An addendum to the abusive behavior rule

[Creamy Arty 6,251]

People come here for a number of reasons. For some it's to roleplay, for some it's to discuss ponies, for some it's to participate in whatever topics of interest they may find, and for some it's art. Whatever one's reason for being here, they typically join with some expectation of feeling at ease and not being treated like garbage. When that does happen, whether it's in a post, status, or PM, it not only ruins the experience for whoever was on the receiving end, but casts the whole community in a negative light. I've seen it happen. Old timers lamenting the decline of the forum because of comment brawls and newcomers seeing a terrible spectacle and deciding to leave before they even establish themselves. Obviously the moderators and admins should stay on top of this, right?


And they do their best to keep the peace, which has led to some people trying to carry their forum vendettas to wherever else they can hound people. Skype, Twitter, Youtube, you get the point. Surely this is no longer the concern of MLP Forums' staff or community, right? Yes and no. People are free to talk among themselves about whatever or whomever they please in their personal circle of friends, and can of course say what they will. No problem. But establishing direct contact with another member just to insult and harass them is something that concerns all of us no less than if it had occurred on the site itself. People leave because of it, and visitors who observe it decide to stay away. The primary attraction of a forum is its community, and permitting members to remain so long as they stalk and harass other members they don't like elsewhere still reflects poorly on that community.


So what are we getting at?


The purpose of this thread isn't to lay down a new rule, but to amend an old one. As you should all be aware of by now, we have a rule against abusive behavior which has hitherto applied only to problems occurring on MLP Forums. Now this rule extends to off-site interactions as well, conditionally. We aren't simply going to take somebody's word; pointing fingers isn't enough. We will need to see some evidence of what allegedly transpired. Incidents will be handled on a case-by-case basis, each of which will likely require plenty of investigation and deliberation on our part before any action, if any, is to be taken. If this sounds a little vague and arbitrary, that's because it is. We don't want to get involved if we don't have to and will try to stay out of it, but we aren't going to sit idle while one of our members traipses about the internet sowing whatever grief they can for their own amusement. The one point you can take away from all of this is that being abusive to fellow forum members anywhere else has the possibility of affecting your standing here. We realize this isn't going to be a popular decision with some people, but how about not trying to justify boorish behavior and acting like a civilized human instead? "Oh but I made sure to only be an asshole over Skype, so it's fine" is a completely moronic attitude to have or for us to tolerate. We won't tolerate it.


Ultimately, the first line of defense is your own discretion. Should you find somebody giving you a hard time elsewhere, you should do whatever is within your ability to block that person and avoid communication. It's the most sensible course of action and it's your responsibility. One bad apple doesn't have to spoil the bushel/barrel/bunch/your preferred unit of measurement. Go back to having a good time.


That being said, if attempting to block them proves unsuccessful you should not hesitate to contact the MLP Forums staff about it. For such a situation you would report the offending user on their profile, including as much evidence as you can to support your accusation of wrongdoing. Make sure to include screenshots if at all possible. We may contact you personally if we require more information, but as with any report we will never tell anyone outside of the staff that you sent one in.

Just remember to treat people with respect. Just because this is the internet doesn't mean you have a free pass to say whatever you want; you must still bear the consequences of your words and actions. There are very real people with very real emotions who read whatever you have to say, and they can be negatively impacted as bad as they would be from bullying in person.


It is the responsibility of each and every person on MLP Forums to keep it a fun and friendly place. The staff do their best to keep it as such, but we can only do so much. Ultimately, it is in your hands. You have to be willing to treat people with respect. You have to be willing to report abuse and bullying to us when it happens to any member of this community, regardless of whether or not it happened on-site. You have to be willing to do what you know is right.


Let's keep this fun. Together.

[Nohbdy 4,108]

About time we made this policy official. After dealing with God knows how many off-site bullying incidents, I was getting real tired of waiting for known problem users to make a wrong move on-site. Do what you want off-site, but if it harms MLP Forums and its members, don't expect us to ignore it.

 

We have zero tolerance for abusive behavior, and if you value your status as a member of MLP Forums, you'd best not try your luck. 

[King 5,625]

Do what you want off-site, but if it harms MLP Forums and its members, don't expect us to ignore it. We have zero tolerance for abusive behavior, and if you value your status as a member of MLP Forums, you'd best not try your luck.

 

Agreed with this completely. I've seen enough cases of members bullied off-site and he bullies thinking they could get away with it, so Im glad its being made clear our stance on this for those who would be pathetic enough to bully others too see.

 

Zero tolerance for abusive behaviour, as Gladius said.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Centurion

[Discordian 6,013]

I wasn't even aware things like this were even happening. Guess I pay far less attention to the goings-on of this site than I used to.

[SCS 7,443]

I'm glad to see that we have gotten this out of the discussion room and into action. Bullying is deplorable behavior, and we aren't going to put up with it. 

 

Bullying is a serious problem overall. I'm glad that we're doing everything we can to fight against it in this community.

[Starshine 16,330]

o/ Artemis

May your passing cleanse the site, may you keep the site clean for the community.

 

Rooting out this kind of filth will take some serious time and effort, but I'm sure you guys can manage it, one cracknut at a time.

[Adorkable 2,737]

I completely agree with this.

 

Isn't one of the biggest things about being a Brony to 'love and tolerate'? At least, that's the motto.

 

MLP Forums should feel like a safe place for Bronies of all kinds. Friends all around, as far as the eye can see, not an enemy in sight.

 

We're all like a big happy family here, sure we have our problems from time to time, but who doesn't?

 

Bullying is something we should all be fighting against together as one, not with each other.

 

Is this what Friendship is supposed to be? I think not, my friends.

 

Don't let the magic inside fade away, just smile smile smile.

[NavelColt 22,875]

And because I know there will be and are people who are going to complain about how staff are trying to put down an iron fist on people anywhere they go, let me rebuttal by saying that,

 

A: We have far better things to do in a volunteer job we're not obligated to do, than to stalk people 24/7 off-site to see if they're being asshats. Unlike on-site moderation, I can say right now that most of this stuff is easily going to be based on incidents reported to us, and anything that the staff come across as they go about their marry way. Trust me, even if we were the way the conspiracy theorists depict us as, sometimes it feels like no one has the time to deal with the mountains of shit going on, on-site, let alone trying to play Marshal Law Snitch on other sites, on top of it all.

 

B: The entire reason we're making this official is because it's been forced upon us by the fact that more and more people have shown to not only be harassing people off-site, but that they openly express how they do so because 'they know they can get away with it, since it's off-site'.

 

Well, no. If you're going to be an asshat and abuse people you met from our site, off-site, that's not going to be ignored on-site, just because it was off-site. Your you, regardless what site you're on. Just because you might think you're being clever in trying to get away with shit because you're at a different URL, doesn't mean we're going to ignore it outright and pretend you aren't doing it, here, when it's brought to our attention. Harassment and bullying is a criminal offense at this point in the country I live, and likewise, we don't take it lightly, either. If you're the kind of person who's going to harass and bully someone elsewhere, and hide behind the curtain of 'I'm not doing it on your site, so I can do what I want', then you're not welcome on this site.

 

It's the same rule at the end of the day, folks. Don't be an asshole, and everyone's happy :3

[Shanks 10,811]

There must have been a lot of serious situations to inspire this, I guess with how far some bullies and trolls are willing to go it is not much of a surprise to me. It is rather unfortunate but it seems like this will only be implement in extreme situations.

[Kay Dreamer 884]

Happy to say I haven't experienced this yet; the only debates I've been engaged in thus far on this site have been quite mature, and disengaged without any ongoing problems. I can certainly see how it would be a problem, however.

 

I applaud this move. Bullying is abhorrent, and should have consequences regardless of what site it's based on. People shouldn't be afraid to engage in a community because of the potential ramifications it may have off-site. That worry (and certain negative stereotypes) were one of the biggest reasons it took me so long to join a brony community, despite having been a fan since Season 1. I'm very glad it finally did, and I hope this new amendment may encourage more people like me to participate.

[Batbrony 15,994]

Huh.  An admirable endeavor indeed, if I do say so myself.  Should be interesting to see how this works out; if anything, it should at the very least hopefully encourage people to report cyberbullying, the newest and most difficult to track incarnation of bullying to date, in general, whether on this site or others.  If that happens, then I'd say this new policy would most definitely have done some good.  Way to think outside the box mods and admins! 

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

I am still not sure how you will come to realise this or how you will make sure to get the right case. I am really not sure if there can truly be someone to interfere at such things. I just... i don't know what you can do or what the punishments will be...

[Clarity 3,094]

I support this one-hundred percent. You can do whatever you want and be a dick off-site, but there are consequences this time, and I'm glad to see that some people may receive their just desserts at last. 

 

The problem at arises from this is that likelihood of wrongful accusations increases; while it's easy to enforce rules on-site because we can tell which member is which, off-site is a different story—and I doubt that a same username can be deemed as proof (because some IDs are quite common). My question is, what counts as good evidence? A screenshot is easily forged, and as I've mentioned above, just because a member has the same username as the suspected MLPF member does not mean that they committed the crime. In fact, there's the possibility of people creating accounts and trying to get MLPF members banned by fabricating an argument.

 

Also—how many points do we receive? Is it a permanent ban or the regular 250 abusive behavior WPs?

[Moonbacon 384]

Well i have GREATLY lost my interest from mlp forums i use to be online almost everytime now i barely even come here because this darn place is becoming a bit ugh dramatic.

 

 

Also if you seriously get depressed over cyberbullying then i am very very VERY dissapointed in you i mean like come on its just some text on the screen that you can easily COVER.

 

Oh yea not a big fan of this rule if you seriously add someone you hate over on skype then of course that person is gonna insult you.

 

Also if a forum member gets insulted off-site you guys should stay out of it seriously the person could easily just i don't know REMOVE OR BLOCK the person insulting them.

 

 

P.S for the love of god don't this post as a darn insult.

[Lightwing 12,955]

I completly agree with all of this.

 

Cyberbulling is becoming a more common activity on the internet,and,sadly,it's happening on this forum too,both inside and outside.

 

If the staff had to reach the point to punish the bullying outside this forum,that means that there's more bullying that we thought at one point.

 

Maybe it's a bit of extra work for the staff but it's true that lately the number of permabans on this site for bullying/stalking/abuse is only going higher and higher,and that's something that must be stopped.

 

I hope that this "ammending" helps the entire community to become a bit better,and to control the troubles of cyberbullying that are happening constantly

[Moonbacon 384]

I completly agree with all of this.

 

Cyberbulling is becoming a more common activity on the internet,and,sadly,it's happening on this forum too,both inside and outside.

 

If the staff had to reach the point to punish the bullying outside this forum,that means that there's more bullying that we thought at one point.

 

Maybe it's a bit of extra work for the staff but it's true that lately the number of permabans on this site for bullying/stalking/abuse is only going higher and higher,and that's something that must be stopped.

 

I hope that this "ammending" helps the entire community to become a bit better,and to control the troubles of cyberbullying that are happening constantly

 

And the people who are getting cyber bullied don't realise it's just some text on the screen.

[Clarity 3,094]

Also if you seriously get depressed over cyberbullying then i am very very VERY dissapointed in you i mean like come on its just some text on the screen that you can easily COVER.

 

 

And the people who are getting cyber bullied don't realise it's just some text on the screen.

 

Yeah, and the people who get bullied in real life obviously don't realize that it's just some words. 

 

Words, text, whatever. They can all be hurtful in many ways that you likely do not understand. I've been bullied and cyberbullied before, and both can cause harm in ways that hitting and punching do not. 

 

 

 

Oh yea not a big fan of this rule if you seriously add someone you hate over on skype then of course that person is gonna insult you.

Um, if you add someone over Skype, they're gonna have to accept the invitation before the two can chat. So if that person accepts the invitation and begins to bully the other, then the only person whose fault that is is of the former. 

 

 

 

Also if a forum member gets insulted off-site you guys should stay out of it seriously the person could easily just i don't know REMOVE OR BLOCK the person insulting them.

They likely wouldn't interfere. But they're not taking any chances. If someone is a dick off-site, then it's more than likely that they're going to be a dick on-site. It's the same person, regardless of which URL they're on.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Clarity-chan

[Zoop 8,384]

 

I'm glad to see that empathy and care are truly universal traits. Remind me to withhold my sympathy if you ever fall under some sort misfortune.

 

Words are powerful things. They can comfort, they can cause pain, and they can even kill. Used in certain ways, they can cut deeper than a knife, and bruise more than a baseball bat.

 

Meh.

[monsdkfndflksdnlksl 50]

I'm glad to see that empathy and care are truly universal traits. Remind me to withhold my sympathy if you ever fall under some sort misfortune.

 

Words are powerful things. They can comfort, they can cause pain, and they can even kill. Used in certain ways, they can cut deeper than a knife, and bruise more than a baseball bat.

 

Meh.

It's nice to see you coming out of the world of equestria once in a while my "Favorite" Admin

[XxConfusedUnicornxX 832]

That's a great rule! Less bullies and mean people on the forums

[Zoop 8,384]

It's nice to see you coming out of the world of equestria once in a while my "Favorite" Admin

I do crawl out of my hole once in a rare while and lurk around these parts.

 

This is a topic I feel very strongly about, so I couldn't stop myself from commenting. Harassment in any shape or form is a dreadful thing, one that can cause more grief than one might imagine for those that find themselves targeted. Sadly, a lot of people look at it with an extremely apathetic eye.

 

And I'm your favorite? Yay! Hugs?

[SCS 7,443]

Also—how many points do we receive? Is it a permanent ban or the regular 250 abusive behavior WPs?

 

That would depend on what exactly the offense was, what its context was, and what the warning history of the person involved was. That is true for any warning. 

 

250 points for abusive behavior is only a guideline. That's the standard value, but we edit it as necessary based on the severity of the situation as determined by factors I mentioned above.

 

That being said, we will generally only become involved in situations involving abusive behavior off-site when we have to, and if something gets to that point it is likely that it will be serious enough to result in harsher moderation action than a 250 point warning.

[Shift 4,269]

Woo! Thank you for letting everyone know about this. I am proud of you, soldier. Less mean people!

[King 5,625]

My question is, what counts as good evidence? A screenshot is easily forged, and as I've mentioned above, just because a member has the same username as the suspected MLPF member does not mean that they committed the crime. In fact, there's the possibility of people creating accounts and trying to get MLPF members banned by fabricating an argument.

 

The amount of evidence required for a mod to step in when bullying occurs off-site would have to be enough that a complete and correct judgement can be made. Simply saying someone did something is nowhere near enough proof. Things like skype logs,emails and other such things are a good start. This in conjunction with what we already know about a user's past should be enough to make a good judgement.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Rainbow Dash

[Sugar Cuddles 402]

*Simply thumbs up* It makes me feel a lot more safe...thanks everyone.