THE RULES
We’re committed to providing everyone with a fun, fair & friendly experience. Our game thrives on cooperation, strategy & community interaction – where we want every player to feel welcome. We’ve set rules to ensure that Town of Salem remains an enjoyable environment for all. These guidelines are designed to protect the spirit of the game, promote healthy competition & prevent negative behavior that can spoil the experience for others. By following these rules – you’re helping to create a welcoming & positive community where everyone can enjoy the game to its fullest!
Please review the rules, suspension tiers & a more detailed breakdown of the rules below.
No Game-Throwing
Intentionally sabotaging your team’s chances of winning (even if you’re the only player left) is considered game-throwing.
No Spamming
Avoid sending repetitive or meaningless (gibberish) messages to the game.
No Verbal Abuse / Harassment / Hate Speech
Inappropriate language, including vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, political, or abusive remarks, is strictly forbidden. Do not target or shame a player based on what they own in-game.
No Inappropriate Names
Inappropriate usernames or in-game names are prohibited. This includes, but isn’t limited to, names that are vulgar, racist, political, or sexually explicit.
No Cheating
Cheating by gaining an unfair advantage through non-standard gameplay is prohibited. Examples include using multiple accounts, sharing information outside the game, communicating in a language chosen to exclude other players, or posting screenshots to prove in-game events.
No Leaving / AFK-ing
Do not leave a match during live gameplay. Avoid going AFK (away from the keyboard) for an extended time during live gameplay.
No Impersonating an Employee or Moderator
Do not impersonate current or former employees of Digital Bandidos or Blank Media Games or current or former moderation team members.
No Posting Harmful / Inappropriate Links
Posting harmful or inappropriate links, including malicious content, is strictly prohibited.
Suspension Tiers
Tier 1: 24-hour suspension (1 day)
Tier 2: 72-hour suspension (3 days)
Tier 3: 168-hour suspension (1 week)
Tier 4: Permaban**
**Please note that this tier list may be expedited in severe cases.
Code of Conduct & Rules Detailed Breakdown
The following items are prohibited. Please note that this list is not exhaustive and may be updated periodically.
Gamethrowing
- Outing yourself or your fellow faction members as a town opposing role (as in a role that needs the entirety of the town to die to win) in a non-factional majority. Regardless of whether or not the outing is of one’s actual role or if they are faking being said role (the only exception here is a Jester.) Bussing (or ‘throwing under the bus’) a fellow teammate to solidify your claim as town or to avoid raising suspicion is allowed, but revealing yourself or your teammates out of spite or otherwise is prohibited.
- Killing, hanging (voting guilty, pushing them onto the stand is allowed within reason), or executing a confirmed town member, like a revealed Mayor (this counts for both ToS1 and ToS2) and Prosecutor, Deputy, Marshal, or your town lover as Admirer (or vice versa) (ToS2 specific), unless there is a reasonable suspicion for it being a Vampire or the Traitor in Town Traitor mode.
- While on the stand or in jail, you must not make it clear that you do not intend to defend yourself. While you don’t need to claim a role, you must provide a defense. Not speaking is not a defense.
- Killing, executing, or hanging (voting guilty, pushing them onto the stand is allowed within reason) your Lover (ToS1 Lovers Mode specific) or the VIP.
- Working against your current win condition in favor of your future win condition when you can still win. Examples: a Townie working against other Townies to become a Vampire, a Guardian Angel working on getting their target killed to become a Survivor, or an Executioner asking for their target to be killed in favor of becoming a Jester.
- Choosing a loss or draw over a win or a draw. The priority you’re expected to follow is
- Win with your current role > Win with a different role (Executioner to Jester, Guardian Angel to Survivor or Townie to Vampire) > Draw > Loss.
- Asking to be killed, hanged, or executed. A 1 for 1, where town has two suspects and you offer to sacrifice yourself in order for the rest of town to get confirmed information is allowed.
- As a Jester, asking to be killed or executed.
- Intentionally stalling/prolonging the game.
Spamming
- Saying the same or similar thing multiple times (does not have to be in a row). This includes messages sent via whispers.
- Purposefully evading the spam filter.
- Multiple messages of gibberish.
- Multiple messages containing song lyrics/movie quotes.
- Repeatedly clicking your ability button in a faction night chat.
- Continuous off-topic chat.
The only exception is when a player is on the stand during the defense phase because they are the only ones able to speak. However, gross abuse of this will still be considered disruptive.
Hate Speech / Harassment / Abusive Chat
Please note that rhetoric you consider appropriate between you and your friends or family may not be suitable for a public game.
- Threats or wishes of harm on players, their families, friends, pets, etc.
- Terrorist or other criminal threats (school shootings, car bombing, DDoSing.)
- Doxxing (or the threat of). Sharing any real name, address, phone number, e-mail address, non-Town of Salem username, IP address, etc., whether real or fake.
- Money shaming/skin shaming/name shaming: Targeting or bullying people based on their in-game skin, cosmetics, in-game name, or username.
- Reg hunting & grudge holding (targeting someone based on who they are as a person or over a grudge from a previous game.)
- Inciting false reports: Claiming to or asking to report someone over an offence that did not happen. This does not include a user thinking a rule was broken, but, for instance, where the offending person falsely claims a rule break, like claiming the player in question said something racist in whispers.
- Bullying, body shaming, harassment, sexual chat, racism, bigotry, politics, extreme toxicity, personal attacks, religious intolerance, country/language shaming, sexism.
- Evading hard filtered words or repeatedly evading soft filtered words. This includes people working together to spell out filtered words.
- Inciting suicide or threatening/claiming to want to/be planning to commit suicide.
- Mocking tragic events.
- Anything related to crimes against children, be it abuse or pedophilia. For the game’s purposes, children are considered all those under 18.
- Impersonating someone who has previously caused problems in the game/has repeatedly been banned from the game.
- Impersonating a real-world criminal.
- Purposefully leaving the game to deny your executioner their win, regardless of whether there is an executioner, the intent is there.
- Purposefully killing a Witch as Mafia purely to deny the Witch their win (only applicable in the late game when it is certain it’s only Mafia + Witch vs. the last Townie, or if extremely blatant). ToS1 only.
Inappropriate In-Game Name / Offensive Username
Anything considered offensive or hate speech/harassment is also not allowed in one’s in-game name or username. This includes names targeting other people and filter evasions in names.
Cheating
- Using or providing game information using media outside of normal game communication (including, but not limited to, links, screenshots, voice chat, looking at someone else’s screen, etc).
- Using outside sources as a means to influence the current game. Examples: “If you hang me, I will spoil movie X.” or “If you help me hang this person, I will pay you X dollars.”
- Claiming to use hacks or exploits. Game mods that do not give an unfair advantage are allowed.
- Botting. This includes actively claiming to be a bot.
- Abusing exploits. Making use of a known exploit even if it seems “harmless.”
- Speaking a language, real or otherwise, or using a code (e.g., Morse Code, Binary) chosen to exclude other players. The only exceptions are short, well-known words or phrases like “Bonjour” or “C’est la vie.”
- Stream-sniping.
- Advertising a stream during an active game.
- Knowing multiple roles and/or names from other factions on Day 1 or Day 2 without being a part of that faction.
- Knowing information from a chat that you do not have access to.
- Admitting to or claiming to be cheating with someone. This applies to the admitter or claimant only.
- Using multiple accounts in the same game. Admission is always taken for truth.
Leaving / AFK-ing
- Purposefully leaving a live match while still alive.
- Purposefully going AFK (away from keyboard).
Impersonating Game Staff or Moderator
- Claiming to have the ability to punish a player directly.
- Asserting that you are in any position of power.
- Claiming to be a current or former Digital Bandidos staff member or contractor, a Town of Salem 1 Judge, Moderator or Admin, or official ToS Discord moderator.
- Claiming to be a current or former employee of Blank Media Games.