Forum, Discord & IRC Rules

Welcome to the Sponge Project! We’re glad you’re here and interested in Sponge. We have a few rules that apply to all of our various methods of communications, including (but not limited to):

  • Official IRC channels: #sponge, #spongedev, #spongedocs
  • Sponge Forums
  • GitHub and Bug/Issue tracker
  • Sponge Discord
  • Sponge subreddit
  • Sponge TeamSpeak Server
  • Any other official means of communication by the Sponge project.

The Sponge project adheres primarily to Wheaton’s Law: “Don’t be a dick.” We expect everyone using our communication systems to act like a reasonable and responsible person, showing respect for other users and staff.

All users should also read our Terms of Service and follow the requirements it sets out.

Read on for some more specific guidance, but please remember these rules are meant to be general, not a comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts. This stuff should all be common sense.

  • Follow Support Guidelines (when they exist) for any issues you may have.
  • Don’t abuse the channel (IRC, Forum, Discord, etc.). This means don’t spam, multipost, crosspost, or flood it. Be nice and remember that we’re all sharing the same virtual space.
  • Try to keep the language at least PG-13. We’re not your nanny and we’re not going to give you grief over the odd curse word, but keep it within the bounds of reason and courtesy.
  • Racism, sexism, bigotry, or hateful language is forbidden. Don’t even try it. This is a strict rule - don’t break it.
  • Be nice to the operators and admins. They are volunteers, and their time is frequently limited. While they are very often happy to talk with you, please don’t overdo private messages, pinging staff in IRC or Discord, and so forth.
  • Only private message ops/mods if something needs to be kept private, they are not your personal search engine.
  • Please avoid discussions of politics, religion and similar controversial topics. Not only is it not relevant to Sponge, it tends to create conflict where there doesn’t need to be any.
  • Don’t bash other projects, Mojang, or people associated with them.
  • Don’t ask when Sponge will be ready. It’ll be done when it’s done. When it’s done, don’t ask for updates. They come out when they come out. This is a general rule for all open source projects.
  • Advertising in any form is prohibited on any Sponge system. This includes but is not limited to advertising your favorite server hosting company, the server you play on, some piece of software you use for fun, another game, or whatever. Some exceptions are made in Off-Topic sections and are solely at the discretion of moderation staff.
  • Do not attempt to make a sale or sell anything on Sponge websites or systems. This includes but is not limited to plugins (mods or any variation of the term), art assets, services, or any work to be provided. We specifically allow offering a bounty in an original post in the Service Exchange area, and developers may seek commissioned work in the Devs Available category. Any further discussion of payment in these (or any other) threads is prohibited.
    • Users may post job advertisements (with or without a bounty) within the “Service Exchange” Category, however they must follow the Template and Rules.
    • Users may post job requests (with or without rates) within the “Devs Available” Category, however they must follow the Template and Rules.
    • Paid plugins are still prohibited in the Service Exchange
  • If it comes to our attention that a “lite” version plugin hosted by Sponge is being used as a promotion as a for-sale “premium” version, we reserve the right to remove the plugin listing. What constitutes a “lite” or “premium” version will be decided at the discretion of Sponge Staff.
  • Please don’t include Sponge in your plugin name. We reserve the use of Sponge for official SpongePowered works. There are two exceptions: You may append “for Sponge” to the title if your plugin also has versions for other APIs, and you may use Sponge in the title if your plugin primarily concerns the Minecraft block “Sponge”.
  • We aim to comply entirely with the Mojang EULA, to that end any plugins, services, posts and/or links suspected of violating the EULA may be removed at the discretion of the Sponge Staff or at the request of Mojang AB.
  • Don’t spread rumors or falsehoods about the Sponge projects, staff members, affiliates or partners of Sponge, or any other defamatory statements that might harm the project.
  • If you’re banned or suspended, it is for a reason. Don’t evade or attempt to get around bans.
  • The moderator, administrator or manager(s) of the various communication channels in use by the Sponge project shall have the last word in any dispute.

Note

Any of the above rules are subject to change at any time without warning. Any content found to be in violation of these rules, even if the content was created before a rule was in place, can be removed by moderator approval. These rules apply generally to all Sponge methods of communication, but each individual sub method (e.g.: subreddit or Forum category) may have its own set of additional rules and guidelines to add on top of these general rules. If this is the case, both sets of rules must be followed. Rules and guidelines evolve as the Sponge community evolves. Use only as directed; excessive use of FLARD may rot your socks.