WormRP:Community Code

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Our Community Code covers all the edge cases and procedural issues not covered by our main Ground Rules. Most of the rules herein aren't something the average member will need to worry about or ever come across, but some (in particular the rules regarding character limits) come up pretty often.

As with the Ground Rules, if you would like to see a rule added, changed, or amended, talk to the staff, in particular your Community Rep.

This document was last edited 15 Sep 2021. If more recent rules (in #changelog) have been passed but not yet documented here, contact keira or another staff member.

Title 1. Community Conduct

Chapter 1.1. Player Behaviour

Section 1.1.1. Nickname changes

Discord nicknames where possible must have the user's reddit username in them (for example in parentheses after their name). Failure may result in name change privileges being revoked.[1]

Section 1.1.2. User flair

User's reddit flair should easily convey their characters and the appropriate reputations thereof. Use of emoji for abbreviating character names is forbidden.[2]

Section 1.1.3. Outside venues

Rule 14 states that behavior outside WormRP can result in bans from this community. Players are expected to avoid the following non-exhaustive list of actions:

  • Harassment
  • Doxxing
  • Espousement of hateful or bigoted beliefs
  • Ban evasion
  • Hacking[3]

Chapter 1.2. Role Usage and Management

Section 1.2.1. Personal role allocation

Prominent community members and staff may be granted a single personal role in their choice of title and color, provided it does not violate other rules in place.[4] Requests for personal roles can be made by contacting the staff.

Title 2. Gameplay Conduct

Chapter 2.1. Out of Character information

Section 2.1.1. Metagaming by omission

Users are responsible for ensuring their characters' public actions are disclosed via the proper out-of-character channels. This includes updating the proper sections of the Wiki, and using the proper discord channels to notify staff and the public of any relevant changes.[5]

In addition, users are responsible for notifying the @PRT tag for any issues relevant to them.[6] (For example, if a Ward hasn't gone to school for a month, or a villain is robbing the PRT gift shop.)

Chapter 2.2. Global Policies

Section 2.2.1. Roleplaying Pregnant Characters

Unless otherwise approved by the staff, roleplaying any pregnant PCs is forbidden.[7]

Chapter 2.3. Policies for Heroic organizations

Section 2.3.1. RPing as the PRT

Only players with the @PRT tag can roleplay the PRT (Parahuman Response Team).[6] Requests to be added to this group of authorized players can be made by contacting the Lore Approvers.

Section 2.3.2. Patrols with Wards

Wards are required to patrol in pairs, either with each other or with an adult hero.[8]

Section 2.3.3. Well-being of Protectorate heroes

Protectorate members (including Wards) must be able to pass PRT psychological evaluations.[9]

Section 2.3.4. Team size limits

The Protectorate and Wards are limited to a combined total of twenty (20) members.[10] Additional members may join (or return to active status from NPC) only upon an existing member leaving the roster.

Exceptions may be waivered with unanimous consent of the Lore team and the Protectorate Captain's player.[11]

Title 3. Approvals

Chapter 3.1. Character Limitations

Section 3.1.1. Limits on number of characters

While there is no hard cap on the number of active characters a member may play, approvers can deny additional characters to those with an excessively large roster.[12][13] Note, however, there are some caps on types of characters, as outlined below:

  1. Players may have a maximum of one active Tinker or pseudo-Tinker.[14]
  2. Players may have a maximum of one active Trump.[15]
  3. Players are allowed a total of two capes collectively from the following categories[15]:
    1. Case-53s
    2. Multi-triggers/Grab-bags/Clusters[16][17]
    3. Case-70s and similar "twinned" capes[18]

Note: See also #Section 2.3.4. Team size limits

Subsection 3.1.1.1. Exception Waivers

If a player wishes to play a character that would put them over the roster limits as listed in Section 3.1.1, they may petition the Character Approvers for a waiver to allow said character to be played. Players should have the proposed character roughed out at least as this will be taken into consideration in granting the waiver.

If a waiver is requested, active Character Approvers will vote on whether to allow it. A majority is needed for the waiver to be granted. In addition, a similar vote can be made to revoke this waiver at any time, requiring the player to immediately bring their roster into compliance.[19]

Section 3.1.2. General limitations

Low effort or setting-inappropriate characters may be denied.[20]

Section 3.1.3. Case-53 limitations

Case-53s must have their altered biology connected with their power, the more closely connected the better. It is strongly encouraged to write to some detail who they were before becoming a Case-53, or to otherwise put extra effort into describing their personality.[20]

Case-53s can be fertile but all NSFW rules apply.[7]

Section 3.1.4. Breaker limitations

Breakers need to have consequences for long term usage.[21]

Chapter 3.2. Equipment Limitations

(this chapter has no sections and has been reserved for future use)

Chapter 3.3. Character/Equipment Approval Procedures

Section 3.3.1. Character approval process

Characters and equipment are posted to the subreddit with the appropriate flair tag, after which a Character Approver will look over the submission. They will typically ask some questions or clarifications as comments to the thread, answers should be given as a reply to these comments (members SHOULD NOT edit their actual submission until told to do so by their Approver).

Once edits have been made and the Approver has signed off, the member must submit the edited post to the Wiki.[22]

Equipment is only usable in threads that are posted after that equipment is approved. If an event thread is GM-run, the GM may (at their discretion) waive this requirement for story-specific equipment.[23]

Section 3.3.2. Secret approvals

While normally not encouraged by staff, secret approvals (as in, a character or equipment that is not publicly viewable) can be made in certain situations. For example, a GM running an arc may wish to keep their NPCs secret, or a player may have a character whose power is especially vulnerable to unintentional metagaming.

In order to have a secret approval done, the author must petition the Administrators, who will go over the character with them in private. A secret approval cannot be made without the approval of both Administrators.[24]

In the event an Administrator wishes to do a secret approval, or another conflict of interest is present, the Community Rep will be asked to choose Approvers as replacements.[24]

Section 3.3.3. Updates

Players wishing to change or update a character's power should submit an updated sheet, along with a comment detailing what changes have been made.[25] This will then go through the standard approval process.

Section 3.3.4. Sanity checks

Lore Approvers are authorized to run approval processes on the lore aspects (such as backstory) concurrently with the Character Approver's balancing process.[26] In practice, however, this responsibility has been delegated to the Character Approvers.

If a reputable community member takes issue with a submission, they may petition to have a hold placed on the approval process so as to discuss specific grievances with the submission. Approvers will discuss the matter with the relevant parties in order to resolve the situation.[27]

Section 3.3.5. Queue prioritization

New players are given priority in the approval queue.[28]

Section 3.3.6. Character reworks

Sometimes maintaining a fun atmosphere on the subreddit can require changes be made to a previously-approved character. In this case, if a majority of Character Approvers support a rework (with the Community Representative acting as a tiebreaker), a rework will be required if the character is to continue in the setting. A randomly selected member of the pro-rework approvers will spearhead the rework process.[29]

Reworks can be expected to operate similarly to an approval process, with the Approver working with the author to resolve all outstanding issues.

Chapter 3.4. Lore Limitations & Procedures

Section 3.4.1. Lore approval process

Lore approvals occur in a similar fashion to Character approvals, however a 24-hour waiting period is in place for other staff to place a hold on the approval process to discuss issues with the submission. After this discussion a vote will take place with the majority answer determining the status of the lore post.[30] In practice, this period may be significantly less if all Lore Approvers are around to have a quick discussion.

Once edits have been made and the Approver has signed off, the member must submit the edited post to the Wiki if applicable.[22]

Section 3.4.2. Old Lore

All old lore from older versions of the setting (currently everything prior to September 2018) is to be considered non-canon unless the content is reapproved.[31] In practice, many characters were grandfathered in from the previous iteration, and thus some portions of their backstory may be considered "soft canon".

Section 3.4.3. Changes with respect to Ward

WormRP was established prior to Wildbow's release of Ward, and while we've always generally followed similar mechanisms to the Parahumans canon, some changes have come to light with the revelations in this new serial. In order to maintain consistency with our own "fork" of the canon, revelations from Ward will not be implemented automatically. Staff discussions will occur and implementations will be made via Staff motions.[32]

Section 3.4.4. Lore Retcons

Lore can be made non-canon by way of a majority vote of lore mods.[33]


Title 4. Staff and Organization

Chapter 4.1. Motions

Section 4.1.1. Motion process

Motions may be brought forward by any member of staff, and upon making their motion will notify the rest of the Staff via a discord ping.[34] A motion will be approved only if a two-thirds quorum is present.[35] A waiting period of one business day will be put in place to allow offline Staff to voice their opinions and have a chance to vote.[35]

In the event of a tie, the Community Rep's vote will act as a tiebreaker.[36]

Chapter 4.2. Community Representative

Section 4.2.1. Community Rep election

The Community Representative is elected by all the members of the community, with a one-year term beginning on the 20th of September each year.

Elections will be conducted with a suitably secure system that will be chosen by the staff at the time. Nominations will be conducted for a period ending no less than two days from the announcement of elections. Members are free to nominate themselves or decline nominations from another member; a valid candidate must have accepted their nominations. Once the staff have compiled a list of valid candidates, voting will be open for no less than five days. Results will be posted and implemented no greater than two days after the end of elections.[37]

Chapter 4.3. Removal of a staff member

Section 4.3.1. Removal via public vote

The Community Representative may initiate a vote process to remove any staff member from office. At that time a community vote will take place with a public ballot, with a 50% majority determining if the member is removed.[38]

Chapter 4.4. Policies for all staff

Section 4.4.1 Inappropriate name changes

Staff cannot change users names without their permission, unless the name is inappropriate. Staff cannot change the room names for factions without the faction's permission, unless it is inappropriate.[39]

Chapter 4.5. Rule Enforcement and Sanctions

Section 4.5.1. Staff Jurisdiction and responsibilities

Lore Approvers are authorized to issue citations for issues with metagaming and lore misconduct (such as violations of section 2.2.1 of the CC).[40]

Character Approvers are authorized to issue similar citations for balance and power use misconduct (such as violations of Rule 2 or Rule 4).[40]

Administrators can issue citations for all other misconduct (such as violations of Rule 1).[40]

Infractions against staff members may be issued by any other member of staff.[41]

Section 4.5.2. Citation procedure

When a member is issued a citation by an appropriate authority (as listed in section 4.5.1), it will be recorded by staff for future reference. The citation will then be referred to the Administrative staff who will determine what action, if any, should be taken (unless the member in question is an Administrator, in which case the Community Rep will determine the punitive action required[41]). This range from a warning, up to and including a permanent ban for egregious violations.[40]

Section 4.5.3. Minimum punishments for repeat offenses

For the third citation issued to a member, some form of punitive action must be issued by the Administrators (unless the member in question is an Administrator, in which case the Community Rep will determine the punitive action required[41]), such as a 48-hour mute or other more severe punishments.[40] If the member in question reaches three more infractions, this "minimum sentence" will once again be required.

Section 4.5.4. Appeals

If a community member believes they have been falsely issued a citation, they may petition the Community Rep for an appeal. The Community Rep may, at their discretion, allow an appeal to be made. They will hear the arguments of the community member and the staff member who issued the citation, and determine whether or not to overturn the citation. This decision will be final.[42]

Chapter 4.6. Appointment of new staff members

New staff members other than the Community Rep are to be appointed via staff motion. A majority is required for appointment. However, the Community Representative may veto any appointment which will require two-thirds majority to overrule.[43]

In addition, Admins/Head Mods must be confirmed via a community vote using a suitably secure system. A 50% majority is required to confirm their position.[43]

References

  1. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-001 dated 19 Sep 2018
    Allow nickname changes by everyone, with per-user punitive action taken upon abuse. Note: Do try to keep your reddit name in parenthesis, thank you.
  2. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-004 dated 10 Apr 2020
    No more emotes for Flair. Abbrievated [sic] names are fine, but emotes make it hard to figure out who they represent
  3. ↑ WormRP Motion 21-002 dated 1 Apr 2021
    Add a section to the community code, listing the following (non-exhaustive) items as examples of actionable outside misconduct:
    • Harassment
    • Doxxing
    • Espousement of hateful or bigoted beliefs
    • Ban evasion
    • Hacking
  4. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-002 dated 19 Sep 2018
    Prominent community members and staff may be granted a single personal role in their choice of title and color, provided it does not violate other rules in place.
  5. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-001 dated 4 Mar 2020
    withholding or omitting known information (either by not keeping your public info on the wiki updated, or not using #ashton_news) is a form of metagaming and should be avoided.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 WormRP Motion 19-011 dated 27 Sep 2019
    Only people with the @PRT tag can roleplay PRT. If you have something the PRT is doing (or not doing!), @ them first. Clarify this with a rule in the sidebar. No more "oh the PRT didn't do this thing for seemingly no reason whatsoever"
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 WormRP Motion 18-008 dated 25 Sep 2018
    If your cape gets knocked up, they're sidelined until the kid pops out. C53s can be fertile but all NSFW rules apply.
  8. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-009 dated 25 Sep 2018
    Remove the mandatory pairs rule from Protectorate heroes. The Wards will still pair up.
  9. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-013 dated 19 Dec 2019
    Future Ward/Protectorate members must be able to pass psychological evaluations
  10. ↑ WormRP Motion 21-004 dated 15 Jun 2021
    replace the current 10 Protectorate / 10 Ward limit with a combined 20 Protectorate+Ward cap
  11. ↑ WormRP Motion 21-001 dated 4 Mar 2021
    Cap the number of active Protectorate and Ward characters at ten (10) members each. Additional members may only join (or return to active status after being NPCed) upon an existing member leaving the roster. Exceptions may be waivered with unanimous consent of the Lore team and Protectorate captain.
  12. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-003 dated 19 Sep 2018
    No hard caps, but approvers are allowed to consider your cast of characters when approving characters they feel are outside the norm, and take this into account for the approval of that character. Note: This replaces the prior rule limiting the number of case 53 characters a player could have.
  13. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-010 dated 26 Jun 2019
    Instead of imposing a hard character limit we ask players that if they aren't playing someone to work with staff to come to a conclusion to their arcs.
  14. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-003 dated 7 Apr 2019
    Institute a temporary cap on Tinkers to encourage people to play other types of capes. Every player may play a maximum of one Tinker, or one pseudo-tinker. Anyone who currently plays more than one such character or has a character in approvals by Monday the 8th, April 2019 will be grandfathered in. This cap may be rescinded at a future date.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 WormRP Motion 21-005 dated 12 Sep 2021
    Add Trumps as a numerically restricted cape as per 3.11. Remove Coven capes from 3.11. There will be a two week grace period for Trumps to be submitted and grandfathered in before numerical restrictions are enforced. As always, players are welcome to request waivers, strong character concepts are most likely to be approved.
  16. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-005 dated 29 Apr 2020
    For any of the non-standard trigger types (e.g Coven, C53, C70, Multi-Trigger, Grab Bag, Second Gens, Clusters, etc), players are limited in how many they have (generally 2 soft cap)
  17. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-011 dated 16 Dec 2020
    amend community code to remove restrictions on Second Generation capes.
  18. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-010 dated 16 Dec 2020
    amend community code to add restrictions for Case-70s and Menja/Fenja triggers.
  19. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-006 dated 6 Jul 2020
    Allow Character Approvers to grant exceptions to roster limits under chapter 3.1 - a player may request a waiver for a particular character, and if a majority of active Char Approvers agrees, it shall be granted. A majority can also revoke this waiver at any time.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 WormRP Motion 19-004 dated 29 Apr 2019
    Case 53s must have their altered biology connected with their power, the more closely connected the better. It is strongly encouraged to write to some detail who they were before becoming a Case 53, or to otherwise put extra effort into describing their personality. As always, low effort or setting inappropriate characters may be denied.
  21. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-014 dated 19 Dec 2019
    Breakers need to have consequences for long term usage
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 WormRP Motion 19-009 dated 26 Jun 2019
    As the last step for character or (applicable) lore posts, the submitter must upload their character/lore/equipment to the wiki.
  23. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-008 dated 23 Jun 2019
    Equipment is only useable in threads that are posted after that equipment is approved. If a thread is a GM run event the GM may allow story specific equipment to be used in that event, even if that equipment was posted after the event.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 WormRP Motion 19-001 dated 25 Feb 2019
    All "secret" approvals must be cleared by both mods. If a mod wants to do a secret approval one of the approvers, chosen by the community rep, fills the role of the second stamp.
  25. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-015 dated 19 Dec 2019
    If a player wants to change/update a character. They should list what changes occurred and how they're different from the original sheet. This is so we don't have to go back and forth for review. Minor thing
  26. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-011 dated 25 Sep 2018
    Secondary "backstory/lore" approvals running concurrently with balance approvals on characters, just to make sure no blithering fuckwits sneak in something that breaks canon in their backstory.
  27. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-005 dated 19 Sep 2018
    Allow a process in which reputable community members are given license to place a temporary hold on a character or lore approval, provided they bring specific grievances about the feasibility of something. Approval staff will discuss the issues with each other, the nitpicker, and the petitioner as needed to resolve the situation, and research as needed. Abuse of this system will be handled as needed.
  28. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-004 dated 19 Sep 2018
    Allow prioritization for initial characters, especially in the case of new players.
  29. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-002 dated 19 Mar 2020
    If Character Approvers wish to rework a current character on the sub, a vote amongst character approvers may happen with a simple majority deciding if the character is to be reworked. The Community Representative may cast a tie-breaking vote. If the vote passes, any Character Approvers that voted in favor of the character rework will be included into a pool of randomly selected persons to rework the character.
  30. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-006 dated 19 Sep 2018
    Any 1 person can approve lore, but they have to wait 24h before giving the page the official approval in that time, any other lore person/staff person can 'veto' if they feel there's a big issue then there's a vote within 24h, simple majority.
  31. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-007 dated 19 Sep 2018
    All old world lore is to be considered non canon unless reapproved.
  32. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-005 dated 28 May 2019
    Information from Ward that would cause a significant retcon to capabilities of parahumans or of ways to handle parahumans in Earth Kaf will not be auto-implemented. They will be discussed as a staff.
  33. ↑ WormRP Motion 21-003 dated 19 Mar 2021
    Lore approvers can retcon Lore with a majority vote.
  34. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-007 dated 19 Jun 2019
    to alert @Staff when new agenda items are proposed.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 WormRP Motion 19-006 dated 19 Jun 2019
    A 100% voting participation being mandatory is very slow, particularly if people are going to be out of town or unable to use the internet for some reason.
    In the interest of efficiency, once a motion has been discussed and brought to vote, a quorum of 2/3 can make any vote official. A one business day waiting period is to be observed to give staff members a chance to vote.
  36. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-012 dated 25 Sep 2018
    Use the votes of the community rep(s) as tie breakers in votes.
  37. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-012 dated 16 Oct 2019
    Amend the Community Representative position to include a one year term. Terms begin on the 20th of September. Elections will be conducted with a suitably secure system that will be chosen by the staff at the time. Nominations will be conducted over 2 days from the announcement of elections. Members are free to nominate themselves or decline nominations from another member, a valid candidate must have accepted their nominations. Once the staff have compiled a list of valid candidates, voting will be open for 5 days. Results will be posted and implemented within 2 days of the end of elections.
  38. ↑ WormRP Motion 18-013 dated 25 Sep 2018
    Allow the community rep to initiate a vote process to remove staff from office. The vote will be from the sub at large (public ballot to prevent alt accounts and double-voting), and a simple majority will remove the member from office.
  39. ↑ WormRP Motion 19-002 dated 6 Mar 2019
    Staff cannot change users names without their permission, unless the name is inappropriate. Staff cannot change the room names for factions without the faction's permission, unless it is inappropriate
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 40.3 40.4 WormRP Motion 20-003 dated 20 Mar 2020
    Lore Approvers are authorized to issue citations for issues with metagaming and lore misconduct (such as violations of section 2.2.1 of the CC). Character Approvers are authorized to issue similar citations for balance and power use misconduct (such as violations of Rule 2 or Rule 4). Administrators can issue citations for all other misconduct (such as violations of Rule 1).

    Citations will be recorded in staff logs for posterity, and referred to the Administrators who will decide any applicable punishment. While this can be anything from a warning to a ban, some form of action must be taken after the third citation issued to a member (ie the first two can be warnings, but by #3 you gotta issue a 48h floppy or something).
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 WormRP Motion 20-008 dated 20 Jul 2020
    Infractions against staff members may be issued by any other member of staff. In the event that an Administrator requires a minimum punishment per Section 4.5.3, the Community Rep will determine the punitive action required.
  42. ↑ WormRP Motion 20-009 dated 20 Jul 2020
    If a community member believes they have been falsely issued a citation, they may petition the Community Rep for an appeal. The Community Rep may, at their discretion, allow an appeal to be made. They will hear the arguments of the community member and the staff member who issued the citation, and determine whether or not to overturn the citation. This decision will be final.

    (note: this is already more-or-less defined under Rule 10, it just formalizes the process somewhat)
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 WormRP Motion 20-007 dated 20 Jul 2020
    New staff members other than the Community Rep are to be appointed via staff motion. A majority is required for appointment. However, the Community Representative may veto any appointment which will require two-thirds majority to overrule.

    In addition, Admins/Head Mods must be confirmed via a community vote using a suitably secure system. A 50% majority is required to confirm their position.
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