From LSWiki

(In game help topic is actually "mud politics", with no capitalization.)

Politics on Lost Souls

Greetings. This document details the political policy, and policy on the issue of politics, of the Lost Souls staff, also known as developers. If you are a player and plan on remaining so, you have no pressing need for this information, though you are welcome to peruse it for your general edification. If you are a developer or thinking of becoming such, you will want to pay attention. For some of you this may constitute a first and final warning.

The administration of Lost Souls makes no pretensions of democracy and no pretensions of due process. We do not and will not tolerate political infighting. Be advised that the Lost Souls staff is properly considered as a team, and that the elder and lead developers are properly considered its team leaders.

If you find this sort of environment disagreeable, we invite you to spend your time someplace more amenable to your tastes.

We do understand the difference between legitimate discussion, debate, and difference of opinion, leading to development of the proper course of action for the entire team, and politically motivated smear campaigns and bickering. The former will be rewarded; the latter will not be tolerated. If a staff member cannot wrap his mind around the concept of working with the rest of us for common goals, that person should save his time and ours and leave now.

Effective administration will be achieved by whatever means necessary. A staff member may participate in the development of the standards which will guide this administration and, through discussion, influence the opinions of the leaders who will execute it. A staff member may not slander or belittle administrative decisions or personnel and retain his position here.

We plan great things for this MUD, and you are invited to contribute to and participate in it. You are explicitly disinvited from disrupting the activity of the staff. If you think political infighting is a game that's fun to play on a MUD, you may take this as notice that we will be playing this game much more effectively and ruthlessly than you. You do not want to play politics with someone who dislikes it; he has no motivation to draw out the process.

We do not wish you to be afraid to disagree; we wish you to be afraid to harm and impede the operation and development of the MUD.

If your principles disagree with this sort of style of leadership, and you therefore feel that you must absent yourself, we are sorry. But do hear this: maybe you should stick around and see what happens. We've done this before, and it works. Pretensions of democracy don't.