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Erik Rutins -> Matrix Games Forum and Political Discussions (5/29/2020 1:03:15 PM)
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Hi everyone,
When you all signed up for our forum, you agreed to abide by the forum rules (https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/register.asp) which included avoiding topics that could be divisive or inflammatory. We we think it's a good time to explain our "no politics" rule in some additional detail to help you understand our position and limit the load on our moderators.
First and foremost, this is a company forum, so unlike the outside world or some other parts of the internet, our goal here is to focus on the shared interest in strategy games that makes us a community. There is no one stereotypical strategy gamer and we want all to feel welcome here. As a result, we decided long ago that while our moderation would be generally light, we would draw the line at discussions involving divisive political or religious topics and personal attacks.
The reason for this is simple - to focus on what unites us as a community. Discussions and disagreement on many topics are fine, but experience has shown that discussions about politics, religion and a lack of civility lead to emotional arguments and serve to further division. There are plenty of opportunities for that elsewhere.
So what counts as politics? Sharing any article or opinion piece that takes a political viewpoint is not allowed. Discussing current events in a political context (i.e. focusing on political figures or parties and how they affect or influence these events) is not allowed. Making personal statements, either in a post, signature or avatar, regarding political beliefs is not allowed. Now we also are a community that enjoys historical strategy games and military history and political history are often intertwined. We don't want to discourage those historical discussions, but as we are all adults, please try to avoid tying them into present day politics.
Finally, understand that we are an international community and that means there will be instances of misunderstanding, either due to language differences or differences in the understanding of what is political. Please afford your fellow forum members the benefit of the doubt and ask for their explanation rather than assuming you know what they meant if there is any offense caused.
If a disagreement cannot be resolved mutually and with civility, that's where our moderators come in. Our general policy is to warn those involved once and lock the thread. On a second offense, we institute a temporary ban to allow all involved to cool off and reflect on the forum rules. A third offense may result in a permanent ban from the discussion forum, so please keep things civil as we would prefer not to take that step with any of our community.
One final note for the present times. We know that a once per century pandemic is a stressful event for all and we want this forum to be a place where you can come and share information about this event, including personal anecdotes and anything of use you may have come across. However, this issue as with many other present day issues has become politicized. The political aspects and political figures involved are not for discussion here, but outside of that you are welcome to share your personal thoughts and experiences during this time.
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