COLA Rules of Conduct
DUE TO CHANGES IN THE SECOND LIFE TERMS OF SERVICE YOU INHERENTLY AGREE, BY AGREEING TO ABIDE BY THESE RULES AND ENTERING LOST ANGELS, THAT YOU ARE OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN AND YOU ARE NOT OFFENDED BY VIOLENCE, ADULT LANGUAGE OR SEXUAL CONTENT. THE OWNER OF LOST ANGELS DEFERS ALL RESPONSIBILITY BEYOND THIS AGREEMENT, IN LEGAL LIABILITIES, TO THE TRESPASSING PARTY. PARTIES NOT OVER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN ARE TRESPASSING AND THUS LEGALLY LIABLE FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS.
The City of Lost Angels is a Dark RP/Combat/Sex sim where you can come and live a character life thats not all shiny and happy and new like most of Second Life. We attempt to provide a good community for free form role play for characters of a darker nature.
Race groups are groups that a new player to LA can join to help find and be involved with others of their race or similar RP style. These groups are used as recruitment groups for the main factions, for people that are trying to learn more about the main faction and its style of RP. Its not uncommon for a player to hop around from race group to race group, even if they arent of that race, but are interested in the main faction its attached to.
Faction groups are the main factions within the Lost Angels sim as well some of the surrounding sims. These groups have their own rich backstory and style of playing, each of them offering something different so there are plenty of styles to choose from.
We are always open to the idea of new and additional faction groups in the CoLA sim/s. This can be accomplished by providing a write up and background information on your factional model to a member of the CoLA staff or the owner of the CoLA sim that you wish to base your faction out of. At that time the GM team will review the information you provided before making a final decision.
City of Lost Angel’s Group:Please feel free to join the City of Lost Angels city group. It is open enrollment, simply click SEARCH, click on the Groups tab, then type City of Lost Angels (dont forget the apostrophe) and click the Join button! This is an excellent way to stay up to date on the news on the city and whats going on and makes you a part of our unique and interesting community as soon as you arrive!
CCS Support GroupPlease feel free to join the CCS group. The CCS group is where you can ask questions about the CCS system and get help with any problems you are having.
RULE VIOLATION TIERS:Rules are given general classifications of severity with consequences:
When considering discipline, GMs and Admin will take into consideration the player’s experience level, any past violations (and the time frame since the last violation), the player’s response and attitude when approached (accommodating or argumentative) and any other relevant factors. Repeated violations of any particular rule by any player may move that violation to a higher severity Tier at the discretion of the GM/Admin handling the issue.
SECTION 1: BEHAVIOR and INTERACTIONSA: Camping (Tier 3 violation)
Camping means you are not at your keyboard, not able to respond to those that approach you in roleplay or in combat. THIS IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. After 10 minutes of being unresponsive, your CCS will be detached and you will likely be ejected from the sim. A warning will be placed on your CCS database sheet and repeated camping offences will result in XP loss and eventual removal from CCS entirely.
Do not try to hide someplace out of the way in the sim or physically within the build (e.g. in walls, underground, up in the sky. If you arent in a easily accessible/visible place where people can reach your to roleplay or combat you, then youll be asked to move.
Apartment renters may hang out within their apartments all they want. If you have your CCS on and active, your door must remain unlocked. Or the door must be a CCS interactive role play door which can be picked or opened via interactive role play means.
B: Comm Units (non-combat) / Translators (Tier 1 violation)Factional comm units must be physical and visible objects that are worn by the players and can be removed from a player in roleplay. They must be obvious when used. i.e /me uses their comm device. If it doesnt look like an obvious comm device, you must clearly identify the actual comm device in the RP. ie. /me rubs the coin that acts as a comm device.
Roleplay language translators are for IC use only as well. There should be no bracketed or OOC text in translators, just as there should be none in comm chat. They are IC tools and should be used ICly only. If you need to ask your faction an OOC question, use your factions group chat or IMs, DO NOT use the comm devices or translators.
C: Faction Chat / Group Chat (Tier 1 violation)These chat tools can be used as IC as long as the discussion isnt about any current roleplay that is happening at that very moment. The faction chat should be used to talk or update each other on past events or future event planning, IC or OOC.
D: Fade to Black / Scene Voids (Tier 1 violation)If you need to log off or the RP is going in a direction that makes you uncomfortable or breaks one of your limits, you may Fade to Black (FTB). If you fade to black, you MAY NOT engage in combat again with the party for 24 hours.
Fading to black is NOT the same as voiding a scene. When you fade to black, you simply fast forward, skipping whatever portion of the RP that would make you feel uncomfortable, if not the whole scene. Your character is STILL EFFECTED BY THIS.
Fading a scene should be avoided at all costs, just as voiding should. Talk in IMs with the other people involved, compromise and remember that this is just RP. If you need to leave (log off) then you need to leave but still, come to a compromise on what happened to your character in your absence and RP the effects the next time you log on.
Abusing the fade to black rule will result in disciplinary action. It is not a way to avoid having to do defeat RP. Keep in mind RP is for everyone, not just for you. By fading to black, you are taking away from other peoples RP and in turn, people may not wish to RP with you as often.
E: Gestures / Sounds (Tier 1 violation)Gestures can be a fun enhancement to role play. Please use them appropriately and rarely. Do not spam gestures or sounds repeatedly as this disrupts roleplay and is annoying. Out of character gestures are not allowed.
F: GM Shopping, Abuse and Disputes (Tier 2 violation)CoLA chain GMs are charged with enforcing sim rules and refereeing disputes. These are players with GM above their meter. Any issues, questions, instances of rules violations or any other problems can be brought to the GM staff. Please be polite and straightforward with your issue so it can be addressed quickly. If you have a problem with a GM then bring it to the attention of She Juniper.
Players involved in a dispute are expected to go non-comm when a GM has responded in their official capacity to handle a call. GMs should not be argued with or insulted for any decision made in this capacity, as there are other avenues available to appeal any decision.
Players are prohibited from GM shopping once a decision has been handed down, attempting to get a different more personally favorable decision from another GM.
In the case of sim or system bans which have been reviewed by CoLA Administrative staff and their resolution was not found to be acceptable, the final court of appeal is the CCS Ban Appeals process. You may appeal the ruling of the CoLA administrators by sending an email that details the relevant information in reference to your appeal to The CCS Ban Appeals email. The ban appeals process can take several days to finalize as the administrators that field these cases do not, generally, have involvement with the street level GM/admin rulings in CoLA. Once a final decision has been reached in the ban appeal process that decision is considered final, you cannot appeal the decision of an appeal.
Any accusations of cheating/metagaming/or any violation of any rule, must be brought to your faction head or a GM to be addressed. Do not make public accusations of cheating. Disrupting the game with OOC complaints in local chat will result in your temporary removal from the sim.
G: God Modding (Tier 2 violation)God Modding is negating everything someone does towards you or against you in RP because your character is so uber awesome (i.e.: Godlike, pure spirit, etc). This frustrates RP and people who God mod will not only receive a ban for repeated offences, but will likely be branded by the player base as someone who isnt worth roleplaying with youll find your time in all RP sims a very lonely time.
H: Harassment (Tier 2 violation)Harassment can take many forms, and can occur IC or OOC, but if you’re consistently treating another player (or players) in a way that leaves them feeling insulted, belittled, stalked or criticized, you are harassing them. It can also occur OOC with unwanted IM comments or inquiries about another player’s RL situation or never-ending IMs that disrupt a person’s ability to RP effectively. Harassment is not permitted, and often leads to the harassed player making OOC comments out of a sense of frustration then the harassing person reporting them to a GM. This form of ’baiting’ will also not be tolerated. In short, nobody has the right to be an asshole to another.
COLA is a dark role play simulation. Activities many regard as evil are typical in COLA. Slavery, rape, murder, theft and random violence are all appropriate in a post-Apocalyptic world. Demons, vampires, lycanthropes, creatures from other planes, rapists, serial killers and similar creatures all roam the streets. This means that *characters* often act in aggressive, predatory, criminal and/or plain uncomfortable ways. This is to be expected given the nature of the simulation.
In-character protests often do not deter such activity because many *players* come to the sim looking for such things, regardless of what their *character* might want. If you do not wish to role play certain activities or with certain players then it is best to IM the other person out-of-character (OOC) and politely explain you are uncomfortable and find something you can roleplay that the both of you will enjoy.
I: Meta-Gaming (Tier 2 violation)As stated in the CoLA combat rules, Meta-gaming is defined as: When a player has become aware of or been told about information out of character (OOC) pertaining to or directly regarding an ongoing storyline, situation or other player and then, by means of role play, uses that information either to their own benefit or as a means to interact with/against other players.
This is extremely aggravating for those of us who are trying to provide fun and possibly in-depth stories for the residents in LA and is therefore prohibited in the game.
J: Out of Character Comments (OOC) (Tier 3 violation)Statements made out of character in the City of Lost Angels and most other RP communities are signified by speaking ((in brackets)). This is so your fellow players know what you are saying is not in character and helps minimize confusion between IC (in character) and OOC (out of character) statements.
Statements that are insulting, argumentative or those made in anger, stated OOC to other members of this community are completely PROHIBITED. If you have an issue that you feel requires the intervention of a mediator, contact a member of the City of Lost Angels GM Team.
Following combat, the victorious party shouldn’t gloat and the loser shouldn’t complain. If there is a REAL issue consult a GM immediately otherwise keep it IC RP only. OOC insults and rude comments will result in disciplinary action. This includes negative comments or insults made in IMs as well as in the open. Be an adult about things, it is only a GAME.
Disruptive, public and OOC complaints: There will be no OOC complaints or bitching about other players, other factions, or anything at all in the CoLA sim and sims that are a part of the City of Lost Angels and its subsidiaries. This includes general chat, group chats and factional group chat. If you have a gripe we have CoLA rants and raves forum.
K: Poaching (Tier 2 violation)Poaching is the act of going into a community and deliberately trying to pull players from said community in order to strengthen another. We expect that people from other factions, other sims and other combat systems would not poach from us and in return we expect the same of our players and staff when visiting other sims.
Internal poaching within LA is not allowed either, attempting to pull people from one faction into your own in a IC or OOC manner is strictly against the rules. Faction hopping in general is frowned upon but it does happen and when it does it needs to be strictly the players decision to leave one faction and join another. To help avoid drama, when accepting a new member into your faction, who was just in another, you should OOCly speak to the leader of that faction and make sure they know, as a courtesy.
L: Powergaming (Tier 1 violation)Powergaming is initiating a roleplay scene in which another participant loses control of their character unwillingly. Common violations include successfully grabbing or striking someone or imposing a magical spell without permission, etc. Powergaming also includes physically pushing another avatar intentionally with yours. Powergaming will not be tolerated. This is avoided by ’attempting’ an action in RP, then allowing the other player to respond if the attempt was successful. Players who consistently disallow RP ’attempts’ by others to do things to them will quickly find themselves on the receiving end of CCS attacks or will find their RP opportunities steadily dwindle as their reputation spreads.
You can only inflict death or permanent injury with the OOC consent of the other party.
M: Roleplay limits (Tier 1 violation)Personal roleplay limits are allowed if youre uncomfortable with a certain roleplay. This is for people that truly find a particular roleplay disturbing on a severe level. Your limits are your own and while everyone may not agree with them, youre allowed to have them. However, they should be serious limits. You should not go into a dark RP sim and have NO DARK RP as your limit. Try your best to find the CCS sim that fits you closest and if your limits come up, work with that person to find a different RP that youd both enjoy. DO NOT agree to do a RP that you have an issue with and then complain about it later on. If you agree, then you agree and do not have the right make an issue out of it.
If you have a certain type of roleplay as a limit, you cannot perform that roleplay on others.
N: Shouting (Tier 1 violation)Please keep shouting to a minimum and in conjunction with ongoing role play. OOC shouting is prohibited in the sim.
O: Voice (Tier 1 violation)The use of voice and or Skype or Ventrilo voice chats are forbidden to use for roleplay or combat. It is an external system, it is meta-gaming, and thus shall not be used in conjunction with factional combat. Voice is off in LA for a reason, it does not foster nor support role play interaction. So thus, keep your voice chats for your personal conversations and not related to any current roleplay or combat.
SECTION 2: COMBATWhile in CoLA, you may be the target of CCS combat anywhere at any time. There are no safe zones. It is asked that you do not fight in the subway where people rezz and teleport in but even that is not an actual safe zone. There are no safe zones in CoLA.
A: CCS Meters in Combat (Tier 2 violations)Fighting using physical weapons, such as a sword requires that you wear your CCS Meter. RP fighting is used instead of CCS combat, its something that both parties need to agree upon beforehand OOCly. If someone doesnt agree to RP combat, they still have every right to kill you with CCS.
Going Non combative is only allowed when you havent been involved in any hostile roleplay or combat for at least 10 minutes. If you need to go AFK for a few minutes, you must turn your CCS back on upon returning if someone requests it.
Turning off, removing, or resetting your CCS meter is illegal during combat. Once all RP associated with the combat is over, you may remove your meter if you wish. Removing your meter or resetting it during combat to avoid defeat or regain health, however, is not allowed and will result in a disciplinary action.
B: Comm Devices During Combat (Tier 2 violation)To prevent long, drawn out, over the top CCS fights, players are prohibited from using comm devices to call in reinforcements, even when observing a fight.
Comms cannot be used during combat. Once the fight has started, you cannot call for help over your comm, you can only run to get help.
C: Corpse Camping (Tier 1 violation)Corpse camping is where you stand around a body and wait for the person to revive and then kill them again with the sole intention of being a jerk. CCS killing someone who is trying to flee or fight again is allowed, even if theyve just rezzed.
D: Crashing During Combat (Tier 1 violation)If you crashed during a group fight, you must wait 10 minutes before rejoining the battle if it is still going. If the fight is already over, its best to come into the RP on whichever side your group is currently in, whether they won or lost.
E: Defeated in Combat (Tier 1 violations)When youre defeated in CCS combat, its just the same as if you were defeated in a long drawn out roleplay combat. With your health at 0, you cannot fight back anymore, not thru CCS and not thru roleplay. You are at the mercy of the victor.
Once you are dead then you are dead. You must wait till you revive naturally or are revived by a healer or through a racial skill. You are not permitted to move unless you are being dragged or moved by another as part of a roleplay. Also a suggestion, try to turn off your AO while defeated so the Override standing animation doesnt confuse anyone.
F: Fight Length and Rescues (Tier 1 violation)Any sort of combat is supposed to have a definite end. Fights are not supposed to go on endlessly as each side summons more and more reinforcements from factions and friends who are outside the sim doing other things or who just happen to get online.
The victorious party should not be subjected to endless rescue missions as captured players use all sorts of means to continually let friends, family and factions know of their predicament. Role playing defeat is not something to avoid but a means for your character to grow. Look upon defeat as a positive thing and use communication sensibly.
G: Healing Beds (Tier 1 violation)CCS healing beds/poseballs cannot be used while in combat. You may not re-enter combat after using a heal bed/poseball for 10 minutes. There is no fighting while you are on a hospital bed.
Only CCS approved enhanced items or healing balls can be used to heal after combat.
In the event you are attacked while on a heal bed you must get off the bed to retaliate. Attacks against players who are using a hospital heal bed MAY occur.
H: IM or Teleporting Assistance (Tier 2 violation)You may not IM or teleport other people into the sim while in combat. If you are observing a fight and wish to call for help, you must run, in game, to the person you are seeking. To prevent long, drawn out, over the top CCS fights, the use of a comm device to call for reinforcements is prohibited, even when observing a fight.
Players are prohibited from teleporting out during combat to avoid defeat.
I: Invisibility (Tier 1 violation)Do not use any device that turns you invisible during combat. No devices or any items that make your avatar invisible are permissible during combat. This includes cloaking devices, gadgets that sink your avatar into the ground or any device that renders your avatar invisible to direct line-of-sight to another player. If you use an invisibility device when you are roleplaying, you must be noncom or not wear a meter, and cannot roleplay any hostility whatsoever.
J: Melee Attacks (Tier 1 violation)If you are using melee combat, you need to have an animation that shows your character attacking. You may not engage in melee combat without a visual indication that you are actually attacking.
Once you make a melee attack or shoot at someone as well as using an offensive skill, you are to consider yourself in combat. To be melee attacked or shot also initiates combat, as does the use of a defensive skill.
K: Movement Enhancers (Tier 1 violation)No movement enhancers while in combat. No dashers, no flash steps, no gadgets that make you phantom, no jumpers or flight assists, wall climbers, etc. Using any form of enhanced movement or teleportation will result in disciplinary action.
Due to the height of buildings in CoLA, you may use a jump enhancer to enter combat if you have no other means of getting onto a roof or other high up platform that someone may be sniping you from. Abuse of this privilege will result in disciplinary action as well.
L: Moving Corpses (Tier 1 violation)Once you are dead then you are dead. You must wait till you revive naturally or are revived by a healer or through a racial skill. You are not permitted to move unless you are being dragged or moved by another as part of a roleplay. Also a suggestion, try to turn off your AO while defeated so the Override standing animation doesnt confuse anyone.
M: Revives (Tier 1 violation)During one on one combat, you should roleplay being hurt after you have been defeated. You should not immediately revive and attack someone. The racial revives allow you to recover early and maybe escape. If a healer revives you after single combat, you should still RP being injured.
EXCEPTION: In group combat scenarios a player can rejoin combat if they are resurrected by a healer and healed back to combat level statistics. Group combat is defined as having 3 or more participants making any action that involves them in a fight. (i.e. use of Offensive, Support or Healing skills, attacking another party in the combat situation, etc).
N: Role play and combat (Tier 1 violation)Roleplay is not required of someone that attacks you and defeats you before or after the fact, so complaints about non-RP attacks are therefore not allowed. Role playing is encouraged, and in most cases it is appropriate. Most players should initiate role play after a battle. However there are certain types of characters like assassins, muggers, insane asylum escapees and douchebags, that arent going to stick around after the fact. The burden of role play is on the victim. If left in the alley, crying for help would be a good way to start some role play about what just happened to you.
O: Sim Border Abuse (Tier 1 violation)As we all know, SL is broken into sims and as a person crosses from one sim to another, they lag terribly. Running from sim to sim in an escape is acceptable. You are allowed to try and flee and in your attempt to escape your attacker, you are allowed to run as far and wide as you wish until CCS defeated or you escape. One thing that is not allowed, however is sim jumping. Sim jumping is repeated sim crossing. Purposely abusing the lag generated by a sim cross in order to gain advantage over your enemy.
Sniping across sim borders is allowed.
P: Weapons (Tier 2 violation)Weapon stacking is not allowed, regardless of who you are or reason. You are allowed to use, at maximum, two one handed swords, two one handed guns, one two handed sword or gun, one melee hud, OR one single handed sword and a single handed gun. Equipping a two handed weapon and a one handed weapon or melee hud at the same time is NOT allowed. If you are caught weapon stacking, whether in combat or not, you will be subject to disciplinary action.
SECTION 3: CCS METERS and MISCELLANEOUSA: General Meter Requirements (Tier 1 violation)
You can get one for free in the subway where you teleport in. To engage in combat of any kind, including hostile or aggressive RP, you MUST have a CCS meter equipped and on. If you simply wish to roleplay around CoLA you do not need to have the meter attached or on but if youre involved in any hostile RP you are required to have your meter on, other then that, you may have it on or off at your discretion so long as you are following the rules above. Do NOT try to use the lack of a CCS meter as an excuse to avoid the consequences of your actions. Also note, that many will ignore you if you dont have your CCS meter, so be prepared for that.
RP is considered hostile if it has the possibility to provoke someone, such as insults or spying on a factional base.
Your CCS meter must be visible and readable when you are wearing it, a bright color above your head.
B: Child avatars (Tier 3 violation)Child Avatars are not allowed within LA. This is a adult sim, where adult things happen all day everyday. If your avatar looks like a child you will be warned that you need to change it or you will be perma-banned from the CoLA sim chain.
C: Flying (Tier 1 violation)Flight gadgets are not permitted on any sim. CoLA is a no fly zone.
D: Rezzing Objects (Tier 2 violation)Rezzing objects is permitted in COLA because RP sometimes requires various props, objects, pose balls and so forth to be added to the sim. Rezzed objects MUST therefore have some connection to roleplay enhancement or CCS tools. Objects left lying around the sim count against the overall prim limit of the sim and reduce the amount for others to use so please pick them up when youre done using them.
Renters and store owners, of course, can leave items in their rentals within their prim limits.
Persistent disregarding of this rule or rezzing a large number of objects will result in disciplinary action.
COLA is not a building zone. No object may be rezzed for the purpose of building something unless it is directly related to enhancing a factional base. A GM must be contacted for any exceptions to this rule prior to the beginning of construction.
E: Vehicles (Tier 2 violation)Do not rez vehicles in the city.
A vehicle is defined as any object that uses a physics engine to drive it (i.e. cars, motorcycles, trucks, chocobos, magic carpets, hover platforms, etc), rather than an object that attaches to the avatar (i.e. horses, skateboards, bicycles, etc). If you are uncertain whether or not the object you wish to use is a vehicle, please contact a GM for help in determining the difference!
F: Vendors (Tier 2 violation)No one is allowed to rez vendors or to sell their products in the city without ADMIN approval. See the FAQ for information on the availability of vendor space in COLA.
