STATEMENT - Recent Member Conduct

The ACC Admin team (and RaceOnOz moderators) feel that it is time to address the recent unacceptable member conduct within the league.

We have been seeing multiple examples of abusive, disrespectful and belittling messages being sent by members to other members, and in some cases to the ACC Admin Team. We have also been seeing actions that are disrespectful and damaging to the processes we use in our league (Eg. Protests & Penalties).

These are occurring both on our own messaging platforms as well as external platforms.

This is not a unique situation for our league. Over the years, there have been times where the conduct and etiquette of members has not reflected the expectations of RaceOnOz, and appropriate action was taken. Once again we have taken action with these conduct breaches and we will continue to take action to protect everything that makes the RaceOnOZ League what it is today.

But we wish we didn’t have to. So we’d like to make some things clear to all members.

As a community we provide fun, clean and fair racing for anyone that wishes to participate regardless of skill level. The foundations of this community are fulfillment, nurturing development, comradery, etiquette, courtesy, respect, and being fair and reasonable.

This foundation defines a CONSTRUCTIVE CULTURE, which can't be adequately wholly defined in black and white, and those who understand and live these values know that if it needs to be written down to great extent - then it is already lost.

To help everyone understand this better there's an old analogy that this league has used before called “The Pub” - please read it as it’s very apt:

Spoiler: Click to read "The Pub"

The Pub

Patrons go down The Pub just for fun, to hang out with their mates and meet some new ones.

There may be some competition but it’s not that serious. There are no entitlements, nor nothing at stake, other than a good time, bragging rights, and the reward of participation. The Pub offers itself freely, for this cause we all enjoy.

The Pub dictates the rules and reserves the right to change them without notice. Like right of refusal, which it exercises regularly to keep riff-raff out for the best interests of the Patron’s safety, and preserving the good times. Some of the rules are written down where Patrons can read and discuss them. Most of them aren’t. Many are simply common etiquette and respect, often based on other discretionary terms like “disorderly” exercised at the collective discretion of The Pub staff. Patrons that make a nuisance of themselves may be asked to change their behaviour, and they usually already know when they have had a few too many.

The Pub can’t control Patrons’ ego or behaviour, but it can show Patrons the door. At this point it’s usually not up for interpretation or discussions. Fortunately a positive attitude with respect goes a long way at The Pub.

The Pub staff try to keep a positive focus and not always take a hard line, but disputes between Patrons can only go so far before they detract from the staff’s primary function of serving beer. So The Pub has to draw a line. If The Pub is overwhelmed and can’t serve enough beers, it certainly can’t grow and improve, and may even be at risk of shutting down. To keep this positive outward focus in serving beer, a lot goes on behind the scenes to keep The Pub running.

The Pub doesn’t owe Patrons a beer, or one at the price on the list, the price is at the Pub's discretion. In fact The Pub doesn’t owe Patron’s a price list at all, justification or transparency of pricing, or even a “fair” price. It improves The Pub’s service offering, which The Pub strives for, but Patrons are welcome to get their beer elsewhere, or even start their own pub all the same. Fortunately it’s easy to pitch in and positively contribute to making this Pub better instead.

Think of ROOZ like The Pub..

…. and you’ll fit right in.

Originally posted here:
http://raceonoz.com/forums/index.php?threads/conduct-notice.4167/#post-215734

Now, to make things CRYSTAL CLEAR here are the fundamental points all members of RaceOnOz must adhere to:

• Use courtesy and respect toward all members at all times. Profanity, insults, and open disputes will not be accepted. If you have a problem with another member, contact the ACC Admin Team.

• Name-calling, personal attacks, belittling others, escalating disputes, and other antisocial or discouraging communications are unacceptable. This includes communications on the RaceOnOz Forum, the RaceOnOz Discord and any other places or platforms where members are representing rooz in some way.

• The RaceOnOz Forum and the RaceOnOz Discord will be treated like any other social media, eg Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. If a post is made in public and a complaint is made, the ACC Admin Team will investigate and attempt to de-escalate.

• You must treat the ACC Admin Team, the TDP and the protest process with respect, including responding to being protested and responding to the outcome of a protest if it goes against your intended outcome.

• There is to be no discussion about ongoing protests including messages between drivers subject to the protest. Any queries must go to the ACC Admin Team or TDP.

• the ACC Admin Team can and will impose sanctions for any behaviour it deems is a breach of the member conduct rules.

IMPORTANT:
Cases of severe or persistent harassment towards league members may constitute Cyberbullying which can have serious personal and legal ramifications.
If any RaceOnOz league member feels that they are being subjected to Cyberbullying please report it to the ACC Admin Team or Forum moderators and also seek help here:
https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work...how-get-help-violence-harassment-and-bullying

Protests and Penalties
At RaceOnOz we use a Protests and Penalties system to help keep the racing as clean and as fun as possible. This system has a clearly defined set of procedures and anyone using that system needs to respect and follow them correctly. It’s disappointing that we need to point this out.

Recently there have been examples of drivers not respecting the Protests and Penalties procedure. This behaviour undermines the racing at RaceOnOz. It is also considered a member conduct breach and can lead to sanctions.

We would like to remind league members of some key points in the Protests and Penalties system.

• The Protests and Penalties procedure is private. Do not copy or screenshot the contents of any of the channels and share them in any way. This is considered a major breach with possible severe sanctions.
• Every driver has the right to submit protests and no driver should feel it is a personal attack simply to be protested.
• Submitted footage needs to follow specific guidelines:
  • If it does not conform we will ask you to submit conforming footage again
  • If your footage still does not conform the protest will be canceled and you will receive a warning for not properly following the procedure and wasting people’s time.
• When stating your case either as the protesting driver or protested driver:
  • You must keep it short - simply give your version of events and the points you’d like to make in a concise manner.
  • You must do this in 1 to 3 short messages. Do not post further messages unless they are for additional footage or you have been asked to say something by the Stewards or ACC Admin Team.
  • You must not disparage the process, other drivers, the ACC Admin Team, the Stewards, or indeed anyone.
  • Do not refer in any way to anything not related to the specific incident (eg ‘history’ with a particular driver).
  • Do not ask for any special conditions or consideration from the Stewards or ACC Admin Team.
  • If another driver sends abusive or disrespectful messages to you about the protest contact the ACC Admin Team directly (NOT via the protest channels) and we will investigate.

We do not expect everyone to get along or to be best mates. We DO expect that an inclusive culture of integrity and respect is always shown to other members. The last few years have been difficult for everyone, and we want this to be a place for people to enjoy a common interest in Sim racing.

Sincerely,
The ACC Admin Team
(Rolz, JJ_Penguin, Nanlatt, krunch, CornfordCaster)

For reference
RaceOnOz Moderators: KoAStR, Anon666, stucar17, Hatfield, Rolz, JJ_Penguin, krunch, CornfordCaster.
The Stewards consist of the Trusted Drivers Panel (see forum)