Racism bans

[TiffDust]

Background: I came across a post that had been bumped up asking for an unban on the grounds on racism. I did a quick search and found the original ban that included more than just racism. I replied to the person that it would unlikely be overturned (which turned out to be the outcome anyway.... my intent was to save an admin some time and the player to let it go and move on.)

Players responded with ' admins are inconsistent with racism bans' and so i had a quick look.
I found that; i normally didn't read the full copy and pasted response (this response was very consistent,) which means i didn't always see the last line or 2, "Welcome back. Please bear in mind, this is a one time ban reversal. No further rule infractions of this nature can happen."  (which is also a copy/paste and consistent when the ban is overturned.)

So it appears racism isn't always an instant ban that's not overturned, my mistake. It seems in the realm of fairness, because as i looked into it (from what is there for all to see is that.)

1) A racism ban overturned is likely a new player.
2) There's no mention of previous warnings/rules broken.
3) The player acknowledges their bad behaviour with an apology.
4) The word used was a unfortunate typo.
 

A racism ban is upheld for players who would know the rules and who have other incidents/warnings against them.

With my error, i think i read the long response maybe once or twice of someone who didn't get the ban overturned. I assumed when i saw the copy and paste that was it *ban hammer*. Fair enough though as i'm aware those posts aren't for me and if it was me in that spot, i'd read the whole thing.
I think this server and it's volunteer Admins do great things for this community, thank you!

Edited September 24, 2021 by TiffDust
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[Aurora]

This decision is based only on actual word(s) used. If the specific word is inherently racist it will be denied.

If the word(s) used, after reviewing the context, is language we know people may use in ways that is not intended to be racist (but is racist / derogatory when used in other contexts), we drop it to a temp ban and clearly indicate no further exception will be made.  It's a one-time warning to not use that language on our servers for any reason in any context.

Time on server, player history etc. is not considered when accepting or rejecting a racism ban.

Here is the blurb from the FAQ:

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Any ban may be appealed in the Ban/Mute Appeals section of our website; however, we do not lift bans for language which has only one usage, that being purposefully racist or severely derogatory.

We have and will continue to maintain a zero tolerance for racism. As of April, 2021 we have updated our auto-ban filters to include slang and words that is often intended as derogatory, but may also have usage that is not purposefully racist. Only in this scenario will the appeal be considered and only if logs clearly indicate such. If accepted, the ban will be changed to a temporary ban and said player informed that the language used will not be tolerated in any context in our community. No chance to appeal a language ban in the future will be given, regardless of the context.

Your player history, behavior, and positive contributions and interactions within our PvE community is not considered in an appeal for racism or language bans. 

 

 

[TiffDust]

9 hours ago, Aurora said:

This decision is based only on actual word(s) used. If the specific word is inherently racist it will be denied.

If the word(s) used, after reviewing the context, is language we know people may use in ways that is not intended to be racist (but is racist / derogatory when used in other contexts), we drop it to a temp ban and clearly indicate no further exception will be made.  It's a one-time warning to not use that language on our servers for any reason in any context.

Time on server, player history etc. is not considered when accepting or rejecting a racism ban.

Here is the blurb from the FAQ:

 

Thanks for that, i was thinking earlier on context which isn't easy to see on the forums. I'm guessing those who say they didn't know the rules, just joined etc used it in a context that wasn't purposefully racist or severely derogatory as opposed to those who join that are weirdly aggressive, drop a N word and get kicked.
 

[Aurora]

Yes, often the players "description" of what they said in an appeal is not always exact. That information may not be provided in the ban thread to ensure our forums are not spammed with racial and intolerant verbiage.  Rest assured the player knows exactly what they typed to receive a ban (as do we, by the logs).

I've been here for quite some time and it still amazes me how many racism bans are applied on player accounts each wipe. For every language/racism ban a player submits an appeal for in the forums, there's another 40+ racism bans not appealed.  These are players who will not return to our community, and for good reason.

I'm extremely proud of the changes made this year by RustEZ in regards to dealing with racism and language bans to make the community a more positive place.

[Jay_JWLH]

I've been following these events for a little while now.

One person has been unexpectedly banned from my server for something they wrote down on something that got caught by the server system that wasn't even intended or expected to be shared with anyone (if their claim is to be believed). Another one not that long ago involved renaming a key for a friend. In both cases, it is entirely irrelevant whether they blatantly made an inappropriate sign, wrote it in chat publicly, or wrote it on a note to be thrown off your boat on the very edge of the map that would be impossible for anyone to read. Quite simply any submitted input by a user will be logged by the server and acted on accordingly.

I do however have one gripe. The punishment does not fit the crime. You know the rules (if you are a seasoned player), but when given the chance to correct your behavior you are just excluded. Many online games ban players for increasing amounts of time in different ways. We are talking restricted communication (inability to use chat, or voice chat), or just inability to play the game for 24 hours, 72 hours, a week, and then permanently. Personally I would be happy for an in-game warning for the first instance (if caught manually), ban from the server for 1 hour to 1 day (if done by a bot), followed by a month ban, followed by permanent. I'm not saying RustEZ has to tolerate such behavior, it just needs to re-assess how it punishes those who behave that way. Continue to ban people without the ability to learn from their mistakes, and you end up with a community of people left sad by the loss of positive people in the community.

Also, note that because Rust in itself is a M rated game, ESRB describes games with an M rating as: “Generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.” So you certainly aren't doing it to make the game G rated when it is one setting change from full blown nudity.

Note 2: You can get banned permanently from Official servers for racist behavior with no appeal when FP staff make a manual review, but you can still play on community servers.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Jay_JWLH

[Aurora]

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Quite simply any submitted input by a user will be logged by the server and acted on accordingly.

Correct. Racism and severely derogatory/homophobic slurs (i.e.  the player actions resulting in a "Racism" or "Language" ban) are not permitted in our community. 

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Continue to ban people without the ability to learn from their mistakes, and you end up with a community of people left sad by the loss of positive people in the community.

Players who break server rules are given a second chance --  but there is zero-tolerance here for racist and homophobic slurs. Banning for this is teaching people a valuable lesson. If it's not tolerated on a game server, hopefully they are able to apply that lesson elsewhere.  

On the contrary, removal of players who thinks it's okay to drop this language in our servers and  spaces creates a more positive and welcoming experience for all players in the community.

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Also, note that because Rust in itself is a M rated game, ESRB describes games with an M rating as: “Generally suitable for ages 17 and up...

Racism is not "mature" it's wrong.

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You can get banned permanently from Official servers for racist behavior with no appeal when FP staff make a manual review, but you can still play on community servers.

You can get banned from RustEZ servers for racist behavior, but you can still play on other community servers. 

[dave40262000]

I am new to the server, but have been working my way through the forum and read all the ban/unban posts. I agree with the permanent insta bans for any  Racism and severely derogatory/homophobic slurs, EVEN if they are done in private between 2 friends or even on your own personal sleeping bag. Some people think this is a case of "no harm/no foul" if nobody else sees it, but behavior and language in this category is just WRONG. As Aurora said above, you can go play elsewhere on other community servers that may tolerate that kind of behavior, but I for one am tired of the standard toxic Rust experience. EZ's policies have made their servers a safe haven from toxicity and I enjoy the peace of mind of knowing I do not have to leave voices off and hide my chat to have a nice experience. I just want to play Rust!

p.s.

Sorry to resurrect such an old post, but I wanted to give my support and opinion to EZ's policies. The admins seem to take quite a bit of heat for enforcing publicly stated policies that the server is up front about posting.

[aNoNiM]

You don't like the "We got caught, lets pretend we are not racist in public" defence?

 

[TiffDust]

On 12/31/2021 at 8:17 AM, aNoNiM said:

You don't like the "We got caught, lets pretend we are not racist in public" defence?

 

i think i get what you're saying, kinda like 'a racist/homophobic thing has been said by me that doesn't mean i'm a racist/homophobe' ... when logically it doesn't make sense but they use it anyway and it can be frustrating to those involved. 

side note.
Don't use homophobic/racist terms in jokes or endearment (it's still racist/homophobic.) If it's part of a culture (or habit) you have adopted, it can be unlearnt and you can be a better person.

[Death]

I'd like to think a good portion of people who use slurs on the internet are not actually racist, rather go above and beyond for a reaction and/or attention. The idea behind zero tolerance is to ensure there's no confusion as to when and where it's appropriate.

[Cass]

Respectfully, isn't the use of that language in the first place inherently racist? Using that language willingly is accepting you know what the word means. Choosing to use those words in the first place is racist behaviour regardless of intent. 

[TiffDust]

I'm definitely aware how naive i am when it comes to people, in the realm of humans anything is possible. I think some people are completely unaware of their privilege and bias, they don't have the experience of how those words have been used in hate crimes but how it's used in some culture/media. Zero tolerance makes things pretty clear.  

[Cass]

Racism under the guise of ignorance is still racism. Implying that those who make racist comments are not racist but simply unaware weaponizes ignorance.

[Death]

5 hours ago, Cass said:

Respectfully, isn't the use of that language in the first place inherently racist? Using that language willingly is accepting you know what the word means. Choosing to use those words in the first place is racist behaviour regardless of intent. 

57 minutes ago, Cass said:

Racism under the guise of ignorance is still racism. Implying that those who make racist comments are not racist but simply unaware weaponizes ignorance.

Being racist implies you are prejudice against someone based on their race. A moment of lapsed judgement doesn't make you inherently racist, as doing something dumb doesn't make you a dumb person. Not all racism bans have racist intentions. So by me saying I don't think they're inherently racist, I'm not referring to those who were being racist, rather the ones who used the word vaguely with no intent to harm, etc. Context matters. A word is not racist, it's how you use it.

[DSH303]

You don't accidentally use a racial slur. It just doesn't happen. At no point has my anger or frustration or sense of humor caused me to want to blurt out a racist comment. If you use racist language, there's usually a reason, and it's a simple reason. Racism.

[Death]

For the sake of this not turning into a political debate, and the OP seemingly having gathered the feedback they were after, I'll be locking this thread to further replies.