StoryNexus

StoryNexus Creator Guidelines   Introduction  We've set out here the guidelines that we expect you to comply with when creating content for StoryNexus (whether that be actual StoryNexus Worlds or submitting content to existing StoryNexus Worlds).  We refer to them as 'guidelines' because they are an evolving statement of how we want to approach content in StoryNexus.  However, that doesn't mean complying with them is optional: they are binding on you and, if you breach them, we may need to take action against you (which may mean taking action to amend, redact, suspend or remove the relevant StoryNexus content and we may need to suspend or even in serious cases terminate the StoryNexus accounts of anyone involved in such breaches). These guidelines are intended to help you to strike a balance between making compelling, high-quality StoryNexus content in a way that respects other users, us and other creators outside of StoryNexus.  Therefore, please work with the spirit, not just the letter, of these guidelines. If you’re obviously trying to find loopholes or split hairs, we’ll crack down. If it looks like a reasonable mistake, we’d rather work with you to sort it out.  So without further ado… All content must be your own 1. You must not submit "StoryNexus Content" (meaning any content of any kind which you submit to StoryNexus) that is owned wholly or partly by anyone else.  This includes any content or material or information which is copyrighted, confidential, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless: <ul> <li>a. you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner; </li> <li>b. you have the necessary consents from any individuals whose personally identifiable information is contained in the StoryNexus Content; and</li> <li>c.  you have the power to grant Failbetter Games the licence rights described above.</li> </ul> Content should not be illegal 2. Content shouldn't involve illegal acts (either in the UK or in your country of origin).  For example, no hate speech, breach of privacy or defamatory statements.  Censoring Content 3. We do not usually censor StoryNexus Content (for example, sex and violence, or use of bad language, are usually permissible).  We do require any World with ‘mature’ Content (i.e. only suitable for over-18s) - to be clearly indicated as much in the login page.  If in doubt, mark it mature!  4. However, there is a point at which we will censor, amend, suspend or remove StoryNexus content.  Over-the-line StoryNexus Content includes: sexualised violence; non-consensual sex or sex with minors; bigotry of various kinds (racism, sexism, homophobia are top of the list).  Much of this will in any case be illegal and so already in breach of these guidelines.  StoryNexus Content should not encourage users to harm themselves or others.  We will no doubt add to this list as time goes on. If you have any doubt, contact us upfront at enquiries@failbettergames.com 5. We'd also point out that crass, silly, offensive or exploitative StoryNexus Worlds are unlikely to be promoted. Do not mislead 6. It's as simple as that: don't mislead.  For example: <ul> <li>It's OK to say that a StoryNexus World is planned to be large and complex and to have good-faith changes and twists.</li> <li>It is also OK to use StoryNexus for marketing, although you will be responsible for ensuring that such marketing complies with UK rules (you may wish to have a look at the CAP code and associated advice on copy at http://www.cap.org.uk/).</li> <li>However it's not OK to suggest that unimplemented content already exists.  It’s very not OK to hide graphic violence in a Jane Austen world without a warning it’ll go nasty, to build a world as a contentless spam link farm, and so on. </li> </ul> Fan fiction 7. In the case of explicit fan-fiction, we recognise that a culture of tacit acceptance exists around popular franchises, and rights owners are often generous in permitting use of their content.  However: <ul> <li>If a rights owner has indicated that they object to fan fiction (or infringement of their intellectual property rights generally), you must not post content based on their works.  A limited discussion of well-known authors with opinions on the matter can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_with_fan_fiction . However it is your responsibility to determine a rights’ owner’s attitude.</li> <li>We will comply immediately with takedown requests.</li> <li>On the matter of Fallen London fan-worlds, or fan-worlds based on other Failbetter IP, <a href="http://www.failbettergames.com/fan-project-guidelines/">our current policy is here</a>.</li> </ul> Support your own content 8. We need you to take steps to support your content.  Creators must provide a current email address at which they can receive any requests from StoryNexus users to resolve content bugs (e.g. undesired or unexpected effects from the design and logic of their Worlds that could cause user dissatisfaction).  9. If you receive such content bug requests, you should use good-faith efforts to respond to and resolve them reasonably quickly.  We may monitor such requests and we reserve the right to sanction creators who in our judgement have not made a good- faith effort to resolve significant content bugs, including by: (i) withholding payment to them until such time as the matter is resolved; and/or (ii) suspending the account of the creator. 10.  Creators may, and should, forward technical support bugs including any issues and errors with the StoryNexus platform to support@storynexus.com Avoid name and domain landgrabs 11. You’ve thought of a brilliant name for a world! Something concise and witty. You might be tempted to snap it up right away before anyone else thinks of the same name, and worry about building the world later... Don’t do this. The Terms of Service specifically allow us to reassign domains and names between worlds if we see fit, and if your world uses a rare and valuable subdomain and has plainly been empty and inactive for months, it’s fair game for being renamed to 'inactive_81'. Do not abuse CSS editing and external image hosting 12. You can extend the StoryNexus CSS stylesheets to customise the appearance of your world - but you mustn’t customise it in such a way as to remove or disguise any StoryNexus-specific elements (particularly the promotion bar at the top or the footer links). 13. You can use externally hosted images in your world. You must ensure that you have permission to use any images. This is already covered under ‘content must be your own’, above, but we want to clarify that it is the case for images as well as words. 14. You must not use CSS customisation or image hosting for any kind of deception or exploit. This may be illegal but will in any case certainly be grounds for suspension. Living stories 15. For performance reasons, we need to place limits on usage of living stories. First, a StoryNexus world must have no more than 15 weekly quality effects across all recurring living stories. For example, two weekly living stories with five effects each count for ten per week in total. One daily living story with two effects counts for 14 per week. Second, worlds must have no more than 25 quality effects in total on all non-recurring living stories. If a world violates either of these rules, we may at our discretion disable it. Changes to these guidelines 16. Like we said, these guidelines will evolve over time as StoryNexus develops. If you ever have any questions about whether your content meets these guidelines, please just get in touch at enquiries@failbettergames.com