Project Uploading & Updating guidelines

These guidelines only apply to PenguinMod's project sharing.
If you are packaging your project to post on other websites, you should follow their rules instead.

Also, let us know of any necessary changes we should make by talking to us using any of these contact methods here.

How to report projects/users

Clicking on a "Report" link on a user's profile will open a new tab to report the person.
Clicking on a "Report" link below a project on PenguinMod Studio will open a new tab to report the project.
Please use these menus to report content as it is easy for our moderators to view & handle.

Using the report feature multiple times on the same content will result in moderation action on your account.
Please only report projects or users once. You may specify multiple reasons to report content on the report page by choosing "Other" as a report reason.

If for any reason you cannot access the report page, please contact us using any of these contact methods here.

Base requirements for a project

Uploading empty or default projects will get your project removed.
Please do not do this multiple times as your account's ability to upload will be limited if we see you doing this.

Projects that are based around using an iframe or other method to display other websites or projects will be removed.
This is a rule because the only purpose of this is to show content that is not yours or can be viewed anyways in your browser.
(This may not apply to projects uploaded before October 6th, 2023 due to communication issues.)

Credit

Users should be properly credited within your project's info.
Your project may be removed if specific people or groups are not mentioned in your project's notes & credits.

Using short-terms like "credit to all" or "C2A" may not be allowed as individual users are not mentioned.
If a user or group is not on PenguinMod, you may use their name instead.

Please note, you do not need to credit the use of:

• PenguinMod as a platform
• PenguinMod extensions used inside the project (custom extensions not included)
• Your own created content (if you don't want to mention yourself)

Spam / Project updates

Do not just upload the same project multiple times.
To properly update a project, you can either:

• Click on the Update button on the Upload page, and click on any project.
• Go to the "My Stuff" page (or click the folder icon) on PenguinMod's home page and click the 3 dots on any project, then click "Edit Project".

If you keep uploading the same project multiple times, you may not be able to post projects for a day or more
(depending on if you already got punished for it).

Projects uploaded that were shared on Scratch (Scratch Reuploads)

If you are just taking a Scratch project that was shared on Scratch and uploading it onto PenguinMod, please note the following:

• You must own the project you are reuploading. Reuploading other user's projects is not allowed as of January 27th, 2024.
• If you are given permission to reupload another user's project, please include proof in the project's notes.

Moderators may remove your project if you reupload other people's projects without their permission.

The original creators of the project have the right to remove your PenguinMod reupload if they report the project.
This is also true even if you have stated you have permission to reupload the project by the original creator.

PenguinMod Mods / Forks

If your project only works outside of PenguinMod, don't upload it to our site.
All PenguinMod projects should actually work on PenguinMod, please upload your project to it's respective site to avoid problems for us.

(Note for developers: If we get a lot of projects uploaded from your mod that don't work on PenguinMod, we'll likely end up blocking your site from the API. See here for details.)

"Chatroom" Projects or Projects based around online chatting

Please do not upload these types of projects anymore.
Old projects may also be reported and taken down, but you will not receive punishment for them.

These types of projects are no longer allowed due to the PenguinMod team not being able to control these spaces properly,
and we do not believe we will be able to keep these types of projects safe for everyone in the future.

Projects with an online chat feature

This section is talking about projects that have online chat, but aren't focused around it.

As of now, you are not currently allowed to have online chatting within your project unless:

• Users can only use hand-picked phrases or sentences to chat
• Users can use specific emotes or "emoji" that are hand-picked to ensure safe chat

We are planning on developing online chat systems to allow creators to have a moderated but easily usable chatting feature.

There is no estimated time when this guideline will be lifted, or when our online chat system will be usable for these projects.

Preventing or Removing access to parts of PenguinMod

You may not remove or prevent access to any part of the project or website.
You may change what the pause and stop buttons do on a project if they do similar actions to what they did originally.
Pausing a project should always pause or stop all audio or video aswell.

Actions that may result in the removal of your project include, but are not limited to:

• Removing or preventing the use of the "See Inside", "File", or "Report" button
• Removing access to the project or site if the user is not a specific person
• Removing sprites, costumes or sounds if the project is opened

If the moderators can not access the project and its contents from within the site, it will be removed.
Using these actions to prevent remixing or reuploading will be implemented into PenguinMod at a later date.
Preventing remixing or reuploading currently will get your project removed as it will limit the ability for moderators to access your project.

Limits on Audio/Sound

If any audio clips in your project are past the top of the audio preview in the Sounds tab,
moderators are allowed to mute/remove the offending audio or remove your project entirely.

This also applies if you are using multiple audio clips to play loud/unpleasant audio.

If you intend to include loud audio in the project, you must display a warning screen that the user must interact with to continue.
Stating loud sounds are in the project using the title, instructions or notes is not sufficent.

Be respectful to others.

Your project cannot contain any derogatory terms (slurs).
Your project will be removed and repeated violation will cause your account to be banned.

Be respectful of any real-world events that harmed others in any way.
(don't make fun of people who were affected, or don't make a comedic version of the event.)

You cannot threaten, intimidate, harass, or bully others in any form. This includes but is not limited to:

• Harassment, intimidation, or humiliation of PenguinMod users through other platforms
• Direct threats of physical harm or violence against individuals or groups
• Stalking or repeated messages, comments, or requests for personal information of another user
• Sharing personal information about another user, mainly with the intent to harm or intimidate them

You cannot make reference to discrimination or discriminate of certain things like:

• Age
• Race
• Religion
• Sexual Orientation
• Gender & Pronouns
• Disabilities

Any content that promotes or encourages harassment, bullying, mass-reporting or intimidation based on the prior characteristics or rules will be removed.
This may be noted as "drama" and repeated violation will cause your account to be banned.

Acts of extreme violence or death

You cannot make reference to:

• Suicide
• Self-harm
• Terrorism
• Death Threats

Any content that promotes or encourages suicide, self-harm or creating/sending death threats will not be tolerated, and your account will be banned.

Content related to, glorifying, or referencing mass shootings, bombings, or any form of violent extremism will be removed.
Repeated violation will cause your account to be banned.

Keeping others safe

Your project should not put others in danger. General rules for this are:

• You cannot force others to download malicious material or link them to malicious material
• You cannot use their general location without full consent
• You cannot ask others for their full name, password on any site, phone number, email address, or legal details
• You cannot take pictures of others without full consent

Faking personal information (ex: showing a fake IP address) should be noted in the project itself or the project's notes.
If you need to use the user's general location, it is recommended to use a simple and understandable "yes or no" prompt for permission.

Downloading malicious material may be an executable application or DLL that contains spyware, malware, ransomware, etc.
Your account will be instantly banned and you may be reported to the Scratch Team or security services if your project does this.

Profanity (Curse words/Swear words, Swearing, Explicit/Strong language)

Swearing is allowed inside of projects, but it should be used sparingly and in moderation.
Avoid excessive swearing, such as including profanity in every other sentence, or using more than two swear words per sentence.

If additional profanity is necessary for your project's content, you must either censor the profanity
or provide a clear warning at the beginning indicating that the project contains explicit language.

Projects may not use profanity, swear words, or explicit/strong language inside of their title, instructions, notes & credits, or thumbnail.
Your project may be edited or removed if this is the case.

Limits on Blood and Gore

If your project contains large amounts of blood, it must have a warning somewhere at the start of the project and in the project instructions.
Cartoon gore may also fall under this rule if it contains constant or extreme use of body parts or blood.

Blood cannot be realistic or be taken from a real-world picture.
Skeletons of humans or animals may be allowed if the context contains them inside of a currently alive character, and non-graphic or lighthearted.
Use of skeletons for comedic effect is allowed if the context is non-graphic and lighthearted.

Dead bodies of human characters should not be used more than once or twice at a time.
Dead bodies should be used in a non-graphic manner.
Human bodies/skeletons should be used sparingly with caution, and cannot be piled or contain blood.

Disturbing content

Content that actively attempts to trigger phobias such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders) should be behind a warning.
If not intentional, you likely wont receive any punishment other than a project removal.

You cannot include content containing:

• Animal abuse, mutilation and or torture
• Realistic, graphic or real-world depictions of extreme gore, graphic violence, or death

Uploading a project including this content may result in your account being banned from the platform.

Sexual content or references

Sexual content cannot be included at all in your project, including references to sexual material such as genitals or pornographic websites.
Sexual activities or themes may not be referenced, encouraged, or shown either.

Disturbing content (ex: characters consuming each-other, "inflating" a character) may also fall under these rules.
Content or references to kinks or fetishes will also be removed.

You may receive heavy punishment including an account ban if these rules are broken.

Drugs, alcohol and illegal material

You cannot display or encourage others to take drugs (medical, illegal, etc.), drink alcohol, or vape.
Displaying drugs (medical, illegal, etc.) in any context is not allowed. This also includes the act of dealing/providing drugs.

You cannot display or include content that violates local, national, or international laws,
or do/encourage anything that violates those laws.

You cannot encourage others to use real-life guns or explosives.
You also cannot:

• Encourage or make reference to shooting living things in real life
• Encourage or make reference to shooting buildings in real life

Use other platforms sparingly.

If you are linking to a seperate Discord or site anywhere on your project (including iframes),
your actions on that site (or the site itself if it is not a major platform) must not endanger others
or display content to them that is only appropriate for certain ages.

External sites also cannot be scams or information-stealing websites.

Ideally, external links should follow all rules here wherever they can.

Money

You cannot sell products for real money inside your project to prevent any misleading messages or scam products.

However, you are allowed to use external platforms such as Patreon or Shopify for monetization.
When linking to external platforms, please ensure that the content and activities on these platforms align with our guidelines.

Please note that any monetization efforts should be transparent and respectful.
Avoid using deceptive practices or misleading users around your products.

If you need any extra details for your specific use of these platforms, please talk to us using any of these contact methods here.
If you would like to use other platforms not mentioned here, please reach out to us for approval.

Copyright

You are responsible for making sure you have the necessary rights, licenses, or permission for any user-generated content you submit to PenguinMod.
PenguinMod will remove your project if the project violates copyright rules for any specific company or individual, and you may face further punishment.
Any company, business, or individual reserves the right to take down your project if they believe it violates their copyright.
We will also remove your project if it contains pirated content or material, and you may face further punishment.

Reasons your project might be removed include, but are not limited to:

• Including logos or designs without explicit permission from the owner(s)
• Using other people's artwork or music without explicit permission from the owner(s)
• Using/Repurposing content from another PenguinMod user without their permission

If you are a company or individual and believe your copyright has been violated, please check contact methods here.