Contest and Judging Rules

These baseline rules apply to Cypher Club contests, challenge leaderboards, and judged events unless a specific event publishes stricter supplemental rules before entry. Casual Arena cyphers are cooperative performance rooms and do not require a winner.

Official scoring, matchmaking, rating, judging, placement, and results must not be influenced by paid membership, credits, follower count, paid promotion, producer relationships, creator status, or staff preference.

Ranked launches with fixed participants, fixed rounds, the same assigned beat and prompt, consistent preparation time, and transparent scoring categories. Competitive Rank remains separate from Community Reputation and Skill XP.

Eligible human judges must be neutral and may be evaluated for reliability. AI may assist transcription, prompt-use evidence, technical diagnostics, and moderation flags. AI does not choose the winner of an official Ranked match.

Published scoring categories and weights control the result. A judge may not change criteria after a performance begins. Audience reaction is not a substitute for the announced scoring process.

Players should use the technical-report path when a disconnect, microphone failure, beat failure, or platform error materially affects a judged performance. Cypher Club may review connection logs, room state, consent state, and the minimum relevant audio evidence for a limited period.

A poor performance, ordinary latency within the disclosed experience, disagreement with taste, or a changed strategy is not automatically a technical failure.

Battle context never excuses threats, hate, harassment, doxxing, exploitation, targeted abuse, discriminatory language, or unlawful conduct. Competitive language may be intense, but it remains subject to the Community Guidelines and room rules.

Use Safety & Privacy to submit a Ranked decision, contest decision, rights decision, or moderation appeal. Explain the specific rule, result, or technical event that should be reviewed. Do not include private information that is not necessary for the review.

An appeal is not a guarantee that a result will change. Reviewers may uphold, modify, reverse, or close a decision. Reporter identities and unrelated private evidence are not disclosed through an appeal.

Cypher Club preserves only the scoped evidence needed for review. Ordinary report context normally expires after 30 days. Serious safety evidence may be retained for 90 days. A lawful preservation request, active dispute, or legal hold may require longer retention.

Hosts must publish material event rules before entry, including eligibility, schedule, format, beats, prompts, recording policy, prizes if any, judging method, and dispute deadline. Hosts may not quietly change those terms after performances begin.

Use Safety & Privacy for reports and appeals. Use Support for a general rules question before entering an event.