1. GENERAL RULES

1. Keep the Chats PG-13, Keep your Account PG-13
The content rating of Pkmn Fantasy University is PG-13.

This group does have some members who are minors, and we disallow sharing NSFW works of any kind with minors. R18+ art, links, or content must be contained in the NSFW channel or otherwise kept out of the group entirely. If you would like access to the NSFW channel, then DM one of the mods to verify your age and be granted access. (Must be in group for 3 months before you'll be let in)

If you attempt to join the group with a Social Media account that primarily has NSFW content in it (such as a gallery full of fetish content, suggestive works, and explicit porn), you will be asked to create a new account that is free of NSFW content so our members, especially those who are minors, do not stumble across it when looking at your page.

2. Must be 16 or older to join
You must be 16 years or older to join the group. If we find out that you are under the age of 16, even by a few months, you will be immediately booted from the group. You are welcome to try again once you turn 16, but, please, if you are under the age of 16, do not attempt to join the group.

3. Treat Everyone with Respect
Everyone is different. Not everyone is going to think or do things the same way you do, so keep that in mind and treat members and mods alike the same way you yourself wish to be treated. This group is meant to be a fun place for people to enjoy themselves, so mockery, bullying, and harassment will not be taken lightly.

4. Be Polite and No Slurs
Goes hand in hand with treating people with respect. Not everyone is going to get along with everyone, but at the very least mind your manners around others. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all. Swears are fine, but don't ever use a slur against another person.

If you notice another member using slurs or treating someone else in the group disrespectfully and they do not stop when asked, please bring the issue to the mods so we can handle it.

5. You must be able to speak and write proper English
Grammar is not everyone’s forte, and that's okay. However, we expect everyone here to be able to communicate using proper English, and if we cannot communicate easily with you, that's going to be a big problem! Broken English both written and in Voice Chat will not be allowed, and if we have too much difficulty communicating with you, we may have to let you go from the group.

6. Do not joke about sensitive topics
If a member is showing discomfort towards a topic, drop it. This includes topics such as politics, racism, sexism, homophobia/transphobia, suicide/murder/death, and mental illnesses. We're here to escape from stressful topics like this.  

7. Don't degrade other people or yourself
Don't insult or mock anyone's art, characters, or particular species. This includes your own. Be cautious on how you offer critiques and advice, because it can come off as offensive. Always ask for consent before giving your opinion.

8. No inappropriate discord usernames or profile pictures
We have minors within the server. If we notice your username or profile picture is inappropriate, we will ask you to please change them if you want to remain in the server. If you do not change them when asked, we will remove you from the server.

9. Do not complain about people's choice of Pokémon.
This includes remarks such as “ugh, there’s so many fire types!” and “not another fox”. Even if you’re just trying to make a joke, this can make people feel bad about their decisions and pick something they don’t want!

10. Do not intimidate the new members
No screaming chants like “NEW MEMBER!” or “FRESH MEAT!” They babies. Don’t scare them.
Also, keep in mind that brand new people are still trying to wrap their heads around all the rules and guidelines that are unique to this group. Some people want to start with simple ideas or simple feedback on their ideas, and if they get too many suggestions at once they might get overwhelmed.
 

11. Avoid Mass Pings
Only mods should be pinging big roles, such as Everyone, Here, or University Student. Most members don’t react well to pings, especially mass pings, so please respect that!
 

12. No excessive advertising of other RP groups
Please do not advertise or excessively talk about other RP groups in this server. If you wish to affiliate with us, we have an official affiliate channel where you may give a brief description and an invite link to the discord. DM Dapuffster for more details.

13. Please don't be uncomfortable in silence.
The mod team is here to help you! We want to do our absolute best to communicate and work with members so their experience within the group is smooth and enjoyable.

If there's any issue happening between yourself and another member, if something between other members within the group concerns you, if someone is actively making you uncomfortable or they said something that you think is rude and should be addressed, please send a direct message to the head mod, Dapuffster, or request to talk privately with the mod team in the Help channel in the server. If you have an issue with someone on the mod team, please directly message a mod you trust and explain what the situation is. With any luck, we will be able to sort things out fairly.

We want to de-escalate situations caused by possible miscommunications and make everyone feel comfortable within these servers. Please help us help you!

14. Do not guilt or harass a member for blocking you.
If the person blocks you (you'll know this if your screen shakes if you try to emoji react to them), that’s their business. Do not approach us about it and do not guilt the person for making that decision. Even if you didn’t intend to guilt the person that blocked you, you don’t know if the blocker is feeling guilty. Please understand that everyone has their own comforts and limits and blocking is just a passive form of creating an environment that is safe and comfortable for them! If that safe and comfortable environment doesn’t include you in the picture, that’s okay and you’ll just have to accept it. It’s fine to not agree, but it does not help your situation if you intrude and ask as to why you were blocked or make it notable to others that a person blocked you. 

The exception to this rule is the mod team. For the mod team to properly be able to do their job, they cannot be blocked, a mod should also not block members. We'd rather talk this out instead of constantly being in a channel with a blocked moderator.

15. Vent Channel Rules and Restrictions
Starting February 2023, only members who have been in the group for a minimum of 3 months will have access to the Vent channel! Additionally, vent channel access is opt-in, meaning, just like with being let into the NSFW channel, you will have to ask a mod for access. If you wish to stop having access to the Vent channel at any time, ask for a mod to remove the role in our Help channel!
There are some new rules to consider once you do get access!

• No Vague Posting - VAGUEPOST means "Intentionally Vague Social Media Post." A VAGUEPOST is a post on social media that usually indicates intense emotion on the part of the poster but doesn't give enough detail for other users to be able to ascertain exactly what the poster is getting at

• No venting regarding Fantasy University itself. Do not publicly vent about someone in the group or about the group itself. If you have a problem, bring the issue directly to the mods so we can take care of it!

• Do NOT vent anywhere else in the server if you do not have access to the designated Vent channel!
  
  

16. Regarding Bad Behavior
We reserve the right to either warn or ban you depending on your previous offenses as well as what your current offense was. There is no strike system, you will not have three chances to stop causing problems before you "strike out" and we kick or ban you. Warnings will be given out if we feel that you can fix your problem, but if it's clear you won't listen to the mods then we will remove you from the group.

17. These Rules Aren't Meant to Squash Your Fun!
Please understand that all of these rules are in place to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for all members within our server. They aren’t here to punish you or limit your actions because we’re a “no fun allowed” kind of place. We love having fun! We’re all here to have fun, but sometimes, we just need rules to follow.

2. ART RULES

1. Do not steal or trace other peoples' art
We understand if you use references and whatnot to make your drawing, like for poses or outfits for example, but outright taking or tracing someone else's entire piece and claiming you're the 100% original creator will not be tolerated. Do not copy or steal another member's artworks, that's poor manners.

2. Submit all works to the correct Discord channels
Please double check which thread in the Art Submissions channel you're putting your images in! You don't want to miss out on credits for an Event related piece just because you put it in the General Art thread.

Making mistakes will not incur any sort of punishment, but it could get your submission deleted until it’s submitted to the right folder, so be mindful.

3. Group content must be PG-13
As mentioned in our General Rules above, this group’s content rating is PG-13, and as such anything you submit must adhere to that rating. Character reference images that have doll anatomy (e.g., no private parts shown on a full body image, usually this sort of thing is meant to show off a character's proportions, markings, scars, and beauty marks) is okay, but no nudity showing private parts, no overly sexual content, certainly nothing explicit/pornographic in nature, and no intense graphic depictions of violence or gore.

If you want guidance on what you can get away with, look to modern movies given the PG-13 stamp of approval, but if you are unsure if a work will be accepted then head to the Help channel and ask to talk to a mod privately about a potential submission.

4. All forms of art are accepted... except for AI Art or NFTs
Visual, written, digital, traditional, animated, sculpted… If you made it, we'll accept it as long as it is within the boundaries of the group’s rules. However, with the growing popularity of AI art, we'd like to point out that any AI art for the group will not be tolerated whatsoever. We at Pkmn Fantasy University do not support AI Art or NFTs.

5. Get permission before drawing someone else's character
Asking may not always be necessary, but it certainly is polite and considerate.  If someone doesn’t like how you have depicted their character, or does not wish for you to even draw their character in the first place, then they reserve the right to ask of us to take down such deviations from the group.

Some people may have what is known as the "Surprise Me!" role, which indicates that people don't have to ask to draw their character! However, just be respectful when you draw their character. Causing violence to someone's character, drawing them in a non-canon situation, or putting them in a NSFW or unofficial ship are all points where, no matter what, you MUST ask permission before drawing.

6. Writers are Welcome!
If you are not an artist, do not worry! You are able to join the group as long as you are able to get Art for your OC to appear on the application! This can be through requesting art (though do not beg or pester), or commission someone! We have multiple people in our discord who currently have commissions open and are willing to help!

7. Be courteous and let works posted prior to you posting get some attention!
It really hurts when you've worked hard for hours on a piece of art and when you finally do post it and show it off, nobody pays any attention to it! No one wants to have their piece steamrolled and ignored, so before you post your own finished artwork, maybe say something nice to the artist or wait until the work before you has a moment to shine before posting. If you're getting ready to post but notice that someone else posted just a minute ago, you might want to wait half an hour to give people in the server a proper chance to see what's been shared already. It really helps build a welcoming and interactive community and ensures that nobody feels left out.

8. Do not beg artists to make app art for you.
With writers now able to join the group, they will still need someone to make art for them. The character art can either be from outside the group or within the group. Some people may do it for free as a request, others may offer commissions for character art, but if you cannot get anyone to draw your artwork for free, do not harass them. Don't complain about not being able to get free artwork, either. We will try to help you find someone to help you get a proper character reference, just ask in the server if you need help!

3. RP RULES

1. Be mindful of what you do in public RP chats
You can do anything you want in private.  We don’t care if you draw or RP the nastiest, gruesomest, most violent of subjects on your own.  Just remember, if you are in a RP chat room public to the rest of the group members, you have to follow the PG-13 rating.

2. Practice proper RP etiquette
Respect what your RP partner wants, plain and simple.

If your partner is uncomfortable with how things are going in an RP, then you must respect that and communicate OOC so you can get on the same page and work towards making everyone have a good fun time. A good RP is one where everyone is happy and having fun.

3. Hurting your partner’s character
Occasionally characters get hurt. That’s a given. However, it shall be the owner of the character who decides if and how much their character gets hurt. NOT you. You decide what happens to your character, your partner decides what happens to theirs.  You can certainly write a situation that would give your partner’s a chance to severely maim their child, but do not write them into a corner where they have no CHOICE but to have their character get hurt.  Leave that decision up to them.

TL;DR
You may have your character begin an action on your turn, but you have to give the other person a chance to react to what your character is doing, whether it is to take a hit or to dodge. Don't decide if and how much someone else's character gets wounded in a fight. Likewise, don't make your character completely invincible in RP, they should be able to take a hit if they dish hits out!

4. Only use abilities you have unlocked.
If you are playing as a Campus Member in the body of their Fantasy Counterpart, you must ONLY use the available skills you have unlocked! The Fantasy character has full access to their power at all times, but not when the Campus Member is in control.

5. No Godmodding, Metagaming, or Powerplaying
Godmodding is taking control of another person’s character without their permission.  Metagaming is when your character knows something that they should not know otherwise.  And powerplaying is when you manipulate things so that your character always comes out on top.  As you can imagine, none of this sounds fun for your partner and over all is just considered… boring.  It’s not very fun when you get your way the exact way you want it every time you RP, so just don’t do it.

6. No ship-chasing
Do not force a ship on anybody. Just don’t. It really is just best if you let a ship happen naturally rather than force it down someone’s throat.  And if your characters do get into a relationship then please respect how far your partner is willing to go in your RPs.

7. No flip flopping on what is canon.
If you do an RP with someone and decide you want it to not be canon, either state it at the start, or make it clear with your RP partner that you wish to retcon the rp and see if they'll agree. Do not make an assumption that your interaction is suddenly not canon. Just communicate out of character with your RP partners to make sure you all know what's up.

8.) No Adult Themes in Public RPs
We do not allow RPs that involve heavy violence, gore, abusive usages of alcohol, or sexual intercourse in our public channels. Violence is more tolerated in the Fantasy world, but not in the real world. This means you cannot post RPs with these themes to the group’s RP log gallery. If you wish to still have these themes, please do it privately and don’t regard them as canon because in the real world, these things can result in expulsion and getting arrested.

Additionally: We will not allow people into the group if their gallery is centralized around fetishes/porn. We have minors in the group and will not tolerate sharing fetish works or NSFW content with minors. Keep your account SFW or leave.

Pinging someone is something people do not like to get often, especially if the information was not important to them. To reduce the amount of pinging in this server, please check below of when you should and shouldn't ping someone.

When you SHOULD Ping when replying:
- You are giving important information to the person you are responding to. Key word: Important

- You need the person to see your response as quickly as possible, despite whatever it is that they may currently be doing. If it's really urgent, you can ping them whether you know that they're chill with regular pings or not.

- When you want to reply to a specific message, but a long period of time has passed to where they might be AFK and wouldn't see it, and the message you are sending is something you think is important enough for them to read

- When you want to reply to a specific message when there are multiple other messages in between, such as in a fast-moving chatroom

When you SHOULDN'T Ping when replying:
- When it's a general question for many people to answer

- When it's a simple response in a not-busy chatroom

- If it's something you want other people to know the context of what you're responding to, but it's not important enough to immediately let the person you're responding to know about it immediately. Single words or useless information is not ping worthy. You can Reply but make sure to turn the Ping off!

- If you know the person you're responding to doesn't like pings

Pings generally are seen as very important as they will not only make a notification on your computer, but will also cause a person's phone to ring, alerting them regardless of what they're doing, including sleeping. When people get pinged, they expect it to be important. And in an art server, it usually means that they are expecting art of some kind, so it can be a major let down when you get pinged and the message is just "Oh :P" or "I like tea too".

Hope this clarification helps people who use the reply function often!