Rules

Rules are an important backbone to any game, and we take them very seriously here at Starborn Alignment. Everyone in our little SA family deserves to feel safe and treated fairly. We expect every member to know these rules and abide by them.

Should these rules be updated, the group will always be notified through a journal update on the DA group. The rule is in effect the minute we post the journal. Ignorance is not an excuse for breaking a rule!

### Strikes and Bans

When a member breaks a rule, they will be issued a single strike. If a user receives three strikes, they are banned from the game. An official warning will proceed a strike if the rule breaking is deemed an honest mistake (ignorance of the rules is not an honest mistake!) Likewise, grave offenses such as doxxing, revealing personal information about another member, or severe harassment may bypass the strike system and go straight to a permanent ban.

A member will always be informed when they receive a strike. Members who receive permanent bans for the severe offenses listed above will be removed from the group without warning.

### General Rules

* SA is an inclusive community dedicated to being fun and safe for everyone. Homophobia, racism, sexism, prejudice and religious intolerance will not be tolerated in SA spaces, including the group page, forums, discord chat, and deviations/journals submitted to the group. Malicious remarks will earn a strike or a permanent ban, depending on the severity.
* Swearing is allowed, so long as you're not using it to demean another member.
* There are no activity rules for the group; you will never be removed from SA for being inactive. Some rarer, limited ranks require Activity Checks, but most characters do not.
* Please do not "god mode". God moding is understood to be when you force another person's character to think, act, or feel a certain way. For example, saying that your character kills another person's character without their consent would be god moding.
* We don't allow unbalanced characters, namely those that are flawless and have very few if any negative traits. If your character is lacking balance, we will ask you to revise them before accepting them into the group. (Note that this rule is not worthy of a strike, we'll simply ask you to improve the character during the application process )
* Do not be rude to the admins or mods! We have feelings too. If you have a complaint or wish to debate an issue, please do! Just be respectful.
* Do not be rude to your fellow members. If you are having an issue with another member over something SA related, contact the admins immediately.
* Please do not ask admins SA related questions on their deviantart profiles, in private notes or in their discord pm's. If you have a question, send it to the group or ask in our server help channel!
* Graphic violence and explicit sexual content should be kept to private roleplays. Please, don't send us porn. We don't want to see it. Keep in mind that there are minors present in all group spaces.
* SA does not support "witch hunts", meaning we will not tolerate members claiming theft and harassing another member because your characters have the same hairstyle or coat color. If you believe your character is being deliberately copied, bring it to the admins, we will handle it.
* While we do not allow bases or premade lineart (except on character app images, with credit), we do allow tracing and referencing of stock photos. You MUST give credit to all original stock photos in your description.
* Referencing is a great tool and we support it enthusiastically here at SA. All references must come from **stock photography**, either da stock, stock sites like freeimages.com, or your own photographs. We **do not** accept art that is referenced from photos taken off google, pinterest, instagram, etc. Breyer horse models and other figurines not made specifically for drawing references are not stock!
* Tracing another artist's work is unacceptable and not allowed in SA.
* When an admin tells you a decision is final, the discussion is concluded. We will try and compromise the best we can before laying down a permanent decision, but once it is made, it will stand. You are more than welcome to ask for further clarification, but arguing is unacceptable.
* Do not advertise other RP groups in the discord or deviantart chats. You are free to talk about other groups and your characters in them, of course, but blatant advertisement is forbidden. For example: begging the users to join a group you've made would be advertisement. Similarly, don't advertise on our deviantart group page!
* Do not submit any content to the group that is not your own. Never submit anything to the group from a friend's gallery/journal.
* If an admin brings a group related concern to a member, that member is expected to reply in a timely manner. Similarly, if you block a member of SA's staff (therefore making it impossible for them to communicate with you about group related activities) you will be removed from the group. Admins and mods will respect any request to have no contact beyond the group-related spectrum.
* Auctions, adoptables, commissions, YHH, etc may not be submitted to the group. If you are advertising anything for gain (cash, points, or even art), it may not be submitted to SA.
* Exhibiting possession over a potential character name (threatening, guilting, insulting) will result in the user not being permitted to use that name. Names are not taken until a character is accepted into the group with a name. You cannot claim or reserve names under any circumstances. (Note that it's okay to POLITELY ask someone to reconsider a name, but they are not obligated to do so, and if you press the matter you break this rule)
* You cannot receive AP for a player character who is not yet submitted to the group. Roleplays with non-submitted player characters are not valid for AP, even if the other participant is submitted.
* Don't dm or personally note staff questions or complaints unless we specifically invite you to. Tag us in the help channel on discord (we'll miss follow-ups if you don't tag us again!), note the group, or ask your question on the front page. Thank you! <3

### Character Rules

* Please follow the breed guidelines when creating a character: Common Horse, Unicorn, Pegasus, Hippocampus, Kirin
* Characters cannot be "modified", surgically or otherwise, to have traits that their breed doesn't have. (i.e., a unicorn cannot carve their horns to look like a Kirin's antlers)
* Characters can not be based off published characters found in media. We won't accept a horse version of Loki Laufeyson or Wolverine.
* Characters must be no taller than 20hh and no shorter than 5hh.
* Characters cannot have elements appropriated from marginalized cultures (ie: no native american headdresses)

### Chapter and Event Rules

* All event submissions must be in the group's queue **prior** to the deadline to receive award bonuses.

### Discord Chat Rules

Failure to adhere to these rules will result in a three month ban from the chat and a strike within the group.

* Do not advertise other groups in the chat. You are free to discuss them and your characters within them, but do not ask others to join the group. Example: 'I'm making a character for Fake-Horse-RPG!' is okay, 'You guys should join my new group, Fake-Horse-RPG'! is not.
* Complaints, issues, or disagreements with admins, mods, or other members may NOT be discussed in the chat.
* The chat is not your personal army; do not ask them to flame another deviantart user for any reason.
* Be sensitive to topics that make others uncomfortable. If someone complains that your topic is bothering them, change it immediately. Do NOT give the uncomfortable user grief.
* On the topic of sportsmanship, we expect our users to be supportive and kind to one another - not complain when they don't win an event or giveaway.
* Please tag Admins in the chat for lore and gameplay questions and Mods for AP questions.
* The chat is meant to be a happy, positive place for our users, so please keep negativity to a minimum! Personal issues both on and offline should be kept to private messages with your friends, please do not use the chat for venting frustration.