Code of Conduct & Rulebook Changes

As an action towards the instances of improper and unacceptable behavior in our community, we will be updating our rulebook(s) and community guidelines to set clear expectations and a code of conduct that is to be followed in all interactions around our community. A clear-cut guideline on what type of behavior will not be tolerated and what might be the repercussions of such actions.

At NHLGamer, we want to ensure a fair, safe, and inclusive environment for gamers of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. We are tremendously proud of the community that we all have built together so far but know that we can do even better by being even better towards each other.
In the process of working to enable this type of environment, we need to have rules in place and will occasionally have to give out suspensions to our users. This is not something we enjoy doing but is necessary to preserve the integrity of the rulebook and the game.

Our ideology has always been and will continue to be, that when someone crosses the line – our main priority is to put a stop to it and then educate the team/individual and everyone else in the community about why the action in question is wrong and unacceptable. The purpose of punishment is to drive the point home, to ensure actions have consequences, and to discourage teams/individuals from repeating their offense(s). In short, rules are there for a reason, and should you break them you will be punished.
And, hopefully, learn from it.

While different cultural and educational backgrounds do not make inappropriate behavior acceptable, it can sometimes create gaps in how different people interpret a situation. Like we mentioned above, two of the integral goals of our community are inclusion and education. That means we will also do our best to understand the reasoning for the behavior of a person who breaks our rules, to make sure we give them the best opportunity to learn from their mistake and not repeat it - not just because of the fear of punishment, but to make them understand why it is not acceptable. If the user does not learn from their mistake, though - we do reserve the right to more severe punishment.

It is an instinctual reaction in many of us to want to punish someone who breaks the rules we as a society – or, in this case, community – set out for ourselves. It can even be tempting to, if the rule transgression is egregious enough, banish the rule-breaker in question forever and purge him or her from sight and mind.

But is that the thing that puts the individual on a path to fixing their actions? To making things right?

While the most extreme of cases might call for such a decision, it should not be a quick-trigger action. At the same time, a rulebook cannot – and should not – be written under the assumption that a perceived softness in punishment will not be abused.

So, how do we find the medium between these two ‘extremes’, as it were?

In order to make this process as transparent and fair as possible, we are working to set a standard on how these cases will be determined. Here is an example of how it could look*:

First offense, 2 weeks - 3 months
Second offense, 6 months to 1+ year
Third offense will cause a minimum of 3 years and up to a permanent community and league participation ban

*Note: This is a work-in-process example. This will only be used on serious matters. We reserve the right to go higher depending on intent.

We will also be adding rules about apparel on broadcasts and socials:

No tobacco, alcohol, drugs, nudity, hateful or otherwise inappropriate text, logos, or images
No discrimination
No brands that compete with our partners**

**Exceptions can be made in the case of team partners

On a more general level, we are not satisfied with the efficiency that we were able to handle support tickets, especially on the League Administrative side during ECL 11 and the goal of our work in preparing for the next season is to mitigate the bottlenecks that lead to this situation. The reasons behind the long turn-around time on some of the tickets were e.g.

A large number of tickets compared to the size of available support staff
Partially insufficient tools at the disposal of some of the support staff
A need for better-defined rules in some cases that would have helped resolve cases more efficiently and perhaps avoided a support ticket in the first place

Please do not misinterpret this as distrust towards our rulebook. We are proud of our rulebook, but like any rulebook, it requires updates, further specifications, and re-evaluating certain aspects due to changes to the game, changes to public opinion, and the growth and needs of our community.

Finally, while we have no intention of becoming the internet police, we do take our role as one of the leading entities in this community seriously. We do want to educate when and where we can and continue to make this space a safe and welcoming one for people from all walks of life. Therefore, we will be looking to partner with different types of third-party organizations in the future to help give our members access to useful, well-researched information from people that are actual experts on subjects like racism, sexism, depression, and addiction.

This will require time and research as we do not intend to simply stamp a logo on something, believing that solves the issue at hand.
In the end, we will always be open to continued feedback, criticisms, and suggestions. We are not perfect, nor will we ever be. But we can always try to do better. And we will.