Rules FAQ

Can I say I have work tomorrow, or that I'm in college? Yes. Vague life-stage references aren't offenses. Don't post an exact age or birthdate, and don't ask anyone theirs. If staff ask you to dial it back, dial it back.

Can I put my age in my Discord bio? No. A bio or status is visible to everyone here; the same rule applies as in chat. Staff will ask you to remove it and won't write the number down.

Does the rest of my Discord profile count? What Cozy members can see inside Cozy does: nothing sexual, no "single, DM me," and the same care with your own real name, location, school, and personal accounts. Pronouns are fine, and so is how you identify — religion, orientation, gender, disability. Your real name isn't part of that: it's what makes you findable, and it stays out. An outside invite link in your bio isn't a violation by itself; telling Cozy members to go look at it is.

Can I comment on Cozy's posts on other platforms with my Minecraft username? Please don't, if the account carries your real name — it links the two for anyone who sees it, and nobody here should be findable. Cozy will never ask you to post a username, an age, or anything personal there, never confirms who anyone is, and hides comments that identify a member when staff see them or they're reported. Reports, verification, and appeals never happen there; open a ticket. Cozy's official accounts are listed on the About page; anything else claiming to be Cozy isn't.

Someone asked how old I am. What do I do? Don't answer. Say the rules don't allow it, and if it continues, open a ticket. Asking is the violation; you haven't done anything wrong.

Something already happened, and I went along with it. Am I in trouble if I report it? No. The person who comes forward is treated as the person at risk, not as the one under review, and nothing about coming forward is held against you — whether it was one message or a lot more, in Cozy or in private. Staff act on what the other person did. You don't have to explain your own part in it to report it; if you want to, you can, and it doesn't change the answer.

Do I have to say my age to report something? No, and staff won't ask — not even in a safety review. You don't need to explain anything about yourself to report what someone else did. If you mention your age in a ticket anyway, that isn't a violation; it stays in that ticket and isn't recorded anywhere else.

My username has my real first name in it. Is that a problem? No. Just don't confirm it's your real name, and nobody else may guess or announce it.

Can I say what country I'm in? About yourself: a country, language, or time zone is fine. Nothing more precise, and don't ask anyone else's.

Can I mention my religion, orientation, gender, or disability? Yes. Saying how you identify isn't personal information under rule 3 and isn't campaigning under rule 2. Nobody may argue with it or ask you to justify it. Don't press your beliefs on other people, and don't interrogate anyone about theirs.

Can I video call a friend I met on Cozy? Discord lets any two people who share a server call each other, with or without video, and Cozy can't see or control those calls — it doesn't regulate private friendships, and that includes calls. Two things to know: nobody may pressure anyone to turn on a camera, and Cozy can't vouch for who's on the other end — so treat every Cozy contact as possibly a minor, and never share or ask for anything you wouldn't want a minor to see. If anyone asks you to keep a call secret, pushes you to turn on a camera, or asks for photos, report it.

My partner is joining Cozy. Is that a problem? No. The rule is about people who meet through Cozy — there's no exception for them because nobody here can tell who's an adult. A relationship that existed before Cozy is a different thing, and the rule says so: your partner is welcome, and being known as a couple isn't a violation. Keep the relationship out of Cozy spaces — no romantic conduct in chat or voice — and don't post anything that identifies either of you.

Can I turn on my camera in a Cozy voice channel? No. Cameras stay off in Cozy voice channels. Screen sharing your game is fine.

Can I screen-share gameplay from another Minecraft server? Not in Cozy voice — and that includes Realms. It turns into "where is that?" within a minute, and answering a channel full of Cozy members is promoting another server in a Cozy space — one of the things rule 7 prohibits. Cozy's own servers, your own worlds and builds, and the other games people play together are all fine to share — and whatever's on your screen is content in a Cozy space, so the content rules apply to it.

Can I screen-share my singleplayer world, or other games? Yes to both. A singleplayer world is yours, and nobody can be invited to it. Other games are fine to share because a game isn't a community. The line that doesn't move is rule 7's: name the game, never hand out an invite to a Discord or a private server.

Can I chat in a language other than English? In DMs and in-game private messages, yes. Public channels and public chat are English so that moderators can read them.

Can I tell my friend from school about Cozy? Of course. Inviting people to Cozy is welcome. The rules are about moving Cozy members out.

Can I swear? Not in Cozy chat or voice, and that includes in-game private messages — they run on Cozy's servers, and the chat filter that's being set up covers them too. Working around the filter counts, and so does swearing before it's running. Discord DMs between friends aren't covered. Nobody reads your /msg logs routinely; staff see them only while handling a report or a specific concern.

What happens if I slip and swear? A correction — a reminder, not a penalty. For the first two weeks after September 17 that's the whole response, and after that a slip still gets a reminder; only persistent swearing, or swearing at someone, moves up the ladder like anything else. Nobody is banned for a slip. Slurs and hate speech are different: they're on the immediate-removal list, as they always have been.

English isn't my first language, and some words that count as swearing in English are just exclamations in mine. The rule is about what's on the screen, because a 13-year-old and a parent read the same chat and a filter can't read intent — but the response is built for exactly this. A slip is a reminder, and a reminder is all it is; nobody is punished for how their first language works. Only keeping it up after reminders, or aiming words at someone, goes any further.

Do the rules apply in /msg? Yes. /msg runs on Cozy's servers, so every rule applies there — it isn't a way around any of them. Staff don't read private messages routinely; they see them only while handling a report or a specific concern, and anything unrelated isn't used or shared.

Will I really get caught if I take something? Yes. Every container interaction is logged with your name and the time, for 90 days, and anyone can see it with /co inspect. Reports come in constantly, staff trace items wherever they went, and a wipe covers everything the theft touched. The best outcome a theft can have is a final warning and losing more than you took. We'd rather you never try — and we're telling you this so you don't.

There's a chest that looks abandoned. Can I take from it? No. Containers are never public by default, anywhere, no matter how old or unattended they look. Ask staff; they can check ownership and designate it if it's truly abandoned.

How do I check who placed or opened something? /co inspect, then click a block or container. Anyone can use it, and we'd rather you check than guess.

Can I harvest crops from someone's farm? Crops growing in the world, yes. Anything in a container, no. Item frames and armor stands count as containers.

Can I trade with someone's villagers? Yes — at spawn or in someone's base. Trading takes nothing that doesn't come back, so it's like harvesting crops, not like opening a chest, and at spawn a villager is manual activity, not a shop. The villager itself is theirs: killing it, moving it, or carting it off is griefing. Courtesy still applies — it's their build, so don't trade a hall dry or leave it a mess, and if the owner asks you to stop, stop. A "take one" barrel is storage, not a villager: the spawn rules on shops and storage apply to it, and outside spawn it's still a container that only its owner can mark free.

What happens if I took something by mistake? Return it and tell staff before they find it. Self-reporting is the difference between a conversation and a case.

Which minimap can I use? Any of them, as long as cave mapping and entity or player radar are off. The test is whether it shows you something vanilla hides.

Is Freecam allowed? Yes, for screenshots and cinematics, as a camera that can't pass through blocks — the mod's "no clip" setting off — and can't interact. It's a camera, not a scout. Using it, or Replay Mod, to see through walls, roofs, or the ground, to find caves, ores, or players, or to act on anything from the camera's position isn't allowed. Peeking into someone's build that way is a correction; finding resources that way is treated like X-ray.

Is the bridging mod (reach-around placement) allowed? Not on Survival. It changes where and how you can place blocks, and its own page says it's an unfair advantage. The test for any mod: does it change what you see (fine) or what you can do (not on Survival)? If the mod's page says it gives an advantage, that settles it.

Is Litematica's Easy Place allowed? Not on Survival — and neither is Printer, or any mode, addon, or tweak that places blocks for you or changes where, how fast, or on what you can place them (Tweakeroo's placement tweaks included). Litematica itself is fine for your own builds and shared designs: it shows you where the block goes, and you place it. That's the test on the Mods page — convenience is fine, capability isn't. The Creative server may allow building-assist tools that Survival doesn't; check its list.

Can I remove Nether fog? Regular Nether fog, yes. Lava fog, no — that's an X-ray-class exploit.

Is dynamic lighting allowed? No. It lights the area around a torch or lantern in your hand without placing one, which is a capability vanilla doesn't have — the same reason fullbright isn't allowed. It isn't X-ray, so it isn't a ban: turn it off, and a first instance is a correction.

How many chunk loaders can I run? Up to 3 per person without asking — an alt account doesn't add three more, and neither does a kingdom; related projects run by the same people count as one. Beyond that, one named player requests approval for the project.

Why is there a chunk-loader limit at all? Every always-loaded chunk keeps entities ticking and block changes flowing into the server's logging database around the clock. A handful is nothing; dozens across the world add up to lag and database strain for everyone. The limit is about total server load, not about anyone's build.

Does the same rulebook apply on Hardcore? The community rules do. Hardcore's gameplay settings allow PvP, griefing, theft, and traps within that world; nothing about kindness, privacy, or content changes.

I found someone's map art in the world. Can I make a map of it? Not without the creator's permission. If there's a sign at the canvas or shop saying copies are open, yes. Otherwise ask them — and if you can't reach them, ask staff in a ticket.

I bought a map art. Can I give it to a friend? That copy, yes — it's yours. Making a second copy for them isn't, without the creator's permission.

The artist has left the server, or I can't reach them. Permission can also come from a passed petition, the way any build can be opened. Ask staff in a ticket if you're not sure whether the creator is still around — unreachable by itself isn't permission.

Can I copy a build with Litematica? Your own, or a design that's been shared — a public tutorial, a schematic someone posted or gave you — yes. Taking a schematic of someone else's build needs their permission, and so does rebuilding their distinctive build block for block. Learning from it and building your own version is always fine.

Someone built a farm just like mine. Is that a violation? No. Nobody owns a farm type, a style, or a technique. What needs permission is taking a schematic of your build or reproducing it block for block.

Can I build a schematic I downloaded, or a design from YouTube or another server? If you're allowed to use it, yes — that's what shared designs are for, and building it in survival is your work. Where it came from is on you; Cozy doesn't check outside provenance or settle disputes about work made elsewhere. Just don't present it as your own design.

Can I type a book I like, or a movie script, into Minecraft books? Not a whole work — that's copying someone's copyrighted work into Cozy. Quotes, references, parody, and your own writing are fine, and map art of a character or scene is fan art. If a rights-holder ever asks us to take something down, we will.

Someone built a famous YouTube build and is calling it their design. That's the one part of an outside design Cozy does care about. It's a correction — credit it, stop claiming it — not a ban. Events and contests can require original work, and each event says so.

Will I get banned for copying a map? Not for a first mistake: it's a correction, and the copy is removed. Selling copies, or carrying on after being told to stop, escalates like anything else.

Can I play on other Minecraft servers? Yes — on your own, with friends, or with Cozy friends. Cozy has no interest in where you play. The rule is about how people get somewhere, not where they are: the violations are things like giving a Cozy member access to a private space, bringing Cozy members to a server you run, promoting another community to Cozy members, and posting addresses on Cozy. Playing isn't on the list.

Can I be in a Discord with other Cozy members? Yes. Being in the same community as other Cozy members is not a violation.

Which servers are OK to play on with Cozy friends? Any public one that neither of you runs — a server anyone can join on their own, without an invite, whitelist, application, or someone letting them in. That's the whole test. Being advertised somewhere — the official Minecraft Discord, Reddit, a server list — isn't the test either way: plenty of servers advertised there run a whitelist or take applications, which makes them private, and an open server is public whether or not anyone is advertising it. If you'd need someone to let your friend in, it's private, and Cozy members can't be brought there. If it's yours, bringing Cozy members to it is recruiting, however open it is. Cozy doesn't keep a list and doesn't vouch for any server; its rules and staff stop at Cozy's door.

I run a public server. Can my Cozy friends play on it? They can play anywhere, and Cozy doesn't decide who your server admits. What you can't do is be the reason they're there: asking Cozy members to come, sending the address, or bringing them over is recruiting — public or private, friends or not. Listing it publicly and then telling Cozy members to go find it is the same as sending the address. The public-server allowance is for meeting a Cozy friend on a server neither of you runs. Cozy members who find yours on their own, through a listing or a search, have done nothing wrong, and neither have you.

I know my Cozy friend is an adult — we've talked for months. Can I invite them to my private server or Realm? No. The rule is about the space, not your friend: a private space is where Cozy's safeguards stop, and Cozy won't be the way anyone gets there. However sure you are, Cozy can't be — nobody here has verified anyone — and the same rule has to work for everyone. Play together on a public server, or use Cozy's Creative server.

Is the private-invite rule just about stopping people poaching members? That's half of it. The other half is safety, and it's the half that makes it a rule: Cozy doesn't verify anyone's age, a private world or Discord is where Cozy's moderation stops, and Cozy won't be the way anyone — possibly a minor — gets there. That's why a personal world or private Discord is covered, however close the friend — it's a space someone controls and lets people into — and a group chat isn't: a group chat is a conversation, which Cozy doesn't regulate or see inside, though the rules that apply to any private contact still apply there. The person invited is never in trouble.

Can I play on a server run by someone who was banned from Cozy? Yes. Where you play is your business, and a ban here doesn't follow anyone elsewhere. Two things do matter: helping a banned person get back into Cozy is ban evasion, and if a community run by someone removed for a safety violation or ban evasion is used to recruit or target Cozy members, Cozy may designate it — you'd be told privately, by name, before anything else happened.

Can I make a Discord just so my kingdom can use a server tag? No. A Discord that exists so kingdom members can join it is a kingdom Discord, whatever's inside it, and kingdoms are organized here. Cozy can't check what an outside server contains, doesn't supervise other servers or take roles in them on Cozy's behalf, and can't make an exception it has no way to check. A tag from a server that's yours alone is like an invite in your bio — fine by itself; pointing kingdom members to it isn't.

How do we arrange to play on a public server together? In DMs or a group chat, like any plan with friends — for a public server neither of you runs. That's meeting up, not inviting: a DM is still the wrong place for access to a private space, or to a server you run or recruit for. DMs are not exempt from rule 7. Cozy channels aren't for arranging play on other servers, and outside links and addresses never go on Cozy — typed or spoken. Saying a server IP in a Cozy voice channel is the same as posting it.

Can I tell people I play somewhere else? Yes, including which one — where you play is a fact about you, not an invitation. Playing with a Cozy friend on a public server neither of you runs is fine, and so is naming it so they can meet you there; do that in DMs, as a plan between friends. A server's address or link never goes on Cozy, typed or spoken, and Cozy channels and voice aren't for pitching a server or gathering people for one. Promoting another community to Cozy members, encouraging them to move there, or handing out invites to private or invite-only spaces is a violation in a channel or in a DM.

Could someone DM a lot of Cozy members to get them playing on a public server? No. The public-server allowance is for friends meeting up — a plan between people who already play together. Working through Cozy's members — DMing people you don't play with, or lots of them — to get them onto another server is recruiting, and the rule says public or not, yours or not: you don't have to run a server to recruit for it. It's the same violation by DM as in a channel. If you get a DM like that, you're not in trouble; one ticket saying who and how is the whole job.

Is a group DM with Cozy friends okay? Yes. A group chat is a conversation, not a server, and Cozy doesn't regulate private friendships or see inside them. What you can't do is run a Cozy kingdom or group out of one, or use it to hand out invites or recruit — and the rules that apply to any private contact still apply there: no asking for personal information, no romantic conduct, and treat every Cozy contact as possibly a minor.

Anything to know about playing other games with Cozy members? Cozy's privacy and conduct rules come with you. Share a gamertag, not a phone number, real name, or personal social account; don't pressure anyone to turn on a camera; and remember Cozy can't vouch for anyone's age. A game lobby or party is where you play, not a private community — that's fine. If someone uses a game invite to ask for personal information, asks you to keep something secret, or keeps offering you gifts, report it.

Can I invite a Cozy friend to my Realm or test world? No. Private and invite-only spaces — Realms, whitelisted servers, test worlds, private Discords — are where Cozy's safeguards stop, and we won't be the way anyone gets there. Public servers with their own moderation are fine to play on together. For testing and planning, use Cozy's Creative server.

Someone invited me to their private server or Discord. Am I in trouble? No — not for being invited, and not for joining. The rule is about the person who invites. If it felt off, open a support ticket and say who invited you and how; that's the whole job, and nobody may pressure or expose you for reporting.

A Cozy member asked me for the invite to my server. Can I give it to them? No. "They asked first" doesn't make it okay to provide access. Tell them it's against Cozy's rules for you to hand it over.

My friends and I want to start our own server. Are we in trouble? Starting a server isn't against the rules. Using your Cozy connections to fill it — invites, onboarding, promoting it to members, running it as a home for a Cozy group — is. If it's built from Cozy's membership, it's the thing the rule exists for.

What's an "advisory notice"? A heads-up, not a penalty. If staff have reason to think a specific outside community is being built from Cozy's membership, they may tell you so privately. Nothing is required of you and it isn't a mark against you; it means that from then on, helping bring Cozy members into that community would be a knowing violation. You can stay a member there.

What's a "safety designation"? A narrow tool for one situation: a community run by someone who was removed from Cozy for a safety violation or ban evasion, and that's targeting Cozy members. If that ever applies, you'd be told privately, by name, and asked to leave; you'd be reinstated on your word. It has nothing to do with ordinary outside communities, and you're never expected to guess which community it is from who's in it. Not sure whether a community you're in is the one? Ask in a ticket, by name — you'll get a yes or a no, and asking isn't evidence of anything.

I got a "temporary review hold." Am I banned? No. A review hold pauses access while staff look at something. It's not a finding. The notice tells you how to respond.

Can my friend appeal for me? No. Appeals come from the person themselves.

I was banned from Discord. Can I ever come back? If the ban was for one of the immediate-removal violations, no. Otherwise, one written appeal after 12 months, by email to [email protected].

I'm banned. Can I still report something dangerous? Yes. Email [email protected]. It won't reopen your ban, and it won't be held against you.

Can I report a staff member — or the owner? Yes. Email [email protected] with the subject "STAFF CONDUCT." That mailbox is read by the owner and nobody else, so the person you're reporting doesn't see it. Don't use a ticket for this yet — tickets are currently seen by the moderation team as a whole; a ticket type that only the owner can see is being set up. A report about the owner will go to a designated reviewer, at an address he doesn't receive, once both are set up — the Staff Code says what applies until then, including that such a report currently does reach him. If it's about anyone's safety, or you'd rather it not reach him at all, you can always go straight to Discord, Minecraft, or law enforcement.

Cozy doesn't read DMs — so what happens if I report one? We look at what you sent, for that report, and nothing more. We never go looking, and the other person's other messages aren't ours to read. Send the relevant part, not the whole conversation.

Can I discuss the rules publicly? Always. #policy-discussion is for exactly that. What stays in tickets is individual cases.

I sent the word and nothing happened. That's expected — AutoMod hides the message. If you joined the Minecraft server with that account first, then sent the word, one space, and your exact Minecraft username, wait up to 24 hours. You're verified when you can break blocks. If you sent the word before ever joining the server, join now and send it again.

I switched from Java to Bedrock. Join the server with the new account, then verify again with that username.

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