Rules and Conduct

Rules, Guidelines and information on general conduct on the grid

Legal Terms
  1. Registration Restrictions & Requirements

    1. Registration is limited to individuals aged 13 years or older, persons younger than that must not register for an account. Additional minimum age requirements depending on individual jurisdictions are the responsibility of the individual.
    2. Persons registering with ZetaWorlds must not carry active felony convictions of violent nature, fraud, defamation, any sexual assault or misdemeanour's, hacking, identity theft or any offence of human rights violation.
    3. The creation of alternate accounts is discouraged. Creating more than 3 accounts is prohibited and will result in suspension of some or all accounts.
    4. Upon registration the user, where applicable, forfeits the rights to engage in legal actions against ZetaWorlds or its operator Zetamex Network.
    5. Registration requires a valid E-Mail address belonging to a trusted mailservice or mailserver. ZetaWorlds is not responsible for any failure of services delivered through E-Mail.
    6. Email addresses used for registration must be valid. Use of disposable one-time email addresses is strictly prohibited.
    7. Users are required to inform the administration about any additional legal terms and protections before registration.
    8. Registration of accounts for educational purposes is allowed, but ZetaWorlds reserves the right to require proof membership of an educational institution.
    9. Content within ZetaWorlds may be subject to further age restriction, it is the sole duty of the individual to observe the rating of such such content and handle it accordingly.


  2. Content Policies

    1. Content within the grid may be subject to local laws requiring persons to be 18 years of age or older to access certain areas and content, each user is solely responsible for adhering to their local laws governing adult content.
    2. We do not exercise editorial control over the content of ZetaWorlds and will make no specific efforts to review the textures, objects, sounds or other content created within the Grid. Additionally, we do not certify or endorse the operation of in-world games, vending machines, or retail locations; refunds must be requested from the owners of these objects.
    3. Users creating any content on the ZetaWorlds platform must clearly label content not suitable for minors. ZetaWorlds retains the right to remove any content in breach without prior notification of the owner or creator of the content.
    4. Wilful distribution of illegal material in any form or encouragement and information to obtain illegal material will result in account termination.
    5. By design ZetaWorlds cannot guarantee the integrity or security of content within the Service. Users are solely responsible for abiding to third-party content licenses and agreements.
    6. Any and all users registering with ZetaWorlds retain all rights to their data if not otherwise inhibited by third parties. Any and all users are entitled to their data and backups of data if requested and not otherwise inhibited by loss of legal standing due to breaches of this document.
    7. Public facing content such as, but not limited to, profile pictures, group insignia, Picks, Classifieds, 1st Life, web links, profile descriptions, group descriptions, titles and roles, need not contain any content that may be overly sexual, coarse or otherwise offensive. This also applies to content on regions when their access restrictions either are not or cannot be, in the case of connection to the ZetaWorlds Ocean, set to prohibit public access.
    8. Content ratings(General, Moderate, Adult) should be applied according to the content present. Additional access restrictions(Age verification requirement) should be applied on adult content when appropriate. Failure to appropriately label content may result in account restrictions or termination.


  3. Community Rules

    1. Community rules apply to anyone and everyone using ZetaWorlds, whether as local resident or as hypergrid visitor.
    2. Communicating or behaving in a manner which is offensively coarse, intimidating or threatening, constitutes unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favours, or is otherwise likely to cause annoyance or alarm is forbidden. Any such behaviour that is reported to ZetaWorlds staff will be investigated.
    3. Actions that marginalize, belittle, or defame individuals or groups inhibit the satisfying exchange of ideas and diminish the entire OpenSim community as a whole; The use of derogatory or demeaning language or images in reference to another Resident's race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation; Communicating or behaving in a manner which is offensively coarse, intimidating or threatening, constitutes unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favours, or is otherwise likely to cause annoyance or alarm; Assaulting, shooting, pushing, or shoving another Resident outside of a Role Play area; Creating or using scripted objects which singularly or persistently target another Resident in a manner which prevents their enjoyment of their experience within ZetaWorlds; Any such behaviour reported to ZetaWorlds staff will be investigated and we reserve the right to restrict access or terminate access to ZetaWorlds.
    4. Specifically or consistently using an alternate account to harass other Residents or violate the Rules and Conduct is not acceptable. Alternate accounts are generally treated as separate from a Resident's principal account, but misuse of alternate accounts can and will result in disciplinary action on the principal account. We discourage use of more than two accounts and mass-registration of accounts may result in termination of all accounts.
    5. Use of the service for purposes of advertising other services, political organisations, for-profit organisations, offensive content, other grids, illegal content or any other content in bad-taste is strictly prohibited.
    6. Warnings issued by staff for breach of guidelines, rules or terms outlined in this document are final, we will not negotiate. If you wish to appeal direct your request, via email, to the grid administration.
    7. Platforms associated with ZetaWorlds may be subject to additional rules and terms; individuals are required to observe these rules and adhere to them.


  4. Privacy

    1. The activity of users on the platform is subject to general privacy law; The administration will not and cannot legally police users and their actions of privately owned or operated virtual land. Any violations must be reported directly to the administration with sufficient evidence before any policing action is taken.
    2. The administration retains the right to perform actions intrusive to privacy of any user should a report require validation of accusations made against a user for breach of local or international law. The administration is not required to inform the user about this intrusion.
    3. With registration a users Email and IP address are logged for security reasons. With registering you agree that ZetaWorlds logs this data for future reference.
    4. Certain users may be contacted via their Email address regarding their accounts, potential offers, verification or security reasons.
    5. ZetaWorlds only processes data relevant to the operation of its service and does not share this data with any third-party unless required by law or requested by law enforcement.


  5. Legal Terms of Service

    1. Use of the Service is provided "as is", no guarantee is given on availability, stability, security or performance of the service. Usage of the service constitutes agreement with the guidelines, rules and terms outlined in this document.
    2. Failure to adhere to any rules or guidelines in this document may result in loss of user privileges or account termination.
    3. ZetaWorlds and its operator Zetamex may revise, change, remove or add rules or guidelines at any point, without prior notification.
    4. Actions that constitute a breach of law in the country of operation(Germany) or country of origin of the users involved will result in termination of the users account.
    5. Age verification is carried out on an individual basis. ZetaWorlds gives no guarantee of validity of verification.
    6. Resale of services rendered by ZetaWorlds are only permitted as part of the resellers program. Resale of limited parts, as determined by discretion of ZetaWorlds management, is permitted. ZetaWorlds retains the right to revoke resale permissions at any time for any reason.
    7. Any damages incurred by actions of the administration are the sole responsibility of the user and will not be reimbursed.
    8. The administration retains the rights to reduce, remove or cap service when any associated costs exceed fair use of the service. It also retains the rights to charge the user for any such costs.
    9. Users agree to not hold ZetaWorlds or its operator Zetamex liable for corrupt or otherwise damaged data.
    10. Users are required to abide any additional legal terms resulting from local or international law, even if not directly outlined in this document.
    11. Accounts may be restricted or registration denied if local or international law are either in breach of the legal terms outlined in this document or otherwise cannot be upheld.
    12. ZetaWorlds provides a service which can be used by individuals for malicious purposes. Neither ZetaWorlds nor its operator Zetamex are liable for abuse of the service and retain the right to restrict or terminate use of the service in malicious intend.
    13. Use of ZetaWorlds services to inflict damage, commit crimes, engage in harassment or guideline/rule violations on third-party services(Hypergrid or otherwise) may result in immediate termination.
    14. Circumvention, wilful or otherwise, of any terms in this document may result in restriction or termination of service and or accounts.
    15. Use of the ZetaWorlds name, logo or brand identity implying, directly or indirectly, any association without prior agreement with ZetaWorlds is strictly forbidden.
    16. ZetaWorlds or its operator Zetamex are not liable for any damages caused by volunteers operating under the sanction of ZetaWorlds.
    17. ZetaWorlds makes use of third-party services that require users to sign third-party terms of service agreements if utilized by the user. ZetaWorlds or its operator Zetamex are not responsible for actions of third-parties acting within their terms of service agreements.
    18. Use of unauthorized tools, for, but not exclusively for, circumvention of any terms in this document, licenses of content, permission of content or other restrictions imposed through the software, the users or operators of ZetaWorlds, is grounds for suspension at the sole discretion of the administration.
Guidelines & Rules
  1. Self-hosting Guidelines
    ZetaWorlds is an open grid, allowing anyone to connect their own simulators to the grid and make use of the provided Gridservice for free. Following restrictions apply.

    1. Gridservice is provided "as is", no additional changes or modifications may be made upon request or issues encountered.
    2. Users without a premium or platinum subscriptions are subject to restrictions regarding self-hosted regions
      • Connection of up to 9 equivalent normal regions(256m x 256m) configured on a single instance(one process of OpenSim.exe)* OpenSim/ZetaSim.
      • Regions cannot exceed 768m x 768m in size.
      • Regions should maintain a decent quality of service; Roundabout connection speed, region performance(simFPS) and asset load(Prims, Textures, etc) should be within reasonable limits.
      • Regions found not accepting connections or showing signs of misconfiguration will be removed.
      • Resale of regions, parcels, skyboxes or any other spaces on self-hosted regions is strictly prohibited.
      • Regions need not be placed adjacent or near to regions operated by ZetaWorlds.
    3. User with a premium or platinum subscriptions have some restrictions lifted
      • Premium members may connect up to 48 equivalent normal regions(256m x 256m) to ZetaWorlds.
      • Premium members may connect up to 5 instances(one process of OpenSim.exe)* of OpenSim/ZetaSim.
      • Premium members may place regions adjacent to regions operated by ZetaWorlds after prior approval from the administration.
      • Platinum members may connect up to 100 equivalent normal regions(256m x 256m) to ZetaWorlds.
      • Platinum members may connect up to 15 instances(one process of OpenSim.exe)* of OpenSim/ZetaSim.
      • Platinum members are allowed limited resale of regions or parcels after prior approval from the administration.
      • Regions should maintain a decent quality of service; Roundabout connection speed, region performance(simFPS) and asset load(Prims, Textures, etc) should be within reasonable limits.
      • Regions should accept connections and be properly configured, but must not be available at all times. Proper shutdown and deregistration from the grid is still encouraged.
    4. Region names can only be alphanumeric(0-1,A-z) with hyphens(-) or underscores(_). Regions with special characters will be removed.
    5. Region names must not contain offensive language of any kind, reference other regions, grids, organisations or persons in a negative way, advertise services, contain sexual references, breach any trademark or copyright or violate other local or international law.
    6. Regions connected to ZetaWorlds should allow connections, but must not allow any user to connect. Regions failing to maintain adequate connectivity, performance or configuration may be subject to removal.
    7. Regions connected to ZetaWorlds should never be used to degrade the performance of other regions, the grid or any connected service. Regions found to engage in spam, wilful or otherwise, are subject to removal.
    8. Some coordinates on the grid are reserved, such as neighbouring grid-operated regions and the Ocean Project. ZetaWorlds retains the right to remove regions placed on restricted coordinates. When in doubt contact a grid administrator.
    9. Any attempts to circumvent self-hosting restrictions will result in termination of accounts and regions. This includes registration of alternate accounts and or subscriptions.
    10. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in removal of all regions and termination of account.
    11. ZetaWorlds retains the right to remove any self-hosted region without warning or reason. Repeated violation and removal may result in account termination.
    12. ZetaWorlds uses automated systems and notifications to inform users over violations of these terms and rules. The user agrees to being sent notifications about violations and removals.

    The philosophy behind an open-grid like ZetaWorlds is to encourage the exploration of OpenSim and its usecases. At the same time, providing the GridService carries with it a certain cost in machinery and manhours. The more simulators and regions are connected to the GridService the higher the costs to maintain stability and performance of the GridService. This is why we impose certain restrictions on the use of the GridService by users who do not directly provide compensation for their use of the GridService. We maintain the quality of the GridService through paid-membership subscriptions and the sale of simulators and regions connected to the GridService. The subscriptions and rentals provide the core funding of the service and the majority of the profits generated go toward the improvement and upkeep of the GridService. We do not and cannot accept donations due to the legal entity operating ZetaWorlds being a for-profit company.

    *We check for the used http port configuration to detect multiple simulators, please use consecutive port numbers for the InternalPort parameter of your regions. Should you connect multiple simulators on the same http port we may remove them as one of the simulators will not be accessible from other regions. Any suspect regions may be removed without warning.


  2. Conduct Guidelines & Rules
    ZetaWorlds is subject to general good conduct guidelines and rules that must be observed on all ZetaWorlds-official regions and publicly open regions owned by its users.

    1. Staff directions are to be followed.
    2. Unless otherwise specified any sexual content is strictly forbidden on all ZetaWorlds-official regions.
    3. Abusive, anti-semitic, unwanted or otherwise distasteful behaviour or content is not condoned on any ZetaWorlds-official regions.
    4. ZetaWorlds remains a forum for open discussions of any topic. Should a user take offence to any conversation held in a public setting they may request the conversation to be carried out in a private setting.
    5. Privately owned land with the appropriate permissions set and marked clearly may follow a "Zero-Fucks" Policy. Conversations, conduct or content are subject to local or country-of-origin law of the involved parties.
    6. Use of appropriate labels for mature/adult content is strongly encouraged. Failure to properly label mature/adult content may result in removal of content and restrictions of account or termination.
    7. Public-facing content such as, but not limited to, profiles, profile pictures, search entries, groups, events, places, need not include any content that is overly coercive, sexual, abusive or otherwise offensive in nature.
    8. Breaches of Terms of Service, rules or guidelines on other platforms connected to ZetaWorlds may result in termination of account. ZetaWorlds does not serve as means to facility attacks on other platforms through its services.
    9. Official events may be subject to exemptions or additional guidelines and rules.
    10. Breaches of conduct with sufficient evidence may be reported. ZetaWorlds retains the right to investigate at its own discretion or upon request by authorities.


  3. Ocean Project Guidelines
    The Ocean Project is designed to give ZetaWorlds users a large area of land to enjoy various activities surrounding the aeronautical and nautical sector. It is meant to provide a playground for vehicles and serve as means to connect the Oceanside Estates to one another. To maintain performance and stability of the regions some guidelines apply for its use.

    1. As with all projects of ZetaWorlds, the Ocean Project follows a "use-not-abuse" policy. Any use that is deemed abusive may result in actions taken to remove abusive content, behaviour or users from the project at the sole discretion of ZetaWorlds.
    2. All vessels and vehicles must be cleared from the regions upon logout. Unless otherwise specified they must not remain on any of the Ocean regions.
    3. All vessels and vehicles are required to not cause significant distress for the Ocean regions. If a vessel or vehicle is found to significantly impact the performance of the Ocean regions it may be removed without warning.
    4. Traffic on the Ocean regions is subject to see-and-avoid regulation. All users are required to maintain visual contact with any traffic and take steps to avoid traffic. Always pass to the right. If required, communicate with potential traffic in advance.
    5. Oceanside regions must allow overflight and entry permissions for the connecting land. Temporary closure of parcels or regions for appropriate purpose may be applied, but should be kept to a minimum.
    6. Problems with the Ocean regions, loss of vessels or vehicles and breaches of these guidelines must be reported to staff.
    7. We cannot guarantee the stability or performance of the Ocean regions. Loss of vessels or vehicles in an unrecoverable manner is always possible. Make sure to retain backups of all vessels or vehicles used on the Ocean regions.
    8. As part of a large public space content must be labelled appropriately and should, if possible, be kept within General or Moderate content ratings. Adult content is not explicitly forbidden, but discouraged.
    9. Services provided in conjunction with the Ocean Project are subject to additional terms and guidelines.


  4. Zeta Estate Guidelines
    Zeta Estate are a set of regions that provide free parcels for users that wish to acquire them. These parcels may be subject to additional terms and conditions outlined in their respective covenants.

    1. As with all projects of ZetaWorlds, the Zeta Estate follows a "use-not-abuse" policy. Any use that is deemed abusive may result in actions taken to remove abusive content, behaviour or users from the project at the sole discretion of ZetaWorlds.
    2. Any content that causes significant distress or other problems may be removed from the regions without prior notice to the owner or creator.
    3. Content of adult nature is strictly prohibited on the regions and will be removed without prior notice to the owner or creator.
    4. Where applicable commercial use of the parcels may not exceed or breach the terms outlined in this document.
    5. The parcels are provided "as is" with no guarantee of uptime, stability or performance.
    6. Users are solely responsible for the content they place on their parcels.
    7. Problems with the regions, loss of objects and breaches of these guidelines must be reported to staff.
    8. Longer periods of inactivity will result in land reclaimed and objects returned. Users may coordinate with staff over planned periods of inactivity, but ZetaWorlds retains the right to reclaim land and return objects regardless.
    9. Unless explicitly allowed or coordinated with staff parcels are residential in nature and may not be used for commercial purposes.
    10. Users may not sub-lease or transfer ownership to other users.