The rules, explained

The rules page is the binding text. This article is
context, not a substitute — where the two differ, the rules page wins.

What they are for#

Three things, in order:

1. That a fight is decided by the two players and not by software.
2. That someone can log off and come back without having been driven off.
3. That the mode's own risks — losing hearts, losing a base, being raided —

stay risks of the game and not of playing at all.

Almost every rule is one of those three wearing different clothes.

The three that catch people out#

"I did not use a hacked client, I used a mod." The line is about effect,
not about which launcher it came from. If it shows you what others cannot see,
or acts without you acting, it is over the line — even if it is a
well-known mod with a nice website.
Versions and clients has the concrete
list.

"It was just a joke." Harassment is judged by whether it kept happening
after someone wanted it to stop, not by whether it was meant kindly. One remark
is a remark. Twenty is a pattern, and the pattern is what gets acted on.

"Trapping is part of the game." It is. Building traps, raiding, betrayal —
all fair. What is not fair is using them as a delivery mechanism for the thing
in the paragraph above.

Alternate accounts#

An alt is not automatically a problem. An alt used to get around a punishment
is the punishment applying to the alt as well.

What happens#

There is a scale, and it is used as a scale. A first mistake by someone who
has been around for a year is not treated like the fourth by someone who
registered yesterday.

• Warning — most first-time, low-harm cases.
• Mute — for chat. You keep playing.
• Ban — temporary or permanent, for cheating and for repeated or severe

cases.

Bans are logged with a reason. You can see yours; it is not a mystery you have
to guess at.

If you think it was wrong#

Appeal. Do not make a second account, and do not argue about it in chat with
whoever is online. Both make the actual appeal harder.
How to appeal.