How the rules work
Part of The Cozy Code — these pages are binding. Version 2.0 · Effective September 17, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET (19:00 UTC).
In the rules: The Cozy Code · How the rules work · Age · Respect · Privacy · Content · Gameplay · Creative work · Mods · Community · Recording · Reporting · Enforcement · Verification · About · FAQ · Changelog
These pages are binding. They explain how each rule in The Cozy Code applies in specific situations, and why it exists. Where a detail page and the core code describe the same situation at different levels of detail, the detail page controls. Everything in them sits under one of the ten rules and says how that rule applies here.
Where the rules apply
The rules apply in every Cozy space — the Discord (all channels and voice), every Cozy Minecraft server, Cozy bots and services — and to Cozy-related interactions between members.
An interaction is Cozy-related when it:
- Happens in a Cozy space
- Uses Cozy roles, kingdoms, groups, events, projects, staff authority, or influence
- Uses contact or access obtained through Cozy to do something these rules prohibit
- Is directed at Cozy staff about a Cozy moderation matter
- Targets someone because of their participation in Cozy
- Materially affects Cozy's safety, moderation, or a member's ability to participate
Talking about Cozy in private is not Cozy-related. Cozy doesn't read DMs. A private message matters only if someone reports it and it involves conduct these rules prohibit.
The fact that two people are both members does not make everything between them Cozy-related. Ordinary private life, unrelated communities, and relationships that existed before the people connected through Cozy (relatives, classmates, coworkers, prior online friends) are not regulated by Cozy. Once neither person is a member, Cozy has no further interest in their relationship.
Versions, changes, and what's binding
- Every version of the rules has a number and an effective date and time. A change applies to conduct after its effective time. Earlier conduct is judged by the rules that were in effect when it happened.
- The Changelog records every change with its date. A clarification is added to the changelog and to the relevant detail page — never to the core code.
- The FAQ is a plain-English helper. It answers questions and creates no offenses. Where the FAQ and the rules differ, the rules control.
- Official policy is set by the published rules, official announcements, and authorized case decisions — not by any member's interpretation, including a staff member speaking casually.
How enforcement is measured
Enforcement is proportional. Staff consider severity, whether the conduct was deliberate, whether it was isolated or repeated, honesty and cooperation, whether the person stopped when asked, the actual or foreseeable safety impact, and prior history. Moderation is based on behavior and its impact on the community, not on claimed intent. Content presented as a joke, meme, sarcasm, or roleplay is still judged by its effect. Encouraging, baiting, or persuading someone else to break a rule may be treated as breaking it yourself.
Start here · For parents · All rules · How the rules work · FAQ · Changelog · Staff Code · Ban status
