General Site Rules

• World of Darkness:  Denver is a mature site.  Players, Player Characters (PCs) and the playbys used to represent those characters must all be at least 18.
• Respect the availability of the Admins and the Director.  Links to this information can be found in the Admin section of the site.
  • For all non-urgent issues, disputes, questions, etc., you must email the appropriate authority.
  • In the event a player feels they absolutely must speak to someone immediately who happens to be online, ask if they are free first.  Even if they are online, they might not be available to resolve an issue.
  • Failure to adhere to these guidelines with regard to admin availability will be viewed as harassment and will be dealt with accordingly (see Disciplinary Actions).
• Always approach each other – admin and player alike – with courtesy and respect.  This is particularly true if you have a dispute or other issue.

General Roleplaying Rules

Please read the rules for the system in which you wish to play.  If those rules differ from or in any way contradict the below, default to the system specific rules.

• Players will tell the stories they want to tell, but bear in mind not everyone will be comfortable with the same themes.  If a fellow player expresses discomfort with a scene’s direction, respect that and work together to resolve the issue appropriately.
  • Related:  Conflict happens.  Don't take it personally and keep it in character.
• If you are uncomfortable with a scene’s direction, speak up so that it may be addressed immediately.
• Storytellers must warn players if they intend to employ questionable themes in a scene run.  At the very least, Storytellers must ask players what themes they are unwilling to participate in and resolve any issue accordingly.
• Again:  Courtesy.  Respect.

Handling Disputes

A Dispute is defined here as any issue between players or Storytellers involving (but not limited to) conduct, scene content, or rulings within one particular scene.

When handling a dispute, you must start at the bottom before working your way up; neither Admins nor the Director are under any obligation to assist you if you jump the chain of command.  Don’t sit on frustration for days or weeks, but begin the process immediately.  This may necessitate putting a scene on hold.  And as always, be courteous and respectful when interacting with your sitemates.

Except in cases of harassment (see below), this is the order in which all disputes must be handled on World of Darkness:  Denver.

• Talk to those involved before bringing in someone else.
• After a reasonable attempt has been made to resolve the dispute amongst yourselves, go to the next person in the chain.
  • Admins are the final authority within their systems with regard to rules and system conduct. Such disputes cannot advance beyond an Admin’s intervention.
  • The Director is the authority for any dispute between players involving conduct or harassment.  Such disputes will only be handled by The Director.
  • Sound confusing?  Basically, if it happens in a scene, take it to that system's Admin.  If it happens in the OOC room or off-site, take it to the Director.
• If you have and feel you cannot amicably resolve a dispute with an Admin, you must involve the Director.

Harassment

Harassment is defined here as repeated conduct that is unwelcome, personally offensive, or creates an environment of hostility and intimidation.  This sort of behavior will not be tolerated on WoD: Denver, as it goes against the open play environment we strive to create.

There are only two steps involved in dealing with harassment on World of Darkness:  Denver:

• 1. Tell the person once to stop.
• 2. If they do not stop, immediately contact the Director with a transcript of the offending conversation.

Harassment is a community issue, and so cannot be effectively handled within any one system.  Once the issue has been advanced the Director will determine if disciplinary action is necessary.

Disciplinary Actions

These disciplinary actions are mainly for those found guilty of harassing other players.  However, Admins or the Director reserve the right to enact this system in the event someone does something that undermines the primary goals of this site (as described in our Mission Statement). This will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

• 1^st offense will result in an official warning.
• 2^nd offense will result in a three day ban from the site.
  • After a period of three months (180 days) this will fall off an offender's record.
• 3^rd offense will result in a permanent ban from the site.

That's right, three strikes and you're out of here.  If you're courteous and respectful in your interactions there shouldn't be any problems.

Odds and Ends

"Don't be a dick."  -- Wil Wheaton

Here are some notes we all need to keep in mind in order to make WoD: Denver a successful community.

-  Courtesy and Respect and what it means for WoD: Denver.

I'm not going to go into the dictionary definitions of those words (which is why links to their definitions have been provided), but rather the things they don't mean.  Being courteous and respectful doesn't mean submitting to another person.  Receiving courtesy and respect doesn't mean you'll get your way.  In short, it doesn't mean exerting or caving to a greater will.  It means listening to each other and reaching a compromise in which one or both parties may need to make concessions.

tl;dr:  "Don't be a dick."

Site Roles

Moderator (or Mod):  Any person chosen by two or more players to make judgment calls in the event of impromptu, informal rolls (usually combat-related).  This person's authority extends only to the scene they have been called on to moderate.  Judgment calls made by a mod may not alter or affect the overall rules for a system.  If you would like a mod's judgment call to be considered for the system overall, discuss it with the system's Admin (keeping in mind the Admin's availability and contact preferences).

When to call for a Mod:  Conflict happens.  Characters won't always get along.  In the event one PC decides to step up to another outside of a scene run by a Storyteller, call in a mod to watch over the rolls.  A mod must be agreed upon by all parties involved.  A person asked to be a mod reserves the right to decline.

Storyteller (or ST):  The role of a ST may be expanded upon within an individual system.  The loose definition is:  A person who has agreed to run a scene or series of scenes with a goal or target result for their fellow player(s) and may involve heavy use of dice rolls.  These scenes can be combat or non-combat related, may or may not involve risk of character trauma, dismemberment, or death, but will usually result in some form of character development.

When to call for a ST:  You don't.  They volunteer, and may require approval from the System's Admin before they can run anything, particularly if that "anything" could affect the system overall.

Overseer:  An Overseer is someone who oversees a small side game, or pocket game.  Rather than a fully-fledged System, a pocket game is limited in size, scope, and direction to a single campaign as determined by the Overseer.  These pocket games will essentially be thought of like individual table-top sessions, except hosted on WoDD.

An Overseer only has authority over their pocket game, and therefore cannot make any judgment calls that affect a System or the site overall.  Overseers are the only ones with the authority to ban an individual from their pocket game.

System Admin:  Admins create the pocket universe that is their system.  They are fully in charge of creating and establishing the settings of their system, including rulings and judgment calls.  An Admin is the final authority in all things that fall within their individual system.  No Admin may make judgment calls that affect another Admin's System.

Who can be a System Admin:  You!  That person!  Anyone, really, except the Director and anyone who is already Admin of a system.  Admins are the only ones with authority to ban an individual from their respective system.

The Director:  The Director's primary function is to take as much stress and strain off the Admins as possible.  In general, this means taking care of boring back-end things like initial system creation and organizational things.  The Director also has authority over anything that affects the site as a whole and anything that is not contained within any single system.  This includes disputes between players that do not involve a System's setting, rules, or scenes, and issues of harassment.  The Director is the only person with the ability to ban an individual from the site.

So You Wanna Be An Admin

I am not currently accepting petitions for more systems, however, in the event that that changes, here is what you need to know:

World of Darkness: Denver is very much an experiment in the online roleplaying experience. Running this site has been a learning process for me, particularly when it comes to selecting Admins. It was great when we were smaller and someone would ask for a system and I could just say, "Bam! Done!" and set them up. As the site continues to grow I've found I need to be at least semi-responsible and have a few guidelines in place for people who want to run a system here. I would like to have as few as possible, because the thing that has been most important to me in creating this site with Kai is making sure that it never ever feels like a job for anyone at any level.

So, read the below. If you think you meet these requirements then send me an email at director[at]woddenver[dot]com letting me know the system you want to run.

Passion: The Admins we have now have really set the bar for passion when it comes to their systems. It shows in the settings that they have created, the NPCs they've put in place, the stories that they've already run, all of it. Members petitioning to run a system need to be passionate about it, because let's face it. This isn't a paying gig. If you're not in it to share your love of the game, then you probably should not be petitioning to run a system.

The best way for me to determine if someone is passionate about the system they want to run is for them to tell me or other players. Another good way is the "Favorite Games" field some players have put into their Introductions post.

Trust: Trust is what makes this site work. Admins have a lot of freedom in their systems. They can set the rules however they want, they can put any story elements in place that they like, and they determine whether or not a character concept will fit within the world they've created. The only way that I will approach these things is as a player and on behalf of my fellow players that I say we put a lot of trust into the Admins. And as the Director, I need to know that I'm putting someone in place who is worthy of that trust.

In short, we need to know who you are. If you've changed your online name and you wish to run a system, post into the Introductions thread letting us know what we should call you now.

If you are totally new to our playerbase then you must make yourself a presence on this site. Join one of the other systems. Hang out in the OOC room. Talk to the other players. Let us get to know you. I'm not going to put a time limit on this, because I don't believe there's some kind of magic time frame in which someone earns trust.