Policy Redefining 'dicks'

[Draykhar]

draykhar here with another rule he's not quite happy with, but will settle for an re-explanation of it for now.

 

"don't be a dick"

 

This rule is oft misquoted as a rule that a player cries to whenever someone (or something) is treating them unfairly, whether it be a grinder in the end, a base blocking theirs, or the current situation of some other rules (i.e. killing someone via certain circumstances on S). "You're being a dick, you can be banned for that you know"

 

This is not the case with that rule. I'd like to extrapolate on it. The 'don't be dick' rule is there to cover things that are not already covered in the rules. That's not to say that you're going to be banned for whatever reason we think of, but rather that all lists of rules, laws and regulations are fallible, and don't foresee every circumstance - particularly more so when they're rarely modified.

 

I'm not asking for an update on the rules here, but a better understanding of the 'don't be a dick' rule (at least as I've understood it) would be:

 

"Don't be a dick"

 

If an admin or mod finds someone to be a continuously problematic Steve, whether or not it has been covered in the rest of the rules, they will be warned or removed. It's that simple.  Their primary function is to maintain the enjoyment and integrity of the McPublic servers. If you fail to conduct yourself properly, you can expect to be excluded.

 

The goal of the servers is to create an environment of camaraderie and allow for everyone to have fun whilst playing blocks. Friction is inevitable as each of us comes forth with different - and sometimes clashing - ideas. Regardless, everyone is expected to hold themselves  accountable for their actions and act appropriately.

 

This rule is not restricted solely to in-game occurrences. If you are found to be a disruptive Steve and the moderation crew finds that you are repeatedly being a negative influence on the community, you will be removed from it.  These bans are not to be given lightly, or treated lightly.

 

 

Discuss.

[coolgamerovr90]

I agree, that is the best definition of "Don't be a dick", I think players should look over that before they complain that someone else is being a dick

[graymansnel]

If what you are doing bothers or harms another player, and you realise this, and yet you still do it.

 

That is being a Dick.

 

 

Spawn, base camping. Name calling. Flaming. Girefing. Ect.

 

All dickish behavior

[Herbrin3]

I don't think it is necessarily only for continuous behaviour. A new Steve can be a dick within minutes of joining. I believe the point is, just because you may not have technically broken any specific rules per the letter-of-the-law, you can still be banned for doing silly things. Another way of phrasing it is, "Common Sense" - which, ironically, is far too rare.

 

Wikipedia has a very similar policy, which I'll selectively quote here;

 

"Don't be a dick" is a fundamental rule of all social spaces. Every other policy for getting along with other humans is a special case of it [...] If a significant number of reasonable people suggest, whether bluntly or politely, that you are being a dick, the odds are good that you are not entirely in the right.

 

Avoiding dickery is not simply a matter of observing the more obvious rules of etiquette, but is a broader and more important concern, generally involving the practice of maintaining a position of respect for the intrinsic qualities of another person during the course of interaction – or else gently cutting the interaction short. Truly being civil and polite means that you do show respect for others [...], even when right.

 

Respect others, even when you disagree.                Link and attributions
 

Edited June 14, 2013 by Herbrin3

[cmdrtebok]

The Don't Be A Dick rule is from a different time. Back in the classic/early alpha days not more than 20 people played on MCPublic. It was the only rule we had. Towards September/October 2010 we became a large server, possibly the largest at that time, and that necessitated writing other rules. We kept that one around as a grandfathered in.

 

When I was admin we rewrote the rules again around the end of 2011. We left that rule in again as a catch all to cover the people who need to be banned but didn't break one specific rule. It is supposed to give the head admins discretion above and beyond the letter of the rules. 

[TheRandomnatrix]

I have never considered the 'don't be a dick' rule to be an actual rule. I prefer the term guideline instead. It's not enforced as a rule, so I see zero reason to refer to it as one. It is most often confused with the no player harassment rule, which from my understanding is enforced.

 

As for continuously toxic behaviour and what has come to be known as brinkmanship(purposely edging around rules to the detriment of moderators), I feel that's up to the staff to come to an agreement when a player is shown to have negative effects on the community at large to the point where removal may be necessary, and that we reserve the right to do so. Perhaps more clearly defining what brinkmanship and toxicity is, though subjective and possibly case-by-case based, would also be beneficial.

 

All in all, if you find you're having trouble with a player and you can't come to an agreement, just move on. If they continue to pursue you(be it through chat of any medium or ingame) despite you making it clear you want to be left alone(also, I would like to remind players that if you go down the same road as someone in diamond armor time and time again, expect to be killed. Common sense, people.), only then should you consider contacting a staff member. Bans are not to be used as threats against a player, and we do not take sides.

[xXNjordXx]

For me the 'dont be a Dick' rule is a rule i dont enforce with banning the person. I just kick them saying them dont be a dick.

But the main question still stands in the room. What defines beeing a dick?

 

In my oppinion beeing a dick means that you know you are doing something, that isnt defined in the rules.

For example: If i set a player constantly on Fire on C, and he ask me to stop it, then i will stop it because if i keep on setting him on fire it would be a dickmove.

If a player is asked to leave a certain area because the other player wants to keep on building and he constantly gets in his way, and he keeps on doing it on purpose. Than he is a dick, and dicks get kicked.

If a player makes a big build and you are building just 1 block beside his build, that could also be a dickmove, because the map is big enough to give the builds some space in case the builder needs to expand.

 

So in short:

If you get asked to leave someone alone, dont be a dick, say ok and go somewhere else to hang around just not right beside him.

[unce]

If what you are doing bothers or harms another player, and you realise this, and yet you still do it.

 

That is being a Dick.

 

The DBAD rule isn't something that should ever be used to "get people banned" that bother you. (From your previous posts, this is what it looks like you want to use this for) It is an admin catch all for "special circumstances", and that only. 

[tobylane]

I think some of the people here are biased. Me too.

 

A catch-all is needed because of the evolving tactics that aren't desirable. Even if we found some broad way to address most or all of them, I'd expect people to find a way around that. I would prefer the rule to be something like 'Do not consistently act in a way that harms the ongoing fun of another player' It's still massively subjective, because I could say that newb is bored of you killing him, and you could say he's not bored, or he's getting used to it, or he's a pansy. But the rule has a clear objective - everyone deserves to have fun, simply because they are here.

[SpiderMan]

The don't be a dick is mostly used against undersirable players that havent broken any rule.

 

http://www.redditpublic.com/wiki/Rules#Universal

 

IMO, it should be clarified, then removed.

Edited June 24, 2013 by gsand

[CROCKODUCK]

I don't see any reason to remove it. If we did remove it someone would have to spend HOURS fixing them and clarifying every possible scenario that could happen, which is not reasonable at all. Even the police have similar things to this in which case a person can be arrested for something that is not clearly stated. It's really just a simple clause that allows nerd.nu admins to have the option to fallback on the rule that was broken.

[SpiderMan]

I don't see any reason to remove it. If we did remove it someone would have to spend HOURS fixing them and clarifying every possible scenario that could happen, which is not reasonable at all.

 

I don't see how it can take anyone more than 30 minutes. Most other servers have very clear rules that about these things. Also, "Don't be a dick" is extremely subjective.

 

Even the police have similar things to this in which case a person can be arrested for something that is not clearly stated.

That's different, although laws arent clearly stated, they are clearly Defined.

 

It's really just a simple clause that allows nerd.nu admins to have the option to fallback on the rule that was broken.

 

But that rule isn't clearly defined in any way like the rest of the rules in the Universal Rules section of the RedditPublic Rules Page.

If it was clearly defined, this thread wouldn't exist.

[EeHee2000]

I've read over all this, and agree with most of the opinions included. To simplify it as much (and bluntly) as possible, "being a dick" is usually evading all consequences with smart-assery, and (in most cases) continuously purposely angering/annoying others.

[tobylane]

I don't see how it can take anyone more than 30 minutes. Most other servers have very clear rules that about these things. Also, "Don't be a dick" is extremely subjective.

 ...

If it was clearly defined, this thread wouldn't exist.

Have you tried? You're a good person to do it, as you're the player who would try to find the loophole or gap in the rules if it meant more killing. This thread exists, the consensus exists, because we can imagine what you'll do. Which is wonderfully creative, but undesired.