Code of Conduct

Emperor’s Hammer Code of Conduct – 2021 Revision

GENERAL INFORMATION

Introduction

The Emperor's Hammer Code of Conduct (CoC) are the core regulations that all members are required to follow on official Emperor's Hammer communications venues. In general, the following holds true and should be considered by all members: if the EH funds, provides, or administers the platform/medium, then the CoC apply. If this is not the case then the platform/medium is NOT subject to the CoC, but all members are expected to maintain good behaviors in the spirit of the Emperor’s Hammer as a family friendly organization. Where EH members are representing the organization in an external event or have a 'EH' tag/nick they should act in the spirit of this CoC and seek to maintain the organization’s image.

This is not an attempt at censorship by the Emperor’s Hammer, but where communications are not relevant to the conduct of a Star Wars gaming organization and/or unsuitable for discussion (on an EH platform) all members should remember that other areas of the internet may be more appropriate for these topics.

This document includes the latest revisions to the CoC to bring it up to date, clarifying previous ambiguities and removing platform specific comments where appropriate. The abundance of communications platforms and rapid pace of change may introduce new or unfamiliar issues, but the spirit of the CoC should always be applied if any doubt exists.

-Fleet Admiral Jarek La'an, Communications Officer (May 2021 Revision)

Authority and Escalation

The CoC is intended to maintain positive and diverse communication within the Emperor’s Hammer, while ensuring that individuals of all ages, races, creeds, genders and backgrounds are able to interact without fear of improper attention or negative behaviors. Courtesy, civility and respect should be the default behavior for any member of the Emperor’s Hammer.

In the event of any breaches of these regulations, the formal responsibility to act rests with any designated administrator (admins) or a command officer present. Should any breach be serious or continue despite warnings, a range of corrective actions including withdrawal of access may be taken by admins and all incidents will be reported to the chain of command. It is the responsibility of all officers and members to enforce the CoC and report breaches or issues - based upon the severity of any incident or breach, admins may escalate to suspensions or withdraw access to protect the broader membership in the first instance.

The Emperor's Hammer as an organization cannot be held responsible for the actions of individuals that may contravene our CoC. This may include negative online comments, harassment or other actions that are listed within the CoC as offenses. The organization entirely commits to ensuring that the CoC is enforced by all admins and officers, as well as adhered to by the membership and any external visitors to channels or media platforms.

Non-member visitors (including Cadets in training) to the official Discord server are not subject to the protections of the chain of command - as such, they may be removed without prior warning if their conduct at any point is in violation of the CoC. Where these visitors represent another club or group the Internet Officer (IO)/Communications Officer (COMM) will ensure the Reconnaissance Officer (RO) is aware and able to report to such groups as appropriate.

Members and visitors are reminded that the internet isn't necessarily a safe place and precautions should ALWAYS be taken when online, including disclosure of personal details or images, social media accounts, or other.

In the event of any breach or violation, the admin with the highest-ranking position has the final say in any actions taken, while any disagreement between admins should be mediated or resolved by the Communication Officer (COMM) or Internet Officer (IO).

Offenses and Penalties

The regulations below include the details of the actions defined within the CoC as offenses as well as their penalties. Penalties may be generic and described as 'Class 1/2/3' or may be specific to certain offenses. Where multiple penalties are listed, any action by an admin should escalate through them as they are defined below, remaining consistent and ensuring visibility by the appropriate chain of command.

Class 1 Penalty

First Offense - a warning and possible access suspension for a period no less than 24 hours.

Further Offense - Suspension of access pending an investigation by the IO/COMM and/or another relevant authority.

Class 2 Penalty

First Offense - a warning will be issued by an admin.

Second Offense – Offender's access will be suspended for a period no less than 24 hours.

Further Offense - Suspension of access pending an investigation by the IO/COMM and/or another relevant authority.

Class 3 Penalty

First Offense - a warning will be issued by an admin.

Further Offense - Action to be determined by the admins, noting the severity of the case or further actions of the offender. Reference should be made to the IO/COMM for any further direction where needed.

Reporting Incidents

Any incident that results in the suspension of privileges of an individual should be immediately reported to the IO/COMM and any other relevant authorities along with suitable evidence, the identities of involved parties and a summary of actions taken.

This is to ensure that all parties have taken suitable actions and to ensure an audit trail exists to resolve issues or identify why privileges were suspended.

Any Emperor’s Hammer admin or officer found violating the above will be given a warning to abide by this process from the IO/COMM, with a continued failure to act without suitable evidence or cause leading to loss of admin privileges.

The Communications Officer is presently FA Jarek La'an (Discord: RLaan#9803)

The Internet Officer is presently FA Turtle Jerrar (Discord: turtlexiv#5752)

Further contact details can be found at https://tc.emperorshammer.org/ehstaff.php.

PERSONAL CONDUCT

Do NOT Abuse Admin Privileges

Abuse of Admin Privileges is defined as unnecessarily:

  • Kicking/banning members
  • Unnecessarily changing/deleting a topic or pinned message
  • Modifying channel/board settings without a proper reason
  • Utilizing their position to unduly influence other members

Members trusted with admin privileges have a responsibility to act professionally and with due regard to the CoC. Any breach should be met with the issue of a clear and formal warning from another admin, prior to taking further action if the warning is not heeded.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Formal verbal or written warning from another admin
  • Suspension of all admin privileges pending investigation by the IO/COMM and/or another relevant authority.

Do NOT Conduct Any Form of Denial of Service Attack

All forms of ‘Denial of Service’ attacks are strictly forbidden, including operating bots or profiles intended to spam or disrupt channels or platforms. This denies the fun and enjoyment members can have on communication platforms and is highly disruptive to the management and operation of the Emperor's Hammer. Members should also note that Denial of Service attacks may contravene the policies of their own internet providers and violate the laws of the respective jurisdiction(s).

This offense also includes launching these forms of attacks on Emperor's Hammer web servers, signing up spam accounts on official forums and other actions deemed similar by the chain of command.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Immediate banning from all Emperor’s Hammer venues, notifying IO/COMM to commence an investigation. See EH Article of War: 4.11

Do NOT Intentionally Distribute Malicious Software or Links

Intentional distribution of any malicious software or link is strictly forbidden. Malicious software includes but is not limited to; viruses, worms, trojan horses, rootkits, spyware, botnets, keystroke loggers, and data stealing malware. Malicious links may be defined as those leading to cookie mining sites or are otherwise intended to mislead or offend members. These acts directly impact the membership’s enjoyment of the Emperor’s Hammer as well as significantly compromising their security.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Immediate banning from all Emperor’s Hammer venues, notifying IO/COMM to commence an investigation. See EH Article of War: 4.11

Do NOT Flood

Flooding is defined as the dumping of a large amount of text, emojis, clips or images on a channel or similar in a short amount of time, the repetition of statements and spamming of mailing lists, channels, or forums. The definition of flooding may vary between platforms/medium, but where the intent to cause disruption is clear, an admin should treat the incident as such.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 3 Penalty

Do NOT Impersonate an Officer

Impersonating an officer can be as simple as changing your name to a rank or position you do not hold, changing your name to another person’s known nick or completely changing all information (ident, hostmask, spoofing an email address etc.) as well as a name and pretending to be someone they are not. Regardless of intent or reason, this is deemed a serious offense.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 3 Penalty

Do NOT Discuss Piracy or Accessing Content in Breach of Copyright

Discussion of piracy or means to breach copyright by sharing, viewing, or otherwise accessing content on Emperor's Hammer communication platforms/mediums is not permitted. This includes the posting or sharing of links or similar resources, including personal or cloud hosted repositories or folders.

The discussion of resources such as torrent sites, sites dealing with the bypassing of DRM, and other piracy related discussion are forbidden regardless of whether there is any stated intent to use them.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 2 Penalty

Do NOT Initiate/Maintain Offensive Topics

All members should consider the impact of their words when communicating on an official platform/medium, remaining mindful that the organization is composed of members from a number of backgrounds, cultures, and views. Platforms such as Discord may include a range of channels where topics may be deemed inappropriate, as well as channels in which the same topic would be welcome based on its purpose or membership.

The admins or ranking officer present are authorized to deem a topic/conversation as offensive or otherwise problematic and request it be cease or moved to a more suitable channel or server. Equally, topics that may be deemed challenging or likely to incite a response from some members MAY be permitted by admins by exception, but those admins should clearly outline the boundaries, remind individuals of the CoC and remain personally responsible for the conduct of that channel or platform. On platforms such as Discord it may be possible for admins to confer and set suitable boundaries as a dialogue progresses, in the interests of ensuring members can respond or discuss a topic without fear of inadvertently breaching the CoC.

The avoidance of topics of potential conflict or those that may cause harm or hurt to a member should always be the default. Where it becomes apparent that a subject or topic may be causing conflict or harm, then that topic of conversation should be ceased immediately. All members should keep in mind that not everyone is comfortable with every discussion.

In the event of any disruption or conflict, any admins should take the necessary steps to restore order and maintain a calm and civil environment. Failure to comply with admins will be deemed as Insubordination under Articles of War 4.3 and 4.4, separate to the CoC and penalized as such.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 2 Penalty

Do NOT Insult Others

Insulting anyone on an Emperor’s Hammer platform/medium is strictly forbidden. This includes any insult on race, gender, age, sexual orientation or other protected characteristic, while members should be aware that others might have different cultural backgrounds or be less familiar with languages such as English and the meaning of some words or terms. The spirit of the organization as a family friendly Star Wars gaming venue should be maintained at all times.

Insults on an ‘in-universe’ level are permitted where appropriate, such as 'Rebel scum’, ‘nerf herder’ etc., however all members remain responsible for their conduct and are obliged to treat fellow members with respect and courtesy. Where it is apparent that a comment may be causing offense it should be ceased or removed, while any individual should report any such offense to an admin to allow them to take action.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 2 Penalty

Do NOT Use Discriminatory Speech

Discriminatory speech is any term that abuses or belittles a group based on their race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability or any other protected characteristic. There is zero tolerance for either these terms or their intent in the Emperor's Hammer - this offense represents the use of such speech or language at any point, regardless of whether it is used to an individual or not.

Usage of such terms against another member of the Emperor's Hammer will lead to separate investigation under Article of War: 4.12.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 1 Penalty

Do NOT Intentionally Annoy People

All members should be responsible for the impact of their actions on others. If you notice your actions are causing annoyance then these actions should stop immediately, particularly if another member requests that you do so. It is up to the admins to take action in accordance with the offense, but this should be reasonable action at all times – actions that may constitute annoyance include but are not limited to:

  • Harassment or perceived 'trolling' of an individual or group
  • Unwarranted pinging of an individual on Discord, including 'ghost' pinging
  • Bullying or controlling language or actions towards an individual or group
  • Repetition of statements or images in a manner intended to annoy
  • Use of bold text or colors in a manner intended to annoy

Annoyance may be highly subjective and admins will deal with incidents on an individual basis, but all members should maintain calm and act in good faith when challenging or identifying such behavior, reporting it to admins where it continues.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 3 Penalty

MATURITY OF CONTENT

Do NOT Over-use Swearing/Bad Language

Occasional swearing may be tolerated and is often used in common conversations without intent to offend, but over-use or use of extreme examples will result in action being taken. The Emperor’s Hammer seeks to maintain a PG-13 rating as an objective standard, based on the US film rating system explained below:

"Profanity may be present in PG rated films, and use of one of the harsher "sexually-derived words" as an expletive will initially incur at least a PG-13 rating... as will the usage of an expletive in a sexual context."

This includes swearing in English or any other language. Self-censorship using a string of asterisks in place of actual swearing is encouraged, however does not relieve a member of their obligation to keep swearing, censored or otherwise, to a minimum.

Penalty for Offense:

  • Class 3 Penalty

Do NOT link/include content above a PG-13 level

Emperor's Hammer communication platforms/mediums will regularly include individuals under the age of 18, noting that many countries may have further restrictions on the viewing of certain content. Linking to sites or images depicting sexually explicit or other ‘adult’ content or including such images/material in a channel or topic, is banned - the penalty for this offense is dependent on the content rating linked to and is detailed below, noting that individuals may be additionally subject to investigation against Articles of War: 4.4 for breaching this element of the CoC.

Penalty for Offense (Content deemed to be above PG-13 and/or R rated for language only):

  • Class 1 Penalty

Penalty for Offense (Content Rated R for language, nudity, drugs, sex or violence):

  • Immediate removal from channel/platform and suspension of any admin privileges, notifying IO/COMM to commence an investigation.

Penalty for Offense (Content Rated X/NC-17 for language, nudity, drugs, sex or violence):

  • Immediate banning from all Emperor’s Hammer venues, notifying IO/COMM to commence an investigation.

POSITIVE BEHAVIORS

Help all other members whenever possible

From time to time, there will be other members in need of assistance whether it is related to the Emperor’s Hammer, gaming platforms, technical help or otherwise. Do offer what assistance you can or refer them to someone who can if you are unable to. All members are encouraged to help each other whenever possible and maintain the friendly spirit of the organization.

Don't take yourself too seriously

This remains a Star Wars gaming organization and a place where members should feel comfortable to enjoy related activity and interact with others. It never pays to have an over inflated ego or to treat others as inferior and such behavior will generally have negative consequences – protect yourself and others by remaining self-aware and respectful.

Represent the values of the Emperor's Hammer

Membership of the Emperor's Hammer comes with an expectation of good behavior – courtesy, civility and respect. High personal standards should be a default and these qualities are to be extended whenever you are representing the organization.


EH Code of Conduct last updated: 1 May 2021 (COMM/FA Jarek La’an)

Last reviewed: 11 January 2022 (IO/FA Turtle Jerrar)