Rule: Character Names being references.

[Huskydogg]

The current rule is a small mention at the end of "Characters must be named following a Firstname Lastname model...", which states, "In general, avoid reference/famous/joke names, please.".

The problem with this is that it creates a fair amount of ambiguity because of the word 'general'. This could imply that there are exceptions, which means it's down to the interpretation of the admin/mod and the player. I think the rule should be changed to, "No playing characters who are cameos of famous/fictional characters and/or joke names such as 'Mike Hunt'." which makes it very obvious when someone is named that way just to break immersion.

For example, somebody could be playing as an security officer called 'Johnny Silverhand' who has black hair and a cybernetic arm (Cyberpunk). This shouldn't be allowed as it breaks immersion.
If the character is called 'Johnny Silverhand' and is a chef, who references the character in no other way, this should be allowed. 

Reasons for this changing:
-There are probably millions of names that are 'referenced' from books/movies that characters use. The issue with this, is that what each person knows is different, so some people may recognise the character's name and some won't.
-Cameo creates an obvious difference between just a name and playing an embodiment of that character.
-This allows the players who are actually on the server to role-play as their character to freely name them without issue.
-It makes the rule less ambiguous, because it won't be purely down to the admin/mod's interpretation.

However, there are some issues with this rule change;
-It would allow massively popular names like 'Donald Trump' to be used, which would obviously break immersion no matter the theme of the character. The same issue as mentioned before with this is that names which are considered 'famous' changes between person-to-person so it's impossible to create a rule for this perfectly.

-Staff members may disagree if a name is acceptable or not.

To minimise the conflict between this; I would propose that from the staff members online; 

-if there is only one staff member online the complaint will have to be held until another can agree.

-If there are two staff members the vote has to be unanimous (So that it's obvious that the majority of people agree the name is clearly a cameo/joke.). They can also choose to wait for another staff member.
-If there are more than two staff members, then three of them have to decide if the name is clearly there to break immersion, the number three is chosen not to involve too many people, whilst meaning that there can always be a majority vote, and that vote will be final.
-If it is very clear that the server is being raided by people abusing this rule, such as multiple people showing up with major names at once, then the admin online can speak to them immediately.

If any of these steps have been taken, and the player still has a complaint; then they will be informed to take it to the forums so that their personal counter-arguments can be given and a final ruling can be done.

Notes: Of course, this is just a suggestion of someone who isn't a member of the staff team so I was just trying to put the last ideas out there as a solution to the problems that my change in policy presented. If someone can come up with a system that would work better for staff and remove ambiguity, I will be for that.

[Scheveningen]

23 minutes ago, Huskydogg said:

-if there is only one staff member online the complaint will have to be held until another can agree.

Not a good idea. Having free rule enforcement agency for the admins/mods is rather important so that they don't become physically unable to do their job because of a pointless bureaucracy requirement. This rule isn't a very important one compared to other things, and permabans are generally not handed out for this issue.

Can't speak as to whether there's staff turmoil or major disagreement because a staff member points out that something is a reference name. I highly doubt it, though. One of my character's last name is Bolivar, but they're not even remotely related to the historical liberator of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama from a few hundred years past as someone once weirdly pointed out in IC.

23 minutes ago, Huskydogg said:

For example, somebody could be playing as an security officer called 'Johnny Silverhand' who has black hair and a cybernetic arm (Cyberpunk). This shouldn't be allowed as it breaks immersion.
If the character is called 'Johnny Silverhand' and is a chef, who references the character in no other way, this should be allowed. 

As you already pointed out with the Donald Trump reference this is already a self-defeating point. So no, neither should be allowed. It's really not that hard to come up with an original character name, just go to a character name generator based on ethnic groups. Bastardize the name if you're playing a xeno according to what xeno names normally would sound like, etc.

A name like "Iroquois Pliskin" very much sticks out considering it is an unusual, Coolguy McName. But even a proper name like Russell Bell is a no-go either, because that's directly referencing a character to The Wire. https://thewire.fandom.com/wiki/Russell_Bell

"Rule ambiguity" in this case is really not that ambiguous, it's pretty simple to avoid character names that are direct references to pop culture characters or real people. The rule is broad as is so it can be interpreted to however drastic a situation can get.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Scheveningen

[UnknownMurder]

Hi, @Huskydogg. You probably haven't heard of me. I am notorious for making references both IC and OOC and I disagree with more redtapes on administrator's part. Some people knows that I have reference characters to help me be motivated to play. For me, it's like a cosplay with one name and you feel energy going through you. It's a much worse addiction. You should probably listen to me, I have notes more about references than bad RP in my past four years and I know what it's like. Some of my reference characters have been found. Those who were all deleted. As far as I know, there are three ways of identifying what makes reference a reference. 

1. A character has a full name of a popular person/character. This is where people tends to get caught easily, you will get the warning immediately.
2. A character has a partial name of a popular person/character. This is by case by scenario. You give it away if they spot you using a quote, similar personality, similar clothes, or similar job title. 
3. Your character speaks about a game that your character should not know. An example when station is falling apart and your character joke directly about Fallout 76 was the hardest to fall. The thing is that your character should not know about. 

While they are three ways of identifying what makes a reference. But, I would love to hear how staff decides of how it is a reference character so I can safely steer from. There are no clearer rules or if else diagrams. If anyone's interested in knowing what reference characters I had, some of references were... 

• Drake Bond: Got caught for using "Bond, Drake Bond" - violates #2.
• Daisuke Adachi - someone actually knew Persona 4 and decided to ahelp me even though I did nothing related to Persona 4 - violates #2. 
• Joseph Birkin - RD Birkin | No one knows Resident Evil 2 until Resident Evil 2 Remake was announced then admin learned of it and caught me. - violates #2. 
• Donald Drumpf - Captain Drumpf | When I was 15, okay? I just thought it was funny. Politics ain't funny anymore considering what's happening now. I ain't proud of this one. It was very stupid of me. - violates #2

As I said, it's a much worse addiction. You shouldn't make references. If you are planning on making references, be smart. Few of my characters weren't considered a reference until much later when it became popular. It is not a small price to pay for salvation. I played them before it got mainstream. If you wanna be on the staff team, don't do it. It tarnishes your reputation.