Who’s Yer Gamers Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy

Code of Conduct

Who's Yer Gamers is about spreading fun through hobby gaming in Indiana. We want to bring the fun of gaming to everyone, and to do that, we need some guidelines on how we're all going to get along. Here are our rules for having a safe and fun time at Who's Yer Gamers' events. If you have a question about a certain policy or guideline, be sure to read through all of our policies, and if that still doesn’t answer your question, email conduct@whosyergamers.org. Game on!

Be Safe

Play Nice

Have Fun

Everyone should observe common sense rules for behavior, personal interaction, courtesy, and respect. Harassing or offensive behavior will not be tolerated. Who's Yer Gamers reserves the right to revoke, without refund, the membership and/or badge of any participant not in compliance with this policy, or to ask attendees to leave any event or area we host.

Anti-Harassment Policy

Who’s Yer Gamers is committed to providing a safe environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Harassment or unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, physical, visual, or in any other form, is strictly prohibited. Who's Yer Gamers anti-harassment policy applies to all persons involved in the operation or attendance of any of our events. Who's Yer Gamers will not tolerate harassment of anyone by anyone, including participants, volunteers, GMs, vendors, or Who's Yer Gamers staff.

Who’s Yer Gamers defines harassment as any behavior that threatens a person or group or produces an unsafe or non-inclusive environment. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, offensive verbal comments or non-verbal expressions related to gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religious beliefs. Harassment also includes, but is not limited to, sexual or discriminatory images in public and quasi-public spaces (online and offline), intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Harassment may take the form of comments, epithets, slurs, jokes, teasing, display or discussion of written or graphic material, repeatedly standing too close to or brushing up against a person, or giving gifts of an unwanted or sexual nature. Advocating or encouraging any of the above is also considered harassment.

Harassment at Who’s Yer Gamers does not include respectful disagreement or critique offered in good faith. Who's Yer Gamers reserves the right to alter or broaden its definition of harassment at its sole discretion.

No one should tolerate any conduct of this type. Should you experience or witness harassment, you may choose to take any of the following actions:

  1. If you feel safe and comfortable doing so, ask the offender to stop. Whether the offending behavior is intentional or unintentional, expressing your discomfort to the offender directly often puts a stop to that conduct.
  2. Leave the area. While this may be unfair to you, it is sometimes best for your safety and well-being if you to choose to leave the area, especially if you feel uncomfortable around the offender or their conduct. After separating yourself from the conduct, you may still choose to take additional actions.
  3. If you are comfortable doing so, ask a Who's Yer Gamers volunteer captain or staff member for help. You can find Who's Yer Gamers volunteer captains or staff by approaching anyone wearing this year’s volunteer T-shirt or at the Volunteer HQ, Registration, or Con HQ. At other events, Who’s Yer Gamers Staff will be wearing indicating they are staff.
  4. Report the incident formally to Who’s Yer Gamers staff, on-site or online. You may go to the Con HQ or Event Staff to file an incident report in person. This can also be done anytime during or after the show by emailing conduct@whosyergamers.org
  5. Contact the police or other appropriate authorities. Your health and safety is our most important concern. If you require immediate assistance from law enforcement, medical services, or other governmental entities, please do not hesitate to contact such services directly.

Based on any informal or formal complaint or report of harassment, Who's Yer Gamers will take the following steps as appropriate. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and other appropriate action may be taken as necessary.

  1. Read and investigate all reports. Who's Yer Gamers documents and reviews all reports. Reporting parties may be contacted for further clarifying information, unless they have submitted a report anonymously or asked to not be contacted further. Note that Who's Yer Gamers will not share the results of these reports with anyone, including the person who filed the report, unless required by law.
  2. Intercede if and when appropriate. Who's Yer Gamers staff may take immediate action to address harassment concerns, including but not limited to, escorting participants to a location in which they feel safe, refunding tickets, cancelling events, moving event locations, requesting participants leave a specific area, removing offenders from the event, or banning offenders from the event. Bans and removals may be on a temporary basis, for the duration of the show, or permanent.
  3. Contact police and medical authorities when appropriate. If, upon review, Who's Yer Gamers finds that relevant local government officials should be notified, Who's Yer Gamers may contact such entities and/or share confidential information as required by law.
  4. Sanction participants based on our investigations. Who's Yer Gamers participants found to have violated the Code of Conduct may be subject to sanctions, including but not limited to:
    • Verbal or written warning
    • Requiring the participant to avoid any interaction with, and physical proximity to the party or parties involved
    • Temporary suspension from any Who's Yer Gamers sponsored events or online services
    • Permanent ban from any Who's Yer Gamers sponsored events or online services
    • Immediate expulsion from the event without refund
    • Reporting of the incident to the appropriate authorities

The Who's Yer Gamers Code of Conduct applies in all physical and online spaces within Who's Yer Gamers control. This includes, but is not limited to, event venues, and Who's Yer Gamers social media pages. Occasionally Who's Yer Gamers is made aware of behavior by participants (or potential participants) that has occurred outside of Who's Yer Gamers events—either online or offline—and is a gross violation of our Code of Conduct. These actions need not occur in Who's Yer Gamers-affiliated spaces to be considered for sanctions by Who's Yer Gamers. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Individuals who have not attended Who's Yer Gamers but have a history of abusive behavior and/or known incidents that took place outside Who's Yer Gamers that may cause risks to a participant’s safety, or which may contribute to a hostile or non-inclusive environment at the convention
  • Who's Yer Gamers participants who have been reported for outside incidents, including, but not limited to, conduct at other conventions, threatening or abusive behavior online, or assault

We understand that, at times, participants will have disagreements or interpersonal conflicts that do not necessarily escalate to the point of harassment or abuse. Who's Yer Gamers will not arbitrate such disagreements—we ask that you please leave these conflicts at home.

Who's Yer Gamers continuously strives to create a safe and welcoming space. Should you have any suggestions for how we can improve, please email us at conduct@whosyergamers.org

We care very much about creating a space where All Gamers feel free to participate. We’re extremely please to see that GenCon decided to take a leadership role in this space by releasing their latest Code of Conduct & Anti-Harassment Policy under a Creative Commons License. We have adapted their Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policies to reflect the structural differences in our two organizations. Usage of the Creative Commons licensed Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy does not imply any sponsorship of, endorsement of, or connection with Who’s Yer Gamers by GenCon, LLC. If you have questions about this policy, email us at conduct@whosyergamers.org

Original Work:: "Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy" by GenCon, LLC is licensed under CC BY 4.0

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License