Honourbound Etiquette Rules
Background
As numbers of people in the HB alliance increase, we're all exposed to a wider range of opinions and communications styles. To avoid friction, we must all agree to some basic communication ground rules for chat and voice communication channels so that the fun is preserved for everybody.
We will be enforcing the Blizzard chat policy in all HB chat areas (GEM channel, groups or raids). This covers Harassment / Abuse / Bad Language.
The policies can be found at the following location: http://www.wow-europe.com/en/policy/harassmentp1.html
Etiquette
The key points to bear in mind are that we play for fun and that we select the HB guilds because they are made up of fundamentally nice people. A basic assumption we must make is that there is good will present - on all sides. If a comment comes across as hurtful/upsetting/inappropriate then it was probably not intended that way. The person who sent it will likely be upset themselves when they find out how it was perceived.
Remember that chat channels are there for everybody to use and that they are intended to be pleasant for everybody. If a conversation is considered inappropriate and people say so then it should be taken off the HB channel and to a different channel (guild, party, private voice room, specific chat channel or whatever).
As a first recourse, please talk to the person privately. Bear in mind that it's likely to be a misunderstanding rather than a personal attack. The aim is to clear up the misunderstanding and (if warranted) have an apology to the same audience as the original comment.
If something was intended as hurtful then this is clearly unacceptable and action must be taken. As with everything, this should be dealt with via your guild's HB reps. Please try and capture screenshots of the entire conversation in question if it's in a chat channel (if possible, increase the size of the chat box so that it is easier to read). Please act quickly so that the incident is still clear in everyone's mind.
Where an incident is considered deliberate by the HB reps then it is up to the offender's guild to decide what punishment/correction to apply. In most cases, at a minimum, a term-limited exclusion from the HB chat channel and events is appropriate.
Communicating by text in particular is more limited than speaking to someone and so we need to take a little extra care. If you are in doubt about whether something is appropriate then use sends or just leave it out. Remember that conversations should be in English, relatively profanity-free, and that people of all ages could be reading what you are saying.
For those who are wondering what is likely to cause offense, it is anything that involves a depth of feeling. As such discussions revolving around politics, religion and sex are likely to be inappropriate. Derogatory comments of another person or group are unacceptable. A short statement of discomfort, together with reason, can/should be made at the time in THB channel or in private, i.e. "I'm uncomfortable with you saying that because I find that discriminatory against Tribbles"--no more than a sentence or two. If it's not resolved there and then, in private, derogatory comments to be reported to the guild leader(s) of those who made them together with screenshots of the comments. Further discussion/clarification to take place between the offender(s), the aggrieved parties, and the guild leader(s) of the offender(s)/aggrieved party(ies).
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