Rules

Welcome to **Warriors of the Seas**! Our main goal here is to have a functional, easy and fun running wiki. But to have all those it is best that you, as a warrior, read these rules to make this possible. If you have any questions about anything written here, just send Minkclaw a message, and they'll get back to you as soon as possible. If either are unavailable for any reason, contact any users listed on our Staff page instead. A page that is also recommended is the New User Guide, as it'll give a firm idea of how we, as a wiki, work to create wonderful characters and stories.

# Rules

## General Rules

### Respect other users

No one here deserves to be treated with disrespect, no matter the situation in question. If you have a disagreement with someone, do not try to solve the problem with verbal insults or by using profanities. Things said on the Internet can hurt someone in real-life, so think before you act and type. If you are found harassing another user you will be blocked for a certain amount of time (determined by past offenses).
### Inviting conflict

Users are not to create "hate lists" (whether for other users to sign stating their disdain for said user or for the user in question to list the users they dislike). They are also not to make polls that gauge their "popularity" (or lack thereof) or polls which are to decide whether their fellow editors wish for them to leave or not. In short, while users are free to use their userpages as they choose, their userpages should not be used to create unnecessary conflicts within the community.
### Blocking

If you feel you have been unjustly blocked simply state your case on your talk page and let the community determine your situation. If you have been unfairly blocked you may be unblocked. If you swear and curse at a user on your talk page the block will stay in place, or it may be extended to a longer period of time.
### Advertising

Advertising is strictly prohibited, unless you've spoken to an admin about a share for share (S4S) then you will not be allowed to do so. If you do so and the admins haven't approved it you will automatically be banmed for 30 days.
## Character Rules

### Number of Characters

As we would not like to overpopulate our groups. We ask you to keep your number of *living* characters **below 80 per user**. This does not mean you can have all in one group as that will not be accepted. For deceased characters, we don't ask anything, as this number can always grow throughout the course of the roleplay.
All characters must be requested on the talk pages of the affiliations, an admin will approved the request upon them finding time.
### Mental Illnesses & Disorders

We ask that if you wish to portray a character with either a mental illness or disorder, that you **thoroughly research** about it. As an improper portrayal of these can cause issues and be offensive to people who themselves are directly affected, or have close dealings with it. If you fail to comply with this rule, it will result in you being asked to remove said trait from your character. As you've proven unable to follow the instructions and cannot portray said character properly. This sounds harsh, but it is to create a safe and friendly environment for all.
### High Ranks

A single person may only be in ownership of **three** high-ranking cats at once. This either being a leader and a deputy or any other combination. Users that ignore this will have to decline their fourth cat earning a new rank. Or simply alert the other person beforehand. You may not have a high rank if you haven't been on the wiki for three months.
Also, if you repeatedly ask for a high rank, and have been told no, but continue, you will be barred from creating a high-ranking cat, until an admin believes that you've learned. This bar, at a minimum, will be the life of a **very** major leader, or another high rank.
### Activity

We ask that you keep as active as your schedule allows you. This meaning per month roughly about a paragraph a month. Or 6-8 sentences adding up to that one paragraph. This is just so that we keep the roleplay moving, and can keep track better.
Roleplay pages will also be archived at the beginning of each month. That way it is easy for us to look back on them, see who is active, and update our character pages easier. Pages **will not** be archived until then - so please do not pester or beg for it to archived. Staff members will only allow a mid-month archive if it gets too long and causes dramas. They are in charge of archiving the pages also.
### Genetics and Realism

This wiki will use the system of genetically possible cats. This meaning that a character cannot be a purple, rainbow, etc. pelted cat. Failure to comply will only result in a very minor warning, and a brief run-over what pelt colors are possible.
In terms of how we deal with realism; it comes down to pelt colours and eye colours. Use this as a starting guide, but also remember that if you are unsure you can ask around for an admin for help. So using the chart it gives an idea of what eye colours go with what pelt, and the names for some pelt types.
## Joining Groups & Accepting

### Approving Clan Members

Admins and b-crats may approve join requests ***only***. If another user accepts your join request, the approval by the normal user will be removed and the user making the join request will need to wait until an actual admin approves it. This is in place so that there aren't an excess of cats joining and not abiding by our rules and conventions.
### Naming Conventions

When joining a Clan, make sure to read the Clan's blurb on its main page, and then fill out the required form. However, when joining, do **not** have your cat share it's suffix with any of the Clans. So **Aster-**, **Ember-**, **Fall-**and **Frost-** are all off limits in terms of character names. However, the suffix -fall is not off limits as it is considered as a traditional naming convention and fits into our setting.. We would also like to avoid prefixes of things that cats down know, such as Dragon-, Solar-, Hammer-, Knife-, etc. As these cats wouldn't know what those objects or phrases are.
Names such as; **Moon** and **Star** are considered sacred to the Clans anyway, and we don't suggest using them. Prefixes on this wiki are a combination of English and American fauna and flora. For suffixes, we don't have a strict rule about them, but as long as they either relate to the character's personality or skills, you should be good!
## Project Rules

The individual rules for each project can be read on the following pages:
* Project: Characters Rules and Guidelines
* Project: Charart Rules and Guidelines

## Chat Rules

Conversations in chat should be kept to PG-13 for the sake of all users. Mild swears are allowed, but please keep cussing to the minimum. As we never know when a younger person may or may not be in the Chat at the time. Do not spam either - you will be asked to stop immediately and if you do not comply, you'll be kicked from chat and given a warning.
We have two different chats, one of our chats is the wikia chat. Found here. While our other is a Discord server. Although we don't have a big community the Discord chat won't be linked until the community grows.
## Consequences

Only administrators and bureaucrats can block users. This is what action could possibly be taken against users who have broken the rules.
1. A polite **first warning** explaining what the user did wrong, and asking them politely not to do it again. Can also be followed up by up to two additional warnings.
2. **Blocks of a duration of 1 to 7 days** for minor violations if the user has been repeatedly warned and continues to violate the rules.
3. **Blocks of 1 to 4 weeks** for more persistent violations and/or serious violations.
4. **Blocks of 1 or more months** for numerous, persistent violations and/or very serious violations.
5. **Permanent blocking** is usually reserved only for vandalism and sockpuppetry. This can also be reserved for people who have caused major discomfort to the editors/users of this wiki.

An administrator should leave a polite message on the rulebreaker's talk page warning them of the consequence before taking action. There should generally be community consensus before blocking a user, though there can be exceptions in the case of vandalism and sockpuppetry.