Rules

All properties of the Union of Democratic States, including the NationStates region page, the forum, and the discord servers, are administered by the UDS Administrative Team. By visiting, registering, or logging on to properties of the Union of Democratic States you agree to abide by the NationStates Terms & Conditions and Rules, Forum Terms, Discord Terms of Service, and the rules established herein. The Administrative Team reserves the right to alter these rules at any time. For information concerning the scope of responsibility of the Administrative Team visit the Statement Regarding the Role of the Administrative Team and for information concerning the makeup of and precedents set by the Administrative Team visit the Administrative Team Roster and Announcements Repository.

Universal Rules

The following rules apply to behavior on all properties of the Administrative Team. These rules serve in addition to and do not usurp the respective terms, conditions, and rules of the websites or hosts of Administrative Team properties. The Administrative Team reserves the right to amend or add to these rules at any time without warning. R1-R6 originally authored by Kyrusia, R7 originally authored by Cormac, R8 originally inspired by Malashaan. Rules have been modified and may not represent the opinions of the originators.

  1. Do not be disruptive. All governing rules and administrative actions on UDS properties are fundamentally derived from this rule. Any action, whether explicitly prohibited or not, which results in undue disruption or constitutes disruptive behavior may result in a warning, the revocation of the ability to post, or an administrative ban.
  2. Do not harass, sexually harass, doxx, or attack anyone OOC. This is the biggest no-no and is grounds for an immediate and indefinite ban. Doxxing is the act of revealing information about the real person behind an account without their expressed permission.
  3. Do not flame, flamebait, or troll. Snark, sarcasm, and "being blunt" are not inherently the same as flaming, trolling, or otherwise insulting other users past the line. The Administrative Team will use discretion in determining when the line is crossed. Flaming is essentially attacking someone relentlessly and/or name calling. Flamebaiting is attempting to coerce someone into flaming you with the intent to incite administrative action.
  4. Do not inappropriately spam. This should be obvious. Spam includes the excessive posting of images or similar content without reason or outside of sanctioned areas. If you are unsure what form of and where spam is appropriate inquire in the Administrative Discussion channel on Discord or the Administrative Questions and Inquiries thread on the Forum.
  5. All content should be considered "safe for work." Discussions of obscene or pornographic content do not belong anywhere on this server. Any content deemed inappropriate will be deleted without warning and may include punitive actions against the posters.
  6. Any serious grievance against another user must be privately brought to the server administrators on Discord or via Report on the Forum. If a user has a serious dispute or grievance with another user or feels they are at risk to the community, privately bring it to the attention of the Administrative Team. This includes any potential grievance a user may have against a member of the Administrative Team.
  7. OOC blacklisted players will be banned on sight. Associating with or harboring OOC blacklisted players is also grounds for action. The UDS does not tolerate players who have been blacklisted from the off-site communities of most gameplay regions for serious OOC reasons, and such players will be banned on sight. If you choose to support or associate yourself with these elements, you run the risk of being deemed a security threat by the Administrative Team.
  8. Speech must be respectful to other members. Speech or conduct that offends, threatens or insults an individual or group based on that individual's or group's sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, language, religion, or national or social origin is unacceptable and grounds for action.

Forum Rules

The following rules apply to behavior on the forum. The Administrative Team reserves the right to amend or add to these rules at any time without warning.

  1. Forum signatures must be of a reasonable size and not an unpleasant format. Signatures must not exceed 5 lines of text nor include more than 7 images. Images used must abide by the dimensions set by the forum.
  2. The Dark Alley” in “Union Town” is the only designated place for spam on the forum. Spam must be orderly and must take place by way of spam games within the designated threads. Spam must abide by the rules established by the OP of each games’ thread.

Onsite Rules

The following rules apply to behavior on the Union of Democratic States’ page on www.nationstates.net. These rules reflect and reiterate principles made evident in the universal rules. The Administrative Team reserves the right to amend or add to these rules at any time without warning.

  1. Flaming, Flame-baiting, Trolling, and Harassing fellow players is prohibited. Flaming is defined as the act of posting offensive or abusive messages. Flame-baiting is defined as posting with the perceived intent of provoking anger. Trolling is defined as posting with the perceived intend of inciting discord. Harassment is defined as aggressive pressure or intimidation.
  2. Excessive swearing is prohibited. Excessive swearing is defined as the unwarranted use of offensive language.
  3. Spamming, double-posting, and hogging the regional message board is prohibited. Spamming is defined as the act of posting multiple repetitive messages. Double-posting is defined as the act of posting twice when one post would suffice.
  4. Unsightly content is prohibited. Unsightly content is defined as text art, images, and excessive use of capital letters, bolding, italics, and underlining.
  5. Plagiarism and quote tampering are prohibited. Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of another author's ideas as one's own. Quote tampering is defined as rewording a quoted text.
  6. Unauthorized recruitment for other regions, organizations, and events is prohibited.

Reporting Issues

On the forum, users can report forum posts, private conversations, and profile statuses or messages within the shoutbox by way of clicking the “report” button. Should such an option not immediately appear below a post, users may need to click the “•••” button. Upon filing a report, briefly provide a reason for the report and the Administrative Team will handle it shortly. Requests not specifically intended to report a rule violation can still be made by way of a direct message to an Administrator. Administrators will delete or archive content, lock pertinent threads, and grant appeals on a case-by-case basis.

On the discord, users can both publicly and privately report a violation of the rules.

How to publicly report a violation of the rules:

  1. Compose a post in #administrative-discussion detailing the rule violation, citing both the offender and the rule that was broken. Administrators regularly check this channel, however, ping Administrators if the matter is time sensitive or if Administrators are not attending to your report within a reasonable amount of time.
  2. Use the “>report (explanation)” command in the channel where the rule violation took place, replacing “(explanation)” with a thorough explanation of the violation including a link of the post(s) concerned, if applicable.

How to privately report a violation of the rules:

  1. Send a direct message to a masked Administrator that you trust. Should your report concern an Administrator send the message to Thatcher Whitehall, the Chief Administrator. Should your report concern Thatcher Whitehall send the message to Ark, an experienced Administrator and the Deputy Chief Administrator. Concerns regarding Administrators will be dealt with seriously and investigated if need be. 
  2. Fill out the UDS Administrative Team Report Google Form using the following link: https://forms.gle/FbE5r42s4fCerx7VA. If you feel uncomfortable contacting an administrator directly or have a reason to remain anonymous. Note that while anonymous submissions are appropriate under certain circumstances, credible evidence is required to take administrative action, and follow-up contact may be required. Administrators are notified when submissions are made and responses are only visible to them.