Site Policies
A collection of policies that have been created to address specific issues or concerns. These policies apply to the entire site.
Hate Speech and Groups
We do not allow behavior or rhetoric that attacks or discriminates against users based on race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability. We also do not tolerate 'slut shaming' including the demeaning of sex workers. This policy extends to support of hate movements, online or offline, that are dedicated to the promotion of the above. We ask that you not use slang or terminology coined by or associated with hate movements.
Dismissive and Disruptive Behavior
Low effort, inflammatory, or insensitive drive by posting is always unacceptable. However, it is especially inappropriate in serious and sensitive discussions. Threads involving race, gender identity, sexuality, sexual assault or harassment, sexualization of minors, or any marginalized minority groups should be approached with sensitivity. Dismissive or disruptive behavior in these threads will be usually be met with a ban. The following are examples of such behavior:
- Dismissing the importance of issues that concern women or minorities and/or denying the experiences of users affected by these issues.
- Lamenting or mocking the sensitivity or "outrage" of others in reference to legitimate concerns, or claiming that members are pretending to be offended.
- Condescendingly talking down to people who are affected by sensitive issues.
- Trying to derail the discussion such that it is no longer about the group of people that are affected by the issue.
- Attempting to shut down the discussion altogether.
- Framing support or defense of abhorrent views as questions in order to make them seem acceptable, and/or as a means of shifting the burden of proof on to others.
Please note that dismissing, downplaying, or making light of sexual assault allegations will lead to a lengthy ban.
Inflammatory Generalizations
Context and intent will matter here, but take care to avoid making inflammatory generalizations that are likely to cause offense. This includes generalizations regarding gender, race, sexuality, nationality, and ethnicity. It can also apply to inflammatory accusations made against large groups or communities of people. Always try to make nuanced points rather than broad and sweeping statements.
Inflammatory Defense/Support
Defending heinous behaviors (especially those related to bigotry) or supporting individual public figures who are guilty of the same can constitute inflammatory posting, even if the tone of your post is otherwise mild. Note that members found trying to abuse this policy to bait others into bans will instead be moderated themselves. This policy is intended to guard against provocation, not encourage interrogation.
Inflammatory Comparisons
Inflammatory points of comparison and false equivalences can needlessly escalate or derail an argument. You should not, for example, equate bigotry with intolerance of bigotry. It is usually best to avoid extreme comparisons in general, such as those involving loss of human life or serious issues like human rights. If you must make such a comparison, please make sure that you're doing so for a very good reason.
Body Shaming
Health and economic concerns regarding obesity are legitimate topics of discussion. Not all comments at the expense of obesity will be moderated. However, members should not go out of their way to be cruel or dehumanize a person solely because of their physical appearance. If it is determined that such behavior had no other motivation or basis besides looks, a ban will be issued. Inflammatory generalizations on this subject are not welcome.
Personal Attacks and Vitriol
On this site our members include video game enthusiasts, industry professionals, and members of the press. All members deserve certain courtesies. Do not engage in personal attacks or insults against other users. It is perfectly fine to challenge a poster in a civil and constructive manner, but ad hominem should be avoided and can get you banned depending on the situation.
This policy extends to game developers as well. While it may be frustrating that a game did not meet your expectations, it is not constructive to attack developers in personal terms or claim that they are lazy. This kind of vitriol is not only disrespectful but has a negative effect on discussion.
When it comes to journalists covering the video game industry, critique of their work is welcome and often important. However, personal attacks and unsupported accusations or conspiracy theories do not generate good discussion. Please also avoid dismissing or vilifying entire outlets for petty reasons.
NSFW Content
Many of our members browse from work or school, in settings where the wrong image on screen can have potentially serious consequences. As a result, content that is 'Not Safe For Work' is not allowed on this site. Do not post any material that would be too explicit to be aired on network television. Material that excessively highlights or focuses on sexual or secondary sexual characteristics should also be avoided. Try to be tasteful and considerate if the option exists.
You are encouraged to make use of spoiler tags or off-site links to hide images or other material that you believe may be borderline. These spoiler tags should be clearly marked as 'NSFW' so that other users know what to expect. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the staff beforehand.
Do not post images, artwork, figurines, or any other material, no matter how stylized or fictional, which clearly fetishizes or sexualizes characters under the age of 18.
Child Welfare
Do not attempt to rationalize violence against children, disciplinary or otherwise. Advocating for or defending any kind of child abuse is not tolerated. Your own upbringing is not relevant to this policy. Attempting to dismiss or condone the sexualization of minors, fictional or otherwise, will lead to a lengthy ban. We do not tolerate any pedantry (such as nitpicking over definitions) on this topic.
Prohibited Games
As a general measuring stick, if a game is
not appropriate for broadcast on Twitch it is unlikely to be appropriate here. Games that Valve hides on Steam by default due to "adult only sexual content" are also explicitly prohibited. Do not discuss these games or create threads about them. Other games will only be considered for this list if the staff receives a direct complaint about their contents. After review, the following games have also been prohibited:
- Azur Lane
- Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library
- Gal Gun
- Gal Gun 2
- Hatred
- Huniepop
- KanColle
- Mary Skelter 2
- Monster Monpiece
- Negligee: Love Stories
- Omega Labyrinth Z
- Saya no Uta
- Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal
- Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura
- Super Seducer: How to Talk to Girls
- Super Seducer 2
- Tits N Tanks
Advocating Violence
We do not allow advocacy of violence, explicit or otherwise. This policy can encompass posts with a wide range of severity, depending on the context and contents of the post. The penalty for breaking this rule can therefore vary greatly, all the way up to a permanent ban. Advocating murder will always result in a permanent ban.
Obituary Threads
We generally do not welcome celebration or cheering the death of public figures. Members that appear to be using an obituary thread solely to post about how glad they are that person is dead may be moderated. This does not preclude sober criticism of a person's legacy or mistakes in life. We simply do not want to celebrate death. Context will matter, and some individuals have done things so heinous that rare exceptions may need to be made.
Israel and Palestine
Threads about the Israel/Palestine conflict are some of the most contentious and difficult to moderate. While we have tried being more hands off in the past, these threads have tended to escalate out of control when they are not tightly moderated. As a result, we now enforce four primary rules to keep these threads as civil as possible.
- Do not conflate civilians with their leadership: This means you should not conflate all Palestinians with Hamas or attempt to paint all Palestinians as terrorists. You should also not hold all Israelis responsible for the actions of their government.
- Do not condone violence or killing: This goes for both Hamas and the IDF, especially with regard to civilians.
- Do not deny the right of either Israel or Palestine to exist as independent states.
- Due to historical considerations, the term "Nazi" is not appropriate or acceptable when used in reference to Israel, Israelis, and Jews. This includes comparisons between the Israeli government/IDF and Nazi Germany. You are welcome to criticize Israel in all other ways, but that specific analogy is off-limits, period.
Copyrighted Material and Piracy
Encouraging piracy, admitting to piracy, threatening to commit piracy, and linking to piracy websites is strictly prohibited. This policy also applies to links to torrents, direct downloads, pirated reproduction cartridges, streams of pirated content, and unauthorized releases of any kind. More information on this policy and DMCA takedowns is available in our terms of service. Do not embed copyrighted material such as magazine scans. Copying and pasting entire articles or reports for redistribution is also prohibited.
Homebrew and Emulation
While software piracy is never acceptable, emulation is legal and discussions about it are welcome. As long as a hack can be used for legitimate homebrew and/or legal emulation it can be discussed here, and those discussions should not be derailed by piracy concerns. Do not enter a thread about homebrew or emulation and conflate the subject with piracy.
Offering Advice to Members
You will be held responsible for what you post, especially when you are offering advice for another member to follow. Advice that is illegal or harmful will result in a ban. Consider all the possible consequences if your advice were to actually be put into action. Do not misrepresent your qualifications. The more serious the subject, the more strictly this will be enforced.
No Self-Promotion or Spam
Do not create threads featuring links to products or services that you have a direct involvement in. Members are instead welcome and encouraged to post in already existing threads about a product or service that they are involved in (including links that are specifically relevant to the thread) so that they may engage with the community. If you are involved in a product or service that you are linking, please disclose that fact upfront.
Spam of any kind is not allowed. This can include malware and phishing content, referral links, and abuse of the reply or private message system. Do not send unsolicited messages promoting any product, service, or website to other members.
Doxxing
We have zero tolerance for doxxing, which refers to publishing private information about individuals (address, place of work, private phone, etc) as a means of retribution or to encourage harassment. Doing this will likely result in a permanent ban. Encouraging others to do this will also result in a ban.
Offsite Drama
We have no interest in hosting discussions that fuel drama between our community and others. This sort of metacommentary tends to be petty and unproductive. Please do not derail threads with drama about other forums and websites, do not encourage comparisons or competition with other forums, and do not create threads about them either.
Members are highly discouraged from pursuing other members off the site, and staff will generally not adjudicate disputes that happen offsite. Do not post offsite material that you suspect to be from other members, whether from social media or elsewhere, in order to attack or embarrass them. If you believe such material is of serious concern, bring it to the attention of the staff through the appropriate channels described below.
Offsite Activity
We do not monitor offsite activity and will not usually action an account for solely offsite behavior. However, there are some circumstances where a member's actions offsite can lead to consequences here. This will only happen if the accuracy of the evidence, and the member's involvement, are verified to our satisfaction.
If we are made aware of offsite material that directly sheds light on an infraction or malicious activity on this site, that context will be taken into consideration. In extremely rare cases, information is uncovered that makes a member's presence itself disruptive or potentially harmful to others -- this can result in account closure.
If you wish to provide information to staff that you believe is relevant to this policy, you must submit it directly so that its authenticity can be verified and appropriate action taken. You can do this via the
Contact Us form, by reporting the member in question, or by sending a private message to an Administrator. Do not post the material on the forum.