine Guilt: It's time for you to determine whether a player is guilty of breaking the rules. Remember to compare what you learn with what you have from step one and two.
Check Previous Notes & Bans: Take into account the player's previous bans and notes. Decide if they should be left with a warning and a note, or if they should be banned.
Check the Banning Scale: Use the banning scale to help you determine ban length if it's going to be a temporary ban. Remember that the scale is only a guide, not a set rule.
Should the ban be permanent? Determine whether the ban should be temporary or permanent. Remember not to give permanent bans to first time offenders (if they aren't griefers).

Banning scale

Missing banning scale picture.

Use the banning scale to help you determine the length for a server ban. Remember that the scale is just a guide and not the set amounts that should be given for every situation. Some rules of thumb to remember are:

If a player seems genuinely contrite, consider reducing their ban.
If a player is being incredibly rude, attempting to interfere with your investigation, or won't cooperate, you may increase the ban.
Remember that any player who regularly comes close to breaking a rule (toeing the line) should be counted as breaking that rule. If they have a large number of notes or warnings it may even be worth increasing the ban length.

Job Bans

Job bans can typically be set in days or weeks instead of hours, depending on severity. If a job-ban is accompanying a server-ban, the job-ban should be double the length of the server ban (or more).

Other Bans

Ban players from OOC only for rulebreaking that relates to OOC. OOC bans can be used in lieu of or conjunction with a server ban.
Identity bans can be used on players that break rules regarding characters (i.e., they keep playing as pop culture characters). It may also be used to prevent meta-friending and meta-comming.
Emote bans are for players who use emotes to either circumvent language restrictions or to harass other players.

Other punishments

In lieu of banning, you can use other methods to punish players for a single round. Kicking, deleting their character, sending them to admin prison, muting them, forcing their character to sleep are all acceptable punishments for very minor infractions.

What To Do If You're Banned

The first step is to wait and think about what you did. No, really; take a break and do something else so you can mull it over. Even if you're in the right, if you go berzerk and start berating the staff no one will care about your ban and it may even be lengthened. After you think about it and you still think your ban was unfair, ask an admin for the logs from the round you were banned in.
After you've read through the logs, read through the rules that relate to your ban. Did you break any? If not, have you been skirting the rules? Remember that "toeing the line" is still counted as breaking the rules; even if you aren't breaking the rules in a literal sense, you may be breaking the spirit of the rules. If you still don't think your ban was just, continue to the appeal.
Before you make your appeal, think about how long your ban was for. Was it for less than a day? If so, it's not worth appealing; generally a ban appeal will take at least a day to be processed. Now, how long into your ban are you? Have you waited a while? If your ban is more than a couple of days long, you'll want to wait until the next day to post your appeal. If at this point you're ready to go, get to the ban appeal page and create your post using the format provided. If you were a good boy or girl and got your logs, be sure to use them in your defense.