Grasping the spirit of the rules is easy, but applying them to a given
situation unfortunately isn't. So following you find a short
discussion of common situations and recommended actions. 
Use them as a guideline - stick to them where possible, and deviate
from them where necessary.
Don't be surprised that a lot recommendations ask you to 'think
flexible' - after all, they are just recommendations.

Topics covered so far are:
  - How to get things done?
  - A real newbie is stuck in a cave and has no light.
  - A player suffered from a lost connection or a bug.
  - A player wants help in solving a quest.
  - A player/wizard misbehaves.
  - What counts as 'misbehaviour'?
  - A misbehaving player/wizard claims that this is only a game.
  - I'd like to make a real badass monster.
  - I'd like to make a walking badass monster.
  - I made an item with special features, may I add it?
  - Do you like my hypertunnel?
  - I made a suggestion and it was never regarded!
  - I have an idea about a great new domain.
  - What may a testplayer do or be?
  - May wizards solve quests?
  - The Kirk Quest isn't 'long distant past'!


-- How to get things done? --
  Think about what you want to get done. Do it.


-- A real newbie is stuck in a cave and has no light. --
  This shouldn't happen that often, as newbies get a starting
  equipment. If it happens, you are free to give him a torch, or show
  him the way out, or similar.


-- A player suffered from a lost connection or a bug. --
  Don't compensate or help him.
  Every player has the same chance of running into netdeath or a bug,
  and compensating this one player would be unfair to the others.
  If it's a true bug, inform the domain to correct it, and if the
  player definitely got stuck, help him out.
  If a bug prevents a quest from being solved rather early, the quest
  simply can't be solved until corrected. 

  Be aware that a lot of 'bugs' are in fact quest puzzles which the
  player did not recognize and thus did not solve yet.
  Also, a decent number of true bugs are annoying but minor and thus
  not really (quest-)fatal.


-- A player wants help in solving a quest. --
  The only help you may give is giving hints, like 'Ever took a close
  look at the walls?'. Collecting objects or giving explicit
  instructions is forbidden.


-- A player/wizard misbehaves. --
  Talk with him, try to convince him to stop it. If he doesn't, inform
  the other wizards.
  If he behaves really really badly, stop him temporarily(!) from
  using the abused commands (and just them). 
  You are never to kill or banish a player.


-- What counts as 'misbehaviour'? --
  Good question.
  In short, everything which causes someone to say 'Stop it!' and
  meaning it.
  Promising candidates for the label 'misbehaviour' are:
   - disregard of the rules' spirit.
   - faking (perjorative) messages of things which do not really
     happen, like JRWiz doing 'echo Ryuka slashes with her sword, but
     misses you.'
   - all sorts of harassment, sexual or else.
   - repeated destruction of important or cloning of annoying objects.
   - abusing the mud for a private fight.
   - wizards killing players, or luring them into deadly situations.
   - repeated unnecessary shouts, whatever their content is.
     ...

  But remember: it may be just you who feels annoyed. Think flexible.


-- A misbehaving player/wizard claims that this is only a game. --
  Answer him: "Game or not, in the end there are real people sitting
  at the keyboards, and if some of them take OSB more seriously than
  you, you have to respect that. If you don't like that, go and play
  somewhere else."

  This very question ("Is it just a game or more?") is repeatedly
  discussed on the net and yet not decided. However, everybody
  agrees that everybody has a point beyond which the real life restarts
  - and we're talking such extraordinary situations here.


-- I'd like to make a real badass monster. --
  You're welcome, but... 
  The player must always have a chance to avoid the monster. Make it
  obvious that something dangerous is following, by putting up warning
  hints, make the access to the areal more difficult, and all that.
  The same applies to all sorts of deadly traps or rooms.
  If the player doesn't believe the warning signs then (or even gets
  attracted by them), it's his own fault.


-- I'd like to make a walking badass monster. --
  Either don't make it badass, or restrict its walking to an area with
  only a few entrances which bear warning signs (skeleton, warning
  messages written in blood, and all such). You can also give all
  players in a room a precognition ("A faint cold fear runs through
  your veins. Alerted you scan your surroundings... isn't there a
  movement to the south?") and enough time to leave the room before
  the monster actually enters it.


-- I made an item with special features, may I add it? --
  Sure. But it have to fit into the game: the time, the area/domain,
  and it mustn't destroy the game balance. And it must been tested
  exhaustively!!!


-- Do you like my hypertunnel? --
  Yes, but... transporting and healing objects are to follow strict
  rules, as they easily unbalance the game.
  Whenever you think of such an object, ask the other wizards for hints.


-- I have an idea for a great new domain. --
  Good. But before rushing out and gathering domainlevels and
  -directories first sit down and make a nice proposal of it and put
  it on the 'd' board for discussion. Try to convince the rest of the
  wizards that your projected domain would add unique fun to and fit in
  with the other domains.

  It is tempting to create a new domain for every idea, but this too
  easily leads to large, nearly empty and thus boring landscapes.


-- What may a testplayer do or be? --
  A testplayer is to be used as testplayer, to test your creations
  before opening them to the public. Nothing more.
  It must not become wizard, nor may it be used to break the (wizard)
  rules.


-- May wizards solve quests? --
  Yes, sure. Players have priority, though.


-- The Kirk Quest isn't 'long distant past'! --
  Neither aren't the dispensers, the former C.A.R.T. system, the
  Predator quest, and some other things.
  Though being a themed mud, OSB ist not a strictly themed mud.
  Modern objects of fun value are acceptable if their presence is not
  too obvious: elevators may be powered by magic (or sweating dwarves
  in the cellar), the Kirk quest is hidden in a castle, dispensers
  need not be build from steel and glass, and the Predator's
  space-ship does crash-land in OSB.
  But issuing modern objects in great scale (cars, planes, .357-Pythons, 
  Swiss Army Chainsaws) definitely isn't acceptable.