Etiquette

One of the most important aspects of 'Worlds In Time' is interaction between players. Being polite while playing online is a must. Rude behaviour and foul language can result in unfriending, being kicked out of a guild or having your account banned altogether. This player-created etiquette guide will help guide you in some of the social aspects of the game.

Posting on the Forums
Definition: Making a post on any of the various forum threads.

Etiquette: Please use the search feature before making a new topic thread. There may already be another that concerns the issue or idea you have, and it is better to add to discussion there than create a new thread about the same thing. Always stick to the Official Forum Guidelines. Also consider the following before posting:


 * What is the forum thread about?


 * Why am I posting on the thread?


 * Is it the right thread to be posting on?


 * Is the post clear? Will everybody be able to understand what I mean?


 * Will people find my post offensive? Could it be seen as a personal attack? - If so, don't post.


 * Am I willing to take criticism if people disagree with my post or have different ideas? - If no, don't post.

Private Chat
Definition: Enables a player to communicate with another without any other players knowing or listening in, even when the players are on different planets, interventions/missions or rooms. It can be used just for privacy or because the main tab is very active, making it nearly impossible to talk to another player.

Etiquette: Conversation should still be polite, even if only one other person can see what you're saying.

Planet Chat
Definition: A public communication channel open to all players that are on the Saved or Devastated versions of that planet, any Intervention or Mission set on that planet and to players in their rooms when that planet was the last they visited.

Etiquette: Conversation should be polite at all times. It is exactly like the Main chat except you cannot see who may be listening.

Friends
Definition: Players who you like teaming up with and talking to. Friends have the ability to 'warp' to your current location and know when you're online, as well as send private messages to you.

Etiquette: Being someone's friend does NOT involve accepting requests from random strangers. Please don't send requests to people that you don't know as you'll probably offend them. Feel free to ask if you can be friends but it's recommended that you talk to the person first!

You may wish to reconsider your friendship with a player if they continually ignore your desire to be alone or "knock" before entering, or send you nasty messages through private chat.

"Knocking"
Definition: An action undertaken to request permission to enter another player's personal room. This involves a player initiating private tab chat with the owner of the room and asking if they may enter, as one would in real life if they approached somebody else's house. Examples of this include "Can I come over?" or should you prefer the more Role-Playing model, "".

Etiquette: A lot of people go to their personal TARDIS room to be alone and avoid spam. If you would like to enter a room, ask the room's owner for permission first. Players can only warp to an unlocked room, however a player may accidentally leave their room unlocked. If you warp to a person's room and they ask you leave, please abide by their wishes.

Sending Team Up Invitations
Definition: Involves one player asking another to join them on an intervention or mission. The invitation currently appears as a medium sized box in the middle of the invited player's screen.

Etiquette: Avoid sending such requests to players when they are on interventions/missions as this box can disrupt gameplay and distract the player from what they were working on. You can see the whereabout of players on your friends list by looking at the column on the far right, or by using the 'Search Player' feature. If the name of the location is unfamiliar, the player is probably on an intervention/mission. As with friends, don't randomly invite people to team up with you.

Joining Players on an Intervention
Definition: The ability to join an Intervention that has already begun using the 'Search for Team Players' feature was added with the 20th June update. When set to the green (Public) setting, a player can see all other interventions that are underway via little bubbles with numbers in them. On the orange (Friends) setting, a player can see all the interventions that their friends are on. Any player can join a 'Public' Intervention, but only friends can join 'Friends' Interventions. Joining an Intervention, regardless of where the players are up to, costs 5 chronos or nothing for the free Earth Interventions.

Etiquette: While the 'Public' setting was intended to encourage players to team up with other players they mightn't know, it is recommended to be wary when joining 'Public' Interventions. This feature is relatively new and many players may be unaware of what it does or may accidentally leave it on the 'Public' setting. The Team Leader has the power to 'kick' any player off their team and may do so if you did not ask to join them. A 'kicked' player receives no reward and does not get their 5 chronos back that they paid for joining the Intervention. Contacting one of the players on the Intervention via the 'Search Player' feature and asking if you may join their team can reduce the chances of this happening.

Guild Invites
Definition: A guild officer can invite a player into a guild. Becoming a guild member can be as simple as "Can I join your guild?" or as elaborate as a normal conversation or explanation of guild rules.

Etiquette: Sending repeated guild invites, or pressuring another player into joining a guild is impolite, and may scare the player away from the guild. Demanding to join a guild is also considered to be very rude.

Guild Members
Definition: Other players within your guild. Like with friends, guild members can follow other guild members and send them private messages, or group messages through the guild chat tab.

Etiquette: Guild members should also respect other member's space and 'knock' before warping to another guild member's room.

Promotion
Definition: Progression from one rank to another within a guild.

Etiquette: Players should not demand to be promoted as it is rude, like demanding a promotion or pay rise in the workplace. Promotion lies within the hands of the guild's officers.

Proximity to Other Players
Definition: It may seem unnecessary to explain that the majority of players appreciate a certain amount of space between their character and other player's, but on occasion players may deliberately stand directly next to or on top of another player.

Etiquette: Standing on another player is is rude, especially if done repeatedly. When you enter a room, everyone will end up on the same spot. Move quickly to a different place so that the way is clear for other players.

Spoilers
Definition: It's fairly obvious what this means!

Etiquette: Never, ever, EVER give out Doctor Who episode spoiler information. This applies to both public and private chat. Some people may not have seen all of the episodes that you have and as the name suggests, spoilers ruin them for everyone. You may like to keep up with current filming but that doesn't mean you should tell the world. If someone wants to read spoilers they can find them for themselves. If you're going to talk about a particular episode, ask to make sure everyone you're talking to has either seen it or don't mind you spoiling it for them.

Roleplaying
Definition: Roleplaying can be an important part of playing in Doctor Who: Worlds In Time and involves players playing the roles of their characters, creating their own stories or "episodes". This adds an interesting, ever-changing facet of play and encourages cooperation between players to make great stories. Often, each character has a previously developed backstory, personality and motivations for their actions. Typically, one person runs the scene with others interacting with them but, this need not be the case. Individuals can interact in roleplaying without anyone having a higher position in the scene.

However, not everyone who plays Worlds In Time wishes to roleplay. Some prefer to remain out of character at all times.

Etiquette: It is polite and preferred to ask if others would like to roleplay with you, either in a scene on a planet or in your room or theirs. While one can simply start a scene alone and see who joins it, this scene shouldn't be forced nor should the roleplayer be insistent if some or all choose not to participate.

Also, since there is no genuine combat system, there is no method to ensure that another character is injured or dies without their consent. Therefore, it is preferred to roleplay in a way that doesn't affect another character's health. To try to force a combat will only result in each side attempting to overwrite the other in a my-forcefield-is-stronger versus my-gun-beats-your-forcefield situation with no real resolution to the issue.

Official Game Rules
While this page covers a player created etiquette guide, there is official documentation covering game policy as well:


 * Terms of Service
 * Community Standards
 * Account security
 * Forum Guidelines