ESB:User conduct policy

This code of conduct applies to all users on ESB. It sets a foundation for how users should interact with each other, in a manner that is inclusive to all and welcoming to newcomers. Failure to follow these rules could result in a block.

Conduct

Users must be civil in all interactions. Incivility consists of behaviors that disrupt the user space and lead to unproductive stress and conflict. Keep the below in mind during your time on ESB:

• No rudeness, insults, name-calling, or indecent suggestions.
• No personal attacks: Comment on a topic or argument, never the person. See below.
• No taunting, baiting, or trolling: deliberately pushing others to the point of breaching civility even if not seeming to commit such a breach themselves.
• No harassment, including hounding, personal or legal threats, posting of personal information, repeated messaging and ignoring a user's request to be left alone.
• No lying or otherwise grossly misrepresenting a truth.
• No quoting another user out of context to give the impression they hold views they do not hold, or to put to question their credibility or decency.
• No attempts to silence differing views on content or a topic.
• No threats of spam/vandalism or harm to other users and wikis.
• Do not discuss topics relating to politics and religion.

Editors are human and capable of mistakes, so a few minor incidents of incivility from time to time are not in themselves a major concern. However, a studied pattern of incivility is disruptive and unacceptable.

Keep it appropriate

Be careful with profanity. "Damn" and "hell" are acceptable, but only if used in context and not directed toward other users. Censoring of words (such as "f***"), even when used as an expletive, is prohibited.

Please do not add or link to content that is inappropriate for younger readers and contributors.

Personal attacks

Personal attacks are a common uncivil behavior. Do not make them anywhere on ESB. There is no rule that is objective and not open to interpretation on what constitutes a personal attack, but some types of comments are never acceptable and will be acted on based on administrator discretion:

• Slurs, hate speech, and/or incitement of violence, especially directed at another contributor, are not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to: ableism, ageism, aphobia, biphobia, discrimination based on family structure(s), ethnocultural discrimination, exorsexism, gender essentialism, homophobia, misogyny, polyphobia, racism, religious intolerance, sexism, and transphobia (such as deliberately misgendering, referencing their deadname, and otherwise not respecting their identity). Disagreement over what constitutes a religion, race, sexual orientation, or ethnicity is not a legitimate excuse.
• Never out someone's orientation or gender identity, or threaten to do so.
• No breaches of privacy by sharing personal information about another user such as their real name, age, residence, etc. without their explicit consent.
• No linking to external attacks, harassment, or other material, for the purpose of attacking another editor.
• No accusations about personal behavior that lack evidence. Serious accusations require serious evidence. Evidence often takes the form of "diffs" and "links" presented on wiki.
• No threats, including, but not limited to:
  • Threats of violence or other off-wiki action (such as death threats).
  • Threats or actions which deliberately expose other ESB editors to persecution by their employer, their school, or any other authority.

These examples are not exhaustive. Insulting or disparaging an editor is a personal attack regardless of the manner in which it is done. When in doubt, don't say it and ask an administrator for clarification.

Sockpuppeting

The use of sockpuppet accounts on this wiki is not tolerated, especially when said accounts are used in a malicious manner, such as vandalizing, spamming, bullying/harassing other users, or manipulating the outcome of any of our voting systems. Any user that is caught abusing multiple accounts will be subject to a block, along with their respective sockpuppets.

Editing disputes

Always assume good faith and do not revert or delete the good edits of any user without justification or an explanation in the edit summary. This can sometimes lead to an edit war, an occurrence where users in disagreement over a single issue repeatedly revert each others' contributions relating to the issue, rather than attempting to come to an agreement on it. They are regarded as harmful to a constructive atmosphere, and thus prohibited on the wiki.

If you ever find yourself in an editing dispute with a fellow user, please try to communicate with that user or contact an administrator for further guidance. In the case of an edit war, the page(s) will be reverted to what had been the status quo (i.e. the version with community consensus, the state of the page before the contested edit was made) and possibly protected, while the involved parties communicate with each other to come to a consensus. If these guidelines are not followed, the parties that instigated the edit war may be sanctioned or even temporarily blocked. Communication is key, and do not forget that we are all just editors who simply want the best for this community.