Rule Clarification?

[greenacres]

I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, I've seen a few posts like this http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=96019 in the moderation forum before, where people have been reported for using the names of actual cities/states/countries. However, if you follow the edit my nation link in game, right beside capital city there is a move capital city link, which if you click, and then you zoom in enough will give you quite a fair bit of detail, to the point where in some countries you can see individual street names, highways, etc.

I was wondering if we could get a rule clarification on the matter of whether it is allowable to mention places that can be found through that particular in game link/feature, in an IC part of the forum, or whether the IC part of the forums should be off limits for real world places, even if those places are in fact viewable and labeled through said link.

Thanks. And again, I apologize if this is in the wrong forum. (I checked the FAQ that was in the moderation forum, I do believe this falls under a forum related question, so that's why I asked in here)

[Markus Wilding]

The Open World Forum (the part of the forums that the reported post comes from) has no RL (real life) references allowed in it. This includes names of places (Poland, Berlin, Wallaby Way, Sydney) and people (Justin Beiber, Adolf, Churchill). This is mainly because the OWF is RPed as if real life never happened.

[greenacres]

[quote name='Markus Wilding' timestamp='1293308326' post='2553730']
The Open World Forum (the part of the forums that the reported post comes from) has no RL (real life) references allowed in it. This includes names of places (Poland, Berlin, Wallaby Way, Sydney) and people (Justin Beiber, Adolf, Churchill). This is mainly because the OWF is RPed as if real life never happened.
[/quote]

I understand that completely, but places in the real world are visible and even labeled through an in game function. So, while there's a real world country called poland, that place is also labeled as poland through an in game function. There's nothing about winston churchill or adolf hitler that can be found through a direct in game function. So, my request for clarification was for those places that can be clearly seen and are clearly labeled as such through that in game function, and whether or not, because they are visibile and are labeled in game, they can be called in character, or whether they aren't in character simply because they happen to be real, even though they are clearly visible through that in game function.

[Markus Wilding]

Keep in mind there are literally thousands of nations in this game, and a lot of them occupy either America, Europe or Asia in some form. Therefore, it stands to reason that at least one of these nations overlaps Poland, and this nation may have named Warsaw "Tomland". My point is is that what the map says is merely a tool for giving players a handle on where their nation is. It has no relevance on the OWF.

[Tocsii]

It depends on the context. If you're referring to a nation called "The United States" in an IC forum that is very different from making a reference to the United States that makes sense only in the context of OOC history. A post that is only comprehensible to someone who knows the real world history behind the reference doesn't belong in an IC forum even if you can find the place name on the in-game world map or an unrelated player happened to pick that name for their nation. If you ever believe a reference has been misinterpreted, you can always file an appeal.

[auto98]

So for all intents and purposes the in-game map should really be regarded as NOT in-game?