Waypoint Forum Rules and Community Goals (Plaintext 7/2018)

Users have mentioned issues with our Rules and Goals post displaying. There is something happening with that post and some ad-blockers, who could say. But, in the interest of making sure our rules and goals are accessible, here is a stripped down version while we figure that out.


Goal A

Let’s work together to make the Waypoint community an inclusive, fun, and safe place to talk about games and other things. Waypoint is a site focused on “why we play,” and that’s the common interest that brought us all here.

Rule 1:

Bigotry, including but not limited to discrimination or hate speech based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, or any other attacks on one’s personhood, will not be tolerated.

Rule 2:

Threatening behaviour or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. Our community and its platforms are not to be used to launch attacks on others.

Rule 3:

Don’t put marginalized people in the position of having to explain or defend their marginalization. Don’t speak over others. If you don’t know about a topic, research it. Read a conversation and consider whether it needs your perspective or whether you’d do better to listen. If you feel someone is out of their lane, please remember you can disengage with the discussion and flag it or otherwise raise the issue with a moderator.

Rule 4:

Reach out to the Moderation Team with any concerns. Don’t @ or DM Waypoint Staff. There are appropriate channels to pitch your work or offer Waypoint/VICE feedback.


Goal B

Let’s work together to make this community respectful of others’ boundaries, keeping in mind that many of our members are minors, people who are sex-repulsed, people struggling with addiction, people with food sensitivities, survivors of abuse, and/or have faced other trauma that they don’t wish to relive. Please DM the Mod group if you’re unsure whether something is okay to post.

Rule 5:

Use content warnings, the spoiler tag, or the ‘Hide Details’ function when linking to or posting depictions of body horror, disease, death, sex and sexuality, substance abuse, or violence. Posting pictures of food is fine in the Food category, otherwise use spoiler tags and provide a CW. Don’t post links to pornographic material.

Rule 6:

Don’t joke about any of the topics listed in Rule 5. Don’t make lewd jokes, daddy jokes, kinkshame, or post about being intoxicated. Don’t punch down. Just because a staff member makes a joke on a podcast or on social media does not mean that it’s appropriate for this Forum.


Goal C

Let’s work together to give creators their due and let’s remember that the games community is small, creation is hard, and we should treat others and their labor with respect.

Rule 7:

Don’t post pirated materials or links to pirated materials. It is fine to talk about emulation (and similar topics) or discuss media with limited access that might be obtained through such means, but linking to ROM sites, detailing specific processes and generally enabling pirating is not. This includes suggesting that you have pirated materials which you can distribute.

Rule 8:

If you’re a creator, share your work in The Workshop . We love seeing your stuff, but we ask that you don’t make posts about your work your first and/or only posts. Please make an effort to be a member of the community and not someone only interested in self-promotion.

Rule 9:

When posting someone else’s work (art, cosplay, and so on), please do your best to source it and provide links to the creator’s social media or portfolio. If you don’t have the source, do a reverse image search to look for it.

Rule 10:

Remember that the games journalism community is small, our community is visible, and other personalities have been active here—act accordingly. Do not speculate on hires or personal lives of staff or personalities of this or any other site (and extend this courtesy to public figures in general); remember, this is a person’s livelihood. Their personal lives are not content.


Goal D

Let’s work together to cultivate a place where we can discuss complex and delicate topics in good faith while considering other perspectives when we disagree.

Rule 11:

Do not make blanket statements or state your opinion as fact. Don’t share bad takes solely to mock them. Be thoughtful and conscientious of other people’s time. Respect and support other people’s’ interests, even if you might not share them.

Rule 12:

Work to de-escalate rather than inflame heated conversations. Be mindful of group dynamics and avoid piling on. Don’t insist on getting the last word. If a moderator asks you to end or move a conversation, do so.


Goal E

Let’s work together to hold each other accountable and create a community that looks out for itself.

The mods are also volunteers who can’t see everything that goes on and have our own blind spots. We are here to facilitate this Forum being as close to the goals laid out as possible, and we are always open to suggestions about how to do that, or to criticism about how we may have messed up.

If you feel one of us has messed up, please contact us! Comments are shared with all the mods (and staff, when necessary) so that we can talk them over and learn from them.

The mods take our rules seriously as they are what contribute to people feeling safe. All moderator decisions are made as a team; multiple people from different backgrounds offer their perspectives on each issue, and we involve staff when necessary. Penalties include formal warnings and temporary suspensions, with scaling severity depending on the circumstances. If you continue to disregard the rules, goals, or otherwise fail to adapt, you will be banned. Disciplinary action for unprecedented events or situations not covered by our rules will vary.

What you should do if you break the rules and are warned:

Realize it’s nothing personal, hold your hand up, consider you might have been wrong, and take a breath. Make an effort to do better next time and not repeat mistakes. More members than you think have slipped up in the past, addressed the behaviour, and continued to be a part of the community. Please be mindful that being combative and aggressive towards Mods and Staff does not help to create a constructive dialogue between us.

What you should do if you see the rules being broken or aren’t sure:

Flag or DM the mods and say something like “hey, just in case you all missed this, maybe you wan’t to check it out.” Flags and DMs are not extreme options; we would rather you bring your concerns to us directly than let them go unaddressed.

If someone is making you feel uncomfortable (this includes via DM or on another platform):

Reach out to the mods via DM. It’s why we’re here. We can’t get a situation sorted out if we don’t know it exists.

Flagging

Help us keep the forums in good order by using the flagging system. Use the flag icon found on the bottom of a post after clicking in the triple dots to reveal more options.

Contact us

Please create a DM and add “Mods” to the “Add a User” box. See example:

I want to Compare the New Rules to the Old Rules

The old rules can be found here . They are very similar, if reorganized, and it is our hope that the inclusion of broad guidelines in the form of Goals make this more of a collaborative effort and outline what the Rules are meant to push us all toward.
https://forum.waypoint.vice.com/t/waypoint-forum-rules-and-community-goals-plaintext-7-2018/23513
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