Zenkai Online Rules

As in any forum community we need to abide by a set of rules to maintain order and foster a welcoming and rewarding environment for all members and to encourage our community to thrive. In this thread you will find the process that mods will follow in rule enforcement, the rules they will uphold and the process a member can follow in contesting a moderator’s action. Please note: These rules only apply to interactions you have on Zenkai Online Forums and do not apply to interactions you may have with forum members on other ZO related platforms (ie. Zenkai Online Discord, Zenkai Online Facebook Page, Zenkai Online Twitch, etc.) or on non Zenkai related platforms.

How warnings, infractions and bans work

• Depending on the severity of an offense, those who break the rules listed in this thread will receive a warning, infraction or an instaban.
• A warning is the least severe consequence of rule breaking and takes the form of a formal warning, an intervention by a mod through a personal message or a public informal warning post in a thread. It doesn’t contribute towards a possible ban, but will be taken into account for any future violations of the same rule.
• An infraction is more serious, as the infraction points you receive can contribute to a ban. The number of infraction points you will receive and the duration of those points being active for any specific rule violation are listed in this thread, but please note that mods have the discretion to issue a more severe infraction based on the severity of the violation.
• If you have 10 active infraction points you will be banned for 3 months and if you are banned 3 times your account will be banned permanently.
• The most severe consequence for breaking a rule is an instaban, which is quite simply having your account permanently banned. This consequence is reserved for the most serious situations.

General Rules, Infraction Point Allocation and Duration of Infractions

Explicit material (4 points- instaban)We are trying to maintain a site that is suitable for all ages, therefore any material that is explicit in nature (pornographic, gore, etc.) regardless of the medium (video, text, or images) is against the rules. Duration of infraction: three months, or permanent ban in serious cases.

Making a perverted post (2 points)This is a more toned down version of the explicit material rule and relates to lighthearted discussions that are sexual in nature (including sexual jokes and suggestive content.) This is a site that is catering to all ages including children, keep any such discussions you want to have off site. Duration of infraction: one month.

Creating multiple accounts (4 points – instaban)Each member is allowed to have only 2 account(s) on Zenkai Online. Alternate accounts are against the rules and the alt account will be banned on sight regardless of the reason they were created. Please note that if you wish to start fresh with a new account you may do so, but you must contact an administrator to have your previous account banned, or you will be in violation of this rule. Duration of infraction: three months. Permanent ban in serious cases.

Aiding a member in evading a ban (4 points)If a member has been banned, they are not permitted to use another member’s account to post on the forum. Further, members are not allowed to aid banned members in creating an alternate account or deceiving others into thinking the alternate account is genuine (when they know full well that it isn’t.) Duration of infraction: three months.

Linking to or describing how to obtain copyrighted content illegally (4 points – instaban)General discussions about internet piracy and whether it is a problem are permitted, however posting links to such content or instructions on how to find this content is against the rules. Duration of infraction: three months. Permanent ban in serious cases.

Plagiarism (4 points – instaban)Do not post any stolen content, while passing it off as your own, please quote and correctly attribute anything you didn’t originally create to the original author. This includes any videos, posts about any given subject or pieces of art (ie. fanfics or fanart.) Duration of infraction: three months. Permanent ban in serious cases.

Flaming/trolling (4 points – instaban)You are not allowed to flame (insult) a member or troll a member (post in a way that is deliberately meant to annoy, anger and/or hurt a member or evoke a heated response.) This rule includes condescending and antagonistic language or attitude, as well as offensive generalizations (you are not allowed to single out a member or specific group of members in a negative or hurtful way.) Death threats, threats of bodily harm or wishing harm on another members will not be tolerated under any circumstances. An account whose clear purpose is to break this rule will be instabanned. Duration of infraction: three months/permanent in the case of accounts made strictly or mostly for trolling/flaming.

Attacking marginalized groups (4 points – instaban)We want to foster a community that is inclusive and welcoming to everyone. Therefore anything that attacks, targets in a negative fashion or generalizes against a marginalized societal group is against the rules. These groups include religious groups, the irreligious, LGBTQ, the physically or mentally disabled, women, ethnic minorities and racialized communities. Duration of infraction: three months. Permanent ban in serious cases.

Advocacy of White Nationalism/Nazism (6 points – Instaban)Posts that propagate white nationalism, nazism, or related hate speech are strictly prohibited, and are illegal expressions subject to criminal and civil penalties under the laws of various nations. Posting such propaganda may result in an instaban, depending on the severity of the content.

For posts that advocate violence or other illegal acts (e.g. race wars, genocide, etc) we reserve the right to contact the relevant authorities.Harassment (4 points – instaban)Do not contact a member after they request that you stop contacting them. This includes any form of contact including quoting or referring to them in posts, posting on the person’s profile, private messaging them, liking their posts, etc. Please note that if a member requests a contact ban against someone, the contact ban applies both ways. Duration of infraction: three months. Permanent ban in serious cases.

Excessive profanity (2 points)Zenkai Online no longer has a profanity filter and we want to keep the forum family friendly, while swear words are still permitted please use them sparingly. Duration of infraction: one month.

General Tomfoolery (2 points)While being silly on Zenkai Online in good fun is perfectly fine, please do not mess around in a way that bothers or interferes with another member’s enjoyment of the site. Duration of infraction: one month.

SPAM (2 points)Please confine any spammy posts you make to the appropriate threads (ie. threads labeled “fun”/chat thread, threads in the “Forum Games” section, appropriate threads in the Leagues. And even spammy posts made in these threads must at least be comprehensible and related to the thread’s purpose) Do not spam in threads labeled “serious” or any thread in Internet: Serious Business. Sending mass spammy PMs is also frowned upon and could be considered SPAM. Duration of infraction: one month.

Advertising outside the Advertising Board (2 points)If you’d like to publicize any of your personal projects, please confine it to the Advertizing board or to your own signature. Posting advertisements in threads outside the ad board, the profiles of other members or through PM is against the rules. Duration of infraction: one month.

Bumping Threads (2 points)You can only post in threads whose last post was made approximately up to 6 months ago, if there are no active threads regarding the topic you want to discuss, make a new thread. Unless the thread is specifically a bumping thread. This does not apply to the Role Play or Creativity Boards. Duration of infraction: one month.

Unacceptable username (2 points)A member’s username cannot:

1. Have profanity or refer to explicit content
2. Be meant to imitate another member or inadvertently be too close to the name of another member (ie. identical username outside of one character.)
3. Have names that use non Roman characters (ie. Japanese or Arabic script.) Duration of infraction: one month.Note: The staff reserves the right to ask that any username be changed even if it does not explicitly violate the rules. Those individuals will not receive an infraction or warning.

Contacting more than one moderator to solve an issue (2 points)If you need the help of a moderator in solving a problem or dispute, please only message one moderator, as contacting more than one mod can result in the mods offering conflicting solutions to a problem or trying to solve an issue multiple times. If you wish to have a second opinion on an issue please contact an administrator giving them the background of the situation and the mod you already contacted. Duration of infraction: one month.

Poor comportment in ZO awards or contests (2 points)On ZO we have semi-annual awards to recognize members for their forum activity, as well as various contests throughout the year. Here are a few “don’ts in regards to these events. Do not campaign to win these events as it interferes with our enjoyment of these events. Please do not be a sore winner or complain about losing, these events are all in good fun and being a poor sport about it ruins the enjoyment of other members, as well as those who organized the event. Duration of infraction: Two months.

Asking to become a moderator/administrator (0 points)The administrators decide who will become a mod and they’ll contact you if they believe you’re a good candidate. Note: repeatedly breaking this rule will result in an infraction, under “Ignoring a moderator’s warning”.

Rent-A-Modding (2 points)Do not publicly point out rule breaking if you’re not a mod. If you see rule breaking on the forums, please use the report feature and the forum staff will take care of the issue as soon as possible. Duration of infraction: Two months.

Ignoring a moderator’s warning (2-4 points)When a moderator asks that a topic be dropped in any given thread or warns that a discussion has become too heated, heed the moderator’s warning and continue the discussion with the moderator’s request in mind. To ignore this warning or to carry on the same arguments elsewhere on the forum (unless expressly permitted by the moderator) is against the rules. This rule applies as well to ignoring a warning that a moderator has recently left on your profile, continuing to break the same rule will result in the infraction being compounded as you are breaking the initial rule as well as this one. Points and duration dependent on severity of offense.

Contesting warnings/infractions in a public forum (2 points)The process of contesting a warning or infraction is outlined in the rules below. To contest a moderator action in public or to call out a moderator for doing their job is against the rules. Duration of infraction: two months.

This is an English-speaking forum (0 points)Moderators need the ability to understand everything that is posted, so everything that is posted must be in English. Note: repeatedly breaking this rule will result in an infraction, under “Ignoring a moderator’s warning”. And any non-English posts that violate other Zenkai forum rules will also receive infractions that are dependent on the severity of the offense.

Lying to a moderator (2-4 points)When contacting a member of the forum staff in relation to forum business (ie. discussions regarding warnings or infractions) you are expected to tell us the truth so that we can accurately and fairly apply the rules. Duration of infraction: two months.

Abuse of the report feature (2 – 4 points)All the listed rules apply to forum reports, so please do not flame a fellow member or be disrespectful towards the mod staff when you send a report. Also do not send spam reports, only use the report system to alert the staff to rule breaking. Duration of infraction: dependent upon the offense.

Unacceptable Signatures, Avatars, Custom Ranks, Profile Information (Varies by severity)

1. All the rules of Zenkai Online forums equally apply to all parts of your user profile.
2. Do not post Youtube videos in your signature.
3. Do not have anything that stretches the forum skin as your custom rank.
4. GIFs in your signature cannot be larger than 4MBs.
5. Signature images can be a maximum or 600px length by 240px height.
6. You cannot have the custom rank of a usergroup you aren’t a part of.Note: The staff reserves the right to ask that any part of your profile be changed even if it does not explicitly violate the rules. Those individuals will not receive an infraction or warning.

All of the above rules apply to every board unless otherwise indicated in the rule or expressly permitted in a “board specific” rule (Refer to board specific rules section).

Contesting Moderator Actions

If you disagree with a warning or infraction issued by a moderator, please follow the following procedure in appealing the moderator’s decision. 1. Contact the moderator who issued the infraction explaining why they have made an error in their application of the rules.2. If you are unhappy with the moderator’s decision in regards to your appeal you can then message an administrator and make your case to them. The administrator’s decision is final.

Ignoring this process can result in an infraction.