The wizards are the final judges of what is 'canonical' (fits into the theme) and what is not. In many cases, however, other leaders on the MUSH have contributed a great deal of time and thought, and may be the canon experts in their particular field.
Frequently, new players try to find their niche on the game by coming up with something 'different,' and find this quite frustrating when they are told it's not canonical. The best way to explore the fine line we try to maintain on PernMUSH is to play the game to get a feel for it, before trying to change things.
Riders
In Anne McCaffrey's books, female riders of any dragon other than gold are extremely rare - so rare, in fact, that there is only one instance of this happening. On PernMUSH, however, we have taken the step of allowing female characters to Impress to any colour of dragon except bronze, and male characters to Impress to any colour of dragon except gold. Male riders still use the honorific (Rokon would become R'kon, for example) but female riders do not. At one point in PernMUSH history there were female riders who took the honorific, and there are still a few who have retained it, but this is rare.
Swords
PernMUSH is a world poor in metallic resources, and one in which people must cooperate in order to survive. The Traditional boundaries and laws which govern men are generally sufficient to prevent any but the smallest of physical confrontations - the occasional drunken brawl or a rare insult duel. Beltknives, small knives designed mainly for the purpose of eating, are the only weapon that 95 percent of Pernese would carry. Each Hold might have a limited supply of heavier weapons like swords, but these would be kept under lock and key, and might only ever appear on state occasions. Guards depend on their strength of body and character to deal with the very few people who ever create a disturbance, and are few in number in each Hold.
Conflict is subtler in a world where the real enemy, Thread, is a constant reminder of how precious life is. Words and political manoeuvring are the commonest weapons. No character should be carrying weapons on his or her person. There are sword and sorcery games online; this is not one of them.
Travelling
During a Pass, Pern is not the safest planet on which to travel long distances. Besides the fact that every member of a Hold, Weyr, or Hall is needed at home, the erratic Threadfalls can make it very dangerous to travel far from assured shelter. Groups of holders and crafters may well travel to areas within a day's ride by runner, and journeymen who travel lightly may travel from Hold to Hold, but cross-continent travel is generally reserved for the more audacious trading families, or those who have rank sufficient enough to ensure them travel a-dragonback (L.Holders and Craftmasters, usually). On PernMUSH, however, communication and roleplay frequently necessitate travelling due to the members of areas who are logged on at a given time. Each player is encouraged to have a canonical, reasonable excuse for being in a particular place (being sent on an errand; having tagged along with a superior), but should not feel obligated to stay in one spot out of canonical considerations.
Dragons
The dragon colours which exist on PernMUSH are: gold, bronze, brown, blue, green. No other dragon colour is permitted. This is part of our original agreement with Anne McCaffrey.
Many players have expressed a desire to be able to 'hear all dragons.' It is the opinion of the wizards that this talent is extremely rare, and as dragons do communicate with each other on PernMUSH, in order to create a character that can communicate with dragons independent of having Impressed their own, a player must send email to both the Weyr Council list and the wizard list, outlining a character background and explaining how this character will add to the MUSH significantly. Permission for such a character is extremely unlikely; it's usually better to come up with a different sort of background.
Animals
Animals on Pern fall under the authority of the Beastcraft, with the exceptions of firelizards (and dragons, although we generally consider them people). The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern contains an extensive section on Pernese animals as well. The only 'pets' which are permitted without the express permission of the Craftmaster of the Beastcraft are dogs and cats, and they should behave only as these animals normally would - they do not speak, communicate telepathically, or display unusual signs of intelligence. Runnerbeasts (horses) are also reasonably common in certain holds. See or consult a member of the Beastcraft for more details about Pernese animals.
Firelizards
Firelizards are, physically, 'dragons in miniature,' and follow many of the same instinctive patterns. They may Impress upon Hatching to a nearby person, probably the first to offer food in a comforting way. They also may produce flames from the ingestion of firestone, although in the numbers in which they are present in the northern continent, it would be unlikely that enough of a fair could be mustered over anything to protect it in a Fall.
Firelizards are not incredibly intelligent. They respond to emotions, largely, and cannot think in concepts or words. Occasionally they may be able to get a very fuzzy image across to their 'owner,' but this would be fairly rare. In roleplaying these creatures, it's generally preferable to assume they have about the intelligence of a cat or dog.
Rank
Pern, unlike 20th century Western society, is a society that has a high regard for social status. When roleplaying, it is a good idea to keep in mind that even though as players respect develops through shared experience, as Pernese characters, rank brings at the very least a pretense of respect. The ranks are:
Lord/Lady Holder; Weyrleader/woman; Craftmaster/second
Very few people would argue with these people to their faces; most would follow orders from any one of them (there might be grumbling behind their backs). Within their areas, familiarity might breed a more relaxed atmosphere - depending on the personalities involved.
Hold Heirs; Weyrlingmaster/Wingleader; Masters
Only rarely would these people be challenged in their authority; in the Harper Hall trilogy it's clear that apprentices are required to obey Masters in *any* craft, as an example.
Headwoman/Steward; Journeymen; Wingseconds/many riders
Here things get complex, but generally, these people are deserving of quite a bit of respect. Some Headwomen/Stewards have even more authority, so people unfamiliar with the area would give them respect like that accorded to the leaders. Also, the specific area would be more at play - a Harper Journeyman would get more respect from a Harper Apprentice than a Minecraft Apprentice, possibly, but even a Minecraft Apprentice would not want any Journeyman to report on him.
Dragon Ranks
Dragons have a genetically imprinted social structure. All dragons will obey a gold from their weyr, and from other weyrs, with the possible exception of other golds. No dragon could disobey the senior queen, no matter how much its rider might insist. Bronzes are next in rank, then browns, and finally, blues and greens. There is a small degree of flexibility, for example, in Threadfall even the golds follow the senior bronze, but this is rare.
Due to the dragons' position as the protectors of both Pern and their riders, it would be rare for a rider's authority to be challenged by anyone not of the Master/Hold Heir Rank or above outside of the Weyrs - although someone might appeal to another rider to interfere.
The end result of this rank structure is a complex mix of social mores. A rider, for example, would be externally polite to Masters and Craftmasters regardless of his or her feelings, but s/he might complain to a Weyrleader about an incident, who might then complain to the Craftmaster of the craft in question, or who might say 'Well, s/he's a Master, so we'll have to let it drop.' The examples of these situations are numerous: one of the most striking is where Piemur criticizes the Oldtimers and Robinton, despite his probable agreement on an emotional level, is very offended that an apprentice would dare to voice such an opinion - even in private.
In general, if you are roleplaying with persons of rank, if you have not previously agreed with them OOCly that you are going to be insolent or disrespectful, you should treat them with respect. Otherwise, their options of how to react ICly are extremely limited. It is extremely OOC to say 'you have to _earn_ my respect' to them, as Pernese are raised from birth to respect rank. Since PernMUSH has a rank system based on merit and some length of play on the game, people who have received these ranks tend to be players who are aware of both the roleplaying atmosphere (which is fairly relaxed) and also what it is like to be a non-ranked character; those who play them are well aware of the respect that every _player_ deserves and will act accordingly.