Topic

Staff Topic

New: Our Community Guidelines

Here they are...still warm from the presses, our bright, new, and shiny Community Guidelines! We’ve had questions from many of you over the past months about ethics and appropriateness in Glitch, and what they all seemed to boil down to was this: "What should I expect from others playing this game, and what’s expected of me?"

The health of the community is critical to Glitch, so we took our time trying to strike the right balance in our answers and think through some of the more subtle issues at play. But, this is a living, breathing document and will evolve to reflect what we see going on in the game. As members of the community, your feedback is welcome.

You can read the Community Guidelines here, and a link to them is now in the footer of each page on the site. There are also two new FAQ entries drawn up for the occasion: “What are the Community Guidelines” & “What happens if someone breaks the Community Guidelines?

Posted 14 months ago by Blanky Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
    Posted 14 months ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Awesome :) Thank you Blanky :)
    Posted 14 months ago by Ebil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Those seem reasonable.
    Posted 14 months ago by Billy McBinky Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you so much Blanky!  The Guidelines are well thought out and articulated .... and seem very fair to me.  (((((( Blanky )))))   (Did y'all catch that ellipse!)
    Posted 14 months ago by MisAdventure Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Very nice. Good on you.
    Posted 14 months ago by serfer0 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • well written. TY devs!
    Posted 14 months ago by Avery♥ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

    ETA: Still no mention of cursing. I see this as a good thing, lol.
    Posted 14 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • + gazillion! Reasonable, clear and well stated. *smooches and hugs ts* and angel wings to Blanky.
    Posted 14 months ago by GreyGoose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Great job--TY!
    Posted 14 months ago by ElleD Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you!  Concise and clear.  :)
    Posted 14 months ago by Sparkle Plenty Subscriber! | Permalink
  • No hectoring?!? I kid. I kid. That's just one of my favorite words.
    Posted 14 months ago by Otto Otto Subscriber! | Permalink
  • They are well written and make sense. The implementation will be interesting.

    @Blanky: Did you draw the short straw again? :-)
    Posted 14 months ago by BarryW Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is wonderful to read. Thank you. It reinforced why I love this game--and many of the players-- so much. *sniffle*
    Posted 14 months ago by Voluptua Sneezelips Subscriber! | Permalink
  • No griefing or harassing other players. It’s not fun, or funny. Really. If you are in the game for the purpose of pissing other people off, you can’t play.

    Best.  Guideline.  Ever.
    Posted 14 months ago by Joojoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This :

    "No griefing or harassing other players. It’s not fun, or funny. Really. If you are in the game for the purpose of pissing other people off, you can’t play."

    is pure win!

    Thank you TS for finally proving that some development teams do have a clue!

    ~~TJ Fuzzybut
    Posted 14 months ago by Thaddeus J Fuzzybut Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So so shiny. +11
    Posted 14 months ago by Wynella Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wonderful set of guidelines!  Thank you!  :-D
    Posted 14 months ago by Undercover Nun Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Splendid!
    Posted 14 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you. Very nice!
    Posted 14 months ago by crowdedsky Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Bravo!  I expected no less from TS - well thought out and I like that it is NOT set in stone but can evolve, as we a community evolve, and problems are identified.
    Posted 14 months ago by MzMunchken Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's breathing? That is kinda creepy.

    But the guidelines are great - and a wonderful place to point people who need a nudge in the right direction.

    Thank you Blanky Warm-and-cuddly-face-of-TS
    Posted 14 months ago by Kookaburra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Lovely :0)
    Posted 14 months ago by geekybird Subscriber! | Permalink
  • well done. what we'd all been waiting to read. thank you.
    Posted 14 months ago by richi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Awesome! Just one question that I, as a non-native English speaker, have and others may have as well: what is hectoring? A quick google search revealed it as bullying. Is my understanding correct?
    Posted 14 months ago by Tricky Woo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That's correct Tricky.

    A note to Blanky et. al.: "hectoring" isn't a commonly used word for even native English speakers.  Perhaps it's best to keep things easily understood?
    Posted 14 months ago by Joojoo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This should be changed to *rules* if we *have* to follow them to be allowed to play. because *guidelines* are there only to *guide* someone, not to be law / rule enforced. bad choice of wording.
    Posted 14 months ago by Hootaholic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think by context people can figure it out if they're native English speakers, but it might present difficulties to others.
    Posted 14 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *Like like like like like*

    I should have expected nothing less, but I especially like
     - that they're expressed as guidelines and not rules
     - that they say to the community "hey community... you're part of this" - ie the guidelines are not just something to turn to when something happens that you don't like... they're advice for getting the most out of playing the game

    Couple of small issues that maybe could do with clarification:

     - Multiple accounts controlled by one person playing at the same time

    I've seen people with alts logged-in simultaneously in different browsers but controlled manually (so only one Glitch is actually doing anything at a time). Maybe you could clarify the meaning of 'playing at the same time'

     - Vigilante action against players who are, in your opinion, playing “incorrectly” can be griefing too and it is not allowed

    I'm assuming this refers only to taking action against the player personally and not to taking action against their play. You do also say 'A little mischief can be welcome' so I think "don't be a dick" applies here: if someone poisons all the spice trees in Ix & replaces them by gas, that's OK. It's also OK to set up a campaign to replace them with spice again. Maybe it's OK to replace the existing gas in the same area with more spice. But it's probably not OK to go any further than that.

    The ToS agreed to on sign-up contains a reference to the Guidelines so by agreeing to the ToS you're agreeing to the Guidelines - but nobody's going to spot that. I think it would be good to give them higher visibility. I know they're in the FAQ too, but the link to them there is hidden under the 'show more' button.

    ETA: Ooops - "and a link to them is now in the footer of each page on the site"... perfect. How did I miss that!
    Posted 14 months ago by Snazzlefrazz Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Glitch just gets better and better :)
    Posted 14 months ago by riscy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "Avoid assuming bad intentions in other players: some of them will think differently than you; or English might not be their first language; or their kid will have spilled a glass of milk on the cat a second ago; or they might not understand the particular nuances with which you play. Or … who knows? A willingness to forgive will go a long way, especially when directed towards new players who might not yet have fully learned what effects their actions have on others."

    Just one of many pieces I love.

    And, Mr. Click, they aren't "rules" because these aren't a series of hard fast specifics. 

    Also this:
    "If you can act respectfully towards other people, even when they are totally wrong about something, and you can disengage from another player when they have expressed that they don’t want to interact with you, you will probably never have a problem playing Glitch with others (and if you ever do, we are standing by to help.)"
    Posted 14 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Very well expressed.
    Posted 14 months ago by Little Miss Giggles Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Mr. Click they aren't rules so they shouldn't be called rules. 

    They are guidelines for behavior, and they allow players a bit of leeway if the person makes a mistake.  If staff set up "rules" then staff doesn't have any ability to educate the player in what appropriate behavior is, and why what they did isn't appropriate. 

    Setting up rules leads to 'rules lawyering', where players spend inordinate amounts of staff time arguing about the meaning of the rule.  This set of guidelines lets staff make a decision and move on.  If the player doesn't learn, then they can't play. 
    Posted 14 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like this. It read more like a manifesto than a set of rules. :)
    Posted 14 months ago by Arii Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Happy Dance! Happy Dance!
    Posted 14 months ago by Amber Subscriber! | Permalink
  • By the by...you refer to second accounts as "mules". In FAUNASPHERE they are mules. Here, they are DOPPS. Get it straight. ;)))

    Love the guidelines, though :D
    Posted 14 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dopps! DOPPS! Thx for the community guidelines, TS! I shall take each line as a guide, k.
    Posted 14 months ago by Hburger Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you for doing this. My question is an offshoot of Snazzlefrazz, my spouse has an account which twice I have logged into via alternate browsers, once to give a bag I could not send and also a snocone issue. I need clarification of whether or not that is bad. Thank You
    Posted 14 months ago by Fallulla Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +lots Cupcake!!! :D
    Posted 14 months ago by katlazam Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dopps! haha, that sounds funny. What does the acronym stand for?
    Posted 14 months ago by Muncey Mango Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Excellent read. Well played, TS!
    Posted 14 months ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I can't wait until I disagree with someone and they try to report me for harassing them.
    Posted 14 months ago by DJ Plaid Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Fallulla - regardless of the meaning, I'd be fairly certain nobody's going to rap your knuckles for that one. I think the intention is to stop systematic and continued exploitation (big words!) - someone whose style of play relies on having two players in the game at the same time.

    Everything comes down to "don't be a dick" :-)

    Muncey Mango - I think it's short for doppelganger
    Posted 14 months ago by Snazzlefrazz Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is so great!  I love Glitch!!
    Posted 14 months ago by noqualia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It is, indeed, short for doppelganger. :)
    Posted 14 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Still no mention of cursing. I see this as a good thing, lol.

    There actually is a mention here:

    Public areas in the game deserve the same sort of decorum, tact and consideration that public areas in your neighborhood do: excessive obscenity, vulgarity, or other kinds of generally offensive behavior are not welcome.

    There isn't a ban on cursing, just excessive cursing :D
    Posted 14 months ago by Devtesla Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you for spelling these out, Blanky and all. There were times when I found the tone of Global Chat to have grown increasingly uncomfortable because -- to put it generally -- people were using terms of speech that made it clear that certain populations were assumed Less Than. But because there were no community guidelines yet published, the assumption was that Glitch is unmoderated, anything goes, don't like the heat get out the kitchen, go cry.... well, I didn't always feel safe saying anything about it, because Glitch seemed up to then so deliberately unmoderated. Having Community Guidelines help I think with this...

    Absolutely no personal attacks or hateful speech directed at others’ gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic background or anything else you should have the good sense not to hate on.

    ...helps a lot. (Although, it would be nice to see "Gender expression and gender identity" added to this list.) As long as "hateful speech" is understood not just in terms of "personal attacks" but also in terms of say, general modes of speech that proceed from assumptions that certain kinds of people are universally considered Less Than. Which is to say, whether people get directly attacked for being who they are or whether they constantly have to hear their qualities used as a go-to metaphor for all things stupid/despicable/undesirable, they can come away feeling unwelcome.

    When we're in public conversation in Glitch, be it on the street or in Global, we don't know who might be in the audience. The next time one is tempted to use derogatory speech, perhaps it would be helpful to remember that someone described by the quality one is ridiculing might be listening, with the result that they'd feel less than welcome in Glitch on the basis of having that quality (being gay, having a developmental disability, having a mental illness, not having English as a first language -- I've seen all of these and more being apparently designated the "safe" thing to hate/disrespect/ridicule/be bigoted towards in Global Chat) apparently being considered by the community to be insult-worthy.

    I would hope that if I were to thoughtlessly say something that someone else found painful, they would feel safe calling me out on it; and that I wouldn't give in to the defensive temptation to react  by saying "But I didn't mean it that way!" but would instead respect their position and find another way to say what I have to say. As they say elsewhere on the internet, "intent isn't f*%ing magic".

    The Community Guidelines give us a basis from which to proceed with respect for each other and from which we can advocate for respect, and that's worth more than gold. Thank you.
    Posted 14 months ago by Vortexae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love this. I'd like to print them out and stick them on my front door so that everyone where I live can learn a thing or two about mutual respect.
    Posted 14 months ago by Pomponella Subscriber! | Permalink
  • These guidelines are very well thought out and frankly expressed in language that is both easy to understand without the burden of extensive legalese.
    Kudos to you Tiny Speck devs for being decent human beings and asking for all of us to be decent humans as well :)  
    As a side note, I'm constantly impressed with the overall genuine decent attitude Tiny Speck has shown with Glitch and all that surrounds Glitch.  Your business practices, monetization mechanics, open-mindedness and uncanny ability to not seem like an evil people/company all consistently blow me away, and I can only hope that the inevitable lure of money won't work to knock you off your one-of-a-kind path.

    We need more devs like you.  Cheers!
    Posted 14 months ago by Mochi Pixel Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I hope that the methods that may be used to determine whether someone is using mules or multiple accounts at the same time has a reliable way to differentiate different humans playing within the same place from one human using many characters.
    Posted 14 months ago by Biohazard Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is nice, and precisely what I would expect from a freeform community game like Glitch, right down to them being "guidelines" rather than "rules."
    Posted 14 months ago by Effigy Subscriber! | Permalink
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