Please read the rules, located at the bottom of this post.
List of HP related channels:
#Housepets - The official HP chatroom.
#Pet_Friendly - The official chatroom for our silly roleplay called "Pet Friendly".
#BsM - Chatroom for Brookshire Meadows, a neighborhood in "Pet Friendly".
#RV - Chatroom for Richardson Valley, a neighborhood in "Pet Friendly".
#OT - Chatroom for Oasis Tower, a neighborhood in "Pet Friendly".
#YsF - Chatroom for Yorkshire Fields, a neighborhood in "Pet Friendly".
#Rad.Gardens - Chatroom for Radiant Gardens, a neighborhood in "Pet Friendly".
#Sun - Chatroom for Sunset Plateau, a neighborhood in "Pet Friendly".
In addition to the forums, I created our own chatroom.
The channel #Housepets has now been registered on irc.gamesurge.net.
EDIT: Much easier way to join by an application created by Kyderra! Read his post here!
For those unfamiliar with IRC, here's how you can join, using mIRC:
1. Download and install mIRC from http://www.mirc.com
2. Create an account on http://www.gamesurge.net (Optional)
3. Verify your email and take note of your password (Optional)
4. Run mIRC and type the following commands:
/server irc.gamesurge.net
Wait until you're connected to the server.
/authserv auth username password
(replacing "username" and "password" with your values, optional, if you registered above)
You should get an automatic response indicating "-AuthServ- I recognize you."
/join #Housepets
And that's it.
If you can't install mIRC or want to visit #Housepets without downloading additional software, visit http://www.gamesurge.net/chat.
Enjoy, and I hope to see you all there!
This has been discussed with Rick. Here to quote his words: "I am currently not interested in maintaining an IRC channel". That's why I am doing the moderation of it, and I can assure you that I am not abusing it in any way. Here also to quote my words to Rick: "Of course, if/when you join, I will make you a master immediately." That basically means that if Rick ever joins the channel (Which he has never done yet), he will be the main moderator of the channel.
Important rules
The following 7 rules ARE NOT FOR DISCUSSION. Break them at your own risk.
1)IF YOU CAN'T ASK IN THE FORUMS, DON'T ASK IN THE CHANNEL!
This is self-explanatory. All forum rules apply in all HP related channels.
2)DO NOT ASK ANYONE FOR, OR LINK TO COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IN THE CHANNEL.
This is forbidden! I don't want any talk about ISOs, obtaining MP3s, movies, games or whatever. You will be temporary banned from the channel if you get caught talking about this!
3)ABSOLUTELY NO TALK ABOUT PORNOGRAPHY, NO LINKS TO PORNOGRAPHY, NO "DRAWING" PORNOGRAPHY (by writing symbols and letters on more lines in the channel)!!!
Not just that I am disgusted by any kind of pornography, but it is strictly against the forum rules! You will be permanently banned from the channel if you break this rule.
4)NO LINKING TO SHOCK SITES AND SITES THAT CONTAIN MALWARE!
I don't care how funny a shock site is, DO NOT link to them. As the moderator, I will have to check every link posted in the channel, and I really wouldn't like my PC to get infected by something.
5)ABSOLUTELY NO FLAMING/TROLLING!
I don't care what it is, if you call someone a derogatory name or flame anything, expect to be dealt with swiftly, and usually severely. And by "anything" I mean ANYTHING! Flaming others in PMs will get treated as flaming in the channel. In addition, harassing users or saying inflammatory things to make them react is unacceptable on ANY HP channel.
6)ABSOLUTELY NO RACISM/RELIGIOUS/SEXUAL HARASSMENT!
- Racism isn't funny, especially in a channel with users you likely don't know in real life. Sorry, it just isn't.
- I don't care about political or religious debates, just remember everyone is entitled to their own, equal opinion, don't flame, etc. Be civil and friendly.
- Calling things 'gay' isn't funny. Subsequently, you'll be penalized. Lame? Sorry, like it or leave.
7)NO ADVERTISING NON-HP CHATROOMS/CHANNELS
Do not advertise your chat channels in ANY of the HP related channels, and do not harass users to join via PMs. If the advertised room's rating is higher than ours, it could be grounds for a ban from the IRC, depending on the content and use of the channel.
8)NO SWEARING
This rule is not up for discussion. ONE swear word will lead to a one-hour devoice, and more than one will lead to a one-day ban. Linking to something that has a swear word inside (Picture, video) will have the same consequences.
ANYONE WHO POINTS OUT THAT SOMEONE SWORE WILL BE DEVOICED FOR ONE HOUR! If you see someone swear, your job is to keep the logs or to take a snapshot or whatever, and show it to ME (Or any other mod present)!
Minor rules
The following rules don't result in a ban/kick, but please follow them. You will be warned via PM (in IRC) if you break them multiple times. Continue, and you will be dealt with.
Don't spam the channel!
- The considerate limit for consecutive lines from one user in IRC is 4, with very few exceptions. If you feel it necessary to repeat yourself, go "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG" on one line rather than five "OMG"s on five lines, you get the idea. Expect a devoice (timeout) or a kick if you spam the channel. Expect the same if you abuse the CAPS lock. Expect the same if you repeatedly change your IRC nickname in an annoying fashion.
- There is not always active conversation in the channel. Do not fill the void with "it's quiet" "I'm bored" "someone talk" or anything of the like. You're on the Internet. If you're bored, you're not trying hard enough, and this channel does not exist for your personal entertainment. Of course, feel free to start talking about something to "revive" the channel. If you're drunk and typing every thought that pops into your mind into the channel, I will remove your ability to do so.
- Intentionally spelling words wrong, interjecting with "inb4," "lrn2," "wat"-type chat will be considered spamming since it possesses no value in the channel. Expect a devoice (timeout), temp-ban or perma-ban depending on how persistently annoying you are. If you wish to act like an illiterate child, there are plenty of other forums and IRC channels for you to do so, not ours.
No auto-triggering scripts, bold/underline text use.
- If you're saying something interesting, that'll distinguish you enough. If you manually trigger an AMIP or 'Now Playing' script once or twice that's fine. Just don't have it set to automatically announce every time a new song comes on. If it gets out of hand, they'll go back to being disallowed.
- Do not CTCP ping, version, time or finger any users in the channel. Do not send a channel-wide notice at any time, for any reason. If a user notifies me of someone doing this, you'll be removed from the channel, temporarily or permanently.
Keep intimate displays of affection to a minimum!
- It's quite true that furries can be much more touchy-feely than most people, but most of the cuddling and licking and stuff makes us look really furry. It's awkward for the non-furries, and can make some groups of people look exclusive as well as scaring people away. Remember, #Housepets isn't exclusive to furries alone!
- Glomping, hugging, and such stuff are okay. Intimate displays of affection should be avoided. It's much like how people can get very awkward or uncomfortable around a couple that is kissing or snuggling in an open park.
- It doesn't matter even if "you know what the limits are," because it's still FAR too easy to cross that limit unintentionally. That is no excuse to justify acts that can potentially jeopardize the comfortableness of other users!
-This rule applies to everyone and everything. Don't forget that.
If you have a problem with rules, discuss with a moderator in PM!
- Arguing about rules in the main chatroom can raise the tension very easily. We are trying to avoid drama and you are not helping by raising the tension. You will be devoiced if you keep on doing it, especially when you start to anger or annoy other users.
- Don't argue with another user about the rules. If another user is causing problems, just start IRC PM'ing mods until one responds. If no mod is present, you can still keep logs to prove that someone was causing trouble.