The rules

§ 1 - Treat everyone with respect

In a political Discord and simulation, discussions can easily be heated. Many controversial issues are discussed. Providing everyone is being respectful, and following the other rules, we can all still have a fun time. Insulting people needlessly, throwing personal attacks into arguments, and similar offences, are not allowed in our community and contribute to a hostile environment. To quote our own General Rommel again: "play the ball, not the person".

§ 1(a) - Abuse

Do not abuse other users.

This includes (but is not limited to) any discriminatory language that degrades a person or persons based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, body type, religion, etc.

If you have a disagreement with another member, where appropriate discuss it in private with them. People usually do not bite! If you still are having challenges you may discuss this with Moderators and Administrators. Discord is a public arena and should not be used as a space for confrontation.

§ 1(b) - Harassment and provocation

Do not harass other users.

This includes but is not limited to intentionally pushing, badgering, provocating, and persistently troubling other users.

You may have the privilege to message others however this does not mean you should expect a response from them. This includes messages sent via Discord or Reddit DM's.

This rule stretches to Discord direct messages and Reddit messages too.

On provocation

Provocation is a two-way street. Let's compare two examples:

User A: I think the 4000 class EMU is bad. We should have ordered different trains.
User B: That's the worst opinion I've ever heard and you're a ****ing moron for it. Go *** yourself.

This is clearly not user A's fault. User B was provoked, but by themselves, and their response was abusive and against the rules.

User A: This First Nations Senator is a traitor and subhuman.
User B: What a terrible thing for you to say, go **** yourself.

Whilst user B did abuse the other member, they were provoked by user A's promotion of hate speech and abusive language. Moderators would take this into consideration.

§ 1(c) - Hate spech

Do not attempt to spread or encourage opinions which are hate speech or otherwise not appropriate in modern discourse. This includes but is not limited to bigotry, racism, transphobia, and ableism.
This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Genuine belief is not a defence. You can genuinely believe something that isn't widely agreed with, without violating this rule through abusive language.

Explanation

This rule seeks to directly address abusive speech that falls under the banner of hate speech, including racism.

For example, someone may disagree with the actions of a First Nations person when it comes to First Nations issues. Calling them a "race traitor", or calling into question their heritage, would be racism and therefore not allowed.

§ 2 - Threatening and illegal behaviour

Do not threaten other users.

This includes but is not limited to threats of violence, threats of hacking, other illegal activity, and threats of doxxing. It can also include threats of unfair treatment in the sim (e.g. blackmail in canon).
There is no need to show that the threat was capable of being fulfilled.

§ 3 - Personally identifiable information and doxxing

There is a zero-tolerance approach to doxxing. Doxxing other memebers, their family members, friends, or other online people, will result in a permanent ban.

Members aged 17 years or less are also not permitted to release personally identifable information of themselves. This includes but isn't limited to photos, specific location, school, social media, etc. First names and general location is fine. Moderators will take a preventative rather than punitive approach to dealing with this behaviour.

§ 4 - Impersonation

Do not impersonate other users. This includes but is not limited to matching their online handles or pictures, or claiming to be that user in either text chat or voice chat.
This includes real-life figures. This includes matching your Discord account and/or Reddit account to that person.
This does not include the use of pictures for in-sim face steals.

§ 5 - Discord nicknames and identity

Everyone on our Discord should be identifable and linked back to a Reddit account for those who participate in the simulation aspect. Some members are only in our Discord for #auspol content, and that is okay.

All members who have a Reddit account and use it for AustraliaSim must have it either in their nickname within the server, or linked to their Discord account via the connections feature.

It is okay to use a shortening or creative take on your Reddit username in your Discord nickname, as long as it is recognisable.

§ 6 - NSFW content

Do not post content which is not appropriate for all ages.

This is prohibited by the Discord Terms of Service where it states that NSFW content cannot be outside 18+ channels. We have no 18+ channels and are an all-ages community.

This includes but is not limited to content which sexual, pornographic, gore, highly inappropriate language, among other things.

Content which is appropriate to be discussed in our community but may be distressing to some users should be spoilers and otherwise flagged with a content warning.

Examples

Discussion on sexual assualt, violence, and incredibly distressing content. If the ABC would give the LifeLine number alongside their report, considering providing a content warning.

This community is open to people aged 13 to 17 and therefore you must consider that this is an environment where vulnerable people should be protected from such content.

§ 7 - Spam

Do not post such that it is disruptive to the server. This includes but is not limited to repeated pinging of users, posting the same thing or similar things multiple times in quick succession, posting very long messages for no reason, attempting to disrupt a conversation for no good reason, and posting memes outside of contextually appropriate conversations/locations.

§ 8 - Breaking Reddit or Discord Rules.

Do not violate the Reddit or Discord Terms of Service.

§ 9 - Alting

Do not use more than one account in AustraliaSim, unless otherwise approved. This includes but is not limited to using multiple reddit accounts, or multiple discord accounts. This also includes attempts to vote multiple times in meta votes. Should you wish to change accounts, please discontinue using the previous one, and let a Moderator know.