People are used to have some set of guidelines in forums, because based on what would you report a post if there are no guidelines set other than vulgarity and social contract?
Show me the book of rules you have about behaviour amongst your friends, at family dinner and when talking to your girlfriend or spouse.
There is no such thing, of course. Social interactions are dynamic, flexible and don't lend themselves to written rules, because - surprise - the genuine aspect of it is what makes it valuable and real. If your girlfriend were to follow a set of rules in your relationship, you wouldn't exactly feel like it were real, would you? It is precisely because there is no rule telling her to not step over that line AND she still knows not to that you feel she understands you.
Group dynamics are the same. It is the UNWRITTEN customs that define a culture.
There is really only one rule we need, everything else is just different aspects of it. You can call it "play with friends" or you can call it "play against each other IC, but with each other OOC" or "don't be an !@#$%^&" - that's all just variations of the theme, the theme being that this is a game and we're here to have fun and anyone who is detrimental to the fun of the others should leave.
And the only context you have to have in order to understand that right is that "fun" does NOT equal "winning". Of course it is a PvP game, of course people will win some and lose some, and defeating someone, even smashing him, is not taking away his fun.
And that's what's wrong with the community right now: We've lost that spirit. As players of BM, everyone has ONE responsibility, and that is to enlarge the game of others. If you fight with someone, you do it. If you argue IC with someone, you do. If you defeat someone, or get defeated, if you make alliances and break them, if you betray people - all those things give other people more play.
Arguing on the forum doesn't give anyone any play.
And I fear some people have forgotten that because to them the forum has become a game in itself.
