Quotas
"Soft" Building Quotas
Previously, we had too many folks who were building excessively and/or with poor style (spelling, design, reality, etc.-- for details, see the doc/lot-building, in Tanstaafl City Hall's Department of Building, northeast of Center). It proved insufficient to merely expect players to voluntarily follow the rules, and only "check on" them rarely and in random fashion.Accordingly, the staff of HoloMuck has instituted a new system of "soft building quotas." Now the *default* will be to build less, and one must get *approval* to build more; this is the opposite of the former system. Players will be able to pass through the following stages of building restrictions:
- Stage 0: no B bit
- Stage 1: allowed up to 25 db items (rooms, objects, exits, etc)
- Stage 2: allowed up to 125 db items
- Stage 3: more than that
Useful Commands
@quota how many items you have, compared to your current quota. @stats me how many of the items are rooms, objects, exits, etc. @owned me the names and dbrefs of all your items. ex #9876 further information on item #9876 (for example).
Quota Information
The "test" for progression to Stage 1 (up to 25 items) remains the same as before: an apartment inspection (@inspect) and a requirement to read the City Hall Department of Building docs.To become a Stage 2 Builder (up to 125 items), a player needs to have his/her stuff checked over in a "25 item test". All 25 of the database items should conform to design and style specifications as stated in doc/lot-building. You might be rejected for reasons such as poor spelling, unclear exits, undesc'd rooms, excessive database use, forgotten unlinked rooms, extra objects, improper parenting, etc. Again, see doc/lot-building for details. However, it *is* OK if all 25 of your items are private (for example in a private house, not contributing to the public good).
You may request a "25 item test" by sending mail to one of the quota-checking chancellors (see below). If you pass the test, your quota will be raised to 125 items. However, if you *fail* a 25 item test, you will (a) be fined up to $50 and (b) be low priority for another test. Why? Because these tests are very time-consuming for the chancellors, and we want to discourage players asking for them when they are clearly not ready.
Note that, if you do fail a test, the checker will *not* provide you with complete instructions on what you have to do to fix everything. *Some* specifics may be given ("rooms #12345 and #23456 have no descs" or "you have 5 items with the same name"), but (a) as soon as enough problems have been found, the checker will STOP bothering to check any more, and (b) the checker will assume you have read doc/lot-building and so will not explain any problems in great detail.
To become a Stage 3 Builder, another check is needed, the "125 item test". Not only should the design and style of your 125 items be flawless, but your contructions must contribute in some way to the good of the muck-- interesting public areas, useful programs, etc. Your quota will then be set at the checker's discretion, perhaps 200 items if you have done *some* good for the muck and the building is *somewhat* interesting, or 800 items if you've done a spectacular job. However, a failed "125 item test" (due to, for example, poor design, poor spelling, or having all your items in a private house) will cost a player a fine of $100 or more.
- Note 1: These tests can be time-consuming, so sometimes you may have a long wait before we are able to perform them. However, it is still better for your sake that we have these "soft quotas" (which may eventually be exceeded), rather than "hard quotas" which can never be exceeded
- Note 2: All judgments of the chancellors are final! If you argue, you will probably be refused any future checks. You might also be fined. We staffpeople are volunteers and we are here to have fun, just like you; we are not here to be your servants
- Note 3: Regarding "old" players, those who are *already* over the new quota levels: Your quota has been set at your current count of database items (as of July 1, 1996) PLUS 15. If you want to build beyond that, you should probably clean up what you have already built, recycling old items and building new ones. The "checkers" *will* take requests for the "25 item test" (if your quota is currently between 25 to 124 items) and for the "125 item test" (if your quota is currently at 125 or above); *however*, you have lower priority on the staff's time than do new players, particularly for the "125 item test"
- Note 4: One current problem: objects bought at stores are usually still owned by the *seller* and charged toward his/her quota instead of the buyer's. Eventually, we may change the store program so that objects being sold (and the actions attached to them) are automatically @chowned to the buyer instead. For the moment, if you are a seller, you should build all objects for sale (and the actions attached to them) set 'o'wnable
