PC Gamer 11

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THE IMAGINATION NETWORK The ImagiNation Network (INN) is much more of a neighborhood than it is a network of computer game players. You should treat others on the network with the courtesy and politeness you would use in any other public place. Abusive, lewd or obscene language or suggestive remarks WILL NOT be tolerated in any way and are cause for immediate removal from the INN system without notice. An appeal must be made by phone to INN headquarters to get back on the system. The ImagiNation Network does not warrant that service on INN will be uninterrupted or error-free. INN is distributed on an "as is" basis without any express or implied warranties. Neither The ImagiNation Network nor Sierra On-Line will be liable for any damages arising out of any inability to use INN. INN is protected by federal copyright law and international treaty. You may not modify or adapt INN or translate, decompile, or reverse-engineer software running on INN. You will indemnify INN against liability for your use of INN and any violation of these rules. The ImagiNation Network can modify these guidelines at any time by posting the revised guidelines on INN. Use of INN indicates your understanding and agreement to comply with these guidelines. HOW TO READ THIS GUIDE * Menu commands are capitalized, example: TALK, INVITE, LOOK, QUIT * Typed commands are generally preceded with the word "type". For example, when you are told to type CD\INN, only "CD\INN" would be typed. * Keystrokes appear in brackets, example: [Spacebar], [Tab], [Page Up]. The brackets should not be typed. * When two or more keys should be pressed at the same time, they are separated by a hyphen. The hyphen is not a keystroke and should not be typed, example: [Ctrl-C], [Alt-X]. USING YOUR MOUSE You can use INN with a mouse and a keyboard, or a keyboard only. If you have a two- or three-button mouse, the right button is normally for "Help" and the left button is used to "point and click". If you have a one-button mouse, you can usually get help by holding down the [Shift] key while clicking the mouse button. Throughout this guide, you'll see the term "click on". This means to move the on-screen arrow (or cursor) to an object and press the left mouse button. You can move a game piece by holding the mouse button down, drag the piece by moving the mouse until the piece is where you want it, then release the button to "drop" the piece. If you don't have a mouse, use your arrow keys to move around the screen. To "click on", simply press the [Enter] key after you have used the arrow keys to select what you want to do. To get help, position your cursor on the feature and press the [F1] key. GETTING STARTED Read all on-screen documentation that is available in your INSTALL program. This documentation has important information that may have not been available when this was originally written. HOW TO INSTALL THE IMAGINATION NETWORK Note: You must have a hard drive to install INN. The installation program will create a subdirectory on your hard drive called INN (you have the option of overriding the installation directory). STEP 1: If you have not already done so, make back-up copies of your installation diskettes. Special Note: If you are already an INN customer and are upgrading to a new version of INN, you should first go to your current INSTALL program and write down your CUSTOMER ID number and modem setup. STEP 2: Place DISK 1 in your floppy drive and type the letter of the drive containing the disk followed by a colon (example A: or B:) and press [Enter]. STEP 3: Type INSTALL and press [Enter]. The INSTALL program has an auto-detect feature that detects the kind of computer equipment you are using and automatically installs the correct software drivers for your computer. STEP 4: The system will ask you for the drive letter of your hard disk. Enter the letter designation of your hard disk (usually C:) and follow the prompts. STEP 5: The system will ask you for the directory where you want the INN files stored (usually C:\INN). Enter the directory name and press [Enter]. A system configuration screen will appear and you will need to verify the default choices for the following (to change defaults, highlight the selection and press [Enter] to look at the list of available choices): * Graphics -- indicate here whether you have a 16-color or 256-color video display. * Sound -- There are several sound cards from which you can select. The installation program selects the one that seems to be supported by your computer. The default is the IBM Internal Speaker. * Baud Rate -- The default is 1200 baud. If you have a 2400- or 9600-baud modem, choose the higher speed here. * COM Port -- The default is Com 1. If your modem is on a different Com port, indicate the number here. * Setup -- Unless you are familiar with modem commands, you should accept the default initialization string that's given here. If your modem stubbornly refuses to respond to this string, see the "Troubleshooting Hints" section. Note: If you have any problems installing INN software, call INN toll-free at 1-800-IMAGIN-1. Please have your member ID number handy when you call. IMPORTANT! The vast majority of problems encountered when first-time users attempt to log on to INN are from modem compatibility problems. If you cannot access INN after completing installation, please have your modem manual handy and call INN toll-free at 1-800-IMAGIN-1. * Access Phone # -- The INN software includes a list of current carrier access numbers. Highlight ACCESS PHONE # and press [Enter]. Then press [F1] to look through the phone list of cities in your area code. After entering your area code, select the phone number for the city nearest your location. Please Note: You will be responsible for any toll or message charges you incur while using The ImagiNation Network. Please call your local operator to verify that any number you select is a local call for you. If you have any questions, call INN's Member Services Department at 1-800- IMAGIN-1. Please have your member ID number handy when y call. If you have CALL WAITING, you WILL lose connection to INN if you receive a second call. To avoid this inconvenience, check with your local telephone company for instructions on how you can disable CALL WAITING. In most areas entering "*70" before your local access number will disable call waiting for that one call. Your call waiting feature should automatically return as soon as you exit INN. * Touch Tone -- Indicate whether you have a touch tone service on your phone. * Member Number -- Look in your INN package for a label marked Member Number (or copy it from your prior installation screen). Enter this number in the appropriate box on the installation screen. Keep this number secret and do not give it to anyone. Any charges incurred on INN will be the responsibility of the owner of this number. * Passwords -- You must choose one of two methods for using passwords. If you choose the UNSECURED METHOD, you will be prompted for a password that will be recorded onto your hard disk. When you dial in to INN for the first time, the password you recorded onto your hard disk will be uploaded to INN. From that point forward, whenever you log on to INN, your password will be automatically transmitted to INN. If it is the same one as the one recorded at INN, you will be allowed access. If not, access will be denied. To change your password, you must log on to INN and select the CHANGE PASSWORD option. If you choose the SECURED METHOD, you will simply be prompted for your password every time you log on to INN. If the password you type matches the one you entered during your first session, you will be allowed access. If not, access will be denied. To change your password, you must log on to INN and select the CHANGE PASSWORD option, which is located in the Town Hall on the INN main map. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you use the SECURED METHOD in order to ensure that no unauthorized use of, or charges to, your INN account occur. You can change from one method to the other at any time. However, to do so, you must go through the INSTALL procedure again. To make sure you will be allowed access to the system after the change, make sure that you initially use the same password for the new method as you used for the old. After the first time you log on with the new method, you can then change your password as above. ACCESSING THE IMAGINATION NETWORK When you have completed the installation sequence and set the system parameters from the default list, you're ready to run the program. STEP 1: From your system root directory, type CD\INN (or the name of your INN directory) and then press [Enter]. STEP 2: Type INN then press [Enter]. Congratulations! You've just moved into the world's friendliest electronic neighborhood. CREATING A PERSONA Your on-screen persona represents you when you go on-line on INN. Your persona includes a face and a list of personal interests, games you like, and your skill level. Its purpose is to let people know what you're like and a great way for people with similar interests and skills to get together and have fun! For each INN account, you can create several different personae to represent the different members of your household, or to role-play as different persons and personalities. Left-Click on the CREATE button to begin creating your persona. 1) INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF: The program will ask you to type in a name, age and city. HINT: Real information will make it easier for people to find you and get to know you. Fill in your information then click on OK to continue. Now you can customize your profile, including creating the face that other INN members will see. 2) HOW OTHERS WILL SEE ME...: By clicking on the right and left arrows of each category you can change features of your face. Experiment and have fun! When you're satisfied with the way your face will appear, click on GO ON. The next screen lets you tell other people about your skill and interest levels for each game. 3) MY GAME SKILLS: The Clubhouse includes many games: BACKGAMMON, CHESS, CHECKERS, CRIBBAGE, HEARTS, BRIDGE, GO, SPADES, EUCHRE, and FLIPFLOP (popularly known as Reversi). As you CLICK AND HOLD on each game, slide the indicator to your skill level and release the mouse button. 4) MY HOBBIES AND GENERAL INTERESTS: You can click on up to four hobbies and general interests from two screens of alphabetical interest choices. When you're done, click on GO ON. You now see your on-line face, personality and game preference profile the way other INN members will see it. If you're happy with this version of yourself, click on SAVE to return to the Title Screen. If you want to make some changes, click on GO BACK. Now, if you want, you can create another alter-ego or a persona for another member of your family. Or, select a persona and then click on PLAY. DIALING and THE INN MAP The first thing you'll see after running The ImagiNation Network program is a dialing screen with a password prompt window. Type your password and press [Enter]. Your modem will automatically dial INN. When you're connected, you'll see a Billing Status window. Press [Enter] and you'll soon see a map of the locations within INN. Before you play, you should get to know your way around the INN Map. MAIL (post office) - you can access your personal mailbox here and can send (optional) and receive letters from your friends on INN at any time. If you have mail waiting, a flashing envelope will appear over the post office. TOWN HALL (HELP arrow points to it) - you can get help about INN (both written and on-line) in the Town Hall. Other options let you check your billing information, change your password, leave messages for Member Services, and print INN game manuals. If you have a question about INN, chances are good that you can find your answer in the Town Hall. INN CLUBHOUSE (wooden building at bottom of screen) - this is a great place to go to play a variety of board and card games, talk to people, access the Sierra family of games hint files, go to conference rooms and read/leave messages on the many bulletin boards. CASINOLAND (casino in upper left corner of map) - this is a completely different self-contained environment for adults in INN. Access is restricted from CasinoLand from the basic INN system. Here adults can play Blackjack, Poker, Roulette and Slots, and spend time in Lefty's Bar talking to other adults and playing bar games. SIERRALAND (castle in middle right of map) - this is also a self-contained world within INN. SierraLand is fun for both kids and adults, and features games like Red Baron, MiniGolf, PaintBall, NTN Trivia, and Graffiti (an intuitive painting program). SierraLand is the family fun center of INN. MEDIEVALAND (volcano) - this is where players can go to play The Shadow of Yserbius, and Fates of Twinion. These incredible role-playing games let you join other INN friends to explore the depths of mysterious volcanos in search of magic items and the solution to the mystery of events surrounding the volcanos. FIND MEMBER (telephone booth) - if you're looking for a friend and don't know where he/she is on INN, if at all, click on the phone booth and a window will prompt you for the person's on-line name. If they are on INN, it will tell you their location. SCHOOL (schoolhouse) - in a future upgrade of INN, this area will contain activities and games which are both fun and educational. Look for more about this later. POST OFFICE - keep in touch with all of the new friends you've met on Imagination via electronic mail (E-Mail). MALL (SHOP sign) - members are able to purchase INN, Sierra family of games merchandise, as well as items from other participating retailers - right from their own computer! INN CREDITS (INN water tower) - click on this water tower to see everyone who worked hard to make sure you have fun on INN. EXIT - click on the EXIT sign in the bottom of the map to exit INN and return to the DOS prompt. Come back real soon! ------ Now that you know how to get around the INN Map and what each place represents, it's time to have fun. It's best to try out the INN Clubhouse first to get used to the commands and options in INN. The next sections will help you get started in the Clubhouse. Look at CLUBHOUS.DOC, SIERRLND.DOC, CASLAND.DOC, and the YSERBIUS.DOC files if you need more specific information for those lands. ENTERING THE CLUBHOUSE Left-Click on the INN Clubhouse on the INN Map and you'll be presented with a list of places where you can meet people, play games and access all the many bulletin boards. After you have selected a place, you will be asked to choose the games that you are interested in playing during your session. Other members will use this information so that they can arrange to invite you to play a game. After you press the "OK" button, you will enter the waiting room. If you don't see the WAITING ROOM screen within two minutes or so, there may be a communications problem. The access number your computer dialed may be busy. Or, someone may have picked up an extension phone on the same line as your modem. Or perhaps you didn't disable CALL WAITING. If you continue to have a problem, please call INN toll-free at 1-800-IMAGIN-1. THE WAITING ROOM The Waiting Room is where you meet other people, LOOK at their persona profiles, TALK to them, INVITE them to play games, or WATCH a game that's currently in progress. In the lower portion of your screen, you will see a text bar that gives you information such as the time, how many people are on your host, and give you readouts on your information requests. Making friends is easy. Just select a person by left-clicking on the box with his or her name. The box will change from yellow (not selected) to red (selected). If you want to select all of the people in the Waiting Room who are not involved in an activity, click on the ALL button. To deselect a person, click on the name box again. It will turn from red to yellow. To deselect all people, click on NONE. When a person is involved in a game, in the Bulletin Board or watching a game, a descriptive icon appears to the left of his or her name. This shows you what the person is doing. You can easily get definitions of what particular icons mean by clicking on HELP in the OPTIONS menu and then selecting WAITING ROOM and then LEGEND for definitions. If there is no symbol next to a person's name, it means the person is not playing a game, watching, or reading the Bulletin Board. They could, however, be involved in a conversation and may not respond immediately. TALKING TO FRIENDS ON INN Talking to others is easy in the INN Waiting Room. Just click on their name tags, and then click on TALK. A dialogue box will appear. Type your message and press [Enter]. You can save the step of clicking on TALK by simply selecting a person and then typing. (NOTE: Your message will be seen by all those you have selected.) You can talk to other people whether or not they are involved in a game or reading the Bulletin Board -- unless they have PRIVACY turned on. More about that later. If you type a mistake, normal text editing commands work until you actually send the message. When others talk to you, you are given the choice to REPLY, COMPLAIN, MUTE, or simply press OK (to get rid of the message without responding). When you click on REPLY, you will be offered a box to type your reply. You reply will only be sent to the person who spoke to you even if you have many others selected. The MUTE button will allow you to block all messages from anyone who sends you annoying or offensive messages. You may also use the COMPLAIN button which will send the truly offensive message sent to you to INN personell for their review and possible disciplinary action. LOOK LOOK lets you learn about your new neighbors. Select the person you're interested in and click on LOOK or simply move your cursor to a name and click on the right button of your mouse or press [F1]. The person's picture, skill levels and other information will be displayed. You can tell what games they are interested in playing by looking for a yellow check mark next to the games. Also, you'll notice on the person's profile a box labeled ADD TO ADDR. If you click on this box, the Mailbox address of the person you are looking at will be added to your INN electronic address book (detailed later in this manual). If you select more than one other person to look at, you can scroll rapidly through all the profiles by simply clicking on the LEFT ARROW OR RIGHT ARROW buttons. When you're ready to leave the LOOK screen, click on OK. You can look at yourself by clicking on OPTIONS and then on WHO AM I. If you want to SORT the names in alphabetical order in the waiting room, click on OPTIONS and then SORT NAMES (or press Alt-R) to do this. INVITING To play a game you must either invite someone to play with you, or be invited. To invite someone to play, first click on the name tags of the people you want to play with. Then click on INVITE and a control panel will appear with a list of all available games. You can now click on the game you want to play. The person (or persons) you have selected will receive an invitation to play the game you've chosen. If they accept your invitation, the screen will automatically display the game board you've selected. Of course, if people are already playing or watching a game, they can't play with you. If someone is reading messages in the Bulletin Board, they must first return to the Waiting Room before you can invite them. If one or more of your INN friends declines your invitation, a text box appears declining your offer. If you receive no response in a reasonable length of time, or you change your mind, just click on CANCEL. Note: if there is no response to your invitation, you must cancel the invitation before you can do anything else. RESPONDING TO AN INVITATION When you are in the Waiting Room, you'll probably receive an invitation to play a game or join in a Chat Room. You respond by clicking on ACCEPT or DECLINE. You can also click on LOOK to see your potential opponent's profile and skill level before sending your reply. If you are invited to join a multiple-player game, you can look at everyone's profile before responding. If you decline the invitation, a text box appears where you can provide an explanation. WHILE YOU PLAY To talk with the people you are playing a game with, simply begin typing. A dialogue box will appear with your text, then simply press [Enter] to send your message. All players in the game will be able to view your message. When you're playing a game, the OPTIONS menu will often include options just for that game. It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with these menus as you play the game. You activate the menu by moving the cursor to the OPTIONS button on the screen, then clicking the left mouse button or pressing [Enter]. WATCHING To watch a game in progress, first select the player you want to watch and click on WATCH. The selected player will be informed that you would like to watch as they play. Your request will be accepted or denied. While you're watching a game, you can send messages to the players. Just start typing and a dialogue box appears. Each message you type goes to all players in the game, so be careful not to reveal confidential information, such as the cards a player is holding in his hand. Please be considerate of the feelings of the players, and keep messages to a minimum to avoid distractions. If you become disruptive to the game, any of the players has the ability to return you to the Waiting Room. When you've finished watching, simply choose LEAVE GAME from the Game Options menu. While you are playing, you may receive requests from others to watch your game. If you know from the start that you don't want to be watched, you can activate the PRIVACY feature in the PREFERENCES submenu from the OPTIONS menu. All requests to watch your game will be politely denied. However, someone else in the game can still allow others to watch. If an eyeball appears on your screen during a game, it simply means that someone is watching your game. All players have the right to allow others to watch, as well as the right to stop others from watching. To see who is watching, click on the eyeball. If you want to stop someone from watching, click on the eyeball and choose the person you want to stop watching. GOING PLACES WITH THE GO TO BUTTON While in the Waiting Room you can click on the GO TO button for access to a variety of activities. Each land has different items in the GO TO button. One option in the GO TO button is "A PERSON". This option helps you find specific people and people interested in playing specific games. LOCATE PERSON will select the name tag of the player you specify. This is handy if there are a large number of players in your room. MATCH GAME INTERESTS will show you a list of players with matching interests. You can look at the list of players or select one or more. Then you can TALK to them or INVITE them to play a game with you. POST OFFICE INN's electronic mail (E-Mail) service works just like the Post Office. You get a private mailbox where you can pick up your letters. You can get HELP by clicking with the right mouse button on anything you're unsure about. A good way to explore electronic mail is to write yourself a letter. Click on WRITE A LETTER and you will see an envelope ready to be addressed. Type in your on-line name in the return address area. Then tab to the address area and type your name and Box #. If you decide against sending your letter, click on FORGET IT to return to the mailbox screen. You can change the stamp on the letter by clicking on it. (Note: When you're addressing an envelope, clicking on an entry in your address book automatically addresses the envelope with that address. See "Your Personal Address Book" below.) Clicking on TYPE LETTER shows you the first blank page of your letter. Type your letter using all normal editing functions. When you reach the bottom of the first page, click on the arrow to go on to the next page. LOAD A LETTER lets you create a letter off-line and upload it into electronic mail. All such off-line letters must be in ASCII text format. If there is no blank space before a carriage return, it is assumed to be the end of a paragraph. When you're done, click on MAIL THIS LETTER. A confirming message window appears letting you know your letter arrived at its destination. Click on OK to close the message window. Click on RETURN TO ENVELOPES to return to the mailbox screen. If you're using a keyboard without a mouse, you must use [Tab] or [Esc] to get to the control buttons on the right side of the screen. The left arrow returns you to the letter. To read the letter you've just sent yourself, or a letter someone else has sent to you, click on the envelope and then click on READ A LETTER (or double-click on the letter). When you're done, you can throw the letter away, save it to your disk, reply to it, or forward it to another box. You can also discard mail without reading it by clicking on the letter you want to get rid of and then clicking on the DISCARD button. You can also set AUTO-SAVE from the OPTIONS menu so that all mail you read automatically gets saved to a file named EMINPUT.TXT and all mail you send gets saved to a file named EMOUTPUT.TXT. YOUR PERSONAL ADDRESS BOOK INN supplies you with a personal on-line address book that you can use to store mailing addresses of other INN members. When you're not at your mailbox you can still get to your address book through the OPTIONS menu. Adding a new address to your book is easy. Simply click on an empty space in the book. You can then type in the new address. Entries are automatically sorted in alphabetical order. To leave the address book, click on CLOSE at the left of the book. EXERCISE YOUR OPTIONS The OPTIONS menu gives you many options that make INN even easier and more fun. To see the OPTIONS menu, click on the OPTIONS button. You will see a series of new buttons: 1) PREFERENCES accesses an entirely new menu that has important functions for customizing your environment on INN. - PAGING alerts you during games or other activities when other people log into the place you are in. - PRIVACY denies all requests by others to WATCH your game or TALK to you while you are not in the Waiting Room. - MESSAGE DELAY adjusts the length of time a message remains on-screen. Moving the lever to the right [+] lengthens the time messages are displayed. Moving the lever to the left [-] shortens the display time. - VOLUME adjusts the sound level. Move the box to the left for a lower sound level and to the right to raise the level. Note: If you don't have a sound card and are using the computer's speaker, there is no volume adjustment available, but you can accomplish on/off with this adjustment. - SAMPLE TEXT color bars above and below the words "Sample text" let you adjust the colors of your text and message boxes. All messages you send to others will appear in the colors you select. Your colors are as distinctive to people on INN as your name, so choose ones that you like and plan to stay with so people can recognize you from your text colors alone. 2) The clock can be switched back and forth between elapsed time on-line for the current session and the current time as set on your computer's clock. Click on the clock to make this switch. 3) HELP gives you general information about the area you are in. 4) ABOUT tells you who the interesting people are that created this version of INN, tells you what version of the program you're using, and tells you the baud-rate at which you are connected. 5) QUIT gives you the choice of returning to the persona creation screen, the INN Map or quitting to DOS. 6) WANT TO PLAY lets you change the games you're interested in playing during this session. 7) WHO AM I displays your own persona. 8) CURSOR lets you select your normal and waiting cursors. CasinoLand and SierraLand also let you choose the cursor you want. There are also special symbols that you can use in INN text messages and mail by pressing the ALT key and one of the numbers from 1 through 0 on your keyboard, NOT your keypad. You can add smiley faces and hearts to your messages with these key sequences. HELP Getting help in ImagiNation is easy. For general information, simply click on the HELP button in the Options control panel. Several screens of helpful text will be displayed. If you need help information about a specific menu item, simply point at the item (for example, the TALK button) and click. Use the right-side mouse button if you're using a two-button mouse. If your mouse has just one button, hold down the [Shift] key and click on the selection. A message will appear telling you how to use the selected feature. Don't forget that INN is a friendly neighborhood, so don't hesitate to ask your neighbors for help. THE INN SYSOP STAFF In order to ensure that everyone has the best time and most fun possible on INN, you will frequently see people in the waiting room or elsewhere that have the letters "INN" at the beginning of their names (e.g., INNLynn). These are the SysOps, the "guardians of our fun." They function as the social directors and police force of INN. Whenever you're on INN and have a question, feel free to ask a SysOp. They can direct you to people who share your interests, and advise you on system operation. TROUBLESHOOTING HINTS If you encounter other difficulties while using INN, try the following steps: 1. Between 8 AM and 10 PM (PST) M-F call Member Services toll-free: 1-800-IMAGIN-1. NOTE: This number is ONLY for INN business. When you call this number for technical support, it helps if you are at your computer with the following information and references at your fingertips: * Your Membership ID number * The access number you call * Your processor type and speed (e.g. 386 25MHz) * Your modem make, model, baud rate, and if possible have your modem manual with you. There are four files which are often useful in diagnosing technical problems. The two that we need most often are in your INN directory. It can save us time if you can have the contents of your TSN.CFG file and your LSCI.CFG file typed out and ready for reference. The other two files which are often useful are located in your root directory. It can aid diagnosis to know the contents of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Whenever possible, write down the error message you receive exactly as it appears, along with any details which describe the problem. 2. You can reach the Sierra On-Line Bulletin Board at the following number: (209) 683-4463. The settings are 300, 1200, 2400 or 9600 baud; 8 Data Bits; No Parity; 1 Stop Bit. *************************************************************** INN'S GOLDEN RULES INN is a public place. There are definite rules of conduct which all participants must recognize and observe. The most important is very simple: Don't infringe on the rights and enjoyment of others. Obscenities and blatant lewdness are not acceptable except in the unrestricted areas of CasinoLand. A complaint about this type of language may result in immediate loss of INN access and membership privileges. You may register a complaint with INN by clicking on the COMPLAIN button located on the offensive message. A Complaint Window opens which shows you what will be sent to the INN Host Bulletin area. You may type a personal comment at this time which will be seen by the Host. Please be aware that complaints are taken seriously by INN. Registering a complaint may result in the loss of INN access and all system privileges for the person you are complaining about. You should also know that nuisance complaints can have the same effect for the person issuing the complaint. Broadcasting obscenities or lewd comments to others on the system, or even within a Waiting or Conference Room, is cause for immediate dismissal. Sending messages repeatedly, or sending them so fast that the other person cannot play a game or enjoy a conversation with someone else is also cause for the INN Host to log you out immediately. You may be able to get back on the network (unless you persist in this behavior), but anytime you must be logged out by the Host, a warning will be issued. When using the Bulletin Boards please use good taste and common sense in what you post. Obscenities will be deleted and the person posting the message will receive a warning. The Bulletin Boards are not intended as an advertising medium. Ads will be removed immediately and the member who posted it may lose INN membership privileges. COMMON SENSE ETIQUETTE Follow this rule and you can't go wrong -- treat others the way you would like to be treated. When playing games, please observe the basic rules of good sportsmanship. This includes playing games to their conclusion, even if you are losing. If you must leave a game in progress, always give your opponent a reason. Never leave abruptly without an explanation. When you are watching a game, be courteous to the players. Many messages during a game can be distracting. Remember, too, that any participant has the right to prevent you from watching further. And if you talk during a game, be careful not to give away information about a player's hand or position. It's a lot of fun to come in and say hello to your friends or say goodbye before leaving. This is encouraged. We do not encourage, however, clicking on ALL or selecting everyone individually and saying hello without first checking to see whether they are engaged in another activity. Many people get deeply involved with games and resent intrusions into their concentration. There are other participants who may be easily confused by a lot of messages while they are playing a game or reading the Bulletin Board. It is not courteous to these people to subject them to this kind of message. People often cannot play a game for a variety of reasons, or perhaps they simply prefer to stay in the Waiting Room to chat. If you invite someone to play a game and are refused, please accept the response gracefully and attempt to find someone else to play with. If no one is interested at the moment, stick around! Someone will show up. Always remember that it's much easier to find playing partners when you have a reputation for courtesy and good sportsmanship. Think of INN as a social gathering place, where lasting friendships can be made -- or where friendships may be jeopardized by discourteous behavior. Now that you're clear on the rules, GET ON INN AND HAVE SOME FUN!