Rulings

This file concerns itself with specific issues that MCM staff has had to address in the past, and the policy drafted to address these issues.

Long Memory

Because MCM has been running for a long time (20 years as of this revision), many popular source materials have had their histories aired out in the course of play. We don't want characters having their every defeat remembered forever, or for previous versions of a character to inform the setting's knowledge of that character and their setting forever. This would result in popular properties that have debuted more than once being "solved" by any character old enough to remember the last time they were around. Accordingly, characters don't have an infinite expanding knowledge dossier on every source material they've been to or heard about, and physical things they have gained from source materials that are no longer played expire.

All of the sunset periods defined below are subject to the urgency of previously played source materials, but offer an idea of how long we think it's acceptable to remember things about source materials that are no longer on the MUSH. Anything beyond the scope of the time periods specified below should be presumed forgotten or replaced as a default.

1. Advantages from a dropped themelist have a sunset period of 1 month to 1 year. If replaced by a new theme list, use the lower end of this period.
2. Detailed knowledge of a dropped themelist has a sunset period of 1-3 years. If replaced by a new theme list, sunset period decreases or disappears.
3. Detailed knowledge of aged events from still-present themes and characters has a sunset period of 5 years. This is a soft sunset, beyond which things can still be gently referenced unless a current plot is returning to those events actively.

Bear in mind that the point is not to make characters utterly amnesiac, but to allow new players of previously played characters room to breathe.

Factional Defection & Infiltration

The leaders of the pertinent factions must be consulted.

Infiltrators are required to not be a strict negative; they should be doing their job and generally conducting themselves as normal members of the faction 'between' achieving objectives of their infiltration.

Plots

Plots may not require players to surrender their character's applied-for advantages or combat attributes as a condition of entry or participation.

Seek Staff permission for plots that: Involve visible long-term capture or mind control / temporary defection of a player's character; violation of core policy, especially scale and interaction policy.

Revision Notes

Updated November of 2025.

1. Removed Power Copy from long memory, because power copies have their own limits and time-outs that handle it.