Bannable Behavior

Hello Kovaze! In light of recent events, I have decided to make a blog clarifying a few things, particularly what constitutes bannable behavior and what does NOT. Usage of Slurs: No one should use slurs. If you use a slur on this website or in the official Kovaze server, you will be banned. It does not matter if it is one that you can reclaim or if you are quoting someone. It is not our job to verify the gender/racial/sexual identity of every user to verify which slurs they are allowed to use. We can NOT punish users for sending slurs to you on Discord or for using a slur to refer to you outside of this website or the official Kovaze server. We simply can not police people's language when they are not on our platform. Harassment & Bullying: A single instance does not constitute harassment. Someone calling you racist or stupid does not constitute harassment. Harassment (almost always) needs to be REPEATED behavior. In most cases, there needs to be some attempt at stopping behavior from the person claiming to be harassment. A situation you can avoid by blocking the user on here or Discord might not be considered harassment depending on the severity. Continued, public accusations against someone, especially if that someone has blocked you and those accusations are unfounded, can be considered harassment. We understand no one likes to be called stupid or cursed at over a game. That does not make it bullying. Being called 'braindead' (which has been reported a surprising amount) is not bullying. If someone would get away with saying it on a competitive reality show without significant backlash or punishment from production, it probably would not meet the threshold for a ban or warning. This is not to say never report these situations -- just understand it may oftentimes not result in a ban or warning. When the attacks get deeply personal or start to involve things like family members, work, and aspects of identity, then we will be more likely to see it as severe enough to take action. Discretion: The reason so many of this is up to moderator discretion is because every situation is unique. Most of the moderation team has kept their identity completely secret as to mitigate bias. This is so there won't be pressure from friends to ban or not ban certain users. We are trying to be as fair and consistent as possible. Excessive/False Reporting: We understand every rule is not clear and you may think some things are bannable that actually aren't and vice versa. Reporting excessively will not increase your chance of getting the desired outcome and may result in a warning/ban for you depending on the severity and frequency. Knowingly reporting something false may be punishable with the same severity as the accused offense. The report button is a tool that should only be used seriously and wasting moderator's time and energy by having them investigate something you know didn't happen is not only disrespectful, but deeply inconsiderate to your fellow users who may need a moderator's attention. --- There may be some modifications or addendum to the rules in the coming days. Another mod or I will blog to announce that if it does happen. If you have any question regarding the rules, our decision making process, or anything else, do not hesitate to mail me on here. I will be creating a Discord later today or tomorrow so you can access me on there as well, but mail on Kovaze will remain my preferred method of communication. Head Mod