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The Amazon Basin is a community of people who share an interest in fair and respectful game play. The Amazon Basin arose around Diablo II. It now consists of five independent guilds, each focusing on one game: Diablo 2, Star Wars: Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and Hellgate: London.
The Basin is entirely non-commercial. No ads exist anywhere on the website, no fees are charged to participate in the community, and all of the people who keep the organization going do so as unpaid volunteers.
To read about how the Basin developed from its beginnings in the summer of 2000, check out Our History.
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The community interacts in four different but related settings:
- The Forums, which are the largest and most active part of the Basin website;
- The Amazon Basin channel in the game itself;
- Amazon Basin games organized by members of the community and played under Amazon Basin conventions; and
- Personal messages through the messenger service available to all registered members of the community.
Information about each of these environments is provided below.
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Yes. You can read the Forums, the
Guides, and plenty of other
information on our website, even
without registering as a user. When you play Diablo II
on-line you can also enter and participate in the Amazon Basin
channel without registering with us.
You will need to register in order to post in the Forums, to send
personal messages, and to play in Amazon Basin games. But
registering does not require any commitment from you, other than
your willingness to observe our general guidelines for all
community participation in the Forums, the channel, and our
games.
"Membership" is neither required nor expected for people who want to be an active part of the Amazon Basin community. Amazon Basin membership may be applied for, and is extended by invitation from existing members, typically only after someone has been active for some months and is known to a variety of existing members. If you are interested in the process toward membership status, check out How do I become a Member?.
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You don't need to know anything to surf our website, read the Guides, or check out the Forums. But before you start posting, or before you begin playing in Amazon Basin games, you should know what everyone in the community expects of others in the way of rudimentary good conduct.
While we have very few "rules," we have a strong ethic of respect among people who participate in the Forums, the channel, and in our games. If that ethic were to be summarized in two words they would probably read: "Be courteous." For more explicit guidelines, read the FAQ sections below regarding the Forums, the Amazon Basin channel, and Amazon Basin gameplay.
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We maintain a set of Strategy Forums, and a separate set of General Forums.
In the Strategy Forums is a separate forum for each of the seven Diablo II character classes. (The Amazon class actually gets three forums: Bowazon, Javazon, and Spearazon.) We also have a Technical Discussion forum, a Hardcore forum, and a Dueling forum.
The most active of the General Forums are the Game/Basin-Related Discussion forum and the Meeting Place forum, where people arrange to form games or groups for co-op play.
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Yes. Each forum has at least one moderator. The moderators are listed (with links to message them) in the Moderating Team page.
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The Forums exist for people in the community to exchange information. The post at the start of a thread will be read by dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of people. It invites their thoughts and response. So it should be reasonably coherent, as should each responsive post.
If you follow a few simple guidelines, you will find plenty of people ready to answer any questions you may post.
First, before you start a thread consider whether the answer to your question is already posted. Many questions arise all the time, and regular Forum-goers get tired of seeing the same subjects re-asked, when the poster could have found the answer with just a little research. So if your question is likely to be of general interest, check the Guides to see if any are right on point, look at recent threads in the Forum on your subject, and maybe even run a search of the threads in our archives.
Second, pick the right forum for your post. It's not the end of the world if you post in the wrong place (in fact, a moderator will move it to the right forum), but you'll get a better response if you start in the right place to begin with.
Third, pick a single subject for your post, so that the thread won't go off on a tangent and leave much of what you wanted to find out unanswered. Ideally, each thread should be on one topic (though it can include several different questions on that topic). Asking in a single thread about weapons for an Assassin, when the next no-twink group will get going, and where you should go magic finding is not a good idea.
Finally, put enough thought into your post that readers see you care enough about it to justify their time reading it and crafting a response. Be coherent. Write in sentences. Remember that some of the most skilled folks in the community learned English as a second (or third, or fourth) language, and they shouldn't need a lingo-decoder to understand what you are saying.
But we aren't in the perfect grammar business, and most folks have better use of their time than writing letter-perfect posts that are suitable for publication in the London Times. Just use good sense. If you spend a few minutes reading posts on the Forums, you'll quickly get a feel for what works.
Those same guidelines apply to posts you make in reply to existing threads, too. Keep your replies "on topic." If you want to launch off onto something new, start a new thread.
For a concise statement of the rules for posting on the Forums, go to the Forum Guidelines page. In general, keep in mind that your posts tell the community something about who you are. We quickly learn to associate folks by the posts they make. So the more you put into yours, the greater the esteem people will hold you in.
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Don't swear. What we put on our Forums should be suitable for everyone to read, and foul language rarely qualifies. (For more on this, see the "Rules vs. Guidelines" discussion below.)
Don't be a bigot. Racist, sexist, and other hateful comments are not tolerated.
Don't post trades.
Don't flame others.
Don't treat the Forums as if they were chat rooms. They aren't. Although a few of the Forums are for casual exchanges, the heavily used forums are for dialogue and debate.
Don't air personal disputes in the Forums. If a disagreement arises out of something done or said in a Basin game, or in the Basin channel, or if a post caused personal offense, then take it up in a personal message to whoever else is involved. If you want guidance or assistance, send a personal message to a moderator or a Basin administrator. But don't start a post over a private quarrel.
Don't post links to cheat/hack sites.
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Posting a warning about a hack or a cheat is allowed, and can be helpful. What is not allowed is posting the URL of a site offering a hack, or embedding a link to such a site in a Basin post.
The software at these sites can be incredibly destructive. Some of it is malicious. A site created by a skilled hacker can install destructive software on your computer without your permission, and without your knowledge. Firewalls (if you have them) may or may not protect you.
If you want to take the risks of visiting such sites, that's your business. But the Basin doesn't want to be even a tacit participant in anyone being drawn into going there for any reason. We also don't want to be associated with those sites in any way. So posts on our forums that tell others where to go for hacks and cheats are forbidden.
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The Basin is a place to enjoy gaming, discussion, and friends. It's not a place for commerce. We want the Basin to attract people interested in the former activities, not those whose focus is engaging in the latter.
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Pictures consume bandwidth, and significantly delay the load time of forum pages. Because the same signature appears in every post of a given person, large signature files can have a huge impact on load times, particularly for those using a modem. Pictures also tend to create a cluttered, unattractive appearance on forum pages.
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The Amazon Basin channel exists on three realms: US East, US West, and Europe. It is op theamazon-basin all three places. (That is, with a space between "op" and "theamazon-basin".)
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Anyone willing to respect the Basin's general guidelines for the channel is welcome.
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People meet, chat, line up games, and often use the channel for their home base when playing Diablo II.
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The same "don'ts" about bigotry, sexism, and other hateful speech that exist for the Forums apply to the channel. We keep the channel as someplace suitable for gamers of all ages and attitudes. Dialogue that would offend anyone's reasonable sensibilities isn't needed, and isn't welcome. Several other "don'ts" apply to the channel as well.
Don't beg for items.
Don't ask for "cheese," or help rushing your character through the game.
Don't solicit trades.
Don't ask for the password for Basin games. (The procedure for Basin passwords is described below.)
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Yes. A Bot carries much of the load of enforcing basic standards of civility, and keeping out of the channel people who have abused its privileges and been banned. Volunteer Basin moderators also oversee conduct in the channel.
One element of the Bot is an "emergency spam control" feature. On rare occasions, the channel has been flooded with players spamming for items or just clogging the channel. When that happens, the spam control turns on and kicks their accounts from the channel. But it can kick regular members at the same time. If you see someone mention that spam control is on, or if you're kicked for no apparent reason, rejoin and stay fairly quiet until the attack is over and the control turns back off.
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For the most part, the moderators let people in channel enjoy the place, and one another's company. But when someone engages in disruptive conduct (see the "don'ts" above), the moderators warn/kick/ban the offender.
Moderating is a thankless task, and we would all prefer that the need never arise for moderators to intervene. But unfortunately, the need does arise from time to time, and moderators have substantial discretion in their enforcement of our guidelines for unacceptable conduct in the channel.
Generally, an offender is first warned about a problem. If he/she persists, a kick from the channel occurs. Further problems with that player result in a ban. But the warn/kick/ban sequence is not ironclad, and particularly flagrant conduct can warrant an immediate ban without warning.
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Yes, if it's offensive. A player's character name is the first message the player sends to everyone else in the channel. It creates the first impression others have of that person. If the name is offensive (see the "don'ts" above), neither that character nor that gamer is welcome. So:
No bashing of groups ("slayerofjews," "die_Koreans," "kill_whitey").
No directed hate ("abguy_sucks").
No promoting illegal acts, such as real-life violence ("IkilledUrMom," "Prison_Rape," "Ipoke_Smot").
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They are guidelines. The moderators use their judgment and common sense, as we ask everyone in the channel to do. The real world isn't black and white, and no amount of rulemaking will ban all that is offensive, or allow all that is tolerable.
What's more, legitimate grey areas will always exist. Language that could offend people in "prime time" may be harmless at three in the morning, when two or three regulars are talking by themselves in the channel. Double-entendre names and dialogue are often not amenable to rigid rules. A player who comes into the channel and exclaims, "Sh**, my level 87 Barb just got PK'ed," will be tolerated more than someone declaring, "All softcore players are Sh**."
So we don't handcuff moderators or gamers with iron-clad rules. We ask instead that people be civil, and use good sense.
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Yes, but the circumstances would need to be extraordinary to warrant the reversal of a ban. The banned individual should follow the procedure to seek an unban for the realm involved.
Because a ban (or lesser action) is an issue personal to the individual involved, it is not an appropriate subject for a separate thread in the Forums.
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While we often play in public games, people in the Basin frequently play in private games created by Amazon Basin community members using game names and passwords under our conventions.
Our games are among the unique features of the Amazon Basin. Hallmarks of Amazon Basin games are honesty, cooperation, and item sharing. For a guide on Amazon Basin games (and a wealth of gameplay wisdom), read MagiMac's Guide to Amazon Basin Games. For a quick introduction specially designed for younger players, check out our Starter Guide to Basin Games. Some specific features of our games are discussed below.
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Yes, everyone in the Amazon Basin Community (Community Members and AB Members) can make Basin games. In fact, if you want to play in a Basin game and it isn't already created (under the official game name conventions of whatever realm you are on), you should feel free to create and play in it until others join up. Just be sure to use the appropriate game name and password for the realm and difficulty level you are in, as listed in WeaselTech.
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The Basin has regular games that follow standard game name conventions. We create other games for special events: Magic finding runs, treasure hunting contests, pre-planned power leveling sessions, etc. And Amazon Basin members may create one-time Basin games for any reason they choose.
All of our games are password protected. The passwords are available to anyone who is registered in the Amazon Basin community. Access to game names and passwords is handled through our own WeaselTech software, designed and maintained by our resident software guru, AllWeasel.
All game passwords change regularly, so Basin players routinely consult WeaselTech to see what games are available, and how they are passworded.
The passwords should never be given out anywhere else. Mentioning them in the Amazon Basin channel is forbidden. They shouldn't even be whispered to another player. WeaselTech is always just a click away for anyone in good standing in the Basin community, so people who ask for a password should always be referred to WeaselTech.
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Here are the Amazon Basin Games Rules. We like to think of them as commonsense guidelines for providing a friendly, cooperative gaming experience.
- Be Friendly. Do not directly or indirectly attack other players.
- Play Fair. The use of hacks, cheats, or illegal items is forbidden.
- Share Drops. All item drops belong to the entire group, to be distributed fairly.
- Be Courteous. Refrain from inappropriate language, insults, and harassment.
- Come to Play. Basin games are primarily for team play - not trading, muling, or rushing.
Everyone is expected to abide by these principles, which we can and do enforce. If in doubt, ask an Amazon
Basin Member about what they mean.
And remember - do not distribute passwords to our games - doing so will have serious consequences!
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It means that you should honor the idea that the Amazon Basin is a community of friends playing games. Be a helpful, cooperative teammate.
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Because it's the friendly thing to do. People want to know who they're playing with. When a new person enters a game, the other players will give their forum names. Now, you don't have to type your name if you're in the middle of a battle, but as soon as you're safe, you should introduce yourself. The new person is also expected to give his or her forum name, especially if the account name is different from the forum name.
If you want to know someone's forum name, just ask, but always start by giving yours, for example: "Hi, my forum name is Sandor. What's yours?" If someone asks you your forum name, they should tell you theirs first. If they don't, you should ask them while you tell them yours. If anyone in a Basin game refuses to say who they are on the forums, report it at once as described here. No one without a forum account belongs in our games, and anyone refusing to say who they are is not welcome.
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It depends. It's friendly to ask if they want help, but being friendly also means respecting people's desire to play the game at their own pace. Some people want to play every quest area in order. Others want to allow their characters to gain experience. If your higher level character "helps," you'll take away their experience. And that's not friendly at all.
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Yes. This is a friendly gesture to the other people in the game. Most of the time, you'll get responses like "go for it" or "sure." Sometimes, though, you'll discover that there are players who may be close to that point in the game, and they will want you to wait so that they can join in.
You should also ask before killing some key mini-bosses, too. For example, if you kill Radament without asking, you may find that an Act 1 group was just about to kill Andariel and then move on to Radament. That group will now have to start a new game to get the quests.
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The Amazon Basin Diablo II community is strongly opposed to all non-consensual PK (Player Killing) activities, as these activities fundamentally conflict with the gameplay experience for which we strive. These activities also include hunting down and killing PK characters or chasing PKs from game to game (PKK). We do not seek to police individual members’ responses within the games in which they are hostiled, however, and recognize many players may desire to defend themselves, their party, or their games against PK activities. We strongly recommend, however, that members should keep the overall safety and good of the Basin in mind, as they should at all times, when dealing with PK situations.
Mutually agreed-upon duels and Friendly Fire games are exempted, as the players in question have each consented to hostilities.
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An indirect attack is creating a situation that endangers another player's character. You should never create any of these situations deliberately, and if you accidentally create a bad situation (example: a trapped waypoint), you should let everyone in the game know immediately.
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If you do end up with a trapped waypoint/TP, you should let everyone else in the game know immediately. If a waypoint is trapped, let others know and see if anyone can help you clear it. If it's too dangerous to clear, then suggest making a new game.
If your TP is trapped, either leave the game and come back or find a safe place (example: just outside of town) and make a new TP. Hardcore players may prefer to leave the game and return so that no one will use the TP.
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We mean you should not use any hacks, and no cheats, such as Maphack and other software not approved by Blizzard.
We also mean that you should not steal items from games.
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Yes. The Diablo II community recognizes that while our forums, channels, and games are not used for trading, many members enjoy trading with other individuals, both inside and outside of the Basin environment. In keeping with our overall concerns for maintaining a fair environment within the Basin and our desire to uphold our reputation for fairness within the general battle.net community, we ask that all members engage in honorable trading at all times. Trading honorably includes, but is not limited, to the following:
- Making your trading partner aware of the origins of any items traded.
- Refraining from using third party programs to dupe, hack, or Pindle/Shopbot items for trade under any
circumstances.
- Refraining from using or trading any items known or suspected to be duped, hacked, or Pindle/Shopbotted under any circumstances.
We also ask that members who trade educate themselves about the most commonly duped items circulating on battle.net in order to avoid unwittingly circulating these items both in the Basin environment and on the realms.
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The Amazon Basin Diablo II community believes that a friendly and cooperative environment is one in which members can expect fair play both in game and in trading. Fair play is predicated on trusting that each player has the same opportunities to develop his or her character within the game's structure. As a result, the Basin believes that fair play involves rejecting game modifications that could give one player an advantage over another, either in game play or in trading.
Therefore, the Amazon Basin Diablo II community is opposed to hacks and cheats, which could detract from other players’ enjoyment of the game or contribute to the degradation of the battle.net environment. This includes, but is not limited to, Maphacks, Pindlebots, Shopbots, hacked items (e.g., Occy rings), duped items and any other mechanisms that contribute to unfair gameplay.
Because it compensates for older, slower computers without contradicting the fundamental principle of cooperative fair play, the only game modification tolerated in Amazon Basin games is the Lag Reduction Module (LRM). However, members should understand that they assume all risks for potential violations of Blizzard’s Terms of Service.
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It depends, but generally whether a player takes advantage of a bug or imbalance inherent in the current Diablo II version is left to each player's own judgment and sense of ethics.
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Unlike public games where players rush to grab and keep prized items, everyone in an Amazon Basin party shares in whatever the group recovers. All valuable items are left in town for everyone to see. Decisions on who gets what are left to the group, typically at the end of the game. So if you join an active Amazon Basin game, you are likely to find a pile of loot lying on the ground in town. It's being amassed by the players in that Act, and they will share in dividing it up (or decide to share it with other players elsewhere in the game as well). For a more detailed explanation, see this discussion of item drops.
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The Amazon Basin believes that language used in our games should be acceptable to people of all ages and backgrounds. Therefore, racist, bigoted language is not tolerated in our games. Likewise, we frown on swearing and other vulgar language. And we ask that you be careful about the slang you use. For example, don't call things "gay" or say that you'll "rape" Andariel. This type of language is extremely disrespectful and inappropriate for our community.
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Muling items between your own characters in a Basin game can distract others while you repeatedly enter/exit, or cause misunderstandings over whether your items are part of the collected drops.
If you wish to transfer in an open AB game with characters not currently in the game, you are required to:
- Obtain explicit permission of all players already in the game before starting to transfer. Explicit permission is only given if every player in the game has actively said, "yes."
- Obtain explicit permission from new players as they arrive before continuing to transfer. If permission is denied by a newcomer, you are allowed to re-enter the game with one other character to retrieve your items, prior to returning with your playing character.
- Neither transfer when permission has not been explicitly given, nor question the choice of those who do not give permission.
The Basin's policy on transferring items in Basin games is here.
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Yes, and we do it all the time. Players in a Basin game or in the Basin channel frequently ask for help from others in muling items, and they agree on a private game name/password for the purpose.
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Bless you for being so generous! Please understand, though, that donating items can cause some of the same problems as muling: distracting from game play, cause misunderstandings about drops, etc. Before you donate items, you should read our complete policy on donating items here.
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No. You should not ask for rushes (also known as "cheese") in Amazon Basin games, in our channel, or on our forums.
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No. If you and a friend want to cheese a character, you should make a private game. Cheesing involves killing act bosses, which will spoil the quests for anyone else in the game.
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Don't use hacks or cheats of any kind (see above).
Don't steal items from the group (see above).
Don't use hostile, hateful, or offensive language (see the guidelines on this subject for the Forums and the Channel).
Don't PK other players (see above).
Don't give out passwords to Basin games, even to a friend. Always send other players to WeaselTech.
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Yes. Follow the unban procedure for WT denials.
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Just register. By registering you get a Basin account, which automatically comes with a profile template and access to our personal message software. Links for messaging other Basin community members are automatically embedded in their posts, so they are easily found. Your Basin account comes with an address book for maintaining addresses of other community members with whom you correspond.
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Check out the forums. Look at the Guides, and surf our site. Read over this FAQ. If you like what you see, come register.
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