*IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ* New Harassment Policy

[Dana]

Hello Triadians!

The Council has been dealing with a rather serious issue over this past year, and we feel that it is time to make clear our policy regarding some member's OOC behavior.  Now, in general, the Council is opposed to the idea of regulating members behavior outside the lists and forums.  It is not our job to make sure everyone is best friends in the club, or to tell you how to conduct your relationships with others.  However, when it effects the club as a whole, that is when the Council is obligated to step in and say something.

As a reminder, this is the first rule in Triad's Rules of Conduct:

1. Flaming, insults, or harassment of other members will not be tolerated. Violation of this rule will result in disciplinary action, which could include extension of or return to mentorship, loss of rank, or expulsion. Members are asked to be especially respectful of mentors and administrative staff. These members volunteer their time to keep the club running smoothly and deserve at least that in payment. This rule applies to any type of communication, including AIM conversations.

It is the third case, harassment of other members, which concerns us the most.

The Council has received complaints from multiple members about being hounded to the point of feeling harassed, both by e-mail and on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Livejournal, etc. There have been more than one member accused of that behavior, and it has resulted in more than one member's leaving the club permanently, and more than one have considered leaving the club due to their behavior. This is a problem, and the Council is taking it very seriously.

We would like to assume that the harassing behavior has happened innocently. What appears to have happened is that when a member was part of a storyline or in the middle of some co-posts with another member or members, and when they had real life issues come up to prevent them from replying in a timely manner, they received e-mails asking where they were, when they were coming back, if they were going to reply, reminding them that they still hadn't replied, and so on. Even when the member had posted as being LIA/LOA on the forums, they were still asked when they were coming back, when they would reply, and generally made to feel guilty for putting their real lives ahead of Triad, though perhaps not purposefully. The member would then stop even looking at the forums and/or their e-mail because the constant nagging had the opposite effect. Instead of encouraging the member to return faster, it only served to sour their opinion of Triad and made them want to avoid it all together. At times, when the member stopped replying to e-mails, they were then contacted through networking sites and the nagging began again.

Such behavior is absolutely unacceptable and if the Council hears of it happening again, steps will be taken.

We understand how frustrating it is when you have a storyline that you care about and have put a lot of work into, and it seems that your co-posting partner is either less involved than you would like, or is having real life issues that limit their time in the club. While we understand how heartbreaking that can be, nagging and picking at them will not get you results. It will only have the opposite effect.

We would suggest that if your co-poster has seemed to disappear, send them a message, wait a week and give them time to respond. If you don't hear back, send one more, and that's it. If they do respond and ask you to be patient, then please, be patient. If you cannot wait any longer, ask them permission to move on with the storyline and invite them to jump back in when they have time. We suggest not burning bridges.

If you find that your time on Triad has been limited, if you are having e-mail issues or real life issues that are getting in the way of your posting in a timely manner, please, be courteous and let your co-post partners know as soon as possible. We know that it is not always possible, and we also are guilty of letting it slip our minds, but if at all possible, please let them know. Don't leave them hanging and wondering where you are. People do tend to worry about you when you suddenly disappear.

However, if you feel you are being harassed by another member, please do the following: save all copies of e-mail sent to you, and those you've sent, and forward them to the Council. If you have copies of IM conversations please send them, as well as any copies of mails sent via networking sites. We will review the situation and take appropriate measures.

From this point on, if we receive a complaint about your behavior backed up by e-mails, we will put you back on mentorship as a warning. If it happens a second time, the Council will seriously consider expelling you from the club. We are taking this issue extremely seriously, and we will not hesitate to ask a member to leave the club if we feel that keeping them as a member runs the risk of losing others.

We hope that we will not have to resort to such measures and that this is the one and only time we will need to send out this warning.

Thank you for giving this announcement your full attention.

[Cali]

I feel left out.  Nobody ever harasses me.  :geek:

[emma]

*bump, bump, bumpety-bump*

[Cymiri]

I must say, whilst I agree in general with the sentiment of this post [and do hope I have not been guilty of transgressions] I do have to add:

The person who bails from a thread mid-posting, does not inform their co-posters with so much as a 'life sucks right now, back when it doesn't' *and yet* has enough time to fire off a complaint to the BOD here over people asking if their o.k and if they'll be returning in the foreseeable future to finish a thread they committed to may perhaps also need a small lesson in courtesy?

If you're being pursued after an informative message and an LOA that's one thing, and pursuing across multiple networks is excessive. Being horrendously insulted because someone asks what's happened when you disappear without warning is another!

I'm just glad you're using email proofs to make these judgements, because I see a lot of potential for 'delicate flowers' who expect people to mind-read to dump well-meaning people in the unmentionable otherwise.