Content Suggestion Rechange Ocomms permissions for Foundation

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Mar 6, 2025
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What does this suggestion change/add/remove:
Anyone below cl 3 (so level 1 & 2) will be unable to use /ocomms, seeing messages on ocomms will still be possible, but usage of it wont be useable.

Has something similar been suggested before? If so, why is your suggestion different?:
Not that I have seen

Possible Positives of the suggestion (At least 2):
- No more mingey techies and chefs going onto ocomms
- No more lower clearances unaware of not being able to go onto ocomms, going onto ocomms (give newer cadets / RSD staff a chance to understand ocomms aren't made for everyone, avoiding unneeded arrests and potential false infobreaches)


Possible Negatives of the suggestion:
- Cl 1 & 2 can no longer go /oc [ACT], though i have literally never seen any CL 1 / 2 staff use ocomms for any other purpose THAN minging / general

Based on the Positives & Negatives, why should this suggestion be accepted:
Very small change though I expect a lot of discussion on this.

Seeing this only affects lv 1 and 2 roles, (roles who shouldnt use ocomms either way), i doubt this would have any great impact. With the only impact being it prevents your typical minge from just spamming on ocomms 24/7.
 
-Support
Disagree, I think we should go in the other direction and give D-Class O-Comms :devilish:

Or at the very least, give them a way of obtaining them, that'd be fun.

counter argument, make everything /advert

jk

neutral, i've seen some minging on ocomms but it does ruin any chnace of a cl 1 or 2 doing ocomms act rp and such shouldn't happen

smile
 
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To be fair, this server has already moved away from giving any real attention to non whitelisted CL3 and below, so I don’t see an issue with this change. Nobody is creating meaningful or engaging RP for those jobs unless they’re higher ranking players temporarily using them, which completely defeats the purpose of having a clearance system in the first place.

The entire point is progression. Working your way up is what creates natural engagement, both for the player and for the leadership overseeing them. CL1 and CL2 already can’t use OC, so making that restriction permanent through an addon isn’t really a problem. It’s simply reinforcing a system that the server has already functionally adopted.
 
CL1 and CL2 already can’t use OC, so making that restriction permanent through an addon isn’t really a problem. It’s simply reinforcing a system that the server has already functionally adopted.
I feel like this is the wrong way around. We should be doing the opposite. Like creating IC initiatives for say, people on the surface to be able to order food from Foundation Chefs. This seems weird on the surface, but IRL there's already like a culture for specific military things. Like, there's a whole thing around RL MREs. I can see "Canadian Military Pizza" being a fun novelty. Where's the "The Foundation Doubles As A Pizza Joint" RP?
 
I feel like this is the wrong way around. We should be doing the opposite. Like creating IC initiatives for say, people on the surface to be able to order food from Foundation Chefs. This seems weird on the surface, but IRL there's already like a culture for specific military things. Like, there's a whole thing around RL MREs. I can see "Canadian Military Pizza" being a fun novelty. Where's the "The Foundation Doubles As A Pizza Joint" RP?
I don’t think the idea itself is bad. The issue is that structure has to exist before the environment can support it. You can implement something like this right now, sure, but the real question is who is going to maintain it. And the answer, realistically, is CL4 and above. If there’s no group reliably committed to upholding the system and keeping it alive, then all we’ve done is add yet another mechanic that goes unregulated and unused until the server’s interest just happens to swing back around to it.

You can see this pattern clearly with MTF regiments. They rise, they fall, they come back. But they survive those cycles because they have an established ecology that supports them. They don’t need constant attention, the structure carries them through the highs and lows. Groups that don’t have that reliable backbone inevitably fade into nothing. They become overlooked, underutilized, and eventually the only players who touch them are the ones who have no intention of respecting them. That’s how these spaces become the easiest targets for minges and the hardest areas to rehabilitate.

Without structure, interest alone isn’t enough. It never has been.
 
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I don’t think the idea itself is bad. The issue is that structure has to exist before the environment can support it. You can implement something like this right now, sure, but the real question is who is going to maintain it. And the answer, realistically, is CL4 and above. If there’s no group reliably committed to upholding the system and keeping it alive, then all we’ve done is add yet another mechanic that goes unregulated and unused until the server’s interest just happens to swing back around to it.

You can see this pattern clearly with MTF regiments. They rise, they fall, they come back. But they survive those cycles because they have an established ecology that supports them. They don’t need constant attention, the structure carries them through the highs and lows. Groups that don’t have that reliable backbone inevitably fade into nothing. They become overlooked, underutilized, and eventually the only players who touch them are the ones who have no intention of respecting them. That’s how these spaces become the easiest targets for minges and the hardest areas to rehabilitate.

Without structure, interest alone isn’t enough. It never has been.
I generally agree, but with this being said, I don't think the answer is to cut their opportunities back even further.

Maybe if there were a way for people that don't have Ocomms to get it, in a way that both D-Class can steal and some department leader or w/e can easily give (Maybe as a dispenser item?), then I'd be fine with taking it away from CL1 & 2. This could also work for CI since from my experience, CI don't really want random Alphas & Betas on Ocomms either.
 
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I generally agree, but with this being said, I don't think the answer is to cut their opportunities back even further.

Maybe if there were a way for people that don't have Ocomms to get it, in a way that both D-Class can steal and some department leader or w/e can easily give (Maybe as a dispenser item?), then I'd be fine with taking it away from CL1 & 2. This could also work for CI since from my experience, CI don't really want random Alphas & Betas on Ocomms either.
The D-Class example makes perfect sense. They’re chaotic by nature because of what the Foundation has done to them. They’re angry, resentful, and desperate, and that frustration manifests in the only way available to them. That is why, canonically, so many D-Class members end up fighting their way to the Chaos Insurgency. It tracks. Their behavior is consistent with their circumstances.

But the same logic does not apply to established members of a highly structured, deeply compartmentalized organization dedicated to containing the world’s most dangerous anomalies. These are people trained to operate in silence, secrecy, and discipline. They’re not going to casually use open communication channels for trivial reasons. They understand the risk, the optics, and the consequences of breaking that veil unless the communication is reserved for individuals operating at a similar level. To be clear, I’m not advocating for stripping CL1 and CL2 of everything. That’s not the point. What I’m saying is that there are far more effective and foundational steps to improving these groups than toggling their access to OComms. If a system like this were to be implemented, it could actually serve as an incentive to rebuild these groups into something with consistency and rotation. But pushing it forward without addressing the structural issues first would be putting a bandage on a broken bone.

And one more thing: it’s not that every CL1 or CL2 role is problematic. The issue is usually the roles that have nothing supporting them from the moment they spawn in to the moment they log out. No structure, no expectation, no direction. Those are the cracks where problems always begin.
 
But the same logic does not apply to established members of a highly structured, deeply compartmentalized organization dedicated to containing the world’s most dangerous anomalies. These are people trained to operate in silence, secrecy, and discipline. They’re not going to casually use open communication channels for trivial reasons. They understand the risk, the optics, and the consequences of breaking that veil unless the communication is reserved for individuals operating at a similar level. To be clear, I’m not advocating for stripping CL1 and CL2 of everything. That’s not the point. What I’m saying is that there are far more effective and foundational steps to improving these groups than toggling their access to OComms. If a system like this were to be implemented, it could actually serve as an incentive to rebuild these groups into something with consistency and rotation. But pushing it forward without addressing the structural issues first would be putting a bandage on a broken bone.
The only reason that Research, Medical and GENSEC are not like MTF is due the fact that every role below CL4 is locked by exp/level wall.

There is reason why everyone dislikes or does not roleplay with CL3 non-whitelisted and below because they are not "fully part" of the community, exp and levels will allways ruin RP servers unless they are not forced for roleplay.

Why MTF tryouts need combat level when they could do total level only? Why im forced to grind when im trying to move up within Research "ranks"? Why levels are forced into roleplay when they could just be for skills or flexing your time on the server? Just make every department tryout out only and remove CL4 department roles applications since it will have reqs for ranks.

If Exp and Level were not forced to my face when i roleplay then server would be in better state then now.
 
If people are minging on open comms to the point of having no intention to roleplay then just call a sit or it can be dealt with IC by department leaders.
what she said

dont ruin everyone elses chances to roleplay just cause somebody screams 008 alpha warhead overseer council in open comms once in a blue moon, also like its just silly to type in open comms as a tech expert
 
-Support.

OCOMMS are just that; Open Communications, available by *everyone*. Anyone that can get their hands on a radio or telecom device would be able to access them, which is why even civilians get them.

That aside; OCOMMS is used for a variety of things. With this change, CL1/CL2 personnel would be locked out of interacting with any RP done through OCOMMS. The possibility of abuse (Which provides to the ISD/DEA gameplay loop) is something I will gladly accept if it means that even 1/100 people uses OCOMMS for rp.
 
hmmm im thinking of a feature that can solve this issue in the most IC way,

How about trying to see if i can extend the Comms blacklisted feature from Sitecommand to like SA+ and maybe directors?

Might need some changes within the system but it would resolve most of this in a IC way.
 
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hmmm im thinking of a feature that can solve this issue in the most IC way,

How about trying to see if i can extend the Comms blacklisted feature from Sitecommand to like SA+ and maybe directors?

Might need some changes within the system but it would resolve most of this in a IC way.
How about this: a closed communications system that CL1 and CL2 can use freely, while open comms remain restricted. It preserves structure, prevents unnecessary chatter, and keeps the illusion of a functioning hierarchy intact.