Arkasa Server - Terms of Service
Effective Date: August 26, 2026 Version: 1.1
Introduction
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Arkasa gaming server ("Server", "Service"), operated by Didier De Ridder, trading as Arkasa ("we", "us", "our", "Operator").
By accessing or using the Server, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Community Guidelines.
The Terms of Sale apply only if you buy something, and you accept those at checkout — playing here is not an agreement to a sales contract. The Privacy Policy is not something you agree to at all: it explains what we do with your data and what you can require from us.
If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access or use the Server.
Section 1: Liability Disclaimer
The Server is run by a small sole-trader-operated community, not an organisation with guaranteed service levels. We keep it running as well as we reasonably can, but we do not promise that it is always available, never crashes, never rolls back, or never loses data.
What we do not accept responsibility for:
- Downtime, crashes, rollbacks, or lost game progress, characters, items or virtual property
- What other players do to you or to your base
- Whether the game runs on your particular hardware or software
What we remain fully responsible for, because Belgian law does not allow otherwise:
- Anything you paid for. If a purchase is not delivered or does not work as described, you are entitled to a remedy. See the Terms of Sale.
- Damage caused by our own fraud, intent, or serious fault
- Personal injury or death caused by negligence
- Everything else mandatory consumer law protects
This section is a description of what a community server can promise, not an attempt to take away rights you have by law. Where the two conflict, the law wins.
Section 2: Responsibility for What You Do
You are responsible for your own conduct on the Server, and for anything you write, build or upload there. If what you do breaks the law or harms someone else, that is on you, not on us — and normal Belgian rules on liability decide the rest.
We do not ask you to pay our legal costs, defend us in court, or take on claims made against us. An obligation like that is standard in American terms and has no place in a contract with a consumer here. It has been removed rather than softened with an exception, because an unfair term does not become fair by adding a note underneath it.
Section 3: Privacy and Data Protection (GDPR Compliance)
Data Controller: Didier De Ridder, trading as Arkasa Email: arkasaserver@gmail.com Supervisory Authority: Belgian Data Protection Authority (Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit/GBA)
We process personal data in accordance with:
- EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Belgian Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data
For complete details on data collection, processing, retention, and your rights, see our Privacy Policy.
Summary of Your Rights:
- Right to access your personal data
- Right to rectification of inaccurate data
- Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
- Right to restriction of processing
- Right to data portability
- Right to object to processing
- Right to lodge complaint with Belgian GBA (www.dataprotectionauthority.be)
Section 4: Age Requirements
Minimum Age: You must be at least 16 years old to use this Server.
We set 16 because that is the PEGI rating of ARK: Survival Ascended itself. The game is rated for players of 16 and over, and it would be odd for us to invite younger players onto it than the people who made it intend.
By accessing the Server, you confirm that:
- You are at least 16 years of age
- If under 18, a parent or guardian knows you play here and agrees to it
- You meet the age requirements of the platform you play on — Steam, Epic Games, Xbox or PlayStation. Arkasa is crossplay, and each of those platforms sets its own minimum, which can be higher than ours depending on where you live.
Younger players. We do not knowingly keep data about anyone under 16. If we find out that an account belongs to someone younger, we remove the account and its data. A parent or guardian can ask us to do that at any time: arkasaserver@gmail.com.
Age Verification: We do not run age verification technology and do not claim to. We rely on what you tell us, and we act on reports.
Section 5: Intellectual Property Rights
Our Intellectual Property
All content created by or for Arkasa, including but not limited to:
- Server name, logo, branding, and graphics
- Custom mods, plugins, scripts, and configurations
- Website design and content
- Discord bot functionality
...is owned by or licensed to Didier De Ridder, trading as Arkasa. You may not use, copy, modify, or distribute this content without written permission.
Your Content
You retain ownership of content you create (character names, base designs, etc.). By using the Server, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to:
- Display and store your content on the Server
- Use your content for moderation and rule enforcement
- Create backups and archives
Virtual Goods and Currency
Virtual items, resources, creatures and currency obtained in-game or bought from the shop are tied to your Server account. What you get is a limited right to use them inside the cluster.
That right does not include:
- exchanging them for cash, or claiming their value in money
- transferring them to another account, another server, or another cluster
- reselling them to anyone
Some of these items were bought with real money, so it would be dishonest to pretend they have no value. They do — inside the cluster, for as long as your account and the cluster exist. What you do not have is a claim to that value in cash.
If your account is banned or the Server permanently closes, access to virtual goods ends without additional compensation beyond any applicable consumer rights. Section 10 sets out what happens to a running subscription when a cluster closes.
Third-Party Content
ARK: Survival Ascended and related trademarks are property of Studio Wildcard. Our Server operates under their community server guidelines and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Studio Wildcard.
Streaming, Video, and Fan Content
You may stream, record, and publish screenshots and videos of your play on the Server, including on monetised channels, subject to Studio Wildcard's Fan Content Guidelines and to the rules of the platform you publish on.
You may not sell Server access, in-game items, or accounts, and you may not present the Server or your content as an official or endorsed Studio Wildcard product. Using the Arkasa name or logo to promote a separate commercial product or service requires our written permission.
Section 6: Dispute Resolution
Internal Resolution Process
Step 1 - Contact Moderators For in-game disputes, contact a moderator via Discord or in-game.
Step 2 - Submit Ticket For formal complaints, open a support ticket at https://discord.gg/arkasa or email arkasaserver@gmail.com.
Step 3 - Appeal to Administration If unsatisfied with moderator decision, submit written appeal within 7 days.
Appeal Requirements
- Your username and account information
- Description of the incident and decision being appealed
- Evidence supporting your appeal
- Reason why you believe the decision was incorrect
Response Timeline
- Acknowledgment: within 48 hours
- Investigation and decision: within 7 days
- Final appeal decision: within 14 days
Final Decision Authority
Decisions by senior administration are final within Arkasa's internal appeal process. They close the internal procedure only. They do not settle any legal claim you may have, and they do not affect your statutory rights to seek external dispute resolution or legal remedies.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
ADR is voluntary. You may bring proceedings before a competent court at any time. You do not have to contact us first, and you do not have to attempt mediation first.
Contact us directly
- Email: arkasaserver@gmail.com
- Subject: "Dispute - [Your Issue]"
- Include: Account details, transaction info (if applicable), detailed description
- Response: 48 hours acknowledgment, 7 days resolution attempt
Belgian consumer mediation
- Provider: Consumentenombudsdienst / Service de Médiation pour le Consommateur
- Website: https://consumentenombudsdienst.be
- Cost: Free for consumers
- The service either handles the complaint itself or refers it to the qualified body for the sector.
Cross-border help within the EU/EEA If you live in another EU/EEA country, the European Consumer Centre network can advise you on a cross-border complaint, for example the European Consumer Centre Belgium via www.eccbelgium.be.
Court proceedings
- EU consumers: Belgian courts or the courts of your home country
- Non-EU consumers: Belgian courts (Brussels)
Section 7: Payments and Chargebacks
Withdrawal and Refunds
Everything about the 14-day withdrawal right, when it applies, when it falls away, and how to use it is in the Terms of Sale, Article 2 — including the withdrawal function at www.arkasa.gg/withdraw.
It is deliberately written in one place only. Two documents describing the same rule drift apart, and then the one that is out of date is the one someone relies on.
Chargebacks
Legitimate chargebacks (unauthorized transactions, non-delivery, or defective services) are your consumer right and will be handled in accordance with applicable law.
Fraudulent or abusive chargebacks (where goods were delivered as described and used) may result in:
- Suspension or termination of your account
- Revocation of access to virtual goods
- Us disputing the chargeback with evidence of delivery and usage
- Recovery of administrative costs and fees where permitted by law
We encourage you to contact us at arkasaserver@gmail.com before initiating a chargeback, so we can resolve any issues directly.
The Role of Tip4Serv
You buy from us, not from Tip4Serv. Tip4Serv is the platform our shop runs on: it takes the payment through Stripe or PayPal and delivers the purchase to your character. It is not the seller and not a reseller. Their own terms say the same — "Sellers remain solely responsible for the content, configuration, and delivery of the digital products."
That means we are responsible for delivery, for the service working, and for refunds. Not them.
By making a purchase you also accept Tip4Serv's Terms of Service for the payment itself. Where their terms and ours disagree about your purchase, ours apply — see Terms of Sale, Article 2.
Section 8: Governing Law and Jurisdiction
Applicable Law: These Terms are governed by Belgian law, including:
- Belgian Civil Code
- Belgian Code of Economic Law
- EU General Data Protection Regulation
Jurisdiction: Disputes go to whichever court is competent under the mandatory consumer rules that apply to you — for most consumers, a court in the country where you live. Where those rules leave the choice open, the courts of Brussels, Belgium are competent, because that is where we are established.
EU/EEA Consumers: You keep the right to bring a claim in the courts of the country you live in, and the mandatory consumer protections of that country apply to you whatever these Terms say.
Consumers outside the EU/EEA: We have chosen Belgian law because that is where we are, and the courts of Brussels because that is where we can be reached. Your own country's consumer law may give you rights that apply regardless, and nothing here is meant to remove them. We do not ask you to give up any right to join a group or class action, and we make no claim about how the courts where you live will treat this clause.
Conflict of Laws: Belgian law applies without regard to conflict of law principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) does not apply.
Section 9: Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction:
- That provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable
- If modification is not possible, the provision shall be severed from these Terms
- The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect
The invalidity of any provision does not affect the validity of the remaining Terms.
Section 10: Modifications
We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time.
Notification of Changes:
- Material changes will be announced via Discord (https://discord.gg/arkasa)
- Notice will be given at least 14 days before changes take effect
- Updated version will be posted on www.arkasa.gg
Acceptance of Changes:
- For free play, continuing to use the Server after the effective date counts as accepting the new Terms. If you do not agree, stop using the Server.
- If you have a paid subscription running, that does not apply to you. A change that costs you more or gives you less is not imposed by carrying on playing. We ask you to agree to it. If you do not, your subscription continues on the terms you signed up to until the end of the period you paid for, and you may cancel before the change takes effect. See Terms of Sale, Article 12.
Version History: Current version and change history available at www.arkasa.gg/terms
Service Termination
We reserve the right to discontinue the Server, or any cluster within it, at any time. In the event of a permanent closure we will attempt to provide at least 30 days' notice via Discord.
Running subscriptions: If a cluster or the Server closes permanently while your subscription is running, we will refund the unused part of the period you have already paid for, calculated pro rata, where consumer law requires it. You do not have to claim this separately. If a refund does not reach you, contact arkasaserver@gmail.com.
One-off purchases: Access to virtual goods ends on closure. Nothing in this section limits any refund you are entitled to under mandatory consumer law.
Section 11: Entire Agreement
These Terms of Service, together with:
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Sale
- Community Guidelines
- Platform Terms (Steam, Epic Games, Discord)
...constitute the entire agreement between you and Didier De Ridder, trading as Arkasa, regarding your use of the Server.
No Verbal Modifications: No verbal statements, promises, or representations by staff, moderators, or administrators override these written Terms.
Supersession: These Terms supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings regarding the Server.
Section 12: Enforcement System
Progressive Discipline Structure
| Level | Offense Type | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minor violations (spam, minor disrespect) | Warning |
| 2 | Repeated minor violations | Temporary mute (1-24 hours) |
| 3 | Moderate violations (harassment, rule violations) | Temporary ban (1-7 days) |
| 4 | Serious violations (repeated offenses, griefing) | Extended ban (7-30 days) |
| 5 | Severe violations (cheating, doxxing, threats) | Permanent ban |
Immediate Ban Offenses (No Warning)
- Use of cheats, hacks, or exploits
- Meshing or undermapping
- Doxxing or real-life threats
- DDOS attacks or server interference
- Illegal content distribution
Documentation
Bans are recorded. A ban is written down with the date, what it was for, and the evidence behind it, so it can be reviewed if you appeal.
Smaller actions — a spoken warning, a short mute — are often handled on the spot and are not always written down. We would rather say that than claim a record exists for everything. If you appeal something and we have no record of it, that counts in your favour, not ours.
A ban record also names the staff member who made the decision, so an appeal is reviewed by somebody else.
Moderator Accountability
Staff decisions may be reviewed upon appeal. Abuse of moderator powers is not tolerated.
Belgian Consumer Protection Addendum
Consumer Rights (Belgian Code of Economic Law Book VI)
By using this Server with paid services, you are a consumer entitled to:
- Protection against unfair commercial practices
- Transparent, accurate information about services and prices
- Access to alternative dispute resolution
We commit to:
- Not using misleading information about game mechanics or rewards
- Not using aggressive or manipulative commercial practices
- Not exploiting addictive tendencies or using dark patterns
Consumer Complaints: Contact arkasaserver@gmail.com, or the Belgian Consumentenombudsdienst via https://consumentenombudsdienst.be
Reporting Illegal Content
If you come across content on our Server or in our Discord that you believe is illegal, tell us:
- Discord: open a ticket at https://discord.gg/arkasa
- Email: arkasaserver@gmail.com
We acknowledge reports within 72 hours and look into them.
If we remove something, we normally tell both the person who reported it and the person whose content it was. We will not do that where telling someone would put a person at risk, where the law forbids it, where a police or judicial investigation is running, or where doing so would reveal someone's identity against their wishes. In those cases we say as little as we safely can, and we say that we are not saying more.
For authorities: arkasaserver@gmail.com. We keep records of ban decisions and can produce them on a lawful request.
We deliberately do not title this section "DSA compliance". The Digital Services Act sets different obligations depending on what kind of service you are, and we have not had a lawyer determine which of those roles a community game server falls into. Claiming to be compliant with a framework we have not been assessed against would create expectations we cannot evidence. What is written above is what we actually do.
Minors
- Minimum age: 16, as set out in Section 4.
- No advertising: we serve no advertising on the Server at all, targeted or otherwise.
- Parents and guardians: if you believe someone under 16 is using the Server, or you want data about a minor's account removed, email arkasaserver@gmail.com and we will act on it.
We do not operate age verification technology, content filtering, or automated systems that detect or flag minors, and we make no claim that we do.
Contact Information
Operator: Didier De Ridder, trading as Arkasa Enterprise Number: 1023.256.463 VAT Number: BE1023.256.463 Email: arkasaserver@gmail.com Website: www.arkasa.gg Discord: https://discord.gg/arkasa
Last updated: August 26, 2026 Version: 1.1