Courtesy and Brave Space Guidelines
Encouraging courtesy through conscious questioning and active listening, where all participants are encouraged to grow and learn from others.
- Strive to learn from experiences outside of your own. Try to understand experiences from another point of view, and seek permission to ask questions about those experiences.
- Do not hesitate to ask questions.
- Strive to ask for clarification before responding, to avoid misunderstandings as much as possible. E.g. "I interpret what you are saying as... Is that correct?"
- Recognize that all individuals have unique experiences, values, and opinions. What may be true for some may not be true for everyone.
- Respect the opinions and preferences of others. It is acceptable to agree to disagree.
- Avoid criticizing the person, but rather the specific and isolated action.
- Validate ideas, feelings, or experiences of others. Theirs are as important as your own. E.g. "Thank you for taking the time to..."
- Practice empathy even if opinions differ. E.g. "If I was in your position, I would feel the same way."
- Do not attack or debate the experiences of another individual.
- Personalize rather than generalize. Don't over-generalize when it comes to a certain group of people. Use "I" statements rather than "they".
- Keep IC out of OOC and vice versa. Communicate openly and honestly.
- Calling in can be a more compassionate method that calling someone out. Mistakes are allowed to happen and should serve as a tool to learn and grow from the experience. Identify the subject, the behavior, and why you are engaging the other person. Open up a conversation with them, sharing your values, and listening to theirs. Understanding another individual's point of view and reconciling with them is a way of unlearning, of letting go of prejudices.
- Address conflicts peacefully, and seek external mediation if conflicts escalate. Note that WOLF's Community Managers are not mediators; reach out to your peers or seek advice from someone outside of the game altogether.
Adapted from The University of California-Berkeley's Brave Space Guidelines.