House Rules - effective from 21 February 2014

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THESE RULES HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY THE RULES FOUND HERE.

This thread contains rules of fair play when playing on PlayDiplomacy.com.

It DOES NOT contain the Site's general rules for using PlayDip and the PlayDip Forum. These are posted in the accompanying thread which is linked to below, as well as individual posts in that thread.

House Rules links are also provided to different posts within this thread.

The House Rules are based upon the original rules written by Diplomat and it is with acknowledgement to him that they are presented.

INTRODUCTION
The House Rules state what rules govern playing games on the site. They are in different sections and each section will have its own post:
A. General Rules.
B. Variant-specific Rules.
C. Game Categories - Rank, No Rank, Friends and Schools Games.
D. Separation of Games from the Forum.
E. Deadlocked Games.
F. Appealing a Decision.
Addenda.

SITE RULES
Links to sections on the rules for using PlayDiplomacy.com and the Forum:
A. Using the Games Site.
B. User Agreement.
C. Chatbox.
D. Forum Rules and Guidelines.
E. Reporting Abuse.
F. Dealing with Cyber-bullying.
Addenda.

Please note the intention here is NOT to present the rules of the game or of variants. These can be found using the following links:
Rules of Diplomacy can be found under the RULES tab.
Off-site link to the official published Rules is HERE. These were published in 2000. A later edition exists but it doesn't change the rules at all (and uses much more data): off-site link HERE.
Rules for Variants can be found within this sub-forum.

ETHOS
Some of these House Rules are difficult to enforce. However that does not mean they shouldn’t be enforced! The ideal is that there will be no cheating on site but that, of course, doesn’t mean there won’t be: for whatever reason, some members will seek to break the rules.

The site and its management reserve the right to enforce these rules and sanction any member who breaks them irrespective of whether the individual(s) concerned agree(s) with or accepts those rules, whatever the status of the member’s account.

HOW MODERATORS AND INVESTIGATORS REACH THEIR DECISIONS
When investigating cheating we use the evidence available. Where this evidence is persuasive actions will be taken without reference to the individual(s) involved. Members will usually be contacted by email (using the address linked to the account) explaining what actions were taken and why.

Where the evidence is inconclusive members may be contacted by email and/or PM so that the situation can be clarified. However, Moderators and Investigators are NOT obligated to do this.

No action will be taken if the investigation is inconclusive and/or there is insufficient evidence.

There will, of course, never be complete proof that cheating has occurred. Decisions are made upon the evidence available. Moderators and Investigators are committed to carrying out a thorough investigation of the evidence; however, mistakes may occasionally be made and individuals may appeal against a decision. Decisions may be reversed where this is felt appropriate.

Moderators and Investigators have been given the freedom to act within certain guidelines. Any decision will be a balanced one, depending upon the circumstances.
Any action that affects games will be posted in the Cheaters forum.

SITE RULES MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MODIFICATION AT ANY TIME.

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These rules are applied to all games except where modified for different game categories.

1. Multiple accounts. The site runs a strict one member, one account policy. At no time may any member have more than one account on the games site, for ANY reason, including testing the site mechanics. The only exception to this is when accounts are created for Schools games only. (See: Adaptations for different game categories.) Members agree to this when they register on the site. (See: User Registration Agreement under SITE RULES.) Operating multiple accounts makes all accounts liable to suspension and possibly being disabled, whether these accounts are on the games site or the Forum.

2. Multi-accounting.
(i) No member may operate more than one account in the same game.
(ii) No member may control more than one power in the same game with the exception of short-handed variants and any variant where this is specifically part of the variant's rules (eg Versailles).
Multi-accounting will result in accounts being suspended and/or disabled.

3. Accessing more than one account in the same game. No member may gain access to, or be given access to, another player's account in a game, whether this is to help a player by entering orders temporarily or otherwise. The member who accessed the other account will have her/his account suspended and possibly disabled; if appropriate, the other member's account may face the same sanction.

4. Members are not allowed to act as a substitute in an active game they share.
4(a). If the substitution DOES NOT use the official site systems, ie the substitute is given the password to an account, then members are additionally not allowed to act as a substitute if they share ANY active or pending game with the player they are substituting for.
Accounts will be liable to suspension and possibly being disabled.

5. Team accounts.
Accounts which are joint accounts of two or more players are not allowed. The account will be disabled.
(See: Adaptations for different game categories.)

6. Players must enter a game intending to achieve the best result possible. This intention may be modified by events or circumstances in a game but players are not allowed to enter a game intending to draw with another player or players or to lose the game. Accounts will be liable to being suspended and possibly being disabled. (See: Adaptations for different game categories.)

7. Re-entering a game. Re-entering a game from which an account has been removed, whether the account was disabled or not, is not allowed. Accounts will be liable to suspension and possibly being disabled.
(See: Adaptations for different game categories.)

8. Screenshots. Taking screenshots which depict any game information and passing the information on to other members is not allowed. Accounts will be liable to suspension and possibly being disabled.

9. Encryption programmes. Using any off-site encryption programmes is not allowed. This is because Mods may occasionally need to check messages as part of a potential cheating investigation and need to be able to access messages. Accounts will be warned and removed from games, dependent upon other evidence collected. Repeated offences will lead to accounts being disabled.

[Rules 10-23 are meta-gaming rules.]

10. Pre-game alliances.
(i) No alliance or agreement between players set-up before the start of the game is allowed.
(ii) No member may invite a player to join a new game when the stated intention is to work in alliance in the new game.

11. Arranged alliances when replacing another player in a game.
(i) No member may pick up a surrendered position in a game with the intention of aiding another player or other players in the game when this is agreed prior to the new player taking over the position.
(ii) No member may invite another member to join a game as a replacement when the stated intention is to work in alliance with or help the player who issued the invitation.
(iii) No member may offer to coach or teach another member in a game. (See: Adaptations for different game categories.)

12. All players in a game should be treated equally. Treating another player or other players specially because of your relationship with them, or because they are friends off-site or from past games, is not allowed.
NB: We accept that in some situations human nature means that forming alliances with some players is more likely than with others; what we are looking at here is when there is explicit evidence that a player or players has been treated specially solely on this knowledge.

13. Persistent alliances. Entering several games with the same player(s) and regularly forming the same alliance is not allowed. The guidelines are that no more than 1 game in 5 should have similar alliances, similar outcomes or the same pattern of alliances.
NB: 1 game in 5 is ONLY a guideline. It refers to all games a player has played. If there is persuasive evidence of a persistent alliance then site management will take action regardless of whether the 1 in 5 guidelines have been breached or not.

14. Team play. Playing as a team (that is, consistently working together) across several games is not allowed. This includes playing as a team to eliminate opposition and then fighting it out.

15. Cross-game alliances. Forming alliances in several games based on the fact that players are sharing these games and can co-operate in them (“We’re in three games together, let’s work together in all of them.”) is not allowed.

16. Cross-game favours. Exchanging favours between games (“If you do this in game A, I will do this is game B.”) is not allowed.

17. Cross-game information sharing.
(i) Exchanging ANY information across active games is not allowed.
(ii) Sharing secret information (ie information contained in power-to-power messages or information that cannot be gained from stats or Public Press) on another player from a shared active or archived game (eg Player A warns Player B about Player C using a copied and pasted message from a game Players A and C shared) is not allowed.

18. Game references. Referring players to any game using the game name or number is not allowed.
NB: General references to a player’s style of play are fine, which can be reviewed by using stats, is allowed.

19. Negotiations outside of the game.The negotiation of actions and alliances must be within the game. Members accept this rule when the register with the site. (See: Adaptations for different game categories.)
NB: Whilst we cannot enforce this rule completely, if there is evidence of players acting in alliance, which seems to break one or more of rules 10-18, and there is no evidence of meaningful negotiations in the game records, as deemed by the investigating member of site management, this will be taken as corroborating evidence.

20. Cross-game grudges. Entering a game with the preset idea of attacking a specific player, based solely upon events in other finished or active games, or in response to events or knowledge outside the game, is not allowed.

21. Cross-game threats.
(i) Threatening actions, reprisals or retaliation in a game for events that have happened in other finished or active games, or in response to events or knowledge outside the game, is not allowed.
(ii) Threatening actions, reprisals or retaliation in future games for events that have happened in a current game or other active games is not allowed.

22. Threatening to report cheating. Threatening to report cheating or suspected cheating if the player or players involved do not act in a beneficial way to your power in a game, whether the game involved is the game in which the suspected cheating is taking place or another game, including prospective future games, is not allowed. In other words, blackmailing players with reporting them for cheating unless such-a-thing happens in the game.

23. Joining a game and taking malicious action.
(i) Players joining a game and taking malicious action against another player, then leaving the game – when in response to events or knowledge outside of the game – is not allowed.
(ii) Players joining a game and sending malicious messages then leaving the game – when in response to events or knowledge outside of the game – is not allowed.
(iii) Players joining a game and posting malicious Public Press, then leaving the game, is not allowed.

The sanctions for rules 10-23 inclusive will be that the account(s) involved will be liable to suspensions and possibly being disabled.
(See: Adaptations for different game categories.)

REPEATED DISREGARD FOR HOUSE RULES MAY LEAD TO THE SITE TAKING STEPS TO PERMANENTLY PREVENT MEMBERS FROM ACCESSING THE SITE.

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These rules are supplementary to the General Rules.

1. Anonymous Games.
There are two types of anonymous games: Anonymous Players where everything about the game is anonymous - names of the players involved and the powers they play. Gunboat and Public Press Only games also fall into this category. Anonymous Countries allows players to see who has joined a game but not which power they are playing.
(a) In any anonymous game there may be issues when reporting games for bugs, potential cheating, etc. Players should report these games contacting the HELP! team from your Private Messages window.
(b) Once the game has started, players may choose to claim a particular identity in Public Press or in-game messaging if it is available, but of course they may be lying!
(c) Players must not reveal their participation outside of the game, for example in the Forum.
Evidence that players have broken these anonymity rules deliberately accounts will be liable to being suspended and possibly disabled.

2. Gunboat Games.
No explicit communication is allowed in a Gunboat game. If there is persuasive evidence that players are communicating, accounts will be liable to being suspended and possibly disabled.

3. Public Press Only (PPO) Games.
In these games, the only explicit communication allowed is through the Public Press box (or Shoutbox). If there is persuasive evidence that players are communicating in other ways, accounts will be liable to being suspended and possibly disabled.

4. Fog of War Games.
In these games, players are not supposed to know what is happening in areas of the map that are “fogged”. Whilst information may be passed on within the communication rules of the game, if those communication rules are broken, or if there is evidence that a screenshot has been taken and passed on to other players in the game, the account involved will be liable to being suspended and possibly disabled.

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These rules modify the General Rules.

RANKED GAMES.
Full House Rules apply.
NB: There is nothing to prevent a group of friends playing in any game, regardless of category PROVIDING THE HOUSE RULES ARE FOLLOWED. The only guidance to add to this is that, should a player drop out of the game and a replacement enter the game, then it is extremely important all players observe the House Rules. For instance, should a new player enter a game and be seen to be targeted by the existing players, especially when an alliance is changed to allow this to happen, this will possibly be seen as meta-gaming, dependent upon other evidence available to the Moderators. In this situation, the game is liable to be changed to a Friends category game and the players involved in cheating warned.

NO RANK GAMES.
Full House Rules normally apply with the following exceptions:
(a) Role-playing games or games set-up with specific situations. These games (eg WWI simulations) are allowed, even if these contravene normal House Rules. However, to set-up such a game the person arranging the game MUST specify what is happening in the game description.
(b) Games between friends. It may be that a group of friends want to play a full game but don't have enough in their group to do so. In this case, and where normal House Rules may be infringed in some way, it is allowed that a No Rank game be set up. Again, the situation MUST be explained in the game description so that members joining the game are aware that they may be entering a game where expectations may be different. We suggest also reminding players in the game of that situation using Public Press. If the players intend to follow the full House Rules this is not necessary, as per the note in (1) above.
NB: In both RANKED and NO RANK games, setting a password is not enough to allow members to break site rules. Passwords in these games only prevent members who do not have the password from joining the game at the start; should a player leave the game, the position is advertised openly and any site member can join the game.

FRIENDS GAMES.
(a) These games are not routinely investigated for cheating and they will not be investigated if reported for cheating.
(b) These games are exempt from investigation for Team Accounts and meta-gaming (rule 5 and rules 9-22 of the General Rules).
(c) Should accounts involved in a Friends game be investigated under General Rules 1 (Multiple Accounts) and 2 (Multi-accounting), under any GENERAL RULES in Ranked or No Rank games or under any SITE RULES this may affect any Friends games also.
(d) Accounts removed from a Friends game and disabled are allowed to re-enter the Friends game. This only applies to Friends games. (See General Rules 6.)
(e) Passwords in Friends games last for the duration of the game. Only players with the password can enter the game at any time.

SCHOOLS GAMES.
Schools games are used as part of a class-based project or, occasionally, may be used to mentor members with a new Personal account.

(a) These games are not routinely investigated for cheating and they will not be investigated if reported for cheating.
(b) These games are exempt from investigation for Team Accounts and meta-gaming (rule 5 and rules 9-22 of the General Rules).
(c) Accounts removed from a Schools game and disabled are allowed to re-enter the Schools game. This only applies to Schools games. (See General Rules 6.)
(d) Passwords in Schools games last for the duration of the game. Only players with the password can enter the game at any time.
(e) Teachers are not allowed to play in a Schools game. To do so would require setting up a multiple account, which is not allowed under any circumstances other than for official Schools accounts.

SETTING UP A SCHOOLS GAME AND SETTING UP SCHOOLS ACCOUNTS FOR CLASSED-BASED GAMES.
Definitions:
Class-based game: A game created by a teacher or lecturer from a school, college, university, etc which is part of her/his teaching programme.
Mentor: An official site mentor for users with new Personal accounts.
Mentor game: A Schools game created for the purpose of learning the rules of Diplomacy and/or the site mechanics.
Personal account: An account used to play in any other category of game: Ranked, No Rank or Friends (and a Mentor game).
Schools account: An account set-up specifically to take part in a class-based game.
Students: Any person participating as a player in a class-based Schools game.
Teacher: Any member who creates a Schools game.

1. Teachers, lecturers, etc can register their establishment with the site. This is done via the TEACHERS tab on the games site. Teachers can use their site username to register. When registering, teachers need to enter the name of their establishment and will need to obtain an authorisation code. The code can be obtained by emailing a Moderator (see the link on the games site home page) or contacting the HELP! Group by sending a Private Message through the Forum.
2. After obtaining the authorisation code teachers can then complete the registration of their establishment. This will provide access to the Teacher Functions described below.
3. Teachers can create up to 35 SCHOOLS accounts in blocks of 7. If any further accounts are required, they can gain extra accounts by contacting a site Moderator.
4. Teachers create the accounts, then TO BE CONFIRMED
5. The accounts created are official Schools accounts. They cannot access any category of game other than a Schools game and they have no access to the Forum.
6. If a student wishes to create her/his own account, to enter games on the site other than Schools games, this is allowed. Personal accounts are subject to full House Rules but action taken against Personal accounts WILL NOT affect Schools games.
7. Teachers do not play in Schools games and are NOT allowed to create a new account to play in those games.
8. Any accounts in Schools games which are not created this way will be seen as a Personal account, regardless of the games it plays in.

Mentor games are different. These also use the Schools games category, with the game creator acting as "Teacher". In these games, players use a Personal account and MAY NOT have a second account. Mentors, as Teachers, may not participate in a Schools game.

HOW SCHOOLS GAMES WORK.
Schools games use the same rules for playing Dip as any other category of game. The only difference is the role of the Teacher.
Effectively, the Teacher acts as game moderator. Teachers do not - and may not - participate in the game. Teachers do, however, see all messages sent between players in the game, and can respond to these, allowing Teachers to guide players in regards to the rules and (perhaps) monitor the messages.
Teachers also have responsibility for moderating the game's Public Press box. The site has rules over what can be placed in Public Press, as this can be viewed on site. (See: Using the Games Site Rule 3 under SITE RULES.) Teachers may have stricter rules for the posts which are allowed in Public Press. To carry out this moderating role, Teachers are able to delete Public Press messages.

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These rules are supplementary to the General Rules.

1. Games should not be avoidably affected by actions or events on the Forum. If Moderators feel the Forum has been deliberately used to influence a game the member's account will be removed from the game and warned. A temporary Forum ban may be applied. For repeated offences accounts will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

2. Cheating should only be reported on the Forum if there is a genuine concern. Accusations of cheating must NEVER be made in Public Press under any circumstances, whether an investigation has been requested, a investigation is on-going or the investigation has been cleared. If this rule is broken, the member will be warned and may be removed from the game; for repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

3. If a Moderator clears any member of cheating, further accusations must not be made without new evidence.
(a) Further requests may only be made on the Forum or via Private Message if new evidence develops.
(b) Discussion of the investigation must not be raised in Public Press.
(c) Members are not allowed to use a Forum investigation to explicitly influence the game, including an investigation which has been resolved and the game or members cleared.
Any member doing so will be warned and may be removed from the game; for repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

4. Members are not allowed to falsely accuse other players of cheating in a public format - on the Forum or via Public Press. If a Moderator feels that an accusation has been made to deliberately affect the game, that member will be removed from the game. For repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

5. Members are not allowed to post in the Cheaters forum claiming they have been falsely accused of cheating, unless an accusation has been posted in Public Press. This is not necessary and simply wastes the Moderator’s time. This may lead to a warning, a temporary Forum ban and, for repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.
NB1: Should an accusation of cheating be raised in Public Press, members may report this on the Cheaters Forum or by reporting Public Press as being "inappropriate".
NB2: Accusations of cheating in Public Press is held to include any raising of the subject. NO MENTION OF POSSIBLE CHEATING SHOULD EVER BE RAISED IN PUBLIC PRESS.

6. Members must not post false bug reports in the Bugs forum in an attempt to change the course of the game or to support dis-information provided in a game. Doing so may lead to removal from the game and, for repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

7. When posting in the Strategy or Rules forum players should not provide a link to an active game, or provide specific game information such as name or number.

8. In the Strategy forum players must not refer to an active game situation.

9. In the Rules forum, players must not ask questions linked specifically to an active game situation. Questions should be limited to questions requesting clarification of the rules of play and not be strategy requests.

10. When advertising for replacement players on the Forum, members must not give instructions as to what a prospective replacement should do in the game or suggest a possible alliance as an incentive.

11. No post on the Forum should describe actions within an active game. After Action Reports should only be made when the game has ended; similarly, comments on players and their actions in games should not be made for active games.

12. Members are not allowed to threaten players who they suspect of cheating with reporting them and use this to blackmail players to affect the game.

13. When needing to report an anonymous game, including Gunboat and Public Press Only games, players should send a Private Message to the HELP! group rather than posting on the Forum. This is to prevent anonymity being unnecessarily broken.

There are rules posted within sections of the Forum where care needs to be taken over what is posted; please take note of them.

For more information, see HERE.

See also: Forum Rules and Guidelines under SITE RULES.

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These rules are supplementary to the General Rules.

Definition of a Deadlocked Game.
A game reaches a deadlock when the players cannot end the game (a solo is effectively blocked permanently and draw proposals are not being accepted) and the situation in the game isn't going to change. The game may or may not be truly in stalemate. A deadlock is when players refuse to end the game.

Criteria for a Deadlock.
1. The game must be a Ranked or No Rank game and must not be a short-handed game.
2. No more than half the number of players that started the game are still active, rounded-up. In other words, for the standard game the maximum number of players in the game for it to be considered under the DGP is four; in Ancient Mediterranean it's 3.
3. The game must feature a potential soloist and an alliance of all other powers preventing the solo. A 2v2 scenario will not be considered as deadlocked, for example.
4. The game must have been deadlocked for at least 3 game years. To qualify, within the last 3 years:
- there has been no change in alliance structure;
- there has been no change in SC ownership across opposing factions;
- at least 2 draw proposals including all surviving players, whether the game is set-up as a DIAS game or not, have been unsuccessful, and
- there is evidence that negotiations to end the game have been seriously tried and failed (NOT APPLICABLE IN GUNBOAT GAMES).
5. There are no live draw proposals in place.

Process for Referring a Deadlocked Game.
1. Referrals must be by Private Message only.
2. Players must provide the game name and number.
3. Players must show that the EACH criterion above has been met.

Moderator Procedure.
A. Initial Assessment.
1. The investigating Mod will check that all the criteria have been met.
2. Additionally, the Mod will evaluate whether any movement of units in non-SC spaces within the last game year has any potential to alter the deadlocked status of the game. This will include:
- An advantage gained by one faction over another by a movement that potentially allows the deadlock to be broken.
- A movement which may allow an SC to be captured, assuming the continuance of the alliance structure.

If the criteria is not met or the deadlock has the potential to be broken the Mod will reply to the player who referred the game explaining why no action will be taken. The explanation will refer to only the criteria above or the Mod's evaluation of the game over the last year. No reference will be made to content of messages. The game cannot be referred again for another three game years.

B. Initial Action.
If the Mod decides that the game is deadlocked:
1. A post will be placed in Public Press informing the players that the game will be ended after 1 game year if it cannot be ended in any other way.
2. The Mod will also post an invitation for any active player in the game to discuss the game situation. This discussion will take place by PM. The player must ONLY discuss why the player thinks the game is not deadlocked. No discussion will be held over the Procedure for ending the game or the rights or wrongs of the Procedure itself. The discussion will last only until the deadline set by the Mod has passed.

C. Second Assessment.
After the deadline given in (B.1) above, the Mod will:
1. Review the game in light of any discussion between the Mod and any player in the game.
2. Review the position on the board.
3. Check for live draw proposals.
If the Mod feels the game is NOT deadlocked as a result of (C.1) and (C.2), this will be posted in Public Press and the game will continue. The game cannot be referred again for another 3 years.
If a Live draw proposal is in place, the Mod will allow the game to proceed until THAT proposal has passed. This will be posted in Public Press. If the proposal is not accepted, no subsequent proposals will prevent the Mod ending the game.
If the Mod feels the game is still deadlocked, the game will be ended.

End Game Procedure.
1. The Mod will force the game to end.
2. The game will be ended with a DIAS draw featuring all survivors.
3. If the game was a Ranked game, it will remain a Ranked game.

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If a member feels that a decision has been made in error, there is an appeals process.

1. Reply to the email and state the case. This should include all relevant evidence to explain why you were NOT cheating. This may lead to further contact so be prepared to explain the situation fully and for more email exchanges.

2. Alternatively, if the result of the investigation has been posted in the Cheaters forum you may state your case there. This may lead to the Moderator or Investigator contacting you by Private Message on the site’s Forum system or by email.

3. If the Moderator or Investigator wishes to get a second opinion, s/he may ask other Moderators or Administrators for advice.

4. If you feel you want an Administrator (or other Administrator) to review the situation, you may request this. The Moderator or Investigator will pass on the information and ask for the investigation to be reviewed.

5. Once an appeals decision has been reached, however, that decision is final.

Remember these points:
- The status of your account – whether you are a Premium member or a non-Premium member – does not matter: everyone is expected to follow the House Rules. The site is under no obligation to refund a member who has taken out a Premium account if site rules are broken.
- Ignorance of the rules is no defence. There is a summary of them on the games site with a link to the full House Rules on the Forum. It is the member’s responsibility to be aware of them; they are the conditions you implicitly agree to when playing on site.
- At any point, if you are abusive towards an Administrator, Moderator or Investigator all communication will cease and further action may be taken, including permanently denying access to the site.

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This post will contain any modifications made to the House Rules when these are made before a full review is actioned.

28 February
Rule 5 added to General Rules:

5. Team accounts.
Accounts which are joint accounts of two or more players are not allowed. The account will be disabled.
(See: Adaptations for different game categories.)

23 April
Guidance added to Game Categories:

RANKED GAMES.
Full House Rules apply.
NB: There is nothing to prevent a group of friends playing in any game, regardless of category PROVIDING THE HOUSE RULES ARE FOLLOWED. The only guidance to add to this is that, should a player drop out of the game and a replacement enter the game, then it is extremely important all players observe the House Rules. For instance, should a new player enter a game and be seen to be targeted by the existing players, especially when an alliance is changed to allow this to happen, this will possibly be seen as meta-gaming, dependent upon other evidence available to the Moderators. In this situation, the game is liable to be changed to a Friends category game and the players involved in cheating warned.

23 July
Rule 9 added to General Rules:

9. Encryption programmes. Using any off-site encryption programmes is not allowed. This is because Mods may occasionally need to check messages as part of a potential cheating investigation and need to be able to access messages. Accounts will be warned and removed from games, dependent upon other evidence collected. Repeated offences will lead to accounts being disabled.

Subsequent rules renumbered appropriately.

24 July
Modification of rules relating to No Rank games in Section C Game Categories for clarity:

NO RANK GAMES.
Full House Rules normally apply with the following exceptions:
(a) Role-playing games or games set-up with specific situations. These games (eg WWI simulations) are allowed, even if these contravene normal House Rules. However, to set-up such a game the person arranging the game MUST specify what is happening in the game description.
(b) Games between friends. Friends are allowed to play against each other (for instance, where a small group of friends want to play together but not exclude other site members from the game). Again, the situation MUST be explained, in the game description so that members joining the game are aware that they may be entering a game where expectations may be different. We suggest also reminding players in the game of that situation using Public Press.
NB: In both RANKED and NO RANK games, setting a password is not enough to allow members to break site rules. Passwords in these games only prevent members who do not have the password from joining the game at the start; should a player leave the game, the position is advertised openly and any site member can join the game.

changed to say

NO RANK GAMES.
Full House Rules normally apply with the following exceptions:
(a) Role-playing games or games set-up with specific situations. These games (eg WWI simulations) are allowed, even if these contravene normal House Rules. However, to set-up such a game the person arranging the game MUST specify what is happening in the game description.
(b) Games between friends. It may be that a group of friends want to play a full game but don't have enough in their group to do so. In this case, and where normal House Rules may be infringed in some way, it is allowed that a No Rank game be set up. Again, the situation MUST be explained in the game description so that members joining the game are aware that they may be entering a game where expectations may be different. We suggest also reminding players in the game of that situation using Public Press. If the players intend to follow the full House Rules this is not necessary, as per the note in (1) above.
NB: In both RANKED and NO RANK games, setting a password is not enough to allow members to break site rules. Passwords in these games only prevent members who do not have the password from joining the game at the start; should a player leave the game, the position is advertised openly and any site member can join the game.

27 July
Changes to rules relating to reporting cheating and mentioning cheating in Public Press, under Separation of Games from the Forum.

1. Games should not be avoidably affected by actions or events on the Forum. If Moderators feel the Forum has been deliberately used to influence a game the member's account will be removed from the game and warned. A temporary Forum ban may be applied. For repeated offences accounts will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

2. Cheating should only be reported on the Forum if there is a genuine concern. Accusations of cheating must NEVER be made in Public Press under any circumstances, whether an investigation has been requested, a investigation is on-going or the investigation has been cleared. If this rule is broken, the member will be warned and may be removed from the game; for repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

3. If a Moderator clears any member of cheating, further accusations must not be made without new evidence.
(a) Further requests may only be made on the Forum or via Private Message if new evidence develops.
(b) Discussion of the investigation must not be raised in Public Press.
(c) Members are not allowed to use a Forum investigation to explicitly influence the game, including an investigation which has been resolved and the game or members cleared.
Any member doing so will be warned and may be removed from the game; for repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

4. Members are not allowed to falsely accuse other players of cheating in a public format - on the Forum or via Public Press. If a Moderator feels that an accusation has been made to deliberately affect the game, that member will be removed from the game. For repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.

5. Members are not allowed to post in the Cheaters forum claiming they have been falsely accused of cheating, unless an accusation has been posted in Public Press. This is not necessary and simply wastes the Moderator’s time. This may lead to a warning, a temporary Forum ban and, for repeated offences, the account will be liable to suspension and possibly disabled.
NB1: Should an accusation of cheating be raised in Public Press, members may report this on the Cheaters Forum or by reporting Public Press as being "inappropriate".
NB2: [i]Accusations of cheating in Public Press is held to include any raising of the subject. NO MENTION OF POSSIBLE CHEATING SHOULD EVER BE RAISED IN PUBLIC PRESS.[/i]

[PurpleSector]

Any chance one of you could update the existing links or create a new link to this thread in the Rules section of the main page (http://www.playdiplomacy.com/help.php)?

[TheCraw]

Any chance one of you could update the existing links or create a new link to this thread in the Rules section of the main page (http://www.playdiplomacy.com/help.php)?

Only Admins have access to that.