Umbra Site Rules

1. All members of Umbra must be 18 years or older. 

Umbra Roleplaying is an adult-oriented site containing mature content and is unsuitable for individuals younger than 18. If it is suspected you do not meet the minimum age requirement, you will be asked for age verification. Failure to provide proof of age will result in an immediate ban. If you suspect someone on-site is underage, please contact a staff member via PM. By being a member of this site, you are stating that you are 18 years of age or older.

2. All usernames must be “safe for work”. 

Usernames may not contain any curse words, slurs, graphic sexual references, or inflammatory language.

3. Refrain from racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, misandrist, ableist, ageist, or disrespectful/hateful speech. 

While Umbra is loose with its allowance of vulgarity and colorful speech, we will not tolerate blatant disrespect to your fellow members. This writing site was created to build a welcoming, fun, and comfortable environment for those wishing to flex their creative fingers. If you are discovered spewing disrespectful and/or hateful speech, you will be issued a warning or ban, depending on the severity of the offense.



4. We have a ZERO tolerance policy for harassment of any kind. 

Offensive and hurtful comments, stalking, continued one-on-one conversation after someone has requested to cease speaking, continuing certain behaviors after others have expressed their discomfort, unwelcome sexual attention or flirtation, threats of violence (physical or psychological), deliberate "outing" of any aspect of another person's identity without their consent, publication of private conversations without the other person's consent, deliberate misgendering, aggressively sexual DMs, and other bullying/intimidation tactics will absolutely not be tolerated. Treat every single member the way you would like to be treated, and respect the wishes and requests of others.

5. Do not spam forums or private messages.

This includes posting the same thread numerous times in one or multiple sections of the forum, mass messaging other members, and/or repeatedly messaging a single member for any reason.

6. Do not give out or ask for personal information. 

This is for your own safety. If you wish to speak with another member via Discord, Skype, email, or any other communication service you do so at your own risk. We will not police interactions that do not occur on-site via public forums or PMs.

7. No linking to pornographic sites or content.

Note that this does not include sites such as f-list or the BDSM testing site. These can be utilized for character lore purposes. However, linking to sites specializing in NSFW visual or written content is not permitted.

8. One account per user/per IP.

If you share a home with another site user (and therefore an IP), please contact leadership so we may make a note on your accounts to document for maintenance purposes.

Umbra is a roleplaying website. We are not:
 

1. Group therapists. 

While we encourage all of our members to express themselves in times of distress, anger, or sadness as it can help deal with powerful emotions, we are neither trained nor equipped to handle significant mental health issues. Threats of violence against oneself or others, blatant or subtle references to the intent of committing suicide, or other serious matters are inappropriate here. If you are having a difficult time and need someone to talk to, we urge you to speak with your friends, family, personal therapist or one of the following organizations*:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
TrevorLifeline: 1-866-488-7386
Samaritans (UK): 116 123




*If you live in a country outside of the United States or United Kingdom, Suicide.org contains a list of international emergency numbers that may prove useful (click here to view the list). Please note we cannot vouch for the efficacy/validity of these numbers as we cannot test them. Please research appropriate emergency numbers for your country.

2. Facebook.

Profile statuses are fun! Use them to tell a good joke, let your partners know about your current queue, make a witty observation, etc. Please do not use them to passive-aggressively attack someone or cause unnecessary drama.

3. A dating website. 

It is no secret that writing partners can become quite close, and sometimes intimate relationships develop. While Umbra has no issue with this, please remember that we do not get involved in private affairs.




4. Your personal advertising block. 

If you want to advertise, good. We're happy to accommodate. Feel free to contact @Rei ; she can set up a thread or even an affiliation link to your website. But do not use features such as your signature, profile banner, or status posts to advertise blatantly. This isn't a rule so much as a request; please do not take advantage of our generosity.

The Leadership team has the final say on the interpretation of these rules. We are open to polite, thoughtful discussion. If we find fault with a rule, we will adjust if we deem such action necessary. This does not give you the freedom to argue with staff when we ask you to correct a behavior. Being passive-aggressive, argumentative, or otherwise difficult is likely to cause a friendly reminder to graduate into a serious warning. Please be respectful when a staff member reminds you of a rule.

 

Umbra Roleplaying Disciplinary Actions

Generally, discipline is handled on a case-by-case basis. We understand most people do not wish to break the rules and will often comply when reminded or informed. However, repeated or blatant offenses will be handled as follows*:
 

1. Friendly Reminder: 

A staff member will PM you to gently remind you of a rule. Friendly reminders are reserved for rules regarding minor offenses such as image rule infractions, spamming, or improper thread placement.




2. First Warning: 

An administrator will contact you and instruct you to correct the behavior(s) in violation of the rules. You will be given full notice that it constitutes an official “First Warning”. Examples of behaviors that would merit a “First Warning” include (but are not limited to): mild harassment, disrespectful speech, misuse of forums, and a second rule infraction after receiving a Friendly Reminder from staff.




3. Final Warning: 

If you have blatantly broken the rules multiple times or committed a serious offense, you will be warned clearly and explicitly that further rule-breaking will not be tolerated. Examples of behaviors that merit a “Final Warning” include (but are not limited to): major harassment, clear disregard of RP rules pertaining to bestiality and necrophilia, hate speech, and multiple instances of disregarding Friendly Reminders and/or First Warnings.




4. Permabans & Instabans: 

You will be banned for blatant third offenses or egregious violations. Egregious violations meriting a ban would include (but are not limited to): being underage, exhibiting abusive behavior (sexism, racism, bullying, etc.), roleplaying or seeking a roleplay that exposes a minor to sexual/violent situations, showcasing belligerent behavior toward staff or other members, and repeated disregard for minor rules resulting in multiple warnings.

*Depending on the severity of the offense, staff maintains the right to skip any of these steps as we deem necessary.