City of IF

[sir wax]

The Council has been culminating some rules for Multiple Accounts here on If. A very special thanks to Crunchy for putting them all down in long form. What we have are as follows:

Multiple Identities and Shared IP Addresses

In order to improve the fairness of competitions and standards of Netiquette on IF, the King, Mayor and Council have revised the policies regarding Multiple Identities and Shared IP addresses.

From now on...

If you have more than one identity on IF, or if you share the same internet connection with another IF member, (for example shared computer at home or at work/school) you MUST let the Mayor know.

If you have more than one account, you may only use one of your IF identities to nominate or vote for Storygame of the Month / Spotlight competitions. If you share an internet connection with another IF member, only one of you may nominate or vote.

Not following these guidelines may result in an immediate ban.







FAQ

Why do I have to notify the Mayor?

Voting, whether it be elections, contests or polls is a key function of IF's Storygaming culture and is taken much more seriously than on most sites. Letting the Mayor know will help eliminate you from investigations into cheating (which sadly does happen from time to time). The Mayor will advise, based on each individual situation, as to how many users can vote from a shared connection, for Spotlight / Storygame of the Month competitions.


I have a friend in RL who is on IF. We often visit one another and post at the same computer. Do I need to notify the Mayor?

Yes. Being honest about who you are and where you are posting from will help eliminate suspicion that you are using a fraudulent identity.


I want to write a storygame under a pseudonym. How can I guarantee my anonymity if I have to notify the Mayor? Who else will know?

The moderators will be made aware of your alter-ego, and they will be told if you want to keep it quiet. If you have reason to believe a moderator has publicised your alter-ego against your wishes, you can raise it to the Mayor or King.


I've been away from IF for a long time, and have recently created a new ID. Do I have to notify the Mayor?

You only need to notify the Mayor if you see that your old User ID is still in the Member List. This is because the Mayor will need to know whether to make your old account 'inactive'.


Who are the users behind the Innkeeper Account and the City of IF Treasury?

The Innkeeper is used by moderators for moderating the chatroom. The City of IF Treasury is a repository for Fables, and used by the High Lord Chancellor.

These municipal identities are only allowed to act within their role and are not allowed to vote, nominate, enter competitions or play Storygames. If you have any reason to suspect that a municipal ID is being misused in any way, bring it to the attention of the Mayor or King.


The announcement says you are only allowed to nominate and vote once for Spotlight / StoryGame of the Month. What about polls on ordinary storygames, or elections?

There will be no voting twice if you have multiple accounts under the same user, period. If you are multiple users under the same roof, you will have to notify the author, as it is up them. Voting rules for elections will be made clear at the time by the King.


I once met up with a fellow IFian from another city and posted from their computer. Does that make us a shared IP address?

In this particular case no. However, if you are unsure whether you must declare a Multiple Account or Shared IP address, or are unsure whether you can vote, bring it to the attention of the Mayor, who will look at your case individually.

If you have any further questions, please post them below and we'll do our best to answer them. :)

(Updated 5/11/2010 by CF)

[shy_blu_eyes]

Query.

I log on to IF from my home computer as well as on campus, so I show two different IP adresses interchangably. I am unaware of any other Ifians on campus. I would like to make sure I'm in compliance with the rules (ie. no other Ifians using the campus IP address) without advertising where I'm from to the entire world.

Any reccomendations?

[Crunchyfrog]

If something like that ever did happen, don't worry. There will always be exceptional circumstances that don't fit with 'the rules' and this would be one of those one-off situations that the mayor would look at individually.
:)

[Vikas Muralidharan]

Umm.. Yeah, me and my twin.

Only one of us can vote for spotlight?! That's a pity, we have different opinions :O

[Crunchyfrog]

Quote: The Mayor will advise, based on each individual situation, as to how many users can vote from a shared connection, for Spotlight / Storygame of the Month competitions.

There will always be individual cases - check with TB - I'm sure it'll be ok. :)

[Thunderbird]

I'm well aware you are separate individuals sharing one IP... you may both vote ;)

[Vikas Muralidharan]

YAY :D