Community Guidelines

Greetings, adventurer! Welcome to Habitica, the land of productivity, healthy living, and the occasional rampaging gryphon. We have a cheerful community full of helpful people supporting each other on their way to self-improvement.

To help keep everyone safe, happy, and productive in the community, we have some guidelines. We have carefully crafted them to make them as friendly and easy-to-read as possible. Please take the time to read them.

These rules apply to all of the social spaces we use, including (but not necessarily limited to) Trello, GitHub, Transifex, and the Wikia (aka wiki). Sometimes, unforeseen situations will arise, like a new source of conflict or a vicious necromancer. When this happens, the mods may respond by editing these guidelines to keep the community safe from new threats. Fear not: you will be notified by an announcement from Bailey if the guidelines change.

Now ready your quills and scrolls for note-taking, and let's get started!

Being a Habitican

Habitica is first and foremost a website devoted to improvement. As a result, we've been lucky to attract one of the warmest, kindest, most courteous and supportive communities on the internet. There are many traits that make up Habiticans. Some of the most common and most notable are:

• A Helpful Spirit. Many people devote time and energy helping out new members of the community and guiding them. Habitica Help, for example, is a guild devoted just to answering people's questions. If you think you can help, don't be shy!
• A Diligent Attitude. Habiticans work hard to improve their lives, but also help build the site and improve it constantly. We're an open-source project, so we are all constantly working to make the site the best place it can be.
• A Supportive Demeanor. Habiticans cheer for each other's victories, and comfort each other during hard times. We lend strength to each other and lean on each other and learn from each other. In parties, we do this with our spells; in chat rooms, we do this with kind and supportive words.
• A Respectful Manner. We all have different backgrounds, different skill sets, and different opinions. That's part of what makes our community so wonderful! Habiticans respect these differences and celebrate them. Stick around, and soon you will have friends from all walks of life.

• Beffymaroo aka Beth
• Viirus aka Phillip
• redphoenix aka Vicky (caffeinatedvee on Trello, veeeeeee on GitHub)
• Lemoness aka Leslie (lemonesstree on Trello)
• SabreCat aka Sabe
• paglias aka Matteo
• TheHollidayInn aka Keith

The current Moderators are (from left to right):

• Bailey (It's Bailey in Tavern chat)
• Ryan (deilann on GitHub/Wikia)
• Alys (LadyAlys on Wikia)
• Cantras
• Blade (crookedneighbor on GitHub)
• Daniel the Bard
• shanaqui
• Dewines
• Megan
• Breadstrings

Habitica has two kinds of social spaces: public, and private. Public spaces include the Tavern, Public Guilds, GitHub, Trello, and the Wiki. Private spaces are Private Guilds, party chat, and Private Messages. All Display Names must comply with the public space guidelines. To change your Display Name, go on the website to User > Profile and click on the "Edit" button.

When navigating the public spaces in Habitica, there are some general rules to keep everyone safe and happy. These should be easy for adventurers like you!

Respect each other. Be courteous, kind, friendly, and helpful. Remember: Habiticans come from all backgrounds and have had wildly divergent experiences. This is part of what makes Habitica so cool! Building a community means respecting and celebrating our differences as well as our similarities. Here are some easy ways to respect each other:

• Obey all of the Terms and Conditions.
• Do not post images or text that are violent, threatening, or sexually explicit/suggestive, or that promote discrimination, bigotry, racism, sexism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group. Not even as a joke. This includes slurs as well as statements. Not everyone has the same sense of humor, and so something that you consider a joke may be hurtful to another. Attack your Dailies, not each other.
• Keep discussions appropriate for all ages. We have many young Habiticans who use the site! Let's not tarnish any innocents or hinder any Habiticans in their goals.
• Avoid profanity. This includes milder, religious-based oaths that may be acceptable elsewhere-we have people from all religious and cultural backgrounds, and we want to make sure that all of them feel comfortable in public spaces. If a moderator or staff member tells you that a term is disallowed on Habitica, even if it is a term that you did not realize was problematic, that decision is final. Additionally, slurs will be dealt with very severely, as they are also a violation of the Terms of Service.
• Avoid extended discussions of divisive topics outside of the Back Corner. If you feel that someone has said something rude or hurtful, do not engage them. A single, polite comment, such as "That joke makes me feel uncomfortable," is fine, but being harsh or unkind in response to harsh or unkind comments heightens tensions and makes Habitica a more negative space. Kindness and politeness helps others understand where you are coming from.
• Comply immediately with any Mod request to cease a discussion or move it to the Back Corner. Last words, parting shots and conclusive zingers should all be delivered (courteously) at your "table" in the Back Corner, if allowed.
• Take time to reflect instead of responding in anger if someone tells you that something you said or did made them uncomfortable. There is great strength in being able to sincerely apologize to someone. If you feel that the way they responded to you was inappropriate, contact a mod rather than calling them out on it publicly.
• Divisive/contentious conversations should be reported to mods by flagging the messages involved. If you feel that a conversation is getting heated, overly emotional, or hurtful, cease to engage. Instead, flag the posts to let us know about it. Moderators will respond as quickly as possible. It's our job to keep you safe. If you feel screenshots may be helpful, please email them to leslie@habitica.com.
• Do not spam. Spamming may include, but is not limited to: posting the same comment or query in multiple places, posting links without explanation or context, posting nonsensical messages, or posting many messages in a row. Asking for gems or a subscription in any of the chat spaces or via Private Message is also considered spamming.
• Please avoid posting large header text in the public chat spaces, particularly the Tavern. Much like ALL CAPS, it reads as if you were yelling, and interferes with the comfortable atmosphere.
• We highly discourage the exchange of personal information - particularly information that can be used to identify you - in public chat spaces. Identifying information can include but is not limited to: your address, your email address, and your API token/password. This is for your safety! Staff or moderators may remove such posts at their discretion. If you are asked for personal information in a private Guild, Party, or PM, we highly recommend that you politely refuse and alert the staff and moderators by either 1) flagging the message if it is in a Party or private Guild, or 2) taking screenshots and emailing Lemoness at leslie@habitica.com if the message is a PM.

In private spaces, users have more freedom to discuss whatever topics they would like, but they still may not violate the Terms and Conditions, including posting any discriminatory, violent, or threatening content. Note that, because Challenge names appear in the winner's public profile, ALL Challenge names must obey the public space guidelines, even if they appear in a private space.

Private Messages (PMs) have some additional guidelines. If someone has blocked you, do not contact them elsewhere to ask them to unblock you. Additionally, you should not send PMs to someone asking for support (since public answers to support questions are helpful to the community). Finally, do not send anyone PMs begging for a gift of gems or a subscription, as this can be considered spamming.

If you see a post that you believe is in violation of the public space guidelines outlined above, or if you see a post that concerns you or makes you uncomfortable, you can bring it to the attention of Moderators and Staff by flagging to report it. A Staff member or Moderator will respond to the situation as soon as possible. Please note that intentionally flagging innocent posts is an infraction of these Guidelines (see below in “Infractions”). PMs cannot be flagged at this time, so if you need to report a PM please take screenshots and email them to Lemoness at leslie@habitica.com.

Furthermore, some public spaces in Habitica have additional guidelines.

The Tavern is the main spot for Habiticans to mingle. Daniel the Innkeeper keeps the place spic-and-span, and Lemoness will happily conjure up some lemonade while you sit and chat. Just keep in mind...

Conversation tends to revolve around casual chatting and productivity or life improvement tips.

Because the Tavern chat can only hold 200 messages, it isn't a good place for prolonged conversations on topics, especially sensitive ones (ex. politics, religion, depression, whether or not goblin-hunting should be banned, etc.). These conversations should be taken to an applicable guild or the Back Corner (more information below).

Don't discuss anything addictive in the Tavern. Many people use Habitica to try to quit their bad Habits. Hearing people talk about addictive/illegal substances may make this much harder for them! Respect your fellow Tavern-goers and take this into consideration. This includes, but is not exclusive to: smoking, alcohol, pornography, gambling, and drug use/abuse.

Public guilds are much like the Tavern, except that instead of being centered around general conversation, they have a focused theme. Public guild chat should focus on this theme. For example, members of the Wordsmiths guild might be cross if they found the conversation suddenly focusing on gardening instead of writing, and a Dragon-Fanciers guild might not have any interest in deciphering ancient runes. Some guilds are more lax about this than others, but in general, try to stay on topic!

Some public guilds will contain sensitive topics such as depression, religion, politics, etc. This is fine as long as the conversations therein do not violate any of the Terms and Conditions or Public Space Rules, and as long as they stay on topic.

Public Guilds may NOT contain 18+ content. If they plan to regularly discuss sensitive content, they should say so in the Guild title. This is to keep Habitica safe and comfortable for everyone.

If the guild in question has different kinds of sensitive issues, it is respectful to your fellow Habiticans to place your comment behind a warning (ex. "Warning: references self-harm"). These may be characterized as trigger warnings and/or content notes, and guilds may have their own rules in addition to those given here. If possible, please use markdown to hide the potentially sensitive content below line breaks so that those who may wish to avoid reading it can scroll past it without seeing the content. Habitica staff and moderators may still remove this material at their discretion. Additionally, the sensitive material should be topical -- bringing up self-harm in a guild focused on fighting depression may make sense, but may be less appropriate in a music guild. If you see someone who is repeatedly violating this guideline, especially after several requests, please flag the posts and email leslie@habitica.com with screenshots.

No Guilds, Public or Private, should be created for the purpose of attacking any group or individual. Creating such a Guild is grounds for an instant ban. Fight bad habits, not your fellow adventurers!

All Tavern Challenges and Public Guild Challenges must comply with these rules as well.

Sometimes a conversation will get too heated or sensitive to be continued in a Public Space without making users uncomfortable. In that case, the conversation will be directed to the Back Corner Guild. Note that being directed to the Back Corner is not at all a punishment! In fact, many Habiticans like to hang out there and discuss things at length.

The Back Corner Guild is a free public space to discuss sensitive subjects, and it is carefully moderated. It is not a place for general discussions or conversations. The Public Space Guidelines still apply, as do all of the Terms and Conditions. Just because we are wearing long cloaks and clustering in a corner doesn't mean that anything goes! Now pass me that smoldering candle, will you?

Trello serves as an open forum for suggestions and discussion of site features. Habitica is ruled by the people in the form of valiant contributors -- we all build the site together. Trello lends structure to our system. Out of consideration for this, try your best to contain all your thoughts into one comment, instead of commenting many times in a row on the same card. If you think of something new, feel free to edit your original comments. Please, take pity on those of us who receive a notification for every new comment. Our inboxes can only withstand so much.

Habitica uses four different Trello boards:

• The Main Board is a place to request and vote on site features.
• The Mobile Board is a place to request and vote on mobile app features.
• The Pixel Art Board is a place to discuss and submit pixel art.
• The Quest Board is a place to discuss and submit quests.

All have their own guidelines outlined, and the Public Spaces rules apply. Users should avoid going off-topic in any of the boards or cards. Trust us, the boards get crowded enough as it is! Prolonged conversations should be moved to the Back Corner Guild.

Habitica uses GitHub to track bugs and contribute code. It's the smithy where the tireless Blacksmiths forge the features! All the Public Spaces rules apply. Be sure to be polite to the Blacksmiths -- they have a lot of work to do, keeping the site running! Hooray, Blacksmiths!

The following users are owners of the Habitica repo:

• @alys
• @crookedneighbor (Blade)
• @lemoness
• @paglias
• @SabreCat
• @TheHollidayInn
• @veeeeeee (redphoenix)
• @vIiRuS

The Habitica wiki collects information about the site. It also hosts a few forums similar to the guilds on Habitica. Hence, all the Public Space rules apply.

The Habitica wiki can be considered to be a database of all things Habitica. It provides information about site features, guides to play the game, tips on how you can contribute to Habitica and also provides a place for you to advertise your guild or party and vote on topics.

Since the wiki is hosted by Wikia, the terms and conditions of Wikia also apply in addition to the rules set by Habitica and the Habitica wiki site.

The wiki is solely a collaboration between all of its editors so some additional guidelines include:

• Requesting new pages or major changes on the Wiki Trello board
• Being open to other peoples' suggestion about your edit
• Discussing any conflict of edits within the page's talk page
• Mentioning any unresolved conflict in the Wizards of the Wiki guild for additional discussion, or if the conflict has become abusive, contacting moderators (see below) or emailing Lemoness at leslie@habitica.com
• Not spamming or sabotaging pages for personal gain
• Reading Guidance for Scribes before making any changes
• Using an impartial tone within wiki pages
• Ensuring that wiki content is relevant to the whole site of Habitica and not pertaining to a particular guild or party (such information can be moved to the forums)

The following people are the current wiki administrators:

• LadyAlys (Alys)
• Sonnet73
• Taldin

The following moderators can make emergency edits in situations where a moderator is needed and the above admins are unavailable:

• Beffymaroo
• Cantras
• Meganstrickland (Megan)

Wiki Administrators Emeritus are: Bobbyroberts99 (founder and bureaucrat), wc8 (bureaucrat), Lefnire (bureaucrat), JiggerD, LadyKatFrog, Breadstrings (bureaucrat), Deilann

Overwhelmingly, Habiticans assist each other, are respectful, and work to make the whole community fun and friendly. However, once in a blue moon, something that a Habitican does may violate one of the above guidelines. When this happens, the Mods will take whatever actions they deem necessary to keep Habitica safe and comfortable for everyone.

There are a variety of infractions, and they are dealt with depending on their severity. These are not conclusive lists, and Mods have a certain amount of discretion. The Mods will take context into account when evaluating infractions.

Severe Infractions

Severe infractions greatly harm the safety of Habitica's community and users, and therefore have severe consequences as a result.

The following are examples of some severe infractions. This is not a comprehensive list.

• Violation of Terms and Conditions
• Hate Speech/Images, Harassment/Stalking, Cyber-Bullying, Flaming, and Trolling
• Violation of Probation
• Impersonation of Staff or Moderators
• Repeated Moderate Infractions
• Creation of a duplicate account to avoid consequences (for example, making a new account to chat after having chat privileges revoked)

Moderate Infractions

Moderate infractions do not make our community unsafe, but they do make it unpleasant. These infractions will have moderate consequences. When in conjunction with multiple infractions, the consequences may grow more severe.

The following are some examples of Moderate Infractions. This is not a comprehensive list.

• Ignoring or Disrespecting a Mod. This includes publicly complaining about moderators or other users/publicly glorifying or defending banned users. If you are concerned about one of the rules or Mods, please contact Lemoness via email (leslie@habitica.com).
• Backseat Modding. To quickly clarify a relevant point: A friendly mention of the rules is fine. Backseat modding consists of telling, demanding, and/or strongly implying that someone must take an action that you describe to correct a mistake. You can alert someone to the fact that they have committed a transgression, but please do not demand an action-for example, saying, "Just so you know, profanity is discouraged in the Tavern, so you may want to delete that," would be better than saying, "I'm going to have to ask you to delete that post."
• Repeatedly Violating Public Space Guidelines
• Repeatedly Committing Minor Infractions

Minor Infractions

Minor Infractions, while discouraged, still have minor consequences. If they continue to occur, they can lead to more severe consequences over time.

The following are some examples of Minor Infractions. This is not a comprehensive list.

• First-time violation of Public Space Guidelines
• Any statements or actions that trigger a "Please Don't". When a Mod has to say "Please Don't do this" to a user, it can count as a very minor infraction for that user. An example might be "Mod Talk: Please Don't keep arguing in favor of this feature idea after we've told you several times that it isn't feasible." In many cases, the Please Don't will be the minor consequence as well, but if Mods have to say "Please Don't" to the same user enough times, the triggering Minor Infractions will start to count as Moderate Infractions.

In Habitica -- as in real life -- every action has a consequence, whether it is getting fit because you've been running, getting cavities because you've been eating too much sugar, or passing a class because you've been studying.

Similarly, all infractions have direct consequences. Some sample consequences are outlined below.

If your infraction has a moderate or severe consequence, there will be a post from a staff member or moderator in the forum in which the infraction occurred explaining:

• what your infraction was
• what the consequence is
• what to do to correct the situation and restore your status, if possible.

If the situation calls for it, you may receive a PM or email in addition to or instead of a post in the forum in which the infraction occurred.

If your account is banned (a severe consequence), you will not be able to log into Habitica and will receive an error message upon attempting to log in. If you wish to apologize or make a plea for reinstatement, please email Lemoness at leslie@habitica.com with your UUID (which will be given in the error message). It is your responsibility to reach out if you desire reconsideration or reinstatement.

Examples of Severe Consequences

• Account bans (see above)
• Account deletions
• Permanently disabling ("freezing") progression through Contributor Tiers

Examples of Moderate Consequences

• Restricted public chat privileges
  • If your actions result in revocation of your chat privileges, a Moderator or Staff member will PM you and/or post in the forum in which you were muted to notify you of the reason for your muting and the length of time for which you will be muted. At the end of that period, you will receive your chat privileges back, provided you are willing to correct the behavior for which you were muted and comply with the Community Guidelines.
• Restricted private chat privileges
• Restricted guild/challenge creation privileges
• Temporarily disabling ("freezing") progression through Contributor Tiers
• Demotion of Contributor Tiers
• Putting users on "Probation"

Examples of Minor Consequences

• Reminders of Public Space Guidelines
• Warnings
• Requests
• Deletions (Mods/Staff may delete problematic content)
• Edits (Mods/Staff may edit problematic content)

Habitica is a land devoted to self-improvement, and we believe in second chances. If you commit an infraction and receive a consequence, view it as a chance to evaluate your actions and strive to be a better member of the community.

The announcement, message, and/or email that you receive explaining the consequences of your actions (or, in the case of minor consequences, the Mod/Staff announcement) is a good source of information. Cooperate with any restrictions which have been imposed, and endeavor to meet the requirements to have any penalties lifted.

If you do not understand your consequences, or the nature of your infraction, ask the Staff/Moderators for help so you can avoid committing infractions in the future.

Habitica is an open-source project, which means that any Habiticans are welcome to pitch in! The ones who do will be rewarded according to the following tier of rewards:

1. Habitica Contributor's badge, plus 3 Gems.
2. Contributor Armor, plus 3 Gems.
3. Contributor Helmet, plus 3 Gems.
4. Contributor Sword, plus 4 Gems.
5. Contributor Shield, plus 4 Gems.
6. Contributor Pet, plus 4 Gems.
7. Contributor Guild Invite, plus 4 Gems.

Mods are chosen from among Seventh Tier contributors by the Staff and preexisting Moderators. Note that while Seventh Tier Contributors have worked hard on behalf of the site, not all of them speak with the authority of a Mod.

There are some important things to note about the Contributor Tiers:

• Tiers are discretionary. They are assigned at the discretion of Moderators, based on many factors, including our perception of the work you are doing and its value in the community. We reserve the right to change the specific levels, titles and rewards at our discretion.
• Tiers get harder as you progress. If you made one monster, or fixed a small bug, that may be enough to give you your first contributor level, but not enough to get you the next. Like in any good RPG, with increased level comes increased challenge!
• Tiers don't "start over" in each field. When scaling the difficulty, we look at all your contributions, so that people who do a little bit of art, then fix a small bug, then dabble a bit in the wiki, do not proceed faster than people who are working hard at a single task. This helps keep things fair!
• Users on probation cannot be promoted to the next tier. Mods have the right to freeze user advancement due to infractions. If this happens, the user will always be informed of the decision, and how to correct it. Tiers may also be removed as a result of infractions or probation.