Vox Populi's Rules & Procedures

Gameplay Rules

What are the server rules that I need to follow?

General Gameplay Rules on Vox Platforms

  • Griefing, looting, and the altering of a player’s homes, belongings, farms, or animals is not allowed and can result in disciplinary action.
    • Griefing is defined as breaking, placing, altering, and/or rotating blocks, as well as farming, killing, breeding, freeing, or moving farms and animals that don’t belong to you.
    • Looting is defined as inserting, removing, or rearranging items from inventory sources that aren’t yours.
    • If you have been griefed, you can create a ticket for staff to investigate and fix as needed.
    • Only the owner of the area may ticket for issues found on their property.
    • If a towny-claimed area is griefed, the mayor or assistant(s) can place a ticket. If an owned plot is griefed, the plot owner must place a ticket.
    • Naturally-spawning vanilla builds, such as sea temples and villages, are permitted for players to build upon as long as they are not already owned by another player or show signs of other player activity (ie. towny claimed, walled off, built upon, etc.)
  • Offensive or inappropriate structures, items, books, and signs are not allowed and will be removed by staff.
  • Hacks, hacked clients, or exploitable mods and resource packs are not allowed and will result in disciplinary action up to a ban.
    • These mods include but are not limited to: x-ray, macros, fly hacks, and pvp hacks.
    • If you are unsure if a mod is allowed, please ask a staff member.
  • Exploiting, attempting, or planning to exploit plugin or vanilla mechanics, or attempts to break, lag, and/or crash any part of the Vox Populi servers are not allowed and will result in disciplinary action up to a ban.
    • Exploiting is defined as utilizing a mechanic for an unintended purpose that provides an unfair and/or unintended benefit.
  • A player is considered inactive after 90 days of not logging into the server, and all attempts to claim player made or owned structures must go through court, unless given in-game permission by the player they belong to.
    • Your belongings will remain yours as long as you’re active.
    • Players are permitted to court case other player-owned structures to legally claim them unless they are towny claimed, or the player they belong to is active.
    • You can do “/help court” in game and/or read the Constitution for further details.
  • Landlocking other player-owned areas is not allowed and staff will investigate these situations on a case-by-case basis.
    • Landlocking is defined as purposely surrounding a player-owned area to the point where they cannot expand any further from where they are.
    • Players must build at least 5 chunks (80 blocks) away from other player builds, otherwise they are considered trespassing.
    • Trespassing situations that are not otherwise landlocking can be taken to court.
  • Items dropped on the ground, as well as items stored in inventory sources downtown or in dungeons are fair game for anyone to take.
  • Continuously farming the PvP arena is not allowed.
    • Farming PvP is defined as continuously joining the arena with the same party in which there is unequal participation that results in the same player winning.
  • Items that are lost due to the fault of a player, such as broken items, or dropped and despawned items are considered player error.
    • Please see our Player Error Policy for further details.
  • If an item is soulbound to you, or is labelled “Bind on Pickup” while in your inventory, loot, or virtual inventory, you are not allowed to sell it or give it to another player.
    • This excludes soulbound items obtained from land claim court cases, which can be read about in the Constitution.
  • All player accounts, including alternate accounts, are considered different players and will be treated as such when it comes to in-game procedures such as court cases and disciplinary action.
    • However, note that alternate accounts can be tracked and linked through staff means and use of alternate accounts to bypass or exploit Vox features can result in disciplinary action.

Remember that Griefing can also include mining into a player’s claimed area or town, even if you don’t break anything player-placed. Be careful!

Know that accidents happen however, so if you do think you’ve accidentally griefed someone, don’t mess with anything else and be sure to ticket so that staff can help! You will not get in trouble for reporting accidental grief, but you can definitely get in trouble if you don’t report it and the owner comes online and tickets it instead!

Chat & Behavior Rules

What are our rules for chat related behavior?

Chat & Behavior Related Rules and Expectations

  • All content in all chats, DMs, signs, nicknames, and books must be family-friendly and appropriate for all audiences.
    • Offensive language and bypassing the censor plugin is not allowed
    • If you’re unsure if something is appropriate, you can ask a staff member
  • If you are asked to stop doing something by a staff member, please adhere to their request.
    • If you would like to continue discussing a situation with a staff member, you can do so in DMs either with that staff member or an admin.
  • References to religion, politics, or any highly controversial topics are not allowed.
  • Please do not fight, initiate, and/or participate in drama in public chats.
    • If there is an issue with another player, you can place a ticket, however we urge you to attempt to privately and peacefully settle your disputes in DMs first.
    • You can also mute players that are on the same server as you with the command “/ignore [player]”.
  • Player harassment, bullying, and/or trolling will not be tolerated.
    • This includes but is not limited to all forms of begging, DMing, purposely bypassing “/ignore”, purposely being a nuisance, and pushing the boundaries of the rules.
    • A lot of situations are not covered by the rules and will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
  • Please do not spam messages/symbols too much or too often.
    • Spamming is defined as sending the same message in chat, typing random symbols, typing random letters, singing lyrics in chat continuously, excessive use of caps, and excessive use of colored chat.
  • Please do not correct others for breaking chat rules.
    • Please do not “mini-mod”, or “backseat staff” by trying to enforce the rules, especially when there are already staff members online and present.
    • If there are no staff online, please make a ticket or alert a staff member via Discord so that staff can handle the situation.
  • Please speak English only in all public chats, as well as on signs and in books.
    • Public chats include all chats where multiple players can voluntarily join the conversation, such as global, town, nation, local, court, and party.
    • The reason for this is because the server is located in the United States, English is the primary language spoken by players, and therefore the best language that can be moderated by all staff members.
    • You may use other languages in DMs if it is easier to communicate between parties, as long as the messages adhere to the rules and both parties agree to using the other language.
  • Advertising, promoting other Minecraft servers, or posting links that are not Vox-related is not allowed
    • Links to appropriate Imgur images, as well as all official Vox links are allowed to be posted.
  • When using colored chat, please do not use the colors dark red (&4), dark blue (&1), and black (&0) too much nor too often.

    • Dark red is a color primarily reserved for special server broadcasts and the Owner.
    • Dark blue and black are hard to read for many players, especially those who might be visually impaired.
  • Please do not set your nickname to other players’ names, or to staff names.
    • Nicknaming yourself a staff member’s name is considered staff impersonation and will result in disciplinary action.
  • Extremist behavior displayed by players found on Vox platforms or on third-party platforms with connotations to Vox will be subject to disciplinary action up to and/or including a ban.
    • Extremist behavior includes but is not limited to: racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, bullying, and harassment.

Remember to let staff deal with broken chat rules!

Redstone & Farming Rules

What about rules regarding redstone and other farming methods?

Redstone Mechanics & AFK/Mob Farming Rules

  • Any farms revolving around the player being AFK are not allowed
    • This includes but is not limited to AFK mob farms, fishing farms, AFK pools, or other types of farms that keep a player from getting kicked or where a player can benefit while being AFK without having to input work into the process.
  • Any farm that makes use of duplication or other exploits are not allowed.
  • Mob spawners in all locations must be destroyed on sight and cannot be used.
  • Mob farms must require the player to kill manually while being susceptible to attacks.
  • All redstone-based farms and machines must be able to be toggled off at a moments notice.
    • This means buttons/levers are the go-to option for controlling your redstone machines.
    • Such machine cannot run continuously until empty.
  • Any farms or large redstone builds may be subject to disassembly and removal if they have a significant impact on server performance or player-side lag.
    • Purposely and repeatedly attempting to build massive machines in order to lag the server will result in disciplinary action.

Certain farms, machines, and buildings need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If you have any questions about whether or not a build is allowed, you can place a ticket at the location for disciplinary staff to review it!

Staff Related Rules

What should I expect of staff members and they expect of me?

Staff Related Rules & Guidelines

  • All staff members are to be treated with respect just as they are accountable for treating you with respect.
    • If you are disrespectful or rude towards staff members or anyone else on the server for the sake of malice, you will be disciplined as necessary.
    • Be respectful, appropriate, and open-minded when discussing topics with staff members and players alike, both publicly and privately.
  • Staff are not to be killed while working on tickets, and Owners should never be killed unless permission has been given.
    • Please do not call out staff in public chats while they are vanished, as this usually means they are preoccupied with staff duties.
  • If a situation arises that is not covered by the rules, disciplinary staff, Admins, Project Managers, and Owners have the authority to decide how to proceed.
    • These situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis with care.
  • If you question a staff decision, please reach out to an Admin as needed or the staff member in question if you would like to ask them directly.
    • This includes wanting to discuss the behavior of staff members, questioning a chat response, or questioning a ticket response.
  • A players’ disciplinary history or record is only discussed between them and staff.
    • This includes refraining from discussing bans or warnings in public chats.
  • If an Admin, Project Manager, or Owner rules on a decision, that decision is final.
  • All server rules will be enforced by disciplinary staff on all Vox Populi platforms.

In some circumstances, Staff may need to make a ruling based on a situation that is not covered by the rules or that is more extreme than those anticipated when creating the rules. In these instances, please bear in mind that Admins, Project Managers, and Owners have the final say regarding a decision.

While a ranking Staff member may not be present, any staff member has contact with the rest and may speak on behalf of the Staff body when required. Moderators, Admins, and Project Managers are the ranking staff. This means that all have authority over chat and situations requiring a staff voice.

Policies & Procedure Handling

So, what happens when ...?

Rule Enforcement Policy

Vox Populi rules are accessible to players via the in-game `/rules` command, on the website at `voxmc.com/rules`, and on the Server Discord. All Disciplinary Staff will enforce these rules and expect all players and staff to follow them on all official Vox Populi platforms. Disciplinary action will be taken as necessary. By joining the server or utilizing any Vox Populi platform you agree to all Vox Populi Rules & Procedures.

Note: If you witness a player or staff member doing something you perceive as against the posted rules, please let a staff member or Admin know via ticket or direct message.

 

Verbal Warning and Warning Policy

On Vox Populi, disciplinary action is taken in cases of moderate to severe situations that go against our rules. The general procedure that Disciplinary Staff members follow when dealing out these warnings is outlined below:

  • Verbal warnings
    • Each player is allowed up to 3 verbal warnings or reminders to follow the rules before official server warnings are given.
    • Some verbal warnings differ depending on the situation, and sometimes a verbal warning might be skipped depending on the severity.
  • Official server warnings, accessible via /warnings
    • For all warnings, you will receive a /mail in game alerting you to your warning, a new entry in your /warnings, and a tempban from the server.
    • 1 warnings = temporarily banned from the server for 1 hour
    • 2 warnings = temporarily banned from the server for 3 hours
    • 3 warnings = temporarily banned from the server for 1 day
    • 4 warnings = temporarily banned from the server for 3 days
    • 5 warnings = permanently banned from the server
  • Bans and IP Bans
    • Since each player’s account is treated separately, if you’re permanently banned you can appeal the decision to ban your account or you can join on an alternate account.
    • If you are banned on 3 accounts, you will then be IP banned and any further accounts you join on will be banned on sight.
    • Players who are IP banned are not allowed on the server under alternate accounts. If you believe you have been incorrectly IP banned you may make an appeal.
    • If you are IP banned, you will be banned on all Vox platforms where your username or ties to your in game name are known. This includes but is not limited to our Discord and Reddit. However, if you are not IP banned and only permanently banned on one account, you will not be banned from our other platforms.

Note: Moderators, Admins, and Owners reserve the right to determine the severity of a situation, and deal out warnings and bans as necessary.

 

Ticket & Disciplinary History Sharing Policy

Ticket information and disciplinary history will only be shared between Staff and the player(s) involved. Players may not ask for information regarding a ticket that is not theirs, as well as for information regarding another player’s disciplinary history. This is because we value every player’s privacy, including those who have had disciplinary action taken against them. Should you feel you feel that staff need to be informed about a certain situation then you can inform us privately.

 

Player Error Policy

Situations that are considered “player error” can be defined as a situation when a player breaks or loses an item due to avoidable causes. Staff encourages all players to submit Tickets when items are lost, stolen, or broken; however, after a certain number of lost items that are not due to server related bugs, items will not be replaced:

  • Players are allowed up to 2 total replacements of items lost due to player error. You may ticket and a Moderator or Admin will replace it if possible.
  • Players are allowed up to 5 total replacements of items lost due to player error that is also a server bug.

Examples of player error (Replaced up to 2 times total):

  • Breaking an item due to durability loss, as long as durability was lost normally.
  • Dropping an item that is not soulbound or wrist strapped and being unable to pick it up in time due to teleporting away or not being able to locate it.
  • Breaking a custom tool, weapon, or armor piece by adding enchantments to it or renaming it.
    • This is not condoned or recommended by Staff to be done as all of our custom items are created with a specific gameplay and progression in mind.

Examples of player error but also server bugs (Replaced up to 5 times total):

  • Dropping a soulbound or wrist strapped item with a full inventory, causing the item to completely disappear from existence.
  • Placing a skull, head item, chest, or other custom server items that can be placed – this includes but is not limited to such items from Voxbox’s, Events, Marriage gems, and Skull masks from dungeon armor sets

 

E-Store, Real World Currency, and Server Currency Purchases

Purchasing items or content (whether it be from Vox Populi officially or another player individually) has certain restrictions and rules to safeguard buyers and sellers and the server. Such examples are listed below, however note that not all situations are final and some may be treated on a case-by-base basis:

Purchases from the Vox Populi Webstore/Estore (https://shop.voxmc.com)

  • All purchases from the store are final and will not be refunded.
  • No refunds will be given for situations including but not limited to:
    • items purchased incorrectly
    • items purchased under the wrong username
    • players dissatisfied with Vox items and content
    • players who tire of the game or content
    • players who are banned or receive disciplinary action
    • players who simply want money back from previous purchases
    • players who receive other copies of items in game via other means of selling
  • If you purchase something and misspell the name or send it to the wrong person, you may ticket for an Admin to confirm the purchase, retrieve the items, and send them to the correct location.
  • If you did not receive an item, please be sure your inventory has space or is empty. If you still have not received it after 15 minutes or so, please ticket so that an Admin may confirm the purchase, lack of item, and give you the missing item.

Transactions involving real world currency with other players

  • While we currently allow people to buy and sell Vox content in game for real world currency outside of Vox (such as USD), we do not advise nor recommend this.
  • If you wish to have a staff member help moderate a transaction that involves real world currency, please reach out to a staff member via our official Discord or msg them in game if online.
    • We will not handle money, nor will we establish any prices. We simply will act as a presence to ensure that parties receive items in game accordingly.
  • If you wish to conduct a real world trade, you are fully liable for the transfer of your money. Staff will not interfere in any conversations nor intervene in any disputes involving real world currency trades. However, please remember to keep transactions civil and within the Vox Populi Rules accordingly.
  • Scamming players out of real world currency or items in game will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action.

Player to player transactions using currency found on the server

  • All player to player transactions are to be handled in a respectable manner.
  • You may trade with players on the same server or across multiple servers.
  • We recommend that you verify that the opposite party has the items they’re offering to trade first. This can be done via item linking, trading, display chests, and checking their balances.
  • Scamming players out of currency or items in game will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action.

These policies and procedures publicly outline some of the steps we will take to safeguard our servers, players, and content on Vox Populi platforms. They are an official subset of our rules.

By joining any Vox Populi server or platform you agree to follow these rules. These rules are subject to change with or without notice and are treated as a living document. Please be sure to always check here for updates as needed and if you ever need clarification on a matter you can contact a member of our staff at any time.