Ban

.A ban is a disciplinary action by a moderator when a player is found to have broken rules under Glowbe's Terms of Service or Community Standards.

## Glowbe's Strike Policy

Glowbe's strike system involves three month increments where a user can be assigned, or even collect, strikes. Within these three months, anything done against the Community Standards will accumulate a strike. If three strikes are gained within a frame of these three month intervals, it will result in a ban. The length of the ban will be determined by a moderator or staff member overlooking the case. Any action going against the Community Standards after a ban will result in an immediate ban, the length of which will be substantially longer than the initial one.

### **Strikes**

Three strikes will be given to an individual if no bans are recorded previously in the three month window. Habitual strikes for the same actions may warrant less tolerance, and thus less strikes, if the staff sees fit. Strikes do not carry over the three month spans.

### **Troublemaker status**

Troublemakers are any individuals that have been banned at least once. This status denies an individual to tick "Friendly Person", as well as setting a note for the staff to approach an individual with less leniency. This may warrant things such as: less credibility when appealing consecutive bans, more harsh punishment when being addressed about issues such as strikes, or even the complete negation of participation in certain activities. This status lasts for a total of six months, and can be reset by not receiving another ban within this time period. If another ban is received, however, this timer is reset. If a ban is successfully appealed, a troublemaker status may also be appealed as well.

## Types of Bans

There are two types of bans; temporary and permanent. Moderators and admins will decide what type of ban to issue based on the scale of rule violation, whether they have been issued warnings or whether they are a repeat offender. When a banned player attempts to log in, they will receive a message box explaining why they are banned and the reason for it.

### Temporary Bans

A temporary ban, or suspension, lasts a set number of days after which the player is able to log back into Glowbe and play normally. If the temporary ban is invoked due to harassment, spam, indecency or any other reason staff see fit, the player will also become tagged as a "troublemaker". This tag allows staff to see that a user has previously violated the Terms of Service. As a result of being tagged a "troublemaker", your broadcast rights will be revoked and you will no longer be able to tag items in the shop. Longer suspensions can be issued, usually in the case where a player is found to be under the legal age limit of 13 years old. In those cases, they are suspended until they turn 13.

### Permanent Bans

Permanent bans are forever. They are given out sparingly, usually to members who have established a pattern of Terms of Service violations. Permanent bans may also be given to players who commit offenses of such magnitude that it is judged they should not be able to return to Glowbe.

## Activities That Can Result in a Ban

Any behaviour that violates the Terms of Service or Community Standards can result in a ban. Glowbe's player community actively reports violations. Some examples include, but are not limited to:

### Harassment

Harassment is defined as anything and everything including an attack on a player to ruin their reputation, not to make them disgruntled or to initiate an informal fight. Anything involving the following is not allowed under ANY circumstance: the involvement of real life or otherwise personal information, the publicizing of information that might otherwise go against another individual, or an attack based off of a person's qualities and beliefs.

### Spamming

Spamming encompasses any act of the mass posting, or otherwise flooding, of unnecessary information. Any messages or posts sent that encourage such actions, as well as anyone involved, will subsequently receive a ban or a strike.

### Content Theft

The illegitimate acquisition of a creator's product will, under any circumstance, warrant either a strike or a ban. This includes all of the following: stealing (or "ripping") the file of an already established work existent on Glowbe, the use of specific components from an already established work, or the illegitimate usage on an account that was either unintended or not warranted.

## Appealing a Ban

There are, as of now, three ways to appeal a ban. You must do one of the following three actions (LISTED BY PRIORITY):

- Contact appeal@whirlwhinds.com

- Contact a staff member through Discord (server invite listed here: https://discord.gg/bBMTsqS)

- Submit a ticket through Help > Contact us. DO NOT send one on an alternative account while banned, as this will relate to ban evasion.

A staff member will usually reply within two days. If you do not hear back about your appeal, try another form of submission listed above.

Here are some tips while sending a ban appeal:

**Do:**

* Provide relevant information.
* Remember that you are responsible for your account no matter who did it. See account security for more info.

**Don't:**

* Use group posts or Glowbe chat to attempt to appeal your ban.
* Urge others to try to appeal on your behalf. For privacy reasons, discussion must be kept between Glowbe and the account owner.
* Spam your appeal.