Touchy Subject

[Raa]

Be serious now, no silliness. Some people may consider this a "touchy" subject, so I don't expect this thread to last. And if you're one of those anti-sexual fanatics who can't handle a simple discussion, please flame me politely. 

I couldn't help but notice that rape isn't against the law in Yliakum. It isn't stated in any law book. Does that mean it is allowed? Personally, I think rape is just as bad as murder, and I'm sick of random people trying to grope my characters without any consequences. That's just ridiculous and unfair. There is absolutely no repercussion for rape, yet there is for petty thievery and small tavern brawls? Now that really pisses me off. Some people may consider it too explicit to even include in the game, but it is still "allowed." If pretty much every single crime is included in the law books, why not rape? ICly, the government should recognize it as a problem.

So, like... wut? I don't really have much else to say. Thanks for letting me steal a few seconds of your life as you read that.

[Tuxide]

First off, I hate to be the one to reply to this thread, but somebody has to say why everything doesn't need to be mentioned.  To begin with, a story.

The little boy's mother was off to market. She worried about her boy, who was always up to some mischief. She sternly admonished him, "Be good. Don't get into trouble. Don't eat all the cabbage. Don't spill all the milk. Don't throw stones at the cow. Don't fall down the well." The boy had done all of these things on other market days. Hoping to head off new trouble, she added, "And don't stuff beans up your nose!" This was a new idea for the boy, who promptly tried it out.

In other words, don't give examples of how to break the law because it will actually tempt some people to do it.

[Rayken]

Well the question of any such law is of course a question for settings, but in game harassment is pretty clear-cut and anything inappropriate should be /report ed.  If a problem is persisting, you can ask a GM via /tell to come help.  We will deal with these situations as best as we can.

[Zan]

While I can't directly find an official statement, I'm certain that Planeshift is a game for all ages. I think that's reason enough to avoid sexually loaded subjects.

Rape may not be mentioned in the In-game rules but it is definitely against the general rules. I agree with Tuxide, it shouldn't be mentioned in-game.

Rules of Conduct

• You may not use any harmful, hateful, abusive, vulgar, defamatory, obscene, racial, ethnically offensive, nor sexually explicit language to any other players nor members of the PlaneShift team.
• You may not organize nor be part of any guilds or groups that are based on, or espouse, any racist, sexist, anti-religious, anti-ethnic, anti-gay or other hate-mongering philosophy.

I know that there are people who like to roleplay sexually explicit topics on Planeshift. So far I've only seen them do it subtly enough to get away with it but I still frown upon those roleplays. It's way too easy to get carried away and go overboard. Sex is fun and all but lets leave it for adult-oriented areas ... personally I'll stick to the real life version alone.

[Dajoji]

Keeping things IC, Raa's got a point. There should be a law forbidding rape.

OOCly, I agree that it's not the best topic to RP with. It doesn't mean that it's against the rules, but what goes against them is not keeping it PG. This means you can't be too explicit on main and the players should be on the same page about it OOCly. If you don't wish to be part of a rape RP, state it OOCly through tell. That should be enough for the player to back off and if he/she doesn't, you can report them and file a petition. But do this only if you explicitly say you do not wish to be part of that RP and your wishes are not respected, not if someone is RPing it, is IC, and within proper PG boundaries.

This sort of RP requires maturity not all players have, despite their age. It requires that the players know what not to say and how to approach other players about it. Sadly, some people can't do this and it all turns into an IOC mess it's better to avoid simply by not doing this kind of topic. Personally, I don't like censorship and I believe any topic can be RPed as long as they are addressed responsively and respecting game policies.

If you have any doubts, talk to a GM instead of confronting other players.

[Velh Krome]

I am not sure if its that easy. After all there are always newbies running around apparently not very aware of the important meaning brackets have. A newbie like that may clearly state he is not fond of being part of something like that at all, though leaving away brackets. The person up to initiate a rape-rp may validly take it as a proper ic'ish reaction. In the end the newbie would leave the game disturbed.
I for one know of one actually nice and sweet girl who was rather fed up with PS after something similar.
So even if the approacher would choose his words well enough, the matter still would be the same. It additionally would require, that the one to be raped knows about his option to decline and the howto. And not the last that the approacher knows of the "victim" wouldnt feel offended - long story short: To avoid harassment, do your rape-rps with your friends.

[Dajoji]

The person behind the RP has to take proper action to avoid confusion and offending others unintentionally. If they RP with a stranger they have to let them know OOCly what is going on and what their intentions are. Groupchat or /tell are useful tools for this.

[Prolix]

Well If you look up the word assault you will see it is an attack by word or deed

1 a: a violent physical or verbal attack b: a military attack usually involving direct combat with enemy forces c: a concerted effort (as to reach a goal or defeat an adversary)2 a: a threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person (as by lifting a fist in a threatening manner) that puts the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension of such harm or contact — compare battery 1b b: rape 2

thus initiating such a role play may actually be illegal in real life as opposed to just in game. It could cause someone to believe that you could find out where they live and hunt them down. In Canada there is no specific law against rape it is covered under the more serious forms of sexual assault. It amounts to the same thing -- it is illegal -- but indicates a wider range of offenses than may exist in other jurisdictions.

Perhaps you might want to consider and Adult Oriented MMORPG such as sociolotron. There was another one I was specifically thinking of but I cannot remember its name and posted the link to the first one I came across. This should not be taken as an endorsement as I have seen nothing more than the page linked.

[ThomPhoenix]

I remember a player who tried to roleplay a rape. He was banned for life I think.
Certain things just stay out of PlaneShift

[Velh Krome]

I remember a player who tried to roleplay a rape. He was banned for life I think.
Certain things just stay out of PlaneShift Smiley

Full ack!

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

We left it out because to include it would be to focus on it.

We established the in game laws to give more value to roleplaying both law abiding people and law breakers.

I can really think of no situation within ps where rape would be a valid rp and any defense of it is preposterous to me.

I do NOT think there should be an explicit in game law against rape nor should there need to be.

I can tell you however that it is quite against the law.

I am certain that those who handle moderation (gm team) are very strict on all forms of harassment.

Official word from settings team goes something like this:

DON'T DO IT

DON'T PLAY IT

DON'T TRY TO RATIONALIZE IT HERE!

REPORT OFFENDERS IMMEDIATELY!

That is my take on it.

[Under the moon]

Use common sense, folks.

[Rayken]

You have official word from the Dev team.  Don't do it.  Report any inappropriate actions to the GMs.

[Mordraugion]

As a GM I and the rest of my colleagues can not monitor all RP that goes on especially that done in group however Sexually Explicit material of any sort found in open chat will be disciplined.

Locking as I think this thread has run its course