Frankencart — Acceptable Use Policy

Version 0.1 (draft) · Last updated: 2026-07-20

Draft — not yet reviewed by counsel. This policy forms part of the [Terms of Service](./TERMS.md).

1. Scope

This applies to the Frankencart website, Discord Activity, Discord bot, and the Frankencart Discord server.

2. Game files: the rule that matters most

Bring your own, and have the right to it.

You may use Frankencart only with files you are legally entitled to possess and use — because you own the original cartridge, because the work is in the public domain, because it is freely distributed homebrew, or because you hold a licence.

You must not:

• load files you have no lawful right to use;
• share, distribute, request, link to, or advertise game files anywhere in the Frankencart Discord or through the Service;
• ask us, or other users, where to obtain copyrighted games;
• present a modified or combined game as an official product of any publisher.

Requests for game files will be removed. Repeatedly requesting or sharing them is grounds for a ban, and we will not make exceptions because a title is old, out of print, or no longer sold.

Why this line is drawn where it is

Frankencart is a general-purpose tool with substantial legitimate uses: homebrew development, playing files you lawfully own, preservation research, and creating derivative works from material you have the right to modify. That is the basis on which it is offered. Using it against material you have no rights to is outside what we permit, and doing so is your responsibility, not ours.

3. Modified and combined games

Frankencart exists to build hybrids and randomised variants from files you supply. When you do:

• keep the output to yourself. A combined or patched game contains the original copyrighted work. Sharing the *output* is distribution, whatever tool produced it.
• patches and recipes are fine to share. A recipe, seed, or patch that contains no copyrighted game data may be shared freely, and sharing those is encouraged.
• do not sell, or accept payment for, output produced by the Service.

4. Competitive play

For ladders, races and head-to-head matches:

• do not falsify scores, times, or match results;
• do not use savestates, cheats, or external tools where the rules of that event prohibit them;
• do not manipulate a ladder through collusion or deliberate losses;
• follow the referee's decisions during a refereed match.

We may void results, or remove access to competitive features, where we reasonably believe results were falsified.

5. Community conduct

In Frankencart spaces, do not:

• harass, threaten, or abuse anyone, or engage in hate speech;
• post sexual content involving minors, or content sexualising real people without consent — this results in an immediate permanent ban and, where applicable, a report to authorities;
• post malware, phishing links, or others' personal information;
• spam, or use the server primarily to advertise unrelated products.

Discord's own Terms of Service and Community Guidelines apply in addition to this policy.

6. Technical abuse

Do not:

• attack, overload, or attempt to disrupt the Service or its infrastructure;
• probe or exploit vulnerabilities other than as permitted in section 7;
• attempt to make the Service transmit, store, or serve game files, or otherwise work around the fact that it does not;
• scrape the Service in a way that degrades it for others;
• use it to distribute malware.

7. Security research

Good-faith security research is welcome. Report findings privately to [SECURITY CONTACT EMAIL] before disclosing them, do not access or modify other users' data, and do not degrade the Service while testing. We will not pursue action against research conducted along those lines.

8. Enforcement

Depending on severity and history, we may remove content, issue a warning, restrict features, suspend access, or ban permanently. Serious cases — particularly those in section 5 — go straight to a permanent ban.

To appeal, contact [CONTACT EMAIL]. We aim to respond, but we are not obliged to reverse a decision.

9. Reporting

Report violations to [CONTACT EMAIL], or to the moderators in the Frankencart Discord. Copyright complaints follow the process in [DMCA.md](./DMCA.md).