I have seen RPs that have what's called a "BIFLI" rule. This stands for "because I feel like it," and it means, in essence, that management can do what it wants to who it wants, for any reason, any time. I will concede this; that in the argument between liberty and tyranny, there are certain benefits to tyranny; it is efficient, for one, and there is no disagreement, dissent, or discussion if the tyrant doesn't wish there to be. I will also concede this; that in an RP, there will be those people who do things that are considered by reasonable people to be "obnoxious" or "provocative," and that a "BIFLI" rule would indeed bring an end to these things.

But AGW doesn't work that way, and never has. To ensure that everyone can say and do as they please (within reason, as per the rules), the rules are considered to apply to all people, and to all disputes, equally. That is, there aren't different standards or different treatment for different people or different disputes. Whether you're RPing from the United States, or from Canada or Britain, this is how these societies operate in the real world, with respect for all and favor to none. The "BIFLI" rule, in the real world, is more along the lines of authoritarian states—North Korea, Iran, etc. For those who would say to me that this is not the real world, it is an RP and it shouldn't be taken so seriously, I can only say that the principle is the same here as it is, and should be, in the "real" world; respect for all and favor to none.

In order to hold everyone to the same standards, though, I will admit that it means "obnoxious" or "provocative" behavior must be considered the same as the rest of the RP that happens here; it means that people will do things that I don't like, and things that other people don't like (within reason, as per the rules). But surely we don't expect it to be otherwise? That is, surely we don't assume that everything will always go our way? That our characters won't be attacked? Or embarassed? Or killed? These things do happen in an RP. But, it should be said, this doesn't mean that they happen without limits. Indeed, the rules do have limits on these things; Rule 1.2, for instance, says that a player's characters should not cooperate with each other for the benefit of any one of them, Rule 1.6 prohibits the harassment of a character for OOC reasons, and Rule 1.12 prevents players from cheapening an RP for other players. This is to name only a few of the rules that exist to defend players from abusive treatment and ensure a fair and fun place to RP for all of us.

As I said, it isn't perfect and, in fact, its imperfections have been a matter of some discussion in recent days (or, as the case may be, things that are murmured in private where the light of day and discourse cannot dissuade them). Fair enough. I have spoken with Karth on the following rule that I now post here, and will post also on the request forum for management approval:

"1.13. A player cannot be made to RP with a person that they do not wish to, unless that person has a convincing interest in doing so."

As I said, "respect for all." But what of "favor for none"? It has been murmured recently that managers, or the rules, do favor certain players in AGW. I will dispel, at once, the idea that the rules could favor any player or another—I would invite anyone to read them and see if that could possibly be true. I think you will agree, it's not. What, then, of the managers? Since Karth has joined management only recently, this, it seems, is essentially a question of my application of the rules. This is a question that—unlike at many RPs—I, as a manager, am quite willing to discuss and, I hope, to answer to the satisfaction of all members.

I suggest this exercise; let's take a quick look at the most recent OOC dispute that comes to mind in AGW, which, in this case, would be the dispute between Crin and Jamie. Let us consider how many rulings in this dispute went in favor of one player over another, and see if there is any noticeable bias. I disclaim, in advance, that I haven't done this at the time that I write this post, so I will find out the result as you do. Let us begin.

First, in this thread, I concede to Crin that she is right that capital ships probably do have jammers (Crin 1, Jamie 0). Then I remark that, to be fair, it probably must be conceded that the jammer wasn't on at the time, and so Jamie would be successful in scanning Crin's ship (Crin 1, Jamie 1). I then note, however, that in order to do this, Jamie would need military-grade sensors that would probably be considered illegal (Crin 2, Jamie 1). When Crin wanted to consider the thread closed altogether, I told him that this was not the case (Crin 2, Jamie 2). Later, however, when Jamie suggested that Crin should release a full list of all products banned for import on Volus, I held that Crin should not, in fact, be required to do this (Crin 3, Jamie 2).

This, I think, covers all the significant points in the dispute so far. I think it's fair to say that the results, while marginally in Crin's favor, are more or less balanced. I certainly don't think an accusation of bias can be made by a reasonable person. Note, also, that my recounting of events does not mention the demeanor of Crin and Jamie in this dispute, one of whom was consistently more rude than the other. I do not mention this in my recounting of events because what my opinion of a player and his manners has no bearing on whether he is right or wrong. As, I think, it should be.

Of course, as always, I welcome a discussion of this from anyone. In fact, I appreciate it. What I don't appreciate, though, are people who have a grievance with AGW but don't say so. Considering how plainly open AGW is to discussion and debate, I don't see what excuse there can be, with all due respect, to mumble these things in private instead of raising them as topics to be addressed. With that, members of AGW, even if you don't happen to agree with all of my post (and again, that's fine!), I hope at least I've emphasized that all of your opinions are important to me as a manager, and that I, and all of management, are always willing to listen to them. With respect for all and favor to none.

Jace Varitek
Manager/Administrator from January 2003 to Present
My recent posts here, pre-2009 archives here

"When my information changes, I change my opinion. What do you do, sir?"
—John Maynard Keynes

Furthermore, a dancing Wookiee: