General Guidelines
1) Keep it PG-13. The standard for both the forums and game is the US movie rating "PG-13". Mild swearing may be tolerated, mild sexuality may be hinted, but explicit or excessive versions of either or both may result in proportional mod response. Anything that crosses this boundary is subject to punishment depending on how far it goes.
Erotic roleplay and cybersexing are forbidden on all areas of the site -- forums, rmbs, or telegrams. Engaging in these anywhere on site will lead to warnings, bans, deletion or being declared Delete on Sight (DOS), depending on a player's prior history here. Along similar lines, specific sex-related topics pertaining to minors are prohibited entirely.
Additional information is available here.
2) Keep it Civil. While being abrasive, mean-spirited, and mean are not against the rules, they do make you much harder to get along with and will be considered as aggravating circumstances, whether intentionally or not. Someone who's generally decent but has an off day is always going to get cut more slack than someone no one likes to be around. Additionally, if someone's being decent, it's really hard for that person to do something that will get them in trouble. When in doubt, a simple guideline is 'Don't Be A Dick'. Thanks, Scolo.
3) No rules lawyering. The intent of a post (while sometimes hard to judge), is a very important factor when determining whether or not it is actionable. The Moderation team does its best to interpret it. Agreeing or disagreeing with a moderation decision at whatever length you wish is perfectly within the rules, so long as it is done tactfully and civilly. Please see the
Appeals Process (listed below) for further information.
That said, moderator decisions are not to be taken in bad faith. For instance, if something is ruled to be acceptable, don't turn around and use that ruling to bait another player (e.g. "In this case, I don't think Player 2 intended to be malicious when he described Player 1 as a 'maladjusted rapscallion.'" "Okay. Hey, Player 2! You're a maladjusted rapscallion! Moderator 3 said it's okay to call people that!"). This will never end well for you and it's best to simply leave things be; if you are doing so in an attempt to demonstrate that a moderator decision is wrong, simply file an appeal.
4) Thread Ownership. It's accepted that in the RP forums (Nationstates, International Incidents, NS Sports, Portal To The Multiverse, Global Economics and Trade, Factbooks and National Information) have what's become know as 'thread ownership', giving creators the opportunity to maintain more control over their RP situations and environments. Whereas discussion forums (General, Arts and Fiction), given their nature, are not given that consideration, to avoid the dismissal of opposing views. We reserve the right to split out posts from threads in special circumstances where the player or players are breaking rules.
Reporting Guidelines
Forum-side violations are to be reported in the Moderation Forum. All other violations are to be reported using the
Getting Help Page. The GHP may also be used in any instance in which you would prefer your privacy to remain intact, and is our preferred method of receiving player reports as it allows for better bookkeeping. You can link to individual telegrams and RMB posts by clicking on the timestamp ("2 hours ago") and then copying the URL or by clicking the Report link in the lower-right hand corner of your screen.
Most importantly, in-game violations should be reported to the Getting Help Page while forum violations should be reported via the Moderation Forum.Forbidden Actions
Advertisements: Advertising sites unrelated to NationStates is not permitted. If you really want an ad, contact the Admins, and purchase banner space. Advertisements for websites/forums directly related to Nationstates are allowed.
Bad Faith: It is expected that players post with the intent of making the site a better, more enjoyable place to be - this is good faith posting. Bad faith posting is when a person is no longer interested in this goal, and instead seeks to score points, contributes nothing useful, or is deceitful.
This standard is enforced in the Moderation forum by default as well as Got Issues, and may be declared as applicable by the Moderation Team in other threads elsewhere when said threads involve policy discussions, mechanics discussions, discussions of potential additions/modifications to the game or forum, or other pertinent announcements. These threads, like Moderation "discussion threads," are meant to gauge the opinions of the community and otherwise help better player experience; posting in bad faith in such is detrimental to this process. Please note, in the instance a post is removed for being in bad faith, it is not deleted, but instead moved to the "Evidence Locker" where it may be reviewed if necessary.
Class Regions: Class regions are special regions that exist for
educational purposes. Unless you are an invited member of that class, you should not move to a class region.
Commercialism: It is prohibited to promote any commercial product on NS, or to promote products or sites unrelated to NS, even if they are free; a site or product is considered "commercial" if we believe it is primarily or substantially profit-driven. "Free" sites may still run ads, solicit donations, or otherwise raise revenue, so long as this appears primarily aimed at defraying costs rather than carrying on a commercial enterprise. In addition, players aren't permitted to use NS Store purchases to induce or reward in-game behavior. For more information, see
here.
Customizable Field Violations: Using offensive terms and language in a nation's motto, currency, national animal, demonym and/or national title. Also applies to using offensive and/or pornographic imagery in a national flag or banner (For more information on this decision, go
here). Note that malicious use of any human or racial terms as national animals is expressly forbidden.
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Ex-Nation Flag - Don't use it. It's a moderation tool, and is meant solely to designate ex-nations.*
Commend/Condemn icons - only the WA gets to hand these out. Don't use them.*
Game Moderator/Forum Moderator/Administrator/Issues Editor/Roleplay Mentor badges - don't use them. See "Impersonating a moderator" below.*
Animated flags are subject to removal as well if they're overly flashy or disruptive to the eyes.Offensive Material: As mentioned previously, we use the US movie rating "PG-13" standard. Mild swearing may be tolerated, mild sexuality may be hinted, but explicit or excessive versions of either or both will result in moderation intervention.
Additional information is available here regarding specifically prohibited topics.
Flame/Threats: Personal attacks against other players, expressed via OOC (out-of-character) comments; insults, swearing and anything posted with intent to offend. In-character remarks can be interpreted this way as well; watch what you post if other posters are unaware you're not serious. Erudite slams while maintaining a veneer of politeness can also be considered flaming. Repeated instances of flaming directed at the same player can be considered harassment, a more serious offense.
Flamebaiting: Posts that are made with the aim of angering someone indirectly. Not outright flame, but still liable to bring angry replies. Flame baiting is a far more subtle and covert action; it is an underhanded tactic that is designed to provoke a response from another player. It's in the same context of trolling but with flamebaiting it's just the one person. Also included under flamebaiting is malicious quote editing, changing the contents of a quoted post without showing the original text, either through color changes or strike-out.
Forbidden Links/Warez Requests: Referral links (where you derive some sort of financial or other benefit) such as Cyber-war, Outwar, plus all other variants. In addition, certain sites are expressly prohibited, specifically (but not exclusively) 4chan, kevan.org, ebaumsworld, albinoblacksheep, plasticnipple, Encyclopaedia Dramatica, A Voice For Men, and Fred Phelps' godhates<group> hate-mongering sites are not allowed. Use discretion when linking to another site.
Garish Posts: We like fonts and colors, really we do, but anything used in excess becomes annoying. Think twice about posts that make other users cringe... especially if you've been repeatedly asked to refrain by players and mods alike.
Gravedigging: Posting a reply on a long unused thread. Adding legitimate new material is permitted, but the acceptable age varies from forum to forum. Check the stickies in each forum to determine the standard for what constitutes gravedigging.
Harassment/Griefing: Harassing/griefing a nation or region because of their words or actions is forbidden regardless - in telegrams, Regional Messageboard (RMB) posts, and on the forums.
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Accusations of misconduct that may bring real world repercussions outside of NationStates do not belong in public spaces on NationStates and will be punished as harassment. Players may post, in general terms, about factual repercussions taken in response (I.e. removal from a region or regional position), but may not go into details or link to material that does.Homework: Requests for assistance with homework in any forum are forbidden.
Impersonation: Any attempt to maliciously impersonate another nation or region, including employing a similar name or attempting to hack nation or region passwords, is illegal according to the FAQ. Passing nations from one player to another is legal, but inadvisable as the receiver also inherits any warning history attached to the nation.
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Impersonation of moderators or administrators can lead to immediate deletion. Note that using Moderation's Custom Warning Tags in your posts is deemed impersonating a moderator. *** Don't use the moderation red-text warning tags. ***Mods as a Weapon: Threatening another nation with moderation action if they don't do "action" is not allowed. Representing yourself as a moderator is considered impersonation, and is not allowed. This includes using the moderator's warning code. (See also "Impersonation", above)
Monetization/Gambling: It is against site rules to use money, a substitute thereof, or any good/service with equitable use (NS Store purchases, game keys or vouchers, e-giftcards, etc.) to incentivize or monetize any activity on NationStates, to include but not be limited to: joining or participating in a region, joining or participating in a thread, joining an alliance (roleplay or gameplay), etc. Similarly, it is against site rules to use the same as a "reward" for participation in any of the aforementioned or any "game," "contest," etc.
Nation Hijacking: Stealing someone else's nation by gaining their password is a very serious offense and likely to result in a permanent ban from the site. Note the section on
shared accounts for when an account is shared.
Posting Past a ban/Lock: If a nation is forumbanned, that nation's player is not permitted to post on the forums with other puppet nations until the forumban expires. This also applies to nations who receive a ban from posting to Regional Message Boards, or a ban from sending telegrams; do not use a puppet to get around this ban. Doing so will result in the deletion of both the puppet and the originally banned nation. Questions or appeals regarding a ban should be submitted via the
Getting Help Page. Similarly, do not repost a locked thread unless given permission by a moderator.
Privacy violation: Players on NationStates have a reasonable expectation that their privacy will be respected. It is not permitted to post or otherwise share another player's personally-identifying information (i.e. social media accounts, IP addresses, postal addresses, E-mail addresses, telephone numbers, or other real-world identifying information).
Puppet Flooding: Any player or group of players creating large numbers of puppets for the purpose of spamming, harassing, or annoying a region, be they invaders, defenders, or natives, may find all such puppets ... and their main nations ... deleted without warning as Regional Happenings spammers.
Selling Nationstates accounts: Strictly prohibited. Under no circumstances are you allowed to sell nations/regions for any form financial (or items with financial value) compensation.
Spam, and the different types of itThere are many types of spam, but the general definition is making a post that doesn't have any sort of use. Excessive bumping, tagging, and random posts with irrelevant information are all examples of spam. The same applies to in-game posts on regional message boards and telegrams.
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Excessive Bumping: Bumping is adding a meaningless (*bump*) post to a thread to push it back to the top of the list. Bump rates vary between forums, but as a rule, once every 24 hours is the maximum outside General or II where it may be acceptable to bump any thread that has fallen past the first two pages. If the bulk of your posts, or posts in the thread are bumps, you should take it to mean that there is not enough in your topic, and let it end.*
Forum Spam: Off-topic, irrelevant and multi-posts that do not belong, such as smiley spam, meme spam, linkspam, and attempting to increase your post count.
-- Fishing for attention can be distracting, even upsetting to other players. Your Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites are more appropriate places for it. This especially applies to unnecessary drama. Please, do not drop a drama bomb on a chat as a way of getting a response.
-- Greeter Spam is only posting a 'hi' or 'hello', especially in the chat threads. Please add something to the ongoing conversations, even if you're introducing something new.
-- Trollnaming is a post made only to call out a player suspected of trolling. This can also be considered flaming. Report trolls in Moderation. Don't name them in-thread, and if found, do not feed.
-- Tagging is considered spam as well, since we have the "bookmark topic" feature (it's in your Profile and a menu option on every thread).*
Regional Advertising Spam: The only places where you are allowed to put region advertisements are: The Gameplay Forum (they will be deleted if posted elsewhere) and the regional message boards of the game-created regions (The Pacific, The North Pacific, The East Pacific, The South Pacific, The West Pacific, Lazarus, Osiris, Balder, The Rejected Realms and the Official Warzones). Note that it is not legal to advertise in copycat regions such as "West Pacific". One ad per 24-hour period or per 10 posted messages, whichever is longer.
RMB Ads are allowed in player-created regions if and only if the region has a "Recruiter Friendly" tag.
Recruitment telegrams must be labelled appropriately.*
IGNORE Cannon Spam: Just posting "IGNORED" or 'Ignore Cannon Fired', with or without accompanying pictures, is spam. If you don't want to play with someone, don't. Work it out with the participating players, or withdraw from the roleplay. Add to your ignore list as you like, but don't gloat about it. If you use the Ignore Cannon as part of your IC method of explaining why $player is no longer involved, do it with some class - and do it in character.*
Image Spam: Posting of images, particularly repeated or multiple images, that do not serve to help the flow of the thread. This includes images in both in-character and out-of-character posts.*
Like Spamming (RMB): We all like to acknowledge posts we think worthy, and the posters appreciate the occasional thumbs up. What no one appreciates is like spamming. Be discriminating in what you chose to like. Sending excessive notifications by liking massive amounts of posts will get your likes deleted and a warning.*
GHR (General Help Request) Spam: Sending (repeated) messages that are not related to either game issues or reporting rulebreaking behavior. Also included is sending repeated appeals for the same situation after you have received a final appeal on the matter as per the published procedure.*
Regional Message Board Spam: Posting multiple messages on your message board within a short period of time can be considered message board spam. Founders and regional officers they designate may suppress spam (or any other messages) on the regional message board.*
Regional Happenings Spam: Going in and out of a region while filling the regional event's board with departing and arriving messages. Also deliberately spamming the wrong password to attempt to enter a region, as this will also cover the regional happenings section. This includes doing so with more than just one of your nations and is not allowed. Use the Additional Information check-boxes on the Getting Help Page to capture abuses.*
Signature Spam: Maximum size should never exceed eight lines, including blank lines and a quote box is four lines; signatures should not use more than two of these. Signatures exceeding eight lines will be reduced using spoiler tags. Large font sizes should be avoided and may be trimmed without warning. See Advertisements and Forbidden Links above.*
WA Advertising Spam: Non-natives and region-hoppers are forbidden to post WA advertisements or requests for proposal approval outside of their native region. The game-created regions (Listed above) are no exception to this rule. Requests for proposal approval may be telegrammed to WA delegates, but must be tagged appropriately. More than one request per proposal may be considered spam. WA campaign telegrams shouldn't be sent to non-WA membersThread Hijacking: Appropriating a thread for a discussion totally unrelated to the original purpose of said thread. Hijacking can take the form of a single post or a long discussion. Such posts may be split or deleted, and the poster warned.
Seeking Help with Illegal Activities: Don't start threads describing the best way to get away with murder, rape, child abuse, software piracy, bombing the UN, killing the President, or anything of that nature. We don't find it amusing, and it puts the forums at risk. Egregious posters of such may be banned, deleted, or even have their ISP contacted. For more information on this, and why we've specified as we have, see
here.
Threads with the purpose of collecting opinions on the 'worst X of Y', or similar, will probably be considered an unacceptable risk for flaming, baiting, trolling or spamming, so don't start them.
Trolling/Baiting/Gloating: Trolling is defined as posts that are made with the aim of angering people. (like 'ALL JEWS ARE [insert vile comment here]' for example). Someone disagreeing with you does not equate to trolling. Intent is incredibly important and will be judged by the moderators to the best of their abilities. Honest belief does not excuse trolling. Disagreements are expected and conducting yourself in a civil manner is ideal. Trollbaiting is the action of making posts that attract trolls. A prime example of trollbaiting would be gloating over the results of an election.
Gloating over punishments handed out to other players is not acceptable. Another form of the offense, IGNORE gloating, is typically seen in the roleplay forums, though it can appear elsewhere. Politely informing another nation that you are henceforth using the "ignore" feature is acceptable, but repeating it in different threads or over long periods is considered gloating and will be dealt with appropriately. Other cases will be considered on an ad hoc basis.
Attempting to dehumanize ethnic or religious groups by referring to them with a lowercase letter and censoring another letter out is not allowed. Calling a group by its proper name is cool. Trolling via censoring it as if it is a profanity -- not cool. Don't do it.
WA Multiing: A basic rule is one WA nation per person. (You may have as many non-WA nations as you like.) Any WA nations operated from the same computer will be treated as multies. If you have family or roommates who want to be in the WA too, work it out with them.
It is your responsibility to make sure you have resigned from the WA before someone else joins from your computer. There is no way for us to truly know how many people are on the other side of the connection.
Appeals Process
AppealsFor forum problems, you should start on the forums, preferably in Moderation with a link to the ruling that you're appealing. Asking for a second opinion is permitted. An exception to this is a forumban - that must be made via
Getting Help to avoid breaking forumban. If two or more mods have already ruled on that case, or the thread is locked, that's it for the forums. Your next stage is a Getting Help request, or Final Appeal.
For game problems,
Getting Help is your first choice. You may ask for a review of moderation decisions. If there are also forum issues, include links to the threads. For deletions, be certain to include another nation name or an email address where you may be reached. Game rulings are logged by the system, so we know who made the original ruling and will pass it to a different Game Mod for the appeal.
Final AppealsIf you feel that the first appeal was unjust, you may post a final appeal via the Getting Help page. Please note in your request that this is a final appeal. The appeal will be logged where all mods can see it, and will be judged by a panel of no less than three mods, excluding the original ruling mod and including at least one Senior Game Mod. The presence of a Senior is to ensure the panel is sufficiently experienced, not to provide a higher authority: the panel's decision will be reached by consensus, with no individual having greater influence than another.
Frivolous appeals may result in warnings to your nation. Most forum warnings and minor forumbans are likely to be considered frivolous. Final appeals may take several days, so be patient.
Please be aware, that while mods may choose to honor a third-party request for a second opinion at their discretion, they are not required to do so. Formal appeals must be made by the person who was subject of moderator action, and not by a third party. Third-party appeals will not be considered.
Admins, including Max Barry, are not moderators: they are not involved in rulings, including appeals. If you bypass this process and go directly to admin, they will almost certainly toss it back at the mods, or simply ignore it. Admins will only be involved in cases involving changes to the game framework, or serious claims of moderator abuse; e.g. that would require a moderator to be stood down. In this case, admins will be alerted by mods.
Please remember to remain polite and courteous at all times. This makes the appeal easier on everybody, including you.
Edit log: Added back in honest belief does not excuse trolling because it was forgotten. - NERV 11 Jun 2014
Added in explicit warning that use of official moderation warn tags is counted as impersonation, because apparently this needed clarification.
Added in section on Commercialism - Mouse 19 Oct 2015
Removed mention of swastikas, as per this. --Cogitation, 12 Nov 2015
Added clarification of Privacy Violations. --Cogitation, 2 May 2016
Changed "thread subscription" to "bookmark topic" under "Spam, Tagging." — Kyrusia, 2 June 2016
Added General Help Request Spam -- Kat 26 July 2016
Amended "Commercialism" to define "commercial" — Kyrusia, 29 July 2016
Added a very clear warning about erotic roleplay/cybersexing being forbidden on all areas of the site -- Kat, 30 August 2016
Removed the part about Founder spamming the Regional Message Board to clear it as the Founder/Delegate/Regional Officer being able to suppress spam (and the message board displaying more than the last 25 messages now) made it defunct. -- Kat, September 21, 2016
Added "NS Sports" and "Factbooks and National Information" to the 'Thread Ownership' rule for clarification, as such has been enforced there for n-number of years. — Kyru, 29 July 2017
Updated reporting guidelines and harassment. 2017/11/27 -NERV
Added clarification about prizes/giveaways - Jan. 22, 2018 - Reploid
Added links to the pedo-topic ban addition- August 9, 2020
Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:42 pm