CounterSide Operation Policy

1. Purpose

• 1.1 This document aims to support the safe and smooth supply of the CounterSide game (hereinafter referred to as the “Service,” “Game”) provided by Studiobside Co., Ltd (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”), and to restrict its use from “Users” that violate the “Terms” (hereinafter referred to as “sanctions”). It also serves as a manual on the “Company”'s operations and rules, including how to object to “sanctions” and how to restore your account, as well as other matters that “Users” need to know while using the “Service”
• 1.2Items not stipulated in this policy shall be governed by the Terms of Service, while other items not stipulated herein shall be governed by the relevant laws, regulations, and general commercial practices of your area of residence.
• 1.31.3 If an improvement in the stability and quality of operation is necessary, the Company may change the Operation Policy from time to time. Such changes will be announced through the official website, SNS channels, and the application provided by the Company. Nonetheless, users are recommended to also frequently check the Operation Policy in order to avoid suffering any disadvantage.

2. Definition of Terms

The definition of terms used in the “operation policy” is as follows:

• 1) “GM (Game Master)” refers to a person in charge of the “Company” or a person authorized by the “Company” who plays the role of helping “Users” to use the “Service” smoothly.
• 2) “User” refers to a user who signs a contract with the “Company” and uses the “game” in accordance with the “Terms of Use”.
• 3) “Game Information” refers to some or all information related to gameplay, such as items, game money, points, achievements, etc. acquired in the process of using the “Service” by the “User”.

3. Rights and Obligations of User

• 3.1 The Rights of the User

  1. The User can enjoy a variety of content provided by the Company.
  2. The copyright and other intellectual property rights for the Game Information in the Service produced by the Company belong to the Company. The Company grants only the right to use the Service, characters, game items, game money, points, etc. to the User in relation to the Service in accordance with the Terms of Service set by the Company
  3. The User can make requests to the Company in relation to the game, inquiries about the game, bug reports, suggestions, and raising objections due to problems occurring in/between using the game. However, answers may be slightly delayed depending on the number and the nature of the inquiries received.
  4. The User can request the Company to take measures when the User is damaged or cannot smoothly enjoy the game Service due to actions of another User that violate this Operation Policy. In such a case, the GM will take appropriate measures in accordance with the standards provided in the Terms of Service and the Operation Policy.
  5. If the User is not satisfied with the restrictive actions taken in accordance with the Operation Policy, the User can raise an objection to the GM.

• 3.2 The Obligations of the User

  1. It is the responsibility of the User to read and understand this Operational Policy, and the Company is not obliged to provide assistance in case of problems or damages derived from not having done so.
  2. Users must follow the Terms of Use and Operation Policy when using the Service, and must not violate these terms. Failure to do so may result in sanctions in accordance with the reasons and procedures set forth in the Operation Policy.
  3. Users are obligated to provide accurate information when registering. If the User enters false information or uses someone else’s information when signing up, the User cannot receive any protection measures from the Company and may be excluded from events hosted by the Company or otherwise have the use of their Game limited.
  4. Users are liable for the protection and management of their account information. The Company is not liable for any damages caused by any of the following circumstances:
     1. Sharing an account with any 3rd party
     2. Selling or Buying an account from any 3rd party
  5. Users should change their accounts’ passwords periodically and securely handle the devices they use to play the Game to protect their accounts from any damages caused by other Users.
  6. If Users find any problems such as bugs, errors, or flaws during their use of the Service, they must report them to the Company and must not let other Users know about them or use the problems for illegal purposes. If the User does not report them and, instead, takes advantage of the problems for the purpose of gaining benefits, it is deemed that the User has caused damages to other Users. As such, Users may be restricted from using the Service in accordance with the Terms of Service and Operational Policy
  7. The User should not use inappropriate expressions such as curses, expletives, and slang while using the Service, or expressions that may be offensive to other Users, such as sexual expressions and descriptions.
  8. The User should not slander any particular nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, a group with a disability, etc., or conduct group behavior for illegal purposes.
  9. The User should not use unofficial software or hardware that can affect the game.
  10. The Company is the sole owner of the Game and all Game Information contained in the Service and the User is only granted permission to use such Game and Game Information during the Service. Using the Services for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited for Users unless prior approval from the Company has been acquired.
  11. Users may not use the information obtained through the Service in any other way, such as copying, making duplicates, altering, translating, publishing, broadcasting, distributing, etc. without the prior consent of the Company.

4. GM's Role and Obligations

• 1) The GM must comply with the “Terms of Use”, “Operation Policy” and “Privacy Policy.”
• 2) The GM must do its best to eliminate actions that violate the “Operation Policy” and provide a smooth “Service”.
• 3) The GM must check and resolve bugs reported by Users as soon as possible.
• 4) The GM must not ask for any customer's personal information (Social Security Number, private information, etc.) unless judicial institutions make a formal request for such information. In that case, the GM has the right to provide it to the relevant institutions.
• 5) The GM will never favor a particular person or group over others and will not provide any information regarding updates or events that are yet to be made public.
• 6) The GM will not intervene in conflicts between Users unless the conflict negatively influences and disturbs the community, in which case the GM will then intervene to resolve the issue.
• 7) The GM may completely/partially suspend or restrict access to the Service if it has been reported that abnormal or unintended phenomena are occurring inside or outside the Game and that phenomena are interfering with the smooth provision of the Service. If the GM is unable to notify this suspension or restriction in advance, it may be notified afterward.
• 8) In accordance with the “Operation Policy” and in order to protect other Users' accounts or game data, the GM may take various actions without prior notice if hacking attempts are detected on certain accounts.
• 9) For matters not specified in the “Operation Policy”, the GM may take appropriate actions in accordance with the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, relevant statutes, or customary practices of the area in which the User resides in order to take measures to support the safety of Users and smooth operation of the Game.

5. Name Policy

• 5.1 The term 'name' means all titles chosen and entered by the User, such as account names, nicknames, character names, group (consortium) names, etc. that are used in the Game and community provided by the Company.
• 5.2 Users have the right to choose their names freely. However, they should not use names that make reference to or are similar to any of the following. Failure to do so may result in the modification or deletion of the name without prior warning.
  1. Names directly or indirectly quoted from well-known names in general, trademarks, titles, logos, etc. that are likely to infringe trademark rights, copyrights, and ownership of a third party,
  2. Names impersonating or intended to impersonate the Company, GM, or a Company employee,
  3. Names such as game titles, names of NPCs, and items inside the game, etc.,
  4. Names with obscene language, slang, or names of human body parts or functions that may offend others,
  5. Names that are antisocial or go against relevant laws and regulations,
  6. Names that advertise or promote particular objects,
  7. Names containing the name of a business body, organization, etc.,
  8. Names that are suggestive, lustful, or considered lascivious expressions to a User or others,
  9. Names intended to trade items/accounts by cash/spot or encouraging such trades,
  10. Names abusing a particular nationality, race, religion, ethnic group, person, gender, disability, etc.,
  11. Names that are created by making a small modification to a name that is prohibited, by changing the spelling of a name that falls within any of the aforementioned categories, or by combining other characters in the front, in, or back of the names, or
  12. Other names that need to be revised or changed according to the GM's consideration.

6. Community Chat and Posting Policy

• 6.1 The community channels (Discord, SNS, etc.) run by the Company are provided for Users to exchange various kinds of information, daily conversations, suggestions on the Company and Game, etc. necessary for using the game.
• 6.2 A post is a text, image, and voice or the information composed thereof such as articles, pictures, and videos posted by a User as the User uses the CounterSide website such as a bulletin board, etc.
• 6.3 The Company will do its best to build a pleasant community and provide a stable game community on the grounds of this policy.
• 6.4 Any item that is not included in this policy will follow the Terms of Service, as well as the relevant laws, regulations, and commercial practices of the User's area of residence.
• 6.5 Posts that fall under any of the following categories may be deleted or revised without prior notice, and when such offensive posts are repeatedly posted with repeated warnings, the use of Service may be restricted. When posts negatively affect the community environment, but do not clearly fall under one of the following categories, the community use may be restricted in accordance with the Terms of Service and Operation Policy.
  1. Posts contrary to social order or other traditional customs,
  2. Posts containing sexual or vulgar expressions,
  3. Writings containing commercial content (such as advertisements, promotions, and posts with repeated copied and pasted text (spam)),
  4. Posts that spread false information that has not been introduced through an announcement by the Company, effectively confusing Users,
  5. Posts that are discriminatory or biased against any race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or ethnic group,
  6. Posts impersonating an employee of the Company, the GM, and/or the operation team,
  7. Posts containing information on how to digitally forge or modify the application,
  8. Posts containing information related to manufacturing, sharing, or distributing unauthorized programs,
  9. Posts related to cash/spot trades,
  10. Posts exposing personal information or requiring the personal information of others,
  11. Posts linking to harmful sites,
  12. Posts including swear words, slander, or information damaging to another person's honor and dignity,
  13. Posts with antisocial content, or against the relevant laws and regulations of the User's area of residence,
  14. Posts infringing the copyrights or intellectual properties of others, or
  15. Posts intended to disturb or slander the Company’s business.

7. Service Use Restrictions and Limitations

7.1 User Restrictions

Violating this Operation Policy may hold the User legally liable and the Company may impose penalties or legal action on their account. Violations stipulated in the Operational Policy include, but are not limited to the following:

• 7.1.1 Misconduct

  • Misconduct means intentionally disturbing the smooth use of Services for other Users. This also includes the act of unfairly acquiring items, in-game money, etc. in the Game by deceiving other Users. If the Company finds and confirms a User or Users who have acted this way, the Company may restrict their use of the Service in accordance with the Operation Policy.

• 7.1.2 Misconduct

  • 1. Cash trading is an action that the Company considers to harm the balance of the game and seriously interfere with other Users who wish to enjoy the game in a fair manner. As such, transactions/arrangements of the trading of game accounts and in-game contents (items/game money, etc.) with "cash/in-kind" or attempts to do so are strictly prohibited, and heavy consequences will be applied against such trades.
  • 2. The Company will not take any responsibility for problems that arise during a cash trade, and the User is completely liable for such problems.
  • 3. When a User does any of the actions listed below, he/she can be restricted from using the Service in accordance with the Operational Policy.
    1. Advertising through the message board, chat system, etc. for the purpose of cash trade,
    2. Generating names that advertise, represent, or promote cash trades,
    3. Repeatedly posting personal information such as addresses, telephone numbers, etc. within the game or through the community forums,
    4. Arranging a cash trade, leading a User to a website where cash trades are performed, or
    5. Being suspected of initiating or otherwise participating in a cash trade.

• 7.1.3 System Faults and Bug Abuse Policy

  • 1. When the User finds system faults, bugs, etc. while using the Game, the User should not abuse such errors or distribute such information to other Users and must report his or her findings to the GM without delay.
  • 2. The User should not intentionally abuse system faults or bugs within the game for personal gain or otherwise, as such an action could be damaging to other Users' enjoyment of the game; the GM may restrict the use of the game without prior notice if such circumstances arise.
  • 3. If a User performs any of the actions below, the user will be restricted without warning:
    1. Intentionally distributing bugs to other Users without informing the Company,
    2. Obtaining benefits by abusing bugs,
    3. Obtaining benefits by using game system faults,
    4. Using or distributing forged or falsified versions of the application,
    5. Obtaining benefits by abusing a vulnerability of the system, rather than a system fault or bug, or
    6. Using the Service in an illegal environment or playing on an illegally modified device.
  • Any items, goods, etc. obtained by unauthorized programs, system faults, bug abuse, etc. will be entirely removed from the account and the account may be restricted from using the Service.

• 7.1.4 Illegal programs

  • 1. Any programs not provided officially by the Company are considered unofficial, unauthorized, or illegal, and, when such programs are used, the use of the Game and other Services provided by the Company can be restricted without prior warning
    
    The Company will not take any responsibility for any issues caused by the use of unofficial, unauthorized, or illegal programs. If a User abuses, disturbs the gameplay, or otherwise negatively affects the game experience by using unofficial, unauthorized, or illegal programs, he/she can have their use of the Service restricted.
  • 2. An illegal program is a computer program or device that disables the normal operation of a Service's technical protection or obstructs proper operation. The Company will take strong sanctions against the development, sharing, distribution, and use of unauthorized programs that affect the normal operation of the Services.
  • 3. If the use of various kinds of unauthorized programs, the use or distribution of forged or falsified versions of the application, etc., is detected, the Company and/or GM can immediately take measures to restrict the use of the Service without prior warning. Moreover, in cases in which such actions cause wide-ranging damage that results in huge losses for the Company, the Company can bring criminal charges and claim compensation for civil damage in accordance with the laws and regulations.

• 7.1.5 Hacking, Account Theft, and Disclosure of personal information

  • 1. Hacking, account hijacking, and personal information disclosure refer to the unauthorized access to another User's account or the acquisition, use, and distribution of assets of another person.
  • 2. The Company will impose strong sanctions against developing, sharing, distributing, and using abusive ways to commit such activities, and may, in some cases, ask the authorities and law enforcement agencies to investigate or seek help. Furthermore, there will be no recovery on accounts that are hacked.

• 7.1.6 In-Game Disputes Between Users

  • 1. In regard to the disputes between the Users, the GM may intervene in some part or mediate, depending on the severity of the issues and/or the degree of influence on the game. In most cases, the GM will not intervene in accordance with Article 4. GM's Role and Obligations. If the GM does intervene, the Users' use of the Service can be restricted without prior notice if the matter is considered sufficiently important.

• 7.1.7 App Store and Company Abuse

  • 1. When a User benefits from abusing Open Market Stores (Google Play, etc.) and/or Company operation processes (registration, game services, transactions, refunds, etc.), the user may be restricted from the use of Services in accordance with the Terms of Service and Operation Policy.
    
    Unjustified gains will be retrieved by the Company, and sharing such abuse methods with other Users could also lead to restrictions from using the Service. The Company and GM will sanction those who abuse Open Market Store processes in order to protect other Users.

8. Table of Restrictions Policy

Under the [ Table of Restrictions ] for various circumstances, if the user is found guilty per the Table of Restrictions, the one who is found guilty may be charged with legal issues along with various restrictions from the Company.

Based on the level of severity, the Company may apply penalties to the User.

If multiple users have broken the Terms, then the Company may apply different penalties to the individuals.

The Company may also call in for assistance from the legal entities, and the Company will assist the legal entities upon request.

8.1 Definition of Terms

※ The company is not responsible for the loss of some content and items that requires continuous management due to the inability to access the game for a user that violated the Terms of Service and the Operation Terms.
※ If the violation of the same term is repeated more than the maximum standard number of times, the highest level of sanctions may be applied or “permanent restriction” may be applied.
※ Profits obtained from violating the operating policy, whether intentional or not, can be recovered or adjusted at any time by the Company.
※ If gains acquired through unintentional or abuse have a significantly low impact on game balance or system, only illegally acquired items will be fined.
※ If there is a violation of the Terms of Service and Operational Policy, part of the user's game information such as the member's consortium and ID may be disclosed through the website and official community announcements.

※ The standards for chat restriction are as follows:

• ⊙ Even if it is not specified in the description above, the use of the Service may be restricted if it can affect the game in any way.
• ⊙ It is possible to object to the terms above by contacting the game customer service.
• ⊙ If you want to send an objection request to the game customer center, you must do so within 2 months starting from the date of restriction due to the data retention period of the game.
• ⊙ Upon violating the Operation Policy above, partial or whole game Service may be restricted during the investigation period.
• ⊙ Any abuse of the Company or the Open Market Store processes by individuals or groups may also lead to legal action.
• ⊙ To protect both Users and the game Service, legal action may be pursued depending on the severity of each violation.
• ⊙ Accounts that have infringed the Operation Policy can be restricted from using the game Service.
• ⊙ In order to minimize the spread of the damage, the device or network accessed by the account that is taken action in accordance with this operation policy or the account that appears to be stolen may also be blocked in parallel.
• ※ The Service provided by the Company is optimized for mobile devices. Hence, the Company cannot provide assistance for damages and disadvantages that may arise from playing in other environments or using programs not provided by the Company.
  
  

9. Operation Policy for the Protection of Customer Service Representatives

The main purpose of customer service is to help the customer. However, inquiries containing abusive language such as profanity and derogatory language may be stopped.

Service representatives are the employees of the Company who work to help Users, but they are also individuals who need to be protected. Therefore, we will take measures to protect Service representatives against any Users who use customer Service inappropriately.

The Company guarantees the safety of all its employees and actively protects them.

As such, if the customer service representative’s human rights are violated and this disrupts the Service operations, warnings will be sent to the User who sent the inquiry, such inquiry may no longer be answered, and restrictions on game Service may be applied to the User.

9.1 Acts of infringing the Human Rights of Customer Service Representatives

• 1) Profanity, sexual harassment, inducing humiliation, infringement of personality, threatening expressions in 1:1 inquiries, and phone calls unrelated to the Service.
• 2) Continuous abuse, sexual harassment, personal insults, and threatening inquiries that hinder the operation of 1:1 inquiries and phone calls.
• 3) Other acts that can cause serious psychological damage to our customer service representatives, and hinder the operation of 1:1 inquiries and phone calls.
  
  

9.2 If the User violates the human rights of our customer service representatives, the User may be restricted from using our Service as shown below.

※ Customer Service will be resumed for 1:1 inquiries, phone calls, or visits that do not include violations of the operation policy.


If profanity, sexual harassment, personal infringement, and threatening expressions are repeated even after the third sanction, game restrictions may be applied cumulatively for up to 30 days.

An account can be permanently restricted without prior notice if the User has severely infringed human rights. The categories below are considered severe infringement.

• 1) Abusive language, insults, or abusive language using the appearance of specific body parts of Service personnel.
• 2) Demanding a private meeting with the Service representative or using language and actions that include obscene jokes.
• 3) Sexual expression, abusive language, or abusive language aimed at a member of the Service representative's family.
• 4) Showing images, including photos, that may be sexually humiliating to Service personnel.
• 5) Any other words or actions that may cause the Service person to feel sexual disgust or humiliation.

※ If abusive language, sexual harassment, or personality infringement occurs in multiple accounts accessed from the same IP or device, it may be treated as an act by the same person.

10. Restoration Policy

• 10.1 While using the Service, if the User loses his/her account, item, contents, etc, he/she must report the issue to customer service within 7 days starting from the date of the occurrence. It is difficult to help the User if 7 days pass from the date of occurrence. The problem must be reported by using the game account that contains the issue. Reports made through other accounts will not be accepted.
• 10.2 If the Company is at fault for the loss of content, the GM will do his/her best to restore the lost content.
• 10.3 Game content restoration is carried out after objective data is obtained from the game records. If the lost content reported by the User does not exist in the game records or cannot be verified through objective data, the lost item reported cannot be restored.
• 10.4 If the damage is not caused by the technical errors of the game service, but by the customer's negligence or intention or from damages caused by certain circumstances, reported losses cannot be restored. These circumstances include:
  1. Damages caused by the User's environment or a network failure not caused by problems on the Company’s end.
  2. Damages caused by not being completely aware of Operation Policies, Terms of Service, in-game notices, etc.
  3. Damages caused by the User’s negligence.
  4. When the objective data based on the game data of Users cannot be secured due to the negligence of the Service provider.
     
     

11. Restoration Policy

• 11.1 To prevent the User's account information to be used for malicious purposes and if the following requirements are met, the account information may be dealt with separately.
• 11.2 The criteria for dormant account policy are as follows:

  Dormant Account Policy	Actions
  Accounts that have not logged in for more than 12 months.	Deletion of the account information if not logged in after 30 days notice.

• 11.3 If the account is classified as dormant, a notice will be posted on the official website, and/or an e-mail will be sent. If the account is still dormant after 30 days, the action listed above will be applied.
  
  

12. Guest Account Policy

Users that prefer to use the Services without creating an account will be assigned an identifier that is similar to an account number ("Guest Accounts") to their devices.

Identifiers cannot be modified, confirmed, etc. by the Company. Hence, all the management responsibilities on the identifiers lie with the User.

Guest Account information is stored on individual devices. Therefore, account information may be deleted if the User transfers, deletes, or otherwise alters the data on their device in any way, such as losing the device, resetting the device to factory settings, deleting Cache and Data, etc.

The Company shall not be responsible for any damages that may occur whilst using a Guest Account without linking.

• 12.1 The Company will do its best to restore the guest account with all the information if the loss of the guest account is caused by the Company.
• 12.2 The Company informs the official website and the official community about problems that may occur if the account is not linked.
• 12.3 The Company shall not be responsible for any damages caused by the User’s negligence including loss of the device, sharing the device, resetting the device to factory settings, deleting cache and data, etc.
• 12.4 Guest accounts do not support logging out or leaving the game and do not guarantee permanent use.
• 12.5 The Company cannot help with damage to the account due to the User’s negligence, such as leakage of a unique identification code or not linking a guest account to an SNS account provided by the game.