Hey everyone, we want to clarify a few things that pop up in the forums from time to time, and we want to make our position clear when it comes to certain topics on the forums.
First and foremost, we embrace how Stardew Valley's community is open and accepting to everyone, and as a result, this is a space where you can seek comfort and validation where you unfortunately may not elsewhere. Your safety is important to us and the actions we take in the forums are to maintain that level of safety, while still nurturing a respectful space for the community. In doing so, however, it also means there are several topics that tread the line and there are posts we will remove even if it is well-intentioned.
Our rules state that we do not allow discussion of drugs, abuse, assault, politics, religion, and other heavy/controversial content. The emphasis here is on 'discussion'-- it is okay to mention things within reason-- your post will not get removed for mentioning you are religious or affiliate with a political party. Exceptions for discussion lie in Stardew Valley itself, where sometimes these topics do appear appropriately, such as Shane's struggle with alcohol, Kent suffering the effects of the war he fought, Krobus believing in Yoba, etc.
Your post WILL get removed if its main purpose is any of the barred discussions, if it is a tangent about your opinions on these topics, or if your mention invites inappropriate debate or toxicity. Some examples are below:
"I am a religious person and I feel peace" is allowed.
"You should be a religious person and here's why" will be removed.
"I relate to Shane's struggles and his actions in the game make sense to me" is allowed.
"Here is my negative experience with alcohol and the abuse I have suffered from it" will be removed.
"More gender options for Stardew Valley is important to me and I would like it to be added" is allowed.
"People who are not speaking against the lack of gender options are bigots" will be removed.
Some posts that get removed may be meaning well for a community they care about, or they intend to share a sensitive experience because they are comfortable to, but these kinds of posts are inappropriate for the forums regardless of why they were posted. The main focus of this forum is Stardew Valley, which is ultimately a lighthearted, genuine, peaceful game. We would like discussions to stay in this realm. Like the game, discussions can be serious sometimes, but if your opinions can't be expressed without going into what we don't allow, then you shouldn't share them here.
Thank you for reading and we hope this clears some things up about the rules.
First and foremost, we embrace how Stardew Valley's community is open and accepting to everyone, and as a result, this is a space where you can seek comfort and validation where you unfortunately may not elsewhere. Your safety is important to us and the actions we take in the forums are to maintain that level of safety, while still nurturing a respectful space for the community. In doing so, however, it also means there are several topics that tread the line and there are posts we will remove even if it is well-intentioned.
Our rules state that we do not allow discussion of drugs, abuse, assault, politics, religion, and other heavy/controversial content. The emphasis here is on 'discussion'-- it is okay to mention things within reason-- your post will not get removed for mentioning you are religious or affiliate with a political party. Exceptions for discussion lie in Stardew Valley itself, where sometimes these topics do appear appropriately, such as Shane's struggle with alcohol, Kent suffering the effects of the war he fought, Krobus believing in Yoba, etc.
Your post WILL get removed if its main purpose is any of the barred discussions, if it is a tangent about your opinions on these topics, or if your mention invites inappropriate debate or toxicity. Some examples are below:
"I am a religious person and I feel peace" is allowed.
"You should be a religious person and here's why" will be removed.
"I relate to Shane's struggles and his actions in the game make sense to me" is allowed.
"Here is my negative experience with alcohol and the abuse I have suffered from it" will be removed.
"More gender options for Stardew Valley is important to me and I would like it to be added" is allowed.
"People who are not speaking against the lack of gender options are bigots" will be removed.
Some posts that get removed may be meaning well for a community they care about, or they intend to share a sensitive experience because they are comfortable to, but these kinds of posts are inappropriate for the forums regardless of why they were posted. The main focus of this forum is Stardew Valley, which is ultimately a lighthearted, genuine, peaceful game. We would like discussions to stay in this realm. Like the game, discussions can be serious sometimes, but if your opinions can't be expressed without going into what we don't allow, then you shouldn't share them here.
Thank you for reading and we hope this clears some things up about the rules.