We’re glad you’re checking out this part of the site…:) As much as we like to focus our attention on all the fun aspects of Eccky, like making and raising your Ecckies, and being able to interact with other Eccky players, we always need to give our due attention to issues of internet safety.

We at Team Eccky believe that our game and site can and should be a safe place to spend time. We put certain safety measures in place, and we believe that when users cooperate with us and with each other, treat each other respectfully, and behave cautiously, there should generally be no problems.

However, whenever it comes to interaction on the internet, you just never know what can happen. And the best thing you can do is to be as informed and cautious as possible, and to behave as safely and respectfully as possible in all your interactions and transactions on the internet. This section talks about the ways in which you can take steps toward safe internet interaction.

House Rules

The first thing that Team Eccky refers our users to, with respect to safety, is our House Rules. This is the Eccky Code of Conduct, and outlines how you must behave when you play Eccky. We believe that every Eccky player abiding faithfully by the Eccky House Rules contributes significantly to creating a safe, fun atmosphere for all Eccky players. You keep yourself and others safer by following the rules.

Abuse of House Rules: By You or Anyone Else

Make sure you know our House Rules well, and abide by them: your violation of any of these rules can lead to being banned from the Eccky site. If, on the other hand, you witness another player violating any of the House Rules, make sure that you report this abuse to Team Eccky immediately, using this contact form.

Further Tips on Safety

Team Eccky does its utmost to safeguard player safety. If anyone within the Eccky environment (even someone you know) directs anything to you that you find to be scary or threatening, or makes you feel uncomfortable, please report this person to us using the contact form. No one has the right to make you feel unsafe, but you DO have the right to take correct actions to do something about it!

Here below we’d like to outline some specific guidelines on how to play Eccky safely, and generally how to safely navigate the internet. The internet is a wide-open space with huge, almost never-ending possibilities for interaction. So it’s important that, as much as you take advantage of the opportunities for fun and interaction, that you act with caution as well. Remember: YOU are largely responsible for your own safety!

• Keep your personal information personal
  At Eccky, we ask you for some pieces of personal information at registration, but we reserve the right to use this information for purposes of personalization and verification of your Eccky account. Those are the terms of registering with us, and we keep your information confidential and will never use it in any way that might compromise your safety and/or privacy. We outline how we use your personal information in our Privacy Policy, which you should read and be fully familiar with. Any other site you give your personal information to should have similar policies that you should also be fully familiar with.
  
  All of that aside, that doesn’t mean that anyone else needs to have your personal information. Your personal information is YOURS, and you have the right to determine (at least in your interactions on the internet) who may have this information and who may not. None of your personal information is displayed on your profile page or anywhere in the Eccky environment, and we make sure that that’s the case for your protection. In fact, you can even choose not to have your personal profile page visible at all to any other Eccky players. You can choose this option in the Settings menu, in the My Profile Settings tab.
  
  Beyond that, we ask that you not post any of your own (or anyone else’s) personal information when you leave messages on other players’ profile pages or on the player forum. Remember, asking for other users’ personal information is forbidden in the Eccky environment, so if anyone ever does ask you for it, please report this person immediately using the contact form.

• Consider using a nickname instead of your real name
  Using a nickname or screen name (instead of your real name) on your profile page and when leaving messages on other users’ profile pages, or on the forum, can provide you with a shield of anonymity while playing Eccky (or on the internet in general) and we highly encourage it over using your real name.

• When choosing a nickname or screen name, choose it carefully
  Some nicknames or screen names can attract unwanted attention (something like “sexybaby”, etc.) so be careful about using names like that. Some might also inadvertently give people information about you that you may want to be careful about sharing, for example if you use your birth year, as in “EcckyRulezz1990”.

• Choose “strong” passwords
  “Strong” passwords are passwords whose likelihood of being guessed by others is small. You always want your password to be as strong as possible to minimize the risk of someone gaining unauthorized access to your accounts on the internet. Eccky requires that users secure their accounts with passwords of at least six characters in the length. But that’s not necessarily enough to make for a secure password. Here are some tips on creating a more secure password:

1. Make it as long as possible (but not so long that you can’t remember it!)
   
   
2. Use combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols
   
   
3. Create passwords that are easy for you to remember, but hard for other people to figure out

• Always be wary when interacting with other players
  So you probably know who your friends are and generally you know you’ll be safe when interacting and making/raising an Eccky with someone you already know outside of the Eccky environment. On the other hand, if you interact with someone on the internet whom you don’t personally know, be aware that you never really know who you’re dealing with. The internet, as the rest of the world, is full of people whose intentions you can’t always be sure of. In particular, the internet allows people to say and “be” whoever they want, which means that they can be dishonest with you. You never really know if people on the internet are truly friendly and that they don’t want to harm you or others, so BE CAREFUL. NO ONE on the internet should necessarily be trusted.

• Keep your personal feelings personal
  We outline a number of subjects and words that are strictly forbidden to use in the Eccky environment, such as swear words. On the other hand, you are entirely free to post other things that might be of a personal nature for you, like information on your hobbies or certain opinions. Remember that this kind of information can also be used by unkind people to take advantage of you. Again, you can’t assume that people on the internet can be trusted with information about you, therefore, sometimes you may want to keep personal opinions and other things about yourself as private as you would your telephone number and home address.

• If you’re under the age of 18, always let your parents know what you’re doing on the internet and what sites you’re visiting
  The more that your parents (and people who care about you) know about what you’re doing on the internet, the better they will feel, and the better the chances will be that they can help you keep safe and help you out if you ever need help.

• Always follow your family’s rules for safe internet navigation
  If your family has rules for surfing the net safely, always be sure to follow those rules. Your family establishes those rules for your safety.

• TEAM ECCKY EXPRESSLY DISCOURAGES MEETING WITH PEOPLE YOU INTERACT WITH ON THE INTERNET. PLAY IT SAFE AND DON’T DO IT.

Online Safety Links

There are lots of great resources on the internet that are dedicated to helping you learn about internet safety, some of which are shown below. Team Eccky strongly encourages you to check out these sites and others like them, to learn as much as you can, and to follow the guidelines we lay out here and those on internet safety sites. Play it safe!

www.safekids.com

www.safeteens.com

www.wiredsafety.org

www.wiredkids.org

http://kids.getnetwise.org/safetyguide/teens

www.enough.org