Currently, the server has three sets of rules, the forum rules, the Discord server rules, and the Terraria server rules. These three sets have varying ideology and rigidity, so how the rules are enforced varies from platform to platform.
So, I propose a unification and rewrite of the server and services rules into one document.
Two main reasons motivated the creation of this proposal,
- The Terraria server’s rules are strict and harms the server if interpreted in that manner, as noted by several community members in the past year. In contrast, the Discord server’s rules are more flexible to change and interpretation depending on the situation.
- Several rules are dated and don’t align with the server’s best interests.
The current vision for a rewritten ruleset composes of four sections: §0 defines the terminology and interpretation of the rules, §1 defines “Common Decency”, §2 defines platform-wide rules, and §3 defines platform-specific rules.
The new ruleset also makes extensive use of the Community(S0#4) rule. Several rules have been extended and intensified in some scenarios to better account for the server and community’s best interests at large. A few notable changes include,
- Staff Discretion - An extension of S0#4 which allows staff members to contextualize the rules and change their severity.
- Obscene Content/Racial Profanity - These lead to immediate bans. No exceptions. Discussion of both rules must take place on the forums or on Discord; discussion in-game or on Phase is not subject to protection from these rules.
- Constructive Behavior - Members who are new and go on to consecutively break several rules in a short time span are deemed useless for the community at large and will be immediately banned. Examples of these are joining with a racially-charged name then going on to post obscene and/or racially-charged content in chat.
“Common Decency” or “Content Policy” defines a set of rules applying to all content and interactions a member is involved in. The list of rules include
- Harassment(Intimidation/Threats, Sexual, Verbal, etc.)
- Discrimination
- Profanity
- Obscene Content(18+ content)
- Obstructive Behavior(spamming, flooding, spawning a boss)
- Discussion of Infractions
- Cross-Server Politics
- Breach of Privacy
- Illegal Acts
“Platform-Wide Rules” is similar to §1 but is less concerned with how members act. The list of rules include
- Staff Discretion
- Subversion of Rules
- Abetting
- Community(S0#4)
- Unsolicited Advertisement
- Violating Intellectual Property Rights
§1 and §2 both apply to all platforms. Their separation is purely organizational