Empire
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Conduct

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{{CaptionedImage|file=MattP.jpg|align=right|caption=Event Manager: Matt Pennington}}
{{CaptionedImage|file=EmmaWoodsCropped.jpg|align=right|caption=Head of Conduct: Emma Woods}}
==Overview==
==Overview==
Live roleplaying is a cooperative hobby - crucially what that means is that your enjoyment of our game is dependent on the behaviour of other players and likewise their enjoyment is impacted by the way you approach and play the game. Because of the unique cooperative aspect of live roleplaying, we require all our payers to meet certain common standards of behaviour while they are at Empire events or using online spaces devoted to the game.
Live roleplaying is a cooperative hobby which means that your enjoyment of our game is dependent on the behaviour of other participants and likewise their enjoyment is impacted by the way you approach and play the game. Because of this unique cooperative aspect of live roleplaying, we require all our participants to meet certain common standards of conduct and behaviour while they are at Empire events or using online spaces devoted to the game.


This code of conduct ''defines'' the responsibilities of participants involved with Empire. The aim is to benefit everyone involved by ensuring that you know what behaviour to expect at an event and what behaviour is expected of you. We want to make clear what behaviour is acceptable because Empire is a large active community of thousands of live roleplayers - who all have own views on these matters. Explicitly defining a social contract that you agree to by choosing to participate allows you to know the standards that you will be held to by others.
This code of conduct defines the responsibilities of participants involved with Empire. The aim is to benefit everyone involved by ensuring that you know what behaviour to expect at an event and what behaviour is expected of you. We want to make clear what behaviour is acceptable because Empire is a large active community of thousands of live roleplayers - who all have own views on these matters. Explicitly defining a social contract that you agree to by choosing to participate allows you to know the standards that you will be held to by others.


The underlying goal of this code of conduct is about respecting other players - and taking reasonable measures to produce the best events we can that are as accessible to as many players as possible. We want to produce high quality events - but we want those events to be enjoyed by players regardless of their gender, race, or sexuality.
All our rules for conduct apply to everyone who attends our events, to all participants regardless of whether they are players or crew. The underlying goal of this code of conduct is about respecting other participants - and taking reasonable measures to produce the best events we can that are as accessible to as many people as possible. We want to produce high quality events - but we want those events to be enjoyed by all participants regardless of their gender, race, or sexuality.


Although we are passionate about these issues - it is outside our scope as an events company to support public discussions about them. These pages lay out the behaviour that is expected from participants in our game to ''remove assumptions about how things work at our events''. We have published the definitive source for what is and is not acceptable at Profound Decisions events, so that everyone can understand what rules are used at our events.  
Although we are passionate about these issues - it is outside our scope as an events company to support public discussions about them. These pages lay out the behaviour that is expected from participants in our game to ''remove assumptions about how things work at our events''. We have published the definitive source for what is and is not acceptable at Profound Decisions events, so that everyone can understand what rules are used at our events.  
{{CaptionedImage|file=SteveTiernan.jpg|align=right|caption=Head of Security: Steve Tiernan}}
{{CaptionedImage|file=ClareEvansCropped.jpg|align=right|caption=Head of Player Support: Clare Evans}}
==The Conduct Team==
* Emma Woods is the head of conduct at Empire
* Matt Pennington, Clare Evans, and Steve Tiernan are members of the conduct team


==Costume==
Emma Woods is the member of crew with primary responsibility for ensuring the conduct of all participants meets our guidelines and for dealing with any issues arising. If you wish to report an issue with the conduct of another participant then the best person to speak to is Emma or any other member of her team.
* '''Empire includes guidelines on costume for each of the ten nations'''
* '''Our rules include minimum standards for costume and tents'''
* '''All participants are encouraged to continually improve their costume'''
* '''All participants are asked to refrain from criticizing the costume of others'''
The Empire wiki includes extensive guidance on the look and feel for each of the ten Imperial nations. These resources exist to define the setting as well as to help players create costumes and props that can bring the setting to life. Our [[costume]] rules include some basic minimum standards for costume as well as for tents that are being used on the in-character field.


A key element of our [[costume|costume guidelines]] is the idea of continuous improvement - the idea that every participant commits to continually improving their kit when possible. The most important part of this, is that we ask all players to refrain from criticizing the costume of other participants. Everyone involved in Empire has committed to striving to improve their costume when possible, that commitment should be respected.
If you raise an issue with a member of our crew, then they will encourage you to speak to a member of the conduct team and help to get hold of them for you. If you prefer then you can ask for a specific member of the team - or ask to speak to a male or female member of the team - otherwise the crew will attempt to put you in touch with whichever member of the team is available first. We will take all complaints seriously and treat them with respect regardless of your gender, relationship status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, sexuality, transgender status, religion or age, or any similar distinction.
{{CaptionedImage|file=Chiara.jpg|align=right|width=400}}
==Language==
* '''Language that implies that women need protection does not fit our setting'''
* '''Use of gendered nouns such as men, boys, lads is discouraged when describing groups that include others'''
* '''All participants should refrain from criticizing the language of others during time-in'''
* '''References to non-consensual sexual activity are not acceptable at events'''


Empire is a gender neutral setting by design. There are no roles, character types, titles, or positions that are restricted by gender or are stereotyped as belonging to any particular gender. For example; soldiers, healers, generals, senators and empresses are all equally as likely to be women as they are men. Language used in the game should reflect the setting. It should also avoid excluding other participants from the game by using nouns that may appear to refer exclusively to men. The [[language|rules for using language]] in Empire are designed to support the setting and create a game where everyone can feel welcome regardless of identity.
==The Welfare Team==
* John Newton is the head of participant welfare at Empire
* A member of the team is available on request throughout the day
Our participant welfare team consists of members of our volunteer crew team who have experience or qualifications in counselling and support. If you are experiencing problems at the event that are causing you distress then you can ask for a a member of this team to help, they are on hand during the day to provide support and assistance to any participant who needs it. The welfare team have a dedicated tent available where anyone can talk to them in confidence.
{{CaptionedImage|file=John.jpg|align=right|caption=Head of Participant Welfare: John Newton}}
Members of the welfare team will aim to provide basic support and assistance for anyone who requests help. They have advice on how to access professional counselling services that can provide crisis counselling or support with mental health. They can help if you wish to contact the police. In general they will try to provide any help possible with any other needs you have.


We ask participants to be mindful of their use of [[language]] when roleplaying. For example, addressing a crowd of Imperial citizens about to take the battlefield as "men", "lads" or "boys" will make some players feel excluded and does not make sense in a universe where half the warriors are not male. We appreciate that the use of gendered language is habitual and everyone makes the odd mistake; but a concerted effort to use appropriate in-character [[language]] that fits the setting will improve the game for everyone.
==Equality and Diversity==
* '''Real-world discrimination is as unacceptable at our games as real-world violence'''
* '''It is not acceptable to insult another participant on the basis of an out-of-character attribute.'''
* '''Empire is a gender-blind setting'''
* '''References to non-consensual sex or sex with minors are not permitted'''
 
The setting does include in-character prejudice and bigotry - it is fine to insult another ''character'' on the basis of an in-character attribute, such as their [[lineage]], species, [[archetypes|archetype]] or in-character nationality or beliefs. What is not acceptable is any treatment based on an out-of-character attribute. This means that participants are '''not''' allowed to discriminate on grounds of real-world gender, relationship status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, sexuality, transgender status, religion or age, or any similar distinction. Any behaviour that is based on real world discrimination is prohibited at Profound Decisions events, ''regardless of if it takes place while participants are in-character or out-of-character''.
 
In particular, we have deliberately opted to discard real-world history to create a game setting that does not include any form of gender discrimination. Characters in the world of Empire do not make any distinction between genders or assumptions about characters based on their gender. There are no social roles reserved for men - or for women - and the idea of assigning responsibilities based on gender should be seen as ridiculous by any normal character.
 
There are additional guidelines for the use of [[language]] by all participants that are designed to reflect the gender-blind setting and encourage participation by all genders. However everyone should be aware that the Empire setting is written to exclude non-consensual sex or sex with minors. All participants ''must'' avoid in-character references to either of these two subjects in play.
 
==Sexual Harassment==
* '''Sexual harassment will not be tolerated by us at our events'''
We understand that many people come to Empire to socialize and enjoy themselves - but nobody should have to tolerate harassment from other participants.  Our definition of sexual harassment includes any of the following behaviour:
 
* Repeatedly asking a person to socialize when the person has indicated that they are not interested.
* Repeatedly standing or sitting too close to or brushing up against a person without their clear consent.
* Sexual comments, banter, jokes, or innuendo in company that includes people who are not comfortable with that.
* Touching a person in an intimate or sexual way without their clear consent.
 
In plain English, if you continue to hit on other participants after they have indicated that they are not interested or if you make sexual comments or jokes that make other participants uncomfortable -  then we will consider you guilty of sexual harassment and deal with you accordingly.


The themes that exist within Empire do not include non-consensual sex or sex with minors - these concepts simply do not exist in the Empire setting. All players must make every possible effort to avoid overt references to any form of non-consensual sex while roleplaying their character.
A victim of sexual harassment can be of any gender. The victim can be of the same gender as the harasser. The harasser can be any participant, a player or a member of crew. All of our rules apply to all participants regardless of gender or status.


As with costume, the idea of continuous improvement is an important part of our guidelines on language. The rules don't demand everyone succeeds in avoiding inappropriate words, the requirement is to try to do so. Likewise we ask all players to refrain from criticizing the language of other participants, ''especially when they are in-character''. Everyone involved in Empire has committed to striving to use the most in-character language possible, that commitment should be respected. Feedback should be between friends and ideally when people are not roleplaying.
==Challenging==
* '''Please challenge any behaviour that violates these rules at events if you feel safe to'''
* '''If your behaviour is challenged, you ''must'' apologize and back off'''


==Equality and Diversity==
We ask all participants to support our efforts to prevent discrimination or harassment by making clear that that behaviour will not be tolerated. If you see examples of behaviour that is inappropriate because it appears to violate our rules on discrimination or harassment, then we encourage you to challenge the people involved on the spot if you feel confident enough to do so. It is not helpful to get into a direct confrontation with another participant but a simple forceful statement such as "OOC - please stop bothering X" should be sufficient.
* '''Empire is a gender-blind setting'''
* '''Real-world discrimination is as unacceptable at our games as real-world violence'''


Our code of conduct includes a clear set of rules on [[equality and diversity]] designed to ensure that participants can attend our events without fear that real world prejudice or discrimination will affect them. Any behaviour that is based on real world discrimination is prohibited at Profound Decisions events, regardless of if it takes place while participants are in-character or out-of-character. These rules also extend to the use of online forums used by Empire participants to discuss the game.
If your behaviour is challenged by another participant in this way then you ''must'' apologize for any offense caused and back off immediately regardless of any other considerations. If you feel your actions have been misconstrued, then you should state that case to our referee if the matter is reported.


In particular, it is important to note that Empire is a gender-blind setting that bears no comparison to the equivalent historical period. Characters in the world of Empire do not make any distinction between genders or assumptions about characters based on their gender. There are no social roles reserved for men - or for women - and the idea of assigning responsibilities based on gender should be seen as ridiculous by any normal character.
We ask participants not to confront inappropriate use of gendered language directly; see the pages for specific guidance on how to handle these two issues.


==Online==
It is also important to appreciate that Empire is a game of political conflict between players. It is absolutely appropriate to challenge payers for any behaviour that violates our rules on harassment or discrimination - but it not appropriate to use this mechanism to respond to legitimate in-character conflicts between characters that do not contain any elements of sexual harassment or similar.
* '''Our code of conduct includes behaviour in Empire online forums and spaces'''
We provide a set of official Empire forums and facebook groups for players to discuss the game. These are moderated by volunteers appointed by Profound Decisions who follow the published [[moderation]] guidelines. We expect all our players to follow our code of conduct when using these online spaces and when interacting with other Empire players online.


==Response==
==Reporting==
* ''''A clear out-of-character response is appropriate in any situation where any breach of the code of conduct is invasive or egregious'''
* '''We encourage anyone who is experiencing problems with another participant's behaviour to raise the matter with us'''
* '''Please do not try to use in-character mechanisms to correct an out-of-character problem'''
If another player's behaviour represents a significant contravention of our code of conduct - for example by talking about non-consensual sex or any form of sexual harassment, or is a breach of the game rules that affects you on an out-of-character level - such as grappling without your consent - then it is appropriate to let them know their actions are not acceptable as quickly and clearly as possible. The best way to do this is with a clearly voiced statement in the form '''Out-of-character - do not grapple me''' substituting whatever rules reminder is required. It is always appropriate to report to Profound Decisions any incident that warranted an out-of-character response to stop.


Please note that most issues that are covered by our code of conduct are explicitly not covered by [[Imperial law]]. This is a deliberate design decision - in Empire we try wherever possible to avoid dealing with out-of-character issues through in-character means - and vice-versa. Our rules for [[conduct]] are part of our game rules - like taking your hits in battle - they are enforced by our referee team and ultimately by Profound Decisions management team. Imperial law is for ''characters'' - players can choose to break the law or not - it is enforced by players and npcs who are part of the militia and magistrate team. If you have an out-of-character problem with another player then you should report that through out-of-character channels - not seek an in-character solution via the Empire's legal system.
We have completely overhauled our approach to handling issues of harassment and discrimination at events to try and make it as easy as possible for attendees to bring incidents to our attention. Please see the wiki page on [[reporting discrimination or harassment]] for information on how to raise an issue with us, the options available to you when you raising an issue and how we handle the matter.


==Complaints==
==Supporting==
* '''We encourage anyone who is experiencing problems with another participant to discuss the matter with us'''
* '''Please support any participant who comes to you with an incidence of sexual harassment'''
Members of our conduct team are on site throughout the day to deal with any violation of our conduct rules, our security team are likewise available throughout the night. However we understand that many people who experience harassment find it difficult to approach a stranger to report the experience. They may be intimidated by the prospect of speaking with someone they do not know - or simply be unaware of who they should contact. We appreciate that in many cases, a participant will prefer to speak to a friend, regardless of whether they are a player or crew.


It is not possible for Profound Decisions by ourselves to create an environment that is free from problems, discrimination or harassment. It can only be accomplished if everyone who participates in the game works towards that goal. Challenging inappropriate behaviour by other participants is helpful, but not everyone is comfortable or confident to do that. We want all participants to be confident that they can bring complaints to us and that we will deal with them promptly, respectfully, and appropriately.
We ask everyone who attends our events to be aware that if another participant approaches you to discuss a case of harassment or assault, they are likely to have identified you as the individual they are most comfortable to approach over this matter. We realize that dealing with these matters is difficult and challenging - but we cannot create an event free from harassment unless participants support that goal. If someone has reached out to you to ask for help, we ask you to do everything that you feel capable of to help them access that help.


Our [[complaints]] procedure outlines how to raise an issue with us, the options available to anyone raising an issue and how we handle the matter.
There are different levels of support that any participant can provide, depending on what is required and what you feel comfortable doing. As a minimum every participant who attends the event should try to be aware of [[reporting discrimination or harassment|who to report a case of harassment]] to. In addition to this, please consider if you are able to provide any of the following additional levels of support:


==Politics==
* If a participant does not know how to report an issue to Profound Decisions, you can help them to find a member of the crew who can respond.
* '''It's fine to disagree with our rules, provided you follow them at our events'''
* If a participant does not wish to speak to Profound Decisions, you can ask if they are comfortable allowing you to report the incident either in their name or anonymously.
* '''We run live roleplaying events - not political debates'''
* If a participant is able to speak to Profound Decisions, then you can offer to accompany and support them if they will find this helpful.
Some of the elements of our code of conduct are contentious. The overwhelming majority of people who attend our LRP games accept that players should be treated equally regardless of their identity - but there is no clear agreement on the best way to try and create an environment that supports that. Part of the reason we need a code of conduct is precisely because players do not all agree on the best way to tackle the problem; if everyone felt the same way about the issues there would be no need to lay down any guidelines for what we required at our events.
* If a participant is reporting to Profound Decisions, you can provide moral support during the process and ask what outcomes will take place.


Disagreement is healthy, LRP benefits from a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketplace_of_ideas marketplace of ideas]. We don't expect or even want all live roleplayers to agree with the policies we have adopted - but we do require the players who choose to come to our events to comply with them while interacting with the Empire community. This code of conduct is part of the rules that we have laid down for Empire, and in that sense it is just like any of the other rules of the game. We don't expect all experienced live roleplayers to agree with our design choices for how combat or magic works best in a live roleplaying game - but we do expect everyone to follow our rules and take their hits. It's fine to disagree with our policies and our politics - provided you still follow the rules of the event you have chosen to attend.
We don't require any participant to do these things - but all of the above can provide invaluable assistance to an individual who has chose to approach you to ask for help. Anything that you can do to help them get a successful outcome to their situation will improve the event for them and by extension for every legitimate participant.


Disagreement between live roleplayers on the best way to tackle these issues can often lead to heated debate. That debate is healthy - it is the essential element that allows members of the hobby to develop a better understanding of the issues and identify better ways to improve games. But crucially, we run live roleplaying events - not a debating society - our goal is to create the best events we can - not act as a forum for the wider hobby. As such we encourage players to use ''other'' forums, online spaces, and events to discuss the issues addressed by our code of conduct. The reason that Profound Decisions players come together is to enjoy Empire - not to discuss politics - so please respect our game and try to take political debates elsewhere where reasonably possible.
==Online==
* '''Our code of conduct includes behaviour of all participants in Empire online forums and spaces'''
We provide a set of official Empire forums and facebook groups for all participants to discuss the game. These are moderated by volunteers appointed by Profound Decisions who follow the published [[moderation]] guidelines. We expect everyone to follow our code of conduct when using these online spaces. We will not enforce our code of conduct on other social media spaces - but we do expect participants to follow it when exchanging emails or private messages with each other.
{{Conduct_Further_Reading}}
{{Conduct_Further_Reading}}

Revision as of 00:50, 12 September 2017

MattP.jpg
Event Manager: Matt Pennington
EmmaWoodsCropped.jpg
Head of Conduct: Emma Woods

Overview

Live roleplaying is a cooperative hobby which means that your enjoyment of our game is dependent on the behaviour of other participants and likewise their enjoyment is impacted by the way you approach and play the game. Because of this unique cooperative aspect of live roleplaying, we require all our participants to meet certain common standards of conduct and behaviour while they are at Empire events or using online spaces devoted to the game.

This code of conduct defines the responsibilities of participants involved with Empire. The aim is to benefit everyone involved by ensuring that you know what behaviour to expect at an event and what behaviour is expected of you. We want to make clear what behaviour is acceptable because Empire is a large active community of thousands of live roleplayers - who all have own views on these matters. Explicitly defining a social contract that you agree to by choosing to participate allows you to know the standards that you will be held to by others.

All our rules for conduct apply to everyone who attends our events, to all participants regardless of whether they are players or crew. The underlying goal of this code of conduct is about respecting other participants - and taking reasonable measures to produce the best events we can that are as accessible to as many people as possible. We want to produce high quality events - but we want those events to be enjoyed by all participants regardless of their gender, race, or sexuality.

Although we are passionate about these issues - it is outside our scope as an events company to support public discussions about them. These pages lay out the behaviour that is expected from participants in our game to remove assumptions about how things work at our events. We have published the definitive source for what is and is not acceptable at Profound Decisions events, so that everyone can understand what rules are used at our events.

SteveTiernan.jpg
Head of Security: Steve Tiernan
ClareEvansCropped.jpg
Head of Player Support: Clare Evans

The Conduct Team

  • Emma Woods is the head of conduct at Empire
  • Matt Pennington, Clare Evans, and Steve Tiernan are members of the conduct team

Emma Woods is the member of crew with primary responsibility for ensuring the conduct of all participants meets our guidelines and for dealing with any issues arising. If you wish to report an issue with the conduct of another participant then the best person to speak to is Emma or any other member of her team.

If you raise an issue with a member of our crew, then they will encourage you to speak to a member of the conduct team and help to get hold of them for you. If you prefer then you can ask for a specific member of the team - or ask to speak to a male or female member of the team - otherwise the crew will attempt to put you in touch with whichever member of the team is available first. We will take all complaints seriously and treat them with respect regardless of your gender, relationship status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, sexuality, transgender status, religion or age, or any similar distinction.

The Welfare Team

  • John Newton is the head of participant welfare at Empire
  • A member of the team is available on request throughout the day

Our participant welfare team consists of members of our volunteer crew team who have experience or qualifications in counselling and support. If you are experiencing problems at the event that are causing you distress then you can ask for a a member of this team to help, they are on hand during the day to provide support and assistance to any participant who needs it. The welfare team have a dedicated tent available where anyone can talk to them in confidence.

John.jpg
Head of Participant Welfare: John Newton

Members of the welfare team will aim to provide basic support and assistance for anyone who requests help. They have advice on how to access professional counselling services that can provide crisis counselling or support with mental health. They can help if you wish to contact the police. In general they will try to provide any help possible with any other needs you have.

Equality and Diversity

  • Real-world discrimination is as unacceptable at our games as real-world violence
  • It is not acceptable to insult another participant on the basis of an out-of-character attribute.
  • Empire is a gender-blind setting
  • References to non-consensual sex or sex with minors are not permitted

The setting does include in-character prejudice and bigotry - it is fine to insult another character on the basis of an in-character attribute, such as their lineage, species, archetype or in-character nationality or beliefs. What is not acceptable is any treatment based on an out-of-character attribute. This means that participants are not allowed to discriminate on grounds of real-world gender, relationship status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, sexuality, transgender status, religion or age, or any similar distinction. Any behaviour that is based on real world discrimination is prohibited at Profound Decisions events, regardless of if it takes place while participants are in-character or out-of-character.

In particular, we have deliberately opted to discard real-world history to create a game setting that does not include any form of gender discrimination. Characters in the world of Empire do not make any distinction between genders or assumptions about characters based on their gender. There are no social roles reserved for men - or for women - and the idea of assigning responsibilities based on gender should be seen as ridiculous by any normal character.

There are additional guidelines for the use of language by all participants that are designed to reflect the gender-blind setting and encourage participation by all genders. However everyone should be aware that the Empire setting is written to exclude non-consensual sex or sex with minors. All participants must avoid in-character references to either of these two subjects in play.

Sexual Harassment

  • Sexual harassment will not be tolerated by us at our events

We understand that many people come to Empire to socialize and enjoy themselves - but nobody should have to tolerate harassment from other participants. Our definition of sexual harassment includes any of the following behaviour:

  • Repeatedly asking a person to socialize when the person has indicated that they are not interested.
  • Repeatedly standing or sitting too close to or brushing up against a person without their clear consent.
  • Sexual comments, banter, jokes, or innuendo in company that includes people who are not comfortable with that.
  • Touching a person in an intimate or sexual way without their clear consent.

In plain English, if you continue to hit on other participants after they have indicated that they are not interested or if you make sexual comments or jokes that make other participants uncomfortable - then we will consider you guilty of sexual harassment and deal with you accordingly.

A victim of sexual harassment can be of any gender. The victim can be of the same gender as the harasser. The harasser can be any participant, a player or a member of crew. All of our rules apply to all participants regardless of gender or status.

Challenging

  • Please challenge any behaviour that violates these rules at events if you feel safe to
  • If your behaviour is challenged, you must apologize and back off

We ask all participants to support our efforts to prevent discrimination or harassment by making clear that that behaviour will not be tolerated. If you see examples of behaviour that is inappropriate because it appears to violate our rules on discrimination or harassment, then we encourage you to challenge the people involved on the spot if you feel confident enough to do so. It is not helpful to get into a direct confrontation with another participant but a simple forceful statement such as "OOC - please stop bothering X" should be sufficient.

If your behaviour is challenged by another participant in this way then you must apologize for any offense caused and back off immediately regardless of any other considerations. If you feel your actions have been misconstrued, then you should state that case to our referee if the matter is reported.

We ask participants not to confront inappropriate use of gendered language directly; see the pages for specific guidance on how to handle these two issues.

It is also important to appreciate that Empire is a game of political conflict between players. It is absolutely appropriate to challenge payers for any behaviour that violates our rules on harassment or discrimination - but it not appropriate to use this mechanism to respond to legitimate in-character conflicts between characters that do not contain any elements of sexual harassment or similar.

Reporting

  • We encourage anyone who is experiencing problems with another participant's behaviour to raise the matter with us

We have completely overhauled our approach to handling issues of harassment and discrimination at events to try and make it as easy as possible for attendees to bring incidents to our attention. Please see the wiki page on reporting discrimination or harassment for information on how to raise an issue with us, the options available to you when you raising an issue and how we handle the matter.

Supporting

  • Please support any participant who comes to you with an incidence of sexual harassment

Members of our conduct team are on site throughout the day to deal with any violation of our conduct rules, our security team are likewise available throughout the night. However we understand that many people who experience harassment find it difficult to approach a stranger to report the experience. They may be intimidated by the prospect of speaking with someone they do not know - or simply be unaware of who they should contact. We appreciate that in many cases, a participant will prefer to speak to a friend, regardless of whether they are a player or crew.

We ask everyone who attends our events to be aware that if another participant approaches you to discuss a case of harassment or assault, they are likely to have identified you as the individual they are most comfortable to approach over this matter. We realize that dealing with these matters is difficult and challenging - but we cannot create an event free from harassment unless participants support that goal. If someone has reached out to you to ask for help, we ask you to do everything that you feel capable of to help them access that help.

There are different levels of support that any participant can provide, depending on what is required and what you feel comfortable doing. As a minimum every participant who attends the event should try to be aware of who to report a case of harassment to. In addition to this, please consider if you are able to provide any of the following additional levels of support:

  • If a participant does not know how to report an issue to Profound Decisions, you can help them to find a member of the crew who can respond.
  • If a participant does not wish to speak to Profound Decisions, you can ask if they are comfortable allowing you to report the incident either in their name or anonymously.
  • If a participant is able to speak to Profound Decisions, then you can offer to accompany and support them if they will find this helpful.
  • If a participant is reporting to Profound Decisions, you can provide moral support during the process and ask what outcomes will take place.

We don't require any participant to do these things - but all of the above can provide invaluable assistance to an individual who has chose to approach you to ask for help. Anything that you can do to help them get a successful outcome to their situation will improve the event for them and by extension for every legitimate participant.

Online

  • Our code of conduct includes behaviour of all participants in Empire online forums and spaces

We provide a set of official Empire forums and facebook groups for all participants to discuss the game. These are moderated by volunteers appointed by Profound Decisions who follow the published moderation guidelines. We expect everyone to follow our code of conduct when using these online spaces. We will not enforce our code of conduct on other social media spaces - but we do expect participants to follow it when exchanging emails or private messages with each other.

Further Reading

Retrieved from "https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/mediawiki-public/index.php?title=Conduct&oldid=55969"