Code Of Conduct
When marginalized people come together, we must understand many people come from different walks of life. To try to ensure this group is as safe and comfortable for all members, we have the following set of rules. By attending QGDB events or being a member of the QGDB Discord, you agree to follow these rules. You can find further information and speak up if you think the rules should be changed on our Discord.
1. Don't harass or spam.
Ask before DMing people you don't know, especially about unrelated topics.
Self-promotion is fine in relevant places, and in moderation, but don't make it your sole reason for being at QGDB events or in the Discord. Organizers will take down scams and spam and contact you in accordance with our enforcement policy.
If you have a question or someone is making you uncomfortable by pushing your boundaries, please pull an organizer aside at an in-person event, or @-mention or DM us on Discord.
Organizers will aim to keep members' outside conflicts outside this group, however harassing members of the group elsewhere in relation to actions in the group may result in moderator action in the group.
2. Respect ideas, cultures, identities, and levels of ability different from your own.
Hate speech—including, but not limited to, ableism, ageism, body shaming, homophobia, racism, religious discrimination, sexism, slut shaming, transphobia, and xenophobia—are not tolerated here.
QGDB is an anti-racist, anti-bigotry, pro-trans-rights community. When any member speaks about xer marginalized experiences, focus on validation unless xe requests otherwise, and don't dismiss or invalidate members’ experiences of oppression or systemic discrimination.
You may tell others what to call you, but likewise, respect others' freedom to self-identify as they prefer.
If you aren't sure how someone identifies, prefer neutral language rather than assuming.
Everyone who creates any aspect of games may identify as a game developer regardless of background, ability, experience, accomplishment, or methodology.
3. Anything that warrants a content warning MUST be given one in QGDB spaces.
Basically anything you wouldn't want to accidentally come up in front of your boss or your bubbe, as well as things like rapidly flashing graphics and other content that might be triggering.
4. Only share credited media and substantiated information.
Plagiarism and false/unsubstantiated claims/rumors are all too common today, especially from/about queer people.
Any work or news that isn't your own, must name or link to the original source/creator.
If you aren't sure about the accuracy of a claim, make very clear how uncertain the accuracy is.
5. Safety includes COVID-19 safety.
You must be vaccinated against COVID-19 and wear an effective mask over your nose and mouth to attend indoor QGDB events.
We strongly encourage well-fitted N95 respirators or similar, as those provide reliable protection against the virus, but you must wear a surgical mask at minimum.
You must have the latest fall vaccine booster by the following January.
If you are unable to be fully vaccinated and/or unable to wear a mask due to a valid medical reason, you must inform an organizer ahead of time, and you must test negative for COVID-19 the day of the event.
Masks and rapid at-home tests can be obtained for free from most Cambridge and Somerville library locations.
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 10 days, you absolutely may NOT attend until you no longer have symptoms and have 2 negative tests 48 hours apart.
6. Come as yourself, and be accountable.
On Discord, please introduce yourself in #hold-the-door-open and change your display name to a name you go by.
e.g. “Tony Stark” is also known as “Iron Man”, but “iblowstuffup420” would be less OK.
Basically don't try to be an anonymous troll or impersonate someone else. Be accountable for your actions.
✧ 🏳️🌈 ✧ 🕹️ ✧ ♟️ ✧ 🕹️ ✧ 🏳️🌈 ✧
Some quick notes about rule enforcement:
Organizers have other commitments besides operating QGDB, but please understand we want to do our best to enforce the rules consistently and in a way that maintains members' safety and trust.
α. Organizers will let you know if you violate the rules.
If you violate the code of conduct, someone will inform you as soon as possible where the violation took place, if possible, or else via Discord DM. Xe may ask you to edit or delete offending content.
An organizer may remove dangerous or overly spammy content prior to contacting you.
If there is a dispute between multiple members, organizers may create a group DM to resolve it.
If you violate the same rule again without making an effort to stop, wilfully violate multiple rules, or present an immediate danger to other members, an organizer may ask you to leave a QGDB event or impose a 1-hour Timeout on Discord.
If you continue, the Timeout will be extended up to 24 hours.
You may continue discussing the matter with organizer(s) via Discord DM (pursuant to their availability).
If you continue to violate the code of conduct, or organizers are unable to reach you via DM after multiple attempts over multiple days, you may be banned from QGDB events and the Discord server.
β. Organizers will communicate noteworthy rule changes.
Any major rule changes or clarifications will be mentioned in #announcements. Minor clarifications and typo fixes may not (in the interest of not spamming #announcements), but if they are in response to questions or incidents, they will be communicated there.
If a member is banned, and organizer will immediately inform xem directly and inform members in the Discord #general channel.
γ. Organizers also have to follow the rules.
If an organizer violates these rules or takes moderator action in violation of the above procedure without disclosure and discussion with other organizers, xe will be treated the same as any other member who violates the rules.
If the organizer repeatedly takes action in violation of the above procedure, xer moderator privileges will be revoked for 1-4 weeks.
If the behavior reoccurs several times, xer moderator privileges will be permanently revoked.
δ. QGDB believes in restorative justice.
After 6 months without further violations of the QGDB code of conduct (in-person and online), a banned person may contact [email protected] to request to appeal the ban.
The organizer who checks the email will post in the organizer chat about your appeal within 1 week. Any single organizer may block the appeal if xe believes unbanning would still present danger to the community or victims.
If all active organizers approve, an organizer will post in #suggestions-requests-help about your appeal within 1 week, after which members will have 2 weeks to object via an anonymous Google form if they believe unbanning would still present danger to the community or victims. To avoid retraumatizing victims, no elaboration is needed to block a ban appeal.
If the appeal has any blockers after 2 weeks, the banned person must wait another 6 months without further violations of the code of conduct to appeal again.
If the person fails 3 appeals, the person may not appeal again.