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| | | {{Stub|Needs explanation on what the guidelines are and should link to them<br>Do not include the guidelines themselves on this page.}} |
| VRChat's '''Community Guidelines''' are expectations for behavior and provides a more casual, reader-friendly list of rules based on the {{VRC link|https://hello.vrchat.com/legal|Terms of Service}}. The {{VRC link|https://hello.vrchat.com/community-guidelines|Community Guidelines}} were last revised on August 2, 2023.
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| == Community Guidelines ==
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| VRChat is a platform and community where you can be anyone, create anything, and interact with people from all walks of life worldwide. You will encounter one-of-a-kind experiences that might be fun, uplifting, off the beaten path, and potentially inspiring.
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| '''All of these experiences are possible thanks to our amazing community!''' The guidelines we follow make VRChat a fun and safe place to reside in.
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| '''No matter what, our''' {{VRC link|https://hello.vrchat.com/legal|<u>Terms of Service</u>}} '''are the “final word” for the VRChat rules.''' However, these '''Community Guidelines''' are meant to help you understand how we expect you to behave in VRChat.
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| In these guidelines, we want you to understand two main things:
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| # '''Don't do things that will hurt or harm other people.''' Don't act in ways that would upset people, cause them trouble, or disturb them.
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| # '''Keep private things private.''' If you have avatars or other content that might be sensitive, intimate, or provocative, keep it in private spaces with users that agree to see it.
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| '''The''' {{VRC link|https://hello.vrchat.com/legal|<u>Terms of Service</u>}} '''govern VRChat and all activities within it''', and these guidelines expand and explain those terms. As the internet and the world change, we reserve the right to enact sanctions case-by-case and revise these Community Guidelines at any time to keep VRChat safe for everyone.
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| If you're looking for guidelines governing content creation in VRChat, check out our {{VRC link|https://hello.vrchat.com/creator-guidelines|<u>Creator Guidelines</u>}}.
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| === General Guidelines ===
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| * '''Treat people how they want to be treated.''' Be curious, respectful, and understanding.
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| * In order to use VRChat or VRChat-provided services, '''you must be 13 years of age or older.'''
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| * If you are between the ages of 13 and 17, you must get permission from your parent or guardian before using VRChat.
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| * Only one person should use each account, and the birthday provided during registration must be truthful and accurate for the the user of the account.
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| === Behavior Guidelines ===
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| * '''Sexist, racist, hateful, harassing or discriminatory language, behavior, iconography, groups, or content is never permitted in any form.''' We do not tolerate intolerance.
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| ** Do not attack or discriminate against a person or a community based on attributes such as race, ethnicity, caste, national origin, sex, gender identity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, age, serious illness, disability, or other protected classifications.
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| ** Disagreements are normal, but making repeated, continued, or severe negative comments or circumventing blocks or bans can cross the line into harassment.
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| ** “Role-playing” or “historical significance” is not an excuse.
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| * '''Do not engage in, promote, organize, or participate in illegal behavior.'''
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| ** Includes the organization, promotion, or support of violent extremism, including the glorification of violent events, perpetrators of said events or acts, or similar behaviors.
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| * '''Do not make threats of violence or threaten to harm others.''' This includes:
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| ** Direct, indirect, or suggestive threats.
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| ** Sharing or threatening to share someone's personally identifiable information, also known as “doxxing”. This applies regardless of “public availability” of information.
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| ** Content or behavior that glorifies or promotes violence, suicide, or self-harm.
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| * '''Do not share false information or misinformation.'''
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| ** Content, behavior, or information that is false, misleading, or that can lead to a significant risk of physical or societal harm may not be shared.
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| * '''We strongly discourage vigilante behavior and may take action against it,''' as it can interfere with our investigation of and ability to report incidents to authorities.
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| * '''Do not use VRChat as a medical or therapeutic tool, device, or methodology.'''
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| * '''Do not impersonate authority figures such as developers, moderators, group administrators or moderators, or users in similar roles.'''
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| * '''Do not impersonate other users or misrepresent communities,''' especially to mislead or confuse others.
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| === VRChat Systems and Technical Guidelines ===
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| * '''Reverse engineering and/or modifying VRChat applications is not permitted.''' This includes injection, reverse-engineering, sideloading, exploiting, or any similar activities.
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| ** Circumventing anti-tamper software is strictly prohibited and will result in permanent bans.
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| * '''Do not engage in activities intended to cause damage or gain unauthorized access to another user's account, network, or system.''' This includes impersonating authority figures, distributing malware, authentication theft, phishing, DDoS, and other hacking or social engineering techniques.
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| * '''Do not circumvent VRChat sanctions such as bans, public bans, kicks, or other systems'''. Doing so will result in increased sanction severity.
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| * '''Do not use VRChat systems in a way intended to mislead, trick, fool, or confuse users.''' For example, naming a world or group in a way that is intended to confuse users is not permitted.
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| * '''Do not abuse VRChat products in any way,''' such as selling VRChat accounts, spamming support or report forms, or participating in fraudulent activity involving VRChat systems.
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| ** This includes the creation or usage of “bots” to abuse the VRChat product or services, or to abuse other products or services using VRChat.
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| ** Some usages of “bots” are okay, but they are subject to the same rules as users.
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| * '''Use the in-app reporting tools and''' {{VRC link|https://hello.vrchat.com/community-guidelines|<u>out-of-app report form</u>}} '''to report Community Guidelines violations.'''
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| * '''Immediately report any exploits or vulnerabilities regarding VRChat services to our''' {{VRC link|https://help.vrchat.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=1500001130621|<u>exploit disclosure form</u>}}'''.'''
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| === Instance Behavior ===
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| There are lots of types of instances in VRChat! Each type lets you select who can join the instance you create. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind depending on the instance you're in.
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| ==== Public Instances ====
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| “Public” instances are easily accessible. This includes Public and Group Public instances.
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| * '''Do not disrupt or troll public instances''' with inflammatory behavior.
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| ** E.g. adult content or behavior, controversial topics
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| ** Sensitive, intimate, or provocative content or activities
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| ** Extreme horror or “shock” content
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| * '''Do not interrupt or disrupt people's activities or games!''' Every world may have its own rules, so it's hard to cover all the bases and control behavior in every case. This includes:
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| ** Cheating
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| ** Abusing in-app or in-game systems
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| ** Not being a good sport, or just generally being a jerk
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| ==== Private Instances ====
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| Private instances need an invitation or an "in" to enter. This includes Invite and Invite+ instances, Friends and Friends+ instances, and Group and Group+ instances.
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| * '''Follow the rules as presented by the present authority.''' This could be the instance creator, event runners, group or venue moderators, a party host, a game master, or whatever is appropriate.
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| ** The VRChat rules are the final word if a conflict occurs.
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| * Certain portions of the “inflammatory behavior” guideline may not apply in Private instances '''''as long as everyone present consents.'''''
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| ** Harmful or hateful activity is '''never''' allowed on VRChat, even if everyone is informed or consents.
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| === Groups Instances ===
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| Group instances are instances created by a Group! These include Group Public, Group+, and Group-Only instances.
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| * '''Groups may moderate their instances how they see fit.''' Group moderators can employ verbal or text-based warnings, system-level warnings, kicks, or even bans to enforce their rules.
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| * '''Group instance rules must be reasonable.''' In other words, people should be told about the rules, the rules should be fair, and the rules should make sense for the environment.
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| ** It is the responsibility of the Group to inform Group instance occupants of any Group rules they need to follow.
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| ** Any rules should be fair. They should be possible to follow, and they should follow the spirit of the VRChat Community Guidelines: No hate, no harm, no harassment.
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| ** The rules should make sense and should not be exploitative. For example:
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| *** OK: Requiring people to wear Poor or better avatars at a crowded event
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| *** Not OK: Requiring people to watch an advertisement before joining a Group instance
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| * '''Groups may not enforce rules that supersede VRChat's rules.''' You can't enforce a rule that breaks *our* rules.
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| * '''Groups should handle Group moderation appeals and processes.''' If a user contacts VRChat Trust and Safety regarding a Group ban, they will be directed back to the Group.
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| ** Having an appeal process for your Group is ideal. However, you aren't *required* to have an appeal process for your Group. You are welcome to deny appeals, or inform users that “no appeals are accepted.”
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| These types of instances are fairly new, so these guidelines may change as we learn how people use them. Keep an eye out for these changes!
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| === Behavior Outside of VRChat ===
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| If you are being harassed or are receiving communications from other players outside of VRChat-controlled platforms, please take action using that platform's moderation tools or report procedures.
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| This includes direct messages on Discord, Reddit, Twitter, Steam, and other platforms, as well as emails, phone calls, other messaging services, or real-world interactions.
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| Click or tap the links below to learn more about these platforms.
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| * <u>[https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000029731 Discord - Trust and Safety]</u>
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| * <u>[https://www.reddit.com/r/help/comments/7blkhq/how_can_i_report_a_user_to_reddit_admins/ Reddit - Reporting a User]</u>
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| * <u>[https://www.tomsguide.com/us/report-abuse-on-reddit,review-3604.html Reddit - Blocking a User]</u>
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| * <u>[https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-rules The X Rules]</u>
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| * <u>[https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4DE7-17AA-0E8B-C1AD Steam - Community Conduct Page]</u>
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| * <u>[https://www.meta.com/legal/quest/code-of-conduct-for-virtual-experiences/?utm_source=hello.vrchat.com&utm_medium=oculusredirect Meta - Code of Conduct Page]</u>
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| * <u>[https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/how-to-report Online Harassment Resources]</u>
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| * <u>[https://www.alarms.org/guide-to-cyberbullying-awareness-and-prevention/ Cyberbullying Awareness and Prevention]</u>
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| * <u>[https://988lifeline.org/ Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Chat]</u>
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| === Tools Available to You ===
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| VRChat provides several tools for you to moderate your own experiences.
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| * '''Muting:''' Mute users by opening Quick Menu, pointing at them, and selecting "Mute".
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| * '''Blocking:''' Remove users from your view by selecting them and clicking "Block". They will no longer be able to see you, and you will no longer be able to see them. Blocked users can still interact with the world in ways you may be able to perceive. Other users can still see both of you.
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| * '''Safety System:''' Hide features of other user's avatars like sounds, visuals, animations, and more using the {{VRC link|https://docs.vrchat.com/docs/vrchat-safety-and-trust-system|<u>Safety System</u>}}.
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| * '''Personal Space:''' In the Main Menu, under Safety, turn on "Personal Space" to make nearby users disappear. You can still hear them.
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| * '''Reporting:''' Report users through the Quick Menu's "Report User" button. {{VRC link|https://help.vrchat.com/hc/en-us/requests/new|<u>Contact the Trust and Safety team</u>}} for more detailed reports.
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