Game Rules

Table of Contents:

• General Policies
• Content & Privacy Policy
• 18+ Mature Content Policy
• Discord Chat Policy
• AI Usage Policy
• Posting Format

General Policies

Galileo and her Type-9, Virginia, in formation.

Section 1 - General Rules

• All players must be at least 18 years old to participate.
• All players must comply with Galileo's 18+ Mature Content Policy and Discord Chat Policy.
• All players must respect the admins and game masters at all times. We're here to provide the most enjoyable experience possible for all players -- don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
• All players must respect their fellow players at all times and follow the Golden Rule. Please be polite and cordial when dealing with your fellow writers.
• All players must adhere to the posting and activity guidelines listed in the sections below.
• All players must be active and HAVE FUN!

Section 2 - Writing Guidelines

• All posts must contain proper English spelling, grammar and punctuation. Alien/foreign language is allowed in moderation but must not obfuscate dialogue.
• All posts must follow the proper posting format, including the use of ON/OFF tags, timeline and location, and signatures of all characters involved.
• All content must fall within the game's 18+ rating. You may write scenes depicting graphic sex and violence; however no pornography, excessive gore or foul language may be used. When in doubt, think of a PG-18 movie and err on the side of caution.
• Joint post tags must be more than a single sentence or line of dialogue. Tags must be a combination of speech, action and/or thoughts.
• No player may overwrite another player, or change or edit their work without permission.
• No player may seriously harm or injure another player's character without permission from the character's player.
• No player may seriously damage or destroy any vessels (including Galileo) or technology without permission from the game masters.
• All subplots must be approved by the game masters.

Section 3 - Activity Guidelines

• All players are considered active unless stated otherwise. Any player who is unable to participate for more than two days must request a Leave of Absence (LOA). Players who will be away from the game for longer than three weeks must request an Extended Leave of Absence (ELOA). All E/LOAs must indicate a return date.
• No player may abuse the E/LOA system.
• All players must publish a minimum of one multiplayer post (JP) per month and one personal log per month. Solo posts are welcome but do not count towards the activity requirements.
• Players who are on LOA or ELOA are exempt from the posting requirements until they return to the game.
• All tags and correspondences must be answered in a timely fashion, within 48 hours. If a player is unable to respond within the allotted time frame, they are required to notify all co-authors. Failure to tag on-time without notification will result in penalty.
• Any active player who does not log in to the website and participate for a period of three (3) consecutive weeks will be considered AWOL and removed from the game.

Section 4 - Enforcement

• All players must respect each other at all times and follow the Golden Rule.
• Any player who violates the game's rules will be issued a conduct warning.
• Players who persist in inappropriate conduct will be removed from the game.

Content Permissions & Privacy Policy

Section 1 - Content Rights and Permissions

• Galileo is an online collaboratively-written multiplayer roleplay game. All rights to the game's content are jointly shared by all current and former players. No single player or entity unilaterally controls the rights to any content. This includes characters, images and any forms of writing.
• Unless credited otherwise, all content displayed within the website is the property of Star Trek: Galileo and its participants.
• No rights are granted to reproduce or share content outside of the game's website. Any other game or organization found to be distributing Galileo content will be issued a content removal request. Our content is our own and is the collaborative work of many of our authors, past and present.

Section 2 - Player Privacy Policy

• Players retain the right to privacy in all game-related communications. No website private messages, mailing list emails, or Discord server private messages are permitted to be shared to any 3rd-party (non-Galileo) entities.
• Violations of our player privacy policy will result in removal from the game.
• Translation Do not forward or share private messages, emails, private Discord server chats, or mailing list content to anyone outside of the game. Do not violate the privacy of your fellow players or compromise the game's integrity. We are an independent game with no affiliation or obligation to any organization/parent group or other roleplay entity.

18+ Mature Content Policy

Section 1 - General Rules

• All players must be at least 18 years old to participate aboard the game. Any player found to be in violation of the age restriction will be immediately removed and barred from future participation.
• No player may abuse the 18+ Content Policy. In the event of abuse, the game masters will remove the abusive player.
• All players must exercise class, discretion and sound judgement when writing mature content.
• New players may not post 18+ content until they have actively participated aboard the game for one month and have successfully met their posting requirements.
• Any scene or personal log containing 18+ content must be labeled with a [18+] marker in the post's title. In the event that a multiple-part scene contains 18+ content, only the segment(s) which contain the mature content must be marked. Example Title: "The Mind of an Officer" (Part 3 of 4) [18+]

Section 2 - Language

• The use of the F-word is prohibited at all times.
• The use of religious terminology in a derogatory fashion is expressly prohibited.
• The use of real-life racial slurs and/or epithets is prohibited.

Section 3 - Nudity and Sex

• Players may freely describe sexual scenes and situations. Nudity, intimate acts and intercourse may be described in detail.
• No player may write pornography.
• The game masters reserve the right to remove any sexual content which is deemed excessive, including scenes which add nothing to a character's storyline and are simply there for writing smut.

Section 4 - Violence

• Players may depict scenes of graphic violence.
• The use of excessive gore is prohibited. We are not writing a Saw film.

Section 5 - Drug Use

• Players may freely describe the use of any drugs and narcotics as well as the associated effects.

Section 6 - Other Considerations

• Any player who is in doubt or unsure of what content is acceptable versus what is not, is encouraged to contact the game masters. There is no harm in asking before you post content and we are happy to advise you.
• Remember Just because you can post mature content doesn't mean it's always necessary or a good idea. Be smart and use your best judgement.

Discord Chat Policy

Section 1 - Conduct

All users are welcome in Galileo's Discord chat provided they follow the rules listed below. Violation of any of these rules will result in either a warning or ban. Discord participation is not mandatory for players. We encourage everyone to join, but it is not a requirement for game membership.

• Please respect all users at all times and follow the Golden Rule.
• Be polite and cordial, and do not post offensive remarks.
• The use of racial slurs and epithets, coded offensive remarks, and derogatory religious terminology are strictly prohibited.
• Do not chat in ALL CAPS.
• Do not spam the chat with links, images, messages, etc.
• Do not post or link any content which is obscene, insulting, malicious or disrespectful.
• Please use the appropriately-designated channels for all conversations and queries.

Section 2 - Guest Users

Galileo's Discord server is home to both members of the game as well as any guests who may be browsing the website. Guest users are easily identified by their standard gray-colored . All guests are encouraged to participate and chat, and below are some guidelines for guests to use while they are present in the public channels.

1. Introduce yourself. We are friendly and want to meet new RPGers -- so don't be shy.
2. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you are a guest browsing our website and have any questions or comments about the game, we will be happy to help answer.
3. Be polite and civil. All guest users must remember they are visitors on another group's website. As such, please show respect to all users and treat them as you would like to be treated. Follow the Golden Rule.
4. Do not lurk. If there is a conversation happening, please try to take part in it. If you are new to chat rooms or feel uncomfortable talking, please be polite and say something along the lines of "Hi, I'm just visiting. Is it okay if I watch for a while?". Our answer will always be "Of course!".

Final Thoughts

Please remember that real-time chat, while fun and interactive, is also subject to the same challenges as other non-verbal interactions. Sometimes a message is not always received as it was intended, therefore all users should carefully choose their words and be open to reception. We are all real people behind our avatars and computer screens, and a message's intention is usually never as bad as it might originally seem.

Enjoy your chat!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Section 1 - Ethics of AI

As of Summer 2023, artificial intelligence (AI) remains a very hot and controversial topic among both professional and amateur writing groups. How much -- if any -- of a novel/poem/short story should be AI-written or 'assisted'? Some will argue that the user still has to input content into the AI generator and therefore AI is not 'fully creative'. To others, any use of AI is simply cheating.

Navigating the future of this new technology and its implications is difficult. Already, AI is being used across multiple industries, from assembling major motion picture trailers to writing Buzzfeed content. As technology advances faster than litigation can keep pace with, the onus to use AI is falling solely on content creators.

Here on Galileo, we recognize the nuance and rapidly-changing nature of this discussion. Our collaborative creative writing hobby is special to us and we do not seek to undermine the work of our excellent authors and those who came before them. The integrity of our game and the original content we produce is paramount.

We are not literary geniuses nor are we tabloid freelancers. We believe in learning, studying, then evaluating what this new technology can do and how it can impact our roleplay group for better or worse. Therefore, we've developed the following guidelines for AI usage within our game.

Section 2 - AI Language Model Use

• No game content may be AI-written. However, AI-assisted content is permitted in the following use cases.
• AI language models (OpenAI, ChatGPT, Bard, etc.) may be used to assist players in the creation of character biographies by generating character concepts and ideas for the player. AI-written character bios are not permitted.
• AI language models may be used to assist players in the creation of character subplots by generating writing ideas for the player. AI-written subplots are not permitted.
• No player may use AI language models to generate tags, personal logs, solo posts, or any form of interpersonal communication between other players (including PMs, news articles, emails, etc.). Your writing must be your own.

Section 3 - AI Art/Image Generator Use

• Due to current ongoing AI-image copyright litigation, the use of AI image generators (Bing, DALL-E, Midjourney, etc.) is prohibited for all website image content, including character avatars.

Final Thoughts

Galileo is not an "AI sim". We recognize the benefits this technology can provide to our hobby; its optional use is designed to supplement our writing, not compliment it. As AI develops in the coming years and the discourse around its usage changes and adapts, so will our content policies. But our writing will always remain 100% original content.

Posting Format

*Green items are required for all posts

Section 1 - The Header

Mission: Episode ## - Mission Title (ex. Episode 15 - Emanation)
Location: USS Example - Deck ##, Room Title (ex. USS Galileo - Deck 03, Sickbay)
Timeline: MD ##, #### hrs (ex. MD 04, 1847 hrs)

Section 2 - Content Body

[ON]

Main body of content at least 500 words in length. Any post over 4,000 words must be split into multiple parts for readability. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec faucibus consectetur nulla vitae venenatis. Nam tincidunt purus felis, non ornare lacus ultrices nec. Fusce gravida dignissim eros at sagittis. Aliquam vulputate nisi massa, eu euismod nisl ullamcorper et. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Phasellus felis velit, egestas sed lacus a, hendrerit pulvinar eros. Aliquam erat volutpat. Maecenas venenatis elit ipsum, non consequat diam dictum eu. Nam nec iaculis ligula. Ut maximus in mi in placerat.

Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Integer imperdiet laoreet dui. Nullam sit amet eros maximus, consectetur nibh id, bibendum justo. Maecenas faucibus urna id condimentum condimentum. Vestibulum convallis ullamcorper velit vel lobortis. Mauris ornare placerat cursus. Sed pellentesque scelerisque nisi, ut pharetra mauris placerat non. Ut maximus mi justo, et vestibulum enim malesuada ut. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nam nec cursus sem. Phasellus metus dui, imperdiet nec mi ac, gravida dignissim erat. Cras vestibulum faucibus nisi, ac ultrices felis tincidunt in. Donec elementum gravida odio vel sodales.

[OFF]

Section 3 - Delimiter

-- or — or ==

Section 4 - Signature Section

RANK Full Character Name
Character's Full Position Title
USS Example (ship name italicized)

If the character is a PNPC or NPC,

RANK PNPC's Full Character Name
Character's Full Position Title
USS Example (ship name italicized)
[PNPC Your Primary Character's Last Name] (ex. [PNPC Saalm])

Section 5 - Example Post

Episode 15 - Emanation
USS Galileo-A - Deck 03, Sickbay
MD 04, 1847 hrs

[ON]

Main body of content at least 500 words in length. Any post over 4,000 words must be split into multiple parts for readability. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec faucibus consectetur nulla vitae venenatis. Nam tincidunt purus felis, non ornare lacus ultrices nec. Fusce gravida dignissim eros at sagittis. Aliquam vulputate nisi massa, eu euismod nisl ullamcorper et. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Phasellus felis velit, egestas sed lacus a, hendrerit pulvinar eros. Aliquam erat volutpat. Maecenas venenatis elit ipsum, non consequat diam dictum eu. Nam nec iaculis ligula. Ut maximus in mi in placerat.

Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Integer imperdiet laoreet dui. Nullam sit amet eros maximus, consectetur nibh id, bibendum justo. Maecenas faucibus urna id condimentum condimentum. Vestibulum convallis ullamcorper velit vel lobortis. Mauris ornare placerat cursus. Sed pellentesque scelerisque nisi, ut pharetra mauris placerat non. Ut maximus mi justo, et vestibulum enim malesuada ut. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nam nec cursus sem. Phasellus metus dui, imperdiet nec mi ac, gravida dignissim erat. Cras vestibulum faucibus nisi, ac ultrices felis tincidunt in. Donec elementum gravida odio vel sodales.

[OFF]

--

PO3 Michael Westbrook
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]