User Agreement
Section 1: The Rules
The rules that follow are absolute. If you do not follow the rules you will be punished as the GM staff sees fit. The rules are not up to discussion but are subject to change as gameplay may change in the future.
If a GM makes a decision to punish a player for not following these rules, the decision is final. Under the circumstances a GM punishes a player unfairly or abuses his power you may report it on the message boards if you have visual proof (such as a screenshot) and if the player making the report is not just acting out of spite.
General
- Do not impersonate another player.
- This includes claiming to be someone you're not, having a name very similar to someone, or knowingly allowing someone to confuse you for another person to their ill will.
- Do not spam.
- If you fill up someone's chat box in a short period of time, flood the forums with useless comments, or just generally aggravate everyone, you are spamming.
- Do not bot.
- Whether it be botting on the forums or in-game, or auto-skill and feed using the homunculus AI, you're botting.
- Do not exploit.
- If you knowingly take advantage of a glitch and do not bother to report it, you're exploiting the server.
- Do not abuse the game's design.
- Abusing the game would be defined as playing Ragnarok Online counter to a way it was intended to be played. As an example of this, farming Battlegrounds is against the rules, as is placing warp portals on spawn points.
- Do not advertise any outside products or services.
- People are here to play Ragnarok. They are not here to hear about where to buy the best-working Viagra, so keep it off our boards.
- Do not go overboard with the vulgarities.
- Simply, if you're offending the children or being called a sailor, you're probably going overboard. The GMs don't care if you swear and talk shop unless folks come tattling to them about it.
- Further, vulgar names and emblems are against the rules, due to people cannot avoid seeing and reading them.
Forum-specific
- Be clear and on topic when replying to posts.
- Do not enter a topic and reply just to up your post count. Please add something relevant and thoughtful.
- Search before posting a question.
- Your question may have already been answered elsewhere. If so, it will not be answered again for you unless your problem is somehow unique. If the question was asked, but left unanswered, just revive the old topic.
- Do not flame.
- Outside of the flame forums, do not antagonize a discussion into an argument.
Disclaimers
- Do not give out your items.
- ShmaRO staff is not responsible for lost items. If your friend borrows them and refuses to return them, if you sell it to an NPC on accident, or if you misplace it you must deal with the consequences yourself.
- Do not share your account information.
- If someone has access to your account through a fault of your own, the ShmaRO staff is not to be held responsible. Your account will not be restored.
- GMs must abide by the same rules as players.
- Should you find any signs of a GM breaking the above rules, please notify us on the forums. If the corruption is very bad -- for example, if the topic is deleted -- please send an email or a private message to Pyeus. Deleted topics are logged.
- GMs should not interfere with gameplay.
- This includes being annoying in public areas through mass-recalls, mass-deaths, et cetera, as well as giving certain players an unfair advantage, be it by items, levels, or simply tips on custom quests.
- GMs are here to help.
- As such, they are under no obligation to even respond to you, should you ask them about something such as giving levels.
Punishments
| Charge | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impersonating GM staff | ID deletion | ||
| Impersonating a player for one's own advantage | 2-day ban | 3-day ban | 8-day ban |
| Insulting or abusing staff | 3-day ban | 5-day ban | 15-day ban |
| Spread slander against the staff | ID deletion | ||
| Trading scam | 2-day ban | 5-day ban | 8-day ban, item/zeny wipe |
| Inappropriate guild, party, or character name (includes ililil-based names intent on confusion) | ID deletion | ||
| Spamming | 2-day ban | 3-day ban | 5-day ban |
| Skill abuse (ice wall or warp portal abuse to annoy players) | 5-day ban | 10-day ban | ID deletion |
| Bug abuse | ID deletion | ||
| Rude behavior | 5-day ban | 10-day ban | ID deletion |
| Public swearing, argument, or sexual harassment | 2-day ban | 3-day ban | 5-day ban |
| Trading items, zeny, or accounts for real cash | ID deletion | ||
| Cross-server item, zeny, or account trades | ID deletion | ||
| Use of or sharing of illegal 3rd party programs | ID deletion |
When a new rule is implemented the rule will be applied from then onwards. In some cases prior events concerning the new rule might be subject to retroactive review and action.
Section 2: Posting complaints
For starters, rules are put into place for a reason. If players never abused the limits of the game then they wouldn't need to be in place. However, since that is not the case our rules are in place to prevent abuse, spamming and all other forms of annoyance.
If there is an update that a player doesn't agree with they are allowed to file a complaint, however our tolerance towards constant complaining is limited. If you continue to post complaints over and over again you will be punished how we see fit. Updates are for the better of everyone on the server and its not just because we on the Shma team have a vendetta against any specific player.
You must follow the format for complaints. Failure to use this format will result in your post being deleted and not being dealt with. Why are we implementing a format? Like I said before I am seeing way too many small, meaningless complaints and having a format in place not only makes it neater and easier to follow but also lets us know you are consider it a serious complaint since you took the time to do the complaint right.
Section 3: Treating GMs properly
The GMs in ShmaRO try to be as courteous and as helpful as they can possibly be. They are the rule enforcers, event planners, and the overall makers and developers of Shma in all its awesomeness. As such they should be treated with respect.
If you have a question about the game please do not go running to a GM. They are a busy people. Any questions should be directed to the message board where not only will the GMs respond, but you may also get the Shma community's input as well. If you do ask a GM a question do not be offended if they do not respond; they do not have to.
GMs are the bosses of the Shma world as such they have greater abilities and responsibilities than a normal player. Under no circumstances are you allowed to question a GM's competence or argue with what they are allowed and not allowed to do; as the last paragraph stated these matters should be dealt in the message board in a calm, organized manner. Now, this does not give a GM the right to be rude to you. If you dislike a GM's leadership style you may file a complaint and the decision will be made by an Administrator on how to deal with things further. If an Admin makes a decision on a matter, it is final and the discussion will be closed.
Section 4: Updates in ShmaRO
Notifying players of updates have been kind of messy in the past and on behalf of the entire Shma team I would like to apologize to everyone on the server.
Going forward, major updates will be posted under Announcements a week in advance. This gives players a chance to adjust and prepare for any changes that will be soon to come. They will also be mentioned in the "Message of the Day", which is the message that pops up when you log into ShmaRO. Minor updates will be posted in the change log.