Community Policies
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Contents |
Introduction
In every campaign, there are a few metagame issues that need to be addressed. The basic rule is to use common sense.
Compared to some other groups, our policies are fairly liberal and unrestricted. This represents our strong belief that members of the LARP community are mature, intelligent, individuals.
As with any private group, we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
or the record, participation in the 1948: Signals campaign never releases participants from the necessity to comply with all local, state, and federal laws and ordinances.
Non-Discrimination
Threads upholds the Non-Discrimination Clause put forward by LARPA in its organizational Bylaws: ...shall not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, sexual preference, national origin, citizenship, or religious beliefs.
Right to Refuse Service
The managing volunteer organizers have the responsibility to maintain a safe and pleasant play environment for all the players. GMs have the right to refuse service to individuals who are unsafe, or extremely disruptive, and in the community based group, this responsibility falls on the volunteer organizers as a group, through a fair mechanism which they determine. The managing volunteer organizers must reserve the right to refuse service to anyone at any time for any reason they deem appropriate (pursuant of course to polices on non-discrimination, listed above). Obviously this very serious responsibility should be excercised with great discretion and only in the most serious of situations. The internal process for this decision allows for warning in all but the most serious of cases.
Children
The Threads Campaign will endeavor to accommodate children on a case by case basis, under strict parental supervision. Older minors (14 and older) may be accommodated at the discretion of the campaign and event GMs. Minors 16 and older will generally be broadly accommodated. Various events may be inappropriate for minors for reasons of content or safety, and the GMs will make a determination on a case-by-case basis after an informed dialog with the parent.
Artistic Content
While it is impossible to define the specific boundaries we feel that we should express to our players that the watermark in this campaign is drawn very high and is comparable to that of the community or college theatre level. In such a way that nudity, violence, language, and frank and open address of controversial topics fall well within our bounds.
As GMs we will try to maintain artistic integrity in our presentation of the game and will not strive to insert "shocking" elements without any good artistic reasons. We work with the certainty that all of our players are mature adults.
When we become aware of any type of situation that may make some players uncomfortable, we will try to include it on the player card and in the description of the game on the website. We have already noted a number of situations that some players are uncomfortable with because of their upbringing or background, and we have a strong sympathy for this.
Our player surveys address issues, such as, players who are uncomfortable actively portraying religious worship. We try to make allowances in order to make our campaign open to everyone.
Smoking
Smoking policy is set by site. Policies are included for some specific sites. Additional policies can be requested for other sites. In any public site, smoking policy is governed by posted regulations and local ordinance.
Gammons
smoking outside the "buildings" (Green screen tents, GP) - smoking under open sided tents okay. Anyone not using the butt cans will be slain. The firepit is not a place for butts.
Alcohol
The general campaign policy may be superceded by an explicit policy for any game or site.
While regulations concerning drinking may vary depending on site, insurance, etc., alcohol is not strictly banned from any events unless players are specifically told so. We feel all members of this community are responsible adults. Players are expected to be responsible at any events that permit alcohol. Participation in the game in no way removes the obligation to comply with local, and state ordinances regarding alcohol.
In the case of game props, you may assume that anything that is supposed to be alcohol is in fact alcoholic. Please do not react with shocked horror if you are offered wine and find that it is indeed wine. If normal drinks (punch, tea, lemonade) are spiked, they will be labeled. If in doubt, ask.
If you don’t drink, either decline drinks or ask a GM. If the game calls for you to drink something alcoholic, and you’d rather not, then pantomime raising the cup to your lips and taking a sip without making a fuss. We have no intention of making anyone drink if they don’t want to, but there is no need to create a scene over it.
In regards to live combat we expect all participants to be functionally sober. Given weights, varying interpretations and standards, we leave it to personal discretion whether the consumption of small, table, amounts of alcohol are an issue, however any questions of sobriety will be dealt with by disqualifying any participant who is felt to be impaired.
Property
Do not destroy, smash, or otherwise damage a game prop that is not your property without checking with the GMs, even if the game seems to indicate that you should break something. Check first, to see if the GMs really intend for you to break the item, or would like you to “virtually” break it. We want to protect any props loaned to us from damage.
In-period Behavior
In general we feel that our players should always act "in character," as long as they are not actively hurting any other players, contacting them in an unwelcome way, or breaking any laws, within very broad margins.
It is the firm belief of the GMs that the past should not be "sanitized." We are especially aware of this in a campaign set in many historical time periods
While "unpleasant" issues from Medieval or even more recent times may be set aside for reasons of "romanticism" with some degree of integrity, we feel that many issues: absolutist politics, gender inequality, etc., remain burning topics today. To "sweep under the carpet" the reality of those issues is not in all cases "romantic." It comes close to a type of denial of historic reality which depending on the character and intent of a scene may destroys the integrity of the artist in presenting the period, and promotes an uncomfortable fiction of "good old days" that never really existed. We are not unwilling to make certain portrayals "historically romanticized," but we cannot be expected to do so on the basis of sensibities. Real history is not sensible.
It should be understood that sexist, racial or political epithets, etc., on the part of NPCs, are not motivated by a sympathy with, or tolerance of, these behaviors, but to establish the period strongly, and to present examples of its weaknesses as well as its strengths.
However - this should never become camouflage for the actual abuse or mistreatment of a player (or member of the cast). Physical sexual harassment, in particular should be curtailed unless it is specifically consensually negotiated in advance.
In other cases, if a player expresses in clear terms, out of game, that they are not comfortable with a certain type of language or harassment directed at them, leave them alone.
In this as in most other cases, common sense applies. An obvious effort to harass another player through "period" behavior will be curtailed by the GMs.
Nudity
Some of the game sites that we need do not have segregated facilities for showering, or bathing. One of the sites that we use has a pond where skinny-dipping is a common tradition. While the GMs do not undertake actions purely for the purposes of "shocking" players there is also the possibility of nudity in a dramatic context.
In general we assume a level of comfort with nudity in a dramatic, or non-sexual context that is commensurate with co-ed college facilities and drama groups.
However if this is not the case, we will take what steps are possible to shelter, or at least warn, players and cast, and provide alternatives where possible.
Safety
Our general safety policy is to act with common sense. We do not care to trumpet our safety policies, or engage in dramatic declarations about the relative safety of our events, or develop histrionic policies aimed at preventing the slightest chance of injury at the sacrifice of realism.
We feel LARP is as safe as any other recreational activity requiring moderate physical activity - hiking, baseball, etc. Accidents can and will happen.
We feel safety should be a quiet background consideration that is handled with maximum competence and minimal fuss. In the case of an essentially civilized area the first line of good safety is immediate, action to obtain professional help with adequate equipment and communications to take all necessary actions.
There are several individuals with various medical, first aid and safety skills who may be present at a given event and lend their considerable professional assistance in the event of an accident. However our core safety plan is to immediately call for and receive help from qualified professional rescue services.
At this point, however, we have not projected any events at sites that are outside a radius of response from Emergency Medical Services which is consistent with a suburban area. Despite rural appearance, both our sites in Pennsylvania are within a few minutes response time of an excellent Rescue Squad (you pass it on your way into the Kempton site) , and easy evacuation range of highly rated Lehigh Valley Hospital. In Hagerstown our site is within a few blocks of Washington County Hospital, which is in the nation's Top 100 Hospitals. In the Washington-Baltimore area, our events are covered by a well maintained network of emergency response teams.
Weapons
Players may bring knives, blades, swords, etc., onsite. They are responsible for carrying them in a safe fashion. Naked blades should never be used to feign combat. Keep them sheathed, etc. Blades may be drawn in a safe, non-combat, manner. If the GMs observe problems they reserve the right to remove a weapon for the course of the game.
Firearms may be brought onsite only with GM knowledge and consent. Bringing an actual firearm onsite without the prior knowledge and consent of the GMs may be cause for immediate expulsion.
Actual Firearms will be used for prop purposes only under the direct supervision of a GM or Officer with firearms training, who will ensure that they cannot be accidentally misused.
Players will not be allowed to carry actual, unloaded or blank firing, firearms as props without specific GM consent, given explicitly on a game by game basis, under the direct supervision of the GM/Safety Officer. Standard precautions for ensuring safety when using dangerous pyrotechnic devices will be observed. Many re-enactment groups use blank firing guns, and in some circumstances we may allow non-cast use by qualified individuals, however this is absolutely at the discretion of the GMs, and is never presumed without specific consent.
In some games real firearms loaded with blanks may be used by cast, or permitted for player use. All use of such props will be at the discretion of the GM/Safety Officer, and the specific rules will be posted in advance. In all such cases the word of the designated GM/Safety Officer is absolute and immediate law and violators maybe subject to expulsion.
Exceptions may also be made in the case of certain obsolete firearms which by nature of their design make accidental loading and discharge an impracticability.
Lost and Found and Returns
The GMs will make every effort to return all properties borrowed, and any properties left behind, at a gamesite. However:
1) Players loaning props must assume some responsibility for reclaiming them unless otherwise negotiated.
2) The GMs have limited space available for the transport of forgotten properties. Properties left at a gamesite may stay there, or if the site is not one the GMs have storage rights at, may be abandoned or disposed of. This will not be done lightly or in a cavalier manner.
3) The GMs will establish a place for reclaiming lost property at BGEs, and some game or social events. It is up to individual players to make an effort to reclaim their lost items. The GMs do not have any obligation, and generally will not, deliver lost items to players.
Food Service
Most games will serve food. The GMs will endeavor to see to it that everyone can eat some of the menu. We will request information on Player Cards to indicate allergies, etc.
In regards to "In Character" dietary restrictions, see "Creating a Playable Character: Food/Dietary Restrictions"
However:
- At any given meal there may be dishes you do not like or do not eat
- The GMs will attempt to respect religious issues, however if you have a highly restrictive diet - through religion, or whatever other reason, we may not be able to feed you. In that case we will ask you to bring food that you can eat, and may give you a discount on the registration rate. This will be negotiated on a case by case basis.
It is a fundamental basis of our food service policy that we assume everyone will not eat every item and that we do not give discounts because you do not like some of the food. No-one else's case by case basis is a precedent for your own. But do not expect to be given any discount whatsoever for anything less than total inability to eat the food. If we began excusing people from paying because they could not eat an entree, or a side dish, we would be charging as an a la carte restaurant, and we do not have the time or staff to do that.
It has been our experience that any system for discounting based on food is a source of extreme abuse - individual players bring food, importune the kitchen staff and use vital resources for feeding everyone to feed themselves, and then pay less than others while often consuming many of the side dishes (of which one could make a meal) beverages, etc. Any monetary allowances on this basis will be for serious and dramatic religious or medical reasons.
If you bring your own food by prior agreement, we will attempt to provide you with refrigeration facilities, but:
- it is subject to the greater needs of the food service staff;
- it may not be convenient;
- it may not be accessible at all times.
- In the case of legitimate medical necessity supported by a doctor we may make some deviations from point 3, above on a case by case basis to be determined by the GMs.
- It is not our responsibility or priority to make food preparation space or equipment available to you. Bring "ready to eat" food, or the equipment to prepare it. You will not be able to ask the kitchen staff to use their stoves/heat/etc.
- The Campaign Staff, including the Catering and Facilites Manager, not the runtime food service staff makes determinations
What if I don't like the policies?
Fundamentally, the group is a Community Interest, run in a more or less democratic fashion. Because endless voting and bickering about issues isn't very fun, the Campaign coordinators generally just issue policies on subjects after getting a sense of what the community wants.
But these polices can be challenged. To do so politely, first ask the Campaign GMs about the policies.
It is good to have an idea in mind about what changes you want. If we don't feel we can change them, we'll tell you, and invite you to ask other players through the list to express an interest in changing the policy.
If we get a significant amount of interest - usually indicated by 5-6 respondents, we'll start a poll on the issue, so that everyone can vote on it.
