Spaceport 6 FAQ

The major initiator or motivator of the storyline, if any.
A well-versed authoritative member of the forum (in the past this has been me, but I pretend no exclusivity in this capacity. I have turned down the responsibility in favor of the above in the past; I could see Scott Dysart being as versed on this forum as I am and also making such calls.) OR
A vote by currently participating members of the forum.

Alternity

Traveller

Aeon: Trinity

Sapce Opera

GURPS Space

Star Hero

Starfarer

MegaTraveller

What are the Ground Rules?

ground rules

Never post actions for a player's central character without that player's permission. (Exception: if a player has a protracted absence from the forum and such is holding up the the closure/completion from the thread, it is permissible to post minimal actions that will allow the completion of the thread with minimal impact on that character's overall situation.)
If a character is subject to an action which may destroy or majorly alter the character, that characer's player is the final arbiter of the results of that action!
Do not, in any storyline, destroy or inflict significant long term impairment to major functionality of SP6. (The latter includes such events as irradiating SP6 to the point that it is uninhabitable by human life, or killing 90% of the popualtion with a nanovirus.)

What are the Rules of Thumb?

Ground Rules

rules of thumb

Similar to ground rules #3: Do not destroy or lay waste to the Confederation or interstellar society in general, or otherwise initiate events that nullify major portions of the background material. Not only do you piss me off by making me rewrite this page, you probably invalidate assumptions that other players are using when thinking up their plotlines.
Do not run a "save the universe" plotline unless everyone is comfortable with it, and not if such a plotline has been run recently. Such plots quickly become passe and derail good plotlines.
Do not introduce or utilize technology or psionic powers which repetatively and reliably perform miraculous feats. Things like instant teleportation, time travel, and quantum pulse rifles that create explosions that reverse themselves are good examples of things that don't belong here. Characters that can psionically teleport, control minds, kill with a thought, and ressurect from the dead are also out of hand. If you want to tinker with psionic abilities, try to stick with telepathic and clairvoyant abilities, or possibly some minor form of telekenisis. WebRPG has a Space Opera forum; this isn't it!
If you have something to say (or ask) out of character ("OOC"), start your post name with the tag "OOC:." If you think or intend to start a long OOC discussion, make a short post pointing everyone else to the OOC discussion forum and take up the discussion there.
Stay on topic! If it is not about SP6 or happenings in the SP6 setting, it doesn't belong here. For example, DO NOT post commercial advertisements or discussions about the latest episode of X-files.
Paying heed to Ground Rule #2: Try not to over manipulate other people's characters. They may not appreciate it if you trash their character. If you must do something in your storyline that will permanently affect another character, it is a good idea to consult with the player by E-mail first to see how they feel about it.
Have reasons justifying things that occur in the stories. A specific example is the gun restriction. If your character possesses a gun within the confines of the spaceport, there must be a reason. Either they smuggled it in, or they have special licences (which are limited to stun weapons).
Finally, if everyone is disgruntled with the characters and plotlines, do not make a major disaster / upheaval with 30+ year advancement just to reset everything! If a few people totally screw up the universe just to tie up their own plot tailings, and then a few players that were on hiatus come back wanting to play the same character, they find that their character no longer fits in or is aged past their adventuring prime. Instead, try just having everyone present who wants to retire their characters and advance the timeline forward 6 months to 2 years at most and start new characters.

What's this about a "Gun Restriction?"

What can I do if no one else is posting?

First and most important: Post! If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem! If people drop by with mild interest and see a dead forum, they aren't going to be as interested in joining if they see no activity as if there is a little traffic. Just be patient and post a new post every two or three days, and you will be more likely to draw new activity--or suck old players back in.
Recruit new members. Try asking your friends if they would like to join. Post notices on some of the general forums or TIC OOC forum that you would like some new players (new players are generally more interested in a forum if there is not an excessively long plotline to get involved with.)
Be patient. Though some people leave for good (especially if there was a spat of some sort), sometimes people's real lives get in the way. They have finals. They get jobs and move. They have children. Their interests wander. Try giving some players that you were conversing with a little time and then send them an email and see if they would be interested in starting up a new storyine.

Why are you on your high horse?

Ground Rules

Rules of Thumb,

there wouldn't be a law like that unless somebody tried it

Ground Rules

Rules of Thumb

Ground Rules

Rules of Thumb

What if I have other questions?

Scott Dysart (sdysar@hotmail.com)

myself (adkohler@ieee.org)