>* If you know another player OOC, treat their character as
>you would any other.
>This disallows having multiple characters 'attached at the
>hip'. See
>PERMAGROUP.

I have to agree that the rule/interpretation needs updating. Either change it to say that any grouping with, pking with, exploring with or otherwise interacting with a character that you know through OOC means is against the rules or it should not have been enforced in this case from what has been said. In my opinion, as a person who has never gone to Hell, partially due to time constraints, I can see how difficult it would be to try and get a proper group to explore successfully through IC means. Heck, with a 6 week old daughter I'm lucky to get 1-2 hours to play with interruptions in there and I imagine most of the player base is the same. Anything like Hell requiring a good 6-7 hours or more has to be scheduled in advance and the OOC communication tools make it far easier to plan.

On another note regarding the permagrouping rule, throughout the years, the friends that I know in real life have pretty much all stopped playing. Some would return if they could roll characters to play with me, as it is nice to have friends in real life you can game with especially knowing that your 1-2 hours of playtime will not be wasted trying to find a group. Instead, they do not want to spend time making a character, getting into the character because of the risk of being denied. Instead, they play other multi-player games. I am not saying that the rules should be ignored, but for some of the aspects of the game that are more tedious than others, such as big exploration expeditions and ranking, I think it would be beneficial to relax the rules. Allow a person to invite a real life friend that they can help by leveling with, showing gear, etc. without the risk of a deny.

Anyway, that's just my take on the matter.