Welcome to Character Tavern's Community Guidelines

Hi, I'm Sal! Before you jump into creating and sharing characters on Character Tavern, let me quickly explain how I handle content here, both for public stuff everyone can see and your private roleplay adventures

💫 Finding Our Balance: Freedom of Speech Meets Community

Why this focus on Freedom of Speech? Well, I watched as platforms like Character.ai and YodaYo kept adding more and more restrictions due to pressure from payment companies and the public. I figured there had to be a better way and so I built Character Tavern as a place where it should never happens

What does this mean in practice? I'll only step in as a last resort, not because I'm worried about profits or what payment companies think, but only if content puts our entire community at risk of being shut down. I'm here to keep CT running, not do the police !

Does this mean you'll have to see stuff you don't like? Nope🚫 I believe YOU should decide what content you want to see - not me or the platform. That's why I've built tools to let you filter and customize your experience

⚡ Private Cards and Chats: Your Safe Space

I am a strong believer in privacy and your right to express yourself. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, you should be able to roleplay and create characters in private without any restrictions.

What does this mean for you:

• No Filters or Moderation on Private Chats: Your private chats are YOUR space. I believe text roleplay should align with your own boundaries, not someone else's. Want to moderate the AI? You can do that yourself using the main Prompt in AI settings!
• Unlisted/Private Cards are Actually Private: Think of private cards like your personal diary - why should I peek into something that's just for you? Create whatever characters inspire you, no questions asked.

⚠️ Three Strikes and You're Out!

Break the rules? You'll get a strike and an email explaining why. After 3 strikes, you can't publish public cards anymore (but hey, private cards are still cool). Your card that broke the rules will be modified or unlisted

Good news though - everyone gets a fresh start on January 1st when all strikes reset! Just heads up: some serious stuff might get you straight to strike 3.

Rules for Public Content

⭐ Rule #1: Express Yourself (Almost) Without Limits

From cozy slice-of-life to spicy controversial content - everything has a home here! Want to create cards about fictional worlds? Go for it! Dreaming of celebrity-inspired characters? That's cool too (just use AI art instead of real photos!). And yes, adult content is totally fine - just make sure to tag it properly so everyone can choose what they want to see.

🚫 Rule #2: Handling Potentially Offensive Content

Look, I'll be real with you - I'm not about censorship. If I banned everything someone might find offensive, we'd basically have an empty website! But here's the thing: while you have the freedom to create, others should have the freedom to choose what they see.

That's why I created something cool: The Content Warning System ✨

Here's how it works:

• Offensive Content is determined by:
  • Me (Sal), the CT moderators, or our community guidelines
  • YOU can also mark your content as potentially offensive for other reasons in the Character Creator
• Using the System:
  • Just declare your potentially triggering content using the Content Warning System
  • Others can then filter what they want to see or avoid
  • Yes, this means fewer people might see your content - but that's how we keep our creative freedom while respecting everyone's boundaries!

Think of it like putting a content rating on your creation - you get to express yourself freely, and others get to make informed choices about what they interact with. Everyone wins! 🎯

⚠️ Rule #3: Underage Characters

Real talk: One of the main reasons I created these guidelines was to handle underage characters responsibly. It's a super important topic, so let me be crystal clear about what's okay and what's not!

Look, I get it - tons of our favorite anime and manga characters are underage, and that's totally normal. The problem isn't their age - it's inappropriate content. So here's exactly what's allowed:

• 👍 Regular Underage Characters: Your fave slice-of-life high school stories? Absolutely fine!
• ❌ Anything Inappropriate:
  • 🚫 No suggestive outfits (including swimwear)
  • 🚫 No sexual situations or contexts
  • 🚫 Absolutely no NSFW content

✨ Using the Content Warning System

Always mark your card as "Underage" in the CW system - even if it's totally wholesome content! This lets everyone filter what they want to see and make their own choices. And hey, if your card has other content warnings (nothing sexual, remember!), make sure to tag those too.

Bottom line: we're keeping CT safe while still letting you create awesome characters. Just make sure to use those content warnings, and we're all good! ✨

🎨 Rule #4: AI-Generated Art Only - No Real Photos

Let's talk about images! To protect everyone's privacy and avoid copyright issues, Character Tavern only allows AI-generated artwork for character cards. Here's what that means:

• ✅ Allowed Images:
  • AI-generated artwork (from tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, etc.)
  • Digital art you've created yourself
  • Drawings and illustrations (original or with proper permission)
• ❌ Not Allowed:
  • Real photographs of people (including celebrities or public figures)
  • Screenshots from movies, TV shows, or social media

Why this rule? It's simple: we want to protect real people's privacy and avoid any copyright problems. Plus, AI art lets you create exactly the look you want for your character without any legal worries!

🔒 Rule #5: Protecting Privacy - Keep It Safe

Privacy is super important at Character Tavern, both for regular folks and public figures. Here's how we keep everyone safe:

• ❌ Never Share:
  • Personal addresses or locations
  • Phone numbers
  • Email addresses
  • Social media handles
  • Any private information that could enable harassment
• ✅ For Public Figure Characters:
  • You can use publicly available biographical information
  • Stick to well-known, public facts
  • Remember to use AI-generated art instead of real photos

🛡️ Rule #6: No Spam, Scams, or Malicious Content

Character Tavern is all about creativity and fun - not dealing with spam or scams. Here's what's not allowed:

• ❌ Absolutely Not Allowed:
  • Spam or repetitive content flooding
  • Phishing attempts or suspicious links
  • Malware or harmful files
  • Fake offers or scams
  • Impersonating other users or staff
  • Misleading content for personal gain
• ⚠️ What Happens If You Break This Rule:
  • Immediate removal of harmful content
  • Likely to result in an instant 3-strike penalty
  • Possible account termination for serious violations