+1

Sadly there is little legislation to be found...

I would suggest that coal would be illegal, and natural gas legal. But as for steel or timber, I have no idea.

What exactly do you meaj by resources? Obviously anything that would allow you to work around press restrictions is not allowed. And using the voting buttons to convey intent in gunboat is one such forbidden action but you knew that. Also, refusing to unpause to force a draw is forbidden (pause is not a diplomatic tool). Writing and playing with a bot or writing something that continuously hits the site to alert you of a change in status is frowned upon because the site doesn't have the bandwidth and horsepower of Google or bing. So be a little more specific about what you mean by resources.

"using the voting buttons to convey intent in gunboat"

Define the difference between normal voting and "intent" voting.

"refusing to unpause to force a draw is forbidden"

Define "refusing" with genuinely needing a pause

Both of those things are things that moderators should (imo) stay out of. Kestas can address any communication issues with code in the site.

It seems like Kestas' original rules were for a minimal mod involvement, but slowly they have begun to become more and more paternalistic

@SY - are you suggesting we 'KILL the MODS'

Mods should be there for hackers and cheaters (not which I'm saying exist for fear of it being a cheating accusation) not to monitor the forums

@SYnapse: Your point seems to be off-topic, but the mods are there to prevent cheaters. A gunboat game is a game without messaging. Thus, using features of the site like pauses, cancels, etc. to get around that and message other players is a form of cheating, and as a result the mods are tasked with preventing it from happening. That's why the rules say "Don't work around game messaging/press rules."

@Draugnar: I'd rather not be too specific, except that I'm not talking about actions which would get around messaging rules or anything similar, but rather I truly do mean resources. As an example of a resource that would clearly be allowed, I can set up the game position on my own Diplomacy board and try moving pieces around, if that's something which helps me analyze the game. My question is whether there are some resources which are prohibited, or whether I'm allowed to use anything at my disposal apart from things that would end up being meta-gaming, getting around messaging rules, etc.

What I mean is maybe I want to draw cos my position isn't great, then I decide I don't want to, then BOOM I'm banned for cheating. How can you even determine whats going on in a players mind? It has too many abilities to be abused by moderators

Anyway aren't your moves themselves a form of communication - are you gonna ban those too?

If you want to draw, set draw. If you no longer want to draw, unset draw. Very simple.

But, again, I'm trying to get an answer to a different question, hence the thread.

@CS Why the enigmas? Nobody can address your question until you state plainly what resources you mean. Up until then we're all reading tea leaves. And I dont care too much for tea.

@CStein - It has been actively encouraged to use other software that does adjudication to figure out your moves or even set up your own version of WebDip (it doesn't have to be online) where you can be the admin and set positions if you reallyw ant to. As far as I know, that's never been a problem. The only thing I've ever heard of was going to the top players on the site, if they aren't in your game, and asking them advice. That is considered uncool as then your opponents are playing them, not you. But using outside resources to help you figure out what you want to do has never been an issue that I've heard of and is something we encourage n00bs to go look at (we being the community at large as it is obvious I am *not* a mod).

"The only thing I've ever heard of was going to the top players on the site, if they aren't in your game, and asking them advice."

Clearly meta gaming and deserves an immediate ban

And in answer to your question, beyond the Rulebook, there is nothing I know of giving definitive "yes/no" rulings. I live by the "common sense" rule in the rulebook. To me, a players history is fair game. Using outside software to play "what if" is fair game. Hunting a player down and threatening him IRL is metagaming beyond the pale and against the rules (and probably against the law depending on where you and she/he live).

Oh, and SY... If Kestas didn't like what a mod was doing, he could easily revoke the mod's powers. He could revoke all the mods' powers. He is the only one whose power is irrevocable. So by virtue of the fact that Kestas is an inteeligent being aware of what goes on here, I would say their actions have his tacit approval and you are just a whiney fucking bitch.

Kiss my ass you old bastard

I would but your head is shoved so far up it, your shoulders are in the way.

@Sy - less of the old .... that is sooooooooo ageist

I imagine that csteinheart has developed a program that unlocks the webcam of all his opponents. In live games he now knows if said opponents are at their computers or are taking a bathroom break. Is this device legal?

Ps if I had developed this device I wouldn't use in diplomacy.

CSteinhardt, this is a fantastic question, one that usually stumps real-life administrators. Faced with the same question, most governments chose to be reactive in nature.

I'm not suggesting that's necessarily a good thing, but it seems to be the historic precedence.

@CS

When you asked your question, the first thing that came to mind was taking a screenshot of someone's press and handing it over to another player. As far as I know, this has not been deemed cheating by the mods (although I may be wrong). But, if you want a specific answer as to whether or not something is allowed, I'm afraid you're probably going to have to tell *someone* what it is you're doing.

Screenshots can be doctered anyway, I would say that sending a doctored screenshot is a legit diplomacy tactic

But sending doctored (or not) screen shots require email or some other means of communications. Are these "allowed" or must players communicate through the game's messaging system? And obviously this does not apply to anon games.

Screen shots could be uploaded to a site, such as imgur.

As SY says, it's not worth doing, because they can easily be faked, so no one should pay attention to them. But, it's just one example of a "resource" I could think of.

But is that "legal?"

I believe so. As far as I know, the last time it came up, the mods didn't make a ruling, so I would assume it's fine. What exactly would not be legal about it? Forging messages is a big part of Postal Diplomacy.