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TLV Anti-Bullying Policy
TLV defines bullying as deliberately hostile action taken against a player with the intent of making them feel unwelcome in the community or uncomfortable with playing. It refers to acts of harassment that the player feels they cannot escape without leaving the game, dropping a character or significantly reducing their activity and presence in the community.
We are not talking here about isolated instances. Arguments over plotting and HMD can get heated, but unless they devolve to the point that one player feels the other won't drop the issue until they take action as defined above, we would not consider that bullying.
[Having said that, we will not simply ignore it when arguments on the comm get personal. If it becomes obvious that a disagreement has become personal or offensive, is breaking TLV's rules of conduct or simply isn't going to stop escalating, a mod will ask all participants to step away from it. We appreciate that people say things in the heat of the moment that they later wish they hadn't, which is why we will not issue formal warnings in these situations (unless they are frequently and consistently one-sided and aimed at a specific person who may then wish to report it as bullying). But we're all adults here and being angry or upset does not give anyone free license to be abusive.]
We are not going to discriminate about what form bullying takes. For example if one player harasses another via email, even though that harassment isn't taking place within the community, if the above conditions are met then we would consider that something to take action on. We do not intend to give bullies a 'safe' venue for game-related harassment.
We are operating a two-strikes policy in specific cases and a three-strikes policy gamewide. This means:
Specific policy: If the mods conclude that reported harassment can be considered bullying, we will warn the player once. If the same victim reports a second instance of harassment that we consider a valid complaint, the player will then be asked to leave the game.
Gamewide policy: The third time a player is reported for bullying (i.e. following separate reports from three people), that player will be asked to leave.
If you are a victim of bullying:
We need to know about it. If you ever have reason to start thinking 'if this doesn't stop, I'll have to leave the game', tell us why. We cannot act on something that hasn't been reported. Provide evidence - chatlogs, emails, anything that has contributed to the way you feel. We will endeavour to respond to you within 72 hours of the original complaint.
It is possible we will consider what has been reported to be an isolated incident that can be resolved and moved on from, and not 'bullying' as defined above. If this is the case, we will contact both players and, if the complainant feels they aren't able to do so, help to resolve the issue. What we will not do is say 'sorry, we don't think of that as bullying' and then leave you to your own devices. If anything is undermining your ability to enjoy the game, we will help however we can.
If we consider a reported situation to be bullying, we will ask for your consent to be identified if you would like your complaint to be acted on. In the interests of transparency and fairness to all players, players not consenting cannot have their complaint pursued. However, if we receive multiple complaints of bullying or distressing conduct from separate players we will consider issuing a formal warning on a case by case basis.
We encourage players to take steps to secure their DW, AIM and email accounts against comments from anonymous or sockpuppet accounts during the course of a dispute if they feel it is necessary.
If you are accused of bullying:
If we consider a reported situation to be bullying, we will send a formal warning to the reported player and explain why we consider them to be bullying another player. In the interests of transparency and to minimise 'asking around to establish who said what' type gossip, we will name the complainant, and we will provide all the evidence that has been provided to us. Unless the warned player is on hiatus, they have seven days to respond to the warning. If they feel we have been given biased information, or if evidence has been edited or provided selectively, they have the opportunity to demonstrate that. If we receive no response within seven days we will assume the complaint was valid and the warning will stand.
Players accused of bullying who want to dispute their allegation must do so through the mods if the accuser does not wish to be contacted in person. While we encourage players to resolve conflicts between themselves if possible, if one player feels their relationship with another has broken down to the point that they feel upset or threatened while communicating directly with them, we don't believe they should be forced to.
If an accused player ignores this request and contacts their accuser before all parties consider the issue to have been resolved, we will automatically consider the accuser's complaint valid.
It's possible that some players will consider this system very harsh. It is. The key here is that players don't have to like one another but everyone has to be civil. If you don't like someone's character, or a legitimate interpretation of that character, don't read their posts or tag them. If you don't like how a character is being played because it contradicts canon, give polite and constructive criticism backed up with evidence in HMD. If you don't like someone personally, stay out of their way. TLV is a big enough game that in most cases it will be pretty easy to avoid specific players. If IC developments make it impossible not to interact with someone, keep it brief, impersonal and polite, or find an intermediary if you feel you cannot communicate with that player.
We reserve the right to approach some situations differently if pursuing the above policy to the letter is not appropriate. However, we will always endeavour to ensure that conflicts are resolved as quickly and peacefully as possible.
We are not talking here about isolated instances. Arguments over plotting and HMD can get heated, but unless they devolve to the point that one player feels the other won't drop the issue until they take action as defined above, we would not consider that bullying.
[Having said that, we will not simply ignore it when arguments on the comm get personal. If it becomes obvious that a disagreement has become personal or offensive, is breaking TLV's rules of conduct or simply isn't going to stop escalating, a mod will ask all participants to step away from it. We appreciate that people say things in the heat of the moment that they later wish they hadn't, which is why we will not issue formal warnings in these situations (unless they are frequently and consistently one-sided and aimed at a specific person who may then wish to report it as bullying). But we're all adults here and being angry or upset does not give anyone free license to be abusive.]
We are not going to discriminate about what form bullying takes. For example if one player harasses another via email, even though that harassment isn't taking place within the community, if the above conditions are met then we would consider that something to take action on. We do not intend to give bullies a 'safe' venue for game-related harassment.
We are operating a two-strikes policy in specific cases and a three-strikes policy gamewide. This means:
Specific policy: If the mods conclude that reported harassment can be considered bullying, we will warn the player once. If the same victim reports a second instance of harassment that we consider a valid complaint, the player will then be asked to leave the game.
Gamewide policy: The third time a player is reported for bullying (i.e. following separate reports from three people), that player will be asked to leave.
If you are a victim of bullying:
We need to know about it. If you ever have reason to start thinking 'if this doesn't stop, I'll have to leave the game', tell us why. We cannot act on something that hasn't been reported. Provide evidence - chatlogs, emails, anything that has contributed to the way you feel. We will endeavour to respond to you within 72 hours of the original complaint.
It is possible we will consider what has been reported to be an isolated incident that can be resolved and moved on from, and not 'bullying' as defined above. If this is the case, we will contact both players and, if the complainant feels they aren't able to do so, help to resolve the issue. What we will not do is say 'sorry, we don't think of that as bullying' and then leave you to your own devices. If anything is undermining your ability to enjoy the game, we will help however we can.
If we consider a reported situation to be bullying, we will ask for your consent to be identified if you would like your complaint to be acted on. In the interests of transparency and fairness to all players, players not consenting cannot have their complaint pursued. However, if we receive multiple complaints of bullying or distressing conduct from separate players we will consider issuing a formal warning on a case by case basis.
We encourage players to take steps to secure their DW, AIM and email accounts against comments from anonymous or sockpuppet accounts during the course of a dispute if they feel it is necessary.
If you are accused of bullying:
If we consider a reported situation to be bullying, we will send a formal warning to the reported player and explain why we consider them to be bullying another player. In the interests of transparency and to minimise 'asking around to establish who said what' type gossip, we will name the complainant, and we will provide all the evidence that has been provided to us. Unless the warned player is on hiatus, they have seven days to respond to the warning. If they feel we have been given biased information, or if evidence has been edited or provided selectively, they have the opportunity to demonstrate that. If we receive no response within seven days we will assume the complaint was valid and the warning will stand.
Players accused of bullying who want to dispute their allegation must do so through the mods if the accuser does not wish to be contacted in person. While we encourage players to resolve conflicts between themselves if possible, if one player feels their relationship with another has broken down to the point that they feel upset or threatened while communicating directly with them, we don't believe they should be forced to.
If an accused player ignores this request and contacts their accuser before all parties consider the issue to have been resolved, we will automatically consider the accuser's complaint valid.
It's possible that some players will consider this system very harsh. It is. The key here is that players don't have to like one another but everyone has to be civil. If you don't like someone's character, or a legitimate interpretation of that character, don't read their posts or tag them. If you don't like how a character is being played because it contradicts canon, give polite and constructive criticism backed up with evidence in HMD. If you don't like someone personally, stay out of their way. TLV is a big enough game that in most cases it will be pretty easy to avoid specific players. If IC developments make it impossible not to interact with someone, keep it brief, impersonal and polite, or find an intermediary if you feel you cannot communicate with that player.
We reserve the right to approach some situations differently if pursuing the above policy to the letter is not appropriate. However, we will always endeavour to ensure that conflicts are resolved as quickly and peacefully as possible.