Disciplinary Standards


 * 1) Players that engage in disruptive behavior will accrue points. Each incident is considered to occur from the moment the behavior begins to the moment staff asks them to desist in the behavior; persistence in the behavior becomes additional incidents between each request/direction to desist in the behavior. We deeply recommend players self-regulate if they’re becoming highly emotional and take a “24” to calm down (voluntarily withdraw from interacting on the server for a day to cool off).
 * 2) Staff assigns the points, though players may send staff information on infractions in their ST logs - please include channel/timestamp or thread posts.
 * 3) The points will expire over time, but if one of the benchmarks below is reached, the listed consequence is to be enacted unless a mitigating circumstance is agreed on by the staff.
 * 4) The staff may assign fewer or more points for an infraction if they feel the situation merits it - these alterations must be approved by either a Storyteller in the case of Narrators altering point allocation or another Storyteller in the case of a Storyteller altering allocations, as a means of accountability.
 * 5) Behaviors outside of BNS social spaces, past or current, are not given consequences here unless that behavior also disrupts BNS social spaces. Legal actions take precedence over all of this and in the cases of violence and sexual predation a ban may be assigned even if the behavior did not occur on the server. The safety of our players is our highest priority.
 * 6) Player's points will be recorded on their Disciplinary sheet in the Google Drive. This will list what happened when points were assigned, as written by the staff member, and what consequences have already been enacted.
 * 7) Under ‘Threats of Violence’ are included “naming and shaming” threats or actual action and threats or actual doxxing - the malicious release of real-world information about a player on the server is unacceptable.
 * 8) Naming and shaming in this context also means providing details of mediations or private communications within a disciplinary context in public channels with the intent of shaming the others involved.

Minor Infractions

 * Minor Infractions are serious enough to warrant staff intercession but do not raise to the level of Major Infractions or Permanent Ban behaviors.
 * Disruptive/rude behavior in the OOC General and FFA channels.
 * Negative Metagaming that does not greatly affect the course of the game in a significant manner.
 * Spite Posting - Engaging in OOC posting or roleplay that’s primary goal is to upset others.

Major Infractions

 * Unwanted DMs without the DM Freely tag
 * Publicly sharing DMs that are not related to mediations, disciplinary actions, or covered under Naming and Shaming or Doxxing.
 * Cheating - Changing your Character Sheet to add unearned mechanics or XP or removes flaws without paying to remove them. Also, using negative metagaming to alter the course of the game in a significant manner.
 * Bullying - Directly insulting, belittling, disparaging, or harassing a person on the server.
 * Lying to staff. Just don’t do it.
 * Habitual disruptive, rude, or spiteful posting.

Permanent Bans

 * OOC Threats of Violence
 * Naming and Shaming, Including Doxxing
 * Sharing DMs/screenshots related to mediation or disciplinary actions.
 * Hate Speech
 * Sexual Predation
 * Gaslighting

How Points Work
Points gained from infractions are active for a certain amount of time as listed below. If a suspension threshold is reached, the suspension is enacted. If the suspension is shorter than the active duration of the points, the player will only be suspended again during the time after they return if they commit another infraction and gain more active points. The new active point total will determine the length of the new suspension.

Infractions also have a recorded time; the number of recorded infractions of one type determines the tier of the infraction. If someone still has a minor infraction recorded on their ST log when another infraction is committed, that second infraction is considered Tier 2. If they have two recorded infractions, it’s considered Tier 3. Each infraction has its own start and end dates for active points and recorded status - things do not “start over” for a previous infraction if a new one is committed.

These rules and tables are meant to act as a benchmark for staff to refer to and for players to understand the expectations of the site. They are not here for someone to try to rules-lawyer their way out of disciplinary action. These are a framework to bolster the staff’s discretion in the matter. Staff always have the final decision on the application of points and the application and enforcement of consequences.