Southampton Guild of Roleplayers

This document explains the purpose and proposed implementation of purpose of the Southampton Guild of Roleplayers, the code of conduct and our data protection statement.

Purpose and implementation

The Southampton Guild of Roleplayers exists to further the cause of bringing roleplaying to Southampton and Hampshire.

The primary method of doing this is by running roleplaying games in a physical space on a weekly basis. Outside of this we consider doing outreach work by providing roleplaying games at conventions, drop-in games in public spaces and exhibition games. In conjunction with face to face gaming we also support video and audio gaming via our online spaces.

If you are interested in becoming involved in this work contact the club owner as a first step.

Code of Conduct

The Southampton Guild of Roleplayers is Right of Admission Reserved and whilst that Right will not be unreasonably withdrawn, your attention is drawn to the below.

1. We believe that roleplaying is for everybody and that we should strive to make and keep the hobby accessible. We respect our environment and our hosts and work to keep the name of roleplaying games in a good light through our actions and speech.

2. We know that tolerance is a contract, as we extend tolerance to each other, so they extend tolerance to us. When ideologies that preach intolerance and against the rights of others to exist as equal human beings are brought into our space, it is well within our rights to exclude the people bearing these arguments as having broken our social contract.

3. As a responsible organisation we adhere to the law, with reference to the equality act 2010. 

i) Therefore we do not discriminate against protected groups on the basis of being in those protected groups and make efforts to provide reasonable accommodation where possible, e.g. by identifying and using step-free venues where we can, striving to keep noise levels to acceptable levels, not tolerating the use of sexist or racist language in out of character conversation.

ii) Game Moderators (GMs) are reminded that the use of such language in-game requires a conversation with your players so that they can enjoy their peace of mind and the game.

iii) Actions that are taken that might be reasonably expected to be outside of the law are very much not welcome and will be treated as such.

4. As part of our adherence to the law, the following age limits apply. 

i) People of age 18 or over are considered adults and may use the facilities of the club without let or hindrance appropriately and respectfully. 

ii) People of age 16 and up who are not yet 18 may use the club so long as there is an adult who can meaningfully vouch for them who must be in attendance at all times. 

iii) People who are not yet 16 may also attend the club but do require an adult with the legal right to supervise them at all times and are expected to act appropriately and respectfully as those around them do. 

iv) It is the responsibility of the supervising adult to remove their child from situations that they do not think are appropriate. 

v) At this time we do not require a photo ID policy or a “real name’s policy”. 

vi) At this time this club does not provide childcare. 

5. At this time, games with 18 ratings are acceptable as long as they do not transgress the above and do not imperil our use of the venue. If you need guidance, remember metadata about what is in something, aka content warnings, are never a bad idea in gaining informed consent and that you can always ask either a moderator or the club owner. 

i) Safety tools are a great way to https://a5e.tools/rules/safety-tools allow you to take on more sensitive topics in a game. If you are unsure of their use, then please politely ask. “The best time to practise with a parachute is before you jump out of a plane.” 

ii) Be conscious of your surroundings and the people in them and be cool.

6. Threats of violence to club staff or members, being creepy aka sexually inappropriate in person or via messaging does not fall within our contract of tolerance, see 2 above. Such behaviour may cause you to be asked to leave on a permanent basis by the club owner. 

7. If you are worried that you have a communicable disease such a respiratory or digestive system ailment, please do not bring it to the club. We really appreciate you not making others sick.Look after yourself, get well and we’ll see you when you’re better.

8. The current primary modes of communication of the club are via Facebook (part of the Meta group) and Discord. 

i) Announcements, recruiting for games, and other general chatter are welcome here. They are not intended as anonymous off-line spaces, they are an extension of our physical presence, as such they are curated and moderated. 

ii) At this time, you are not required to use any particular naming conventions, but the name you use in our physical space will, if recognised as you by a moderator or administrator, gain you higher levels of access for participation. 

iii) If you are running a game then please work with your players to agree on a communication protocol for lateness or absences. Please also agree on a level of quoracy for your game to run in advance, e.g. if you have 6 players then how many players can cancel before you cancel the whole game. As a courtesy, contacting the club owner is appreciated if you’re going to cancel a game.

iv) Memes and images that go against section 3 of this document are not acceptable.

v) “Generative AI” images are disrespectful to the artists that provide so much to the TTRPG community. Club policy is that these are not acceptable on our more public forums and patrons of the club are asked to not use them in private.

9. People who do not attend the club are welcome to promote their games in our spaces. provided they do so respectfully and in a manner which does not compromise the values already expressed. If you do not understand how to do this, or in doubt about so doing, please ask.

10. People with relevant commercial offerings including but not limited to: professional GM services, roleplaying game books, dice and other offerings directly relevant to roleplaying games are allowed to market as per the relevant social media site policies, provided that by doing so they also comply with the values already expressed. If you do not understand how to do this, or in doubt about so doing, please ask.

Data Protection Statement

The Southampton Guild of Roleplayers does not wish to collect, store, or process your data in any way. In the eventuality that our social media and forum platforms show evidence that they are becoming incompatible with the values expressed in our code of conduct then we will consider setting up a mailing list via a trusted mail service provider such as buttondown. We will not at any point sell any personal data or allow access to it by third parties for commercial reasons. 

Created 18.06.24 by PJ Coffey. Next review 17.06.25