Quote from azkedar on 2012/10/09, 21:52

This is just a cautionary tale about bad guests vs. good guests. I think every guest should read something like this so they know what we expect from them, but of course that requires reading in the first place. :(

This short story is a re-enactment. While it seems highly realistic, any resemblance to specific guests, active or banned, is purely coincidental.

How *NOT* to behave as a guest

Guest has joined the game.
Us: Welcome, Guest!
Guest: thanks! :)
Guest: why am I in creative?
Us: Because you're in the City.
Guest: why can't I build anything?
Us: Because you're a Guest.  This stuff was mentioned on the whitelist quiz.
Guest: how can I build?
Us: You have to become a Settler. Read the website.
Guest: ok brb
...
Guest: can i just be a settler?
Us: No, you have to pass the test on the web site.
Guest: but i did whitelist already
Us: There is a separate test for Settler apart from the whitelist quiz.
Guest: where is it?
Us: On the website.  Click on "Access" -> "Become a Settler"
GuesT: ok brb
...
Guest: where are the lots?
Us: Read the website, please.
Guest: i did, i cant find it
Us: You didn't read enough of the web site.  There is a map.
Guest: what lot do I get?
Us: You have to pick for yourself.
Guest: how do i know wat lot to pick?
Us: Please, please read the website.
Guest: ok
...
Guest: what is the answer to 4?
Us: We can't tell you, read the website.
Guest: i did read it!
Us: The answer is there if you read it.
Guest: i spent the last 30 mins readnig it its not there!
Us: It really is.  Please try again.
Guest: this test is really hard!
Us: It's really not.
Guest: the test is broken, i know i got it right and it wont let me in
Us: Then you didn't get everything right.
Guest: can you tell me what i got wrong?
Us: No.
Guest: if i tell you my answers can you tell me what I got wrong
Us: No, that would be cheating.  If we help you cheat we can be banned.
Guest: i am so angry right now! >:(
Us: That's too bad.
Guest: ive trying to do this test for 4 hours!
Us: You can try again later.
Guest: the test is so broken!
Us: It's not.
Guest: this test sucks
Us: We think it's awesome.
Guest: f*** you and f*** this server
Guest was banned.

Unfortunately, the preceding type of guest is all too common. To lighten things, there is a second kind of guest, the kind who eventually becomes an upstanding member of our community. They are more rare, but they do exist, and they look something like this:

How to behave as a Guest

Guest2 has joined the game.
Guest2: Hi!
Us: Welcome, Guest2!
Guest2: Thanks! :)
Guest2: Wow, these are some awesome builds!  These were built in creative, right?
Us: A little, but most of the big builds you see in the City were survival and then copied over.
Guest2: Really? That's really cool!
Us: Thanks, Guest2!
Guest2: So this server has both creative and survival worlds?
Us: That's right.  You can read all the details on the website.
Guest2: Cool, I'm reading it now.
...
Guest2: The website said you have survival build contests, that sounds neat, can Settlers participate?
Us: Yes, anyone can participate in the contests.
Guest2: People here seem pretty friendly :)
Us: Thanks, we use the whitelist quiz and the settler quiz to keep out undesirables. :)
Guest2: Seems like it's working for you.
Us: For the most part...
...
Guest2: This server is awesome! I'm gonna go read the website some more and take the building quiz.
Us: Great, good luck!
...
Congrats to Guest2 for claiming lot emp_ZZ99!
Us: Congrats, Guest2!
Guest2: Yay! Thank you! :)

... and Guest2 went on to become a normal, productive member of Uncovery society. So you see, not all guests are bad. A modicum of restraint, while difficult, is adviseable while dealing with guests. Remember, we all start out as guests. (Except Uncovery, of course). But where we go from there is our choice. Thank you for reading.