Terms of Service

Created: 22 April 2021, 20:56:07 EDT
Last updated: 6 March 2024, 22:55:39 EST

 

The following document outlines the Project Xero website Terms of Service. Before using this website, you must read, understand, and agree to these terms. Please read the document carefully and in full, and also review our Privacy Policy.

Please note that these terms extend to all official platforms for Project Xero, including the Toyhouse world, the Project Xero Discord, and any Project Xero-related social media and its posts. By accessing the site or Discord, viewing any content, or using any services available on the site, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms. Failure to abide by these terms may result in a warning, a ban from the Project Xero group, and/or termination of the account on the Project Xero website, depending on the severity of the situation. If you do not accept all of the Project Xero group’s rules, refrain from interacting with the Xero species and participating in any events.

Xeros and all other Project Xero characters are an ARPG species concept belonging to NeonSlushie & ScrapTeeth; you cannot make personal characters or species adoptables of them (free, paid, or otherwise) without permission.

The base framework of the Project Xero website is based on the openly available Lorekeeper ARPG Masterlist. We do not claim ownership of this framework, nor claim creatorship. All other content found on this website, including artwork, writing, etc. belongs to the Project Xero group, unless stated otherwise.

You must not copy, modify, distribute, use, exploit or make derivative works from any of the Project Xero properties except as explicitly permitted by Project Xero. User-submitted content is not owned by Project Xero, and any marks, logos, or watermarks belong to their respective users.

These terms are subject to updates and changes, so it is important to check them often.


The Project Xero group and Xero species is owned by NeonSlushie and ScrapTeeth, and moderated by Drac0rex, Blair, Lune, Frouzon, JollyMutt, wallabytea, Kirill, and ScarlettWolf24.


The Project Xero group is strongly against NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and AI generated art, and will never interact with or condone it. Any instance of the acronym NFT used within our group is the shortened version of ‘not for trade.’ This acronym has been used for character trades for years and we will not change its in-group meaning to stand for Non-Fungible-Token, as we do not associate with them. The staff team and Guest Artists are against Non-Fungible Tokens and AI generated art.

 

 
Membership & User Conduct
 

MEMBERSHIP & AGE

Membership on this website is available only to users of 13 years or older. By creating an account on this website, you agree that you are of the legal age in your local area to view the content listed. If you are under the age of 16 you must have consent from your parent or legal guardian to access this website. It is the responsibility of a parent or legal guardian to monitor their child's use of Project Xero. If any account is found to be used or operated by a user under the minimum legal age of their country to access this website, the account may be terminated without notice.

We strive to ensure that this website is safe to use by members of all ages. However, we cannot always control the content produced or published by its users. If you are a parent or legal guardian who has concerns about your child accessing this website or any content displayed upon it, please contact us.

While the Project Xero website, Twitter, and Instagram are available to members 13 and up, our Discord community is only usable to those who are 18 and older. While the Discord does not contain explicit or age-sensitive content, we believe that it is our responsibility to not facilitate a chatroom space where minors and adults can intermingle.

 

USER CONDUCT

Users are expected to be kind and respectful to other members and staff. The Project Xero community is not a place for venting, ranting, or overt negativity. Please do not bring up any topics that may be harmful or upsetting to others. Do your part to help maintain Project Xero’s positive and friendly atmosphere!

Participation in our official Discord group is a privilege not a right. Discord participation is also not required in order to obtain or own any Project Xero characters.


The following would violate our guidelines and be subject to warnings, strikes, or bans depending on the severity of the situation:

  • Perpetuating pedophillia, zoophilia, racism, nazism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and any other hateful remarks inside or outside of the group. Bigots are not welcome in our community.

  • Being rude to, bullying, or harassing users in the Discord server, or on other social media. If there is a concern with a user that cannot be solved with blocking, please open a ticket or contact a mod. Note: We require proof of instances of breaking TOS, and cannot go off of "good faith" statements. Please provide (to the best of your ability) transcripts, screenshots, or any other relevant information.

  • Name-dropping or publicly gossiping about an individual, even if not present, to stir up drama.
    • Discussing rumours, scandals, or malicous/negative situations involving other species, closed or otherwise, including the community, designs, or owners of those species in the Discord server is prohibited.
    • Additionally, any user found to be posting harassment or these topics to "hate" or "drama" blogs will receive a strike. Both of these instances are malicious and directly go against the rule above of respect towards the community.

  • Guilt tripping, whining, or complaining about adoptable or artwork prices. Do not beg, guilt, or harass people to try and gain characters, items, currency, or artwork.

  • Harassing another user to sell or trade their Xero to you when it is not explicitly put up for sale or trade offers. Additionally, do not make unsolicited offers on Xeros that are not stated to be UFT ("Up For Trade") in the Discord or other social media such as Toyhou.se or Twitter.

  • Creating multiple accounts ("sock puppets") in order to gain extra free items or account-bound benefits (MYO slots, FTO status, etc.)
    • This includes having a friend or family member join the Project Xero site to "funnel" items to your account or enter FTO sales/raffles to send the Xero to you in the future. This creates an unfair environment for everyone. If we suspect multi-accounting or "funnelling", you may be asked to prove your relationship toward the other user (be it friend or family). If you share an IP address with a partner or family member please note this on your profile so as not to be flagged.

  • Creating off-brand Xeros to sell, or copying an existing Xero’s design & selling it as a different species.

  • Scamming another user by attempting to sell or trade a character that does not belong to you, or accepting money but not transferring the design to the buyer.

  • Posting or linking to anything containing excessive violence, gore, or abuse. A small amount of blood, violence, or more tame 'candy-gore' styled artwork is acceptable with appropriate content warnings applied, such content must be considered PG-13 at most.

  • Posting or linking to anything pornographic in nature, explicit depictions or reference to sex, fetish, and NSFW content in spaces outside of a locked, adult-only channel. We do not control what our users produce in their other online spaces nor is it our business. It only becomes an issue if you are submitting it or posting links to it in our public community spaces.

 

ACCOUNT & USer Uploads

Users may register ONE account on Project Xero.

Your account requires a unique username; we recommend choosing a username similar to the one you use on other sites and social media, to help with character owner recognition. You must not use a username that is vulgar, offensive, hateful, or attempting to impersonate another individual. We may contact users, modify, or void usernames if we believe they do not follow these rules. You must keep your password secure and confidential.

The sale or trade of in-game items or currency for "real life" items or currency is prohibited. In-game items from Project Xero can only be exchanged for other Project Xero in-game items, Project Xero virtual currency, Project Xero characters, or Project Xero related artworks. All sales of in-game items are final, and cannot be exchanged at a later date for other items or a refund of in-game currency. Instead, please try to trade with other members.

You may only upload content to the site that you have ownership of, permission to use, or is free to use, such as royalty-free image backgrounds. Project Xero does not claim ownership of any user-submitted content, and any artwork uploaded to Project Xero remains the property of the respective owners.

Content embedded or linked on user profiles is not monitored by site staff but must still follow the content guidelines of Project Xero. We do not endorse any of the user-submitted content on the site. Project Xero will not be responsible or liable for content that is uploaded by the site users. If you feel as though user content is inappropriate, please send a report to a member of our staff.


The personal social media accounts and posts of Guest Artists, Moderators, and other staff are not connected to the Project Xero group. They may post, repost, like, or follow whatever is to their liking. While they are also obliged to follow the Project Xero rules on official platforms, they are allowed to post whatever else is legal and not harmful on their personal social media. This might include swearing, NSFW content, gore, political discussion, or other content. Discretion is advised when interacting with these accounts.

 

Multiple or "SOck Puppet" Accounts

Making multiple accounts in order to gain extra free items or account-bound benefits (MYO slots, FTO status, etc.) is strictly forbidden and will result in a permanent ban. We work hard to keep the game fair to all players, and when one player registers or uses "side" accounts that exist solely to benefit another account it creates a skewed and unfair gameplay advantage. Additionally, this includes encouraging friends or family to forage and funnel items to your account. Remember: If the person in question is not playing to play for themselves it's not allowed!

In the event of a ban relating to sock puppet accounts, characters, items, and currency may be reclaimed if found to have been obtained unfairly, such as entering a raffle using multiple accounts, or purchasing a FTO-only design through a side account with FTO status. Characters obtained unfairly may be resold by staff and may be refunded to the buyer.

If you are considering making a new account to change your username, contact a member of the staff team instead; we can change your username for you. In the event of a ban, the banned user cannot create or use another account.

Your account and access to your account is non-transferrable and cannot be given away, traded to, or sold to another user or person for any reason. Users are not permitted to share accounts or make "joint" accounts with each other.

If you share a computer or wifi connection with a partner, sibling, or roommate who also has a Project Xero account, we recommend stating this on your profile so as not to be flagged.

 

WARNINGS, STRIKES, & Bans

For small rule breaks, a warning may be given out to the user in question. Once 3 warnings have been sent to the same user, said user will receive a strike. Strikes may also be directly given, without prior warning, for larger and more intentional rule breaks. Once a user has received a total of 3 strikes, they will be temporarily or permanently banned from participating in the Project Xero group, depending on the severity of the situation.

A temporary ban means that the user is banned from participating in any group-specific games, events, sales, giveaways, and any other group-specific activities for a set period of time. Once the given timeframe has passed, the user may be allowed back into the group unless the moderators receive proof of continued malicious intent and/or non-changed behavior.

A permanent ban means that the user will be banned from all group-related social media, the Project Xero Discord, and the official website. The user may no longer participate in any games, events, sales, trades, giveaways, and other group-hosted events. The user will be given a specific timeframe in which they can sell, trade or gift away their in-game items/currency, as well as any Project Xero characters logged on the website. After the given timeframe has passed, all characters, items, and currency still on the user’s on-site account will be permanently voided and deleted. The banned user will still retain the character itself.


To read more about voided characters, refer to the relevant section, ‘Voiding.’ Users may keep their characters after they have been voided, but can no longer call them a Xero or claim them to be a part of the Project Xero group. 

Upon termination of your account or this agreement:

You will immediately cease all use of the site, our Discord group, or interaction with our social media pages; you will have no further access to your Project Xero account. Bans may be permanent, or may be a limited-time suspension (2 weeks to 6 months) depending on the severity of the situation.

Character ownership is handled separately from account termination, please read through our Character Ownership Terms.

 

CHARACTER OWNERSHIP
 
The species found within Project Xero are a closed species concept belonging to NeonSlushie, and as such you are not allowed to make one without permission. You also cannot make species adoptables of them [free, paid, or otherwise] without permission. These rules pertain to the ownership, resale, and trade of Project Xero designs. You may not claim ownership of the species or claim any rights to any art and content made for this group.

While Xeros are a Closed Species, we are in no way gatekeeping the concepts behind these critters. After all, Xeros take some inspiration from a certain blue alien dog, the concept of putting antennae on a mammalian alien creature does not belong to us. If you want to make characters that are similar, go ahead! We only ask that you do not call them Xeros, do not copy specific traits (such as the Xero snout shape) or mention Project Xero in association with these ‘fan-made' characters. Please do not make 'fan-made' Project Xero-inspired characters to sell for profit.
 

 

OWNERSHIP

When you own a Project Xero character, you own the personal and non-commercial rights to that character. Project Xero retains the commercial rights to the character species, but does not claim any personal or commercial rights to any unique and individual character you may own.


We will never claim to own or revoke any characters owned by any user. Revocation is only used by Project Xero in extreme cases at our discretion such as those involving theft, scamming, or convicted criminal behavior. Characters possessed by banned users before they were banned will​ be revoked if the banned user obtained them by scamming or theft. Any characters obtained lawfully by the banned user will be treated at the discretion of Project Xero staff.

Revoked characters will be rehomed at the discretion of staff. In the case of scamming or theft, we will transfer the character to the previous owner or victim of theft.

In the event of a chargeback on payment for a character design towards any member of staff, we reserve the right to revoke ownership of the character design and regain our original ownership.


Project Xero character ownership is handled and tracked strictly through the official website via the Masterlist. There is no limit on the number of Project Xero characters a member can possess. The only way to be certain that a Project Xero character purchase is legitimate is to receive an on-site transfer from the current owner. In order to reduce the possibility of a scam, users are encouraged to only initiate a character transfer after full payment has been made. If a user is experiencing difficulty verifying the legitimacy or worth of a Project Xero character they are purchasing off-site, they may reach out to a moderator for assistance.

Every Project Xero character may only have one official owner. Off-site ‘co-owning’ is not maintained or recognised on the Project Xero websiteThe Masterlist will only recognize one official owner per character.  We do not and will not take any responsibility for co-ownership disputes nor the terms that co-owners set between themselves. You are completely responsible for keeping up and navigating your own co-ownership contract.

You may change your Project Xero character’s appearance or design according to the rules in our redesign guide. Other changes [gender, hair style, name, age, size, personality, scars, disabilities, body types, missing limbs, etc]. may be changed at any time, to the owner's liking, without mod approval.

While we host all Project Xero characters on our website, we have no direct connection to, or say in, how a user decides to develop their character’s personality and actions. We do not condone any inappropriate character development, but cannot and will not interfere with a user’s personal choices unless they directly violate our rules. It is against the Project Xero terms of service to make characters that perpetuate harmful stereotypes of race, gender, sex, mental health status, lifestyle, etc.

 

Personal rights to a character design means that you hold the ability to do the following:

  • Give the character a name, pronouns, backstory, personality, etc.
  • Use the character on this website and for this website's services.
  • Display the original artwork and any artwork depicting the character on this website or in an offsite online gallery if credits to the artist(s) and designer(s) are included.
  • Create or commission new artwork or writing for the character, or physical items such as plushies, sculptures, fursuits, etc.
  • Make edits to the character design by creating new artwork of the design within the design editing guidelines. All edits must be approved by staff before they are considered official.
  • Sell, trade, or gift the character to another user, as long as you are in line with the character's current transfer limitations and follow sale rules.

 

By owning a Project Xero character you are agreeing that you will not do the following:

  • Sell a character above its listed sale value unless granted an exception.
  • Attempt to sell or trade a character design to multiple different users at one time.
  • Claiming any artwork or designs as your creation if they were not created by you, or otherwise mis-crediting a design or piece of artwork.
  • Create copies or reproductions of the design or its likeness to be transferred to other users.
  • Use the character design for commercial purposes, unless approved.

 

DESIGN & Redesign

You are allowed to make small design edits to your Xero, such as changing the base color to a different shade, changing the flesh color or eye color, changing the hair style or length, removing or adding small markings, etc. Specific rules on how much you can alter your Project Xero character’s design can be found on our redesign page. Large design edits, specific traits, and colors might require an in-game item in order to update the design. Please see our redesign guide linked above, as well as our list of all currently available traits.

When uploading a new image to your character’s Masterlist page, be aware that only one image for each specific design or redesign can be uploaded on one character’s Masterlist beyond the original image. This is to reduce our memory usage for the website. The original image that was made and uploaded first to the character’s Masterlist entry will never be deleted, and always takes up one of the image slots. You can use the next image slot to upload a rebase or an updated design. You may have one image beyond the original image for each new redesign or trait addition. Make sure to save any images of your character, as it is not our responsibility to provide you with any non-official images that have been deleted over time.

If you decide to transfer an existing character of yours into a Project Xero character, you must credit the original designer of that character on the Masterlist.

If desired, you are allowed to make alternate 'forms' for your Xero with the same design in any species you have permission to make; for example, turning your Xero into a wolf design with the same colors and markings. If you do this and you later decide to transfer your Xero, you must include any alternate forms in the transfer. You cannot sell one and keep one for yourself.

Any and all redesigns/design alterations are permanently bound to the original character. Detaching single or multiple redesigns (or the original Project Xero character design) from the character to turn into other OCs or species is not possible and cannot be granted by the mods. When making a redesign for your Project Xero character, be sure you are okay with the fact that this redesign will stay with the character permanently. This includes all other forms that have been created for the respective character, including AU versions, human versions, shapeshifter forms, etc.

  • A Note on Character Transfers: If you are designing a Xero (either using a MYO or a redesign) and that Xero’s design is based off an OC or design that you own, then the new Xero is considered to be a character transfer. What does this mean? In the case of a character transfer, the old character and design are “bound” to the Xero. If you later decide to trade or sell this Xero, then the old character and its design will also be traded/sold along with it. These rules are in place to make sure that new owners of a Xero always receive all of the Xero's previous designs. It also prevents owners from selectively detaching designs they like, keeping them, and then selling the Xero again.

    For clarity’s sake, we’ll provide an example. Let’s say that Person A owns a hypothetical character design—we’ll call him Maple the maple leaf cat. Person A either obtains a MYO slot or commissions a custom Xero. They either base the design off of Maple’s design, or intend this new Xero to be a “Xero version” of Maple. The original character of Maple is therefore bound to this new Xero. Later, Person A wants to sell this Xero to Person B. If they do so, Person B would receive both the Xero and Maple the maple leaf cat, as the two are considered to be bound together.

    If you do not wish for the original character to be traded or sold along with its associated Xero, your only option is to void the Xero. For this reason, we encourage you to think very carefully before converting your previously owned characters or designs into Xeros. Please also note that this term only applies to Xeros made from a design that you own—for example, if you made a Xero whose design was loosely inspired by Pikachu, that would not count as a character transfer, as you did not own or create the original design.

 

VOIDING A DESIGN

Individuals who purchase a Project Xero character may decide to remove them from the species. This process is called voiding. A Xero’s design can be voided if the owner no longer wants the character involved with the Project Xero ARPG. A voided character is permanently removed from the Masterlist and is no longer considered a Xero and cannot be called one. Voiding a design is permanent and cannot be reversed for any reason, so it is strongly recommended that users think carefully before deciding to remove a Xero from the community.

Once voided, the character’s entry on the Masterlist, including its claimed experiment number and artwork, will be permanently removed and the species name can no longer be applied to the character. The voided character will instead be considered a regular alien character; you must remove notable Xero features from your character design, such as the forked tongue and distinctive Xero snout shape, and give the character a regular dragon or reptile-like muzzle and nostrils. You could also convert the design into a regular animal species such as a ferret or kangaroo, or make it into an alien dog design, etc. 

The voiding of a character listed on this site is only possible if said character is under your possession. You cannot void any characters not directly owned by you.

To void your character you need to contact an available moderator and ask them to permanently void the specific character(s). A user may void their characters without any questions by the moderator but will need to agree to the character voiding terms again.

If a user is in possession of a voided character and wishes to add them back into the Project Xero group, they may do so only by obtaining and using a MYO slot to recreate the character.

The removal of your characters from the species by staff will only occur if a user is permanently banned from the species. In this case the user will be given a specific timeframe in which they can sell, trade, or gift away their Xeros (as well as other site-logged characters and items). After the given timeframe has passed, all characters still on their account on site will be permanently voided and deleted from the site. Users may keep their characters as one-offs after they have been forcefully voided, but can no longer claim them to be a Xero or belong to the species.

 

 

Official Sales

 

SALES & TRADES

Each Xero’s Masterlist entry lists their original sale price in U.S. dollars; this is called the sale value. Any Xero can be resold for its sale value on the Masterlist, unless stated otherwise. Xero designs that are created to exclusively give the proceeds to charity are not able to be resold.

The sale value on the Masterlist can be increased by adding on the price of any artwork or physical items purchased from another artist of the character. Any free or unpaid artwork collected of the character does not count towards its sale value. To raise the value of a Xero on the Masterlist, we require visual and/or written proof.

This rule is to allow users to be fairly compensated for their investment into a character when reselling. Beyond this, however, users are forbidden to exploit the sale & trade rules to profit on a regular basis or in a way that staff deems exploitative.

To update your Xero’s sale value on its Masterlist entry, see this page.

Any Project Xero characters can be traded or gifted, unless stated otherwise. Xeros may be traded for other Xeros, characters of other closed species, one-off character designs, merchandise and physical items, etc.

Users can freely take monetary commissions to draw other’s Xeros, as well as be paid to design other’s MYO slots.

All Xeros are subject to a 48-hour cooldown period after being transferred, meaning that if you just obtained a Xero through a sale or trade, you must wait 48 hours before you can list it for sale or trade again.

 

SALES

It is the responsibility of the buyer to fully read and understand the Terms of Service and any rules listed at the time of an official sale.

All bids, offers, and claims on any sale posts should be made seriously. Bids, claims, or chosen offers cannot be retracted and are final. Retracting bids or claims after you, the buyer, are the top bidder or have been chosen as the winner of the design could potentially see you banned from participating in future sales or trades. 

In the case that you, as the bidder, do need to back out of a sale it must be done at least 24 hours before the end of the sale to let the seller know. Backing out of an autobuy will have the offending user banned regardless of reason.

Failure to contact the artist to warn of a cancelled bid or claim (ie: if a bid or claim comment is hidden without warning) will result in the offending user being banned from participating in future sales.

 

PAYMENT

All payments for designs, commissions, and custom slots are made in USD through PayPal. The buyer will be invoiced for all payments. Any payments sent outside of an official invoice will be refunded and will not count towards the purchase.

A claimed design or custom slot must be paid for within 24 hours of the invoice being sent unless otherwise discussed with the artist. If payment is not sent within this time, the design or slot may be put up for sale again for another user to purchase.

After all required payments are complete, you will receive the full resolution image of your design, and the design will be transferred to your Project Xero account.

Any transactions involving USD or other real-life currency will not be conducted with users under the age of 18, unless express permission is received from a parent or guardian. Project Xero staff reserve the right to refuse service to anyone under the age of 18 for any reason.

Minors are able to participate in other events not involving the exchange of real-life currency over PayPal. This includes but is not limited to raffles, gifts, trades, Draw To Adopt events, and MYOs (not including USD slots).

Refunds will not be given for any purchased adoptable designs. All sales are final.

 

CUSTOMS

Full payment must be received before work on a custom will begin, unless stated otherwise. Full refunds can be given at any time if no work has been started on the custom design, unless otherwise stated by the artist. Official guest artists or members of staff reserve the right to create their own rules for customs.

Unfinished custom slots cannot be traded or resold while they are in progress. You must wait for the design to be completed before transferring. If a custom slot is no longer desired, it cannot be transferred to another user, it must be cancelled and refunded.

Work in progress images (WIPS) can be requested at any time once a custom has been started. WIPS are sent normally at the sketch and a colored sketch concept, before completing the design. Changes can be made to the design until the client is satisfied with it.