Code of Conduct

Tilt Forums is a shared community resource dedicated to providing a positive and welcoming discussion space for pinball enthusiasts of all backgrounds. Participants are expected to engage with other forum members from a foundation of mutual respect, tolerance, and encouragement.

When posting to the forum, treat other members with courtesy. Try to hold yourself to the same standards of behavior as if you were playing pinball in a stranger’s home. Gratuitous or off-topic sexual language and imagery is not permitted. Disagreements should be noted in a respectful manner. Mocking or harassment of other participants is not tolerated in any form.

By participating in this forum, you agree to comply with these standards of conduct. Participants violating these standards may be suspended or banned from further participation at the discretion of the moderators.

##EXPANDED GUIDELINES FOR ENGAGEMENT

All forum participants are expected to read and comply with the above code of conduct. If you have any questions about what is and is not acceptable, please use these expanded guidelines to help clarify. If you need additional clarification, ask in the Meta category.

###Your Participation Counts

The conversations we have here set the tone for everyone. All members can influence the future of this community by choosing to engage in discussions that make this forum an interesting place to be – and by avoiding those that do not.

The forum provides tools that enable the community to collectively identify the best (and worst) contributions: favorites, bookmarks, likes, flags, replies, and so forth. Using these tools will improve your own experience, and everyone else’s too.

Let’s try to leave our arcade better than we found it.

###Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree

When disagreeing with other participants, do so in a respectful manner. Focus on criticizing ideas, not people. Avoid name-calling, ad hominem attacks, or knee-jerk contradiction.

Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation. If you don’t have anything to say beyond “That’s wrong” or “That’s stupid,” it is better to say nothing at all.

###Be Respectful of Other Participants

Nothing sabotages a healthy conversation like rudeness. We strive to create a positive atmosphere that will be comfortable for pinball enthusiasts of all backgrounds.

Respect the boundaries expressed by other members, and avoid behaviors that are likely to make other participants feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. If someone tells you that your behavior is upsetting them, don’t argue – simply respect their wishes and stop.

Specifically, the following behaviors are never tolerated on Tilt Forums:

  • Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or comments
  • Using the term “rape” in reference to a scoring exploit on a game
  • Offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, physical appearance, race, or religion
  • Derogatory comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices, including those related to finances, health, parenting, drugs, and employment
  • Threatening or violent language directed at another person
  • Mocking or harassment of others
  • Publication of private communications, or sharing another person’s personal information such as phone number or address
  • Sustained disruption of discussion
  • Encouraging or promoting any of the above behavior

If you’re unsure whether something you want to say is appropriate, ask yourself how you would feel if your parents read your post.

This is a public forum, and search engines index these discussions. Keep the language, links, and images safe for family and friends.

###Use Your Judgment to Determine Appropriate Context

Cultural norms have changed dramatically over the course of pinball’s history. The imagery on many older machines reflects racist stereotypes, and would be considered offensive if it were produced today. Many machines, old and new, feature art that portrays women in an objectifying or gratuitously sexualized manner.

We can recognize the existence of such imagery in pinball’s history without continuing to endorse the attitudes it promotes.

Forum participants should use their judgment to determine whether the context for sharing an image or discussing a game is appropriate. For example:

  • Saying “Pinball has long-standing roots in the gay community” is okay. Saying “That game is gay” is not.
  • Saying “Twilight Zone is a one-ball game” is fine. Saying “A high score on Fish Tales is just like getting a girl pregnant - it only takes one ball” is not.
  • Posting a picture of the backglass of Theatre of Magic in a conversation discussing the machine is fine. Starting a thread about “The biggest boobs in pinball” using the same picture is not.

If you are unsure about whether a post is appropriate, ask about it using the “Meta” category and the moderators will be happy to offer guidance.

###NSFW Images

If there is an image you consider relevant to the discussion that contains nudity or is otherwise something that would not generally be considered acceptable to view in most workplaces, please provide an off-site link to the image rather than posting it directly on the forum.

Moderators may remove images they do not consider appropriate for a family-friendly forum at their discretion. If you are unsure whether an image is appropriate for the forum, ask in the Meta category, with an off-site link.

###If You See a Problem, Flag It

The forum has a team of moderators specifically charged with ensuring it remains a positive space for discussion, but we are all responsible for creating and maintaining a safe space.

When you see a post that violates our guidelines for engagement, do not reply. Doing so drags out the discussion and encourages the behavior. Just flag it. This will alert a moderator to the issue. Only moderators can see who flags a post.

###Response to Flagged Posts

In order to maintain our community, moderators reserve the right to remove any content and any user account for any reason at any time. Moderators do not preview new posts in any way; the moderators and site operators take no responsibility for any content posted by the community.

###Keep It Tidy

Make the effort to put things in the right place, so that we can spend more time discussing and less cleaning up. You can help:

  • Don’t start a topic in the wrong category.
  • Don’t cross-post the same thing in multiple topics.
  • Don’t post no-content replies.
  • Don’t divert a topic by changing it midstream.
  • Don’t sign your posts – every post already has your profile information attached to it.
  • Rather than posting “+1” or “Agreed,” use the Like button.
  • Rather than taking an existing topic in a radically different direction, use Reply as a New Topic.