Guides / Rules
Rules pages players will actually read
Template rules are placeholders. If you leave “example combat logging policy” live, you will argue from a page nobody believes. This guide is about rewriting rules.html so it matches how you ban, raid and appeal — short enough to finish on a phone.
Rules pages guide
What the rules page is for
On a GameSignal community site, rules sit next to Discord as the public contract. Whitelist checkboxes link here. New players open it before they install mods. Staff paste the URL into tickets instead of retyping policy. The page does not enforce anything in the game engine — your admins and plugins do that. The website just has to tell the truth.
GameSignal is web hosting for that public copy. Changing rules.html never updates in-game ban messages by itself.
How to edit the HTML
Open rules.html in VS Code. Most templates use stacked sections or content cards: a heading plus a short paragraph per topic. Rewrite the paragraphs. Rename headings when “Base raiding” should be “Raid windows” or “No online-only raids.”
To add a rule, copy an existing section block and change its title and body. To drop a topic you do not use (stream sniping on a private RP server, for example), delete that whole block. Keep the surrounding layout classes so spacing stays intact. Preview in a browser after each few saves — see Edit Templates for the local preview loop.
Structure that gets read
Players abandon walls of text. Aim for:
- Six to twelve clear sections, not forty micro-rules
- One idea per heading
- Consequences in plain language (“first offence warning, repeat temp ban”) without courtroom tone
- Examples only when the rule is ambiguous
Lead with respect / hate speech and cheats — those rarely change. Put niche building limits further down. If a rule only applies during events, say so in the heading so casual players can skip it.
Avoid pasting your entire Discord #rules channel verbatim if that channel is a novel. The site should be the stable summary; Discord can hold edge-case threads.
Game-specific sections
Rust: team limits, group abuse, farm/loot rules, and whether offline raiding is allowed belong on the page and should match the wipe tiles on the home page. If rates change after wipe, update both places — see wipe schedules and the Rust templates overview.
DayZ: combat logging, base destruction, KOS zones, voice rules and metagaming matter more than Rust-style BP wipes. Whitelist communities should state that agreeing on the site means agreeing in Discord too. Link from whitelist pages to this document.
Minecraft / others: grief, claiming, economy abuse and chat mods differ by network. Delete DayZ/Rust demo sections that do not apply instead of leaving irrelevant combat-log rules on a creative SMP.
Discord, bans and appeals
Include a short appeals section: where to open a ticket, what evidence helps, and that public call-outs in general chat are not an appeal. Point buttons at your invite via js/config.js (Discord links guide). Name the staff roles that handle bans — and keep staff.html consistent with that list.
If bans are final for cheats, say so once. Mixed messages (“we always review” vs “cheat bans are permanent”) create endless tickets.
Keep Discord and the site in sync
Pick a source of truth. Practical approach: the website holds the stable rules; Discord announces changes and links to the page. When policy shifts, edit rules.html the same day you post the Discord announcement. Version dates in a tiny footer line (“Last updated 8 Sep 2026”) help players know they are not reading last year’s raid window.
Search the template for leftover demo community names after you rewrite — hero blurbs sometimes still say “example rules for the template.”
Before you publish
- Every section matches how staff actually moderate
- No placeholder “replace this paragraph” sentences remain
- Raid / wipe / group rules match the home schedule copy
- Appeals path and Discord buttons work
- Whitelist / join CTAs still link here if required
- Uploaded to hosting and checked on mobile
Browse designs on Websites, or start from game pages like DayZ. Broader product questions: FAQ.