Terms of Service

Bayfox Cove is a free-to-play art-based roleplaying game (ARPG).

The following Terms of Service outlines rules regarding all aspects of Bayfox policy specifically referring website use or that are related to it.

All players are required to read and abide by the Terms of Service when using our site. Failure to do so may result in infractions or a permanent ban from the game, as claiming to have not known about rules will not cause punishment for breaking them to be revoked or lessened. By using our site, you are inherently agreeing to the Terms of Service.

By agreeing to our Terms of Service, you are also agreeing with our Privacy Policy.

1. ACCOUNT CREATION

• In order to use parts of our services, you will be required to create a user account. When making an account, you are agreeing  to provide us with accurate and complete information, including a valid email address and a DeviantArt account.
• Do not share your password with anyone! If you share your password and the account is compromised, you are to blame, not the site. In the event of a doxxing, please contact us if you need assistance.
• Please ensure you have reviewed our Privacy Policy upon creating an account.
• Creating extra accounts is not permitted, this includes for purposes like name claims or using an alternate account to gain additional rewards for a main account.
• Sharing accounts is not permitted under any circumstances.
• Creating a new account to avoid a ban/suspension is not allowed.
• Impersonating another individual is not permitted under any circumstances.
• Bayfox Cove may suspend or terminate your user account at our discretion without notice or explanation and regardless of your conduct or submitted content.
• Accounts that remain empty for over a month without any form of Bayfox-related content (characters, items, currency) upon creation may be viewed as spam accounts and are at risk of deletion at our discretion. Owners of these accounts are welcome to simply make a new one if they return and still wish to partake in the community, this is in no way a punishment, just a procedure to keep our site and user list clean!

2. Community guidelines

• By accessing Bayfox Cove and its affiliated communities, you agree to be respectful, courteous, and kind to fellow members and staff alike, behaving civilly and without aggression.

• Our community is intended to be PG-13:

  • NSFW (not safe for work) and suggestive artwork/writing/discussion is not tolerated on this site and affiliated servers, nor in any public area, not limited to this website, that is accessible to minors.
  • This clause also covers "SFW" fetish depictions.
  • Minors found to be participating in NSFW and adults found to be participating in distributing/exposing minors to NSFW hold grounds for an immediate ban and account termination. In the case of adults, this may also result in the appropriate legal action by our staff team depending on severity to maintain the safety of our minors.
  • It is impossible for staff members to be aware of all activity outside of our communities and cannot be held accountable for being unaware of NSFW works that are posted where such artwork is permitted.
  • In light of this, please alert a staff member immediately if you become privy to NSFW work that is being shared or produced within the community so that it can be dealt with.

• Please maintain polite conduct with our staff (and all members of our community):

  • Arguing with, being aggressive, or demeaning staff members for upholding the terms of service and community guidelines is unacceptable behavior.
  • Attempts to bribe staff members for priority or lenient treatment will result in a suspension. 
  • If you find a problem with staff members (eg, inappropriate behavior, TOS violations, etc.) you may bring the matter to our community admin privately and violations will be dealt with accordingly.

• Please Avoid prohibited topics within our community:

  • Negative remarks, such as guilt-tripping, self-depreciation, begging, gossiping, ranting, venting, vaguing, and name-dropping are prohibited and may warrant warnings or suspensions.
    • This includes making derogatory comments made about approval speeds, design rejections, etc.
  • Discussion of religion, substance abuse (drug and alcohol use), and other sensitive topics is prohibited within our website and affiliated servers.
  • Discriminatory behavior, such as racist, sexist, transphobic and homophobic behavior, is prohibited and may warrant an immediate suspension or account termination

3. ART/CONTENT & GAMEPLAY GUIDELINES

Bayfoxes is an art-centric community.

• We expect all work to be your own original work.

  • Art theft, such as tracing, heavily referencing, copying, stealing, or claiming content that is not yours can result in account termination.
  • Reuse of old original works (for example, tracing an old drawing you made) for art prompts/any art that is made with the intention of reward is not permitted.
  • If you recognize that a work created may have been stolen or traced, please alert a staff member to have it promptly removed and dealt with.

• Art submissions, whether it be for art redeeming or events, only accept officially recognized Bayfox species characters.

  • You are free to draw mascots, your own Bayfoxes, or another user’s Bayfox with their permission.
  • This includes commissions, which you are also free to submit.
  • Some mascots have toyhou.se account profiles. Your work may be added to their toyhou.se galleries unless you explicitly deny permission. You are also welcome to submit your work to be added to their art galleries.
  • Some prompts require that only canon Bayfox forms can be depicted. You can check if a form is canon or not by checking the associated Bayfox's Masterlist entry.
  • Unapproved designs, non-canon forms, and other species are not accepted for art prompts.

• Please make sure all content submitted to the site complies with our community guidelines, and does not violate our policy by containing prohibited topics of NSFW content.

• Modifying the game with the use or distribution of "cheats," "hacks," software, or other third-party applications to play on your behalf is prohibited.

4. VIOLATIONS & GROUNDS FOR PUNISHMENT

By agreeing to the Terms of Service, you are being held accountable to abide by the guidelines accordingly. Willfully or unknowingly violating the Terms of Service will be handled the same.

• Minor or first-time violations may have warnings issued. Repeated offenses warrant suspensions.
• We reserve the right to skip past warnings and suspensions at our own discretion depending on the severity of the incident.
• If you are suspended from an affiliated server and continue to cause issues, you may be subject to facing a ban and having your account terminated.
• Permanent bans may be appealed after an appropriate amount of time has passed, but are not guaranteed to be lifted.
• Consequences can include but not limited to: having privileges limited or removed, such as participation within group activities like making MYOs and earning items, joining affiliated servers, participating in events, receiving resale limitations, account suspensions, terminations, bans from the group, PSAs (severe instances only).

• If you are banned from Bayfox Cove:

  • All existing Bayfoxes under your name will become voided. You will still retain ownership to them, but they will no longer be recognized as official Bayfoxes.
  • All group currency and site items you own in your inventory will become void and unusable. They cannot be transferred to other unbanned users.
  • You are not permitted to create new Bayfoxes, trade for more Bayfoxes, participate in activities, or associate with the group.
  • If you have been permanently banned, your username may be added to a public blacklist.

5. USE OF REAL & VIRTUAL CURRENCY IN THE BAYFOX COMMUNITY

• Virtual Currency:

  • Bayfoxes has items and currencies that can be traded across the community. The sale/trade of these items to others for real currency or currency besides Bayfox's own virtual currency (shells) or personal works such as art is prohibited.
  • Items/currency are not sold officially for real currency. Items can only be purchased with Bayfox's own virtual currencies (Shells/Event Coins), which can be earned completely for free based off trading and merit-based tasks like art submissions.
  • Basic MYOs are always free in the community. More complex Bayfoxes may require items to make, which can all be attained through trading/purchase with virtual currency.

• Real Currency:

  • Freelancing is allowed and encouraged in the Bayfox community. Artists in the community are welcome to freelance as long as they abide by our guidelines.
    • Commissions: No guidelines. As long as the product is SFW, anyone is free to make art for Bayfoxes for profit in and out of the community, and this art is also applicable to be submitted for Shells!
    • Bayfox Customs: Require an Adopt Pass, which can be purchased with Shells. Moderators do not need Adopt Passes as compensation for their help.
  • Bayfoxes cannot be sold for real currency unless they have a mod-designated sale value in their masterlist entry. This sale value may be how much the Bayfox was initially purchased for, or how much they are worth with art. For more information on getting your Bayfox's sale price officially altered/recognized, see the Appraisal Thread.
    • Because freelancing occurs in our community, the potential for scamming is there as well. We cannot guarantee attempts at scamming will not be made and we are not to be held responsible for such, but we will always deal with reports of scamming to the best of our ability and work to stop such things from occuring.
      • When commissioning/trading, be sure to follow safe practices and use common sense as with any online art transaction to protect yourself from scams.
      • Use sites like PayPal with transaction protection/refunding if you are purchasing with real currency and not Bayfox currency/items, as our own virtual currency is the only thing our mod team can refund you.
      • To avoid buying knock-off/fake Bayfoxes, ask to see a Bay's masterlist entry to make sure they are officially recognized, or their proof of approval.
      • If purchasing a Bayfox with real currency, review their sale price on their masterlist entry to verify that is their officially recognized value, as otherwise this is considered a scam.
    • Bayfoxes sometimes holds events in which real currency can be spent to purchase designs made by our team. Profit from these events either is freelance profit for an artist in question working on the event or goes to a charity (proof of donation will always be provided).
    • Some use of real currency may give certain users an advantage over others in the Bayfox Community, but on a small scale. This is most notable in prizes users gain for participating in our charity events through purchasing a design, or by using a Discord Nitro Boost, purchased with real currency through the Discord platform, to support our server. Boosting users are given access to a unique content or access some content before the public as thanks for their support. 
    • This site is currently run from the pocket of the Bayfox team, not on community donations.

6. DISCLAIMERS

• Species:

  • Bayfoxes are a Semi-Open Original Species. It is possible for users to create their own characters featuring this species name to use within the game within our set creation guidelines. Please make sure all Bayfox content posted here abides by these guidelines.
  • By submitting your design to the masterlist, you are granting permission to display it here on the site on the Masterlist or, in special cases such as Bayfox of the Month, elsewhere. Any content posted to the masterlist is watermarked to protect its owner’s copyright.
  • Bayfox Cove does not own the base concept of "water-bodied animals." However, the species' unique combination of lore, traits, and other group features that make up the species is Bayfox Cove's intellectual property.

• Site:

  • Bayfox Cove may revise these Terms of Service for its website at any time without notice, however all users will be alerted to the change quickly upon release in an understandable way that makes it clear what has been changed and what is expected of them.
  • As the site is constantly evolving and changing with the progression of our community and the Lorekeeper ARPG framework, mechanics and features currently present are subject to changes without notice. We are constantly trying to improve our site's appearance and functionality to make it the best it can be!
  • Temporary site errors/outings may occur due to these changes, but major outings will be announced ahead of time.