Rules And Such

[vermilionvermin]

In light of the last game, I think we should have a discussion about some of the rules of TWG, namely Who's Online "stalking" and screenshots.

My own views on the two are that we don't need any rule against Who's Online but that screenshots shouldn't be allowed at all.

I know some people have been clamoring for a ban on watching Who's Online, but I don't think it's practical.  It's hard to determine what would be against the rules if we were to institute one.  Would it be illegal to use information gathered from Who's Online to look for more reasons to suspect someone?  Is it OK to subtly hint that you saw someone viewing a PM without saying it?  There's a lot of gray area and I don't think a ban would cover it.

Instead, I think there are ways of dealing with it.  As gzgregory did last game (and I did too, as host), it's possible to hide your online status permanently.  There's a setting under Profile I think.  There are other ways of getting around it as well, such as sending emails and such.

On screenshots, I can't think of a way in which they help the game.  I think a lot of TWG is based on whether or not people are believable, and screenshotting something in order to prove authenticity undercuts that.  It also makes use of photoshop a part of TWG, which I'd really like to avoid.

I'd like your thoughts on these two issues.

[FSM-Reapr]

I think the rules are fine just the way they are.

[Dude]

I think the rules are fine just the way they are.

This.

[K-NiGhT]

I do think that Who's Online stalking is kinda like cheating. I don't like it, personally.

SocialFox and I tried to resort to email for the last game, but I didn't check my email as much, and it's harder to get stuff to each partner.

Screenshots are definitely wrong, and shouldn't be allowed at all.

[FSM-Reapr]

I don't think there is a problem. Just hide your status.

[Bubbles]

I agree about the rules being fine as they are, but if you really want to change something make it the screenshots. Apparently showing a screenshot of a pm I sent to a nonplayer made me more believable, but it was dumb at the same time (woo strong argument right here)

[spitllama]

The whole point of TWG is an educated and cohesive minority against a disconjointed and ignorant majority. The wolves NEED to be able to talk together, and quite frankly I'm getting tired of having to play monkey games just to communicate with my team.

To the ban on stalking Who's Online, I feel like it's reasonable. The rule would keep people from even referencing Who's Online (as if it didn't exist) in PMs, chats, and the thread. It is hard to regulate PMs and chats since they can just be hidden from the host, but at the same time you need a majority of players to agree with you to get a lynch going, so if you can't post anything about Who's Online in the thread, you'll be obligated to come up with some decent form of reasoning to have people vote with you. I think we should just try the ban and see how it works out.
If we have a lot of "Man, spitllama, you've sure been buuuuusy lately on NSM haven't you? *wink wink*" then it may have to be reevaluated, but everyone wants the games to succeed and I think they'll try to follow the rules.

While screenshots have been used in the past, it's been rare. Everyone is naturally skeptical of pictures right off the bat, so liars don't don't abuse them anyhow. I don't feel like there's any major problem with keeping it around.


Edit: OMG run-on sentences xD

[the_last_sheikah]

I agree fully with spit.

[Bubbles]

Yes, TWG is supposed to be the "educated and cohesive minority against a disconjointed and ignorant majority" (I didnt feel like rewording it ), but even if we just pretended the Who's Online thing didnt exist that wouldnt stop anything. If someone sees a player sending a message, legal or not they will still be suspicious of that person. Making it illegal to post it in the thread will just end up making the accuser seem suspicious because they have no believable reason otherwise that the sender would be suspicious, and it would seem like they are accusing them out of the blue. I'd also like to say that this would only apply for some of the games, since any game with all specials or something that each player needs to pm the host or another player for wouldnt draw suspicion if they were caught. Im not saying Who's Online is a clever style of playing, but it is a style that is near impossible to erase completely

I mean really. If you feel that strongly about it just hide your status. The only thing I dont like about that is then I dont get to see whos online and then someone randomly posts that isnt on the list and I get confused

[Toby]

Still a town vig could kill someone by checking who's online and noone would know that was the reason for the kill.

[Greg]

Screenshots should definitely be banned.

Who's Online stalking is impossible to regulate. Hiding your online status is an easy solution.

[Yugi]

I see screenshots as a weird joke among players, and not an actual problem.