First, there are a few facts that we want to make perfectly clear:
- This is a privately owned and operated forum; we have the right to declare what is considered appropriate for our community and to edit all content.
- Our primary goal, above all else, is to maintain a "Safe Haven For Modders."
- We have always prided this community on its ability to discuss controversial topics in a generally civil manner, and wish to preserve the ability to have such conversations.
- Guidelines such as these are only added once it has become necessary to do so based upon multiple events.
The following is now an official member guideline, and has been added to the site guidelines:
Content that may be deemed as offensive or polarizing should not be included in signatures, avatars, topic titles, or other locations that are visible in "common areas" of the site. This includes but is not limited to political and religious statements. We encourage civil discussion of such topics so long as it remains in the "Anything Goes" forum.
Signatures may contain anything else that is not offensive or otherwise distasteful. Advertisements for corporate ventures are not permitted, but those for personal enterprise is acceptable.
The GHF Council and all staff reserve the right to remove any non-permitted with or without prior notice. Failure to comply to such staff actions is grounds for formal warnings, temporary bans, or permanent bans.
Now, I want to step up on a soapbox for a moment here. I have previously tried to avoid the use of the word "offensive" as much as possible, because it is such a subjective word. Some people may be offended by something that everybody else is perfectly fine. That can make for difficult decisions on the part of the moderation team, with the need to judge whether or not something truly is inappropriate or if someone is simply overreacting or acting on a personal grudge.
Let me clarify that when a situation is difficult to judge for such reasons, no one member of the staff will make the decision. We do have a staff room in which we discuss such matters, and we strive to come to a unanimous decision. When something is deemed to be "offensive" and is removed, you can be assured that decision has the backing of the entire GHF staff.
As for what you find to be offensive, please refer to this fantastic quote which offers some truly sage advice:
[/font][font=Lucida Grande, Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.[/font]
[font=Lucida Grande, Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]...[/font]
[font=Lucida Grande, Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.[/font]
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[font=Lucida Grande, Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]--Elder David A. Bednar
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Please just remember that we want to always have a good experience at GHF, and it is the responsibility of everyone who participates here to do ensure that is the case.