====== Harassment and Discrimination Policy ======
Though we are not a fleet, the Split World Alliance has found it necessary to draft our own harassment and discrimination policy. The Alliance prides itself on being a "safe place" for all writers, regardless of their individual backgrounds. Anyone found in violation of this policy may be subject to removal from Alliance simulations, and any game manager who is aware of violations within their simulation but does nothing about it //will// have their simulation removed from our list of member simulations. While we are very accepting of people of varying backgrounds, we have a "no tolerance" attitude toward harassment, discrimination, and bullying. Please keep in mind that this policy is subject to change as needed.

===== Harassment =====
Harassment is defined as repeated, unwanted advances or attacks against a group or an individual. Because harassment is often in the eye of the beholder, all complaints of harassment will be taken extremely seriously. Guidelines that form the framework of this portion of the policy are as follows.
  * Do not continuously bombard anyone with requests to write with you. If you have asked once and the answer has been no, repeated requests will get you nowhere except an airlock. NOTE: A game manager may ask a writer to respond in a mission-essential post, but the same general guideline applies, particularly if a writer has made the game managers aware of any influences or problems that have prevented the writer from participating.
  * Do not spam any writer with repeated friend requests or messages, including off site messages such as internet relay chat or an instant messenger. No one is required to be friends with you, nor is anyone required to correspond with you. If you have been asked not to message a certain writer, it is in your best interest to leave them alone.
  * During conversations about controversial or heated topics, do not beat people over the head with your opinion or view on the matter. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and beliefs, but it is //not appropriate// to force that belief on others or shove it in their face. If you cannot discuss a topic civilly and with mutual love and respect, your best option is to //not discuss it//. Excuse yourself from the situation or make yourself busy elsewhere until the topic of conversation changes. 

===== Discrimination =====
Discrimination is defined as the practice of unfairly treating a group or individual differently from how you might treat a different group or individual. The Split World Alliance does not discriminate against any group or writer on the basis of gender identity, ethnicity, religion, age, experience, or sexual orientation. Guidelines that form the framework of this portion of the policy are as follows.
  * All people are equal in the eyes of the universe. One gender is not better than any other, nor does any group or individual have the right to determine which genders exist and who belongs to them. A person's gender identity does not give any group or person the right to ridicule, harass, bully, or belittle that person. Similarly, one's sexual orientation is personal and private. If they choose to share this information, they do so because they trust that others will not use it against them.
  * Keep your faith or religion to yourself unless you are able to talk about it while still respecting those of differing faiths and religions. Within the Alliance, we have members who practice different faiths and who have different beliefs. No one religion is better than any other, and no one has the right to make someone feel attacked or ridiculed on the basis of differing beliefs. Religion and faith are moral compasses and intimately personal choices. As such, they are sacred and should be discussed only with mutual love and respect.

===== Bullying =====
Bullying is defined as the unfair treatment of an individual who is viewed as weaker, lesser, or different. This is a targeted form of harassment and discrimination against a single person, and it is extremely frowned upon within the Alliance. As an organization that wishes to be a safe place encompassing as many writers as possible, we find bullying to be extremely distasteful.

===== The Difference Between In-Character and Out-Of-Character =====
In-character interactions are not governed by this policy, so long as efforts have been made to ensure that all parties involved know that the character in question is designed to be mean, cruel, abrasive, or otherwise disliked. However, any and all harassment, discrimination, or bullying behavior done in-character must be for story-telling or character development purposes. It is best to gain approval or consent from the writers who will be writing with you; however, a character who is simply meant to be coarse and abrasive does not need to seek approval before every post. Undesirable in-character behavior should not affect your relationships with your fellow writers. If you find your relationships becoming affected, it's time to re-evaluate your approach to participation in the simulation.

===== Final Notes =====
The policy outlined here applies to all Split World Alliance simulations, the internet relay chat channels operated by the Split World Alliance, and any correspondences with your fellow Alliance writers on all platforms. This alliance is a sisterhood of peace, and it must be treated that way by all parties involved if we are to succeed in being a beacon of safety for writers of all backgrounds.

This policy is subject to change at any time if the need arises. We encourage you to refer back to the policy occasionally to keep yourself updated.

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