Eyewire Chat Rule Book

Laws of the Land

Eyewire is a diverse community with players of all ages and nationalities coming together to help science!

One of Eyewire’s best features is its chat.  In chat, players come together to talk about Eyewire, help each other improve their gaming skills, and get to know each other.  We are providing this rule book to help our new players, veterans, and site moderators make sure they are all on the same page when it comes to following chat rules.

Rule 1: You must choose a username appropriate for an all-ages site

If you choose a username that contains the following, you may come back to find HQ has changed your name to “puppiesrmybestfwends”.

Not allowed:

  • Curse words (this includes “soft” curse words, remember, we are an all-ages site)
  • Sexual innuendo
  • Graphically violent terms or endorsements of violence
  • Terms alluding to illegal activity
  • Racist/sexist/homophobic slurs or any other kind of hate speech

Rule 2: You must act appropriately when chatting

While in chat, you may speak on a variety of topics.  Chat is a good place to ask for help on improving your Eyewire skills.  It is also a place where you can get to know interesting people from around the world.

It is not a place to do the following:

  • Use racist/sexist/homophobic slurs or any other kind of hate speech
  • Use curse words (“soft” curse words may be treated more leniently, we’re only human, but please avoid them if possible… again, think all-ages)
  • Talk about or link to sexually graphic, violent, or illegal subject matter
  • Spam the chat (flood the chat with the same repetitive word or phrase)
  • Purposely insult, bully, threaten or impersonate another player
  • Harass another player.  Examples of harassment include: repeatedly asking for or PMing a player when it’s clear that player wants to be left alone, unsolicited flirting, and pestering someone to disclose personal information

Rule 3: You must be respectful of the chat moderators and admins

Moderators are veteran players who are trusted within the community.  They have been granted the power to mute trolls and other players who can’t seem to grasp the meaning of “rules.”  More about Mods here.

Admins work at Eyewire HQ!  They have the last say when it comes to enforcing the rules.

  • If a mod or admin informs you that you are violating the rules, you need to cease that behavior
  • If you are unclear on what the violation was, it is okay to ask for clarification
  • It is not okay to blatantly disregard the mod/admin and continue your behavior
  • A mod or admin may occasionally shut down a conversation which is outside the immediate scope of the rules.  This may include conversations which are becoming increasingly inflammatory, or subjects which seem inappropriate for younger players.  In these cases the mod or admin’s warnings still need to be obeyed.
  • If you have an issue with the way someone is enforcing the rules, you may write into support@eyewire.org and state your complaint.  Pasting in a transcript of your chat conversation is the best way to help us sort things out for you.

What happens when someone breaks the rules?

When a player disobeys the rules, the following procedure will occur:

  1. The moderator or admin will warn the player that they are not following the rules**
  2. If the player decides to ignore or taunt the mod/admin they will be temporarily muted for 15 minutes
  3. If the player continues to violate the rules they will be muted indefinitely

**Some chat violations may result in an immediate muting and/or removal from chat with no warning.  These include highly graphic language, hate speech, and continuous spamming by one or more players.

How do I know who is a mod or admin?

You can quickly identify mods and admins by the colors they use in chat.  Mods use purple and admins are gold.  In some cases a mod or admin may be using a different color in chat.  If you don’t know if someone is a mod or admin you can click their name to check their profile.  Mods will be listed as “Moderator” and admins will be listed as “Eyewire HQ.”

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