Rules & Code of Conduct

I don't like setting rules. I would hope that a game I run would always be a friendly and welcoming place. However, I've seen groups torn apart by problem players, and if someone is causing problems I'd like to be able to reference rules in order to deal with them quickly and without disrupting everyone else's experience. I hope to not have to enforce these rules, but they are here for a reason- please do your best to follow them.
~Cosmic

1. Be nice! This is the main rule regarding behaviour and the discord server.
1a. Aggressive or overtly rude behaviour towards other players or admins is not allowed. Group morale is a group effort, and if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
1b. If a subject is asked to be dropped in chat, whether by an admin or another player saying they're made uncomfortable, please do your best to drop it or take it to DMs. 
1c. Tone can be hard to convey over text. Please do your best to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume a message's intent is neutral! If you feel strongly that someone is being rude, please DM an admin for a second opinion. Don't come after people in chat- it may cause more problems, especially if they didn't mean offense.
1d. If you're not interested in a conversation, please be respectful to people who are. There are multiple on- and off-topic chats in the discord server, and if one channel is talking about dergon genos while you want to talk about horses, please take your new subject to a different channel! This doesn't apply to topic drift, of course; discussions move from topic to topic by their nature.
1e. Leave the drama outside. If you have beef with someone, please be at least cordial to them while in the dergons chat. You may block people for your own safety and comfort! (Just try not to block admins. We have to respond to questions!)
1f. Bigotry is not allowed. Even if you're in an argument, attacking someone's race, sex, identity, orientation, or culture will not be tolerated. Hate speech, posting hate symbols, or attempting to pass hateful references in art or imports may result in an instant ban, one of the few things that will escalate so quickly.

2. Make art ethically. Trades, gifts, collabs, and commissions are allowed and encouraged! This rule refers to not so savory artistic practices.
2a. A.I. generated content is prohibited. Pictures or writing with AI origin, whether the subject or background, cannot be redeemed for in-game rewards nor counted as a part of an art trade or art payment.
2b. Works traced directly from previously finished artworks (whether by yourself or another artist) cannot be redeemed for in-game rewards nor counted as part of an art trade or art paymet. Direct tracing of other finished work does a disservice to yourself and the original artist; there are many sources for free reference images, which are provided for this purpose.
2c. Commissions must be fully paid for before being redeemed for in-game rewards. This includes fulfilling your half of an in-game item trade before claiming rewards from the art; the singular exception to this is Aerial Displays being traded for a slot to the featured dergon, as the reward is dependent on the art. Artists can claim a breeding slot by contacting an admin with proof of a previous deal if a dergon's Aerial Display is not entered for approval by the dergon's owner after 30 days of the art being publicly posted.
2d. Don't create spam art. While obviously artists work at different rates, 'spam' is considered multiple pieces (not arranged in a comic) with markedly low effort or attention, similar backgrounds, static poses, and no character detail in the description, produced on a large scale and submitted at the maximum speed allowed. If you're a new or inexperienced artist, please don't think this automatically applies to you; This spamming rule is not meant to punish artists who are amateur, but it is in place in case a long term pattern emerges of someone attempting to abuse the system or simply get as much loot for as little effort as possible. If you're worried about being wrongfully accused of spamming, there are a couple things you can do:
1. Add character context in the descriptions of your piece. If one dergon is annoying to another, mention that one is trying to scavenge while the other is just getting in the way.
2. Vary your backgrounds. Even if you don't have a lot of experience, adding different details (rocks in one piece, trees in another, a river in a third) can visually change even a simple background.
3. Change up your poses. Simple variations such as folding a wing or turning a head can change one standing pose into a completely different one!

3. Stand up for yourself. You can't control others' behaviour, but you can control your response to it.
3a. Advocate for yourself. If you see an admin make a mistake when they're processing your submissions, please bring it up to them! The admin team should always be willing to explain their actions.
3b. Don't enable problem players. If someone is trying to get you to enter a deal you're not comfortable with, you do not have to trade with them. You can DM an admin and report them (with screenshots if you're comfortable sharing those), and we can step in to tell them to back off. We can't help if we don't know it's going on.
3c. Trades and deals can be reversed if a scam has been run. If you have proof you've been taken advantage of, contact an admin! We can step in to either make sure a deal is completed, or reverse any transfers that haven't been compensated; we will, however, try to hear context from both parties before taking official action.

If a player is found willfully breaking rules, they may receive a suspension of play in the area they're found to be abusing.
What this means, is that they will be suspended from participating in one facet of the game; for instance, an art spammer may not be allowed to submit activities; for a period of time.

First offense (no warning): The player will be advised of the rule they are breaking, and given advice as to how to follow it in the future.
Second offense: The player will be given an official warning, reminding them that they have been advised of this rule in the past. The player will also be asked how admins can help them avoid breaking this rule in the future.
Third offense: The player will be given an official warning and a one week Suspension of Play in regards to the rule they have broken.
Fourth offense: The player will be given a temporary Suspension of Play, up to six months depending on severity of their offense, and explained why they have been given this punishment. The player may contact an admin to appeal the suspension after half of the Suspension of Play has passed.
Fifth offense: Depending on severity, the player may be given a six month Suspension of Play, a permanent Suspension of Play from that area, or a temporary full ban.
Sixth offense: Depending on severity, the player will be given a temporary or permanent full ban.

Upon receiving a Suspension of Play, a player will be advised of the length of the suspension, the area they are suspended from playing in and what group activities it affects, and conversed with to understand why and how they have run afoul of the rule, as well as offered advice on how to avoid more offenses.

Upon receiving a temporary full ban, the player will not be able to participate in any official group activities, though depending on the nature of their offense they may be allowed to remain in the discord server.

Upon receiving a permanent full ban, the player will have a time period of two months (from the date they were informed of the ban) to distribute, gift, sell, or surrender any genos, imports, items, and breeding slots they own. After that time, genos will be surrendered to the Nursery, imports will be redesigned(As a player, they will still have rights to character designs they owned) and raffled to the playerbase or surrendered to the nursery, and items will be voided or raffled to the playerbase. The origin of raffled imports and items will not be disclosed during the event. Players who made complaints or reports about a banned player will not be eligible to be gifted, sold, or win raffles of possessions of the banned player. This is to prevent abusive reporting out of a desire to own specific genos or imports. An exception to this is in the case of proven scams, where the player making a complaint will be entitled to request anything owed from a previously agreed upon deal.