Warnings & Penalties

In order to maintain a positive environment in the paid contests, it is sometimes necessary to issue penalties to designers who break the rules. Penalties can vary from simple warnings to having your account banned. Below we elaborate on each type of penalty.

• Meant to inform designers rather than punish them
• Usually issued upon first offense (unless it's plagiarism)
• Multiple warnings may compound to a more serious penalty

• Design Team privileges are removed for a period of time
• Caused by compounded warnings or major rule violations
• Once a suspension is issued, no new contests may be entered
• Suspension officially begins once all due prizes are awarded
• Designer will have Registered User status during the suspension
• Contests started before or during the suspension are restricted

• User's forum account is blocked for a period of time
• Caused by warnings, suspensions, or major rule violations
• Designer may be given the option to finish current contests
• Contact with contest holders is all the more forbidden
• Contests started before or during the ban are restricted

• User's forum account is blocked permanently/indefinitely
• Caused by plagiarism, suspensions, or major rule violations
• Reason for penalty may or may not be provided prior to ban
• For inquiries after bannishment contact sergey(at)epifanov(dot)ru