Etiquette

From Toadwater Guide

Some definitions

From time to time someone does something in Toadwater or says something in the Toadwater forums that upsets others. In general, a player *can* do whatever the game lets them ingame but this does not mean doing whatever you want is wise. There are continual attempts for player organizations to impose additional rules on all or part of the Toadwater community regarding how the game "should" be played.

This wiki article is not meant to list the proposed rules made by many people on the forums. This article is more about the "unwritten rules" that experienced players can enforce on newer players simply because they have the wherewithal to do so. Put more simply -- pissing off anyone in the top 100 or so players will likely bring wrath upon your character, making the game much more difficult then it has to be. Also consider that some players hold very long grudges.

Because of this, breaches of etiquette can be hard to fix. It may actually be less time consuming to start a new character, abandon your old character, and never do anything that could associate your new character with your old character. Call it a fresh start or a rebirth or whatever -- just be more careful with your new character ingame, on the forums, in PMs, on IRC, etc.

You are encouraged to read about fencing noob worlds.

• You post on the forums
  1. You are new. Nobody respects you yet. On the TW forums, respect is not given, it is earned:
     • Post with good spelling and grammar. Nobody minds the occasional mistake, but "So I huv just jomped, rght, and I lik dun now where to go now lol" tells us one thing -- that you do not care to spend an extra minute to reread your text before posting -- so why exactly should we spend our time to help you?. Or you are just stupid.
     • Avoid leet speak or dumbass speak. Using words such as "lawlz", "rafflez wafflez", "wut?", "u" (instead of "you"), "r" (instead of "are") or "2" (instead of "to" or "too"), "4m" (instead of "am"), "t1r3d" (instead of "tired") tell us one thing -- that you do not care to spend the time to read a few posts to realize the forums are not populated by preteens looking for cyborz. Or you are just stupid.
     • If someone corrects you, avoid answers such as "F*ck you, I dun care aboot my speeling!", "Lolz u r nub, I'll raid ur mom!" or "WHAT DO YOU MEAN READ THE WIKI JUST GIVE ME THE ANSWER YOU DONKEY!" as these tell us one thing -- that what you lack for intelligence you make up for with profanity. (Psst...the correct answer is "Thank you!")
     • Never bump up old topics from a month or longer ago. Having to read old topics again only to realize that they are from a year ago makes everyone mad -- so check the date of the last few replies before replying yourself.
  2. Try to find an answer to your question on your own before posting on the appropriate forum - the first place to search is this wiki.
  3. Avoid complaining if you jumped off cloud world unprepared, people are likely to just laugh at you for not reading the apropriate article on the Wiki about jumping. If you ended up fenced in, read the next section. If you jumped unprepared, you just have to deal with it. It's not the end of the world.
  4. Avoid begging. Nobody likes beggars. Instead, tell people where you jumped and ask if there are friendly neighbors around you. If they are willing to help, they will do so on their own accord.
  5. Karma is a tool on the forums for judging people -- applaud when someone does something good and smite when someone does something that displeases you. However, due to frequent abuse, the karma system has been made virtually useless. However, it still has two uses for newbies:
     • If your karma is going down, you have most likely violated the etiquette somehow. Or you have just been stupid. Instead of complaining about your karma score, try to figure out what you did wrong and possibly appologize -- complaining about your karma is a surefire way to have it drop even more.
     • If your karma is going up, you have been doing well. Try to continue.

• You are trying to leave a fenced in newb land or You ran into someones base
  1. Did we mention reading about fencing noob worlds?
  2. PM the owner of fencing if you would like to discuss its placement or simply want to be let through.
  3. If you are fenced in, wander around and PM the owner of all the other fences - that way you will be much more likely to get a quick response from someone.
  4. Remember not everyone plays 24/7 -- do not expect an answer for a few days.
  5. If you are fenced in and nobody will let you through, ask on the forums if someone will help you get into their continent. It is possible for them to help you get to their continent without the people around you helping.
  6. Do absolutely not start chopping the fence:
     • It will take you forever
     • You probably won't have the resources to afford going all the way through
     • It will get you an enemy thats probably much more powerful and influential than you

• You are just wandering around
  1. Avoid cutting down balsam fir and ponderosa pine trees if you did not plant them yourself. Old trees are often planted by benevolent people for use as healing trees by everyone.

• You are just setting up your own base
  1. Avoid building fencing against fencing owned by someone else. Always leave at least one plot in between, so people can walk through your two bases.
  2. Avoid planting or building anything near fencing if you did not build the fencing yourself. If you do, people will assume you are preparing a raid and feel threatened.
  3. Avoid getting upset if someone BVs you - many players BV first and ask questions later if they find you exploring near their fencing that took them weeks to build.
  4. If a benevolent player gives you fencing and other items to help you get started, raiding them is in poor taste (and while retaliation may not be swift, it is a assured by the raidee or their experienced friends). Remember, they are your neighbours, and probably will be for a long time.

Some of these tips mean a lot to some players, some of these tips are no big deal to other players. You have been warned.

Oh, and read about fencing noob worlds.