Fair Play Charter Proposal

[Voltaire]

Originally posted by Vev
Creating codes and breaking codes is fun, but with the computer power and complex encryption availabe on the web today, the usage of it can seriously damage the enjoy one has in this activity.

There is no need for a very hard to crack code are there are many methods available to send messages securely, for exampled: team private forums, private messages and encrypted emails. Posting of such difficult to crack messages means it is unreadable by others and some may constitute as spam.

What I am proposing is that all coded transmission on the public forum be reasonably crackable by hand given a few days. The exact definition of reasonably crackable can be discussed further below. Maybe a clue is given into the general type of encoding used.

What is everyone’s opinion on the above proposition put forth by Comrade Vev? In my ever so humble opinion we need to consider it seriously seeing as it would introduce another element to the game outside of SMAC/X itself, an RP element that would be rather amusing if nothing else.

[Haon]

I just have a hate for numerical related number crunching, My idea of "Role Playing Fun" does not constitute toiling over pages and pages of ones and zeros looking for paterns when I could be playing or studying. While I dont see why other teams can't have codes, but I dont want them to be so vital for other players to crack.

[Hercules]

All those ones and zeros. I thought it was just annoying spam.

And two I don't see the need for 'crackable' codes anyway.

Cong rat ul at ion syo uhav ewon ake gofxen orum

[Maniac]

Binary only fits in the Cybernetic roleplay experience. Other factions shouldn't be using them.

[Drogue]

I agree with Maniac. We wish to RP our faction as seems reasonable. Such a group could use binary, and would code it well. Our messages are for fun, not necessarily to be broken. I think such a charter would diminish fun rather than heighten it. However, I suggest other factions use different codes, rather than binary. Binary is sensible for Cyborg's, but no normal faction would do that. Surely they would have their own different specialties, and not copy ours.

Our messages are not important, and usually revolve around private jokes, because we find it fun. There will be many more CyCon plot lines built around codes and binary.

Also, I think any such charter would have to be volantary. If you wish to sign up to it, do, but do not force it on others. We want to RP in line with how our faction seems, and binary is that.

[Jamski]

And we're RPing our KGB style secret police, so we have to try and crack the codes, and make our own, of course.... but all our codes WILL be crackable by hand, like the CyCon's first code(s). Vev's just suggesting it would be more fun if people don't use 6-rotor "enigma" encryptions, because that would not be fun for those people that RP secret policemen and agents.

I'm for a voluntary charter.

-Jam

[Vev]

I prefer to work in hex, it is more compact and less likely to cause blindness after excessive staring, unlike binary .

[MRT144]

this is a nightmare

[Cedayon]

The code's just for fun, folks, we're not talking about anything all that important in all those 1s and 0s... we're a cybernetic faction, it's an RP thing... if you don't want to try to crack it, then don't, if you want to, then go right ahead

If us talking in coded binary is truly offensive to some people I wouldn't mind stopping, but otherwise I think this "Don't talk in difficult-to-crack-code" stuff is fit for the recycling tanks.

... Of course, I'm somewhat biased, as I'm the one that spent several hours developing the current CyCon code (it's not easily crackable, I didn't intend it to be, but it's not an "enigma" code), and this feels more than a bit like "We can't beat it, so we want to outlaw it" ... if that's really what you all want, then fine, but why?

[Jamski]

I think what Vev is saying, quite reasonably, is that if you want to post in code in the public forums, then fine, but it should be possible to crack the code, otherwise its just annoying spam. Is that unreasonable?

-Jam

[Cedayon]

No, that's quite reasonable. The current CyCon code is quite possible to crack, it just requires a good deal more effort than the previous one. Think out of the box, young grasshopper

[MRT144]

the whole reason the 1s and 0s are stupid is because the only people who can understand it can talk in private to one another...

[Googlie]

well ... semi-private

And no game rules are being broken, so it's quite innocuous.

G.

[Drogue]

MRT: Yes we can talk in private, but it's far more fun for us to have jokes about various factions (most usually our own) in the public forum. The whole skirting with danger thing, and also the irony of writing it about things with everyone else oblivious to what we say. It's just a bit of fun.

[Maniac]

Indeed! Is it not allowed for cyborgs to have some fun perhaps??