Discord Rules

While we do have a Discord server, invitation to the server itself as well as conduct therein is moderated and regulated to avoid spamming and/or player harassment. The rules for the server, which you will not be able to access without invitation from an Admin, are below. Failure to adhere to them will result in banning from the server, and quite possibly from the game as well.

These are simply our own policies. If you're looking for instructions on how to use Discord in general, don't hesitate to ask an Admin, Mod, or fellow player.

## General Guidelines

Some of these, we know, are common sense. If you have any further questions about them or need additional clarification, do not hesitate to reach out to Admin.

1. The Discord server link is sacred. Sharing it with non-*approved* members will result in both individuals being kicked from the server. The player responsible may or may not be banned as well, depending on their current player standing and whether or not giving the link out has been a repeated issue. **The link is *only* given out by Admins and Moderators to approved members**.
2. Categories:
	1. **General Discussions**: The board's #general channel is, and the general categories overall are, **PG-13,** meaning explicit material posted in them will not be tolerate in any way, shape, or form.
		1. We may explore adding a #NSFW channel, *for of age members*, to our Discord at a later date but even if we do it will be highly moderated to ensure it doesn't get out of hand. Such a channel would remain game related at all times.
		2. Our current channels in the General Discussions category are essentially reserved for idle chatter about real life and what not. We exchange memes, links to music videos, gripe about work, laugh about family - that sort of thing.
	2. **Under The Hood**: These channels are reserved for player-to-player OOC plotting in real time, asking mods and admins quick questions (*if they are online*), and/or discussing game mechanics. If you're in the #plotting channel, keep in mind that if a player is not online they won't respond to your ideas right away which is why we suggest you private message them **on the game board** instead of direct messaging them on Discord or repeatedly spamming the plotting channel. The channels are, overall, used for real time chats for players who are mutually online. Anything lengthy in scope should be addressed via the private messaging system on the game board regardless.
	3. **Witcher Talk (Spoilers)**: These channels will all contain spoilers about the books, games, etc.. You do not need to alert players to that as it is already mentioned in the category title. Remember, you have the option of muting channels you do not wish to see alerts for.
	4. **Other Games (Spoilers)**: These channels were made to fangirl/fanboy about other non-Witcher video games. However, like the Witcher category, they will definitely contain spoilers. So, keep this in mind when chatting in them.
3. No real world politics will be discussed in on our Discord server. It segues too quickly into arguments. Consider our game and our Discord server bipartisan, neutral zones.
4. We are an LGBT friendly and religion tolerant community, if you have negative biases about same sex orientations, gender identities, different religions from your own, etc. *then you are simply in the wrong place, friend*. Anything short of the utmost tolerance and respect for your fellow players will get you banned from the server *as well as the game*. We celebrate our differences here.

## Chat Etiquette

We're a tolerant community in the grand scheme of things, but we also want all of our registered players to be able to enjoy our Discord channel. Keep these rules in mind to ensure all is copacetic with your fellow members:

1. **Tagging Players**:
	1. Try to remember to do this in the #general chat channel, where it is more likely to be noted by a fellow player.
	2. **Do not @tag players if they are not online**, or if they've asked not to be tagged prior. We have players from around the world, in different time zones - no one needs to hear a Discord alert on their laptop or mobile device at 3am.
2. Contribute to the conversation. Don't hide out on invisible only to chime in, *while still on invisible*, whenever a topic looks relevant to your roleplaying character. Discord is a community space, it exists for players to be part of that community. It does not exist for self-serving lurking.
3. Do not spam the channels or other players with repeated requests for threads or post replies. It's okay to let people know you're available but repeatedly doing so is just being pushy. Writing style roleplaying games are slow-paced, patience is key.
4. Existing members should show new members patience, initially, as the new member learns the ins and outs of our game and Discord server. Please lead by example for new players and be available to answer questions or politely offer guidance should the need arise.
	1. That said, new members are expected to learn the ropes within about a month. If a new member continues to ignore the rules, existing members are encouraged to report this to Admin (if Admin was not online to see it). The offending member will be issued a warning initially, but repeated offences will lead to banning.
5. Don't say anything in chat that you don't want others to see. Members can still read chat history, and can search for previous conversations.

## Player Harassment

What constitutes player harassment in our Discord channel? Our standard rules for our roleplaying game over on Proboards still applies here but to reiterate them in the context of our chat channel, please consult the list below:

1. Verbal abuse, i.e. "flaming", which will not be tolerated.
2. Repeated tagging of players when they've explicitly asked you not to.
3. Repeated direct messaging of players who choose either to not respond to you and/or have explicitly asked you to cease doing so and/or to contact them via the game board instead.
4. Regardless of your real world views, our game is here to be a game and not a digital stage for individuals to post hate speech, tirades regarding real world politics, or sexually explicit and offensive content. We have zero tolerance for these kinds of posts, and a zero tolerance policy for the harassment of other players.
5. Doxing is forbidden. Doxing refers to searching online for and posting private or identifying information about another member on any of our game boards or in any of the Discord channels for the purposes of malicious intent.
	1. Likewise, digital stalking, in general, of other players' online presences is not allowed. Not everyone is comfortable with integrating their roleplaying persona with their real world, daily life. Some players even prefer to be addressed by their character names and not their real world one. Respect each others privacy. It is up to each player how much they wish to share with regards to their social media, etc.