SimSig:House Rules
Voice chat etiquette and protocol
Technical setup
Please ensure that all that Discord is transmitting is the beautiful sound of your voice when you're intending to speak to the channel.
Play with the voice-activation settings, or set a push-to-talk key, to keep out background noise, keyboard noise, etc. If necessary, use headphones to stop other people's talk from activating your mic - it's helpful if only the person who's talking has their name lit up in the Discord overlay.
When joining the session, rename your Discord nickname to your sim and workstation then your name in brackets, e.g. "KXC Palace (Claire)".
Pay attention to specific instructions on how to use ROC correctly as it continues to evolve.
Keywords and phraseology
Begin your message with the name of the panel whose attention you want to get. Then state your identity (the name of the panel you're calling from), so the listeners know who you are without needing to swivel their eyeballs all the way over to Discord or its overlay. Then the subject of your message, such as a train, line, and/or location. Finally any additional detail you think might be useful
For example, you're sending a train out of Kings Cross, and you've just read its timetable and have the relevant details in your mind. The Finsbury signaller hasn't set a route for it yet, and if they don't take action soon, the driver will see the Double Yellows of Confusion, and reach for the Brake Lever of Delay:
- "Finsbury, Cross, 1S69 approaching on Down Slow (the main point of your message), scheduled for Platform 5 then Fast to Potters Bar (the possibly useful extra detail)."
If however the next signaller has already set a route for the train you can assume they've seen it coming and you don't need to say anything.
If you can see confusion and delay about to unfold in front of you while everyone else is politely taking it in turns to provide the channel with uninterrupted natter, start your message with Break, break. Its meaning is "I have an urgent message and need to cut in now, shush for a moment and listen, else there'll be Double Yellows of Confusion, Brake Lever of Delay, etc…", but it's a bit briefer. For example:
- "Break, break: Hitchin, Welwyn, 1S69 approaching."
Communicating with Control
Let the channel know before you call Control. Make sure neighbouring signallers know you're aware of any approaching trains, or ask them to set routes within your area if they see a need while you're out of the channel.
Let Control know of any incidents in your area above a threshold set for the session. The general rule is to report any wheelstop incident, i.e. anything that causes a train to be stopped when it should be moving.
Be ready to write down detailed instructions from Control - on physical paper, Notepad, or a SimSig sticky note. Control is busy and it's very embarrassing to call back five minutes later to ask "was I meant to delay this train's departure along with the three you definitely mentioned".
When the call ends, let the channel know you're back, and pass on relevant information from Control. Even if it's not relevant information it's probably interesting.
Reminders (the signalling kind)
Be generous with using Reminders (on signals and controls in your own area) to embody decisions made by yourself, other signallers, and Control. For instance, if there's a train ready to start in one of your stations but Control has told you to keep it there, collar the departure signal. By doing this, Control can tell that you're applying their instructions, and also the other signallers on the panel can see it's sat in the bay with the TRTS light flashing because you've overlooked it but because of some good reason. If a route is shut, collar the signals leading into the route, and remove the reminders when you're told the route is available again.