Article I - INTRODUCTION
(a) The code of conduct is in place to keep Valucre safe and enjoyable. The titles and summaries give a sense of what each entail and most of it is common sense.
(b) The Ignore option on the forum allows you to avoid individual players with whom you do not wish to interact. However should you encounter another player presenting a serious risk to yourself or other players or maliciously undermining your game experience, please make use of the Report feature to escalate the problems directly to staff. To ensure that reports contain all necessary detail, please follow Valucre's reporting template.
(c) The definitions of terminology and actions in the rest of the document are as interpreted by administration. This is a living document and subject to change, so check back often.
Article II - IMPORTANT NOTE
(a) Repeatedly violating any area of the Valucre Terms of Use or Forum Code of Conduct, including the areas detailed below, will often result in permanent banishment from Valucre. The rules and outcomes listed within this code are not all exclusive or all exhaustive. Conduct that is determined to be detrimental to people, products, services, content, and property of Valucre but is not listed here is still bannable.
(b) This policy is not language-restrictive. Language that falls under this policy will always be subject to the repercussions listed, whether it is inappropriate in English or any other language.
Article III - TERMS / DEFINITIONS
Ban: Standard ban length is 30 days for 1st violation.
Valucre or Valucre Services or VS: All Valucre services inclusive of the forum, any related chat, any related social media, etc.
Warning: A warning is delivered through the forum software. A verbal warning imposes 0 demerits on a user account and is used to track incident information. 1 demerit results in an automatic 30 day suspension. 2 demerits results in an automatic indefinite ban.
Article IV - Retaliation-Free Policy
(a) Valucre prohibits any form of retaliation or intimidation against members who report good-faith concerns of discriminatory, harassing or unethical conduct, or who participate in investigations of such conduct.
Article V - Harassment and Defamation
(a) Harassment is here defined as unwelcome conduct that humiliates, offends or intimidates. It is characterized by persistent and repeated negative behavior directed at a specific person. Harassing behavior includes (some of which is repeated in other rules for clarity):
(1) Unmerited and excessive criticism
(2) Gossiping, spreading false rumors or public humiliation
(3) Publicly insulting or making unwelcome negative comments about, but not limited to: race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc
(4) Telling other members not to interact with someone
(5) Making fun of personal circumstances or appearance
(6) Inappropriate questioning on racial or ethnic origin (includes other classes e.g. gender)
(7) Repeated and unwanted preaching on political or religious matters
(8) Realistic threats to commit harm
(9) Any implication or statement of material, real or imaginary, that is released or threatened to be released on Valucre's platforms that may harm or damage an individual's or group's' reputation or social standing
(10) Creating false or defamatory posts or threads to discuss disciplinary actions taken against a player
(b) Harassment takes many forms, and is not necessarily limited to the type of language used, but the intent. Repeatedly targeting a specific player with harassment can lead to more severe action. The idea behind this is to prevent any one player from constantly being uncomfortable in the forums.
(c) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be temporarily or permanently banned from Valucre, depending on severity
(2) Be given a final warning, after which any further Code of Conduct violations may result in a permanent ban from Valucre
Article VI - Sockpuppet Accounts
(a) A sockpuppet is an online identity used for the purposes of deception. This applies primarily to creating multiple accounts to:
(1) Circumvent board measures such as topic bans or member ignore lists
(2) Getting "new member" access such as for the TOL or any other exceptions
(3) Logging into another member's account and pretending to be that member
(4) Deceptively contact other members
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be given a final warning, after which any further Code of Conduct violations may result in a permanent ban from the forums
(2) Be permanently banned from the forums
Article VII - Extreme Sexuality / Vulgarity / Violence / Inappropriate Language
(a) This category includes both clear and masked language and/or links to websites containing such language or images which:
(1) Refer to extreme and/or violent sexual acts
(2) Refer to extreme and/or violent real life actions
(3) Erotic roleplay / depiction of sexual intercourse
(4) Pornography of any kind
(5) Are otherwise considered objectionable
(6) Bypass the Mature Language filter
(b) While these repercussions may seem harsh, we feel very strongly that this behavior has no place on the forums due to its extremely offensive and inappropriate nature.
(c) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be given a final warning, after which any further Code of Conduct violations may result in a permanent ban from Valucre
(2) Be temporarily or permanently banned from the forums, depending on severity
Article VIII - Real-Life Threats
(a) This category includes both clear and masked language and/or links to websites containing such language or images which:
(1) Refer to words, images, actions or conduct that seeks to directly or indirectly harm another person outside of in-character interactions
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be temporarily banned from the forums, depending on severity
(2) Be given a final warning, after which any further Code of Conduct violations may result in a permanent ban from the forums
Article IX - Distribution of Real-Life Personal Information
(a) This category includes:
(1) Releasing any real-life information about other players or Valucre staff
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be permanently banned from the forums
Article X - Posting Malicious or Illegal Programs
(a) This category includes:
(1) Posting links to malicious viruses / programs / warez
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be permanently banned from the forums
Article XI - Impersonating Staff
(a) This category includes:
(1) Passing yourself off as Valucre staff directly or indirectly via modified transcripts, photoshopped pictures, etc
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be given a temporary or permanent ban from the forum, depending upon severity
Article XII - Illegal Drugs or Activities
(a) This category includes both clear and masked language and/or links to websites containing such language or images which:
(1) Encouraging abuse of illegal drugs
(2) Encouraging/performing of illegal activities
(b) This category includes the posting of copy written material
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be given a temporary ban from the forums, depending upon severity
Article XIII - Spamming or Trolling or Griefing
(a) This category includes:
(1) Excessively communicating the same phrase, similar phrases, or pure gibberish
(2) Creating threads for the sole purpose of causing unrest on the forums
(3) Causing disturbances on Valucre, such as picking fights, making off topic posts that derail the thread or discussion, insulting other posters
(4) Excessive making of non-constructive posts
(5) Abusing the Reported Post feature by sending false alarms or nonsensical messages
(6) Any perceived attempt made through any number of means to include various forms of deception, phishing/phishing, social engineering, lying, dishonesty, or any form of manipulation, to gain information that someone is not entitled to or that violates the privacy of another member
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be given a temporary or permanent ban from the forums and an OOC restriction, depending upon severity
Article XIV - Advertising / Cross Linking Threads
(a) This category includes advertisement of:
(1) Any non-beneficial, non-Valucre.com related businesses, services, organizations, people, fundraisers or websites (charities are allowed only after review from Valucre staff)
(2) Linking to threads from other roleplay forums
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be given a temporary or permanent ban from the forums, depending upon severity
Article XV - Encouraging rule breaking behavior
(a) This category includes:
(1) Attempting to tamper with a witness for a report through intimidation, bribery, etc
(2) Attempting to convince other players that the Code of Conduct are different from what they actually are
(3) Attempting to convince other players to deliberately circumvent the Code of Conduct or technical controls
(4) Hosting, facilitating, linking to, or providing software which links to, forums/chat where users discuss behavior which breaks rules, or help or encourage each other to do so.
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Temporarily or permanently banned from Valucre, depending upon severity
Article XVI - Circumventing a Suspension / Ban
(a) This category includes:
(1) Posting on another account
(2) Having someone post on your behalf
(b) If a player is found to have participated in such actions, he/she will:
(1) Be permanently banned from posting on the forums
Article XVII - Citing the Code of Conduct
(a) For quick reference please use the article roman numeral indicator followed by paragraph and subparagraph marker.
(1) Example: XVII(a)(1)
