The Laws of Darkness Rising
"I accept you into my pack," said The Guardian.
"But here, you are on my lands,
and you will follow my rules."
If you are a victim or a witness in any of these situations, please report it to an available Administration member. Don't be shy, and don't be afraid. We are here to help you and we have the power to take action, as well as answer any questions you have. The admins are the "police" for this chat server. Do not worry if you mistakenly report something. It is better to be safe than sorry.
To get help for anything at anytime, click the "Admin" button, and type in a short message about your problem to any Admin that is on the list. Keep scrolling text history logs (the saved sections of the scroll where the event happened), record the time, date, and the room location. If there are no Admins online, please fill out a Problem Ticket (accessible from the Map interface) and it will be dealt with in a timely manner.
"But I didn't know!" is not an acceptable excuse on Darkness Rising. 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 Darkness Rising. 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!" No conversations over PG-13 in the public rooms no matter how old anyone is or if they're all okay with it or not. All R-rated conversations belong in private 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.
Without further ado, here are the RULES:


A. Harassment
1. General Harassment

"To irritate or torment persistently." Harassment covers a broad area. Harassment can be (but is not limited to): cursing, name-calling, sexual innuendoes, sexual harassment, racial slurs, gay bashing, stalking, or anything else one person can do to annoy another. NONE of these are allowed and can result in a temporary, or permanent ban.
2. Begging

The soliciting of funds, favors or items (artwork, poses etc.) is not allowed. Begging in the public rooms and/or continuous and repeated solicitation is a type of harassment and could get you kicked from the room.

3. Spam

This can be movement and/or text. Clicking all over the screen may slow down some people's connections. 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 spam.

4. Death & Suicide Threats

We have absolutely zero tolerance for death threats. Talking about killing, how to kill, threatening someone with murder, or anything of that sort is not allowed. This rule still applies to the RP (role-play) rooms. We also ask that you not talk about causing self-harm or committing suicide 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. (Please read below for more info.) These are the minimum ban lengths you will incur for the following death threat scenarios:

3 days to a Week for Roleplay based death Threats in a Roleplay or Private room
1 Month for Roleplay based death threats outside of a Roleplay or Private room.
A permanent ban will be placed if the death threat is not felt to be of a Roleplay like nature.

As stated above, talk of suicide and self harm can be "triggering" to people in chat and can cause stress and disturbance. If you are just looking to seek help, PLEASE contact an administrator whether it be through private message or whisper. We will do our best to help you and can even provide you with links to websites we think may help. 
Please also be sure to talk to either a parent/guardian or a trusted friend or adult who can get you the help you need. Your life is precious and valuable. We care about you.
5. Virus & Hacker Threats

We have absolutely zero tolerance for any kind of threat of sending viruses or hacking. Don't talk about hacking, share tricks or links, or have anything to do with it. Threats directly against the site are taken extremely seriously. Special consequence for Virus & Hacker Threats: Instant permanent ban.

6. Propositioning Minors

Darkness Rising makes every effort to keep its chat environment enjoyable and safe for all users that visit. Darkness Rising 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:

Offering minors drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, sex, cybering, yiffing - this includes role play.

Important Information Regarding Propositions to a Minor:

(1) If you proposition a minor to participate in any illegal activity, you will be permanently banned from all Chatlands sites, not just this one. Instances of propositioning minors will be reported to the appropriate Internet Service Provider (ISP) and/or legal authority.

(2) As a reminder: by your act of participating in Darkness Rising.com, 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 Darkness Rising will be turned over to the appropriate ISP as well as possible law enforcement.

(3) If we have a reasonable suspicion that any involvement with a minor is unethical in our sole judgment, WE WILL BAN YOU, without warning, even if this situation occurs in a "role play" or "pretend" atmosphere.

Please Remember: The Darkness Rising administration cannot be everywhere at once, so it is up to YOU, as a user, to report any suspicious activity to the Darkness Rising administration team quickly. We will follow up all allegations as soon as we can, and we will take necessary and appropriate action as required.

Important note: If an incident happens outside of Darkness Rising, on systems over which Darkness Rising admins, and/or wunderwood LLC, have no control (for example: if the users are communicating via instant messengers such as MSN, AIM, YIM, or perhaps via an email messages on hotmail.com, gmail.com, etc), we aren't able to help. If you are a child and you have a problem, WE STRONGLY ADVISE that that you notify your parents or other responsible adult and get their help. They should contact those responsible for the service (such as AOL for AIM messenges, Microsoft for hotmail.com type emails, Google for gmail.com type emails, etc). Be sure to save all information and any history of the problem, as this will help the authorities as they work to solve this problem.

As always, WE STRONGLY ADVISE everyone: do not give out personal contact information such as phone numbers, street address, real life names or the name of your school, any information that helps someone else you met online locate you in real life. No exceptions.
7. Harassing an Administrator

Everyone deserves respect, of course, but these guys pitch in a little more than your average user. They accept the job knowing that they may make mistakes, that they may face constructive criticism, and that they take on these extra responsibilities without pay. You also accept the responsibilities as a member, knowing that the Administration is not perfect. Do not tell an Admin that "they suck", or how bad they are at their job. Do not yell at an Administrator for banning you or someone you know. Do not ask to be made an admin. Do not harass them openly or privately in any way. Doing so will lead in either a temporary or if serious enough, a permanent ban. If you have a problem with how a Darkness Rising Admin has handled a situation, contact Castiel or fill out a Problem Ticket.

See the Problem Solving instructions at the end of these rules.

8. Trolling on Other Chatlands� Sites

If you go on any Chatlands site (Cats Paw Island, Wolfhome, Sirisola, Crystalin Forest, etc.) for the purpose of harassing, disrupting, disturbing the peace, or trolling, the punishment is a minimum of a one week ban from ALL Chatlands� sites, not just the one where the incident took place. Any attempt to deliberately cause strife or to disrupt others on any Chatlands� site is treated as an attack against all Chatlands� sites.

9. False Reports

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 permanent ban from the chat as a result.

10. Ban Hopping

If you are currently banned from the chat site, and you try to access the chat on another account, this is called ban hopping. Doing so will cause that account to be banned as well. Every time you do this, your ban time will increase. This can lead to a permanent IP ban.
11. Account Responsibility

You are responsible for everything that happens on your account, whether or not you did it. If someone accesses your account and they get a warning or a ban, it will count against you as though you did it. If a banned user accesses your account and gets it banned as well, it will stay banned at the same length of time as their account, even if it is a permanent ban. If this should happen, you may submit a problem ticket to inform us that this is the case, and we will keep it in mind for future reference, so we don't base any possible future bans you may receive off of the other users issues. Keep in mind that if you try to access the chat on another account, it will still be considered ban hopping, and will be enforced as per the rules above.

12. Using your Avatar to harass other users

Using poses like "Attack" and "Growl" for instance to harass other users, meaning disturbing them or playing with them against their will, is not allowed. In cases where it's your friends and you happen to be joking around/having fun, that is okay. But If you're asked to stop by the person and you refuse, you will receive a warning. Poses can be used for fun in any rooms, public or RP, and as much as you like, but they are not there to deliberately disturb other users. Remember to respect the wishes and personal space of others. 


B. PG-13 Rating Clarification
13. Cursing and Language

You are able to use a couple of the lighter words a few times in all ages rooms. Do not swear AT people. Excessive swearing can get you kicked from a room and/or banned in all ages rooms. In 13+ chat rooms some 'heavier' words are allowed, although you are never permitted to swear at a user in a harmful way, or even at admins. This is looked upon as being disrespectful, and you will be given one warning.

The F word is not permitted in rooms 13+ - 15+ but can be used when the majority of the word is "bleeped" out and only the F is shown such as, F***, F&*^ etc.

In 16+ rooms and higher the F word is allowed but not in excess or to be used towards anyone.
14. Drug Advertisement

Chatting about legal substances is allowed to an extent (ex: forms of alcohol, cigarettes) but if you're a minor talking about the use of alcohol, you will be asked nicely to change the subject. Talk of legal (prescription drugs) for informational purposes is also allowed (ex: This drug has many side effects.) Any talk of illegal or prescription drugs in an un-tasteful manner is not allowed. (ex: Oh man. That -insert drug here- was so good. I got so wasted last night.) Talk like this can lead to a warning from an administrator. 
15. Sexual Content

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 and talking about sexual subjects is also severely frowned upon, and is NOT allowed in public rooms. 
16. Private Rooms

In your room, be it temporary or permanent, you are your own Alpha, and you can pick your own rating and you can kick out whoever you want for whatever reason. In someone else's room, you are subject to their laws. If you don't like someone's rules in their room, just go somewhere else. If they are violating one of the special consequence rules, such as a death threat, a hack threat, or propositioning a minor, you should report the violation to an Administrator immediately.

By all means if someone isn't following your private room rules, you may kick them. But, when it comes to kicking users out of your private room, we suggest that you do not swear, bully, threaten, etc. in your kick message. Doing so will result in a warning. 
C. Other
17. Role-Playing

We are not going to discriminate against you for RP'ing and jump on you at the mention of "mates", but do not assume everyone wants to RP 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 role play. Please note: We have a few rooms that are specifically set up for hopeful RP'ers to meet and interact with others sharing a common interest in role play. You will also discover several private rooms in the islands or mysts that are set up for (and interested in) role play. Outside of those types of rooms, do not bother other people and they shouldn't bother you either. Please refrain from full RPing in all other public rooms and remember, again, that Darkness Rising does not consider itself to be a role play site aside from those specific RP rooms designated for role play. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Example of Full RP'ing:

"She came home after a long hunt, tired and weary, happy to see the rest of her pack."
"He rushed over and nuzzled her, happy she was back."
18. Art Theft

Please see the Art FAQ for further explanation. Art Theft is taken very seriously on Darkness Rising. This includes using a pose on this chat when the artist has made it public they do not wish their work to be used here, modifying poses that the artist has asked not to be messed with, uploading work that is not your own without the artist's permission or proof of purchase, using other people's "characters", and more. If you ever have a question regarding the rights of a pose, please contact a member of the Art Staff. Special consequence for Art Theft:
3 day ban for First Offense
Permanent ban for Second Offense
(Keep in mind that the artist of the original art will also be notified.)
19. Multiple Accounts

Multiple accounts in the same room controlled by the same person are not allowed. You can pay for as many as you want and different family members may have their own account, but if we suspect you are double-accounting then you will be warned. If you refuse to cooperate, one your accounts will be removed. Continuing to do this can lead to a temporary ban on your account, if not both.
20. Disturbing the Peace

Generally, "Disturbing the Peace" might mean many things, but on Darkness Rising it means behaving in ways that are deliberately upsetting or unsettling to people within the community, deliberately causing emotional grief, or trauma. Now, this may not be a crime, but it is taken seriously here. An example of "disturbing the peace" would be faked reports of deaths, car accidents, abductions, or things such as sexuality, religion, race, gender bashing, etc. So, don't go around telling deliberate lies or spreading hate in order to cause a commotion. Not only is it extremely rude, it may also get you banned.

21. Links to Inappropriate Content

As a service to our users, the Darkness Rising 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. These links are typically for sites that are external to this website and are thus not under the control of wunderwood LLC. Please note that wunderwood LLC is not responsible for any content displayed when a link takes you to an external website.

Any user who enters a link to a page with pornographic images, outwardly racist content, a "shock site", extreme violence, or a site designed to affect computer performance in a negative way, may be permanently banned without warning. Darkness Rising 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 content, in a public room or in their sniff, may be banned with or without warning. 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 Darkness Rising. Contact an alpha.

We reserve the right to judge instances where inappropriate content is linked in public or private rooms on a case-by-case basis.
Feedback & Problem Solving Strategies

Feedback is always welcome! 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 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. The users do not vote or have an official say in the making of rules, but I can promise you that your feedback weighs in heavily on our decisions and we need that feedback in order to know what you want and how you feel about things.

ALL 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.

These rules are subject to change, with or without notice. While we will make an attempt to notify of changes (via the forum or login page), we cannot guarantee notification. It is your responsibility to check for updates.

D. Problem Solving Strategies for Darkness Rising (by Underdog)
"I want to take a minute to explain how I expect members of Darkness Rising to approach problems with another user, whether that other user is a Subordinate, Gamma, Beta or Alpha... The goal is to try and keep the public forums clear of the acrimony that plagued the previous two incarnations of Darkness Rising. I want to make these suggestions:

"1. When you have a problem with some other user, first you need to send a message to that person explaining yourself. Avoid sarcasm or other things that would add more "heat than light". State your case plainly and politely. If someone has done you an injustice, make it clear why you feel that way, but do not make things more complicated by attacking back. Resist the temptation to "tell them off". Try to resolve the problem in a private message.

"2. If you are unable to resolve the problem by working directly with the other person, you should escalate it to someone of higher rank. So, for example, if you are a Subordinate and you are having problems with another Subordinate, send a private message to a Gamma about it, or speak with them privately.

"3. If escalating to the next level doesn't work, continue to escalate. There's no reason why you have to go through each level, but try to if you can. If all else fails, please do not hesitate to contact me (or another Alpha) directly about problems with an administrator. Be aware that I want to think highly of my team, but that doesn't mean that they are infallible.

"4. The main goal is to try to resolve problems without turning it into a public argument. For what it's worth, any time that I see a PUBLIC discussion of some problem that should have been handled in PRIVATE, I tend to be strongly biased against the public debate. So, it serves your purpose to avoid airing "dirty laundry" in public. This means, be discreet and private. PM the Alphas, rather than post a negative topic.

"5. If all else fails, and you have moved up the ladder and STILL don't have a fair resolution, then by all means you are free to take it public. You could have done it all along, of course. But keep in mind that I am not going to cave in to mob rule. I am the Alpha at Darkness Rising. What I say is final. I want to keep people happy, but I am going to do what I feel is right, regardless of any public vote.

"I believe that one of the root causes of the collapse of the previous two incarnations of Darkness Rising had to do with arguments on public forums. I do not want to eliminate those, but I want them to be a last resort. Thanks for helping me reach that goal."


===underdog===
Thank you for participating in our site and happy chatting!

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