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I remember the episode where Laforge's engineer, Reginald Barclay, uses the holodeck to strengthen his self confidence by creating holodeck clones (Musketeers) of the Enterprise crew, to fight against them, and Troi, as a Greek love goddess.

But it seemed to be forbidden to do this as far as I remember the episode. Also, I remember that Riker seems to use the holodeck to create bed bunnies. Of course it's not shown, but there is an episode where it's clearly insinuated that Riker seemed to be this space stallion.

Are there more details known than the one I remember? What type of Hologram programs are forbidden for distinct reasons?

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    There are a number of episodes that show that Riker avails himself of the softer pleasures of life more often then most.
    – Xantec
    Commented Nov 2, 2011 at 19:01
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    @Xantec he is a sex-machine, he constantly recommends this love-planet for holidays, "Riga", as far as I remember. Would be another good question, what "type" of place this planet is. Garden of Eden without original sin :)
    – Hauser
    Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 0:31
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    Although some may quibble whether there is a difference between a Holodeck and a Holosuite, in DS9 Quark certainly used them as eBrothels. en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Talk:Holosuite.
    – tonylo
    Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 2:13
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    Barclay also created holograms of the Voyager crew; I believe that was in the Pathfinder episode. Something which admiral Paris disapproved of ("I understand that you have been spending time with a holographic recreation of my son, among others. Frankly, I find that rather disturbing."), but which IIRC had no serious consequences for him in and of itself. His excessive Holodeck use and refusal to accept counseling for that was cited as a reason for temporarily removing Barclay from the Pathfinder project, however.
    – user
    Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 10:52
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    The term Masterbatorium comes to mind
    – Zelda
    Commented Nov 4, 2011 at 18:53

3 Answers 3

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Reginald Barclay, the engineer you describe from the episode Hollow Pursuits is sent to Troi for counseling because his creation of altered, "fantasy" versions of his crew mates seems to indicate some emotional and social issues that would benefit from counseling from the ship's therapist (which is one of Troi's primary responsibilities).

There is nothing forbidden about his use of the holodeck, but that doesn't mean it isn't seen as troubling.

I don't believe there is anything listed as illegal or forbidden in the holodeck. Worf, for example, uses it to practice combat, and in doing so "kills" simulated opponents with a bat'leth. The safety protocols would prohibit most dangerous uses of the holodeck, as well. Perhaps tampering with those protocols would qualify as forbidden/illegal, however.

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    I think too Reginald was sent to counseling because he was missing duty shifts because of what could be described as an addiction to the fantasy world. I think at one point Troi comments that the Three Musketeer fascimilies are private and shouldn't be taken seriously (of course her opinion changes when she sees her duplicate). So it would seem that what one does in a holodeck stays in the holodeck in most cases.
    – Xantec
    Commented Nov 2, 2011 at 17:36
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    @Xantec - Unless you ask the computer to create a villain capable of defeating Data. B)
    – eidylon
    Commented Nov 2, 2011 at 17:42
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    This is the only time I can remember that Star Trek suggests the dangers of the holodeck with regard to addiction and mental health.
    – Jack B Nimble
    Commented Nov 2, 2011 at 17:57
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    @Xantec "What happens on the Holodeck, stays on the Holodeck" was actually mentioned onscreen by at least one of the characters at some point... May even have been in Hollow Pursuits, I just know I remember hearing it
    – Izkata
    Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 3:26
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    @JackBNimble: On DS9, Quark's nephew Rom became addicted to the Holosuite after his injury, spending almost all his time there for a while.
    – Keith Thompson
    Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 4:22
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The only thing that would be "illegal" about someone's use of the Holodeck would be if they somehow violated the safety or privacy protocols without the proper authorization. The Holodeck is definitely capable of creating lethal situations, and it requires the permission of multiple senior officers to bypass the safety systems.

If someone somehow "hacked" the Holodeck to bypass the safety systems without the proper permissions, that would probably be a no-no, especially since some of the possible uses for doing so would be quite sinister indeed (such as leaving the systems disabled, giving the next person who loaded up a swordfighting program a literal fight for their lives). By the same token, the Holodeck is controlled by the ship's computer, which has access to all the ship's data, and if someone got around security using the Holodeck to access confidential information, that's generally frowned on too.

Other than that, there seems to be a certain amount of privacy expected and given for most uses of the Holodeck. The command staff can, if they think it's necessary, bypass most security features of the ship, including unlocking doors, viewing personal logs, and loading private Holodeck programs. But, they only do so if there is suspicion about the person's mental state; for the most part, they leave well enough alone. As TNG is at best a PG show, it obviously doesn't go too deeply into the racier things you could do with a Holodeck, but just because humans have done away with greed doesn't mean they've abandoned ALL their baser instincts.

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    well, HAD they abandoned those they'd have gone quickly extinct :)
    – jwenting
    Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 8:19
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I seem to remember in one of the books that it wasnt allowed/disaproved upon to create a copy of a living person inside the holodeck.

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    As Quark was attempting to do with Kira in one episode of DS9, for the nefarious pleasures of a paying customer (though further details elude me at the present)
    – johnc
    Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 19:41
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    Well, in TNG:Booby Trap, Geordi creates a replica of the Enterprise-D's propulsion systems designer, Dr. Leah Brahms, in order to help extricate the Enterprise from an artificial trap that has drained the ship's power. However, other things happen between LaForge and the holographic Brahms which the REAL Brahms objects to in a later episode.
    – KeithS
    Commented Jan 12, 2012 at 21:19

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