These rules are the basis from which we help keep the osu! community a fun and welcoming place for everyone.
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Each player may only have ONE account at any point of time. This account is you. It is not anyone else - not your brother, your mother, your sister, your friend - it is YOU. Don't share your account with anyone else.
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Play fair. Using third-party utilities of any kind to get any sort of advantage is not okay. This includes things like macro programs, aim-assist programs, timescale modification, and so on. If a program is doing something to help you play the game that you should be doing yourself, it isn't okay!
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Be good to each other. Harassment or other antagonism has no place within the osu! community. We're here to click circles, beat drums, catch fruit, and hit up to eighteen keys at once, not to be assholes to each other.
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Don't be a douche. If at any point you are uncertain as to whether you are breaking this rule, you probably are.
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We are an all-ages community. This means that 18+/NSFW (not safe for work) content such as drug use or topics of a sexual nature are not welcome here. Exceptions are made where appropriate for this, but generally speaking, keep it clean.
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Where the rules do not prevail, common sense shall. The administration has explicit discretion to apply their judgment on this as they see fit.
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Be respectful and mindful of other users in the channel, and avoid flooding or spamming. One person taking up half the screen at once is annoying, so avoid doing it wherever possible. Other people are trying to chat too!
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Let the moderators handle issues in the chat. You can point things out to them with the
!report command and they'll handle the rest.
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If someone gets timed out, silenced or restricted, leave them be and don't start talking about them. If someone is restricted, their case involves only them and the game administration - absolutely nobody else!
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Encourage fair play, and don't give attention to cheaters or other toxic users. These people unfortunately do exist, and giving them attention can encourage them to continue, or provoke others to act as they do. Report them via the chat command
!report or the buttons on their profile page and move on.
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Keep the chat clean and appropriate for an all-ages community, avoiding NSFW topics where possible. NSFW stuff really isn't appropriate for an all-ages community. Do what you like in private messages (within reason) but keep the public channels squeaky clean for everyone's sake.
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Be mindful of what you share with others, especially if the content is potentially disturbing or very graphic in nature. If you have to think twice about whether something is appropriate to link, it probably isn't okay. Avoid things with fast, strobing lights, gore, images of abuse or other graphic material.
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Keep links to relevant and legal websites. Bootleg streaming websites (officially licensed ones like Animelab and Crunchyroll are OK) and anything related to "warez" or pirated software of any kind aren't okay, and we don't want them in our chat. Advertising Twitch links for other video games is okay, but ONLY in
#videogames.
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Don't advertise third-party chat servers of any kind, including Discord, Teamspeak or Skype servers/groups. The osu! chat is about osu! foremost and not about sharing links to your personal servers. Do it via PM if you absolutely have to.
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In language-specific channels, you must speak the dominant language (English for #english, Thai for #thai, etc) if you are participating in discussion. Where the language for a channel is not explicitly stated (or inferred from the channel name, as in Thai for
#thai and Dutch for #dutch), it is always English. The #lobby and #help channels can be used with any and every language, unlike other channels. Members of the moderation staff do not need to follow this rule when doing their work.
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Post only meaningful, interesting or otherwise engaging content/topics. Forums are about discussions foremost, so make sure to put the effort in to make it worth everyone's time.
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Keep your posts and replies suitable for people of all-ages. NSFW content isn't appropriate for an all-ages community, though there's nothing stopping you from discussing these sorts of things in private messages.
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Be productive with your criticism without resorting to personal attacks. Criticism is a wonderful thing when done properly, but if you're resorting to personal attacks to make your point, you're doing it wrong and you should feel bad.
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Keep threads relevant, and avoid resurrecting older topics if the conversation has died out. If a topic has been dead for years, it isn't really relevant any more, so just let it fade away. Post a new one, or maybe search and see if someone has answered your question already.
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Keep your signatures and avatars reasonable. If they're animated, they shouldn't strobe or flash excessively. They should also be of a filesize small enough for users with slower connections to not feel their presence on the page, ideally under half a megabyte (500 kilobytes) where possible.
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Don't post advertisements, referral links or any other annoying or intrusive content. Things like affiliate and referral links are fun for the person posting them and an annoyance for everybody else, so don't do it. Autoloading or autoplaying content/embeds falls within this rule as well.
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Linking to applications or utilities of uncertain intent is not allowed. Put simply, if there is any doubt as to the legality of said utilities, they are not welcome to be posted.
These rules apply strictly to beatmaps submitted via the in-game Beatmap Submission System. These threads/discussions are created via the osu! client when a beatmap is submitted through the editor.
A set of more detailed rules for beatmap construction exists, known as the Ranking Criteria.
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Make sure you have permission to use any content involved in your beatmap. This includes songs, videos, hit sounds, graphics, and any other content that isn't your own creation. If you are unsure of where to find content that is free to use, we have a growing library of tracks available at the Featured Artist listing, all 100% licensed for use in osu!.
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Stay on topic in Beatmap discussions. These threads/discussions are about the beatmap in question, and nothing else. If you have an issue with something not directly pertaining to the beatmap, post it in the appropriate forum.
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Do not plagiarise or attempt to steal the work of others. Do not also upload or use other people's work without their explicit permission (including, but not limited to, skins and guest difficulties).
The rules below apply ONLY to the Off-Topic subforum unless otherwise stated.
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No topic in Off-Topic has value. They are put simply, trash. If your threads keep getting moved to Off-Topic, they are being judged to be unworthy of serious discussion. Take the hint.
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Excessive stupidity is bad. Being endearingly dumb is fine, and falls into the modus operandi of shitposting. Genuine stupidity is never fine. If you are unable to distinguish the difference, you're already breaking the rule.
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Birthday threads are allowed only in Off-Topic, and nowhere else. All birthday threads must be accompanied with no less than three (3) images of dancing anime girls or they will be ruthlessly thrown under a bus.
If you do find yourself on the wrong end of our community rules, bad things will happen.
These bad things may include (but are not limited to):
- The removal of your ability to chat in-game for a period of time (known as a silence)
- The removal of any infringing content from your userpage, profile or uploaded beatmaps
- The loss of the privilege to edit or alter your userpage or profile details
- The loss of the privilege to play or qualify in officially hosted tournaments
Silences and other infringements automatically increase in duration near-exponentially with each infringement. Moderators do not control the length of time you are silenced for an offense - repeat offenders will find themselves locked out of the game for increasingly longer periods of time.
Certain offenses carry a minimum duration (usually 48 hours or more) if they are particularly severe, though they are almost exclusively reserved for severe infractions, such as sharing graphic content or unrepentant harassment of other users.
If after several infringements you continue to break the rules, your account may be permanently and irrevocably restricted.
Restricted accounts can not play online, set scores, chat with other users and are for all intents and purposes 'banned' from interaction with the community. Restriction for community rule violation can only be removed upon appeal to the game staff after 3 months have passed.
Severe offenses that go well beyond the scope of our rules and into the jurisdiction of illegal content as per international common law will result in immediate account termination. This applies nearly exclusively to extremely graphic or otherwise abhorrent offenses, such as the distribution of child pornography or other material of abuse.