Limits of the Holodeck (Legal/Moral)

[Tyyr]

I was reading old posts and the thread What would you really do in the holodeck? got me thinking. What are the limits of what is considered acceptable in the holodeck on a starship? Is there some kind of limit where the activities you engage in are considered acceptable? Do this and you're fine, do this and you're in trouble? At first I thought it would probably be limited to legal activities. After all the Federation is kinda touchy feely about maintaining the whole good guy vibe. Worf screws that up with his calisthenics program. It's specifically designed around killing other creatures. He gets a work out bisecting aliens with his bat'leth.

So is there a limit? At some point does the holodeck give you an, "I can't do that Dave," when you ask for something too extreme? Does it just log how you like to spend your time and maybe alert the ship's counselor that you're a twisted freak in your spare time? Or is it a purely hands off thing? Would it just be considered an extension of your imagination and therefore any and everything goes?

[Lt. Staplic]

The limits have to do with rank, however there's no legal/moral limits that I know of....

[Mikey]

I don't think the holodeck itself has any inbuilt limitations of that sort. Worf's claisthenics program may have been seen as odd, but in general I think it would be considered a great alternative to hurting an actual crewmate in the gym.

Even when people have crossed the proverbial line in the holodeck, according to everyone else involved in the episode (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits," etc.,) there was no protocol within the holodeck system itself to prevent it. Even the safety features can be disengaged.

[shran]

Would a normally despicble deed be just as despicable and as awful if it was committed on a hologram? Say, you'd murder a hologram.

[Mikey]

I think intent is the deciding factor there. If you shoot a bunch of characters while playing Grand Theft Auto, is it the same as going out and shooting people? Of course not. Likewise, it wouldn't be if you entered the holodeck and killed someone while running Worf's calisthenics program, or "Find the Founders MCMXVII."

[Sonic Glitch]

And also on the type of hologram. If you're killingo ne of the background characters in a novel, then no one would probably care. However, if you decided to murder the doctor or Moriarty ("living" holograms if you get my meaning) there might be issues. So it probably depends on the type of hologram and intent.

[Tyyr]

Go beyond murder though. Rape, molestation, thievery, hell go all out and lob a few hundred quantum torpedoes into the major population centers of the Earth. I bring up Worf's program just because that's one program I knew for certain that a rather anti-social activity was taking place in.

[Lazar]

I think it would be sensible to consider it like a video game, so I suppose you could do anything that's permitted for an M-rated game today. But I'm not sure about depicting non-public individuals without their consent, like Barclay was doing.

[thelordharry]

Depends how private it is really. As with most things, 'what the eye doesn't see, the heart cannot grieve over'. Are holodeck activities monitored?

[thelordharry]

Actually, to answer my own question, isn't there a VOY episode where Miss Turtle Head is 'self harming' on the holodeck and Janeway checks through her holodeck logs? I guess it would mean that although it can be done, it is only done when there is a reason to and is not monitored as a matter of course?

[Aaron]

I think it would be sensible to consider it like a video game, so I suppose you could do anything that's permitted for an M-rated game today. But I'm not sure about depicting non-public individuals without their consent, like Barclay was doing.

Apparently there aren't any regs about it, Broccoli wasn't charged for having the crew in there and neither was Quark prosecuted for attempting to get Kira's pic for a program.

[Mikey]

Whether such things are regulated or not, it appears that the holodecks themselves don't have any sort of self-limiting programming based on content. No V-chips, in other words.

[Tyyr]

Actually, to answer my own question, isn't there a VOY episode where Miss Turtle Head is 'self harming' on the holodeck and Janeway checks through her holodeck logs? I guess it would mean that although it can be done, it is only done when there is a reason to and is not monitored as a matter of course?

It's Janeway though, can we really judge standard starfleet policy based off what the queen bitch did? Still, the logs idea is a bit odd, considering what most people suspect the holodecks are primarily used for.

[Aaron]

Whether such things are regulated or not, it appears that the holodecks themselves don't have any sort of self-limiting programming based on content. No V-chips, in other words.

That and the lack of regulation tells me that SF really just doesn't give a crap what you do in there. Unless you tick off the senior staff of course.

[Tyyr]

Well, time to fire up the old Conan the Barbarian program and rape and pillage my way across the land.