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The Laws of Sunken Forest "I accept you into my pack," said The Guardian. "But here, you are on my lands, and you will follow my rules." |
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| If you are a victim or a witness in any of these situations, please report it to an available Administrator; don't be shy, and don't be afraid. They are here to help you, and they have the power to take action, as well as answer any questions you have. Do not worry if you mistakenly report something, it is better to be safe than sorry. If it is an Administrator that is harassing you, making you uncomfortable, and/or breaking the rules, do not hesitate to make a report to the Site Owner. | |
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If you witness (or are a victim of) a user or multiple users breaking the rules, you can report them in these ways:
• 1.) If you are in a chat room and are witnessing a problem in real time, you can click "Report". You can then select an available Administrator and ask them to come into the room. Don't worry about Administrator ranking when making a report, a lower ranking Admin will know themselves if they need to bring certain matters to a higher ranking Administrator. • 2.) If you are in a chat room witnessing a problem in real time, and there are no available Administrators, we ask that you "save logs" from the chat as evidence; please do not take screenshots. Be sure to record the time, date, and the name of the room the situation occurred in. Afterwards, you can do one of the following: • a. Message an Administrator via Chat message with the evidence. • b. Message an Administrator via Discord message with the evidence. If you witness (or are a victim of) an Administrator or multiple Administrators breaking the rules or Sunken Forest's Administrator Code of Conduct, you can report them in these ways: 1.) Fill out a Problem Ticket. 2.) Message the Site Owner (Vampire) immediately via Chat message. Note: Filing false reports against users/administrators or abusing the report method is a serious offense and will grant action against your account (see Rule 1.12). |
| ◈ | "But I didn't know!" is not an acceptable excuse on Sunken Forest. As soon as you have registered, you have agreed to be subject to these rules as well as our Terms of Service. Before you participate in this site, you must read them all the way through. Also bear in mind that you are responsible for whatever happens on your account so keep your password a secret. If someone uses your account and gets banned, this ban will count towards you in the future - no exceptions. This includes allowing others to use your email account(s) to gain access to Sunken Forest. Bans can be as short as 12 hours or as long as forever depending on your behavior and counting strikes. We typically go by the 3-strikes rule, but some special people manage to earn permanent bans on their first or second try. |
| ◈ | Chat Rating is PG-13: Our chat is based in the United States, and so we follow our particular brand of PG-13 rules. We are not aiming for Disney - think more like The Simpson's. We do NOT go by: "Well if they don't like it, the minority can leave!" All R-rated conversations belong in private rooms or 18+ rooms, period. Your profile and username are also subject to this rule, because they are visible to anyone at anytime. There is a bit more clarification on what PG-13 means (swearing, drugs, etc.) later in this rules page. |
| ◈ | Terms of Use: By using this website you agree to the terms of service described in this document. |
| ◈ 1.) General | |
| • | 1.1 | Harassment |
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Harassment includes, but is not limited to: trolling, unwarranted cursing, name-calling, sexual innuendoes, sexual harassment, racial slurs, prideful homophobia/transphobia/etc., stalking, or anything else one person can do to annoy or irritate another user. Furthermore, disturbing people with your poses, playing with them against their will, or just overstepping their boundaries in general, is not allowed. Poses can be used for fun in any rooms, public or roleplay, and as much as you like, but they are not there to deliberately disturb other users; remember to respect the space of others. Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.2 | Harassing an Administrator |
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Everyone deserves respect, of course, but these guys pitch in a little more than your average user. Do not tell an Administrator that "they suck", or how bad they are at their job. Do not beg for your poses to be accepted or yell at an Administrator for banning you or someone you know. Do not constantly ask how to become an Administrator or ask to be made an Administrator. Do not harass them openly or privately in any way. Of course, you're allowed to poke fun, but if an Administrator (or any user for that matter) expresses discomfort, you are to leave them alone. Ban ladder: Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.3 | Spamming |
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Typing nonstop is also known as "flooding" and it fills up the scroll bar, which is highly annoying to others. There is no specific limit about how much you can use capitals, but be aware that in online-lingo, it is considered "yelling", and if you do it constantly, it will constitute as spam.
Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.4 | Begging |
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Begging in rooms and/or continuous and repeated solicitation of items is a type of harassment; although, you may:
• Mention your advertisement in your !away message
• Mention your advertisement 1 time upon entering a room
• Mention your advertisement when a user specifically asks if anyone is offering commissions, characters, trades, etc. Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban Note: Attempting to poach members from the Chat or Discord to yours/another Chat or Discord is also frowned upon, please refrain from doing so. |
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| • | 1.5 | Disturbing the Peace |
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Generally, "Disturbing the Peace" might mean many things, but on Sunken Forest it means behaving in ways that are deliberately upsetting or unsettling to people within the community, deliberately causing emotional grief, or trauma; this may not be a crime, but it is taken very seriously here. An example of "disturbing the peace" would be faked reports of deaths, suicides, car accidents, abductions, etc. So, don't go around telling deliberate lies in order to cause commotion. Trolling is also severely frowned upon, and can get you banned without a reminder/warning. Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.6 | Death & Suicide Threats |
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We have absolutely zero tolerance for death threats. Talking about killing, how to kill, threatening to kill someone, or anything of that sort is not allowed (this rule also applies to the roleplay rooms). We also ask that you not talk about causing self-harm on the chat: it can really affect other people emotionally, often due to personal experiences in their lives, and though it may seem callous, we need to watch out for everyone. Ban ladder: Reminder > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.7 | Virus/Malware, Hacking, and DDoS Threats |
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We have absolutely zero tolerance for any kind of threat that involves sending viruses, hacking, or DDoS attacks. Don't talk about hacking, how to do it, or have anything to do with it; malicious threats and intents directly against the site are taken extremely seriously. Ban ladder: Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.8 | Propositioning Minors |
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Sunken Forest makes every effort to keep its chat environment enjoyable and safe for all users that visit. Sunken Forest has a lot of younger members, and as such, we will not tolerate any type of illegal enticement of minors at all. This includes, but is not limited to: • Engaging in sexual conversations with minors • Bribing/asking minors for their personal information • Offering minors drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, yiffing (this includes roleplay) Ban ladder: Permanent ban Important Information Regarding Propositions to a Minor: • If you proposition a minor to participate in any illegal activity, you will be permanently banned from all Chatlands sites, not just Sunken Forest. Instances of propositioning minors will be reported to the appropriate Internet Service Provider (ISP) and/or legal authority. • As a reminder: by your act of participating on Sunken Forest, you have already agreed to abide by our rules and you have already agreed to our terms of use. Any evidence of unlawful acts taking place on Sunken Forest will be turned over to the appropriate ISP as well as law enforcement. • If we have a reasonable suspicion that any involvement with a minor is unethical in our sole judgment, you will be banned without warning, even if this situation occurs in a "roleplay" or "pretend" atmosphere. Note: As always, we strongly advise everyone: do not give out personal contact information such as phone numbers, street addresses, real-life names, the name of your school, and just any information that helps someone else you met online locate you in real life. |
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| • | 1.9 | Leaking Personal Information |
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Otherwise known as “doxing”, unauthorized sharing of personal information is strictly prohibited on Sunken Forest. Any user found engaging in doxing activities, including but not limited to sharing private addresses, phone numbers, or other sensitive data, will face an immediate and permanent ban from the platform. We prioritize the safety and privacy of our users, and any violations of this policy will be treated with the utmost seriousness. Ban ladder: Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.10 | Mini-modding |
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Impersonating a moderator and/or trying to moderate a problem between users is not allowed. Users who are witnessing rules being broken are encouraged to save the chat logs and send them to an Administrator of their choice; an Administrator being offline gives nobody the right to mediate a problematic situation. Telling other users that you are an Administrator "for fun" or even in all seriousness in any way, shape, or form is not allowed. These kinds of situations would actually deter your eligibility to be considered fit for being an Administrator; having said that, if you continued to mini-mod even when told it was wrong the first time, you will be blacklisted from ever applying to be an Administrator and could receive a temporary ban. However, you are allowed to help a user and/or friend gather evidence for the Administration -- with the explicit statement that you are not a Sunken Forest Administrator. Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.11 | False & Troll Reports |
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Falsely reporting another user is completely unacceptable. If you file a report against a user, and we determine that it is not true, you will receive a warning, or if serious enough, a temporary ban. If you do this multiple times, you will receive a temporary ban from the chat as a result. Falsely reporting an Administrator is an extreme offense; if you file a report against an Administrator, and there is no evidence against them, you will receive a permanent ban. Making a report that is intended to "troll" or purposely warrant action against your account, otherwise known as "abusing" the report method, will also lead you to a serious warning or temporary ban. Ban ladder: 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.12 | Block Evasion |
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Trying to bypass a block that a user has placed on you is extremely unacceptable and a greater type of harassment; you will receive a warning and a kick in the chat room. If we are to find out you are still trying to contact said user, you will be permanently banned. Ban ladder: Warning > Permanent ban |
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| • | 1.13 | Ban Hopping |
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If you have earned any type of ban and you try to access the chat/discord on another account, this is called ban hopping; doing so will cause your main account and the account you ban hopped with to be permanently banned. Ban ladder: Permanent ban |
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| ◈ 2.) PG-13 Rating Clarification | |
| • | 2.1 | Swearing & Language |
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In general, you can use a couple of the lighter swear words a few times; be extremely sparing with your harsh swears. Swearing at another user is only acceptable as long as it is in good humor and everybody in the room, including the user you are swearing at, is comfortable. Consistent swearing at a user in a bullying manner is not allowed, and excessive swearing can get you kicked from a room and/or banned. • In 13+ rooms, swears such as “damn” “shit” “ass” “hell” are acceptable in 13+ rooms, but nothing further than that. • In 16+ rooms, vulgar swears such as “sl*t”, “wh*re”, “bas****” are not acceptable, and swearing in general should not be excessive. • In 18+ rooms, generally all swears, even vulgar, are allowed. Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban Note: Swearing is not moderated in private rooms. |
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| • | 2.2 | Drugs & Alcohol |
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• Discussion about legal substances/alcohol in a regular conversation is allowed. (ex: forms of alcohol, cigarettes, over-the-counter drugs, prescribed drugs) • Discussion about illegal substances/alcohol for informational purposes is allowed. (ex: This [drug] has many side effects) • Discussion about illegal substances and prescription drugs/alcohol in an un-tasteful manner is not allowed. (ex: Oh man. That [drug] was so good. I got so high last night) (I’m so wasted right now) • Discussion about illegal substances/alcohol in a regular conversation is allowed. (18+ rooms only) (ex: Cautiously talking about recovery) Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban Note: Regular conversations about drugs and alcohol are acceptable as long as you are not glorifying drugs/alcohol, trying to solicit drugs/alcohol to other users, or openly saying that you use drugs that aren't pharmaceutical (heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, etc,.) OR saying you abuse pharmaceutical drugs/alcohol. For example, a user saying that they were prescribed Percocet to deal with severe pain, is fine. A user saying they deal Percocet to others, abuse them, or recommend it to other users, is not fine. | |
| • | 2.3 | Inappropriate Content |
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Sexual slang is not to be heard at all in a sexual context, and minimally in general; do not be graphic. "Cybering" or "yiffing" (role-playing sexual acts) is to be kept to a whisper or private rooms. Mimicking sexual positions with your poses is also severely frowned upon. These rules are much more lax in 18+ rooms and private rooms, as long as your conversations do not include the following: • Sexual conversations that fetishize a race or group of people, incest, and other distasteful fetishizations, even if it is "fictional content". • Sexual conversations surrounding minors, animals, and individuals who cannot consent, even if it is "fictional content". • Sexual conversations or jokes towards a user who has expressed discomfort. • Sexual assault/violent themes. Ban ladder: Warning > 3 day ban > Permanent ban Note: Having these discussions in a 13+ or 16+ room will result in a permanent ban without warning. | |
| • | 2.3a | Links to Inappropriate Content |
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As a service to our users, the Sunken Forest chat software automatically converts web addresses that are typed in as "speech" into clickable links. These web links open up a new browser window and display the content found at that web address. Any user who enters a link to a page with pornographic images/gifs/videos, outwardly racist/discriminatory content, a "shock site", extreme violence, illegal/dangerous content, or a site designed to affect computer performance in a negative way (virus, malware, trojan, etc.), may be permanently banned without warning. Sunken Forest has a very small "black list" of websites, should any website on this list be posted in a public or private room an immediate system placed permanent ban will be placed on your account. Additionally, any user posting a link with excessive gore, sexually explicit content, or any otherwise offensive or inappropriate content, in a public room or in their sniff, may be banned. These bans usually begin at a 2 week length but can be higher if the content of the link is extreme enough. If you have any doubts about a particular link, do not post it on Sunken Forest. We reserve the right to judge instances where inappropriate content is linked in public or private rooms on a case-by-case basis. Ban ladder: 3 day ban > Permanent ban Note: wunderwood LLC is not responsible for any content displayed when a link takes you to an external website. | |
| • | 2.3b | Links to NSFW Artwork (18+ rooms only) |
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As a service to our users, the Sunken Forest chat software automatically converts web addresses that are typed in as "speech" into clickable links. These web links open up a new browser window and display the content found at that web address. Any user who enters a link to a page with pornographic images/gifs/videos, outwardly racist/discriminatory content, a "shock site", extreme violence, illegal/dangerous content, or a site designed to affect computer performance in a negative way (virus, malware, trojan, etc.), may be permanently banned without warning. Sunken Forest has a very small "black list" of websites, should any website on this list be posted in a public or private room an immediate system placed permanent ban will be placed on your account. Additionally, any user posting a link with excessive gore, sexually explicit content, or any otherwise offensive or inappropriate content, in a public room or in their sniff, may be banned. These bans usually begin at a 2 week length but can be higher if the content of the link is extreme enough. If you have any doubts about a particular link, do not post it on Sunken Forest. We reserve the right to judge instances where inappropriate content is linked in public or private rooms on a case-by-case basis. Ban ladder: 3 day ban > Permanent ban Note: Sharing NSFW art in a 13+ or 16+ room or purposefully sharing it with a minor will result in a permanent ban without warning. | |
| • | 2.4 | Private Rooms |
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In your room, you can pick your own rating, kick out whoever you want for whatever reason. In someone else's room, you are subject to their rules. If a user is are violating one of the special consequence rules, such as: 1.5 | Disturbing the Peace; 1.7 | Virus/Malware, Hacking, and DDoS Threats; 1.8 | Propositioning
Minors; 1.9 | Leaking Personal Information; 1.10 | False & Troll Reports; 1.11 | Ban Hopping; 2.3 | Inappropriate Content; 2.3.a | Links to Inappropriate Content; you should report the violation to an Alpha immediately. Ban ladder: Permanent ban | |
| • | 2.5 | Role-Playing |
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We are not going to discriminate against you for roleplaying and jump on you at the mention of "mates", but do not assume everyone wants to roleplay with you. Asking people repeatedly "Will you be my mate?" constitutes harassment; Asking someone multiple times to "be your mate"/"be in your pack", asking random users these types of things, or entering a room and asking if anyone wants to "be your mate"/"join your pack" etc., is not allowed. Having said that, if you are talking quietly with "your mate" about "your pack / pups / whatever" that is fine, as long as you do not disturb other users in this public room that are not interested in roleplay. Sexual and/or violent graphic themes are never permitted in public roleplay rooms. Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 12 hour ban > 3 day ban > Permanent ban Example of Full Roleplaying: Note: We have a few rooms that are specifically set up for hopeful role-players to meet and interact with others sharing a common interest in roleplay. You will also discover several private rooms in the islands or The Mysts that are set up for (and interested in) roleplay. Outside of those types of rooms, do not bother other people and they shouldn't bother you either. Please refrain from full roleplaying in all other public rooms and remember, again, that Sunken Forest does not consider itself to be a roleplay site aside from those specific roleplay rooms designated for roleplay. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. |
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| • | 2.6 | Bypassing Art Restrictions |
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Sunken Forest is a PG-13 chat-site, although we do have rooms for those who are 16+ and 18+. Minors that are caught accessing 18+ rooms will be immediately permanently banned from the chat-site without question, and those below the age of 16 caught accessing 16+ rooms will be temporarily banned from the chat-site for 12 months. Ban ladder: Permanent ban |
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| • | 2.7 | Usernames |
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To use Sunken Forest, your username must be compliant with our PG-13 rules, whether or not you plan on being in 18+ or private rooms only. Inappropriate usernames include, but are not limited to: • Vulgar language • Sexual innuendos • Derogatory terms • Illegal substances Ban ladder: Reminder > Permanent ban |
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| ◈ 3.) Art Theft | |
| • | 3.1 | Stealing |
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Uploading and/or linking artwork to the chat/discord that is not yours, but you claim it is, is flat out stealing, and is not allowed. Additionally, uploading/linking/selling character designs that have been heavily referenced off of others character designs without explicit permission to do so, is also not allowed. Ban ladder: 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 3.1a | Copyright & Permission |
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Like other Chatlands sites, Sunken Forest requires you to have explicit permission to upload the artwork to the chat/discord. Uploading or attempting to use artwork that you do not have permission to use, whether it belongs to someone else, the artist requests that it not be used on Sunken Forest or websites outside of where it was posted in general, modifying artwork that you do not have permission to modify, not paying for the artwork, is not allowed. Ban ladder: Reminder > Warning > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 3.2 | Tracing & Heavy Referencing |
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Uploading and/or linking artwork to the chat/discord that you traced, or very heavily reference without permission, is not allowed. Additionally, when uploading and/or linking artwork that you used a "free stock image" to reference off of, you need to credit the author of said image. Ban ladder: Warning > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 3.3 | Artificial Intelligence Artwork |
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Sunken Forest does not allow the use of any AI generated images to be used as poses, rooms, objects, etc. as it is considered theft of others’ intellectual property. Please do not upload AI generated or ray traced images into the uploader, and do not ask if you can use it. Ban ladder: Warning > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| • | 3.4 | Scamming |
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• Selling and/or trading artwork that does not belong to you is considered theft and is not allowed; you will receive consequences from both Rule 3.3 & Rule 3.1. • Offering commissions, character designs, etc., for profit with no intention of delivering is not allowed. • Posting character folders/commissions with messages such as: "Leaving chats, everyone up for sale", "Wanting everyone gone, leaving Toyhou.se", and then proceeding to follow up to those messages with "New OCs added”, is not allowed, as this is considered an immediate 'closing sale' but you're still adding onto your 'inventory' and sticking around. This is false advertising and is misleading to customers. • Using PayPal’s “Friends & Family” option as a seller is not allowed; not only is it breaking PayPal’s Terms of Service and federal monetary laws, it is a common scam in the character-selling community. Always stay safe and use the Business option. Ban ladder: Warning > 3 day ban > Permanent ban |
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| ◈ Frequently Asked Questions | |
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Q.) Will infractions against my account reset? A.) Reminders reset after 1 month; Warnings reset after 3 months; Temporary Bans reset after 6 months. However, Permanent Bans will remain on your "record". Q.) I got banned for lying about my birthdate as a minor, can I come back when I'm 18? A.) Users who are caught underage trying to avoid restrictions will have their ban relinquished when they are officially 18 years of age. Q.) Does my ban on Sunken Forest’s Chat cross over to Sunken Forest's Discord Server? A.) Users who have been globally banned or permanently banned will be banned from the Discord Server. Q.) Can I put anything I want in my Sniff on Chat? A.) Users are allowed to put anything you want in your Sniff unless the content breaks our rules. |
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| ◈ Feedback & Problem Solving Strategies | |
| Feedback is always welcome and can be given at any time! All we ask is that you be polite and respectful, and we love it especially when solutions are suggested along with a problem. The administration team is trying to make sure everyone has a pleasant chatting experience, and the decisions we make are always made with the users' best interest in mind. Your feedback weighs heavily on our decisions and we need that feedback in order to know what you want and how you feel about things. However, the ban lengths mentioned in the above sections are non-negotiable; each incident that falls under those categories are all treated the same, no matter how simple or extravagant the incident may have been. Please do understand that if you request an important rule to be removed/changed, we may decline (ex: a survey response asking to allow sexual/violent themes in 13+ rooms would never be approved, and said response would be redacted). Furthermore, if you have any suggestions you would like to make to the Administration Team, you can do so "here". | |
| ◈ Notice | |
| These rules are subject to change, with or without notice; it is your responsibility to check for updates. If you have any questions please contact the Site Owner, Vampire. | |
| Thank you for participating in our site and happy chatting! | |
| [ Sunken Forest FAQ ] | [ Sunken Forest Rules ] | [ Terms of Use ] | [ The Art FAQ ] | [ Uploading Poses ] | [ Uploading Rooms ] | [ Back to Sunken Forest ] |