RP Law Query Thread
Split from (Jelbania Discussion) RP Law Query Thread
Moderation/GRC Queries
Moderation has conceded that "Obviously it’s becoming clear that RP rules are confusing and not fit for purpose" (Lewiselder1) and promised a review of these rules and a full player consultation. All good stuff.
I was therefore surprised to discover this morning that Moderation has decided to change the rules, but without actually announcing the changes on the forum. There was an announcement on Discord (see below), but even that did not actually explain what the actual details of the change are. BTW, the link in Lewis's message is just the standard Game Rules link.
I point out also that not everybody is on Discord, and even amongst those who are there, not everybody keeps up with all of the multiple "channels" and all of the fast-flowing conversation there. I am not quite sure as to whether I myself would have noticed this announcement if it had not been pointed out privately to me.
To repeat a point I have made in the past, I do feel it is important that game announcements should be made on the forum, not just on Discord. There have been similar incidents to this. As an example, around a year ago a new in-game law was added without it being announced or even discussed on the forum.
Now, as for the rewording of the rules, from what I can establish by myself, the changes are as follows...
Section 6e previously read:
6. e. It is possible to create RP laws which act as secondary rules which players are required to follow in character only, laws that require players to act or vote in a specific way are not permitted. They are laws which are only referenced in the bill description and not enforced by the game mechanics.i.To create an RP law you must: pass it through your nation's legislature with either a simple majority of seats if it is a regular law or a ⅔ majority of seats if it is a constitutional law and reference it clearly in your nation’s “Bills under debate” section. To query a new RP law’s legality a user should post on the RP Law Query Thread. It is recommended though not required for an RP Law to be clearly labelled as such.
ii.To overturn or abolish an RP law you must pass a bill with a simple majority which explicitly mentions which law you are scrapping and provides a link to the original law. It is recommended though not required to post a link to the bill on the RP Law Dismissal Thread.
iii.An RP law must not contradict game mechanics or the game rules, or force users to act a certain way OOC. Additionally they cannot ban types of parties (without considerable RP justification) or users. RP Laws must also not force users to vote in a particular way.
iv.Moderation reserves the right to declare any RP law invalid in exceptional circumstances.
Whereas now it reads:
6. e. It is possible to create RP laws which act as secondary rules which players are required to follow in character only, laws that require players to act or vote in a specific way are not permitted. They are laws which are only referenced in the bill description and not enforced by the game mechanics.i.To create an RP law you must: pass it through your nation's legislature with either a simple majority of seats if it is a regular law or a ⅔ majority of seats if it is a constitutional law and reference it clearly in your nation’s “Bills under debate” section. To query a new RP law’s legality a user should post on the RP Law Query Thread. It is recommended though not required for an RP Law to be clearly labelled as such.
ii.To overturn or abolish an RP law you must pass a bill with a simple majority which explicitly mentions which law you are scrapping and provides a link to the original law. It is recommended though not required to post a link to the bill on the RP Law Dismissal Thread.
iii.An RP law generally must not severely contradict game mechanics or the game rules, or force users to act a certain way OOC. Moderation has the right to decide what fits into this definition and what does not: exceptions can be made in various scenarios, especially when the conflict is minor (please contact a Moderator for advice). Additionally they cannot ban types of parties (without considerable RP justification) or users. RP Laws must also not force users to vote in a particular way.
iv.Moderation reserves the right to declare any RP law invalid in exceptional circumstances.
As you can see, there has been a shift in emphasis. Whereas before, it said RP laws "must not contradict game mechanics", now it says RP laws "must not severely contradict game mechanics". Clearly this change must be of some significance, because otherwise surely Moderation would have seen no need for the rewording.
To try to keep things as simple and concise as possible, I would like to put a few questions or points to Moderation, and would be grateful if they could try to respond - even if its only to some of them.
1. Could Moderation explain the significance of the difference between "contradict game mechanics" and "severely contradict game mechanics"? What exactly are RP laws now able to do and not able to do?
2. Is this rewording a substitute for the rules review and the consultation we were originally promised, or is this more of a temporary "stop-gap" measure?
3. Does Moderation agree with my concern that changes to the game should be fully detailed and announced here on the forum?
4. House Spencer, who is apparently currently under a forum ban, has asked me to state he feels strongly that Moderation has retrospectively changed the rules in order to retroactively justify a situation in Jelbania which he feels broke the game mechanics and unfairly penalised him. He also feels Moderation has deliberately tried to "slip out" the announcement in the hope nobody would notice or comment. Whilst I do not personally share his interpretation of events, I am not without empathy for why it is seeming this way to him, and I do feel it would be fair comment to say there has been a lack of sensitivity in terms of both how this rules announcement has been made, and how that situation in Jelbania was handled generally.
5. Could Moderation confirm whether I have correctly identified all of the rules changes that have just been introduced? If I have not done so, please present the full changes in detail.
5. The OP for the RP Law Query Thread has not yet been updated to reflect the rule changes.
6. To repeat another point I have made previously: the "Random Facts" which run along the bottom of the game screen continue to relay information which is now out-of-date, including on RP and RP laws. I do hope this will be addressed, because this has almost certainly been a source of confusion.