There's been a significant amount of debate and conversation on harassment on Loka of late, and I think it shows that we've not done a good enough job describing our policy on how we plan to tackle issues with harassment. This has led to a lot of confusion on what should be brought up, to whom, and when. Hopefully this post can help enumerate how we intend to move forward with issues of harassment starting today.
First and foremost, the very most important element of dealing with issues of harassment is that you as a player must do at least one of two things when you feel that things are getting out of hand and that you are being harassed:
1) Make it clear that you're no long okay with what's going on. Ask it to stop, tell people that you're getting uncomfortable. This is important because there needs to be a point where people know that you're not okay with what's being said. If you don't speak up, people can't know that they should stop. What some think is banter, others may find very hurtful and the only way for them to know is to have an open dialogue and let them know what's okay to you and what isn't.
Now, we realize that it's not always easy, or simple to face your accusers in this way, and that's why this isn't the only thing we're saying needs to be done.
2) Bring it up to Magpieman or myself. Ideally both of these should happen. You should say stop, and you should immediately DM either one of us on Discord, the forums, etc. We have to know when things have gone too far. If you feel uncomfortable with #1, then at least come speak to us so that we can talk things through and figure out how best to move forward.
We don't bite! We want people to be confident that they can always come to us about these things and that they can confide in us to keep the situation as contained as possible. Mag and I have had a lot of chats with a lot of people over the years and it's extremely important to us that we have your trust.
It's very important that the above things happen, and in a timely manner. Things can't be left to stew for months and months at a time only later to try to get action on it. We cannot punish people unless at some point the bully has been told they're going too far. This is very similar to many of our rules. You're warned first, punished second. It's important to note that, unless the situation is extreme or notably horrible, things are almost always going to start with a warning. Everybody should have the chance to change and not everybody is aware they're bullying. Sometimes what seems to be harmless "Server Meme" might in-fact be harmful.
This brings me to the next point, which is the burden of proof. If you feel you're being harassed, please begin to take screenshots, videos, whatever you feel is necessary so that when Mag or I get involved, we have evidence to stand on. Harassment is, unfortunately, extraordinarily subjective and can very, very easily boil down to "He said, she said" arguments. If we have proof, we can use it to issue warnings and hopefully nip things in the bud before they get out of hand.
Another thing that I want to reiterate, that I've said in many other threads, is that we do not do retroactive punishment. One thing that has come up as a result of us not clarifying our stance on this is a trend towards providing very old evidence of players being harassing in hopes that it will incur some sort of retroactive punishment. We can (and do) only punish for rules we have made clear and official already, not because they've been created and then retroactively used for punishment. It's just not a good way to run a server or have a justice system.
There's no easy way to tackle harassment; that much is known by the entire internet. The only way that it can be potentially stopped is if you're proactive about it. These things have to be caught early in order for change to be most effective.
I sincerely hope this post clarifies how we mean to tackle harassment. It's a two-way street and Mag and I have to work with you in order to get things done, but the it has to start somewhere, and that's almost always by saying Stop.
-Crypt
First and foremost, the very most important element of dealing with issues of harassment is that you as a player must do at least one of two things when you feel that things are getting out of hand and that you are being harassed:
1) Make it clear that you're no long okay with what's going on. Ask it to stop, tell people that you're getting uncomfortable. This is important because there needs to be a point where people know that you're not okay with what's being said. If you don't speak up, people can't know that they should stop. What some think is banter, others may find very hurtful and the only way for them to know is to have an open dialogue and let them know what's okay to you and what isn't.
Now, we realize that it's not always easy, or simple to face your accusers in this way, and that's why this isn't the only thing we're saying needs to be done.
2) Bring it up to Magpieman or myself. Ideally both of these should happen. You should say stop, and you should immediately DM either one of us on Discord, the forums, etc. We have to know when things have gone too far. If you feel uncomfortable with #1, then at least come speak to us so that we can talk things through and figure out how best to move forward.
We don't bite! We want people to be confident that they can always come to us about these things and that they can confide in us to keep the situation as contained as possible. Mag and I have had a lot of chats with a lot of people over the years and it's extremely important to us that we have your trust.
It's very important that the above things happen, and in a timely manner. Things can't be left to stew for months and months at a time only later to try to get action on it. We cannot punish people unless at some point the bully has been told they're going too far. This is very similar to many of our rules. You're warned first, punished second. It's important to note that, unless the situation is extreme or notably horrible, things are almost always going to start with a warning. Everybody should have the chance to change and not everybody is aware they're bullying. Sometimes what seems to be harmless "Server Meme" might in-fact be harmful.
This brings me to the next point, which is the burden of proof. If you feel you're being harassed, please begin to take screenshots, videos, whatever you feel is necessary so that when Mag or I get involved, we have evidence to stand on. Harassment is, unfortunately, extraordinarily subjective and can very, very easily boil down to "He said, she said" arguments. If we have proof, we can use it to issue warnings and hopefully nip things in the bud before they get out of hand.
Another thing that I want to reiterate, that I've said in many other threads, is that we do not do retroactive punishment. One thing that has come up as a result of us not clarifying our stance on this is a trend towards providing very old evidence of players being harassing in hopes that it will incur some sort of retroactive punishment. We can (and do) only punish for rules we have made clear and official already, not because they've been created and then retroactively used for punishment. It's just not a good way to run a server or have a justice system.
There's no easy way to tackle harassment; that much is known by the entire internet. The only way that it can be potentially stopped is if you're proactive about it. These things have to be caught early in order for change to be most effective.
I sincerely hope this post clarifies how we mean to tackle harassment. It's a two-way street and Mag and I have to work with you in order to get things done, but the it has to start somewhere, and that's almost always by saying Stop.
-Crypt