Network Rules

Chat Guidelines

These rules have been adapted from the SCP Wiki Chat Guide.

Age

As on the SCP Wiki, the minimum age to use SkipIRC is the greater of 18 or your local age of majority. (For example, this means that the age requirement for users connecting from Nebraska is 19.) All users are expected to behave and express themselves at a maturity level appropriate to our age requirement.

Bans for lying about one's age are generally permanent and are not automatically lifted when a user is of age. This is different from the SCP Foundation chat ban policy and was implemented because that policy resulted in a situation where there was effectively no downside to lying about one's age. (This does not apply when an underage user is honest about their age. In that case, their ban will be lifted when they meet the age requirement.)

Pinging Ops

Saying the word netops will ping all members of the entire network operator team in the current channel. Please only do this if there is a genuinely urgent need. Abuse of this will result in disciplinary action. Only users with registered nicks are able to ping network operators.

Requesting help from staff

Network staff members are happy to help you with issues related to using IRC. If you do request help, please be patient and don't leave while staff members are assisting you. You may request help in #site17 or #help.

Use of disposable email addresses

A disposable email address is one provided via a service that exists for the purpose of providing temporary email addresses. (E.g. SpamGourmet.) This section does not apply to email addresses on normal email services such as GMail, ProtonMail, etc.

As disposable email addresses have generally been used by trolls and other disruptive users, we don't allow them for nick registration. Use of one may result in an automated network ban. Your email address will be kept confidential and only used for nick verification and in the event we need to contact you for an important reason; we don't send bulk mailings to registered nicks.

Bots

Users may run bots with the permission of network staff (and, if applicable, the owner(s) of the channels the bots will serve.) Please contact network staff with your request. Include the nick the bot will use, the work the bot will perform, and the IP addresses/hostnames to be used by the bot.

Attempting to compromise the security of authorized bots is a violation of network rules.

Chat Nicknames

To change your nickname, enter /nick [newnick], where [newnick] is your desired nick.

We forbid certain kinds of nicknames on this network:

No nicks with "SCP" or "Class D" or an SCP number.
No nicks with a Foundation character that isn't yours (like Dr. Bright, Dr. Sophia Light, Able, or Alto Clef).
No nicks saying you're official website or chat staff (like 'admin', 'administrator', or 'operator').
No nicks saying you're in charge at the fictional Foundation, or other fictional groups on our website (like Senior [anything], MTF Leader, O5, Director, Executive, or Overseer).
No nicks with profanity (swear words) or offensive content. If you have one of these nicks, we may remove you from the network temporarily. Please change your nick.

You can, however, have nicks like "DoctorX", "ResearcherX", and "AgentX", because these names don't say you're in charge at the Foundation. If you're not sure, ask a staff member. Do not use a nick that is only the title (For example just "Doctor").

Behavior

It is the responsibility of each chat user to know what is or is not acceptable behavior.

The following are some specific things to avoid. This doesn't include every possible offense and if you're not sure whether you're about to break a rule, ask rather than finding out the hard way.

Bigotry

Bigotry will not be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to bigotry based on race, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, neurodivergence, and gender identity. Users expressing bigoted views may be permanently banned without prior warning.

Trolling

Acting deliberately inflammatory. If you're doing it, you know you're doing it. If network opers believe you're trolling and you don't think so, then you need to rethink your behavior. This includes targeting people or a group of people based on their gender, sexuality, race, etc.

Harassment

Harassment including but not limited to asking for pictures, pressuring discussion of sex lives, etc. PMing or repeatedly talking to a user who has asked you to stop talking to them.

Impersonation

Knowingly using or attempting to use another user's registered nickname is not allowed. Lookalike nicks (e.g. using a number one in place of a lowercase 'L') are similarly disallowed.

Attempting to harm another user's physical or mental health

Any attempt to deliberately harm a user's mental or physical health is a severe violation of SkipIRC rules. Examples include:

Attempting to trigger someone's PTSD, dysphoria, psychosis, or phobia
Gaslighting someone
Causing or attempting to cause a seizure in people with photosensitive epilepsy

(The above examples have all previously occurred on SkipIRC or in SCP Foundation chats.)

Creepiness

Making others uncomfortable by behaving in a way that would be socially inappropriate if done in public.

Spamming

Don't.

Brigades

Do not use SkipIRC as a base for bothering people on other sites. No one cares. Do not use SkipIRC to get an SCP you hate downvoted. You will be banned, most likely from both SkipIRC and the SCP Foundation wiki.

Pronoun Fuckery

Use of NickServ to set joke or troll pronouns or gender identity will result in a network ban of no less than one week. This doesn't apply to legitimate mistakes.

Sockpuppeting and Ban Evasion

You can, within reason, have multiple chat nicks, but you can't pretend to be your brother just because you did something stupid. Ban evasion is obviously not allowed, including channel bans. (In other words, attempting to evade a channel ban may result in a network ban.) Network bans for any sort of ban evasion are generally permanent.

Please bear in mind that the rule against ban evasion applies even when appealing a ban.

NSFW Pictures and Discussion

This is generally up to the owners and staff of individual channels. Channels may be 18+; provided channel ops enforce this rule, network staff won't generally interfere. However, any sort of graphic/obscene content is forbidden where minors are present.

Hacking

Any attempt to compromise the security of SkipIRC servers will be met with an immediate and permanent network ban.

Discipline & Bans

The majority of network bans are for being underage and are therefore not subject to appeal.

Network bans for bad behavior tend to be less frequent but longer in duration than channel bans. This is because they're generally only implemented for conduct that's either inherently egregious (e.g. harassment, attempting to compromise the network) or repeated (e.g. behaving badly enough to be banned from a channel and then attempting to evade that ban.) Bans may be appealed by contacting a network operator.

The final authorities on disciplinary matters or rule disputes are the Network Administrators. Please report any serious misuses of authority to them.

A final note, regarding "Rule 0"

Whether you call it "Rule 0," or "don't be a dick," or even "the golden rule," what it boils down to is this: if your presence on the network is disruptive or harmful, staff has the right to remove you even if it doesn't fall under one of the above rules. (So far as I recall, this has only happened once, when a user attempted to compromise the most-privileged admin account for the network prior to our having a rule against such behavior.)

Any bans under this rule will be reviewed by all network staff.