Sexual Harassment Policy

The Jedi Council and Fan Force Harassment Policy
Updated: September 3rd, 2008

The current administration has seen the need to spring into action very swiftly on this topic and produce a new initiative sooner rather than later. A policy that invites users to come to the administration through whatever means they feel comfortable with. A policy that better emphasizes the steps users can take. We want to make ourselves open to everyone. Every single moderator was elected because they are believed to be trustworthy. When Mod Squad is united behind an objective, it's quite a force. Every moderator is part of Mod Squad and is available to you. Harassment (sexual or otherwise) that occurs in posts should be dealt with immediately by forum moderators. If it is not resolved satisfactorily at that level, follow the procedure below for Private Messages. Any harassment that occurs in Private Messages should be dealt with as follows:

The basic question is, if you are being harassed in PMs, what should you do? Well if you feel harassed via PM, you should choose one of the following courses of action:

1. Send a reply that says something like "Please stop sending me private messages." or "Your last message made me uncomfortable. Please don't go there again." Then contact a staff member.



2. Do not reply to the offensive PM. Contact a staff member.


(We advise discontinuing any kind of a conversation that can be misunderstood.)

Users won't be restricted to just an exclusive group of moderators. Users should know they have the opportunity to approach any moderator at any time. The problem in the past may have been that users were afraid to use past policies because the person at the top was unresponsive and a problem. In these cases it seems a more expanded policy is better rather then a more restrictive one. A simple policy similar to the one below can work.

1. Issue happens.


2. User brings this to the attention of any Mod/RSA/Admin he or she trusts. If you do not know which moderator or administrator to go to, here are the suggested points of contact:
   
   1. JC Head Admin or FF Head Admin (depending on the context of where the harassment occurred).
   2. One of the other JC or FF Admins.
   3. A moderator you trust. They will set up a confidential contact with an appropriate administrator.
   4. Another user you trust who can help you find a staff member to contact.
   
   JC Staff List
   
   Fan Force Staff List
   


3. That person can become the point for the investigation, if s/he feels comfortable doing that, otherwise s/he finds someone else that the user trusts to become point. It doesn't have to be an administrator.


4. Point person would talk to the user through PMs, coordinate any PM checks with a user approved administrator (either FF or JC) and just flesh out the situation.


5. Other (user approved) mods/admins are brought in to look at the case and decide what to do from there if necessary. The number of mods/admins coming into the investigation depends on how comfortable the user is.

If a legitimate complaint is discovered and resolved, any action taken against that user will be documented in that user's notes. That usernote does not have to include the name of the user who complained. Instead, it can just explain the situation in a basic way. What happened, what was done, etc. It is also there as documented behavior.

All sexual harassment complaints can and will be confidential if you request it. Any moderator who receives a complaint should make sure not to post any details from it without asking the user first. If you request nothing be posted about your situation

 

Well done. I particularly approve of the idea of members being able to go outside the main structure to bring in someone from either Fan Force or the JC (depending on where you are).

 

Good work. Now I assume a senior forum mod from each active board will post this in their territory so it becomes seen JC-wide?

 

Yes, indeed. Just posted in Fan Fic.

 

I have updated the main header to imbed this policy on every single page of the Jedi Council and Fan Force communities.

 

I do like it, my only suggestion would be giving examples of what you may consider to be sexual harassment. The really blatant kinds are obvious, but sometimes the more subtle can leave someone wondering "Am I just being too sensitive?" "Does this count as harrassment?" "Am I just not getting the joke?" or similar things. Giving examples of what may be considered harassment (while still leaving room for 'and anything else that makes you feel uncomfortable') may help more tentative users feel a little better about whether or not it's okay to report someone.

Edit: I scanned through the other thread and found a post by ophelia which is along the lines of what I was talking about:

I would also add "Someone who makes comments about your appearance or your personal life that you feel are inappropriate or make you feel uncomfortable."

 

I'm glad something's actually gotten done.

 

I agree with MaidenLumpe. I noticed that in FanFic's announcement of this policy, JadeSolo included that bit by ophelia as "ways to spot harassment". It might be a good idea to include that with the official policy. But overall, I think this is very well done.

 

I agree with the administration on this issue.

Amazing.

 

I appreciate the handling of this entire situation and the move to create this policy. I've kept my eye on the situation this entire time and cannot even properly describe my own feelings about it all. The administration on this matter has been and continues to be nothing short of professional, and it's worthy of noting just one more time, if not more. Thank you.

 

I like it.

 

I am very happy to see what seems to be a good, workable policy being put into place and how quickly it was put together once the situation came to light that promted the need for this. Excellent work and I applaud the administration for their hard work on this.

 

Great work, MS. What's being done to make it visible?

 

For starters, it's now linked in the header info on every single board.

For another, many mods are posting links to it in their respective forums. I'll be editing a link into the Lit Forum Rules and Guidelines tomorrow, for another example of how we're handling this (assuming one of the other dastardly Lit mods doesn't beat me to it).

- Keralys

 

I think this is a great move.

 

This is really good to see.

Really cool to see it up top too.

 

Very well done.

 

It was a group effort and a lot of moderators and administrators had a hand in it. The JC and FF can be a force when we unite behind something. We unite behind this.

 

Very well-done, guys. It's clear, informative, and carries a compassionate tone, which is what is needed for situations such as this.

 

Nice work.

 

Great job.

 

I had been quiet on this matter, particularly because I had issues with an ex mod and didn't want to be seen as causing trouble, but what I really like about this is how much of an implication there is on the forum staff being held responsible. 'If they are not acted on and you have not heard anything back from the moderator you complained to, then that moderator or administrator has failed.' 'If no action, which includes no warnings, usernotes or any sort of investigation, was seen from a complaint that you submitted to a moderator or administrator, it's highly suggested that you find another moderator or administrator to report to, not only for your original complaint but also for the inaction of the moderator or administrator you previously talked to.' Bravo.

 

Great work, guys. Truly appreciated. Now hopefully we as a community - and not just the administration - can get behind this.

I still have a few questions and I'm not sure if I should ask them here or in the other thread...?

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Thank you, everyone involved in making this. It's perfect.

 

Simply to try and poke holes in this now (so they can be closed) before someone starts trying to poke holes in it when it may be too late to close:

1) What if the user does not approve of ANY FF or JC administrators? (difficult as no PMs can be investigated)
2) What is the minimum number of "approved" staff that the user can be comfortable with?
3) Can a moderator and FF administrator decide that a current JC administrator can and should be demoted? Will this work in reverse (JC Admin -> FF GSA)?
4) If a user is comfortable with only one staff member -- and one is an acceptable number to #2 above -- can a moderator or manager unilaterally decide that an existing staff member of any level can be demoted if they determine the charge has merit?
5) Stupidest question ever, but: what if the charge is levied against one of the owners of the site? How will that be investigated?

Also, slight wording correction to remove possible confusion (unless this is what you meant): it sounds like if a user chooses #4 from your options ("Another user you trust to find a staff member to contact") then THAT MEMBER (non-staff) can become the point person for the investigation in the next point down. Unless you are, in fact, meaning that a non-mod/manager/admin can conduct the PM checks with an Administrator.

Some of the above is horribly nit-picky, but I'd like this to be as airtight as possible and as non-confusing as possible so it is as effective as possible. Hopefully this will be seen in that light!