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THE RULES OF THE VELVET THORN
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Welcome to the Velvet Thorn, one of the largest and longest running Femdom Sims in SL, established in Jan 2008.  At the Velvet Thorn we are a community of laid back and light hearted people.  VT was created to give folks a safe place to explore their virtual sexuality with an emphasis on Femdom (female dominance).

The creator of the sim, StarSong Bright, is not that big on rules, but over the years rules have had to be enacted to protect the peace and our members.  Problems, issues and concerns can be directed to StarSong Bright (by notecard please if she is not online) so that your communication is not lost.

The golden rules ALWAYS apply

** Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

** If you are not a female dominant, your position at Velvet Thorn is that of submissive.

** Subs will address ladies as Miss, unless specifically requested to use another title.

** Live and let live and be polite.

These NOs will get you banned and ejected from the sim and the group:

NO: DISPLAYS OF MALE DOMINANCE, this is a femdom sim.

NO: ESCORTING /PROSTITUTION/ FINANCIAL DOMINATION OR ADVERTISING of these service in profiles.

NO: ADVERTISING OF SIMS OR GROUPS other than Velvet Thorn, and no inviting of members to outside groups.

NO: CHILD AVATARS – if you are asked to grow up, do so or move out.

NO: SCRIPTED WEAPONS/METERS, absolutely no males with whips or leash holders

NO: VISIBLE GENITALS on the Chat Circle Island

NO: PERSONAL ATTACKS, particularly those related to race, religion, politics or sexual orientation

NO: SPAMMING or deliberate provocation in local or group chat to make drama

NO: SUBS IM’ING THE LADIES WITHOUT PERMISSION or sitting at their feet uninvited.

NO: SCENING in the Chat Circle Island

NO: ABUSE OF STAFF.  Be aware that our STAFF have the final say, whether or not an incident merits ejecting and banning.  Some of our staff are male submissives, deal with it.  Should there be an issue that cannot be resolved with a staff member the issue may be taken up with the sim owner, StarSong Bright.

BELOW ARE FURTHER GUIDELINES TO HELP YOU KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE AT THE VELVET THORN.
YES THESE MATTER!

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DETAILED GUIDELINES GENERAL
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* The Chat Circle Island is a safe, public area for social interaction, not play or scening. For complete clarity, the Chat Circle Island is everything inside the fence surrounding the Chat Circle.

* Try to include everyone present in voice/chat. If you have private matters to discuss, take it to IM.

* If you have a problem whilst on the sim, take it to a Staff Member so that we can deal with it.

* If you prefer to stand, do so OUTSIDE of the circle so that you do not block anyone’s view.

* Nudity is allowed outside of the Chat Circle Island, but people are expected to be adult and sensible about it, and if asked to cover up by a member of staff, to do so. For complete clarity, quietly wearing nothing but a collar whilst accompanied by a Mistress is unlikely to cause any upset; but running around waving a 3m giant pink freebie cock in people’s faces will lead to you being required to cover up, or leave.

* If you are rezzed in an inconvenient place, or AFK for extended periods, you may be moved or ejected if you are unable to move, or unresponsive to requests.  Please be considerate of others and move to a less trafficked location when possible.  The chat area can seem unfriendly when everyone there is AFK and not talking.

* No financial domination or escorting of any kind. If you are advertising escort and findomme groups in your profile at all, it will be assumed you are doing this to attract our members. This is a real community and we will protect our members by banning those who do so.  For complete clarity, any group listing in your profile, any pick in your profile or any statement in your profile which promotes findomming or escorting in any way will be considered a breach of this rule.

* Everyone is welcome to visit and play.  However any form of male dominance will NOT be tolerated. (This includes but is not limited to males having a submissive leashed, wearing whips etc,  males issuing orders to anyone in the sim, males having a submissive kneel at their feet). It is also not appropriate to refer to males here as “Sir”, “Master”, “Mr.” or similar.  No male will wear a tag with a similar inference e.g. ‘Master’, ‘Prince’, ‘Daddydom’ etc.

* If you are not a female dominant, follow the guidelines for submissives. If you are female and identify as a switch, please choose a role and stick to it while at Velvet Thorn.

* Group chat is used to inform members of events and news about the Velvet Thorn sim. Group chat may be used to alert staff when there is a security issue on the sim. Graphic scening, attention-seeking, spam requests for a Mistress or sub, provocation, or abuse of others is not appropriate. Lengthy chitchat, while not BANNED, is discouraged.

* Please keep in mind that a very LARGE percentage of the people in VT are not native English speakers and that it is very easy for miscommunication to happen in such a chat environment. Please show understanding that not everyone is capable of using voice and try to include them in type if at all possible.

* Group members are able to rezz out items while at the sim. Always remember to take anything you rezzed with you when you leave.

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DETAILED GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIVES
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1) Do not send IM’s without permission (except to staff with regard to a sim issue). Ask for permission in main chat. For example, ‘Miss Starsong, may I IM you please?’ Take no for an answer!

 2) It is expected that submissives will address ladies with a polite title such as ‘Miss’ (Mistress is usually reserved for ‘owners’). These are the rules to avoid unnecessary drama. Male switches and owned subs ARE required to call dominant ladies by a polite title.

3) It is NOT REQUIRED that subs must kneel in Velvet Thorn.   Subs may stand OUTSIDE the Circle or sit on the floor cushions in between the domme chairs. Joining a domme on her chair at the circle is by invitation only. DO NOT stand at tp points, inside the Circle or rezz in the Circle. Subs MAY NOT kneel in front of a Domme without first seeking permission or being specifically asked to kneel by the Domme.  A submissive may respectfully decline to kneel to a Domme who is not their owner.  Subs may sit on the multi person seats (such as the cuddle chairs or sofas)  only if requested to do so by a Domme.  If the Domme crashes or leaves, the sub must stand or move from the chair.

4) Some girls also recognize the pleasure in deferring to another woman; Velvet Thorn does not discriminate against Submissive girls and requires all its members to act similarly.

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DETAILED GUIDELINES FOR DOMINANTS
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1) Be honest about your RL gender.

Submissives come to Velvet Thorn to interact with FEMALE DOMINANTS.

We are all adults in VT, and the expectation is that you will act with honesty and with integrity in your dealings with others here.  This is especially relevant with regard to your RL gender. We cannot control the gender of the person behind the screen and we do not have any reliable “verification program.”  The owner, StarSong Bright, does not wish to be the gender police and leaves that to the participating parties to work out for themselves to their own satisfaction.   We ask that any males who wish to represent themselves with a female avatar, and portray themselves as a female dominant are honest in their dealings with subs and others they encounter. It is not appropriate for a male in RL to request or wear a Mistress title at the Velvet Thorn Femdom or to sit in the ladies chairs. 

2) Please do not scream, shout or threaten our subs without their consent.

Don’t fall for the stereotypes, getting your panties in a twist over every little thing. Making drama does not make you a Domme and is not the appropriate way to gain respect from others. Nobody respects a drama Domme. Have standards, of course, but add a good dose of practical common sense and don’t take yourself so seriously. We are all here to have a good time.

3) Owned subs still need to be polite to others.

Please encourage your owned subs to be polite to other Dommes and also to use a respectful title to all of our ladies.

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ABOUT MEMBERSHIP
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The membership in the Velvet Thorn costs 250 Lindens.  This fee helps us keep the group manageably sized and reduces the problems we have had with griefers who come in and litter and make drama.  We reserve the right to remove people from the group if they are causing problems and breaking the rules.  No refunds.

We also clear members out of the group quarterly who have not logged into their account for one full year.  This helps to keep the group lean and improves everyone’s ability to see the group chat and the notices properly.  It is assumed that avatars who haven’t logged into SL in that length of time are no longer active.

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These rules are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the sim owner.