§ 101.3 Intent. The purpose of this code is to establish the minimum requirements to safeguard visitors from walls that are not there, floors that are not there, and rooms that are considerably larger on the inside.
§ 102.1 General. Where there is a conflict between a general requirement and a specific requirement, the specific requirement shall be applicable. Where, in any specific case, different sections of this code specify different materials, methods of construction or other requirements, the most restrictive shall govern.
§ 104.6 Right of entry. Where it is necessary to make an inspection to enforce the provisions of this code, or where the building official has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in a world a condition contrary to or in violation of this code, the building official is authorized to enter the world at reasonable times to inspect. If the world is private, the building official shall first request an invite. If the invite is refused, the building official shall request it again, louder.
§ 105.1 Permit required. Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a world, or to install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any mirror, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit.
§ 105.2 Work exempt from permit. Exemptions from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code. Permits shall not be required for the following: 1. Moving a prop less than 0.5 m. 2. Changing the colour of a wall, provided the new colour is not magenta. 3. Replacing a skybox with a skybox of equal or lesser cloud.
§ 105.5 Expiration. Every permit issued shall become invalid unless the work on the world authorized by such permit is commenced within 180 days after its issuance, or if the work authorized by such permit is suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 days after the time the work is commenced. A world described by its builder as "basically done" for more than 180 days shall be deemed abandoned.
§ 107.3.1 Approved construction documents. One set of construction documents so reviewed shall be retained by the building official. The other set shall be returned to the applicant, shall be kept at the site of work, and shall be open to inspection by the building official or a duly authorized representative. A screenshot of a construction document is not a construction document.
§ 110.1 Inspections, general. Construction or work for which a permit is required shall be subject to inspection by the building official, and such construction or work shall remain visible and able to be accessed for inspection purposes until approved. Approval as a result of an inspection shall not be construed to be an approval of a violation of the provisions of this code. It shall be the duty of the owner to cause the work to remain loaded and rendered for inspection purposes. Neither the building official nor the jurisdiction shall be liable for expense entailed in the required removal or replacement of any material required to allow inspection, including occlusion culling.
§ 110.6 Reinspection. A world shall be reinspected where work is not complete at the time of inspection, where corrections called for are not made, or where the world is not available for inspection because it is uploading. "It works on my machine" shall not constitute a correction.
§ 111.1 Certificate of occupancy. A world shall not be used or occupied, and a change in the existing occupancy classification of a world shall not be made, until the building official has issued a certificate of occupancy therefor. Issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall not be construed as an approval of a violation of the provisions of this code, or of the music.
§ 114.1 Stop work orders. Where the building official finds any work regulated by this code being performed in a manner contrary to the provisions of this code, or in a dangerous or unsafe manner, the building official is authorized to issue a stop work order. Upon issuance of a stop work order, the cited work shall immediately cease. The stop work order shall state the reason for the order and the conditions under which the cited work will be permitted to resume. Uploading a new version of the world during the reading of the order is a separate violation.
§ 116.1 Unsafe worlds. Worlds that are or hereafter become unsafe, insanitary or deficient because of inadequate means of egress, colliders or lighting, or that constitute a fall hazard, or that involve illegal or improper occupancy or inadequate maintenance, shall be deemed an unsafe condition. Unsafe worlds shall be taken down and removed or made safe, as the building official deems necessary. A vacant world that is not secured against entry shall be deemed unsafe. A vacant world that is secured against entry but contains one occupant who will not say how they got in shall be referred to the Condemned Register.
§ 202 Definitions. APPROVED. Acceptable to the building official. SHALL. The term, where used in this code, is mandatory. DECORATIVE. Visible, and not to be relied upon. FIXTURE. An occupant who has not moved in four hours. VOID. The space beneath a world, of unknown depth, measured from the lowest floor to wherever the inspector stopped falling.
§ 806.4 Fireplaces. A fireplace shall be listed and labelled as decorative where it does not emit heat. All fireplaces emit no heat. All fireplaces shall be so labelled.
§ 909.4 Real-time lighting. Not more than four real-time light sources shall be installed in any one room. Exception: Rooms in which the owner has signed an acknowledgement that visitors' headsets will become hot to the touch.
§ 1004.5 Areas without fixed seating. The number of occupants shall be computed at the rate of one occupant per unit of area as prescribed in Table 1004.5. Table 1004.5, Maximum floor area allowances per occupant: Assembly, standing, 0.46 m² net. Assembly, dancing, 0.46 m² net, plus elbows. Mirror viewing, 0.5 m of mirror width per occupant. Lobby, waiting for friends who said they were "loading in", 1.4 m² net, indefinitely.
§ 1004.9 Mirror occupancy. The number of occupants standing before a mirror shall not exceed one occupant per half-metre of mirror width. Fixtures, as defined in section 202, shall be included in the count.
§ 1004.9.1 Posting of mirror occupant load. Every mirror shall have the occupant load posted in a conspicuous place, near the mirror. Posted signs shall be of an approved legible permanent design and shall be maintained by the owner. A sign that can only be read in the mirror shall be lettered in reverse.
§ 1008.3 Illumination required. The means of egress serving a world shall be illuminated at all times the world is occupied. In the event of power failure, emergency lighting shall provide illumination for a duration of not less than 90 minutes. A world set entirely at night "for the vibe" is not exempt.
§ 1010.1 Doors. Every door shall open. A door that does not open shall not be drawn on a wall.
§ 1010.1.9 Door operations. Egress doors shall be readily openable from the egress side without the use of a key, special knowledge or effort. Interacting with a door by pressing a trigger, a grip and the B button at the same time constitutes special knowledge.
§ 1011.2 Stairs. Every stair shall have a collider. A decorative stair shall be marked DECORATIVE in letters not less than 200 mm high on every tread.
§ 1011.3 Headroom. Stairways shall have a headroom clearance of not less than 2032 mm measured vertically from a line connecting the edge of the nosings. Exception: Spiral stairways, where the headroom shall be not less than the height of the inspector, plus the inspector's hat.
§ 1011.5.2 Riser height and tread depth. Stair riser heights shall be 178 mm maximum and 102 mm minimum. Rectangular tread depths shall be 279 mm minimum. Within any flight of stairs, the greatest riser height shall not exceed the smallest by more than 9.5 mm. A stair whose risers are each 0 mm is a ramp, and is subject to section 1012.
§ 1011.12 Stairs to nowhere. A stair that does not arrive at a landing shall terminate in a sign reading "This is the top".
§ 1014.3 Handrail graspability. Handrails shall have a circular cross section with an outside diameter of not less than 32 mm and not greater than 51 mm, and shall be graspable by an avatar of any hand size, including avatars with paws and avatars with no hands. Handrails rendered as a texture on the wall shall not be considered graspable.
§ 1015.2 Guards. Every edge above the void shall have a guard not less than 1.07 m high. "The void is part of the aesthetic" is not a guard.
§ 1015.4 Opening limitations. Required guards shall not have openings that allow passage of a sphere 102 mm in diameter. Exception: Avatars smaller than 102 mm shall be carried.
§ 1208.2 Ceiling height. Ceilings shall clear the tallest avatar present. Where the tallest avatar present is forty metres tall, either the ceiling shall be raised or the avatar shall be asked to sit.
§ 1301.1 Energy allowance. Each world shall be assigned an energy allowance, computed from its occupant load. The rendering of a room in a mirror shall be counted against the allowance as a second room, and the occupants reflected in it as a second occupant load.
§ 1301.5 Environmental impact statement. A world projected to draw more power at capacity than the real-world neighbourhood surrounding its busiest occupant shall file an environmental impact statement and shall hold one public meeting, in-world, for residents of that neighbourhood. Residents unable to attend owing to a power outage shall be provided the minutes.
§ 1301.9 Cooling water. Water drawn for the cooling of occupants' equipment shall be reported in lakes. Fractional lakes shall be rounded up.
§ 1607.1 Live load. Floors shall support eighty occupants dancing in unison, plus one occupant who joined late and is out of time.
§ 1607.1.2 Load test. Where the building official has reason to doubt the load-carrying capacity of a floor, a load test shall be conducted. The floor shall be loaded to the design live load and observed for a period of not less than 24 hours. Occupants used as test load shall be compensated, and shall not be told it is a test.
§ 2405.1 Glazing. A window shall collide from both sides or from neither. A window that collides from one side only is a one-way door, and shall be posted as such.
§ 2902.1 Seating. Every chair shall seat. A chair through which the occupant passes shall be reclassified as art.
§ 3002.1 Spawn. The spawn point shall be on a floor, within a room, facing something.
§ 3002.3 Spawn point clearance. A clear floor space of not less than 1.2 m by 1.2 m shall be maintained at the spawn point at all times. Furniture, props, pets and visitors who are "just standing here" shall not be placed within the required clearance.
§ 3103.1 Water. Water shall be wet. Water that may be stood upon is a floor and is subject to section 1607.
§ 3401.2 Maintenance. Worlds and parts thereof shall be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition. Devices or safeguards required by this code shall be maintained in conformance with the code edition under which installed. The owner or the owner's authorized agent shall be responsible for the maintenance of worlds, including after a platform update, and including after the owner has stopped logging in.
§ 3412.1 Existing worlds. Worlds published before the adoption of this code are grandfathered. Grandfathered worlds shall nevertheless be inspected, and pitied.