Code of Conduct

Last Updated

July 14, 2022

Introduction

Our goal has always been to empower the player by providing a foundation and framework of knowledge so that the player has full agency over their game and their load order. Turtle does this by providing a resource called Fallout 4 Load Order Framework: A Vault Dweller's Load Order Survival Guide, a Load Order Framework Template that has been used for several years on the Bethesda Official Forums, guidance about possible placement, and information about currently available mods.

Due to the closure of the Bethesda forums, we have had to move all additional guidance to Discord and this website. Please treat our forums and Discord server with the same respect you would a public park. We want our home to be yours – a place where we can share our games, our fun times playing, and our interests through ongoing civil conversation.

Terms of Service

We must protect ourselves, you, and your data from unfriendly people. We have terms of service, a privacy policy, this policy, and a Discord policy. By using this website, you signify you have read, understand, and accepted all these policies. Do not use our website or our Discord if you disagree with these policies.

Inclusiveness

We're committed to being an open and welcoming community. We have zero tolerance of hate groups, bigotry, misogyny, or anything that demeans a person based on what they look like, who they are, or who they worship. We are a haven for all and strive to treat everyone as a human being.

Respect and Courtesy

We expect all members to be civil and respectful. Rude and disruptive behavior is not tolerated, and we reserve the right to remove a disrespectful and disruptive member. All our members are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect. Subscribers to the site with forum privileges who are in violation of this policy will have their membership canceled. See Terms of Service.

We are volunteers providing a service to help you with your game and harassment is not okay.

When responding to something with a disagreement, remember you are criticizing ideas and not people. You will avoid:

Name-calling and insults
Knee-jerk contradiction
Responding to a post's tone instead of content
Ad hominem attacks
Snapping at other members or officers

If another member has insulted you, DM the ModMail for arbitration so we can handle the situation. Escalating it yourself does not help and puts you in violation of our rules. No one of special Discord color or mod author is immune from treating others with respect.

When posting to comments, you will avoid:

Posting anything that a normal person would consider offensive, abusive, or hate speech.
Posting anything obscene or sexually explicit, including screenshots from video games.
Posting anything that harasses or griefs another member, impersonates another member or person, or exposes any private information.
Posting spam or vandalization of the forum.

Right to Privacy

We value our members right to privacy.

We ask that you keep personal pictures off this site and off our server. We also ask that you do not share videos that feature someone's face. See our Terms of Service in regards to avatar and login name likenesses.

We ask that you respect mod authors' and other members' right to privacy and do not private message them without an invitation to do so.

Mod authors have projects and a life. If you have questions about their mods, many have their own Discord servers or websites set up for that purpose or you can ask in the FO4 Load Order channel and they will answer if they so choose.

Do not ping mod authors or other members unless you've been given permission to do so. The only time an officer will ping someone is in response when it has been longer than usual and the chat has scrolled.

Do not contact the BGS support person on our server unless you have been invited to do so.

Do not use our forums or Discord to collect personal information about our users and do not use them to share your own personal information. We do not tolerate this and reserve the right to ban accounts that exhibit this invasive behavior.

Do not use our forums or Discord for disclosing sensitive personal data about others.

Support

We believe in the well-being of our members. The Survival Guide and Framework were created to make things easier while playing. If you find yourself in a personal health or mental crisis, it should be taken up with a professional. If you need help finding one, please DM the ModMail bot for helpful links.

Improve Discussion

We expect our members to work to improve discussion by adding value to it. Help us make our forums and Discord the best place for discussion about mods and load orders.

Shaming of another individual or dismissing their personal shares is not tolerated. We're a gaming community and passions can run high when discussing certain parts of the story or using certain mods, but ask yourself, "Will my comment add anything of value to the conversation?" All members are expected to behave in a manner they wouldn't be embarrassed by if encountered in real life.

Turtle likes to gather ideas for mods by way of directing topics around what she is making and will ask questions about certain things to get the creative juices going. Our mod request policy is located in our Terms of Use.

Tidiness

Make an effort to keep conversations in the channels they belong so we can spend more time discussing mods and load orders and less time cleaning up.

All help is appreciated, but it is the responsibility of the Officer Core to help with the Load Order Framework. That way everyone has access to the same information and there is no confusion by multiple views of a mod or its placement.

If none of the senior officers are available, you are free to direct newcomers to A Vault Dweller's Load Order Survival Guide, the Load Order Framework, or ask new users to make use of the search function on Discord.

Personal Anecdotes and experiences should be kept out of the load order channels. We have many channels for you to use to share your gaming experiences.

On the forums, single-word posts are forbidden as are cross-topic posts (such as asking the same question on every single mod page in order to request a mod port).

Fairness and Accountability

We're a community that believes in self-moderation and accountability. Moderators are responsible for our forum, but so are you. If you see a problem, flag it for the moderation team to review.

When you see bad behavior, do not reply. It only encourages the behavior to continue. It wastes your time, your energy, and creates a negative atmosphere for everyone involved.

Turtle and the Officer Core are also part of this code of conduct. All members of this website and our server are asked to reach out to a member of Officer Core should a serious matter arise.

Moderators do not preview new posts and they and our site operators take no responsibility for any content posted by the community.

Intellectual Property

Do not post anything that you do not own without permission.

Do not post descriptions of, links to, or methods for stealing someone else's intellectual property, or for breaking other laws.

Prohibited Uses of Our Website and Discord

You may not use our website or Discord to engage in activity that is illegal, that is harmful to others, or that would subject us or our Discord server to liability. Any user in violation of our security is subject to criminal and civil liability as well as immediate account termination. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

Disclosing sensitive personal information about others.
Collecting or attempting collect personal information of others with or without their knowledge or consent.
Threatening to harm others or property or otherwise harassing others.
Infringing on our or others' intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights.
Using or distributing tools designed for compromising security
Intentionally or negligently transmitting files containing viruses or corrupted data.
Accessing another network without permission or unauthorized scanning or monitoring of data on any network or system without the authorization of the owner.
Encouraging, facilitating, or aiding any of the above activities through our website or discord.

You may not consume excessive amounts of resources or use the website in such a way that it results in performance issues and interrupts service to our members.

Security

You take full responsibility for maintaining reasonable security precautions for your account. You must protect the confidentiality of your login details and that includes not using your real name as a login or your face as your avatar. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use regarding our Right to Privacy and Likeness commitment.

Compliance

All members on Discord have a three-strike rule. Our bot keeps record of infractions. At three strikes, the person is removed.

All members on this website also have a three-strike rule. Our staff keeps record of infractions. At three strikes, the person is removed and the account is closed regardless of free or paid membership status.

We reserve the right to be the sole arbiter in determining the seriousness of each infraction on our website. See our Discord policy for Discord arbitration.

Account Termination

We reserve the right to terminate any account for any reason. We also reserve the right to remove any posts.

Changes to this policy

oddlittleturtle.com may modify or update this policy from time to time. Users are responsible for reviewing our policy. Changes will be noted in the Last Updated section of this policy.

Contact

If you have questions about our community guidelines or our discord policies, DM ModMail.

If you need support links or need arbitration for a violation of our community guidelines or our discord policies, or wish to dispute a banning from our community, then DM ModMail.