Here are the new rules and policies (effective immediately) on harassment and bullying:
Taken from: http://tsugaming.com/bible.htm#4e
My comments/explainations are shown below each part in blue.
Harassment & Bullying
[1] One of the principles the Tsunami Gaming community was founded on was the understanding that gaming is meant to be enjoyable. If someone feels like they are being picked on or verbally abused, they will no longer have fun and will most likely leave the community. For this reason, the following rules have been amended to this document:
So basically, unless someone cheated and you have proof ... or unless you have proof of someone lying, stealing, ban evading, copying, etc. ... do NOT start a topic about them flaming them or making fun of them.[2] At no time, not in any forum or on any server, shall a person harass or bully another person with the sole intention of putting them down in a personal way. This includes, but is not limited to:
a) Creating a topic on the forums with the intention of putting down, defaming, hurting the feelings of, etc. another user
b) Creating a topic or following the person around, which perpetuates an argument that is not about cheating or other unethical behavior
c) Using excessive foul language or negative terms (n00b, idiot, retard, etc.) to describe someone simply because they're not in agreeance with the person
You guys can still sh*t talk eachother, dish out challenges, disagree with eachother, etc. But if things start to get personal or a little overboard, and the person complains -- you need to stop immediately.[3] In all other topics and posts, competitive arguments or harsh exchanges may be tolerated so long as the posts are in compliance with the previous rule and the person does not request that they stop. If the offended person requests that they "back off" and stop flaming them in a personal way when there is no justification to do so, the offending person must stop. A lack of defense does not constitute agreement of the accusations nor a request to stop the argument.
I already pretty much talked about this part, but if you want to call someone out for doing something that they deserved to be called out on, do it in the Wall of Shame forum and if a moderator agrees that its factually based and not just a flame thread they'll approve it and it will be posted so others can see it.[4] If there is sufficient evidence to support an accusation of cheating or other unethical behavior (such as stealing, copying, manipulation, ban evasion, impersonations, etc.) a topic may be created in the Wall of Shame forum. This forum will be moderated heavily and each new topics will have to be manually approved before it is displayed. All subsequent posts must be factual and to the point. Any posts that aren't factual or go off-topic will be removed without notice. Under this condition, the person the topic is about may not request it to be removed or that people stop talking about them.
No more "its the free speech forum, I can say whatever I want b*tch". No, you can't. This is where I'm drawing the line. I'm all about free speech and running things as democratically as possible around here, but some of you intentionally abuse the hell out of your free speech rights. If you don't have anything nice to say to someone you don't like, then just keep your comments to yourself. And if its "just who you are" to put people down all the time ... then get out of TsuGaming.[5] The Free Speech forum will NOT be an exception to these community rules. This means that although you may discuss racist, controversial, and otherwise objectional content in the Free Speech forum, you may not use the argument of "free speech" to break these harassment & Bullying rules.
Forum moderators are chosen because they've demonstrated maturity, comittment to the community, and a knowledge of the rules. So if they think you're going too far in a topic - then you probably are. So if they tell you to cut it out (INCLUDING the free speech forum), then cut it out. Moderators should be a little bit more lenient in the Free Speech, forum though. We don't want to yell at people who disagree with eachother ... after alll, it IS a free speech forum. But if they start making it personal or antagonizing someone because of their beliefs (especially if the person complains that they're being offended), then you should rectify the situation.[6] Forum and server moderators have the right to instruct users to stop arguments, regardless of intentions or rules, if they feel it has got out of hand. They should not, however, lock/edit/delete topics in the Free Speech forum unless it explicitly violates one of the rules listed above or a greater offense.
Hopefully all of these changes will make the forums more enjoyable and less stressful. We want everyone to feel comfortable here, even if you're not a pro (and the pros like to pick on you) ... even if you're young (and the adults make fun of you) .... and even if you do something dumb (and people like to make fun of you for it). So this is our way of defending you so that you have a fair chance of improving yourself without the harassment of other players.
twas more in depth than I was anticipating. This will restore the peace.
