As you know MG is dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion in the games industry.

The purpose of this document is to outline our community values – what we do, and don’t, stand for – and the measures we take to protect them.

Inclusivity 

We want everyone to feel included in our community. In particular, nobody should ever feel excluded on the basis of their:

• Gender, gender identity, or gender expression
• Sexual orientation
• Disability or medical condition
• Physical appearance (including but not limited to body size)
• Race
• Age
• Religion

A note on politics: Political discussions are not banned, but we don’t tolerate using our forum as a personal soapbox to air political opinions. As always, our moderators have the final say on this.

Our Shared Values 

You agree that:

• We are collectively and individually committed to safety and inclusivity.
• We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment, or discrimination.
• We respect people’s boundaries and identities.
• We refrain from using language that can be considered oppressive (systemically or otherwise), eg. sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, classist, etc. – this includes (but is not limited to) various slurs.
• We avoid using offensive topics as a form of humour.
• We do not suggest or speculate on ways of breaking the law, or the security measures of Monzo and other banks.

We actively work towards:

• Being a safe community.
• Cultivating a network of support and encouragement for each other.
• Encouraging responsible and varied forms of expression.

We condemn:

• Stalking or publishing private information (‘doxxing)
• Threats of harm or harassment.
• Anything that compromises people’s safety.

Forum Etiquette

We avoid:

• Name-calling.
• Ad hominem attacks (criticising a poster personally, not their post).
• Responding to a post’s tone instead of its actual content.
• Replying in a confrontational manner when we see a post we think needs attention (use the flag feature to report it instead).
• Deliberately derailing threads, or other forms of trolling.
• Posting low-value content that doesn’t add to the discussion.
• Repeatedly making the same arguments, instead of moving on. We’ll lock threads that end up going in circles.
• Creating multiple accounts (aka ‘sockpuppets’).

We’re polite and respectful:

• Don’t post anything that a reasonable person would consider offensive, abusive, or hate speech.
• Don’t post anything obscene or sexually explicit.
• Don’t harass or grief anyone, impersonate people, or expose their private information.
• Don’t post spam or otherwise vandalize the forum.
• Disagreements, both political and technical, happen all the time. Our community is no exception to the rule. The goal is not to avoid disagreements or differing views but to resolve them constructively. You should turn to the community to seek advice and to resolve disagreements and where possible consult the team most directly involved.
• Think deeply before turning a disagreement into a public dispute. If necessary request mediation, trying to resolve differences in a less highly-emotional medium. If you do feel that you or your work is being attacked, take your time to breathe through before writing heated replies. Consider a 24 hour moratorium if emotional language is being used – a cooling off period is sometimes all that is needed. If you really want to go a different way, then we encourage you to publish your ideas and your work, so that it can be tried and tested.
• Communicate effectively. Clear communication can help to avoid misunderstandings. Remember that words and phrases can be interpreted differently depending on people’s backgrounds. It’s better to ask for clarification than to make assumptions. Disagreements, social and technical, are normal, but we expect participants in the project to resolve disagreements constructively. Please avoid flame wars, trolling, personal attacks, and repetitive arguments

 When we’re called out, we:

• Listen without interruption.
• Believe what the person is saying & do not attempt to disqualify what they have to say.
• Ask for tips and help toward avoiding reoffending in the future.
• Apologise and ask forgiveness.

If the above is ever unclear, final decisions are at the discretion of the MG Team and the MG MOD’s (With the MG Team having the final say). They will use their best judgement to determine what is in the best interest of maintaining an inclusive community. Just because something is not explicitly prohibited in this document, that doesn’t make it automatically ok.

So please respect what they decide, and avoid nit-picking the rules if you disagree.

Consequences for breaking the rules 

We take a strong stance on enforcing our community guidelines. In severe cases, such as posting content that we have zero tolerance on, we will immediately ban and remove the user from our community.

For other violations, we’ll follow these steps –

First offence: we’ll send you a warning. We’ll be in touch to let you know what you did, and we’ll point out which part of the Code of Conduct you’re breaking.

Second offence: we’ll take an action. This can be a short-term suspension (for repeated misbehaviour), a long-term suspension (for repeated misbehaviour on a large scale, or a significant incident), or outright removal from the Community forum (for extremely serious situations).

For future offences, if – following a suspension – you return and are still disruptive, we’ll fully remove you from the community.

Alerting us 

If you see a community post which breaches these guidelines, please flag it to make one of the team aware. 

Moderators and MG Team are here to help you with any and all questions. Do not hesitate to reach out to us.