RPG Crossing and inclusion

[Birched]

I've read from members within our community in the Pride at RPGX thread that they have not felt welcome here on site. My heart goes out to you, and I am sorry for what you have experienced. I want to make it clear that we are committed to maintaining an inclusive site free of discrimination or harassment. That we stand and advocate for rights for all. Whether you are a member of the stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, and the countless, beautiful ways in which people identify. We love all of you.LGBTQIA2s+ community, whether you are BIPOC, or from any group that suffers hate and bigotry, we stand with you.

We stand with you.

I am going to reiterate the headline of the Site Rules here as a reminder for all individuals where we stand on discrimination and hate.

Site Rules "We aim to foster an enjoyable environment for all gamers and writers, with a special focus on tabletop roleplaying games and associated genres. ... RPG Crossing is a gathering spot for those interested in roleplaying games and/or writing, and especially play-by-post roleplaying games. Our volunteer site staff [is] charged with cultivating a safe and enjoyable environment for all community members..."

The current moderators and administrators at RPG Crossing do not condone behaviors that exclude or discriminate. We try hard to keep this a safe and enjoyable gaming space. These are values the moderators on site hold dear to their heart. We will work with you on ways to further communicate a healthy, safe space for all gamers, and ensure you remain welcome.

There is an ongoing thread on site about LGBTQIA2s+ issues. The current discussion is focused on a request for educational LGBTQIA2s+ resources that the site may use to help and support the community. Here is a link to the thread.

I'd like to momentarily address positive changes made in the last six months, as part of these ongoing efforts, and in a (hopeful) show of solidarity that we aim for a more welcoming space:

• implemented and executed one round of a new process whereby community members can apply to be staff members (replaces a nomination approach)
• reviewed inactive staff more stringently to ensure that staff are active and concerns do not go to inactive individuals
• implemented a policy where anyone reporting a post should get notified by a staff member when the issue is resolved (if you have reported a post and you don't hear back, by all means ping a staff member and ask what happened)
• created an info post to clarify what happens when a post (or pm) is reported
• created a thread (to which all moderators have subscribed) to ask for help from the next available moderator (we found that people were sometimes trying to find an 'online' moderator in the list, which often meant they were messaging a moderator who had just left and delaying the response to their question or issue)
• affirmed a previous decision that pronouns are welcome in signatures by including it in the site rules (and as I have stated elsewhere, custom user titles seem like another good place to do so)

Thank you to all who have stepped forward to provide a happy, welcoming environment to RPGX.

This is version 2 of this announcement. Thank you to the community members who extended understanding, time, and effort to help me to communicate better.