Non-Standard Language Usage in Game Chat

[Woodruff]

Concise description:

• Non-Standard Language Usage in Game Chat Needs to be Further Clarified.

Specifics:

• The current stance regarding non-standard language usage in game chat is that as long as diplomatic discussions are not occurring within that non-standard language usage (breaking the secret diplomacy rule), there is no problem. This seems fine on the face of it, but I believe this is a Catch-22 that can lead to NO satisfying rulings, as I will show in the next item.
• Non-standard language usage itself is not a violation unless it is in regards to diplomatic discussions. But each person can't have any way of knowing if the non-standard language usage is in regards to diplomatic discussions unless each person translates it OR someone translates it and then posts the translation in the game chat also. Once it is thusly translated (via either method), then the non-standard language usage no longer applies as secret diplomacy because IT IS NO LONGER SECRET in the context of being in a language not understood by others in the game.
• As things currently stand, you may as well allow anyone to speak in any language with no concern for the other participants in the game, because it is literally impossible to have someone guilty of secret diplomacy. Either a language familiar to all in the game (not necessarily English, of course) MUST be used in the game chat at all times OR the ruling of secret diplomacy for this sort of incident taking place must be stricken EVEN WHEN the non-standard language did indeed include diplomatic discussion (for how can we know, unless...we know!).

This will improve the following aspects of the site:

• A site rule will actually have validity or will cease to exist.
• Everyone will understand clearly exactly where they stand as regards to non-standard language usage in game-chat.

[Night Strike]

I think that on-value this is a non-issue. I don't know for sure how the C&A mods and Hunters would interpret your specific scenario, but I would think that if any non-standard diplomacy has to be translated by someone who is not in that game (or even in the game), then that would be breaking the rule of conducting the diplomacy openly because it wouldn't necessarily be the same person writing in both languages. A case could be made if one person only understands non-Standard and the other player in the diplomacy types it all out in both languages, but it may still fall under being illegal.