ESCAPIST FORUM CODE OF CONDUCT

Revised 4 September 2018

ABOUT US
The Escapist forums are different than most. We want our forums to be a place where people can gather to socialize and talk in a safe and welcoming environment. In order to make that happen, we have certain rules we ask all members of our community to adhere to. These rules will be vigorously enforced so that a handful of bad apples don't spoil it for everyone else.

RULE ZERO

Above all other rules is Rule Zero. D&D fans will likely appreciate and understand Rule Zero, which states that the DM (Dungeon Master) is always right. In the case of the forums, the moderator or staff member is always right. Period. Any other rule that appears to have a gray area will be subject first to Rule Zero, then to other aspects of the forum and personal conduct rules below.

If for any reason you feel you've been wronged by a moderator or staff member, you are entitled to appeal their decision if they imposed an infraction on your account. You are not allowed to openly argue with them about it. This is a privately owned forum that's open to the public. Whatever right you feel you have to speak your mind is a privilege here. Don't abuse it.

As an adjunct to RULE ZERO, don't sass the mods.

The moderation team is made up of ever present volunteer guardians who work very hard to keep the forums clean, according to the Code of Conduct. The moderators and Escapist staff are here to make the website a place you want to visit. While we will listen to your complaints and give you what information we can, please understand that there are just some things we simply cannot discuss, such as legal or financial matters, and some things we don't want to discuss, such as contributors' personal lives or political persuasions.

Neither the Escapist staff nor moderation team is to be used as a punching bag so you can vent your frustrations. If you have a problem with moderation or the rules, use the appeals system.

RULE ONE

We want Escapist Magazine to be a welcoming and safe place for creators and contributors of all backgrounds. Therefore criticism, harassment, shaming, or any action deemed by the moderators or staff to be inflammatory or abusive towards an Escapist Magazine staff member, contributor, or moderator is expressly forbidden. Anyone hired to work for, contribute to, or represent Escapist Magazine has been de facto approved of by management. If you take issue with the actions of a member of our staff, a contributor, or a moderator, you may send a letter to the editor. The forum is not the proper place for such activity, and it will be moderated harshly.

PERSONAL CONDUCT

HAVE RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but no one is entitled to abuse others for any reason. If you can't communicate without using combative, aggressive, passive aggressive responses, or ad hominem attacks, then consider that these may not be the forums for you. Focus your response on your disagreement with a person's opinion, not on the person.

Disagreement is inevitable. However, this is not a license to misbehave. If you don't like a thread, the people in it, or anyone involved, don't post in it.

FORUM CONDUCT, CONTENT, AND COMMUNICATION
A well-made thread or a well-written comment engages its audience and facilitates discussion. We do ask that posters take just a little time to make their posts as readable as possible and keep their responses on topic. You should also take a moment to check spelling and grammar.

Our forums are not a place to advertise your blog, webpage, YouTube channel, or commercial enterprise. Similarly, posts including, advocating, or linking to illegal or adult material are a very quick way to end your time as part of the Escapist community. Post should generally be kept to a PG-13 standard.

ZERO TOLERANCE OFFENSES

This section of the Code of Conduct includes special circumstances that overrule any other type of warning and result in immediate removal of your posting privileges. Note: These circumstances cannot be appealed and will not expire.

Ban Jumping
If you attempt to post on multiple accounts to circumvent a ban or any level of discipline, you and any other account you use will be automatically banned.

Targeted Harassment & Bullying
Following a user from thread to thread so you can insult and harassing them, or sending them harassing private messages will be met with an immediate ban.

Illegal Acts or Materials
Posting, admitting to, or advocating any illegal act or content, such as footage or images of any crime, will lead to an immediate ban. All information will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities.

Advertising / Referral Traffic
The Escapist forums are not a place to advertise your website or a place to spam referral links of any kind. We consider any such post to be spam, and will remove it and your access as necessary.

INFRACTION OFFENSES

Any violation of the following rules will result in an infraction being placed on your account. For more information on how penalties work, please see the Penalty System section below. Those who are banned under this level may appeal the decision and have it overturned.

Inflammatory Comments / Trolling
You may not post anything that is reasonably considered discriminatory towards other members. (i.e. homophobic, prejudiced or any other comments that would be deemed as hate speech)

"Extreme" Content / Offensive Posts
Posting of "shock images", obscene videos, text, or anything else that the moderators see as extreme or offensive is not permitted.

Piracy, Illegal Narcotics, or Ad-Blockers
Do not link sites for piracy, drugs, or ad circumvention, nor advocate or admit to the use of any of the above. While discussions of these topics may come up anecdotally, the proliferation of material is disallowed on these forums.

Pornography
Any discussion of pornography will still be subject to the PG-13 standard. Linking to any pornographic material will be in breach of that standard.

Sexist, Racist, or Perverted Remarks
As it pertains to the comfort and safety of other posters, please keep sexist, racist, or grossly perverted remarks out of your posts.

Pictures, Links and Videos
Posting pictures, links and videos is permitted as long as they are in context. Using jokes, images, or videos is allowed if it enhances the thread, which posting random meme images unrelated to the topic does not.

Topic-less Thread Creation
We encourage our community to make posts that help nurture a healthy discussion or debate. Posting a thread without any discussion value, or with a deliberately misleading title, is discouraged. This includes creating a poll without an accompanying discussion or beginning a thread with an original post that does not sufficiently explain the topic.

Excessive Profanity
Swearing is permitted on the forums, but only in moderation within posts, and never within titles of topics.

Backseat Moderating
Please allow our moderators to do their jobs. If you encounter someone breaking the rules, please click on the flag in the top right corner of their post for our team to review. It's not up to you to enforce the rules, only to obey them.

APPEAL SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATION

When you receive an infraction, a message will appear in your inbox with a link to the appeal system. This goes directly to a staff member and will use the email you registered your account with, so please refrain from abuse (and check your spam or junk folder).

Replies to appeals may take up to two days. If it takes a little longer, please be patient.