Terms of Service

Created: 13 January 2023, 22:51:20 UTC
Last updated: 12 November 2024, 03:24:07 UTC

Terms and Conditions

Contained in this document are the Terms and Conditions (“T&C”, “T.O.S.”, “Terms” “Terms and Conditions”, “Terms of Service”) for the Genekits Species, ARPG, website, DeviantArt Group, Discord Community, and all official affiliated services connected to Genekits. 

Please read these Terms carefully before engaging with any of our services. By accessing or utilizing any of our services, including but not limited to those listed above as well as purchasing a design created under the Genekits name, you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions. 

Failure to abide by these Terms will result in disciplinary action in the form of warnings, strikes, and bans, depending on the severity of the infraction. We reserve the right to deny access to any of our services to those users who break these Terms and Conditions.

Sec. 1 - General Terms and Conditions

1.1 - All original content, lore, artwork, and all official Genekits affiliated services are the intellectual property of GenekitsARPG.com and its owners. These services and original content are protected by copyright and may not be used by any third-party product without the written consent of Sunnyside.

1.2 - Genekits were created in 2023 by Sunnyside, Chimaru, wickedfoul, fallenfishy, and lavender. All Genekit content and official affiliated services are all fully owned by Sunnyside.

1.3 - Genekits are considered a closed species, meaning only those hired by Genekits (“Artists”, “Nursery Artists”) can create characters under the Genekits name. Users may not make their own official Genekit without express permission from Sunnyside, or the appropriate item(s) provided by the Genekits website.

1.4 - Genekits has a minimum age requirement of 16 years old in order to participate in any Genekits affiliated services. Any and all content posted to any official Genekits services must remain PG16. Any content deemed inappropriate will be removed, and disciplinary action will be taken. 

1.5 - Any submissions to Genekits services have a one-week grace period, including submissions for time-sensitive events, in order to ensure an adequate work-life balance for our staff. Do not bother members of staff to get them to review your submission faster! This will result in disciplinary action

1.5.1 - If your submission has taken longer than a week to be approved, please reach out to Sunnyside so she can review the matter. 

1.6 - Staff openings will be advertised both here and on our discord server when we are accepting applications. Do not ask to join our staff if no openings have been posted.

Sec. 2 - Community Guidelines

2.1 - Genekits does not allow promotion or engagement with any Illegal, harmful, or hateful content. Any participation with or support of content such as, but not limited to; racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, paedophilia, bestiality, grooming, harassment, DDOS, etc, will lead to an immediate ban from all Genekits related services.

2.2 - Treat all Genekits Staff and users with respect. Regardless of who the individual is, we aim to create a fun, diverse, and, most importantly, safe space for everyone involved. Rudeness towards anyone within the species will lead to a warning or even a ban. 

2.3 - Harassment, block-evading, spamming, trolling, gossiping, and bullying will not be tolerated, and will lead to disciplinary action, up to and including immediate bans depending on the severity. 

2.4 - “Mini-modding” is not permitted within official Genekits services. Questions or concerns should be directed to the appropriate members of staff to avoid the spread of misinformation.

2.5 - It is prohibited to ask for trades or to purchase Genekits from members of our community who have not expressly stated recently that their Genekits are up for trade/sale.

2.6 - You cannot claim ownership of characters that are not your own. Doing so will result in disciplinary action, up to and including bans.

2.7 - You are not permitted to use characters or assets owned by another user without their express permission. If you do not own a Genekit and wish to participate in the ARPG, we have many NPCs for you to utilize instead.

Sec. 3 - Account and Character Ownership

3.1 - An account on GenekitsARPG.com is required in order to adopt or obtain a Genekit. 

3.2 - You are only allowed one account. Those found to be using multiple accounts will have all of their accounts banned.

3.3 - You must link an active Deviant Art account connected to your account on GenekitsARPG.com to authenticate your account in order to participate in any activities or Genekits-affiliated services.

3.3.1 - We do require proof that you have been active in some sort of art space or community for at least the 2 months prior before being allowed to purchase or adopt a Genekit from one of our artists. This is to ensure you are in fact a real, unique individual. If you are unsure if you qualify for this clause, contact a mod to discuss. If you attempt to purchase a Genekit when ineligable, a mod will contact you. Repeated offenses may result in disciplinary action

3.3.2 - You must have a Deviant Art account in order to participate in Genekits, even if you are not active on that site.

3.4 - Genekits cannot be co-owned. The only recognized owner is the one listed on the character’s profile on the Genekits website.

3.5 - If you have purchased a Genekit and the Genekit is not listed under your name on the website, please contact an Archivist with sufficient proof of ownership.

3.6 - You are not permitted to use an existing Genekit in any official capacity until it is listed under your ownership on the Genekits website. You may, however, use them in personal artwork and stories prior to the transfer of ownership being processed, provided you have sufficient proof of ownership.

3.7 - Sufficient proof of ownership includes but is not limited to the following:

      • Paypal invoice or proof of money transfer between the artist/previous owner, specifically referencing the Genekit in the description.
      • The original sale page where you are listed as the owner.
      • The original contest page where you are listed as the winner.
      • Transfer of ownership from previous owner/artist on toyhou.se
      • Screenshot proof the previous owner explicitly stating they are gifting/selling/trading the Genekit to you. In the event of a sale/trade, proof that your side of the deal has been completed is also required.

3.8 - Genekits are for personal use only. Commercial use of any designs (including alternate forms of Genekit designs), artwork or assets is prohibited for individual users.

3.9 - Once a Genekit is under your ownership, you may:

      • Add traits and change the anatomy of the Genekit using in-game items 
      • Revamp the design of your Genekit, as long as the original integrity of the design is maintained. (This is up to the discretion of staff as to whether the integrity of the design has been maintained)
      • Use the design as a representation of yourself, or “Genesona” - note that designs made as a Genekit will always be bound to the T.O.S. of the species. 
      • Use your Genekit in prompts and events.
      • Write about or draw your Genekit, and share this work publicly.
      • Roleplay and find a mate for your Genekit
      • Have your Genekit participate in breedings where their design will influence the outcome

3.10 - Genekits’ lore is made to be incredibly flexible, however if you do not wish to use this lore in your personal stories, you are not required to. You are more than welcome to create completely separate AUs (alternate universes) for your characters, or build off the existing lore in whatever way you wish.

3.11 - Genekits cannot be removed entirely from the species. If you wish to leave the Genekits community, you can request to have all of your Genekits retired and hidden from public view. A record of their Genekit form will be kept for archival purposes only, viewable only to staff members.

3.11.1 -     If you wish to retire your Genekits, you must retire all of them at once. You will not be able to obtain any more Genekits while your current ones are retired.

3.11.2 -     If you wish to come back to Genekits at any point, you can ask to have them unretired so you can participate in the group once more.

3.11.3 -     If it is suspected that this privilege is being abused in any way, your Genekits will not be unretired.

3.11.4 -     Retiring Genekits does not free them from these T.O.S., including resale rules.

3.11.5 -     If selling a retired Genekit, the user must be transparent with the buyer about the design’s origin so they are aware of these T.O.S.. Failure to do so will result in a ban from Genekits.

3.12 - Genekits can have alt forms, including those in other closed species that have a similar rule. 

3.12.1 -     All forms of the Genekit must be owned by the same user. They cannot be sold separately. This includes alternate palettes.

3.12.2 -     All forms of the Genekit must be linked on the Genekit’s masterlist page. This includes all forms prior to the design becoming a Genekit, and all forms created after the Genekit form.

3.12.3 -    Failure to comply with these terms will result in disciplinary action, up to and including a ban for scamming.

Sec. 4 - Purchasing Agreement and Resale Rules

4.1 - You must be 18 years of age or older, or have proof of parental consent if under 18, to purchase anything with USD from an official Genekits affiliated service.

4.2 - All USD purchases from Genekits affiliated services will be done via Paypal, unless otherwise specified by the artist/ provider of the service.

4.3 - Official Genekits Artists are considered freelancers, and as such may have their own personal T.O.S. to go along with their designs, including blacklists from purchasing/owning. Both the artist’s and Genekit’s T.O.S. apply to each design brought into Genekits, including any one-off designs you bring in. Ensure you are familiar with both sets of Terms and Conditions before purchasing/obtaining/gifting a Genekit. In the event where the Genekits’ and artist’s T.O.S. conflict, the stricter of the two shall be upheld.

4.3.1 -   If it is found you have broken an artist's T.O.S., purposefully or otherwise, disciplinary action will be taken.

4.3.2 -   All Official Genekits Artists T.O.S. can be found here

4.4 - The price of a new Genekit adopt will never exceed $500

4.5 - All payments must be completed within 48 hours, unless an alternative pay period/plan has been discussed and agreed upon by both the user and artist. If payment is not received, or notice of late payment is not provided, the Genekit will go back up for sale.

4.5.1 -     Artists are not required to give extensions if a late payment notice is received. It is entirely up to their discretion at that point if they wish to hold the Genekit for the user or put it back up for sale.

4.5.2 -     Payment plans are determined on an artist-to-artist, adopt-to-adopt basis. It is entirely up to the artist’s discretion. Some artists may require a non-refundable deposit to start a payment plan.

4.6 - When participating in a Genekits Auction, ensure that you are able to pay for the Genekit in full, as soon as the auction is over.

4.6.1 - Retracting a bid after it has been placed is prohibited, and will result in a warning. Repeated offenses will lead to being  banned from being able to purchase Genekits, and possibly a ban from the species entirely. Individual artists may ban you from their adopts entirely after one offence - this is up to their discretion.

4.6.2 - If, over the course of an auction, an emergency comes up and you have to retract your bid, this is something you can discuss with your artist. This does not cover expected or suspected expenses (i.e. if your car has been making a funny noise and you know it has to go to the shop, this does not constitute an emergency. Keep these sort of expenses in mind when you are bidding)

4.6.3 - If you suspect you will need a payment plan, it is on you to discuss this with the artist before you bid. Any bids you place prior to coming to an agreement with your artist you will be obligated to pay in full once the auction ends, if you are the winner. Artists are not obligated to provide payment plan options, that is entirely up to their discretion, as are the terms of those payment plans.

4.7 - All sales are final; we will not provide any refunds for items or Genekits purchased on the Genekits website, or through any official Genekits-affiliated services. Any form of chargeback will result in the items/Genekit being revoked, and the user being permanently banned from making any future purchases from Genekits-affiliated services, and may result in a ban from the species entirely.

4.8 - Genekits may be resold for the price they were originally sold for + the cost of any commissioned art they come with. If the art increases the price of the Genekit by more than 25%, proof of worth should be available. It is highly recommended that any purchasers ask for proof of worth before buying any Genekit for higher than their listed price. Price gouging is prohibited, and will lead to disciplinary action. (ex. Listed price for the Genekit is $100. The owner may sell it for $100 + the cost of the commissioned art, with proof of the worth of the art)

4.8.1 -     Art made for personal use by the owner and/or art received as a gift can only increase the price of the Genekit by up to 25%. In the case of free Genekits, personal/gift art can increase the price of a Genekit to up to $__ (the price of a standard myo). Any suspected abuse of this rule will lead to disciplinary action. (ex. Listed price for a Genekit is $100, and the only art it comes with was gifted/made by the owner/no proof of price is available. The owner may sell the Genekit for a max of $125)

4.8.2 -    The resale of MYO Genekits which brought in outside designs (one offs or alt forms for other closed species) have additional, separate rules for resale. Please see the MYO section of this T.O.S. document for more information on the resale of these Genekits.

4.9 - Genekits can be traded for whatever you like. It is prohibited to ask for more in a voucher than the Genekit is worth. Doing so constitutes price gouging, which is prohibited and will lead to disciplinary action. Offering more than the Genekit is worth is not recommended as you will not be able to ask for the same value back.

4.9.1 -     When trading with other users, once you have transferred ownership of the Genekit to the other user, it is considered theirs regardless of whether their half of the trade is completed or not. We highly recommend that if you trade your Genekit for anything other than another character on-site to wait until their side of the deal is complete until you trade them over to avoid any issues if they do not complete their side of the deal. If this does occur, staff will be able to help if you provide enough proof that their side of the trade was not completed.

4.10 - If you do not wish to/are unable to sell or trade your Genekit, you can rehome them either by yourself or with the help of Genekits staff. If you chose to host a competition/minigame/raffle to rehome your Genekit, the following terms apply:

      • Competitions / raffles / minigames must end within a month of posting.
      • If someone enters a competition / raffle / minigame for the character, they must be given to a participant, even if only one user joins in. The only exception to this rule is if the entrant is blacklisted by the original artist of the Genekit.
      • You have 2 weeks after the competitions / raffles / minigames to choose a winner. If this is not completed, staff will send a reminder. If after an additional 3 days from the reminder we either have not heard from you or you have not announced the winner of the competition (unless discussed with staff and an agreed-upon outcome has been made) we will close the competition and announce a winner on your part. After this, you will no longer be allowed to host competitions / raffles / minigames, etc.

4.11 - If we find that users are being scammed by others (for example; sending chargebacks for readopt payments, blocking users after they receive their side of the trade, etc) these users will be banned immediately from the species.  If communication ceases from a user in a trade, this may be seen as scamming behaviour and, depending on circumstance, could be issued a warning or ban.

4.12 - The resale / trading / gifting of Genekits must follow the unique T.O.S. of the artist as well as these Terms.

4.13 - When trading / selling / rehoming Genekits, they are to be transferred by the user on-site to the new owner. All users involved in the trade will need accounts on the Genekits website. The only exceptions to this rule are for MYO Genekits that brought in outside designs. Please see the MYO section of this T.O.S. document for more information on the rehoming of these Genekits.

Sec. 5 - Character Usage, Make-Your-Owns (MYOs) and Design Alterations.

5.1 - In order to use your Genekit within the ARPG for prompts or events, or to use them in a breeding, they must be listed on the GenekitsARPG.com website under your name.

5.2 - The design on your Genekit’s masterlist entry is considered their up-to-date reference. This reference can be done on either custom lines, or on our official lineset.

5.3 - Minimal shading is allowed on your Genekit’s official masterlist reference as we only allow shading on the eyes and hair.

5.4 - You may include accessories on your Genekit’s reference, however we do require an itemless ref to be submitted first.

5.5 - You may revamp the design of your Genekit as long as it is still recognizable as the original design. (i.e. retains the integrity of the original design through key motifs / patterns / colours)

5.6 - You can create your own Genekit with the use of MYO items. This is the only way you can create your own Genekit.

5.7 - For Make-Your-Owns (MYOs), you are allowed to bring in characters from outside of the species, such as from an independent artist or another closed species, should the artist / species allow it (Proof is required). If you do so, the original design (and all other future alt forms of this character) must be linked on their masterlist page and are considered the same character. All forms of the character must be owned by the same person at all times.

5.7.1 -     The resale value for MYOs that bring in outside character designs will be set to zero, regardless of the value of the original character. When reselling MYOs of this type, you will be reselling the original form of the character, not the Genekit form. The Genekit form will come as a valueless bonus to the original character that the new owner can use if they wish. Any resale rules are based on the original form, and the T.O.S. for that design provided by the original artist.

5.7.2 - If you are bringing in a design that originated in another closed species, it is recommended to get the original artist's permission to do so when possible, even if the closed species' T.O.S. allows for the alt forms. Some artists may be unhappy with the design migration despite the T.O.S. the design was originally created under, and may warn or blacklist users who do not ask. Genekits takes no responsibility if an external artist is unhappy with the design being brought in based on another closed species' T.O.S.

5.8 - Breedings of designs from outside the species/unofficial breedings of designs within the species are allowed with the use of a MYO and the appropriate proof of permission from the owner(s) of the parent design. Official breeding rules can be found in Section 6 of this T.O.S.

5.9 - We do not allow characters within the species to be based on other IP characters currently under copyright. We do allow for designs that have been inspired by other IP characters, however. Please see Our MYO guide for more information on this.

5.10 - Characters must not show any discriminatory iconography / symbology or anything that could be considered cultural appropriation rather than cultural appreciation, for example: giving your Genekit a dream-catcher/headdress just because you like how it looks. 

5.11 - You may share MYO plans / MYO designs that have not been approved within the appropriate channel of our discord server/ in other chats as long as it is specified they are not official.You may not upload unapproved references to other imaging-hosting / character-hosting sites publically (Such as Toyhou.se, DeviantART, FurAffinity, etc.) until they are accepted. The design is only considered official once it has been approved.

5.12 - Art / Design theft is strictly prohibited. Art theft is grounds for an immediate ban from Genekits, whether the theft occurred within our community or another. We take any reports of theft extremely seriously.

Sec. 6 - Official Breedings and Nursery Make-Your-Owns (NMYOs)

6.1 - Genekits can be bred as many times as you’d like. All official breedings (both done by our artists and NMYOs) they are involved in will be linked to their masterlist profile.

6.2 - If you do not own one or more of the Genekits in a pairing you wish to breed, you must provide proof of approval from the other owner/s when posting a breeding ticket from an official artist or applying for an NMYO. This proof must be less than a month old.

6.3 - Genekits can enter into mateships using the “___” ARPG prompt, which can bind up to 5 Genekits together in a mateship. After they complete the prompt, an item will be added to each Genekit’s inventory, linking the Genekits together. 

6.4 - If you would like to breed 2 or more Genekits outside of a mateship, you will need to apply a ____ (fling breeding item) to the ticket / NMYO request

6.5 - If you would like your Genekit to participate in a single-parent breeding, you will need to apply a  ___ (single parent breeding item) to the ticket / NMYO request

6.6 - Breedings that include multiple (more than 2) Genekits will need a ___ (poly breeding item) for each additional parent, for a max of 5 parents. Official Genekits artists can place limits for the amount of ___ (poly breeding item) they will accept per breeding slot. 

6.7 - If at any point you wish to terminate a mateship, simply submit a claim, and the Genekit in your ownership to the claim. You do not need to notify the owner(s) of your Genekit’s mate(s), though it is highly recommended to speak with them prior to nullifying a mateship.

6.8 - Genekits cannot breed with their official great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren regardless of any headcanons between users.  These will all be listed on the Genekit’s masterlist profile. We will not add any additional family members/non-blood-related family members to this section of their profile due to this being used to help in breeding, nor will we remove any from their family tree.

6.9 - While we are only tracking direct bloodlines, if we find you are purposefully breeding related Genekits to form incestuous relationships, disciplinary action will be taken, and any Genekits bred from the pair will be voided.

6.10 - Each breeding is completely random on what traits the offspring will have, and the design is also completely random. Some items can offer the user some control over the outcome, however for the most part everything else is left up to chance.

6.11 - Each Nursery-made Genekit (done by our artists or as an NMYO) should not resemble a single parent by more than 50% without express permission from the owner of that parent

6.12 - Nursery Make-Your-Owns are Make-Your-Owns that allow you to use two or more parent Genekits to make the offspring and whilst treated as a breeding, are not able to have breeding items (other than ___ (fling) and ___ (poly) items) used on them but can have trait items attached to them before uploading.

6.13 - Nursery Make-Your-Owns are treated as breedings and traits will be rolled by a member of staff before they are made, and must be recognisable as offspring to the parents being used. You must also have approval from all owners involved.

Sec. 7 - ARPG and Prompt Guidelines

7.1 - All prompt pieces must meet their requirements for the piece to be submitted. Whilst you may share art/writing from your prompt entries publicly, please note that we may request changes to them if they do not meet the requirements set for the prompt.

7.2 - All prompt entries must be PG 16, with appropriate trigger warnings on content that you may feel could be triggering to our prompt rollers.

7.3 - You are allowed to place your prompt entries on any site before uploading them to GenekitsARPG.com, as long as the submission is easily viewable for our prompt rollers. This includes Deviant Art, Toyhou.se, Google Docs, or even our Gallery here on this website. If the prompt is not viewable, we will decline the submission. 

7.4 - All quest entries must be respectful. We reserve the right to decline an entry that we deem disrespectful.

7.5 - Do not circumvent rules or exploit bugs in the system knowingly. If we find users abusing ‘loopholes’ or exploiting bugs in the ARPG to give them the desired outcome that should not be possible given the rules of the game, these users will be banned from ARPG participation. Examples include: Abusing systems that state an item is limited in quantity per user at a time, but abusing a bug that causes them to be unlimited to gain however many you want.

7.6 - All artwork/writing must be drawn or written by yourself or commissioned solely for the use of the ARPG. 

7.7 - All artwork/writing must be unique unless an in-game mechanic allows you to do so.

7.8 - You cannot use the help of stock images to help you in the creation of your work unless the quest specifically mentions it.

Sec. 8 - Gallery, Art, and Writing Guidelines

8.1 - All gallery submissions must remain PG 16. We do not allow artwork or written work that depicts the following: 

      • Illegal Drug Use
      • Extreme Violence
      • Excessive Gore, including ‘Candy Gore’ (without appropriate trigger warnings)
      • Sexual Language/Sexual poses
      • Pornography
      • Animal Abuse
      • Sexual/Physical Abuse
      • Abuse is the main theme of the art piece. 
      • Deemed as discrimination/promotion of discriminatory practices.
      • Real world politics
      • Hate speech

8.2 - Artwork must be credited to the artist and you must have the artist's permission to post. Uncredited or improperly credited artwork or work that was never meant to be allowed on-site will be deleted from our gallery.

8.3 - Non-ARPG artwork and writing submitted in our galleries that grant rewards for submissions must be created by yourself for you to be able to claim a reward. These types of pieces you can claim are either personal works of your own Genekits, artwork of the NPCs, or gifts for other users. You cannot submit artwork used for prompts in these sections. 

8.4 - Artwork that was commissioned cannot be redeemed for currency or rewards by the artist, as they have already received compensation for this artwork from the commissioner. If found that you were compensated for the artwork/writing, you will have the reward revoked and a potential suspension of using the artwork reward systems.The exception to this rule is for our Draw The Genekit Above You minigame hosted in our Discord server.

8.5 - Artwork that was commissioned can be redeemed for EXP for the featured Genekit(s) by the commissioner of the art. 

8.6 - Art drawn for our Draw the Genekit Above You minigame hosted in our Discord server may be redeemed by the artist for currency and rewards. EXP for the featured Genekit will also be earned when these pieces are redeemed. The receiver of the art (aka the owner of the Genekit in this case) cannot submit these pieces for EXP themselves.

8.7 - AI generated/NFTs  are not permitted in any of our Genekits services, nor can they be used to create things for quests (for examples; backgrounds). All artwork must be human-drawn and artwork cannot be made into NFTs.

Sec. 9 - Warnings, Strikes and Bans

9.1 - Admins and moderators have the right to issue warnings, suspensions, and bans at any time without any notice.

9.2 - Admins aim to work on handing out warnings on a three-strike system unless the offence is considered extreme enough to warrant an immediate permanent ban.

      • Each strike you receive will be removed after a year if you have no other offences during that year.
      • If you earn another additional 2 strikes during the same year, you will receive a temporary ban. This can last from days to months depending on the offence. 
      • If you make an additional offence within the first year after returning from your temporary ban, you will be permanently banned from all Genekit services.

9.3 - Temporary bans can either limit your access to the Genekit community, to Genekit services such as the ARPG and adopts, or to all Genekit-affliated services.

9.4 - If you receive a ban of any kind from Genekits, your characters will not be revoked. 

9.5 - If you receive a permanent ban from Genekits, you will no longer be allowed to take part in any Genekit service in any way, and your account on GenekitsARPG.com will be permanently frozen. Banned users are prohibited from obtaining any new Genekit designs

9.6 - Banned users are allowed to rehome / sell / trade their Genekits in accordance with this T.O.S. If required, a member of staff will help facilitate the transfers to the new owners. We are also able to transfer your inventory/bank balance to another user/s upon request.

9.7 - If it is found that you have created another account after being banned, your inventory and bank balance will be voided, and your Genekits masterlist entries retired.

9.8 - If banned, you will not be refunded for any purchases made with USD before the ban. 

9.9 - Banned users are able to continue using their Genekits outside of the group if they so wish, including using them as one-off characters and giving them alt forms as outlined in this T.O.S.

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GenekitsARPG.com and its owners reserve the right to update these Terms of Service at any time. Terms are subject to change.