In short, our rules are:

1. Don't be a dick
2. Keep it PG
3. Respect others' experiences
4. Ask a mod before promoting something
5. Respect people's boundaries

The most important thing to remember is that you are one person sharing this space with many others, so act accordingly. That means don’t follow the rules for their own sake, but use them as a guide to inform your own sense of how to be good to other people.

Don't be a dick

This rule covers everything from hate speech to general rudeness. To be more specific, we do not allow:

• Bigotry
  • You may not use slurs or make derogatory comments about people based on things like race, orientation, gender, religion, disability, or class.
  • You may not demand that marginalized people explain their identity, struggles, or other circumstances to you.
  • We will not give a platform to ‘debates’ about social justice issues that treat bigotry as ‘just an opinion’.
• Harassment
  • You may not send messages that are designed to upset people; use posts / screenshots / quotes to mock people; make threats; or continue to interact with a person after they have asked you to stop.
  • Don’t dogpile on arguments you disagree with. Be mindful of how many people are speaking in a conversation with ‘sides’, and consider holding back if adding your voice could make the other ‘side’ feel ganged up on.
• Incivility
  • You may not resort to name calling, personal attacks, nitpicking or tone policing when responding to a post.
  • Don’t get defensive if someone says you’ve upset them - take it in good faith and work together to find a solution.

Keep it PG

The Alt+H forum welcomes people from ages 13+. Therefore, adults on the forum must show some care and responsibility. Alterhuman-related NSFW topics must be kept to #mature, an opt-in channel for 18+ members. We do not allow offtopic NSFW discussion anywhere on the forum.

Respect others' experiences

The forum is full of people with a diverse range of experiences and beliefs, and that’s a good thing. You may not tell people what they believe is wrong, or that their identities or experiences are not real. You may not grill people to make them ‘prove’ that they’re ‘correct’ about how they understand their experiences, or the words they’re using to describe them. If how a person understands their experience is actually harmful (for example, ‘factkin’ or ‘p-shifters’), you should still communicate this in a compassionate manner. You also shouldn’t advise people to seek professional help if it’s not asked for - if you’re really concerned about a person’s mental health, please contact a mod about it.

Ask a mod before promoting something

We define ‘promoting something’ as making a post which encourages people to give to a venture or cause, with money, social engagement, or something else. Of course, if it's alterhuman-related we'll be more likely to allow it. We'll be less likely if it's obviously for profit or personal gain. You may not promote or link to any site whose contents are illegal in Scotland.

Respect people's boundaries

Don't assume people are publicly open with what they share on the forum; don't share personal information. You may not share screencaps or other logs of conversations from the forum without the permission of everyone involved. Additionally, don’t presume to be overly familiar with people on the forum. You may not do things like solicit system hopping, insist that people are your canonmates / twin flames / companions from a past life, or assume you have a rapport with someone just because you share a canon or identity.

If you break these rules, we will issue a warning, temporarily remove your ability to post, or ban you from the forum, depending on how severe it is, and if this is your first time breaking a rule.