Now that we have reached 50 members, it is time to create a thread for a clearly written code of conduct for the group. I did post something awhile back (Gamers for Christ 2.0 Disclaimer), but we now need a thread to cover this so that each member knows their part in keeping Gamers for Christ a fun environment for everyone. This thread is for clarifying our terms of use here, the penalties of not following those terms, presentation of new terms as needed, reporting violations of the Code of Conduct, or discussing similar concerns. Each member of the group should reply to this thread to confirm that they have read and understood the Code of Conduct. Code of Conduct As a Christian gaming group, everyone is expected to be striving towards being more Christ-like. This mainly means to treat each other with love humbling ourselves to one another. The entire point of this group is to enjoy one another's fellowship. This means that each individual is personally responsible for contributing to a fun and enriching gaming experience. Be considerate and be a team-player to ensure that others enjoy playing with you and will want to continue to do so. No cheating. Any player cheating that is reported will immediately be banned from the group. Cheating is simply not tolerated in a game system that requires the honor-system. Avoid arguments. If you disagree with a rules call, whisper your DM the book reference and page number. Respect the DMs decision on how he/she wishes to resolve things even if it is not to your liking.Remember that the DM has the final say. If your DM is implementing rules that you feel are detrimental to the group, post your concern here for discussion. No meta/power-gaming. Please search the books to emulate the character that you would like to role-play; not the character that will somehow break the system and have advantage over everyone else in combat. This play-style is not enjoyable for other players as it focuses on one player/character instead of teamwork. No player enjoys watching one character steal everyone else's thunder. Focus on characters that will be enjoyable for others to play with. Additional weakness create more role-playing and humorous situations. Do not dominate the game. This is also not enjoyable to other players. Every player should have a chance to participate in the game and should not feel like they have to compete with a player that is dominating the session. Please be considerate in allowing everyone to participate equally. Encouraging others to participate should be each players goal, instead of dominating the session. No offensive language. Vulgar language should be avoided out of respect for the community. If you can't RP your character's traits without being offensive, then change the character's traits. There are plenty of ways to RP negative traits without being offensive with a bit of creativity. For example, no one should actually have to use an offensive word during the game. These words are offensive no matter how they are used (RP or not). There are plenty of fictional works that give great examples. In Battlestar Galactica, the world "frak" was used to keep the show PG. You are playing in a fantasy world, so if you want to play a character that has the negative trait of being vulgar, do so in a way that keeps it non-offensive, and preferably light and humorous. A dwarf might say something in dwarven, which really means nothing, but is considered a curse word in dwarven. Make up a nonsense word. This type of thing is considered good creative RP. At no time ever should RP be used as an excuse for offensive behavior or language. This is just a lack of creativity and maybe even an excuse for poor conduct. No offensive behavior. Inappropriate material, and otherwise offensive material/behavior should be avoided out of respect for the community. Take for example a character that drinks a lot. As long as the person playing that character is not drinking in excess to convey this, it shouldn't be a problem. The actual act is not being carried out, unlike cussing. There are certain activities that should not be emulated at all. I am hoping that these things will never have to be addressed as they are severe enough that they were covered by Wizards of the Coast. They include, but are not limited to, sensitive traumatic experiences that resulted as abuse that no survivor should have to be reminded of during a game session. No malicious behavior. Every member is expected to handle issues as detailed below. Becoming malicious towards any player or DM is in violation of the Code of Conduct. Malicious behavior includes, but is not limited to, being disruptive during a session because you are dissatisfied with something that occurred during the session. What do I do if someone violates the Code of Conduct? We will follow the same instructions as given by the Apostle Paul for handling violations of the Code of Conduct. Address the issue privately. It is each players part to remind one another of the Code of Conduct. Please privately (whisper) address these issues as they arise to the person in violation. We all need a reminder from time to time. If things are heated and are not able to be dealt with in a loving manner, then take a break and address the issue when this is possible. Address the issue in your group. If the problem persists, bring this issue to the attention of the entire group with the person present. Report the behavior to this thread. Most matters will be handled by simply following step 1 & 2. However, there may be some instances where the behavior persists. If this is the case, report the violation here for all of the DMs to address. DMs take action. If the problem is not able to be resolved by the DMs in step 3, the player that has violated the Code of Conduct will be removed from all campaigns associated with Gamers for Christ. The DMs will then add that player to the "Banned List" (will be added below) and decide when (if ever) the player may be allowed to rejoin the group.
