A Friendly Reminder

[annabanana1014 1631]

 

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Throughout the past few months, our team has seen repeated instances of inappropriate behavior between players. It is important that even though our characters may be in different circles, we treat our fellow community members with respect and dignity. No one specific instance has propagated this post, but nevertheless we still would like to offer a friendly reminder of our Player Conduct Policy.

 

The Player Conduct Policy is a set of guidelines and rules that all of us follow to avoid behavior considered unacceptable within the LOTC community. It can be found here. Players that breach this policy can receive a Player Conduct Violation. Players may not threaten, harass (sexually or otherwise), discriminate, use derogatory slurs, or make false statements against other players with the intent to harm their reputation. If you are unaware of exactly what we mean by all of these terms, please take a look at the link above.

 

It is impossible to list every situation and behavior which can be considered harassment. That said, any behavior that creates an uncomfortable or hostile environment is not welcomed in this community. A few examples of situations that have occurred, but should not be occurring are:

 

- Messaging minors with a sexual undertone.

- Messaging anyone with unwanted sexual comments.

- Calling anyone racial slurs or alluding to it.

- Any sort of gender harassment.

- Cyberbullying.

- Repeated verbal attacks.

- Being disrespectful towards any religion.

 

Lord of the Craft is a server which is meant to allow for limitless creation and for expanding your horizons. Everyone is here to have a great time and to meet new friends across the world. In order to accomplish this, we must act in accordance with our Player Conduct Policy. Remember that no person is the same; we all experience different things in our lives. Furthermore, the game we have created as a community is not one that is competitive in nature — unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated on Lord of the Craft. We are all here to have fun, so please be considerate and mindful of each other.

 

If you or someone you know would like to report any situations like this, please message one of our moderators. If it is a more intense case, please send it to the admins or ask a moderator to pass it up to an admin.

[RaijenStars 967]

We love healthy communication

[annabanana1014 1631]

I know this topic is super difficult to talk about and usually people want to not discuss these topics to staff, but I know that the moderation members will take each case so seriously. When I applied to be on moderation, safety (especially for minors) has been such a big thing that I wanted to watch out for.

 

I can’t express how much I know it makes a person feel degraded or feel hopeless, but you are not alone. I have spoken to countless people about past harassment issues that never were taken seriously or reports that were never made. Your voice matters, you matter. Even if it is small, we can document that and take that into account for future reports and who knows, maybe your small report added onto a much larger one and your evidence just sealed the deal.

 

If you look around on the server, I am sure that you’ll be surrounded by others who have been in similar situations. This thread is not made for anyone in particular, do not feel like you cannot report it because you will get blamed for someone’s ban or whatnot – your feelings matter so much and you deserve to be heard. Please reach out to moderation if you have issues, and my dms are always open. My discord is annabanana1014 and my MC-Name is the same, please reach out if you need anything!

 

🥰

[EmiliainWonderland 1526]

A BASED Anna post <3 

 

As someone who's dealt with harassment on LOTC. It's so great to see one of my favorite people (and my lovely trainer) Anna write a post to talk about the problem. It's lead me to in the past want to leave LOTC and I'm glad to see we're all taking it seriously and addressing it.

 

My respect to the moderators who worked on this.

[Phoebe202 638]

So true. Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention and helping to create a more positive gaming environment <3

[Ibn Khaldun 7729]

If I may add, from the position of someone who moderates the forums more so, that I invite players who are making forum reports [those reports by clicking the three dot UI feature on a particular user's forum thread/reply] to reach out to me via Discord at IbnKhaldun8 to discuss with me the matter leading them to make the report. I enjoy corresponding with members of the community, alleviating concerns, and engaging in civil discussion regarding a concern a player has. I will not be foolish enough to guarantee the best outcome each and every instance, but will guarantee you'll be able to reason with me as a moderator.

[MayRndz 1130]

Speaking from personal experience it can be daunting to approach situations like these. Many feel pressured not to make the report out of fear for further harassment - or even out of embarrassment for becoming victimized. Something to keep in mind regardless of such is that it's not okay. No matter the circumstances - no matter who did it. Don't be afraid to approach and ask for help, or just generally seek someone to talk to.
 

I've been there, done that, been in uncomfortable situations. I don’t condone it to any level. I know it's hard to speak about at times, but it's important to know that you're not alone and not the only one. That being said, if you'd like to speak to someone, feel free to reach out to me on discord (MayRndz). My DMs are always open.
 

[sarahbarah 5021]

Thank you for addressing something so important on the server. Everyone deserves kindness and respect!

[Optimus420 1732]

Some real based Anna posting fr. 

[itdontmatta 7192]

Thank you for posting this, Anna. I appreciate all the work that you do on the team, as well as the others who crafted this PSA. 
 

The journey is long and difficult, but our community will only continue to grow and become a friendlier environment for all.

[Shmeepicus 3942]

Harassment or a malicious spreading of rumours to disrepute an individual or individuals should be included on this list I feel. Otherwise, good post. 

[tilly 3672]

crazy that things like this have to be said again and again :(

[TreeSmoothie 4898]

I would like to formally apologize for fostering a toxic environment by stealing @MailC3p's dog and marrying his mother. I had a lapse in judgement and it will happen again.

 

For real, though, it's a shame that people have to be told this time and time again. I'm glad Moderation's keeping an eye on this stuff.

[annabanana1014 1631]

@Shmeepicus

1 hour ago, Shmeepicus said:

Harassment or a malicious spreading of rumours to disrepute an individual or individuals should be included on this list I feel. Otherwise, good post. 

Yessss. I did not mention this, but I agree completely. Such an issue in our community sadly that needs to be resolved. 

Thank you for bringing that point up.

[Burnsider 4542]

I remember helping write this as one of the last things I did on the mod team. I'm very glad it's been published as it's very important. And I can't believe I missed it by over a week. I want to put to words my thoughts on why I wanted to help Anna with this.

 

I hate that we must consistently address this situation on this server. I really wish that we could treat every person on this server with respect and care. I especially wish the adults on this server treated the children on this server better. I have a 6-year-old son. People often joke with me whether I will allow him on the server in seven years, when he is old enough to join. Though they joke with the question, I never joke with my answer. I emphatically tell them no. In the current state of the community, we let minors be witness to awful racial prejudices, harassment, and sexual content that no child should be subjected to.

 

I recognize that we are on the internet and most of us are anonymous faces to each other. Judicial precedent in the United States currently gives less weight to defamatory statements made online because the sheer negative hyperbole that we feel we can use in this anonymous guise is so overwhelming. I would love us to be better than the rest of the internet and, let's face it, that's not a high bar to accomplish. More importantly, I want to work to make this a place that I could, in good conscience, let my child join one day. I ask you to help me make that a reality. 

 

When I was a mod, I probably would have finished this with a note that I hope you can come to me if you need to talk. But I really truly hope that, now, you contact Anna. There are people on the moderation team I do not trust and there are people on the moderation team that I know spread the same lies and rumors Shmeep talked about above. But Anna, I trust completely. Talk to her. She will listen and she will do her best to help you.