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# Spectrum and Website Rules and Moderation Responsibilities

Created by: Kraiklyn

- January 12, 2020 15:05
- Updated

As the Community and Star Citizen itself continues to grow and iterate, so too must the rules and guidelines affecting the use of the website dedicated to its continued development. At present, this website includes the forums, live chat, comm-links, Community Hub and Issue Council as places where you can help guide the futures of Star Citizen and Squadron 42, each with their own dedicated purposes.

- Spectrum Forums - A place where we can all come together to discuss the continuing development of Star Citizen and Squadron 42, provide feedback on specific game systems, build community and more.
- Spectrum Chat - Discuss the topics of today with your fellow Citizens in a casual atmosphere.
- Comm-Links - We put out a lot of content each and every week, and in the Comm-Link comments you can provide direct and focused feedback on the specific release of that day.
- Community Hub - Where you can go to shine a spotlight on fan creations, livestreamers, YouTubers and Star Citizen in the news.
- Issue Council - Where you can report bugs found in the live client, and work with other Star Citizens to help prioritize the biggest issues that need fixing.

As the website, community, Spectrum, Launcher content, and Star Citizen continues to evolve, so too will the rules that govern it. This article provides the latest iteration of these rules and guidelines, but hardly the last. While we don't believe in legislating every single thing a person should or should not do, these rules we feel are necessary to provide an enjoyable and constructive resource for the community.

## 1. BE GOOD

Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Every account is another human being who is excited about Star Citizen. Disagree calmly and intelligently, do not attack each other when you don't share the same ideas. Show them the same respect you wish to be shown yourself.

- (a) Personal attacks on other forum members or employees are unacceptable and are grounds for an immediate strike. Terms such as "carebear", sociopath, and other derogatory terms should never be used on these forums. We strive to be a welcoming community accepting those from all walks of life and respect each other as such.
- (b) In-game abuses should be resolved privately between citizens via Private Message. Volunteer Moderators are NOT Game Masters, and have no authority to act upon in-game occurrences. 'Vigilante justice', including but not limited to ‘naming and shaming’, via the forums or chat is not condoned or acceptable, and will be acted upon as reported by Moderators.
- (c) Do not post another member's personal information such as their email address, other website profiles, or other sensitive material without their permission. "Doxing" will not be tolerated.

## 2. KEEP IT CLEAN

We're all adults here and that means being responsible and not plastering risqué content all over your forums and chat. No pornographic, racist, sexist, homophobic, disability-based, or otherwise outright offensive content to other humans may be posted, including conversations about illicit substances or human trafficking outside of the Star Citizen Universe. You're helping us to build a game, not a high school locker room. Excessive objectionable language is grounds for a strike.

## 3. NO TROLLING

Do not post messages specifically intended to antagonize, incite, or "get a rise" out of others. We understand the impulse to do it at times, but it doesn't contribute to the community, it tears it down. Your responsibility as early backers is to help form a great community, not to endlessly frustrate those who come later. Included, but not limited to:

- (a) Do not create avatars and signatures intended to bait, defame, ridicule, insult or otherwise mess with other users.
- (b) Parody, at the expense of other users is forbidden. Do not copy other users profiles or organizations.
- (c) “Hit lists” of users you intend to attack in the finished game are absolutely forbidden (and generally a ridiculous concept.) The sort of “forum PVP” that exists elsewhere will not be tolerated here. Spectrum exists to gather feedback, promote discussion and build the community; general forum bullying directly countermands these goals.
- (d) While we encourage discussions on a variety of game-related topics, starting threads on controversial issues solely to generate an argument is forbidden. (“HEY EVERYBODY PVP RULES AND PVE DROOLS!”)
- (e) Posting to another guild’s recruiting thread in order to harass them is forbidden. Guild recruiting threads are for guild members and those interested in joining, not for fights between guilds.
- (f) Users may NOT impersonate a moderator or an employee of CIG, including by having similar avatars or forum handle.
- (g) Should a moderator edit your post, you may not remove those edits or notes.

## 4. STAY ON TOPIC

Every Spectrum channel has a topic and you should stick to it.

- (a) Threads that derail significantly from their original topic will be closed.

## 5. NO SPAM

Be additive, not repetitive. Avoid excess.

- (a) Continuing to post the same content on the forums or chat for any reason is not allowed, and the frequency with which this becomes excessive will be the discretion of moderation staff.
- (b) Asking for money or donations is not allowed.
- (c) Forum “bumps” are considered a form of spam and are not allowed. This extends to "necro’ing" threads more than a month dead. Let the natural conversational flow of the community determine what should rise to the top and what should not.
- (d) Talking about your personal projects and successes is welcome and encouraged, selling things is NOT. Spectrum is not a marketplace and trading or selling Star Citizen items or accounts is not allowed on the forums or chat. You are free to sell, trade or gift your packages elsewhere, but you may not do so here. Linking to other sale sites is forbidden, suggesting that users contact you for sales is forbidden, discussing grey market prices is forbidden. Customer Support may not be able to help you with package-selling related tickets; it is to be done at your own risk.
- (e) Posts may not contain secret codes or languages.
- (f) The Organizations and #recruitment channels are the only accepted places for recruitment-related activities on Spectrum.

## 6. ONE FORUM ACCOUNT PER USER

While backers are free to have multiple RSI accounts to play different unconnected characters in Star Citizen, they may post from only one forum account.

- (a) When a user posting through an “alt” is discovered, the user will be asked to choose which they would like to continue using and the others will have their posting permissions removed. This rule will be applied when alt usage is discovered, not pre-emptively applied to accounts with the same IP (which could be used by family members.)
- (b) The use of alts may not be used to circumvent probations of forums and chat. Any account discovered doing so will have its ability to contribute to the forums and chat permanently removed, and the probation on the original account extended (if warranted.)
- (c) Posting on behalf of probated accounts will result in action against the posting account.

## 7. DO NOT DISCUSS MODERATION ACTIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE DETAILS, OR PROBATIONS IN THE FORUMS OR CHAT

These are not topics related to the continuing development of Star Citizen as a game.

- (a) The probation of other users is not relevant to the continued development of Star Citizen.
- (b) The details of Player Relations and Customer Support interactions are not relevant to the continued development of Star Citizen as a game. Do not post the contents of any Customer Service interaction on the forums.
- (c) Do not argue with moderators in chat, forum post, or private message. Passive-aggression and oblique reference is still arguing. If you have an issue with moderation decisions, contact Community Management.
- (d) Be aware that we will examine your entire posting history and will apply probation as we deem appropriate. Contacting Community Management is NOT a ‘get out of jail free’ card, and as many probation decisions are already reviewed by Community Management prior to being applied, you may expect the probation to be upheld in most cases.
- (e) While Player Relations is here to help with technical issues relating to your account, they will not overturn Community Management decisions or respond to account-related demands that arise, implicitly or otherwise, from events that occur on the forums or chat.

## 8. DON’T ABUSE THE FLAG SYSTEM

The flagging system is here to point out any posts that may be breaking the forum rules. It is not here to make fun of a moderator’s ruling or insult other members. Do not use harsh language in your flag description and do not flag posts simply because you disagree with another member. Do not reflag a post. Each flag is reviewed and often flagged posts require no action. Flagging posts that are older than 1 month will take lower priority than recent posts.

## 9. CONTRIBUTE

We want to hear from you. Some of the best ideas come from the unlikeliest thoughts, so if you have something to add stand up and say it! Remember, the purpose of the Spectrum Forums and Chat is to help the development team create the best possible game. We love posts that help us build our world and hate ones that waste our time by involving CIG staff in unnecessary drama, moderation oversight or rumor mongering.

- (a) Posts discussing rumors or misinformation, including the posting of rumors and/or personal opinion as fact, are not allowed.
- (b) Posts designed to rile up or divide the community and spread unrest, including FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) are not allowed.
- (c) Discussions of real-world politics, religion, race and other such topics are strongly discouraged, and will be actioned upon if they turn to drama and agitation.

## 10. CONTESTS & EVENTS

If you wish to run or promote a contest or event on Spectrum or this website, they must follow the following guidelines:

- (a) Any fan-organized event or contest is not "official." Making us aware of an event, or receiving an item from us to give away does not equal an endorsement or granting of "official" status. Only CIG-created and managed events are "official" as far as promotion on Spectrum goes.
- (b) Must be free to enter.
- (c) Must not be biased towards age, gender, religion, nationality.
- (d) Is allowed to target non-backers only where the intention is to get them to play the game.
- (e) Must have a clearly defined end-date.
- (f) Must have a clearly defined minimal prize pool (can be honors only).
- (g) Must announce winners at the end of the contest.
- (h) Must not require people to register or visit on 3rd party websites or communicate outside this website (including Skype or email).
- (i) Must not request personal contact details in advance.
- (j) Any contest that offers a better chance to win for becoming affiliated with an organization must take place in that organization's recruitment page.
- (k) Must be clear that CIG is in no way involved in the contest. Even if we’ve supplied a prize to giveaway, we are not “in partnership” with the contest administrators.
- (l) The moderation team reserves the right to shut down contest threads which become derailed, or violate the spirit of our community in any way we deem.
- (m) All offered prizes must be given away to a winner participating in the contest.
- (n) When in doubt: ask before starting a contest or promoting an event on this website.

## 11. THESE RULES ARE GUIDELINES FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR AND NOT AN IMMUTABLE CODEX DEFINING WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT DO

Resorting to literalism or rules lawyering is a weak and transparent defense and will be regarded as such. If your idea of a good time is to find ways to troll Spectrum without technically breaking one of these rules, know that you may still be sanctioned.

- (a) “But I’m not technically poking you!” is not cause for the nuanced legal debate you’re imagining.
- (b) “But this other person did this and got away with it!” is not an excuse or justification for poor behavior. Due to our privacy policy, we will not discuss any information or actions, taken or otherwise, involving other Citizens.
- (c) "But there isn't a specific rule saying I can't do this!" is not an exemption from complying with a request from moderators or staff.

TL;DR: Be good, don’t suck.

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