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WindRose

  Terms of Service and Rules

Please Read the WindRose Rules and Terms of Service before registering.

      The Rules

All rules are potentially subjective and open to interpretation by Moderators and Administrators.

1) First and foremost, don't be a Jerk. If you find a loophole in the rules that lets you get away with something that would reasonably be considered a jerk move, then you are in violation of this rule. Being a jerk includes but is not limited to bullying your other players, deliberately doing something someone asked you not to do, etc. Your fellow players are humans too and you need to be respectful of them. This rule applies to everyone, including staff. At the end of the day, you know when you are being a Jerk so stop it.

2) Not everyone will play WindRose the same way as you and you must respect that. Some people are here to play the economy, some people are here to roleplay, some people are here to create art, some people are here for entirely different reasons. Some people are short and to the point, some are more social. None of these people are wrong. It is up to you to make an effort to understand what others are looking for in the game, and to treat them as they wish to be treated.
2a) WindRose Staff may change the nature of gameplay to ensure their creative vision is being met.
2b) Suggestions to change the nature of gameplay may be made in the suggestions forum and may not target any users for playing 'wrong.'

3) Try to post with proper grammar and punctuation, behave like an educated adult. If you are not an educated adult, try your best.
3a) This does not give anyone free reign to correct another person's spelling or grammar. If you are not contributing to a thread or topic then you don't need to say it. There is a fine line between politely correcting someone or asking for clarification, and violating Rule #1. If you don't know where that line is, then avoid going near it.

4) Everyone is equal; regardless of account number, types of items on your account, artistic skill, etc. Community Elitism is not accepted on site.

5) Give credit where credit is due. Don't take credit for art that isn't yours and don't omit credit when posting another's work. All work posted that is not your own should have the name of the creator, a link to where you found the content, and a clear statement that you did not create the work. When in doubt, give more credit.

6) Follow forum rules and all guidelines put forth by Moderators and Administrators. If a forum has a sticky post with rules in it, then read them and follow them. You are just as responsible for knowing those rules as you are for knowing these rules and the T.O.S.
6a) Sticky-post rules are easier to update than rules and T.O.S. and may be modified without notice to the community.

7) Don't instigate drama. If you find yourself being offended or harmed by another user please tell a moderator. There will be situations where what is appropriate for discussion is in dispute. This is not an opportunity to get on your soap box and have your opinions broadcasted to everyone. It is a time when a small group of people, with the help of Moderators, works out a conflict of beliefs and perceptions. It is a confusing dialogue in which all parties are attempting to reach an effective compromise so their fellow players are happy and their own needs are met.

8) If you have a problem with a Moderator contact a site Administrator or a different Moderator directly for assistance. Contacting other users for assistance may be construed as rumor-spreading which is a component of instigating drama.
8a) If you have a problem with an Administrator contact a Moderator for assistance.

9) Do not redistribute RKV codes. These are not for sharing. These are for selfishly hoarding away and jealously guarding.

10) You may try to break the game (or hack it if you live in a 90's movie/modern cop drama) as long as you do NOT break into another user's account and as long as you DO report the issue in the error forum. Moderators may choose to hide bad exploits and work on them privately, but that is up to the staff. If your goal is to help us find potential flaws by exposing them, go right ahead.
10b) Please don't Private Message errors to Administrators/Programmers, they get lost in the endless void of their inbox.

11) You may not have unreleased items on your account. The only time when unreleased items are permitted is when you have direct permission from an Administrator. There are occasionally unreleased items in the database. These items are not obtainable through normal gameplay. If you are found to have one of these items on your account and you have not reported it, it is grounds for a ban. If the item was reported you will be fine. We have several different ways to track the acquisition of items, and all Moderators and Administrators can see any item that was ever on your account, regardless of when it was there. For clarity, all unreleased items will have the name: UNRELEASED.

12) Do not copy and paste content into the forums. The forums give more Kion based on the length of your posts. Therefore, copy and pasting content into the forums that is not your own is prohibited. Short song lyrics or quotes are fine; however longer posts are not acceptable. Generally, it will be up to the moderators to determine what is OK and what is not. As a rule of thumb, if the copied content is more than 250 characters long you are probably violating this rule. Please link to stories/content that were not originally created on WindRose, instead of copying the content.

13) You may not use scripts or auto-refreshers. These unbalance the game (which is intended to be played by humans and not robots) and also cause lag on the server. Please do not use these. Fast refreshes are tracked by the server, and refreshing too quickly (Faster than two refreshes per second) will cause random events to turn off for your account for a few seconds.

14) Begging on the Forums, the Chat-box and in Private Messages is not allowed. This includes asking for items, kion, or sprouts of any kind. You should instead post a list of items you're searching for in your profile, as there are very generous anonymous gifters who may fulfill your wish list. Maintaining a 'Buying' thread in the sales forums is also a good alternative.
14a) Sending unsolicited Private Messages requesting the purchase of a sprout or item on a user's account is also not allowed.
14b) If you want users to send you unsolicited Private Messages requesting the purchase of a sprout or item you can state so in your Profile or in a sales thread. You may either accept all unsolicited private messages, or none, you may not have a group of people that is allowed and a different group that is not.

15) All users have the right to refuse interactions with other users, as long as they are polite about it. You are not required to interact with any user who makes you uncomfortable. Acceptable means of enforcing this include stating 'No Thank You' to requests from a user you don't want to interact with. If the issue is pushed, you may contact a moderator for assistance or additional suggestions.
15a) You may not maintain a 'blacklist' that is shown on or off of WindRose, including being sent via chat or over Private Message. You may not demand or encourage that other users refuse interactions with the same people as you. You may not maintain a 'Whitelist' because this implies a 'blacklist' of non-listed users.

16) Users may only benefit from one WindRose Account. Even if your friend controls the other account, if they send all of their items to your account, you are in violation of this rule. You may only control one account at a time.
16a) Users may not sell or trade accounts. Once you have an account that is your account. No trading or selling.

17) No Mini-modding. If you encounter a user who is breaking any of the rules or the T.O.S. contact a Moderator through a Private Message.




      The Terms of Service

These Terms of Service are applicable for all usage of the website http://explorewindrose.com, and all related pages in that domain, hereafter referred to as 'WindRose.'

Before registering for an account the user is responsible for reading the Terms of Service (hereafter referred to as T.O.S.), and should not register if they cannot or will not follow all of the guidelines within. The T.O.S. is subject to change at the discretion of WindRose Administrators. It is up to the user to keep up to date with all current guidelines. Efforts will be made by the WindRose Staff to notify the user of any changes. Unforeseeable circumstances, such as glitches, may prevent all notifications from being received. At any time the user may view the current T.O.S. at ( http://explorewindrose.com/tos.php) or request them from Administrators. Should the user fail to read the T.O.S. before registering, or not maintain up-to-date knowledge of the T.O.S., they are still subject to the rules within.

Each time the user logs in to WindRose they renew their agreement to follow the current T.O.S. If the user no longer agrees to follow the T.O.S. they must stop logging in. Issues that prevent the user from renewing their agreement that the user wishes to dispute may be e-mailed to explorewindrose@gmail.com with the subject "T.O.S. Dispute." Users who disagree with points within the T.O.S., but still agree to follow it, may make their complaints known in the Site Suggestion forum.

Anyone who violates these terms will have their account removed permanently regardless of content or payments made to WindRose.

WindRose reserves the right to refuse service to anyone.

You must be 13 years old to join WindRose.

Failing to adhere to the rules put forth by WindRose, Administrators of WindRose, or Moderators of WindRose is a violation of the T.O.S.

      Availability
WindRose will be available as much as possible, but downtime is to be expected. Downtime may prevent access to the whole site, or small portions which may or may not include paid content. Site downtime may be out of the hands of the WindRose Administrators. It is the goal of the WindRose Administrators to make sure that the site stays online and functional. However there are possible circumstances which could prevent this goal from being met. If, for any reason, it becomes necessary to shut down the site permanently users are not entitled to receive reimbursement for any content lost. This includes, but is not limited to, art, in-game items, and account upgrades, and any Cash Shop purchases that the user has paid real life money for.

      WindRose Staff
WindRose Staff includes Administrators, Moderators, Feature Testers, Contributing Digital Artists, and Contributing Programmers. These staff members have elevated benefits granted to their account and may experience WindRose differently from other users.

WindRose Moderators are able to access a limited portion of any user's account, including but not limited to recent Private Messages, Chat Box submissions, and Anonymous Gifts.

WindRose Administrators can see all account content except for your Login name, password and PIN. Login names, Passwords and PINs are encrypted for security.

      Site Content and User Content
WindRose provides content to its users, and also allows users to share content of their own creation. All users should be aware of the difference between Site Content and User Content.

Site content is defined as: all material maintained by WindRose Staff for the purposes of game play or participation on Windrose. Site content may also include posts made by WindRose Administrators, WindRose Moderators, or Non-Player Characters (NPCs) concerning Rules, Lore, or site function.

User content is any amount of information, art, writing, or miscellaneous content that is submitted by a user who is not an Administrator or a Moderator. User content may also be submitted material from the Administrators or Moderators if the content is not specific to the site's function, lore, or administrative duties. WindRose is not responsible for and does not own any User content, but will make efforts to remove illegal material as well as anything that violates WindRose rules or the T.O.S. upon request.

WindRose Administrators and Moderators cannot control what individual users decide to post; they can only make efforts after the fact to remove offensive or illegal material.

      Offsite Content related to WindRose
Anything that is not on the WindRose website is not officially supported by the site, and as a key factor to that, is not moderated by WindRose Moderators according to WindRose rules. WindRose Moderator's responsibility and power extends only to WindRose website content. Moderators can only monitor what happens on the site, so Moderators can only guarantee fair review for site content. Administrators, Moderators and Staff can not and will not moderate private content offsite.

The exception to this rule is for public content. That is, content that anyone on the internet can see. Administrators and Moderators will step in when slurs are used, or when calls are made to harass other users of the site. If Moderators or Administrators see it, or if Administrators believe reasonable proof has been given about which user is posting this content, they will be banned. WindRose does not tolerate slurs. WindRose does not tolerate public slander.

      Copyright Information
Any and all drawings, digital media, writing, photographs, designs, conceptual layouts, or programming code (hereafter referred to as 'art') found on WindRose is the property of the original creator unless otherwise stated.

WindRose was originally designed by Rayna Winters (username: Elyneara, hereafter referred to as Eli) in 2010 and ownership has since been transferred to complexQuanta (#2405). All Site Content is copyright to Eli. Any art that is not created by Eli originally is commissioned from various artists, to be credited per individual agreements for each piece. Any art used in site content is used with the permission of the original creator.

All WindRose users agree to respect the creator of any art on site by not distributing, editing, copying or selling art found on WindRose. Additionally, users of WindRose may not take art that is not their own and distribute it on site as though it were their own, or without the permission of the original creator.

Any User Content submitted to WindRose via Site Suggestions, or in regard to requests made by WindRose for content may be used as inspiration for new Site Content. Any art submitted to Site Suggestions or specific WindRose requests is considered to have permission for full use as Site Content from the creator of the art. If a user submits art he or she has until the art is implemented in site functionality to remove the content or request that it not be used. WindRose Staff will make efforts to contact the artist before using the content to receive exact permission, however this is not guaranteed. No art on site may be used for other purposes unless express permission is given from the creator.

      Privacy
WindRose Staff will never sell or intentionally distribute any collected user information unless required by law. Users are responsible for using the site wisely and not making personal information available. Any personal content posted by users is their own responsibility and Moderators will not edit or remove it unless it violates WindRose rules.

All users are expected to take measures to protect their own privacy from malicious parties.

All monetary transactions are carried out via a third party(PayPal). WindRose Administrators, Moderators and Other Staff do not see any credit card information or address information unless otherwise provided.

WindRose Administrators have full access to all Posts, Private Messages, Submissions and other usage made through WindRose. WindRose Moderators have limited access to Posts, Private Messages, Submissions and other usage made through WindRose. A full list of monitored activity is available upon request. This information is occasionally reviewed for purposes of Moderation and Site Administration.

      Account Usage
Users may only have one account. WindRose Administrators and Moderators do check IP usage as a part of discovering if a user has multiple accounts, however this is not the only thing checked and there is no rule against two users having the same IP. Users who repeatedly drain one account into another will be considered to have multiple accounts, regardless of the IP of the account users or if there are more than 1 user. A 'drain' of one account is: all or most of the pets/items/currency from the account moves to one or more accounts with nothing gained in return. In short: you may not have the benefit of multiple accounts regardless of how many users are actually playing on these accounts.

Users may not sell their account to another user for any currency or services, onsite or offsite, real or fictional. Users may not sell items, pets or other WindRose items for real life money. Users may sell items, pets and currency for currencies on other online games, providing that the other site also allows off site trading.

Users may not exploit bugs or glitches for personal gain or amusement. Nor may they ignore a potential threat to site security. All bugs or glitches must be reported in the error forum.

Usernames may not contain any offensive language, including swear words. In addition they may not represent a political figure, religious figure, fictional character (unless owned by you) or otherwise famous person. If a username is in violation it may be changed by Moderators, without consultation of the user in question.

Users who have read the T.O.S. may know about the code: rkvreadthetos but should know that it needs to be used in all caps.

Swearing and adult language is allowed on site; however users must agree to use their words with discretion and be prepared to apologize sincerely in the event that another user is offended.

Excessive violence is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to, depictions of graphic or violent removal of body parts, rape, or abuse. Depiction of blood is allowed as long as it is reasonably tame, unrealistic, and/or implied.

Pornographic content is not allowed. Pornographic content is defined as any display of genitalia or explicit sexual acts. Artistic nudity is allowed provided that ALL content is cleared via Private Message with a Moderator first. The Moderator's decision on allowed content is to be fully respected.

Hateful content, offensive stereotypes and offensive generalizations, are not allowed.

All disputes concerning what is offensive and what is acceptable should be handled by the Moderators. Disputes among the Moderators will be handled by Administrators. Disputes between Users and Moderators must be handled by Administrators. All users wishing to participate on WindRose agree that the judgments of the Moderators or the Administrators are to be upheld and respected when concerning offensive material. You may file a dispute with a Moderator. Any user found to violate these rules or decisions after they have already been warned will be penalized or banned based on severity.

Sensitive issues such as religion, sexuality, or politics, should be handled carefully. Moderators may decide to shut down threads containing these topics with no warning. All users should be aware that people have different viewpoints and if they cannot respect another person's point of view they should not enter into discussions about sensitive topics.

WindRose is rated T (Teen), and will follow guidelines put forth by the ESRB ( http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp )
WindRose is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. Content may include:
Minor drug use, references to drugs and drug paraphernalia. No 'hard drugs' or heavy use may be shown or posted. Drug use may be alluded to, but not shown outright.
Swearing is allowed as long as these words are not used in a sexual context and are not directed maliciously at another WindRose User, WindRose Staff, or anyone else.
Nudity may be present but will not be sexually oriented. Moderators of WindRose will have the final say on what is appropriate.
Depictions of violence may be present but not realistic or extreme. Cartoon violence may be posted. Violence may not be sexual in nature.
Gambling may take place as long as the only currency used is in-game currency and the outcomes only affect WindRose.