VHL Code of Conduct Policy

[Beketov 9,025]

VHL Code of Conduct Policy

 

@Members

 

Recent events within the league have made it clear that the VHL, both historically and currently, has been running far too much of a "Laissez faire" approach in regards to policing the use of insensitive slurs and other language. Not everyone in the league will obviously agree with how these events went down but the point remains that our approach has simply been too relaxed and things have gone too far without the administration necessarily realizing it. This is not simply in relation to the board, or the discord, or any members in particular but is a wide spread problem across multiple areas of the site and it's due time something is done about it.

 

Ultimately the VHL was founded in an interesting time for the internet, 2007. It was a different place back then, a rather toxic place if we are being honest. However it is not 2007 anymore. The kind of words we have seen weren't acceptable (but perhaps more tolerated) back then and they certainly aren't now. To give a few examples, though they should hardly be necessary, using words like gay or retarded as synonyms of stupid is ridiculous and long past its expiration point. This isn't about censoring your posts, being Social justice warriors, or arguing about meaning of words changing over time but rather about the league being inclusive to all its members and potential members.

 

With that in mind, moving forward, the league shall be more proactive in avoiding these types of slurs. Staff using them will be treated more severely for obviously reasons but from the top down we expect to see uses reduced and will be punishing those who do not wish to comply or clearly skirt the rules when looked at in context. Punishment will be determined by the blue team on a case by case basis but can include:

 

• Warnings

• Removal of job positions on the site

• Temporary or permanent suspensions from discord, the forum, or both

• PT Bans, both full and partial

 

Punishment will depend on how severe and how frequent the offences occur and will be made more severe for repeat offenders. It is not a matter of wanting to ban members for this sort of thing but we will if we have to. Quite frankly it's an easy thing to avoid and isn't something that should be a problem in 2019. We will be leaning on our mod team as well as the BOG and general member base to make sure that people who are using insensitive language towards others or groups; whether intentionally targeted or otherwise, are punished accordingly for it. In addition we will be subdividing the Discord better to hopefully spread discussion from general and make it easier to watch for things. In this vein we will also be doing a search at the end of the week of discord and the forums for key words and phrases to keep an eye on things.

 

In general things will fall under the guise of our already in place rules regarding Drama, Fighting, and trolling but with special attention paid to people making claims in general instead of specifically targeted. Our aim, as I said, is not to censor but to make the VHL a welcoming place for everyone.

 

Obviously this did all stem from an event as I alluded to and there are certain members who shall be receiving punishments for their involvement in that event. The league recognizes that, while these rules were not in place at the time, members were warned to not provoke any further action and to stand down. Instead of doing so several members took matters in their own hands and made an already complex situation far worse for themselves and for the league. For their part in all this the following members shall receive the following punishments:

 

@Josh: 1 week PT ban (as in max cap is 6/12)

@Banackock: 1 week Update ban

@DilIsPickle: 1 week Update ban

@Nykonax: 1 week Update ban

@jRuutu: 1 week PT ban (as in max cap is 6/12)

@Matt_O: 1 week PT ban (as in max cap is 6/12)

 

I know you guys likely won’t be happy about these but it’s what we deem fair given the situation that was either caused or exacerbated by your behaviour. It is our hope that these punishments are the only ones we require in the subject. Given that it’s Thursday and the cap has already likely been hit for you guys the punishments will be served next week.

 

It is our sincere hope that the VHL can move on past our old behaviour and into a brighter, more welcoming era. We hope you can all understand that this is not an attack on your rights as members but simply a policy to make sure that your right to speech does not infringe upon the rights over others to enjoy the league.

 

 

Re: SBA Affiliation

 

In addition to the above code of conduct the league would like to make a mention of the SBA affiliation which was recently dropped because of the above mentioned issues. The league has been in talks with the BoD of the SBA but is not making this code of conduct simply to appease them or to get back the affiliation. If things improve and those discussions do continue on the right path it may happen some day but that is not our main goal and is out of our hands.

 

However we do recognize that stopping SBA affiliation claims on our end, which was done while we sorted things out, is unnecessary and does negatively impact some of our players. For this reason, regardless of our affiliation coming back or not, and to alleviate the concerns of 90% of the population about how their dual membership of the VHL and SBA will be affected, we will continue recognizing SBA PTs as valid VHL PTs in line with previous affiliation agreements. Our updaters were told to put a hold on, not deny, any claims made while the affiliation welfare was down and they have also been instructed to approve back claimed ones for this past week if the PT week was missed by dual membership members.

 

Sincerely,

@Commissioner
@BOG

[MexicanCow123 914]

Finally this league is moving in the right direction. I love it!

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

I need clarification, may I call someone a Baguette?

[boubabi 4,725]

4 minutes ago, HenrikZoiderberg said:

I need clarification, may I call someone a Baguette?

No. I'm offended

[Esso2264 774]

1 minute ago, HenrikZoiderberg said:

I need clarification, may I call someone a Baguette?

brother why you do me like that

[Gustav 6,407]

@DoktorFunk what have you done

[BladeMaiden 1,807]

I have probably been one of the most outspoken members advocating for changes like these since I joined. This is what a step forward for the VHL looks like and I am super happy our BOD was able to take a step in the right direction   you get a rare BladeMaiden high five boys!! 

 

Edited November 8, 2019 by BladeMaiden

[Nykonax 1,564]

12 minutes ago, Beketov said:

The league has been in talks with the BoD of the SBA but is not making this code of conduct simply to appease them or to get back the affiliation. 

Uh huh

[hedgehog337 3,483]

punishing members for doing shit in completely other league   ok. at least it's one week, not a month or so

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

why not just put a filter on select words on the forum?

 

 

[BladeMaiden 1,807]

2 minutes ago, eaglesfan036 said:

why not just put a filter on select words on the forum?

 

 

 

You mean like Snu.bbed ? FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY lol

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

3 minutes ago, eaglesfan036 said:

why not just put a filter on select words on the forum?

 

 

 

Because FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY

[ColeMrtz 574]

How aggressive is this policy, everything seems kind of vague 

[Advantage 2,891]

8 minutes ago, hedgehog337 said:

punishing members for doing shit in completely other league   ok. at least it's one week, not a month or so

They were asked in our discord not to do anything further and did though. 

[Nykonax 1,564]

8 minutes ago, hedgehog337 said:

punishing members for doing shit in completely other league   ok. at least it's one week, not a month or so

Ya were not even affiliated anymore. Also Matt_O said the same thing as me but gets less of a punishment, ok

[Nykonax 1,564]

23 minutes ago, Beketov said:

using them will be treated more severely for obviously reasons

 

10 minutes ago, hedgehog337 said:

punishing members for doing shit in completely other league   ok. at least it's one week, not a month or so

Also Matt is staff and holds a job and I dont...

[Beketov 9,025]

2 minutes ago, ColeMrtz said:

How aggressive is this policy, everything seems kind of vague 

Warnings will generally be a first step except for very severe infractions. We are not aiming to ban members over this but will if we have to.

 

As a general rule the advice is rather simple: don’t use terms that are derogatory towards certain groups. It’s pretty simple advice ultimately.

[Dil 1,760]

Atleast it’s not a suspension  

[Bayley 419]

@Beketov, I think I know the answer, but I want to ask to clarify. Does the auto 12 thing from SBA end in this ruling or will that be continued on despite any affiliations? 

[Gustav 6,407]

Just now, Poptart said:

@Beketov, I think I know the answer, but I want to ask to clarify. Does the auto 12 thing from SBA end in this ruling or will that be continued on despite any affiliations? 

It was already over when the SBA cancelled affiliation with our league.

 

As of right now, nothing you do in the SBA can be applied here, and vice versa.

[Bayley 419]

35 minutes ago, Beketov said:

For this reason, regardless of our affiliation coming back or not, and to alleviate the concerns of 90% of the population about how their dual membership of the VHL and SBA will be affected, we will continue recognizing SBA PTs as valid VHL PTs in line with previous affiliation agreements. Our updaters were told to put a hold on, not deny, any claims made while the affiliation welfare was down and they have also been instructed to approve back claimed ones for this past week if the PT week was missed by dual membership members.

 

1 minute ago, GustavMattias said:

It was already over when the SBA cancelled affiliation with our league.

 

As of right now, nothing you do in the SBA can be applied here, and vice versa.

 

That's not what that says?

[FrostBeard 2,049]

1 minute ago, GustavMattias said:

It was already over when the SBA cancelled affiliation with our league.

 

As of right now, nothing you do in the SBA can be applied here, and vice versa.

Last paragraph says differently or am I reading it incorrectly?

[Dil 1,760]

22 minutes ago, eaglesfan036 said:

why not just put a filter on select words on the forum?

 

 

+1, im adding a word filter to the VHL bot unless Tfong decides to add it to mee6 like he’s been saying for a while now

Edited November 7, 2019 by DilIsPickle

[Gustav 6,407]

Just now, Poptart said:

 

 

That's not what that says?

Oh wow, haha. I didn't read closely enough, I guess. I know the SBA has elected to cut all ties with us (VHL PTs don't count as SBA PTs) but just assumed that it would be the other way around as well.

[Bayley 419]

Just now, GustavMattias said:

Oh wow, haha. I didn't read closely enough, I guess. I know the SBA has elected to cut all ties with us (VHL PTs don't count as SBA PTs) but just assumed that it would be the other way around as well.

 

I did know that, I wasn't sure if the +12 auto was continued on to stay consistent with the ruling or if the +12 would be knocked back to just the +6 affiliate welfare. I was just curious to clarify.