Q: Is Pixel-Ponies safe for younger users?

We take safety seriously. Users must be at least 13 to create an account, and anyone younger is blocked during sign-up. All public content must be all-ages safe, enforced by an automatic content filter that scans for restricted terms. We also have a volunteer moderation team and a content reporting system so everyone can help keep things appropriate. Our moderation is handled by real people on our team, with real people in our community helping us catch issues through reporting. If you see something that shouldn't be here, please report it so we can act on it quickly.

Q: Are theme packs accessible for users with visual impairments?

Pixel-Ponies Green (PPG) is our default theme and is designed to meet WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards for color contrast, text sizing, and interactive element visibility. We test PPG extensively to ensure it works for as many users as possible. Additional theme packs available in My Customizations are visual customizations hand-crafted by our founder. While we try to keep them as accessible as we can, some theme packs may have lower color contrast ratios, decorative animations, or visual effects that could be harder to see for some users. If you experience difficulty reading or navigating with a non-default theme pack, you can switch back to Pixel-Ponies Green at any time from your account settings. Theme packs that apply to your horses do not affect other users unless they view your horse detail page. Theme packs with known contrast concerns are labeled in My Customizations. We are committed to improving accessibility across all theme packs over time.

Question 1

What is Pixel-Ponies?

Accepted Answer

Pixel-Ponies is a fan-made website for players of horse games to organize all our horses from various games into one cohesive, beautiful space and, if you want, let others view your collection! As a result of our growing userbase, we are also able to provide fun analytics both specific to you and our entire community.

It began in September 2025 as a way to organize horses from one game. But now, it's growing into so much more with the help of our incredible community who volunteer for staff roles, provide information for a public database, and more.

We just launched this brand-new version of the site and are still in beta, so you might run into a bug here and there. If you find one, please let us know on our Discord. We're working hard to polish everything!

Question 2

How do I create an account?

Accepted Answer

You can sign up with Discord, Google, or just your email address. None of these require remembering a password, and you must be 13 or older to join.

To get started:

1. Go to the Sign-in page.
2. Pick the method you prefer (Discord, Google, or email).
3. For email, we'll send you a 6-digit code to confirm. For Discord/Google, we'll redirect you back here once you authorize.
4. Walk through onboarding (display name, birthday, optional migration from the old website).

That's it. You're in.

Question 3

I used the old website, can I bring my horses over?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. Here's how migration works:

1. During sign-up, when we ask if you've used Pixel-Ponies before, say yes.
2. Enter the email you used on the old site.
3. We'll send you a PIN to confirm it's you.
4. Once verified, your horses, subscription status, and history are queued to import.

We show a friendly progress screen while we work. Depending on how many people are signing up at the same time, it typically takes anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. You can leave the tab open or come back later; we'll pick up where you left off.

You may even get a gift or two ;)

Question 4

What can I do for free, and what does Pro include?

Accepted Answer

The free plan is intended as a "try it out" plan. You can always access the community database for free, and even add to your collection a bit. We allow you to add 5 owned horses, 5 wishlist horses, and 5 original characters. All users have access to analytics.

To add more, you can upgrade to Pro, which lets you add as many horses as you'd like to your collection and more.

Question 5

Can I use Pixel-Ponies on my phone or tablet?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pixel-Ponies works in any modern browser on any device, whether that's a phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. There's no separate app to download. The layout automatically adjusts to your screen size, and everything is designed to be easy to tap and scroll on touchscreens.

That said, although we've done everything in our power to design for smaller screens, there are limitations. Pixel-Ponies is best experienced on a bigger screen, like a laptop or desktop computer. Some day, we hope to expand to iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows apps, but that's dependent on how big our community grows.

Question 6

Is Pixel-Ponies allowed? Is it legal?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Pixel-Ponies is no different from a spreadsheet where you track your own data, or Instagram where you post screenshots, or YouTube where you share gameplay. People already organize and share their horse collections across dozens of platforms. We just built a purpose-made tool for it.

A few things worth being clear about:

- Our community database is separate from what we charge for, and its existence is just a kind thing our users do to make it easier for other users to add horses. It's free to browse with or without an account, community-managed, and contributed by volunteers (we only oversee it to keep things appropriate). You may organize and share your horses even without it.
- What we charge for is organization tools, not content itself. The community database is free for everyone. A Pro subscription includes unlimited collection slots, analytics, and quality-of-life features. We don't charge for access to information that our community generously contributes.
- We take major steps to make it clear we are not affiliated with any game studio unless we have a direct partnership with them. All game names, logos, and trademarks belong to their respective owners.
- Just as Instagram, YouTube, or any other platform would upon request, if a studio expressed concern we would remove their horses from the community database. Our users would keep all of their personal collection data, because that belongs to them.

Question 7

Why would I use this instead of a spreadsheet?

Accepted Answer

Honestly, fair point. Our founder wondered the same thing when she made it for herself, but then everyone wanted to try it out and now we're here! This has been a community-driven effort from the beginning. The day everyone moves on, so, too, will the project. But today, we seem to have some people who really enjoy it!

Pixel-Ponies is purpose-built so you don't have to:

- Our community database has horse data already curated for you, so you're not typing breed names and coat colors from scratch.
- Your collection is automatically organized across multiple games, looks great on any device, and comes with built-in privacy controls.
- There's a whole social side a spreadsheet can't touch: a public profile, friends and followers, community voting, a reputation system, and the ability to discover what other collectors have.

The free plan gives you 15 entries to try it out and see if the experience clicks for you. If something else works better for your needs, no hard feelings.

Question 8

How can I share feedback or suggest a feature?

Accepted Answer

We love hearing from you! The best place to share feedback is our Discord server, where we have a dedicated feedback channel for ideas, suggestions, and constructive criticism.

The creator and builder of Pixel-Ponies is what's called a "user experience designer" full time in the real world, so your input is professionally taken in and implemented when we can. Without your feedback, we wouldn't be where we are today. Ideas like this never come from just one person.

We do ask that feedback remains respectful, polite, and constructive, though. We understand emotions can run high, but we are human, just like you. <3

Question 9

Is Pixel-Ponies safe for younger users?

Accepted Answer

We take safety seriously. Users must be at least 13 to create an account, and anyone younger is blocked during sign-up. All public content must be all-ages safe, enforced by an automatic content filter that scans for restricted terms.

We also have a volunteer moderation team and a content reporting system so everyone can help keep things appropriate. Our moderation is handled by real people on our team, with real people in our community helping us catch issues through reporting.

If you see something that shouldn't be here, please report it so we can act on it quickly.

Question 10

Are theme packs accessible for users with visual impairments?

Accepted Answer

Pixel-Ponies Green (PPG) is our default theme and is designed to meet WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards for color contrast, text sizing, and interactive element visibility. We test PPG extensively to ensure it works for as many users as possible.

Additional theme packs available in My Customizations are visual customizations hand-crafted by our founder. While we try to keep them as accessible as we can, some theme packs may have lower color contrast ratios, decorative animations, or visual effects that could be harder to see for some users.

If you experience difficulty reading or navigating with a non-default theme pack, you can switch back to Pixel-Ponies Green at any time from your account settings. Theme packs that apply to your horses do not affect other users unless they view your horse detail page.

Theme packs with known contrast concerns are labeled in My Customizations. We are committed to improving accessibility across all theme packs over time.

Question 11

What is a badge?

Accepted Answer

Badges are small recognitions that show up on your profile. Each one represents something you've done or earned on Pixel-Ponies: completing a collection, hitting a community milestone, being part of the founding wave, that kind of thing.

Badges fall into a few groups:

- Collection badges: earned by completing a breed group, a coat color set, or another defined slice of a game's database. These replace what we used to call "complete collections" on the old website.
- Community badges: earned for participation, like contributing a certain number of approved submissions or hitting author-reputation milestones.
- Recognition badges: given for things like being a founding member, an early supporter, or holding a staff role.

You can see every badge you've earned (and the ones you haven't yet) by clicking the badge icon on your profile.

Some badges are revocable. For example, the staff-role badges go away when someone steps down. Most are permanent.

Question 12

Where are my complete collections?

Accepted Answer

On the old website, finishing a breed group or other defined collection used to be called a "complete collection." On the new Pixel-Ponies, that same recognition lives in the badge system.

If you completed any collections on the old site, you'll see them as collection badges on your profile. Click any badge to see the full set of horses that earned it.

New collection badges are awarded automatically when you finish the relevant set in your owned collection. You don't need to do anything special to claim them.

If you think a collection you completed on the old site is missing, send us a note from Discord and we'll take a look.

Question 13

Can I get free Pro or free theme packs?

Accepted Answer

Yes! There are a few ways:

- Reputation milestones: at 1,000 points you get a free theme pack of your choice; at 5,000 you get a 6-month Pro subscription plus a second free theme pack; at 10,000 you get 50% off Pro for life (automatically applied at checkout) plus a free theme pack for every additional 1,000 points you earn after that. See What is a milestone? for the full list.
- Founding members: users who supported Pixel-Ponies during the early launch window have free Pro and a founding-member badge for the lifetime of their account.
- Staff roles: moderators, builders, game admins, and head admins get Pro and the Image Add-On bundled with their role at no cost. See How do I apply to be a staff member?.
- Gifts: staff occasionally gift Pro time, theme packs, or section credits to users who go above and beyond. There's no application process for this; it just happens.

Reputation is the main path. Anyone can earn it, and the milestones are designed to give back meaningfully, not as a sales gimmick, but as a real thank-you for contributing.

Question 14

What are the different collection types?

Accepted Answer

You have three collection types to work with, each with its own tab and slightly different features.

- Owned: horses you actually have in a game. You can add details like custom names, notes, photos, and more. Your owned collection is public by default so others can admire your stable, but you can make individual horses or the whole collection private.
- Wishlist: horses you'd love to get someday. Organize them by priority tiers (Top Priority, Some Day, If I Can) to keep track of what you're saving up for. Your wishlist is private by default.
- Original Characters: creative characters you design yourself, no game required. These are for the artists, writers, and daydreamers. Add backstories, reference images, and whatever details bring your character to life.

Question 15

How many horses can I add?

Accepted Answer

Free accounts can hold up to 5 of each type: 5 owned, 5 wishlist, and 5 OCs (15 total). If you need more room, Pro gives you unlimited entries across all types. You'll see a friendly nudge when you're getting close to the limit, and upgrading instantly gives you access to everything.

Question 16

What's a predesigned field?

Accepted Answer

Predesigned fields are the ready-made details we set up for you on a horse, so you don't have to build them from scratch. For games with a dedicated space on Pixel-Ponies, these are tailored to that game (think coat color family, generation, or training status), filled with sensible options you can pick from. For everything else, you still get a useful set of general fields to work with.

They're the opposite of custom fields, which you create yourself when you want to track something we didn't think of. You can use predesigned fields, custom fields, or a mix of both on any horse.

A nice bonus: because predesigned fields use shared options across everyone's horses, they power our community analytics, like the most popular coat colors or breeds, and they make filtering and sorting your collection much smarter.

Question 17

Who can see my horses?

Accepted Answer

You have full control over who sees your horses. Each horse can be set to Public or Private.

- Public horses can appear on your profile, show up in community features like rankings and "other people who have this horse" lists, and have a public detail page anyone can open by its direct link, including people without an account.
- Private horses are only visible to you and staff.

One nuance on your profile page: if your profile is Public, logged-out visitors can browse your full profile, including your sections and collections, so you can share your profile link anywhere (like Instagram) and people can explore your horses without an account. If your profile is Private, logged-out visitors only see a limited view (your header and public counts). The Compare tool still asks visitors to log in, since comparing needs their own logged horses. Individual public horse detail pages stay viewable without an account either way.

All public content must be all-ages safe and predominantly in English. Our content filter checks horse names, fields, and public notes automatically. If restricted or non-English content is found, public visibility is disabled until the fields are edited. Private notes and private horses are never scanned. See content filter flagged.

You can adjust visibility on each horse's detail page, or use Bulk Edit to change all horses at once. Private notes are never visible to anyone but you.

Question 18

My horse was flagged by the content filter. What do I do?

Accepted Answer

Our content filter automatically checks horse names, breed names, custom field names and values, and public notes. It flags two things: language that isn't all-ages safe, and public prose that isn't predominantly English (a few words of another language are fine). Private notes and private horses are never scanned, so you can write freely there in any language.

This is an automated system, not a manual staff review. If your horse was flagged:

1. Open the horse's detail page.
2. Look for the warning banner near the visibility selector.
3. Edit the fields that contain flagged content.
4. Save your changes. The Public option will automatically become available again, with no additional approval needed.

The filter also catches common workarounds like letter substitution (0 for o, 3 for e) and special characters.

If you believe the flag is a mistake (for example, a legitimate breed name was caught), contact us and we will review it.

Question 19

What is the Image Add-On?

Accepted Answer

The Image Add-On is for users who want to upload images directly without fussing with external URLs.

With the add-on ($7.99/month or $79.99/year, requires Pro):

- Upload directly from your device, no URLs needed
- Images hosted reliably on our servers (never break or expire)
- Faster loading than external image links
- 5 image slots per horse (up from 1, owned and OC only)

To add it, go to Account Settings > Subscription. The Image Add-On requires an active Pro subscription, so you can only add it while your Pro plan is active. If your subscription has ended and you're in the grace period, renew Pro first and then add the Image Add-On. And if your Pro subscription lapses, the Image Add-On is set to cancel at the end of its current billing period, so you keep what you've already paid for until then.

Question 20

What happens to my horses if I cancel Pro?

Accepted Answer

It depends on how many horses you have when your subscription ends.

If you're within the free limits (5 owned, 5 wishlist, 5 OCs), nothing happens to your horses. Your account simply moves to the free plan, with no grace period and no warnings, and everything stays.

If you're over the free limits, you get a 30-day grace period with full Pro access. Your subscription paid for the space to store those extra horses, so during those 30 days you'll want to either resubscribe or trim each collection down to the free limit yourself. If you don't do either, all of your horses are removed when the grace period ends. We won't pick which ones to keep for you, so if there are favorites you want to hold onto, curate down to the free limit yourself.

If you also have the Image Add-On, it keeps working through the grace period. Once your Pro plan lapses, the Image Add-On is set to cancel at the end of its current billing period (it won't renew), and your uploaded images stay safe for 30 days after it ends.

Before anything is removed, you can export a raw backup of your data from Account Settings, though the export won't include images. We'll send you reminders along the way, so you have plenty of time to decide.

Question 21

Can I download a copy of all my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Head to Account Settings, scroll down to the Danger Zone, and hit "Export my data." To comply with data-protection regulations like GDPR and CCPA, we make every piece of personal data we hold about you available to download. The export includes your full collection (owned, wishlist, and OCs), your name ideas, the games you follow, your follows and friends, your likes and votes, your badges and reputation history, your community-database contributions, your profile and preferences, and your account metadata.

A few things to note:

- The file is a structured data file (JSON), not a spreadsheet or webpage. If we rendered everything you've done into a readable document, the export would run hundreds of pages long. JSON is the standard machine-readable format for full data exports.
- Images aren't included. Photos you've uploaded live in our storage system, and we simply don't have the resources to export your images for you. If you want to keep copies, please save them yourself from your own device or original source.
- You can request a new export once every 30 days.

Question 22

Can staff recover a horse I deleted?

Accepted Answer

We're sorry, but no. Once you delete a horse it's gone for good, and our team has no way to bring it back. The same is true for horses removed after a Pro subscription lapses while your collection is over the free limits: once they're gone, they can't be restored, even by us.

We know that's never the answer anyone hopes for, so a few gentle suggestions:

- Delete with care. There's no undo, so double-check before removing a horse you might want again later.
- Keep your own records. You can export a copy of your data any time. The export doesn't include uploaded images, so please save those yourself if they matter to you.
- Mind the grace period. If your collection is over the free limits when Pro ends, you get a 30-day grace period to resubscribe or trim down to the free limits yourself. If you don't, all your horses are removed once it ends.

We'll always help where we can, but recovering a deleted or lapsed horse simply isn't something we're able to do.

Question 23

What is an author?

Accepted Answer

An author is any member who helps build and maintain our community database. You become an author by contributing: submitting horses that the community accepts, suggesting edits that get approved, and helping curate by voting on submissions and edits. In short, authors are the people who keep Pixel-Ponies accurate and complete.

We track that contribution as Author Reputation. The more you contribute, the more author reputation you earn, and the higher your author tier climbs:

- Starter: where every member begins
- Author: 1,000 author reputation
- Trusted Author: 5,000
- Elite Author: 10,000

Each tier is a real badge that appears on your profile, and reaching new tiers unlocks rewards like free theme packs and Pro time. See your standing on the Author Reputation page.

Question 24

What's the point of the reputation system?

Accepted Answer

Author Reputation is our way of saying thank you to the authors who generously share their knowledge and help make Pixel-Ponies better for everyone. Everything in our community database exists because someone took the time to add it, and the reputation system makes sure that generosity is recognized and rewarded.

To be clear, we're not farming activity metrics or engagement numbers. There are no investors here. Pixel-Ponies is owned and operated by one person. Reputation exists purely to give back to the contributors who make this project what it is.

It is also a way for us to maintain the integrity of the site, keep our moderators' queues a little cleaner from bad actors, and more. It's a good way to keep us all accountable and fair.

You earn points naturally by participating:

- +1 for signing in each day
- +1 per vote you cast (up to 10 votes per day earn points)
- +5 for approved edit suggestions
- +20 when a horse you submit gets approved

As you hit milestones, you unlock real rewards like free theme packs, Pro subscriptions, and special privileges.

Question 25

Why is there a penalty for inactivity?

Accepted Answer

Reputation exists to elevate people who are currently knowledgeable and helpful in the community, not to award lifetime trophies for a single contribution a decade ago. The horse-game scene evolves constantly, so someone who hasn't participated in years is, by definition, not up to date on current games, breeds, or standards the way active members are.

That's the whole point of the decay. It's not engagement farming. You don't need to grind. Any activity, even just browsing the database, keeps your reputation stable. The decay only kicks in when you've been fully absent for two months.

Because the decay is percentage-based, your reputation never snaps down to zero overnight, and it never quite gets there. Come back at any time and you pick right back up from whatever balance you have.

The goal is simple: make sure the points reflect current contributors, so when we hand out rewards or elevate someone's vote count, we're elevating people who are actually in the community right now.

Question 26

What is a milestone?

Accepted Answer

Milestones are the author tiers: Author Reputation thresholds that unlock real rewards as a thank-you for contributing to the community. Each tier you reach gives you a set of new abilities and gifts, plus a real badge on your profile.

The current tiers are:

- Starter (0 points): submit horses, suggest edits, and vote on community submissions
- Author (1,000 points): your first free theme pack
- Trusted Author (5,000 points): a 6-month Pro subscription, a second free theme pack, and edit auto-approve (10 per day)
- Elite Author (10,000 points): the Golden Thumb (instant approve or reject on any qualifying vote), 50% off Pro for life, and a free theme pack for every additional 1,000 points you earn after

A quick note on what sticks: gifts are yours to keep. Once a free theme pack, Pro subscription, or discount lands in your account, it stays there even if your reputation later drops below the milestone that earned it.

Abilities are tied to your current reputation, though. Powers like the Golden Thumb and edit auto-approve are active only while your score sits at or above the threshold that unlocks them. If your reputation drifts below the line, the ability pauses until you climb back. It's not a punishment, just how those features stay matched to the trust they represent.

You can see all milestones, earned and upcoming, on your reputation page.

Question 27

Do staff members earn Author Reputation?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Staff earn Author Reputation as community members, the same way everyone else does. Signing in each day, voting on submissions and edits, and having your own edit suggestions approved all earn points exactly like they do for any member.

There are only a couple of things staff don't earn from:

- Staff-capacity actions, like approving or rejecting submissions and making moderation decisions. Those are part of the role, not community contributions, so they don't generate points.
- Submitting horses. Staff can't submit horses to the community database while they hold a role, so the +20 submission reward doesn't apply to them.

The only accounts that earn nothing are banned ones. Everyone else, the site creator included, builds reputation normally.

Question 28

What privacy controls do I have?

Accepted Answer

You're in full control. There are five layers:

1. Show me across the site: the master toggle. Turning this off sets everything below to private and removes all your followers (no notification sent). Friends are kept but hidden from visitors.
2. Profile: set your user profile to public or private.
3. Collection: make your owned horses, OCs, or wishlist private individually.
4. Individual horses: override your collection setting for any specific horse.
5. Private notes: add notes to any horse that only you can ever see.

Privacy always wins. Even your friends can't see things you've made private.

Question 29

What's public when I first join?

Accepted Answer

When you create your account, here's how things start:

- Owned horses: public by default, so other collectors can discover and appreciate them
- Original characters: public by default
- Wishlist: private by default
- Display name and reputation score: always visible (these can't be hidden, only your username can be changed)

You can change any of these defaults right away in Account Settings under Privacy.

All public content must be all-ages safe and predominantly in English. If your public horse or profile text contains restricted or non-English content flagged by our filter, public visibility is disabled until the flagged fields are edited. Anything you keep private is never scanned and can be written in any language.

Question 30

Can I be completely invisible on the platform?

Accepted Answer

There are lots of reasons someone might want anonymity on Pixel-Ponies. Maybe you've had bad experiences on other platforms and want a fresh, low-profile start. Maybe you'd rather not tie your hobby to your real-world identity. Maybe you just enjoy collecting horses privately, without the social side. All of those are completely fine reasons, and we built tools to support them.

We can get you pretty close to invisible. Turn off "Show me across the site" in your privacy settings. This will:

- Remove you from leaderboards, activity feeds, and "other people who have this horse" lists
- Set your profile, collections, and wishlist to private
- Permanently reset your followers to 0 (no notification is sent, and this cannot be undone)
- Disable new followers until you re-enable this setting
- Keep your friends list intact (but hidden from visitors)

You can also separately toggle "Allow follow requests" and "Allow friend requests" in Account Settings without going fully anonymous.

Your profile page will still exist at its direct URL, but nobody will stumble across you through normal browsing.

On community database contributions where attribution is required, your display name is replaced with "Private user". Your actual name is never shown anywhere on the site while this setting is off. Switch it back on whenever you're ready to be visible again, and your name returns to its normal place.

Question 31

How much does Pro cost?

Accepted Answer

Pro is $4.99/month or $49.99/year (about 17% off). The Image Add-On, which lets you upload photos directly to your entries, is an additional $7.99/month or $79.99/year and requires an active Pro subscription (you can't have the Image Add-On without Pro). All payments are handled securely through Stripe.

You can manage your subscription from Account Settings.

A note on pricing, in case it's useful: running a platform like Pixel-Ponies costs quite a bit. We keep prices as low as we possibly can. A few of the things you don't see on the receipt:

- Hosting, compute, and CDN: server time and bandwidth that scale with usage
- Database hosting: every horse, image record, login session, and notification needs a home
- Image storage + delivery: uploaded photos, theme pack assets, and avatars all live on a paid CDN
- Transactional email: every magic-link sign-in, PIN, and notification email goes through a paid provider
- Payment processing: Stripe takes its cut from every Pro charge
- Auth + content filtering: third-party tools that keep accounts secure and scan submissions for restricted terms
- Error monitoring: when something breaks, we need to know fast, and that costs money too
- Legal: time with lawyers for the privacy policy, terms of service, COPPA compliance, the data-export flow, and the patchwork of country and state laws we have to comply with
- Business filings: LLC formation fees, annual state reports, registered agent, accounting time
- Insurance: business liability and errors-and-omissions coverage that protects both Pixel-Ponies and the people who use it
- Taxes: income tax on whatever the project earns, plus sales tax remittance in the jurisdictions that require it
- Domain + certificates: yearly renewals, SSL across every subdomain
- And more... so much more.

We're not telling you all this to justify the price, just to be transparent. A surprising number of people assume running a website costs about as much as a domain name. The honest answer is this is a labor of love subsidized partly by Pro subscriptions, partly by the founder's free time, and partly by volunteers. If Pro is out of reach, the free plan has 15 entries and we've worked hard to make that actually useful on its own. If you want to support the project, a Pro subscription is the kindest way to do it.

Behind the scenes: Leigh designed every screen, drew every icon, and learned to code while building this. After a graphic design degree and 7+ years as a professional UX designer, this is the project she's pouring everything into, before her morning coffee, late into the night, in voice notes from her car. Every decision in here was mapped out and considered carefully, then reconsidered every time another decision touched it. You probably won't notice most of that work, and honestly, that's the goal. But Pro subscriptions are what make it sustainable to keep doing it.

Question 32

Do Pro members get a birthday gift?

Accepted Answer

Yes! As a little thank-you for supporting the project, every active Pro member gets a free theme pack on their birthday, every year.

On the day, we drop a theme pack credit into your account and send you a notification. Head to the shop, pick any theme pack you like, and your credit covers it at checkout. There's nothing to claim ahead of time and nothing extra to pay.

We use the birthday you set when you signed up. That birthday is locked once saved (so nobody can move it around to collect early), so if yours is wrong, just contact support and we'll fix it for you.

It's a small thing, but it's our way of celebrating you. Happy birthday from all of us at Pixel-Ponies. <3

Question 33

I moved over from the old website. Does my subscription switch to the new lower price?

Accepted Answer

Yes, automatically, and you don't have to do anything.

When you come over from the old site, your subscription keeps running without interruption and switches to the new lower price ($4.99/month, down from $6.99, or $49.99/year, down from $69.99), starting at your next renewal. Nothing changes mid-period: you keep what you already paid for, you're not charged again early, and there's no double-charge. On your renewal date you're simply billed the new, lower amount.

You can see it any time in Account Settings under Subscription, where it shows your plan, the new price, and your next bill date. New members also see this confirmed during onboarding.

If your subscription is set to cancel instead, it just cancels at the end of the period as scheduled, and there's nothing to switch.

Question 34

Can I switch between monthly and annual?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Go to Account Settings, find the Subscription section, and tap "Switch to annual" or "Switch to monthly".

The change takes effect at your next renewal. You keep your current plan until then, you're not charged anything now, and nothing is refunded. On your renewal date you're billed the new plan's price:

- Monthly is $4.99/month.
- Annual is $49.99/year (about 17% off, roughly two months free).

Your next bill date stays the same; only the plan you renew onto changes. You can switch back the same way any time before your renewal.

Question 35

How do I add the Image Add-On?

Accepted Answer

The Image Add-On lets you upload photos straight to your entries. To add it, go to Account Settings, find the Subscription section, and tap Add on the Image Add-On.

A few things to know:

- It requires an active Pro subscription. You can't have the Image Add-On on its own.
- It's $7.99/month or $79.99/year. When you add it, its billing interval is set to match your current Pro plan.
- It's a separate subscription from Pro, so switching or repricing your Pro plan never affects it.

If you cancel it later, your uploaded images stay safe for 30 days. See What happens to my images if I cancel the Image Add-On?

Question 36

How do I cancel, and will I lose anything?

Accepted Answer

You can cancel any time. Your subscription will finish out the period you've already paid for, and we won't renew it after that. No penalty or anything silly like that.

If you're within the free limits (5 owned, 5 wishlist, 5 OCs), nothing is lost. Your account just moves to the free plan when the period ends.

If you're over the free limits, hosting that extra data costs money, so there's a 30-day grace period after your billing period ends to give you time to decide. During the grace period you can:

- Resubscribe to pick right back up.
- Trim each collection down to the free limits to keep everything for free.

If you don't do either, all of your horses are removed when the grace period ends (we won't choose which to keep for you), and uploaded images may be deleted from our servers.

To cancel: go to Account Settings, find the Subscription section, and use Cancel at period end (keep Pro until the period you've paid for closes) or Cancel now. You can also update your card or view invoices anytime through Manage billing. If you also have the Image Add-On, it's set to cancel at the end of its billing period once your Pro subscription ends.

We'll send you reminders before anything is affected, and you can export a raw backup of your data from Account Settings at any time.

Question 37

What's the refund policy?

Accepted Answer

We keep it simple. Refunds are issued for:

- Platform errors that caused unintended charges
- Duplicate subscriptions caused by a system glitch

Outside of those situations, we respectfully can't offer refunds, but you can always cancel going forward with no questions asked.

Question 38

What if my payment fails?

Accepted Answer

If a payment doesn't go through, your subscription ends the same way a cancellation would. Update your payment method in Stripe (via "Manage billing" in Account Settings) and you'll pick right back up.

If you're within the free limits, your account just moves to the free plan. If you're over the free limits, you get the same 30-day grace period with full Pro access to resubscribe or trim down to the free limits before anything is removed.

Question 39

What happens to my images if I cancel the Image Add-On?

Accepted Answer

If you cancel the Image Add-On (or if it winds down because your Pro subscription lapsed), your uploaded images stay safe for 30 days after the add-on ends.

During those 30 days you can resubscribe and everything picks right back up. After the 30 days, uploaded images may be deleted from our servers and your gallery slots will fall back to community database images or external URLs if you had any.

Your horse entries themselves are not affected by an Image Add-On cancellation, only the uploaded images. If you're still on Pro, your horses stay exactly as they are, just without the uploaded photos.

Question 40

How do I change my display name?

Accepted Answer

Head to Account Settings and tap the edit icon next to your name.

Display name rules:

- 3-20 characters
- Letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores only
- Must be unique
- Stored in lowercase
- Can't start or end with a hyphen or underscore

You can change it whenever you like, so pick something that feels right for you.

Question 41

How do I manage my sign-in methods?

Accepted Answer

In Account Settings under Sign-in Methods, you can connect or disconnect Discord and Google, and update your email address. You can use any combination you like. Just keep at least one method connected so you can always get back in.

Connecting Discord also gives you Discord DM notifications if you want them.

Question 42

How do I delete my account?

Accepted Answer

We're sad to see anyone go. Here's how:

1. Go to Account Settings.
2. Scroll to the Danger Zone.
3. Click "Delete my account."
4. Type the confirmation phrase to make sure it's intentional.

Once confirmed, everything is permanently removed: your horses, images, profile, and preferences. Contributions you've made to the community database stay but are attributed to "[Deleted user]." If you have an active subscription, it's cancelled immediately.

This can't be undone, so we recommend exporting your data first.

Question 43

Why do you ask for my birthday, and can I change it?

Accepted Answer

We ask for your date of birth during sign-up to verify you meet the minimum age requirement (13+). Your birthday can't be changed after onboarding to prevent anyone from bypassing age restrictions. Your exact birthday is never shown publicly. It's only used internally for safety compliance.

Question 44

What are game spaces?

Accepted Answer

Each supported horse game gets its own dedicated area on Pixel-Ponies, called a game space. A game space is the home for community discussion, game-specific sections, and (for many games) a curated database of horses with breed listings and details like coat colors or training levels.

Some games (particularly ones with effectively unlimited horses) skip the database part and lean on the discussion and sections side instead. You can follow any game space to stay in the loop on new content.

Browse all game spaces from the Games tab on the home page.

Question 45

What's the difference between the Community Database and my Collection?

Accepted Answer

The Community Database is the shared, community-curated encyclopedia of horses for each game. Anyone can browse it and contribute to it. Your Collection is personal: it's your own list of horses you own, want, or have created.

When you add a horse from the database to your collection, you get your own independent copy to customize however you like. Your personal details like custom names, notes, and ratings are entirely yours and unaffected by database changes.

Question 46

What happens if a game gets removed from Pixel-Ponies?

Accepted Answer

Your horses are completely safe. Adding a horse from the community database is really just a shortcut: it prefills a new entry in your collection with the curated breed, name, and image data so you don't have to type it all in yourself. Once that copy lands in your collection, it's truly yours and no longer linked to the database. Names, notes, ratings, and everything you've customized stay yours regardless of what happens to the community side.

If a game is ever removed or archived, your personal entries stay exactly as they are. No action needed on your end.

The one thing to be aware of: if you were using a database image (rather than your own uploaded image), that image will stay put as it was at the time of removal but won't update going forward. If you'd like to keep a specific image long-term, uploading your own is always the safest bet.

Question 47

Can I request a new game to be added?

Accepted Answer

Yes! To suggest a new game:

1. Open the Games tab on the community database home page.
2. Click "Suggest a game" to submit your idea.
3. A staff member will review it, and if approved, it'll appear for the community to vote on.

You can also vote on games that have already been suggested to help us prioritize which game spaces to build next. The more votes a game gets, the more likely we are to build a dedicated space for it.

Question 48

How are game spaces decided?

Accepted Answer

It comes down to studio respect. Before we open a space for a game, we look at how the studio behind it has historically treated fan platforms, places like Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, or other community sites where players already share their horses.

Some studios see fan-run platforms as an asset, a sign that their community is engaged and proud. Those are the games we focus on: spaces where opening a Pixel-Ponies presence adds value without stepping on toes.

Other studios prefer to keep player-facing content close to home and do their own sharing through official channels. We respect that. If a studio has historically been restrictive about fan platforms, we don't open a space for that game, even if the community has voted heavily in favor of it.

This is why community game votes go through a final review by Leigh before launch. The votes signal demand, but the final call also weighs the studio relationship behind each game. Once a game is approved, Leigh personally configures the game-space builder, picks the fields to track, sets up filters and search, and tests with sample data before the space goes live.

It's a hands-on process to make sure every game gets the attention it deserves, and to make sure we never put ourselves or the community in a position of disrespecting the people who made the games we love.

Question 49

How do friends and followers work?

Accepted Answer

Friends and followers serve different purposes:

- Friends: mutual connections. You send a request, and if they accept, you're friends (up to 15 max, 5 requests per day). Friends get real-time notifications when you add an owned horse or an original character, or when a new-horse submission you made is approved. Wishlist adds don't notify anyone.
- Followers: one-way. Anyone can follow you without approval, and there's no limit. Following someone surfaces their activity in your Following tab on the Activity Feed page.

The big difference: friends get real-time notifications; followers see your activity in their feed when they choose to look.

Question 50

Why is there a 15-friend limit?

Accepted Answer

The cap is there so friends and followers feel like meaningfully different things on Pixel-Ponies, rather than two versions of the same connection.

Friends are your inner circle. You both agreed to it, and the platform treats that closeness with real-time notifications when one of you adds a horse or has a submission approved. Capping the friend count at 15 keeps that signal high-value. If everyone's notifications went to everyone they'd ever met on the site, the feed would turn into noise within a week.

Followers are the broadcast layer. There's no cap, you don't need approval, and their updates surface in your Following tab on the Activity Feed page rather than pinging in real time. Followers are how you share publicly without filling anyone's notifications.

A 15-friend cap is small on purpose. The intent is for friendship to be a deliberate, curated choice, the way close friends are in real life. If you want to share with a bigger circle, that's what followers are for, and there's no limit on that side.

The cap applies equally to free and Pro accounts. It's a design choice, not a paywall.

Question 51

How does blocking work?

Accepted Answer

If someone's bothering you, visit their profile and block them. It's completely silent. They won't be notified.

Once blocked:

- Neither of you can see the other's horses, profile, or contributions.
- Any existing friendship is instantly removed in both directions.
- Anywhere a name slot has to be filled (the leaderboard, the activity log, attribution on submissions), you'll each see a placeholder like "[User]" or "A private user" in place of the other's name. The same approach is used for signed-out visitors viewing the activity log on the home page.
- Blocking doesn't affect voting since votes are anonymous anyway.

Question 52

Can I use the social features while keeping my collection private?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Social features and privacy are independent. You can have friends, follow other users, and participate in the community while keeping your own collection completely private.

Your friends will still get notified when you add an owned horse or original character (the notification is generic), but they won't be able to view it if your collection is set to private. Privacy settings always take priority over social connections.

Question 53

How do I apply to be a staff member?

Accepted Answer

When staff positions are open, you'll see an invitation on the Info page with a link to apply. We also tend to mention new openings in our Discord community, so it's worth keeping an eye there if you're interested in joining the team. Typical requirements:

- An account that's at least 30 days old
- No active sanctions
- Reputation of at least 50

The public application path is for the Moderator role, which reviews submissions and reports for a specific game. Higher roles are filled from within: a Game Admin is promoted from experienced Moderators, and Builder is an appointed role with no public application.

Applications go to the direct manager for the role you're applying to and you'll be notified of the outcome. If accepted, you'll go through a short onboarding that covers the code of conduct and your new tools.

And to clear up a common worry: joining staff doesn't stop you earning reputation. You keep earning it for everything you do as a community member, the daily sign-in, voting, and approved edit suggestions, exactly like any other user. The only thing that doesn't earn points is your moderation work itself (approving or rejecting submissions), which keeps reviews unbiased and the public rankings fair. Staff also can't submit horses while holding a role, so that path is paused while you're on the team.

Question 54

Can a staff member cover more than one game at once?

Accepted Answer

You hold exactly one staff role at a time, and for Moderators and Game Admins that role is tied to one specific game. But the role itself isn't restricted to that game's surface.

Day-to-day, Moderators and Game Admins handle tickets, reports, and the activity log across the whole platform. The game assignment is more about specialization than scope. Each game has one dedicated Moderator and one Game Admin whose job is to be the voice for that game on the staff side: feeding insights up the chain about what we could build to better serve those players, and making judgment calls on game-specific edge cases (a squirrely community database edit, a horse submission that doesn't quite fit an existing breed, that sort of thing).

So while you can't formally cover two games at once, the impact of your work touches the whole platform.

The structure also keeps the staff hierarchy clean. Everyone knows who their manager is and who to escalate to, no one staff member ends up overseeing too many games or too many people, and the workload is distributed instead of piling up on a handful of folks. That keeps the team sustainable as the platform grows.

If you're already on staff and want to switch roles, the application will warn you that the move means giving up your current role. You'd move, not stack. When the move happens, your old manager gets a notification so they can plan the transition.

Question 55

What are the content rules and how does the filter work?

Accepted Answer

Public content on Pixel-Ponies must be all-ages safe and written in English. Anything you keep private is yours to write however you like, in any language. We only review and filter public-facing information, so private horses, private notes, and private profiles are never scanned or restricted.

For public content we follow PEGI 3 / ESRB E standards, which means no:

- Explicit sexual content
- Graphic violence
- Hate speech or slurs
- Anything sexualizing minors
- Discriminatory content of any kind
- Inflammatory or divisive material, such as political or religious campaigning, meant to provoke strong reactions

Mild language (like darn or heck) is fine. Pixel-Ponies is a shared space for horse-game fans of every age and background, so we keep public content focused on that and free of material designed to upset or divide the community. Heated or sensitive topics are best kept off your public-facing content.

Public content also needs to be predominantly in English. Because our team is primarily English-speaking, keeping public-facing content in English is how we read and review it to keep everyone safe. A few words of another language are fine. See why public content is English-only for the full reasoning.

An automatic content filter scans public entries for restricted terms and predominantly non-English text. It checks horse names, breed names, custom field names and values, public notes, and public profile text. Private notes, private horses, and private profiles are never scanned, so you can write freely there in any language.

If restricted or predominantly non-English content is found in something public, it is set to private automatically and you'll receive a notification listing what was affected. Edit it to meet the public rules and set it back to public once it passes. See my horse was flagged for the step-by-step.

Violations beyond the filter can lead to reputation penalties or account bans.

Question 56

Why does public content have to be in English?

Accepted Answer

Pixel-Ponies is run by a small, volunteer team that is primarily English-speaking. Our moderators and automated filter need to be able to read public-facing content to keep it all-ages safe, so we ask that anything you make public, such as horse names, public notes, and your public profile, is written predominantly in English.

This only applies to public content. Anything you keep private, including private notes, private horses, and private profiles, can be written in any language you like and is never scanned or restricted.

A few words of another language in public content are fine. The filter only steps in when public text is predominantly non-English, in which case the content is set to private automatically so you can edit it. See my horse was flagged for the step-by-step.

We know this isn't ideal for our non-English-speaking community, and we're sorry for the inconvenience. It's purely a safety measure for public-facing content, not a judgment on any language, and we hope to support more languages as the team grows.

Question 57

How do I report something that shouldn't be here?

Accepted Answer

To report content that shouldn't be here:

1. On any public horse detail page, find the report button.
2. Tell us what's wrong.
3. Submit.

Your report goes straight to the moderators responsible for that game space. They'll review it and take action if it violates our guidelines.

You'll get a notification letting you know the outcome. Reports are confidential. The person being reported won't know who flagged their content.

Question 58

How do I contribute horses to the community database?

Accepted Answer

Once your email is verified and your reputation is 0 or above, you can submit new horses or suggest edits to existing entries.

To submit a new horse:

1. Use the "Add a Horse" button on the home page or any game space page.
2. Upload a transparent PNG of the horse. The image step shows a checklist of requirements (full body, untacked, 3:4 frame). PNG with transparency is required; other formats are rejected automatically.
3. Pick the game and breed. If the breed isn't listed, select "Breed not listed" at the top of the dropdown and type the new name; a moderator will review it before your horse is approved.
4. Confirm against the duplicate check to make sure the horse isn't already in the community database or being voted on.
5. Fill in the game-specific fields shown for the game you picked. On dropdowns that accept new options (like Location or Festival), you'll see "Option not listed" pinned to the top, so pick it and type a new value if yours isn't there. A moderator will review the new option before your horse is approved.
6. Review and submit. Your submission goes to staff review and then community voting.

To suggest an edit, find the horse in the community database and click "Suggest an edit" on its detail page. You'll pick the field to edit, enter the new value, and submit.

You earn +20 reputation for approved new horse submissions and +5 for approved edits.

Question 59

How does the voting system work?

Accepted Answer

Open the Vote tab on the home page to work through a randomized queue of submissions and edit suggestions. You review one item at a time.

The queue is weighted by urgency, so submissions expiring soon appear more often, but it's still randomized, with no filters to configure.

Reviewing a new horse submission (3 steps): 1. Is the image clear, full-body, and untacked? 2. Do the name, breed, game, and other fields look correct? 3. Final decision: cast your vote (upvote, downvote, or Golden Thumb if you have it).

On the first two steps you answer Yes or No. Yes advances to the next step. No immediately casts a downvote and moves on; the reason is auto-assigned based on which step you rejected at, with no manual selection needed, and shared anonymously with the author as feedback. On the final step you choose your direction and confirm, and a Back button lets you reconsider first.

Reviewing an edit suggestion (1 step): You see the current value and the proposed change side by side. Review whether the change looks accurate, then cast your vote in one step (upvote, downvote, or Golden Thumb if you have it).

Skip: any item can be skipped without recording a vote. Skipping from the first step is immediate; skipping partway through a new horse review asks for a quick confirmation first.

You won't see how others have voted until after you cast your own vote, so every decision stays independent.

Daily limit:

You can vote on up to 10 submissions per day. A counter at the bottom of each card shows how many you have left. Once you reach the limit, voting is paused until midnight UTC.

Thresholds:

- New horse submissions need +10 net votes to be approved (or -10 to be rejected) within 30 days.
- Standard edit suggestions use the same +10/-10 threshold over 30 days.
- Special-case fields (like Genetic Coat Color) use +5/-5 over 60 days.

Your first 10 votes each day earn you +1 reputation each.

Question 60

How do I suggest an edit to a horse in the community database?

Accepted Answer

Find the horse in the community database, then open its detail page. Click any of the field cards to open its details, then choose "Suggest an edit".

The suggestion flow opens inline on the same page:

1. Pick the field.
2. Enter your proposed value (or upload a new image if it's an image-typed field).
3. Review.
4. Submit. For non-subjective fields you can optionally include a source URL as evidence.

Most edits go straight to community voting. Image edits are the exception: those go through a staff image-rights review first to make sure the picture is yours and isn't from a game hack or restricted source. After staff approve, the image edit moves to community voting like any other edit. See how to suggest a new image for the full walkthrough.

Question 61

How do I suggest a new image for a horse?

Accepted Answer

Every database horse has one primary image: that's the image of the horse everywhere it appears (browse, search, breed list, your collection card). Some games also have additional image fields configured by their game admin (Star Stable Online has a Magic coat image field for horses with a magic transformation, for example).

To suggest a new image, primary or any image-typed field:

1. Open the horse's detail page.
2. For the primary image, click the image to open the lightbox, then click the pencil icon in the top-right corner.
3. For any other image field, click the field's small thumbnail card in the field grid, then choose "Suggest an edit" inside the field detail.
4. Upload your replacement image.
5. Tick the image-rights confirmation.
6. Submit.

Your submission goes to the staff review queue first for an image-rights check. Once a moderator approves it, community voting opens and the wider membership votes on whether to apply it. The image only changes if the community approves.

Important: only submit images you captured yourself. Submitting someone else's images, or images obtained via game hacks or cheats, will result in a permanent ban. If your game's current terms of service prohibit sharing the image, please flag the staff team rather than submitting.

Question 62

What are non-subjective, subjective, and special-case edits?

Accepted Answer

Every editable field has a type that determines how votes are counted and what happens to your reputation.

- Non-subjective: factual data with a verifiable source of truth (e.g. breed name, availability). Goes straight to community voting. +5 rep if approved, -10 rep if rejected (because the community is saying the information was wrong).
- Subjective: matters of opinion or interpretation (e.g. image quality). Goes straight to community voting. +5 rep if approved, no penalty if rejected. But 10 rejections in 30 days triggers a contribution pause.
- Special case: community-governed fields with unique voting rules (e.g. Genetic Coat Color uses a +5/-5 threshold over 60 days). Goes straight to community voting. The Golden Thumb is never available for these, not even for staff. +5 rep if approved, no penalty if rejected.

We label each field so you always know which type you're editing before you submit.

Question 63

What is a contribution pause?

Accepted Answer

If you rack up 10 rejected subjective edits within a 30-day window, your ability to submit and edit is temporarily paused for 10 days.

It's a safeguard to prevent accidental spam or misunderstandings around the editing guidelines. You'll get a warning at 8 rejections so you can course-correct. After the 10-day pause, you're free to contribute again.

Your reputation isn't affected by subjective rejections, just the pause.

Question 64

What is the Golden Thumb?

Accepted Answer

The Golden Thumb is a special power earned at 10,000 reputation. On qualifying submissions and edits, your vote instantly resolves the outcome in either direction: a Golden Thumb up immediately approves on the spot, and a Golden Thumb down immediately rejects it. No waiting for community totals, and your decision can't be overridden by later votes.

To use it: on the final vote step, pick your direction (thumbs up or thumbs down) and a Use Golden Thumb checkbox appears below the vote buttons. Check it to upgrade your vote to a Golden Thumb cast, then confirm.

You get 10 uses per day. It's our way of trusting the most knowledgeable community members to keep the database moving at a healthy pace, in either direction.

Note: the Golden Thumb is not available for special-case fields like Genetic Coat Color, even for users who have earned it.

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