15.10 AFK
Lusternia has a simple, easy-to-understand policy regarding AFK: it's not allowed. AFK is an acronym which stands for 'away from keyboard'. In Lusternia, it also includes a player who may be at his or her keyboard, but who isn't paying attention to the game or responding. A player is also considered AFK if he or she has a trigger for responding automatically, or a timer which regularly and automatically enters commands for the purposes of remaining online. Being AFK is forbidden for several reasons. There are many game mechanics, some quite important, which function based on the time spent online, either total or in the past week. Spending time AFK renders these inaccurate. Also, being unresponsive in public areas of the game can lead to bad experiences for other players when they attempt to interact with you. This is especially unacceptable in the case of newbies seeking assistance. It is never permitted to be AFK whilst you have automated systems running. See HELP AUTOMATION for more details. Manses ------ Players sometimes spend time idle in a manse (see HELP MANSES). Because manses are private and offer little opportunity to generate gold or experience, this practice is permitted. Note that you will not accrue vote weight while in a manse (see HELP ELECTIONS). Penalties --------- On occasion, we may ask players whom we suspect to be AFK to prove that they are, in fact, paying attention to the game. If you are found to be AFK, you will be disconnected from the game. You may also be punished by the administration; depending on the situation, you may receive one or multiple warnings, or you may receive none. Penalties can include the docking of role points (see HELP ROLEPOINTS), reduction of vote weight (see HELP ELECTIONS) and, in extreme cases, character suspension. Losing your connection ---------------------- If you lose or cut your connection to Lusternia, it is possible for your character to stay online in some cases. Due to the vagaries of the internet, there is no way for Lusternia to know that your connection is no longer working. This is not a valid excuse for being AFK for an extended period of time, as the existence of the TIMEOUT command can prevent this from ever affecting you (see HELP TIMEOUT). A timeout limit of 10 minutes or less is recommended.
