1.1 WorldsAway (WA) is a Social Habitat. Keep in mind that the Avatars are real people, not programmed opponents. During your first several hours in WorldsAway you should proceed cautiously, as you would upon entry to any other established community. We wish to provide a friendly, supportive atmosphere where Avatars may comfortably explore unfamiliar roles and expand their circle of friends.
1.2 These Guidelines provide some insight concerning inworld community expectations, and will ensure that your initial visits to Phantasus are enjoyable not only for you, but for all with whom you interact. WorldsAway is a unique community, and these guidelines reflect that uniqueness. These are the lessons we have learned over the past several months....
2.1 WorldsAway is a dreamscape and a growing social habitat. You may be whomever you wish or dream to be. Each CompuServe Information Service (CIS) account sponsors two Avatars. If you are aware of the linkage between any two Avatars other than your own, or between an Avatar and a CIS ID, you should treat that information as personal and confidential.
3.1 SPEECH. Use speech as you'd use it in real world. A short "hello" when entering a locale and "see you!" when leaving is appropriate. If there are several Avatars in the locale, you might address your speech to an Avatar by including a name. You can get the name by clicking on an Avatar, or by clicking on yourself, then STATUS, then WHO IS HERE.
3.2 THOUGHTS. Use "Thought" for a remark that doesn't need a reply or as an inworld rhetorical way of expressing yourself. Be aware that this "thought" can of course be read by anyone in the same locale. For private conversation, you should use ESP.
3.3 ESP. Too many ESP senders at one time are distracting, so use ESP with care. "ESP overload" is an accepted response if someone is too busy in ESPs. If you are handling a lot of ESPs as a materialized Avatar, be sensitive to the conversational void you are creating for other Avatars in the locale. You should consider ghosting and allowing someone else to materialize if there is a cloud.
3.4 GESTURES. Since many Avatars with 8MB RAM, or less, are in danger of crashing when there are too many gestures, please follow their wish to stand still when their system isn't stable.
4.1 The Guidelines for acceptable behavior and conduct established by the CIS Terms of Service (CIS-ToS) apply inworld; because the waking world and the dreamscape differ in many respects, interpretation inworld may be different than in a forum.
4.2 Avatars should conduct themselves with decency and common courtesy. They should remember that the Dreamscape is open to all: families, children, individuals. It is a shared world and dream. As such, there is no place in it for profanity, threats, harassment or abuse of others.
4.3 Avatars should refrain from (and be free of) verbal and physical assaults, including--but not necessarily limited to--lewdness, yelling, cultural or racial remarks, sexual advances.
4.4 Under the Terms of Service, no Avatar name may be used that the average person would find abusive, profane, ethnically, religiously, or sexually offensive. Messages transmitted in public areas are to follow the same guidelines. Also, language that imparts information about, or that encourages the commission of, a crime in the waking world is not permitted. Behavior that is disruptive to others is not permitted; nor is real-world business advertising.
4.5 Avatars should exercise restraint and good judgment in all public areas of Kymer. A public area is any common locale where all Avatars may congregate. Until private turfs/apartments are available, the element rooms in the temple (Air, Fire, Water, Earth), which are restricted to two or three Avatars only, are the only private areas in Phantasus.
4.6 There have been Avatars who committed crimes, then tried to escape the consequences by changing their Avatar name. However, the reputation already established follows from name to name, and the cost of name changing doubles each time.
5.1.0 To collect tokens, an Avatar can:
5.1.1 Withdraw earned tokens at Automatic Token Machines (ATM). Avatars earn tokens by logging time in WorldsAway at the following rates:
5.1.2 Win tokens as prizes in games.
5.1.3 Sell items or heads at a Pawn Machine.
5.1.4 Run a business or become employed in a business.
6.1 Since WorldsAway is a social habitat--a virtual community of people--each item belongs to somebody. Therefore, when you see any items lying on the ground or on a table, clicking on them and selecting "Get" could be considered stealing.
6.2 There are only four acceptable ways to obtain items:
6.3.0 LOST AND FOUND. If you find an unattended item, your follow-up actions depend somewhat on the value of the item. If the item is a container, such as a chest or a grocery sack, be sure to open it and look inside. Determine the value of items by appraising them at a pawn machine.
6.3.1 Sometimes items such as sprays, spiders, lanterns, and inexpensive heads are purposely left (or hidden) in a game or treasure hunt--or just to brighten up your day. If you are uncertain, the best course is to Page Acolyte.
6.3.2 If the appraised value of the item is less than 50T, and no one else is in the area or seems interested, you may assume the item is one of the prizes in a treasure hunt. It is yours.
6.3.3 If the appraised value of the item is less than 120T, talk to any other people in the same area and the adjacent locales, to see if somebody dropped the item, or Page Acolyte and ask if the item is the prize in a current game. If no one has shown up after 15 minutes, you may claim the item as your own.
6.3.4 All treasures and findable game prizes are valued at less than 120T. If the appraised value of the item is 120T or more, you must assume that the rightful owner is looking for the item. Report the incident as soon as possible, certainly within 6 hours. After 4 days without a claim, the item belongs to you. To report the incident, you may post a notice in the WA Forum or report it to an Acolyte or other experienced avatar inworld. Although Lost and Found assistance is not an official function of the Acolytes, they are usually willing to be of help.
6.3.5 If the total appraised value of a found container and the included items is 500T or more, you must post a "lost and found" notice in the WorldsAway Community Forum, Section 3/Inworld Events, within 4 hours. The Acolytes will assist you with the posting if you prefer not to reveal your CIS ID. Also scan the current messages to see if someone has lost the item. If no one makes a valid claim within 1 week you may claim the items as your own, but you might give serious consideration to a sudden burst of philanthropic support.
6.4. CONTAINERS. Containers, such as chests and shopping bags, allow you to carry many more items, but they must be placed on the ground while you are using them. The safest approach is to go to the temple with a trusted friend, and use one of the Avatar-only element rooms for sorting out your possessions. If you crash, your friend can pick up your belongings and wait for you. Elsewhere, any item on the ground may be picked up by anybody, including that ghost that you didn't notice. The pawn machines are especially dangerous as thieves know that people are sometimes lazy. Some miscreants will exploit every technical possibility, so your chest, and the items therein, might STILL BE STOLEN if you are careless or unlucky.
7.1 WorldsAway is a social habitat. The general mood is friendly and trusting. If an Avatar is on a crime spree, he or she is missing MOST of the fun and very likely making some powerful enemies. We are very protective of new Avatars who have not yet learned all of the little tricks and traps. It is never permissible to cheat when exchanging items with an apparent Newbie; charitable contributions are the norm.
7.2 If several experienced Avatars determine that an Avatar is hazing Newbies, reneging on agreements, lying, or stealing items, the Avatar may suddenly find him or herself on the short end of several business deals. Some favorite countermeasures include selling a key to a locale that is not open, selling defective items (such as an EPROM that is only worth 10T, rather than 1000T), fake chests, sending them on a wild goose chase, chorused responses, excluding them from games, and other cooperative actions that are coordinated through ESP.
7.3 On the other hand, experienced Avatars may make any kind of deal that is mutually acceptable. It takes around 40 hours inworld to establish your persona and your circle of friends, and get a good feel for the ethics of various situations.
8.1 A "Schedule of Events" is posted daily in the WA Community Forum Section 3/Inworld Events, and also published weekly in the Kymer Clarion which may be downloaded from the Forum Library 3/Newsstand. This schedule lists many events taking place inworld, and details the date, time, and location.
8.2 In addition, inworld issues and events are discussed in the WA Community Forum and your participation there is encouraged.
8.3.0 GENERAL. All games and most entertainment events are timed and carefully planned, meaning that the locale is not a general chatting area. If you should unknowingly stumble into an ongoing game, you may therefore be asked by the host(s) to ghost. Occasionally, such as in dance contests, you will be asked to ghost before you enter the game locale. Most events are created, sponsored, and prepared by the hosting Avatar(s). As such, these host(s) spend considerable effort and time to prepare and run events, and to finance the prizes. The host(s) do this voluntarily.
8.3.1 Each event will have its own format, so try your best to get there on time and learn how the game is played. If the game requires that all players remain as ghosts, then please stay in the ghost cloud unless instructed otherwise.
8.3.2 Please refrain from over-ESPing a host as it tends to slow the game down while the host tries to sort out answers from jokes. (A quick joke to the co-host while he or she is not the one asking the questions is okay and may liven up the game.)
8.4 GAMES (such as trivia, word games, ghost races, treasure hunts, etc.) will have instructions by the host(s) that are unique to the game. With Treasure Hunts, honor one find to an Avatar unless otherwise instructed.
8.5 ENTERTAINMENT (poetry reading, plays, comedy skits, etc.). The performers are usually in the locale as Avatars, not ghosts, while the audience remains ghosted. In such entertainment events, it is advisable to have an Avatar posted outside the locale just to inform incoming Avatars to ghost rather than interrupt the act, dance, or talent contest.
8.6 LOCALE OPENINGS, CEREMONIES (e.g., weddings), and ORACLE-HOSTED EVENTS are usually well advertised ahead of time with any special instructions. Frequently such events involve the whole community, and the best rule is to be on time. In crowded locales,if there is a cloud, ghost to give others a chance to become Avatars.
8.7.0 HOSTING YOUR OWN GAME OR EVENT.
8.7.1 You are welcome to sponsor ad hoc games at any time, in most locales. In fact you SHOULD test your game informally to work out the kinks and the best format. When you are ready to formally announce your game, you should review the daily schedule and reserve a time slot by sending your request, by e-mail, to Sabertooth [76645,3012], giving title of event, type of event, and 3 choices for time and place.
8.7.2 Many devices, such as Vendroids, ATMs, Pawn Machines, Teleports, and the Book of Names, can only be used by Avatars who are materialized. Conversations will often begin in these locales; however it is all too easy for the locales to fill, thereby blocking access to the devices. Out of consideration for others, when the third or fourth Avatar joins the conversation, you should move elsewhere. Avoid these locales when you organize a game or event. Also, ensure that there is always room for new members to visit The Help Desk in the Visitors Center.
9.1 Feel free to start your own inworld business. You can also hire other Avatars to work for your company. Advertise your service in one of the publications of Phantasus (for detailed information see WorldsAway Community Forum, Library 3/Newsstand). Also provide the best way, time and place to contact you.
9.2 Treat your employees and customers as you would treat them in a real business. Only if you are able to satisfy both your employees and your customers will you have a well running company that earns you additional tokens. Accept a "no" if people are not interested.
9.3 A charity organization must carefully select the Avatars in need of support. Different from an inworld company, your goal should not be profit but support of Newbies, victims of inworld crime, and others who have some kind of material misfortune. Use the publications and forum messages to ask for donations, and mention time and place to contact you inworld.
9.4 If you are asked for donations, make sure you contribute your tokens to a charity organization and not just to someone who wants your tokens.
On September 30, 1995, a conference was held for the purpose of forming an ad hoc committee to develop WorldsAway Guidelines for Inworld Behavior. After several working sessions and much discussion, the document was presented to the avatars of WorldsAway.
From November 20, 1995 through December 3, 1995, members of the guidelines committee circulated the following petition:
<<I approve of WAGDLNS.TXT as a guideline for behavior in WorldsAway, and request that it be made readily available to our new members.>>
A total of 222 avatars responded to the Guidelines Petition. Seven of them declined to sign. Of the 215 who elected to sign the petition the results were:
Yes--171 No--44 80% of the signatures were Yes.
As originally circulated, the document included the following text, subsequently modified at the request of FCT to correct minor technical points, and approved by unanimous vote of the guidelines committee.
4.1 The Guidelines for acceptable behavior and conduct established by the CIS Terms of Service (CIS-ToS) and the WA Forum apply inworld.
5.1.3 Sell items or heads at a Pawn Machine at 80% of purchase value.
6.3.4 All treasures and findable game prizes are valued at less than 120T. If the appraised value of the item is 120T or more, you must assume that the rightful owner is looking for the item. Report the incident to Page Acolyte as soon as someone is available, certainly within 6 hours. After 4 days without a claim, the item belongs to you.