What Is Encouraged

A few simple guidelines to play well together

1. Play with respect, kindness, and fair play
   Here, everyone deserves to be welcomed with consideration. Express your ideas calmly, help maintain a good atmosphere, and contribute to a community that’s enjoyable for everyone. Exchanges of opinions have their place, in a constructive and respectful spirit.
2. Contribute to a positive atmosphere
   Everyone can help make this space safe, calm, and motivating. Encouraging messages, support between players, and attention to others strengthen the quality of the experience for everyone, regardless of age, origin, culture, beliefs, or identity.
3. Share useful and relevant content
   Before posting, ask yourself if your message brings something to the group: useful information, an interesting question, a discovery, a tip, or a resource related to Minecraft. Clear, focused, and thoughtful contributions make the community more enjoyable to read and richer for everyone.
4. Protect everyone’s privacy
   Trust is the strength of a good community. Keep group conversations within the group and take care to preserve everyone’s personal information. This includes addresses, phone numbers, family details, or sensitive information.
5. Welcome diversity with openness
   The community brings together players, parents, and families with varied backgrounds. This diversity is a strength. Everyone can contribute to a harmonious space by respecting cultures, beliefs, sensitivities, and ways of seeing the world.
6. Choose an appropriate profile picture
   You can use a photo of yourself, a skin, an avatar, or a stylized image, as long as it remains appropriate for a space frequented by players of different ages and families.
7. Young players participate with parental consent
   Parents have their full place in this community. For younger members, participation ideally happens with the consent, support, or caring oversight of a parent or trusted adult. This helps everyone progress within a clear and reassuring framework.
8. Share your discoveries, ideas, and creations
   A vibrant community grows through its members’ contributions. Gameplay tips, screenshots, experiences, projects, practical advice, or feedback: every useful contribution can inspire others and enrich the collective adventure.
9. Stay within the Minecraft universe
   The group’s purpose is to bring people together around Minecraft, its uses, its worlds, its projects, and its learning opportunities. Content directly related to this universe helps everyone find a coherent, clear, and interesting space here.
10. Enjoy being part of the community
    This space is here to learn, explore, exchange, build, and share good times together. By respecting these guidelines, everyone contributes to an enjoyable, lasting, and enriching experience for the entire community.

Because expectations vary according to each person’s age and role, we have written four versions—each adapted to its reader.

Choose yours.

1. For children aged 8 to 14

Welcome to the Gad Lab server. Here are the rules of the game.

These aren’t complicated rules. They’re just the rules that make sure everyone has a good time—including you.

✅ What you can do

• Build, explore, invent—that’s why you’re here
• Ask questions to the facilitator or your teammates at any time
• Vote and give your opinion during group decisions
• Report something that’s wrong, without being afraid of getting in trouble
• Make a mistake—it happens to everyone, the important thing is to say so

🚫 What you can’t do

• Insult, mock, or be mean to someone—not in chat, not in the game
• Destroy what another player has built, even if it’s “just for fun”
• Enter another player’s area without permission
• Cheat or use unauthorized mods
• Give the server address to someone who isn’t registered
• Leave in the middle of a mission without telling the facilitator

💬 In chat

Chat is like speaking out loud in front of everyone. Everyone reads it. Before sending a message, ask yourself: would I say this face-to-face, in front of an adult?

• No bad words
• No animal names to talk about other players
• No repeated messages in a loop (“spam”)

🆘 If someone hurts you

Don’t respond. Don’t get upset. Type /msg [facilitator username] I have a problem and wait. The facilitator will take care of everything.

⚠️ What can happen if you don’t follow the rules

• A warning from the facilitator
• A pause (you observe for a while)
• In serious cases: temporary or permanent exclusion from the server

We don’t punish accidental mistakes. We punish intentionally mean behavior.

The server is everyone’s home. Treat it the way you’d want others to treat yours.

2. For teens 15 and older

You already know the basics. This rulebook is more direct.

From age 15, we trust you to manage your interactions independently. In return, expectations are higher—especially toward younger members.

What is expected of you

• Respect other players, regardless of their skill level or age
• Actively contribute to group projects—not just be present
• Take responsibility for your roles in agile sprints
• Set an example for younger members who are watching you
• Report problems instead of ignoring or worsening them

What is not tolerated

• Any form of harassment, mockery, or social pressure—including subtle forms
• Exploiting server vulnerabilities or using unauthorized mods
• Bypassing group decisions made during votes
• Sharing the server address or access with non-members
• Making unilateral decisions about shared areas or resources

Your potential role as a mentor

If you’ve been here for several sessions, you may be offered a mentor role—supporting newcomers, co-facilitating activities, contributing to documentation. It’s optional but valued.

Sanctions

Violations are handled more strictly than with younger members, precisely because the autonomy granted is greater. Repeated problematic behavior can result in exclusion without prior warning.

Authority on this server is not hierarchical. It is earned. You gain it by playing the game well.

3. For parents

Your child plays on a supervised private server. Here’s what you need to know.

What we guarantee

• Access strictly limited to registered and validated members—the whitelist is checked at every connection
• An adult facilitator present and active throughout each session
• Zero advertising, zero collection of personal data for commercial purposes
• A real-time moderation system for chat and in-game behavior
• Direct communication with families in case of significant incidents

What we expect from you

• Ensure your child has read and understood the rules before the first session
• Report any change in circumstances that could affect their participation (health, family situation, school stress)
• Remain reachable during sessions—no need to be in front of the screen, but accessible in case of emergency
• Contact us directly if you have a concern, rather than letting it build up

In case of an incident involving your child

We contact you by email within 24 hours of any notable incident. For serious situations, we call you directly. We document each incident and the measures taken.

Digital co-education

Gad Lab does not replace the digital education you provide at home. We extend it. The conversations you have with your child after sessions—about what they experienced, learned, and felt—are at least as important as the session itself.

You don’t have to monitor your child during sessions. You just need to stay available—and curious about what they’ll tell you afterward.

4. For schools and institutions

You’re organizing a session with a group. Here’s the framework.

Before the session

• Designate a contact person from your institution—single point of contact for coordination
• Provide the list of participants (first name, age, Minecraft username if existing) at least 5 business days before the session
• Ensure each participant has a computer with Minecraft Java Edition installed and functional
• Read and accept the institutional terms and conditions available upon request

During the session

• A Gad Lab facilitator leads the session—they are responsible for the educational process
• The presence of an adult from your institution is recommended, not mandatory
• Participants are subject to the same behavioral rules as individual members
• In case of an incident, the facilitator immediately informs the institutional contact person

After the session

• An educational report is available upon request within 48 hours
• Participant data is deleted from the server at the end of the session, unless a signed agreement exists for recurring participation

Special conditions for groups

Institutional sessions can be adapted in terms of duration, educational format, and content according to your objectives. A preliminary discussion with the Gad Lab team is recommended for sessions with more than 10 participants.

→ Contact: minecraft@gadlab.net — +41 78 766 08 66

You bring the group. We bring the framework, the method, and the supervision. Together, we build something concrete.