Acceptable Use Policy

08/11/2026

This policy sets out what is and is not allowed on our servers. It forms part of our Terms and Conditions and applies to every server, including free ones from the test phase.

The underlying idea is simple: it is your server, you shape it how you like — as long as you harm nobody, do nothing unlawful, and do not use the machine for things it was not meant for.

1. Who this applies to

You are responsible for everything that happens on your server — including acts by fellow players, administrators, or anyone else you have given access to. If you run a public server, moderating it is part of that.

2. Absolutely prohibited — immediate suspension without warning

For the following there is no warning, no grace period and no refund. We suspend immediately, preserve evidence, and report to the authorities where we are obliged to.

Depictions of child sexual abuse, in any form and in any context.
National Socialist re-engagement, and the distribution, display or glorification of National Socialist ideology and its associated symbols. This is a criminal offence in Austria under the Verbotsgesetz and in Germany under the Criminal Code — and it occurs on game servers more often than people assume. It applies equally to builds, server descriptions, ranks, emblems and chat logs.
Terrorist content, incitement to violence against individuals or groups, and hate speech.
Specific threats to life and limb.

3. Prohibited content and uses

Unlawful content

Distributing, offering or hosting unlawful content of any kind. Austrian law applies, as does the law of the country you are in.

Pornographic and sexually explicit content

Prohibited. The reason is not moral but practical: a substantial share of our users are minors, and we cannot perform the age verification that distributing such content would require. A game server is not a platform for distributing adult content.

Harassment

Targeted harassment, bullying, stalking, publishing third parties' personal data without their consent ("doxxing"), and compiling collections of such data.

Malware and fraud

Hosting, distributing or controlling malware, botnets and command-and-control servers, as well as phishing pages, fake sign-in screens, and any form of scam — including those aimed at fellow players.

Copyright infringement

Distributing pirated software, games, modpacks or other protected works without the necessary rights.

Network abuse

Attacks on third-party systems, in particular DDoS attacks, port scans, brute-force attempts and credential stuffing
Running open proxies, VPN or Tor exit nodes
Running mail relays or sending bulk or promotional email
Spam of any kind, including in-game

Misuse of resources

Cryptocurrency mining in any form
Running services that are not game servers — compute, rendering or training workloads, file storage, general web hosting
Deliberately circumventing your plan's resource limits, exploiting flaws in the management interface, or attempting to break out of your server environment

Reselling

Subletting or reselling your server, or parts of it, to third parties without our prior written consent. Letting fellow players, friends or your community share your server is of course not reselling.

Impersonation

Passing yourself off as mcbalkan.xyz, as a member of our staff, as a game provider, or as another person.

4. The game provider's rules

Every game comes with its maker's licence and usage terms, and you must comply with them.

This matters particularly if you monetise your server — for example by selling ranks, items or advantages. Several makers, Mojang for Minecraft among them, set out detailed requirements and prohibit certain models. Complying with those requirements is your job, not ours; we do not check them, but nor do we accept liability for them.

For servers without the maker's authentication check ("offline mode"), section 11 of the Terms and Conditions applies in addition.

5. Handling your players' data

If you run a public server, you are processing other people's personal data — player names, player identifiers, IP addresses, chat logs. Under data protection law, you are responsible for that.

In concrete terms:

Tell your players what is stored on your server. On a public server, that includes a privacy notice of your own.
Use the data only to run your server. IP addresses from your logs are not something to pass on, publish, or analyse for other purposes.
Respond if a player requests access to their data or its deletion.

What we do for you in that context, and what we commit to, is set out in the Data Processing Agreement.

6. Reporting something

If you have come across illegal content on one of our servers, report it to:

abuse@mcbalkan.xyz

Anything that lets us review it helps: the server address or name, a description of the content and where to find it, why you consider it unlawful, and a way to reach you with follow-up questions. We review anonymous reports too, but cannot then tell you the outcome.

We acknowledge receipt, review the report promptly and diligently, and tell you the outcome if you are contactable. We may reject abusive or manifestly unfounded reports submitted in large numbers.

7. What happens if you breach this policy

In the cases in section 2 we suspend immediately. Otherwise we proceed in stages and always choose the mildest measure capable of resolving the problem:

1. A notice by email asking you to fix the problem, usually with a reasonable deadline
2. Temporary suspension of the server if you do not respond or the breach continues
3. Termination for cause in the case of serious or repeated breaches

Where abuse persists and affects other customers — for example massive resource overuse, or attacks originating from your server — we may suspend first and inform you afterwards.

You always find out why

If we suspend a server, remove content or terminate, we tell you:

what we have done and which server or content is affected,
why — citing the specific provision of this policy or the legal rule,
whether a report or our own review triggered it,
whether the decision was made by automated means (at present, never in our case),
and how you can appeal.

This is not a courtesy; it is your legal position under the Digital Services Act.

Appeals

If you think a measure is wrong, write to abuse@mcbalkan.xyz or support@mcbalkan.xyz. We review every decision again and reverse it if it was incorrect. Recourse to the courts or to a dispute resolution body remains open to you regardless.

8. What we do not do

We do not monitor your server, do not read your world data and do not search your files. There is no general obligation to monitor, and we do not want one.

We act only once we become aware of a specific problem — through a report, an order from a public authority, or a technical anomaly affecting the operation of the platform. Support may require access to your server; that happens only to the extent your request requires, and it is logged.

9. Changes

We update this policy as new abuse patterns emerge or the legal position changes. Material changes are announced under the procedure in section 17 of the Terms and Conditions.

Not sure whether what you have in mind is allowed? Better to ask first: support@mcbalkan.xyz.