Hey everyone, Jaxas here.
First things first,
I ask that you please read this whole post...
but since I know not everyone will
I’ll be bolding important things in case you can only skim through.
If you’ve been following what’s been happening in the Smash Bros, FGC, and general gaming community you probably know what this post is going to be about, and how serious it is.
If not, suffice to say that several
very notable community figures - including but not limited to Nairo, Mr. Wizard (Head of EVO), MacD, Keitaro, D1, and unfortunately even one of Oregon’s local TOs, Tezii (who is now banned across all SSF platforms) - have been found to have done some
horrible stuff, including sexually abuse, grooming of minors, and other terrible actions.
If you want more info there, basically just go check social media -
what we’re here for isn’t drama, it’s safety & change.
Anyways, intros aside - let’s begin.
Harassment and abuse have absolutely no place anywhere, and certainly not in our community.
We have an absolutely ZERO tolerance policy on this front.
The whole point of the Salem Smashfests, and everything I do or want to work on in the Smash & FGC communities,
is to be a safe, welcoming community. Since the beginning, we’ve tried to focus on ways to make it a “safe” entry point for newer players (that was the whole point of running Swiss all the way back in Year 1 of SSF, for example, and why we run Redemption Bracket, Kickstart Leagues, etc).
I’ve come to realize that while being welcoming to players of all skill levels is (still) important - and something we’ll be continuing to do -
we haven’t taken all the steps needed to make sure the community is as safe as it can be for all players.
So, what have we done, and what are we going to do?
Well
first up, please make sure you understand our
Harassment & Community Conduct Policy:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i2A2YkBE880GGtErSChUw_6F15SnizY3_VUEYvZImfY
Next, what to do if you have been victimized, the recipient of harassment, or otherwise made to feel uncomfortable (or even ‘just’ unwelcome)
Option 1: You can reach out to me directly (
Jaxas.Scarlet@gmail.com /
Twitter / Jaxas#9074 (Discord) /
Facebook - all of my accounts have open DMs)
or to any of the TOs in any of our groups (Discord is probably easiest honestly, but we'll all answer anywhere).
If it involves something you are not comfortable speaking to any of the SSF TO group about, there are several other people you can go to as well.
While not
directly involved with the Smash or FGC communities,
my girlfriend and her friend have offered to be contact points for anyone who needs it as well, and their contact information can be found in the form linked below.
We are working on bringing on more people from more diverse groups as contact points as well, as we know there are a ton of different potential issues that might come up.
Option 2: We have set up a form where you can - anonymously if you so choose - report concerning behavior.
You can find that form here: https://forms.gle/qv2iKYG48YJG74pF8
Misc stuff to know about reporting issues to us:
-
We will not release information about anyone who has reported anything to us
without their express consent
-
If you wish to report something but, for whatever reason you may have,
do NOT want us to take action, we will honor that request.
If it is a choice between knowing what to watch out for and being unable to take action, or not knowing at all, we will always choose the first.
Two other big things before I move on:
1) We care more about the safety of our community, and the ability for all members to enjoy their time with us, than anything else. I would absolutely rather be the TO of a 10-person scene where I know everyone is safe than a 100-person scene where harassment happens, and I think I can speak for the rest of the TO crew as well on this.
2) These issues are not limited to sexual harassment. If someone is harassing you in any way (ex. race, sexuality, gender, your gameplay, game preference, or anything else) please talk to any of us about it.
As a side note, please remember:
Trash talk is fine, harassment is not.
If you’re not sure which it is (then probably just don’t say it really, but if you’re going to anyways...) use the following guideline:
- Are you “trash talking” their
gameplay? →
Probably fine (still though, don’t be a **** lol)
- Are you “trash talking” them
as a person? →
Do Not Do This
Trash talk that attacks someone’s race, religion, sexuality, or anything else about them as a person is absolutely not ok.
Once we’re back at offline events, we’ll have some changes to our conduct rules as well.
These are
not final yet (and we’ve got
quite a while before offline events are back anyways, unfortunately) but expect updates along the lines of
No alcohol or drugs at events (which has already basically been the case, but expect marijuana use to be stopped as well at all events, not just where the venues prevent it)
We will be exploring a supervision requirement for our younger attendees, however this is uncertain at this point.
Not everything is negative though, and it's important that we all remember that.
Everything that has come to light over the past few days
absolutely sucks, but make sure you remember that it’s not the news breaking that sucks, it’s that the harassment happened in the first place.
Realistically, finding these issues so we can fix them is the best thing that could happen for our community.
I am working alongside Everest & other trusted members of the community to create a Code of Conduct (& Panel) for Oregon, and will be doing my
absolute best to make this community safe going forwards.
Please keep an eye out for an announcement on that front in the next few days
The stuff listed here is not everything that we’re doing, but this is what we have ready to go
now, and is the first step in doing whatever we can to make not just our events but also our community a safe place for everyone who can respect others.
Whether everyone likes it or not, one way or another the Smash & FGC communities at large are changing.
Remember, everyone is their own person - and they deserve to be treated like a person.
If you are a person who cannot or will not respect others, you are a person who is not welcome in our community.
If you are willing to respect those around you and help build a safe, welcoming community - we’ll welcome you with open arms.
It’s really just that simple.
================
=== TL;DR / Recap === (
Please read the whole thing though, for real)
Harassment of any form is absolutely not allowed in our community.
If you have been harassed, victimized, or otherwise made feel uncomfortable (or even 'just' unwelcome) PLEASE reach out to me or any of the SSF TOs
If you are uncomfortable with this,
you can report concerning behavior anonymously if you so choose here: https://forms.gle/qv2iKYG48YJG74pF
Not everything is negative though, and we all have to remember that.
Everything that has come to light over the past few days
absolutely sucks, but make sure you remember that it’s not the news breaking that sucks, it’s that the harassment happened in the first place.
Realistically, finding these issues so we can fix them is the best thing that could happen for our community.
Whether everyone likes it or not, one way or another the Smash & FGC communities at large are changing.
Remember, everyone is their own person and they deserve to be treated like a person.
If you are a person who cannot or will not respect others, you are a person who is not welcome in our community.
If you are willing to respect those around you and help build a safe, welcoming community - we’ll welcome you with open arms.
It’s really just that simple.
