Server Rules

[DeBo]

Server Rules

1. No hacks/bots/automation programs, cheats or (map) exploits will be tolerated. Nor will interfering with the normal operation of the servers.
   
   
2. Spam is not allowed. This includes any communication that may be disruptive to the server, such as:
   • Loud noises or "Ear rape" music
   • Yelling, Screaming, or Annoying Noises
   • Communications in excess of 60 seconds (hogging the mic)
   • Excessive use of text chat binds or voice chat soundboards
   • we do not differentiate between proximity and regular voice.
   
   
3. No hate speech or harassment is allowed. This includes (but is not limited to) racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, bullying, and use of racial, ethnic, and anti-LGBT slurs. Likewise, glorification of nazis, or use of nazi imagery and symbols, is grounds for an immediate permanent ban.
   • Clarification on this rule from the addendum in post #3, below:
     Anyone caught harassing another player on our servers on basis of race, sex, disability, gender, gender identity, or sexuality will be permanently banned. Appeals for this kind of ban will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
     
4. We do not allow sprays with pornography, overly sexualized images, or ANYTHING including genitalia. We also do not allow sprays that violate rule 3, have excessive gore or harmful links.
   
   
5. Don’t be an asshole. This is a catch-all rule used as necessary to maintain the “spirit” of our servers. We call it the "brown hat" rule, AKA "don't be scumbag Steve". This rule includes, but is not limited to:
   • Disrespecting admin requests, heckling staff, or direct admin attacks
   • Teamstacking/rejoining a server to avoid a team scramble/swapping teams after being balanced
   • Deliberately doing things to annoy people after they've politely asked you to stop.
   • Intentionally filing false reports
   • Intentionally starting drama or bringing up controversial subjects to start arguments (aka trying to “trigger” people)
   
   
6. Any form of evasion from an admin action will result in a ban from our servers. The length of the ban will depend on the severity of the evasion. This includes the use of alternate accounts to evade punishments. Evasion bans are NOT eligible for appeal and must be served in full, regardless of whether the original ban was justified. You are expected to be mature and file an appeal if you disagree with staff actions; doing otherwise will probably hinder your chances of a successful appeal.
   
   
7. No unapproved advertising or self promotion:We do our players the courtesy of not exposing them to or profiting from third party advertisements on our servers, so we expect other players to have the courtesy to continue this ad-free environment. Examples of things that are not permitted:
   1. Stating you are selling services or items for physical money or tangible gain. Reasonable Steam trades are not covered by this rule, UNLESS you are spamming for trades/sales.
   2. NO 3rd-party server addresses. (Due to issues with malicious servers)
   3. Shilling products, services, or "stuff" in which you have a stake or vested interest
   4. Anything that would fall under the FTC's rules on paid promotion disclosure

** If, at any time, you have an issue with an admin’s decision, feel free to contact the Community Manager**

Last updated April 2023 - Rewrites to rules 2 and 3. Added an explicit mention of ableism.

 

[VintagePC]

Punishments

Punishments will be dealt with according to severity of the infraction. However, these are not set in stone and in rare occasions staff members may exercise their judgement to go directly to a more severe punishment.

Standard Infractions:

Most things will fall under standard infractions.

Warning: A staff member may warn you directly to stop what you are doing, depending on the infraction. This may be done directly in chat, through admin tools such as psay, with a warning/timeout, or through a kick. Warnings are a courtesy and may be waived in more severe cases.

1st Offense: Ban, or Communication Block. Bans and Communication Blocks will last no more than 3 days.

2nd Offense: Ban, or Communications Block, depending on the type of infraction. Bans and Communication Blocks will last from 1-2 weeks.

3rd Offense: Permanent Ban or Communications Block, only eligible for appeal in case of error *or* if at least 1 year has passed since the ban was issued


Spray Infractions:

• Sprays that violate the rules will be removed, and the user warned. The rule breaking spray will also be blocked by staff. Continued use of new sprays that break these rules will be met with bans starting at the 2nd offense tier of Minor Infractions.
  
  
• Sprays that involve the sexualization of minors (or characters that a reasonable person could consider a minor - e.g. Lolicon, young-looking anime characters, etc) will be met with a permanent ban with no chance for appeal.
  
  
• Other sprays/imagery that are illegal in the jurisdictions where our servers reside will be similarly met with a permanent ban, and may be referred to authorities if the situation warrants it.

Major Infractions:

Major infractions include the following:

• Anything violating rule 1 (cheating, use of exploits, or interfering with operation of the server)
• Extreme violations of rule 3 (Direct harassment of another person on basis of identity, extreme use of hate speech, or glorification of nazis)
• Use of sprays that may contain illegal content, or content otherwise illegal in the region(s) our servers are located.

Major infractions will be met with a permanent ban, which can not be appealed unless they were issued in error.


Types of Punishment:

• Warning – Player will be warned directly, either through being forced to read the rules on the server, or with a direct warning to stop the rule breaking behavior from the staff member handling the situation.
  
  
• Timeout – Player is moved to spectator, issued a short communications block for the duration of the timeout, and the server rules will be prominently displayed in the MOTD panel while they wait.
  
  
• Spray Block – Player is prevented from spraying a specific rule breaking spray. The player may pick a different spray to use instead.
  
  
• Kick – Player is removed from the server. The player can still re-join the server, but they may lose their player slot and must wait for another slot to open before they can get back into the game.
  
  
• Communications Block – Player is prevented from using voice or text chat in-game until the duration of their communications block is over, but may still play the game as normal. This block applies to ALL VaultF4 servers, not only the one where the infraction occurred.
  
  
• Ban – Player is kicked from the server and is prevented from joining any VaultF4 servers until the ban expires.

Last updated April 2023 - Reason: Replaced "Minor infractions" with standard infractions and rewrote the section on Major infractions. Reduced standard infractions to a 3 strike policy.

 

[MoiraPrime]

Adding this here, in writing for future reference:

VaultF4 strives to be a safe space for the LGBT community and other marginalized groups.

Anyone caught harassing another player on our servers on basis of race, sex, disability, gender, gender identity, or sexuality will be permanently banned. Appeals for this kind of ban will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

This has been an informal policy of mine for a while but I feel like it's worth adding to the end of the rules here for all to see.