The Broken Ladder

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	###                The Island Closest To Heaven                    ###
	###                  -Rules for General Users-                     ###
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	                  .:.Current Admins (Cherubim).:. 
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	   Name (IP)                  Email                                Aim


	1. Blackfox          sleepy487(at)msn.com                  Blackfox487

	2. Danzavar          Danzavar(at)hotmail.co.uk               Danzavarz

	3. Kiki              augustinduggan(at)gmail.com            Friskiante

	4. LavaLizard        lava_lizard(at)hotmail.com        Lava Lizard III

	5. Phatmonkey        thomasnettle14(at)msn.com              Phearmango

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	                  .:.Current Voices (Seraphim).:. 
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	   Name (IP)                  Email                                Aim


	1. Archangel (Michael) joshukun(at)gmail.com                Aakuenjeru

	2. Recca (Lucifel)     jim(at)asumendi.com                   Killdrith

	3. Yachiro (Valtiel)   headchiro(at)hotmail.com          YachiroSpirit

	4. Zora (Gabriel)      Superflea102(at)excite.com            Gold Zora

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	                  .:.The Owners (The Daemon Brothers).:. 
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	   Name (IP)                  Email                                Aim


	1. TsaoShin          webmaster(at)thebrokenladder.com         TsaoShin

	2. Anon Twentyseven  anon_27(at)mesmerize.us          Anon Twentyseven

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	Greetings, Islanders:                                             2006

	  Hello and welcome to The Island Closest to Heaven.  I hope that you 
	  enjoy your stay and that you feel at home with the people, staff, 
	  and Administrators here.  The following transcript is a document
	  of rules which were created to keep The Island running smoothly and
	  safely.  By using our groupboard, you have read and agreed to abide
	  by these rules.  We hold the right to remove any offending user, 
	  image, message board post, or name from The Island.

	  -Tsao

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	(A) The Choir Structure:

	   Power at The Island is based on a hierarchy that I symbolize with 
	   the structure of the Choir of Angels.  

	1. Cherubim (Administrators) are to attend to the simple matters of 
	   administrating/moderating the groupboard.  This includes, but is 
	   not limited to, banning people who violate the static rules 
	   (scribbling, destroying art, flooding, etc.)  and following orders 
	   received from a Seraphim or a Webmaster.  (For detailed rules 
	   please refer to section C sections 1-5; section D sections 1-10)

	2. Seraphim are above Cherubim.  Seraphim are people who know me in 
	   real life so they are more suitable to speak in my behalf when I am 
	   unavailable.  Seraphim have authority over Cherubim but not 
	   unlimited authority.  They shall act as counselors to Cherubim and 
	   help them when an administrative task becomes unique and/or when 
	   personal judgement needs to be made upon a user.  Seraphim will not 
	   command Cherubim to take an action that has not first been approved 
	   by a Webmaster. 

	3. Webmasters are the owners and controllers of the web-sites.  Anon 
	   Twentyseven owns burninggates.com and TsaoShin owns 
	   thebrokenladder.com, however, they are acting webmasters at both.  
	   Webmasters have authority over all Cherubim and Seraphim. 
	   Webmasters do not ban but they can kick any user at their  
	   discretion.  Webmasters will act as the neutral party to the users 
	   of The Island.  This way, if you are banned, you can dispute your 
	   case with a Webmaster.  Being kicked by a Webmaster does not mean
	   you have been banned.

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	(B) Kicking and Banning:

	   There are 2 ways for us to remove an unwanted user from The 
	   Island; (For details on kick-able and ban-able offensives please 
	   refer to section C sections 1-5; section D sections 1-10)

	1. Kicking someone from The Island means that the user is booted 
	   from the groupboard applet and not permitted to return for a case 
	   sensitive amount of time. The time will be proportional to the 
	   degree of the user's offense (time should not exceed 1 hour).  
	   Kicking a user is a fast and temporary solution to small problems.
	   The offending user will most likely be warned and then informed of
	   the amount of time that they will not be allowed to return to the
	   applet.  If the user's time has been served but is still unable 
	   to return to The Island at the fault of an Administrator, it is 
	   the user's responsibility to inform a Webmaster.

	2. Banning someone from The Island means that the user has clearly and 
	   knowingly broken a STATIC RULE.  Banning a user is permanent and 
	   should always be reflected upon before it is executed.  The user 
	   should be warned that they would be banned permanently if they do 
	   not cease their offenses. Bans will not be made on personal whims.  
	   If you have been banned from The Island and would like to protest
	   your case, it is your responsibility to email a Webmaster.  Anything
	   but email will be considered informal.

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	(C) Tsao's Static Rules

	   These are the rules that have been the same way since the creation  
	   of The Island and are unlikely to change.  They are straightforward 
	   and simple.

	1. TEXT FLOODING [ban/kick] will not be allowed.  There are two types 
	   of text flooding.  The more obvious text flood is where the user 
	   simply smashes random keys and sends them in rapid succession.  
	   This type calls for an immediate ban because it is obvious that the 
	   user had no real desire or intention to use The Island for its real 
	   purpose.  The second text flood type is where a user repeats the 
	   same word or sentence in succession to the point where it is simply 
	   unnecessary.  This type calls for a simple warning.  If the user 
	   doesn't stop, then a kick will be allowed.  

	2. SCRIBBLING [ban] is not tolerated.  This is where any size tool 
	   with any color is simply "scribbled" upon the white board (on or 
	   off someone's drawing).  It is usually obvious when the user is 
	   simply scribbling to irritate other users, however, we understand
	   that some artist "sketch quickly" and lay foundation colors which 
	   sometimes look similar to scribbling.  We will use our best 
	   judgement in cases where scribbling does not vex other users.

	3. DESTRUCTION OF ART [ban] will be punished immediately.  I created 
	   The Island with the foundation that I would protect all the art 
	   that was created there.  So, this rule is very personal to me.  
	   This includes two types of destruction.  The first, which is 
	   immediately ban-able, is when a user draws on another user's 
	   drawing with the intention of destroying it.  The second is where 
	   the user modifies another user's drawing (either trying to "help" 
	   or simply to be annoying).  This second type is case sensitive so 
	   the offending user will be given a warning.  If the offender does 
	   not cease, then they will be banned.  There are no kicks for this 
	   rule and all offenders are permanently removed.

	4. CLEARING [ban] the whiteboard without the permission of the current 
	   party is not allowed.  When a drawing is being created (either by
	   a single artist or by a group of artists) it is the duty of any 
	   present Administrators to "lock clearing" at the request of the
	   current users ("lock clearing" means that only staff, admins, and 
	   webmasters will have the ability to clear the whiteboard).  
	   If you would like to create an image with the protection of an 
	   Administrator, you may request one (please use email or
	   AIM).  However, please be sensitive to our needs and understand 
	   that we can not guarantee our services 24/7.

	5. IMPOSTERING [ban] a Webmaster, Cherubim, or a Seraphim is an 
	   immediate ban.  This means a user is purposely trying to deceive 
	   others into thinking that they are an Administrator or Webmaster at 
	   The Island.  The IP addresses of our Choir are all static (they 
	   always remain the same) and are listed at the beginning of this 
	   document.
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	(D) Housekeeping Rules:

	   The following are rules that will be enforced more personally. You 
	   will probably find yourself more likely to be reminded of these 
	   rules rather than being punished by them.  These are rules that 
	   should be carried out with careful attention.  If Cherubim are 
	   unsure about executing these rules they should refer to Seraphim or 
	   a Webmaster.

	1. All users, who intend to stay over 1 minute, are to assign 
	   themselves a name to use while they are at The Island.  Anyone who 
	   is unwilling to input a name (remain as an "anon") will be removed 
	   from The Island with a kick (time not to exceed 5 minutes).

	2. The whiteboard is not to be used to write messages to other users, 
	   recite poetry, short stories, etc.  However, there is some 
	   flexibility as far as users writing dialog boxes to accompany their 
	   drawing.  Warnings will only be given to users who are using the 
	   whiteboard area to write out conversations when it would be much 
	   more convenient to write it into the chat/text box.

	3. Swear words are not disallowed from the Island, but should be used 
	   scarcely.  Treat The Island as if it were PG.-13. Excessive 
	   swearing is a kick-able offense (time not to exceed 10 minutes).

	4. Vulgar drawings (scenes depicting intense brutality and gore or are 
	   sexually explicit) are not allowed.  I allow nudity when it is 
	   tastefully done.  If a user is drawing something that others find 
	   offensive then a warning will be given.  If a user simply comes in 
	   and draws (for example) a large outline of a penis, then the 
	   situation becomes a kick-able offense (time not to exceed 1 minute).

	5. Excessive flood filling will not be tolerated.  This means that a 
	   user is using flood fill with no regard to the other artists using 
	   the whiteboard. The flood fill tool often lags other artists using 
	   the whiteboard for a short period of time making any line they were 
	   currently drawing "stick" and become straight despite what they 
	   intended it to do.  The offending user will be given a warning.

	6. All art saved must have a descriptive name/creative title and list 
	   the artists. Any work given names like "This sucks" or "Crap" by 
	   "Random People" will be deleted immediately.

	7. We try to be open to all art forms, but graffiti saves will be 
	   deleted. The true art form of graffiti is special because of the 
	   hand movements and nozzle control of actual spray cans, not because 
	   of poor imitations made with solid lines and flood fills.

	8. Controversial topics that offend other users will not be allowed.  
	   I don't like to censor conversations; however, there are certain 
	   subjects that are sensitive to other users.  These conversational 
	   topics include, but are not limited to religion, racism, politics, 
	   stereotypes, gender and sexuality, etc.  People are allowed to 
	   speak about these topics but when they become offensive to other 
	   users, Administration holds the right to politely ask that the 
	   conversation end.  If the offender continues, then it shows he/she 
	   has no respect for the present company and a kick will become 
	   necessary (time not to exceed 5 minutes).

	9. Mutinous conversations against The Island, the staff, or the 
	   Webmasters will not be tolerated.  Users have the freedom to 
	   express their thoughts and dislikes about The Island.  However, 
	   when it becomes obvious that the offender has a developed hatred 
	   and is making personal threats against us, then a kick and a log of 
	   the conversation will be made (time of kick is at the discretion 
	   of the Webmasters).

	10. Users who are generally being annoying will be kicked.  This 
	   includes, but is not limited to: role-playing, attacking other 
	   users, making fun of other users, making excessively long names, 
	   ghosting (logging onto The Island from multiple browsers), using 
	   offensive names, advertising, etc.  Users will be given a warning 
	   before being kicked (time not to exceed 1 minute).
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	  TsaoShin                                           Anon Twentyseven
	  webmaster(at)thebrokenladder.com            anon_27(at)mesmerize.us
	  AIM: TsaoShin                                 AIM: Anon Twentyseven
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