Rules and Etiquette

From DarkGalaxy

Darkgalaxy is a game and as such should be fun for all. Rules are not there to make the game harder or annoying, but are to make sure there is a level playing field for all players and that the game itself is as enjoyable as possible.

Signing up to The Turnengine and Darkgalaxy

1. Create your own account.
Please sign up your own forum account on the Turn Engine Forums. Do not use someone else's forum account, even if they are not using it. Register with an email that you use regularly or one that wont expire. Darkgalaxy does not spam your email nor sell it to any third party. Sign into the game with your own forum account. You may only have 1 forum account on the Darkgalaxy forums.

2. Pick a Username and Pass that is not obvious.
Do not create your account with the password the same as the login.
Do not create your account with the password the same as your ruler name.
Do not create your account with the password as any of the following:

password
pass
darkgalaxy
<the name of your alliance>

Or.. anything super-dumb that is obviously insecure. This includes having the same pass as you have on any external alliance forums. By signing up to your rival's forums with the same password you use ingame is asking for trouble. Especially if you signed up to their forum to flame. Eight characters including a mixture of letters and numbers is a good way to go.

3. Only create 1 account in 1 Darkgalaxy game.
You may only create 1 account in any Darkgalaxy game. Do not create accounts for friends or alliance members. Do not create fake accounts or 'extra' accounts for possible later use. Do not create farm accounts. All of these fall under the catagory of multiing and will be dealt with. See punishments for cheating for more details.

4. Only log into 1 account per Darkgalaxy game.
You are not allowed to log into any account in Darkgalaxy but your own. Babysitting a friend/alliance member's account is against game rules and will cause both accounts to be reviewed. You can not log into someone else's account and perform an action at their request. You can not view someone else's radar, or use their scans.

Some advices for people playing from the same house :

• If playing from the same house - avoid playing in the same galaxy if possible.
  
• If you can't avoid that - then try to not play in the same alliance.
  
• If you can't avoid that - then at least try to not play in the same group/team
  
• If you can't avoid that - then make sure that the two of you don't act in such a way that you are helping each others - as in preinvading for each others - attacking together - giving direct benefits to each others.
  
• If you can't avoid any of the above - don't be surprised if you one day find yourself banned because we can't differ you from a person who is running a double account.

5. Do not give your password out to anyone.
Do not give your login details to anyone, including your friends, alliance leaders or Darkgalaxy Staff. There is no reason to give that info to anyone as they have no need to log into your account. If someone logs into your account with your permission, your account will suffer the same penalties as the person logging into your account. This rule includes 'babysitting'. You are not allowed to log into a friends account even if they are sick or on vacation.

6. Do not intentionally nick-steal.
Do not create an account and signup with a name you know is registered and played with by someone else. Clearly it is not possible to know all the players in the game, but the intention of the action is what we will be looking at. This also goes for Alliance names. Do not sit on an established alliance name if you have no right to use it. 'Having a right to use the name' would be regarded as having played in the alliance before and being in the HC. Also having the approval of the members of that particular alliance to use the name. It will be possible for the Game Admin team to moderate these situations, so it would be wise to make sure you pick your name carefully. Rarely do allainces that name steal last long.

7. Choose an appropriate Ruler Name, Alliance Name and Fleet Names.
Swearing, abusive language and racial slander are not permitted in Darkgalaxy. Choose a name that is suitable for all ages and all nationalities. All languages are treated equally under this rule. Breaking this rule in a language other than English will have the same result.

Darkgalaxy Game rules

1. Use the game features as they were intended.

2. Do not use automation scripts or bots to play the game.
This is a game for humans, not for how well you can script a cronjob or automated bot script. Play the game and take the pleasure in winning your own battles rather than having the game played for you. People who use automated scripts will be severly punished.

3. Do not use external scripts to trawl the DG database or pages for info.
No unauthorised 3rd party program is allowed to connect to the DG servers. Scripts are not allowed to drain information from the DG pages nor directly from the DB. You may create fleet calculators, ruler logs and scan report databases on your own servers as long as the data is populated into them using only a human and his/her cut-and-paste abilities.

If you are unsure about how legal a tool is that you are using or making, contact a Game Mod before you continue. This will save you alot of worries and even a possible ban.

4. Report a bug as soon as you find it.
Continued 'testing' of a bug is not allowed. Please report a bug as soon as you discover it. Using known bugs to gain an advantage in-game is against the rules.

5. Do not use the in-game mail system to abuse or harass a fellow player
The in-game mail is there for communication and to a certain extent role-playing. It is not there for you to harass players, flood them or grief them. If someone is harassing you through the mail system, please report them in the Multi/Abuse forum.

6. Home Planets are your safe ground
You cannot fly to an enemy home planet, or drop soldiers to invade. The first 3 rows of even numbered galaxies are reserved for home planets. Note: That being said, the game has had a bug that allowed an enemy to attack a home planet. Do not exploit this bug under any circumstances! Report any violations right away, and report the bug.

7. Galaxies are closed until filled with players
You are not allowed to colonize a planet in an even and odd numbered pair of galaxies (e.g. 16&17, 18&19, 20&21) until 168 turns after the first 3 rows of the even numbered galaxy are filled. A 48-turn ban is the punishment for violation. Note: That being said, the game will not prevent you from attempting to do so. See Zedd's posts 2&3 and Frosty's topic.

#Darkgalaxy IRC rules

Darkgalaxy Game Admins, Forum Moderators and DG Crew are identified in channel by their Operator and Half-Operator status. They are there to keep order of the channel and have the ability to block your access if the need arises.

To make sure you have access to the main channel you should keep the following in mind:

1. English Only
The Darkgalaxy IRC channel is an English only channel. There are a number of other channels available on Chatspike for different nationalities, but for the comfort of the majority, #darkgalaxy is English only.

2. No Flooding
Please refrain from flooding the channel with useless, annoying material.

3. Dont Post Planet Coodinates
While not strictly moderated as on the forums, we prefer you not to post planet coordinates in the main channel. A galaxy number should be sufficient in most circumstances. Please use a Private Message or an alternate channel to discuss targets and ruler locations.

4. No Channel Advertising
Do not advertise your channels in #darkgalaxy. If you have an alliance channel please use the server forum or the alliance listing here.

5. No Links To Other Online Browser Based Games
No linking to other similiar browser type games in the official Darkgalaxy channel.

6. Remain respectful to other users
IRC is a volitile communication medium. Different people have different levels of tolerance. Please respect the person you are talking to and hopefully no action need take place. This is obviously very subjective. If you have a query about a ban, please take it up with the person who banned you, or alternatively, contact a Forum Moderator or Administrator.