[PMC] Remove the "don't be a dick" rule

[TheRandomnatrix]

“Don’t be or build a dick”

 

Although worded in an amusing way, it is probably the most controversial listing we have, and has spawned countless arguments and witch hunts of players trying to get each other banned. It seems like every few days I have to remind someone that I can’t do anything against a certain player acting unfavorably towards them because they haven’t actually done anything wrong by our standards. So why do we keep it around?

 

Based on this discussion draykhar started regarding the meaning, it seems to be employed to serve only as a catch-all for special circumstances not defined by the rules. I find that to be a bit silly. If we encounter a scenario that our rules do not cover, we should judge that particular situation as best we can if there’s a time constraint attached, and then edit to the rules for covering things like it after some discussion. Regardless of the don’t be a dick rule(which as previously stated we don’t enforce) we’ll be unprepared the first time a situation our rules don’t cover comes up. So I feel that it doesn’t even facilitate the one purpose it is put into place for. If someone is “being a dick”, they’re more likely than not to break an enforceable rule sooner or later anyways.

 

We can start by taking the second half we do deal with, with a simple “No NSFW builds”. Then, if we want to keep the first half we should bring it up as a suggestion of good behaviour rather than a barring of bad behaviour. An example of that might be:  “Please be courteous and respectful to others in your time here.” Or we could just remove the risk altogether and not say anything.

 

I don’t expect this change to occur overnight, as the words have been nailed into the community pretty hard, but the least we can do is stop endorsing this outdated phrase.

[CROCKODUCK]

I completely vote against this sadly. It is always best to have a fallback, if not then countless people will get away with any number of "exploits" in the rules until we patch them all. That is ridiculous. If such change was truly needed we could specify something such as "treat every player in a friendly way" or something along those lines. I would be in favour of a rewording of the rule but in terms of abolishing it, I see truly no reason.

[TheRandomnatrix]

I completely vote against this sadly. It is always best to have a fallback, if not then countless people will get away with any number of "exploits" in the rules until we patch them all. That is ridiculous. If such change was truly needed we could specify something such as "treat every player in a friendly way" or something along those lines. I would be in favour of a rewording of the rule but in terms of abolishing it, I see truly no reason.

 

I did offer rewording as a possible solution besides removal:

 

We can start by taking the second half we do deal with, with a simple “No NSFW builds”. Then, if we want to keep the first half we should bring it up as a suggestion of good behaviour rather than a barring of bad behaviour. An example of that might be:  “Please be courteous and respectful to others in your time here.” Or we could just remove the risk altogether and not say anything.

[CROCKODUCK]

Yeah I agree with that. Getting rid of it like I said is asking for trouble though but of course more opinions should be cast here.

[Denevien]

What kinds of things are not covered by our current rules? I believe most every type of troublemakers that I have seen can be filed under something, if not, we need to look at making changes to cover these issues.

[TheRandomnatrix]

What kinds of things are not covered by our current rules? I believe most every type of troublemakers that I have seen can be filed under something, if not, we need to look at making changes to cover these issues.

 

I can think of two such examples that happened to me this week: The first occurred when someone killed all the endermen in the End while someone else was afk'ing but didn't have the occupied light on, causing a small dispute. The second happened just yesterday, when someone thought trade scamming was a violation of the don't be a dick rule, and I had to remind them that that was not the case. In both cases this blanket was completely useless(be it how it was worded or just its existence), possibly even doing more harm than good, and that's a point I'm trying to make.

[Denevien]

In both mentioned cases, I see this being a great rule. While neither are banable offenses, you can talk to the player causing the trouble and day that it was kind of a dick move, and would be better to avoid such action in the future.

[ROCKONN]

It provides a subtle background to steer game play to more appropriate settings, and prevents a massive amount of loopholes from being created for the general populous to exploit. While the phrasing may be a bit rough, its intention, purpose, and meaning are clear.

[schererererer]

...you can talk to the player causing the trouble and say that it was kind of a dick move...

 

People intentionally being asshats are not likely to respond to suggestions - they're generally the most prolific type of rules lawyer.

 

I see this rule as a snarky summary of our server culture, immediately indicating that our player base is different from the typical infantile and destructive type that one often finds on public servers. It has the advantage is being succinct; while many new players will almost assuredly skip over the full list of rules, this one line will give the gist of what conduct is expected. If you want elaboration on the scope of "don't be a dick" just mentally append "outside the scope of the game", i.e. act within the norms of the server, e.g. harassing people in chat is forbidden but repeatedly attacking someone on S is typically fair game.

 

Honestly, the absence of "don't be a dick" would probably not alter staff responses to incidents that reference this rule. Just because there isn't a specific rule about pearling into an active spleef game does not mean that mods can't take action to stop it until a new rule has been penned. The real issue that I think should be addressed with respect to this topic is personal interpretations of "don't be a dick". That is, when a complainant bases this evaluation upon personal ideas of dickishness rather than server norms.

[totemo]

Whereas the phrasing is rather succinct and informal the purpose of the rule is clear, and without it the people who cause us the most problems would cause us further consternation by productively arguing that their behaviour was within the scope of the written rules. Aint nobody got time fo dat.

 

Here are some relevant discussions by other server owners for comparison:

• It may surprise you to know that "don't be a dick" is not unique to the reddit server: http://www.reddit.com/r/admincraft/comments/18yetn/server_rules/
• For contrast, an opposing opinion on "don't be a dick": http://www.reddit.com/r/admincraft/comments/18zfh9/tutorial_server_rules_the_right_way/
• http://www.reddit.com/r/admincraft/comments/1s7r9y/whats_the_worst_type_of_player_youve_dealt_with/
• http://www.reddit.com/r/admincraft/comments/1h4xua/server_rules_opinions_suggestions/
• http://www.reddit.com/r/admincraft/comments/1psvnd/lets_talk_behaviorpunishmentsstaff/
• http://www.reddit.com/r/admincraft/comments/1r9g82/how_to_defend_against_hordes_of_bad/

Here's the Minecon 2013 "Running a Server" panel, which I watched a few weeks ago.  I can't recall if they address catch-all rules or not, but it's worth a watch, regardless.

 

And this is not directly related to the topic at hand, but it came up in my search and I enjoyed it so much that I'm gonna link it here just to be a dick. http://www.reddit.com/r/admincraft/comments/zthhg/the_top_lies_of_smp_players/

[sansapants]

Perhaps, instead of expressing our desire for good behavior in a prohibitive manner, we could present a positive and marginally less flippant statement of how we desire players to comport themselves on our server.

I suggest the advice given by the learned philosopher Bill S. Preston, Esq.: "Be Excellent To Each Other."

[MasterCommaThe]

I find the rule as written to be amusing and effective. I have enforced this rule in several circumstances.

I could agree to a less controversially stated version of this rule as "Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated." or "Don't do or say anything you wouldn't in front of your mother. Subject to the ideal image of a mother and not your particular mother who may in fact be a total #$%@."

[Trooprm32]

I think proffesional wording would be more beneficial to the image we should be displaying as a server.

Something along the lines of what master said regarding 'mothers' is what we should be avoiding.

[buzzie71]

I have previously expressed a negative opinion towards removing the "Don't be a dick" rule, but shortly after I posted (in the archived forums) I realized my argument was empty and I guessed I held onto it only for historical reasons.  I maintain that the tone it sets for the servers and the rest of the rules is excellent, but frequently I see players trying to get other players in trouble for legal gameplay because they were being something that the accuser (and not necessarily the staff) defines to be a dick.  

 

The most hypothetical scenario I have to offer: Base camping is not illegal on S, but for someone not used to S gameplay or S rules it can easily be seen as being a dick - here you are trying to build/farm/survive, and this blasted diamondclad kills you and then sticks around to stab you as soon as you get close to your own build, wtf?. -> argument about whether the supposed perpetrator is being a dick.

 

(EDIT: Striking out this example because after some conversation I realize this is not a great example.)

 

The most concrete scenario I have to offer: The End is frequented by P players to level up at the fastest rate.  Popular opinion holds that End grinder spawn rates go down if there is anywhere else besides the End grinder that Endermen may spawn, and thus even mentioning intent to build an End grinder when one already exists earns a player discouragement, if not some animosity.  A second, private one was indeed constructed largely in secret last rev, and when news of it was made public, some of the players against the second grinder (for reasons of privacy or reduced efficiency in the first, public grinder) were quick to call the builders and their town dicks, while the players who built it rebutted that the rule was irrelevant in this case.

 

The Padmins ruled that grinders must not be access-restricted as the second End grinder was, but did not, and to this day still do not, announce or enforce a limit on the number of End grinders in the End.

 

My point is that though we might believe it is a great rule, players use it for their own ends, for purposes that we, as staff, do not support.  Even as a staff member, I will say up front that I do not intend to ban or enforce any ban for solely "being a dick;" in my opinion it is about as flimsy of a ban reason as "driving a red car."  I don't believe this means "don't be a dick" must be necessarily removed as a concise description of the server atmosphere and its rules, but I would support its removal as a rule itself.

[redwall_hp]

I like the customary "don't be a dick" sign. It's succinct, and captures of the tone of the kind of environment we cultivate. However, I could see setting it aside from the actual enforced rules and having a snarky "remember, don't be a dick!" sign on the way out of the room.