Player killing was part of the rules
The 1999 rules explicitly allowed player killing. They asked players not to farm new or clearly weaker characters without provocation, prohibited trash talk and exploits, and allowed loot from legal PvP kills while excluding guard-kill abuse and protected duels.
Macroing was also allowed within reason, but not in crowded public areas. Staff were not there to restore ordinary losses, raise skills, or teleport people out of bad decisions.
Town safety changed in public
On 22 November, town attacks were prohibited while guard behavior was being sorted out. On 4 December, Kho’saf reintroduced town fighting under trial rules: no offensive magic or summoning in town, no calling guards when knowingly gray or orange, and no looting kills that were not your own.
Redux uses a clear six-count murderer threshold and instant-kill town guards. Those are current rules, not a claim that every 1999 week used the same settings.
The map carried the consequences
Britain Bank, the roads to the graveyard, Occlo, Buccaneer’s Den, dungeons, guild houses, Chaos Isle, the Duel Pits, and the Teleport Center gave conflict geography. Later community records and two independent recollections preserve battles involving large organized groups.
The nostalgia is not for a slogan about danger. It is for recognizing the name on the other side of the bridge.