The Lining

The Lining was a bar in Tapestries MUCK. It was originally mostly focused on BDSM, this being the initial focus of the MUCK. It now exists on DarkFurr MUCK moved there after its deletion from Tapestries. The oldest parts of the bar were based on a bar of the same name in Floral Park, New York that has since been replaced by a church.

History
The Lining was opened on October 15, 1996, and originally contained only the two bars and a bathroom. Over the years it had expanded with a hot tub section, pool, a rooftop bar, a non-consensual room, and several other attractions.

Deletion from Tapestries
The owner of The Lining, Banner, had announced publicly on his website on April 14, 2007 that he would be closing The Lining at the end of the month, stating that "WhiteFire [aka WhiteWizard ] has decided that I am a poor manager of this location, regardless of the fact of its being the number one or two spot every day since it opened back in October of 1996." This letter also cites what Banner feels to be abuse by Tapestries owner and head wizard WhiteFire. He also stated that he would not follow through with closing the area if he received an apology from WhiteFire.

In a subsequent posting, Banner stated that he did not feel he would be fairly heard on a forum that Whitefire controlled, a forum which he felt few people viewed, and on which he felt that WhiteFire has a history of punishing people for saying things he doesn't like. Banner also believed that as soon as he put up his reasons for the impending closing, that WhiteFire would delete the bar, and most likely any messages he posted.

WhiteWizard, for his part, questioned the motives of the post being made where it could not be directly responded to by the patrons of the Lining or the Wizards. WhiteWizard also claimed that they will not punish people for posting contradictory opinions to the forums except in the case where they violate other policies, and that he has allowed extensively critical posts about them to continue to exist on the forums.

Upon seeing what he perceived as an ultimatum, WhiteWizard discussed the situation with several people, including a six-hour-long conversation with one of his other wizards. On April 16, 2007, WhiteWizard deleted the entire area by means of purging all objects owned by Banner, stating that he did not want to put the MUCK through a month of waiting to see if Banner would follow through on removing the area or not. . As a side effect of the purge, StarrBucks, also owned by Banner, was deleted as well. The residents of the coffee shop were thus left with their building in unlinked space (like most private homes on the Muck.)

Toading from Tapestries
The next day Banner was toaded, with WhiteWizard citing the second part of Banner's post, claiming it violated the privacy policy of the muck, especially relating to revealing the name of the person who originated the complaint against Banner.

Banner refuted this for the following reasons: 1) He believed the posting of the page mails that WhiteWizard sent him proved that WhiteFire was not being honest in his muckwide MOTD. 2) That wizard communications with members could hardly be considered 'logs'. 3) The person named was already bragging to everyone about his role in closing The Lining. He later stated that if he had been asked he would have removed the name. WhiteWizard believed that such communications can contain sensitive information (names, for example) that should not be revealed, and that they were protected under the privacy statement. He also further denied that they in any way contradicted the statement posted in the MOTD and forums.

Banner further believed that he was never informed of either the stockading or the banning, and that this was a violation of the Muck's policies. The wizards pointed out that it was common to simply post stockadings to the bulletin board in the area that the stockaded members can read for themselves, and that Banner responded to the toading before they could compose an email to his registered email in such a way it was apparent he was already aware of the situation. While Banner's name is reserved for now, he is not listed as Banned, meaning that he is free to create another character on the Muck. Informing users of punishment is not required by policy, but is common practice and considered good form by the wiz core of Tapestries MUCK.

Clientèle
The Lining is a Bi/Straight/Gay bar and while the clientèle tends more towards gay males it is friendly to all sexual preferences. The owner and the hired staff will not tolerate anyone who discriminates based on this.

Atmosphere
The Lining was a BDSM bar, inline with the original theme of the MUCK. It still sticks to this theme, though the main bar is somewhat mellower than it was when it was first opened. In this light, The Lining featured the first 'Non-Consent' room ever allowed on Tapestries, the construction of which required a great deal of negotiation between the owner/founder of the bar and WhiteWizard, in order to be sure that no rules were broken. It has become such a success that many other establishments have copied this feature.

Staff
The Lining originally had no staff beyond the owner/creator (Banner) for about the first six years of operation. This led to a large amount of work for the owner as there was a lot of policy that needed to be enforced. This was made easier by the help of a few friends, and several (at the time) unique features of the bar.

The front and rear bars, as well as a few other bar locations could be monitored by the owner and a select handful of people if there are complaints about a certain fur's behavior, or should other issues arise. Also the front Bartender, as well as the two Bouncers in the rear bar (the large Black Lion and the large Black Wolf), can be played remotely as well. This combined with the sweep and banish commands allowed the owner to police the bar rules.

Bouncers and Manager
As time progressed however, in order to maintain the bar's atmosphere and the owner's sanity, a recruitment drive for Bouncers took place. This was fairly successful and the bar currently employs a staff of part time bouncers who assist. Also the original group of friends have maintained their privileges, though they are not on the official bouncer list.

The Manager (Whoas) of the bar was hired when the owner himself could not devote the necessary time to running the bar, and that worked out so well that he was kept on.

Philosophy
The Bar was popular for several reasons. The theme and the people who hang out there were important, as was the enforcement of the rules and the owner's personal commitment to an even and fair application of the rules to everyone.

This at times had been extremely hard, and very time consuming. Over the years there had been repeated attempts by different cliques to take over the bar and run others out. The amount of grief at times has been surprising for a game, and the reactions of furs when they find that in The Lining, you are actually held accountable for your actions (just like in an RL bar), has been educational.

The Bar's layout, the descriptions, the overall 'Karma', had been carefully designed even if it does not appear to be obvious. Some things have been added due to the owner's sense of humor (such as the April Fool's day changes). Other things have been added to remember events that took place, or people who were once there: Sunhawk's perch, the waterline from when Kati flooded the bar, the Bar Wolf (Wolph).

Layout
The original layout of the bar at the time of opening was as follows:

Entrance
The area of arrival for the Tport pad. It also contained the Bar's bulletin board. From here you could either go into the Bar, or into the Alleyway. As described, the building was a very plain concrete block building with a heavy metal fire door as the entrance.

Front Bar
The front bar was more of a 'nice' place, almost like an 'old man's bar' of the type found in the northeast. Plush overstuffed seats in booths with Formica tables. Food and drink were available here.

Back Bar
The back bar was painted all in black, with no lighting. It had an ashwood perch suspended from the ceiling. The music was often loud and constant. It was staffed by two naked vixen bartenders, and cougar waiters wearing heavy bondage gear. The room was patrolled by two bouncers: a wolf and a lion.

Hallway
Just a hallway, though some folks do hang out in it. Its main purpose was to join the bar to the bathroom and the Gate.

Bathroom
The Lining's bathroom was Tapestries' first non-consensual play space. This room was inspired by several events, and one person. It was described in the signs as a room for rape and heavy scenes, where in character safe words were disregarded.

This room was based almost exactly on the real life Lining - the RL one didn't have the pipes, and was a bit smaller, otherwise the stains, etc, were all there.

Alley
Just a place to play a little basketball, and hold the dumpster. The backdoor to the bar is here, as well as the entrance to the new underage club next door.

Gate
For many years, the gate was a locked barrier that you either had to find a way around, (there was a hidden one), get the combination from someone who knew it, or be on the lock list so you could pass through. The basement areas were originally a series of private play spaces for people who needed one, but in time the lock was taken off and the space was opened to the general bar public.

Landing
Again, just a place to pause. The entrance to the Office was here, as were the Hot Tubs, and the stairs continue down to the Basement.

Office
This was Banner's office. It also contained links to his and his mate's rooms, as well as functional things for the bar's operation. Whoas, the manager could often lounging about here as well.

Basement
It's pretty far down below the bar, so any noises here don't penetrate to the outside world, and vice versa.

North Dungeon
Off of the Basement, a standard rock hewn room with chains for restraining those in need of punishment.

East Dungeon
Off of the Basement, a sort of 'examination' room, with white washed walls, and examination table, and other assorted instruments of 'examination'.

Macro Room
This was a large space for those into macrophilia and vorarephilia. It was done up to appear as if you're outside in a large open field, unless you're near the door or one of the walls.

Additions
The following rooms have been added over time, mainly due to requests from the patrons.

Leather Bar
This room was added to recapture more of the original BDSM play that went on in the bar in its early years. This was an IC only area.

Chill-Out Room
Also an IC only area, but as the name implies, for 'Chilling out'.

Boxing Room
A large Boxing Ring is in this room, and there was an attached locker room as well as a shower area off of that.

Hot Tub and Pool Area
This was a large area featuring a large public Hot Tub and Pool, modeled after those found in the Nexus on FurryMuck. There were also three private Hot Tub rooms with lockable doors for those wishing privacy.

Rooftop Bar
More of a relaxed area, for general chat and just hanging out. The BDSM theme of the bar was almost invisible here, and the open air bar had a nice view of the weather.

Viewing Area
This was a part of the rooftop bar, and allowed you to interact with the furs in the cage, without actually going into the cage.

Cage
It's a Cage. Careful going in, sometimes the door locks and you can't get out.

Club Syzygy
Club Syzygy was an underage club built for ageplayers on the Muck, at the request of several Tapestries players. It was built next door to the bar, on bar property, which is why it is mentioned here under additions.

Rules
The rules for The Lining are presented here for reference. Putting a lock on the entries to the bar was not something the owner wanted to do, however he values fairness above all and without forcing people to read them, he was finding it hard to punish violators, of which there were quite a few at the time the locks were implemented.

The following rules are current, as of 07/24/06:

''Welcome to The Lining. This is a Gay/Bi/Straight BDSM Bar. It's the oldest bar on Tapestries, but first the RULES.'' ''Sometimes I do monitor the bars, there is also a bouncing staff (type 'Bouncers' to get a list). There are also 'puppet' bouncers that can be played remotely.''
 * 1) If it is discovered that you did not read all of the rules, you will be banned. Permanantly. No excuses.
 * 2) Do not debate rules with the owner (Banner) or the Bouncers. You may bring up issues or request clarification via email. But no debates.
 * 3) If someone is scening, and you break it up, you are in the wrong. PERIOD.
 * 4) The Front bar is for socializing. Sex and scening IS ALLOWED however in ALL parts of the bar.
 * 5) The Back Bar is PRIMARILY for BDSM play and scening. The goal is not to have it overrun with OOC debates and arguments. So please try to respect those who are IC.
 * 6) The Rear Bar is consentual on the whisper and OOC basis, that means that yes, someone can start what 'appears' to be a non-consensual scene with you, if you don't like it you can safeword IC'ly and they must stop. Or tell them in whispers IC or OOCLY to stop, and they MUST stop.
 * 7) Good scenes always -appear- non-consensual to those who are watching, that is what scening is about and what makes a good one.
 * 8) The Bathroom is a 'non-consensual' space. This means that safewords are IGNORED. You go in there, you get what you get. OOC Safewords STILL APPLY however. But don't go in there if you are not into that kind of thing. Furthermore read the sign in the Bathroom for more details.
 * 9) If a room has a sign in it, Read it! There may be special rules for that room. IGNORANCE of the rules is NOT an excuse.
 * 10) Punishment for most errors will be 1 week banishment. Repeated infractions will lead to a permanent ban. Severe infractions may lead directly to a permanent ban.
 * 11) SAFEWORDS MUST BE HONORED. If not I will talk to the wizards about banning you from the ENTIRE Muck! If you don't know what a safeword is, please find out before entering the bar.
 * 12) No BLOOD or violent stuff in the Front, Rear or Rooftop bars. No fighting no nasty physical stuff, no strangulation, no killing, no destruction of bar property.
 * 13) NO ANGST! This isn't a pity party, it's a BDSM bar!
 * 14) If you agree to follow the rules you need to set yourself IMADICK?:NO in the format of @set me= :no Some places will be locked to you if this property is not set! NEVER TELL ME YOU DID NOT READ THE RULES AS AN EXCUSE for misbehaving!
 * 15) No one under the age of 18 in Real Life is allowed in the Bar! Ever!
 * 16) Age Play is allowed in Club Syzygy only! Not in the Bar or Bar environs.
 * 17) The Leather Bar area is IC only! No OOC there please! People engaging in ANY ooc behavior will be swept, possibly without warning! Do not use the OOC speak or pose command there either.
 * 18) Power Idling will not be tolerated and is a bannable offense! (Power idling is using a trigger to make it look like you are not idling when in fact you are). Ignoring questions from the bouncers is considered proof of Power Idling.

''Remember: NO prudes! If you walk in and don't like what you see, walk out, they were here first! I reserve the right, ALL of them. Play nice or I -WILL- ban your ass. Your mileage may vary. Leave your ANGST at home. And in the Bathroom, ENTER at your OWN risk! (please remove any dead bodies) -Banner Owner and Proprietor'' ''The Lock prop is in the rules, PLEASE read them. If you can't figure it out but HAVE read the rules, ask for help. Thank you.'' (The Lining, its layout, descriptions, and all of its contents are copyright Banner and Banner's player (in places where Banner is not a legally recognized alias) Players are granted the right to use descriptions of the bar in any posts they make or stories they may write as long as they put in a disclaimer as to the copyright and its owner. Recreations of this establishment without the sole consent of Banner, are forbidden).