Before you jump into Ninpocho Chronicle’s chat medium and forums, please take a moment to read through our guidelines for expected behavior. As a member of Ninpocho Chronicles it is expected that every member maintain a level of civility, that they carry themselves with dignity and that they treat others with the respect they themselves wish to receive.
Note: this is not a complete list of rules, just a good list of suggestions for how to best keep out of trouble.
Don’t be a jerk. Embrace this concept. This is essentially the Golden Rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated and you should avoid many troubles.
Don’t harass others. Ninpocho Chronicles does not tolerate the harassment of others that is based on their race, sexuality, religion, or nationality. [Please note that the aforementioned is not an all-inclusive list.] No matter what you believe or what has happened to you, it is never okay to insult or attack others -- not even self-defense justifies it, neither is the fact that the object of your harassment “really is a total poo face, I swear.” If what you have to say is not civil, just do not say it. Flaming, baiting and griefing other users is against the spirit of this game and will not be tolerated by the staff. Another important note is the fact that we are an RP site and as such, players role-play, this involves the creation of story lines that can be complicated, convoluted and very interesting. Do not get over-excited and use information that should not be available to you (Metagame) or control the actions or the results of actions done to other players (Godmodding), while sometimes this is just done in poor taste it could also be considered harassment or even cheating in some cases, so just do not do it.
Keep it (relatively) clean. It is expected that everyone using Ninpocho Chronicles is 13 and over, so the language throughout the site should be approximately RPGRating 2 1 2. Some swearing can be allowed (we here at Ninpocho Chronicles we are no saints), but it should not be directed at other players (see “Don’t harass others”) such as in our out of character areas of discussion or in an out of character comment. We’re all gammers here so nobody’s going to ban you for life for something like, “Damn, I suck at this game” or even, “I like boobs.” Extreme profanity directed at a user will likely get you punished, but using profanity in-character directed at another character is acceptable but your posts still need to abide by the RPG Rating Guidelines. Even so, both swearing and overly-sexual language or activity anywhere on the site may lead to your post being censored by an administrator and/or lead to disciplinary action.
Do not feed the trolls. If someone is acting in an inappropriate manner, please leave the situation up to the moderators and administrators online. Please do not "fight back" or get drawn into an argument with them. If you do you risk giving that person the satisfaction of trolling your pants off, and you also risk getting yourself in trouble. What if moderators are not available, you say? If the misbehavior occurs in the forums, flag those posts! PM an Admin! Skype an Admin or a moderator! Administrators check those reports and flags daily, they check their PM box regularly and those on Skype check their messages daily -- so go ahead and use them. Even more than that, we strongly recommend ignoring the problem user. It is a time-tested solution to trolling, since it is no fun to troll when nobody’s paying attention.
Don't spam. And no, excessive caps are not okay either. In forums, spam can mean all sorts of things, including repeatedly sending the same message over and over or large chunks of completely irrelevant text, so think about the relevance of what you are posting before you post it.
Don’t link to inappropriate material. Linking to pornography or shock sites in the forums will result in an instant ban. Remember the RPGRating 2 1 2 approximation? Porn sites sure ain’t.
Don’t litter the site with referral links. We at Ninpocho Chronicles know that there are other websites out there, and some of them are pretty awesome. We have no problem with users sharing links to outside websites as long as they're not pornographic or otherwise obviously inappropriate. We're also fine with outside links posted in game comments, as long as they somehow relate to a discussion about the specific game. However, spamming referral links for other sites will likely result in a ban. if you wish to advertise your site on Ninpocho Chronicles we encourage you to do so, we have an excellent Advertising Team that you should contact for details. While you will not be allowed to advertise your site in the General Discussion Areas, we have an entire Advertising and Affiliation Forum and would like to work with you. Please contact a member of the Advertising Team for details!
Pick your username and avatar wisely. Offensive usernames and obscene, pornographic, or seizure-inducing avatars will be removed, and in some cases the accounts will be banned. Account names that are created purely to antagonize another user ("GregSuckslololol") will be banned permanently without warning. Please refer to the Character Creation Forums for more information on naming a player character. They can be found in each playable village: [SAND] [CLOUD] [LEAF]. If you need to make a name change because you inadvertently created a name that would not be an acceptable character name, please post [HERE] for a name change.
Repeat after us: “My account is my responsibility.” This means that your account will be held responsible for all of the things it says or does, even if you are not the person saying or doing those things. Keep your password safe and secret, do not deliberately share accounts, and log off when you can not be at the computer. These precautions may sound extreme, but we do not want you to miss out because of something your little brother, your friend, your neighbor, or that mean old stranger in the public library has done - so please take them.
Please Offer a Translation of Any Language You Use. This site uses real languages besides English on occasion to add flavor to their posts. Please offer a translation of your post if you write in another language at the bottom of your post or someplace within your post. It is inconsiderate to the reader to not share the contents of your post with them.
Hacking is bad, do not do it. Even if you consider yourself 1337 H4XX0RZ, please refrain from bragging about it in the forums. If we find out that you have indeed hacked the site in any way, you will lose your account. That being said, we know various things can happen that look like hacking but are not. We take threats to the site very seriously and will ban a user if they make threats against the site or they are taking measures to attack the site.
Cheating is bad, do not do it. If you cheat, you risk losing your stat points and possibly your account. This includes cheating for a friend (by fixing rolls, editing posts, etc.) which may not only result in the loss of your staff position but it may result in the loss of your stat points or even account. If you feel that someone is cheating, please contact an Administrator and we will look into it. Loopholing is cheating -- if you find a rule unclear please do not 'assume' an answer, go to the [HELP] forum and ask your question. Players and staff are often more than willing to answer your questions!
One account per Player Each player may only have one account, and one character. In addition, each account may only have one player.
What to expect from your moderators and admin team. Our moderators and administrators are volunteer workers, and we do not pay them for their time. As such it would be pretty wrong for us to require them to be in any particular place for any particular amount of time. They keep our forums clean and our systems up to date to the best of their abilities out of the goodness of their hearts so if you call a moderator and they are unable to help you, please do not get angry with them. We are also constantly getting new moderators and letting old ones go, if one does not respond to you in a timely manner feel free to contact another one.
We do ask our moderators and administrators to be lenient, but please do not count on this policy to save you if you are going out of your way to cause trouble. Know that moderators and administrators will not always make decisions with which you agree. Berating them for a decision is very unlikely to get them to change their minds, and may even get you punished for harassment. Staff (Mods and Admin) are people, too, so please treat them as nicely as you would treat anyone else because they will be afforded the same protections as anyone else if you attack or harass them.
It is entirely up to the discretion of the Ninpocho staff and appointed moderators to interpret and enforce the guidelines above. We believe that oftentimes whether or not a wrongdoing has occurred depends a lot on context, and so we trust our moderators and administrators to put events into context and make judgment calls. The beauty of this is that we are all human able to make such decisions. The downside of this is of course that humans sometimes make mistakes. The choices of past moderators, administrators and staff teams does not mean that every future administrator, moderator or other staff member will react and deal with a situation in the same way. If you feel that you have been wronged by a moderator or administrator, feel free to report him or her to an Administrator and it will be reviewed.
Note: this is not a complete list of rules, just a good list of suggestions for how to best keep out of trouble.
Don’t be a jerk. Embrace this concept. This is essentially the Golden Rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated and you should avoid many troubles.
Don’t harass others. Ninpocho Chronicles does not tolerate the harassment of others that is based on their race, sexuality, religion, or nationality. [Please note that the aforementioned is not an all-inclusive list.] No matter what you believe or what has happened to you, it is never okay to insult or attack others -- not even self-defense justifies it, neither is the fact that the object of your harassment “really is a total poo face, I swear.” If what you have to say is not civil, just do not say it. Flaming, baiting and griefing other users is against the spirit of this game and will not be tolerated by the staff. Another important note is the fact that we are an RP site and as such, players role-play, this involves the creation of story lines that can be complicated, convoluted and very interesting. Do not get over-excited and use information that should not be available to you (Metagame) or control the actions or the results of actions done to other players (Godmodding), while sometimes this is just done in poor taste it could also be considered harassment or even cheating in some cases, so just do not do it.
- Terms to know: [Flaming] [Flame Baiting] [Griefing] [Godmodding] [Meta-gaming]
Keep it (relatively) clean. It is expected that everyone using Ninpocho Chronicles is 13 and over, so the language throughout the site should be approximately RPGRating 2 1 2. Some swearing can be allowed (we here at Ninpocho Chronicles we are no saints), but it should not be directed at other players (see “Don’t harass others”) such as in our out of character areas of discussion or in an out of character comment. We’re all gammers here so nobody’s going to ban you for life for something like, “Damn, I suck at this game” or even, “I like boobs.” Extreme profanity directed at a user will likely get you punished, but using profanity in-character directed at another character is acceptable but your posts still need to abide by the RPG Rating Guidelines. Even so, both swearing and overly-sexual language or activity anywhere on the site may lead to your post being censored by an administrator and/or lead to disciplinary action.
- Term to Know: RPGRating 2 1 2
Do not feed the trolls. If someone is acting in an inappropriate manner, please leave the situation up to the moderators and administrators online. Please do not "fight back" or get drawn into an argument with them. If you do you risk giving that person the satisfaction of trolling your pants off, and you also risk getting yourself in trouble. What if moderators are not available, you say? If the misbehavior occurs in the forums, flag those posts! PM an Admin! Skype an Admin or a moderator! Administrators check those reports and flags daily, they check their PM box regularly and those on Skype check their messages daily -- so go ahead and use them. Even more than that, we strongly recommend ignoring the problem user. It is a time-tested solution to trolling, since it is no fun to troll when nobody’s paying attention.
- Terms to know: Trolling, also refer to "don't harass others."
Don't spam. And no, excessive caps are not okay either. In forums, spam can mean all sorts of things, including repeatedly sending the same message over and over or large chunks of completely irrelevant text, so think about the relevance of what you are posting before you post it.
Don’t link to inappropriate material. Linking to pornography or shock sites in the forums will result in an instant ban. Remember the RPGRating 2 1 2 approximation? Porn sites sure ain’t.
- Terms to know: RPGRating 2 1 2
Don’t litter the site with referral links. We at Ninpocho Chronicles know that there are other websites out there, and some of them are pretty awesome. We have no problem with users sharing links to outside websites as long as they're not pornographic or otherwise obviously inappropriate. We're also fine with outside links posted in game comments, as long as they somehow relate to a discussion about the specific game. However, spamming referral links for other sites will likely result in a ban. if you wish to advertise your site on Ninpocho Chronicles we encourage you to do so, we have an excellent Advertising Team that you should contact for details. While you will not be allowed to advertise your site in the General Discussion Areas, we have an entire Advertising and Affiliation Forum and would like to work with you. Please contact a member of the Advertising Team for details!
Pick your username and avatar wisely. Offensive usernames and obscene, pornographic, or seizure-inducing avatars will be removed, and in some cases the accounts will be banned. Account names that are created purely to antagonize another user ("GregSuckslololol") will be banned permanently without warning. Please refer to the Character Creation Forums for more information on naming a player character. They can be found in each playable village: [SAND] [CLOUD] [LEAF]. If you need to make a name change because you inadvertently created a name that would not be an acceptable character name, please post [HERE] for a name change.
Repeat after us: “My account is my responsibility.” This means that your account will be held responsible for all of the things it says or does, even if you are not the person saying or doing those things. Keep your password safe and secret, do not deliberately share accounts, and log off when you can not be at the computer. These precautions may sound extreme, but we do not want you to miss out because of something your little brother, your friend, your neighbor, or that mean old stranger in the public library has done - so please take them.
Please Offer a Translation of Any Language You Use. This site uses real languages besides English on occasion to add flavor to their posts. Please offer a translation of your post if you write in another language at the bottom of your post or someplace within your post. It is inconsiderate to the reader to not share the contents of your post with them.
Hacking is bad, do not do it. Even if you consider yourself 1337 H4XX0RZ, please refrain from bragging about it in the forums. If we find out that you have indeed hacked the site in any way, you will lose your account. That being said, we know various things can happen that look like hacking but are not. We take threats to the site very seriously and will ban a user if they make threats against the site or they are taking measures to attack the site.
Cheating is bad, do not do it. If you cheat, you risk losing your stat points and possibly your account. This includes cheating for a friend (by fixing rolls, editing posts, etc.) which may not only result in the loss of your staff position but it may result in the loss of your stat points or even account. If you feel that someone is cheating, please contact an Administrator and we will look into it. Loopholing is cheating -- if you find a rule unclear please do not 'assume' an answer, go to the [HELP] forum and ask your question. Players and staff are often more than willing to answer your questions!
- Terms to know: [Loopholing] [Godmodding] [Meta-gaming]
One account per Player Each player may only have one account, and one character. In addition, each account may only have one player.
What to expect from your moderators and admin team. Our moderators and administrators are volunteer workers, and we do not pay them for their time. As such it would be pretty wrong for us to require them to be in any particular place for any particular amount of time. They keep our forums clean and our systems up to date to the best of their abilities out of the goodness of their hearts so if you call a moderator and they are unable to help you, please do not get angry with them. We are also constantly getting new moderators and letting old ones go, if one does not respond to you in a timely manner feel free to contact another one.
We do ask our moderators and administrators to be lenient, but please do not count on this policy to save you if you are going out of your way to cause trouble. Know that moderators and administrators will not always make decisions with which you agree. Berating them for a decision is very unlikely to get them to change their minds, and may even get you punished for harassment. Staff (Mods and Admin) are people, too, so please treat them as nicely as you would treat anyone else because they will be afforded the same protections as anyone else if you attack or harass them.
It is entirely up to the discretion of the Ninpocho staff and appointed moderators to interpret and enforce the guidelines above. We believe that oftentimes whether or not a wrongdoing has occurred depends a lot on context, and so we trust our moderators and administrators to put events into context and make judgment calls. The beauty of this is that we are all human able to make such decisions. The downside of this is of course that humans sometimes make mistakes. The choices of past moderators, administrators and staff teams does not mean that every future administrator, moderator or other staff member will react and deal with a situation in the same way. If you feel that you have been wronged by a moderator or administrator, feel free to report him or her to an Administrator and it will be reviewed.