Recently, in the Discord, a reference to a divisive fandom was made in passing, and a ruling was decided that it could not be discussed openly. The issue presented is that not all users know which controversies / fandoms / current events / divisive topics would be considered a breach of Code of Conduct. Lorians come from a variety of backgrounds, and they might not all have access / time / energy to research these issues. For example, a popular issue in Japan may not be a popular issue in America.

While no one is in any trouble, it causes anxiety in users because they would have to breach a subject, then to be told by a moderator that it is not permitted. While this may involve a lot of trial and error, it would be nice to be updated on what is not allowed to be spoken about in Loria, as it comes up amongst users.

One example of something not everyone knows because it’s not explicitly stated in the COC is that: “Mentioning the [divisive] franchise on site is not allowed. Naming wolves after characters is fine but referencing the series in bios is not.” We would have to cross the boundary to learn the rules of the boundary, which is concerning.

In short, can there be an updated list in the COC or a sticky thread in the forums that is updated with whatever controversies come up as they come up? Can we also have exact wordage of what is and what is not allowed to be discussed involving these divisive topics?

Agreed completely- its hard to know everything that's divisive, or divisive enough to be considered so by Lorwolf, at one time. Having firm rules on this would make it significantly easier especially since users don't have to be worried about what topics they discuss that could lead to moderators coming in.

100% support. there being what are essentially secret rules that you don't know about unless you've broken them is severely anxiety-inducing.

Support.

Also adding:
I would really appreciate if banning things would be well thought through. If one person creating or just involved in a franchise is bad and shall not be talked about, that is completely understandable. But banning a whole franchise that is well liked and even loved, that has nothing bad about it other than one wrong connection seems harsh.

"We would have to cross the boundary to learn the rules of the boundary, which is concerning."

Amazingly put.

I fully agree, with everything, of course. I don't keep up with current events, so having a list to reference, that gets regular updates, will be beyond helpful.

The only concern I have is this sounds like a crazy time sink for a staff of... two people? Three? It would most likely be a volunteer position, which I don't think is quite fair. Plus, what if there are controversies about what is considered 'divisive' - would that have to be addressed?

I should mention that I am about a billion years old in internet years, so maybe this is something other sites have figured out very well and I just don't have a clue! I don't think it's a bad idea, and I understand very well wanting to avoid a "walking on eggshells" feeling, just my initial thoughts.

I would appreciate that. I'm new and don't want to upset anybody without realizing it

Support!

If I name this wolf harry,

If I breed him with this wolf named hermione:

Will this be against tos?

My main issue is that I don't know what counts as divisive/controversial. Is HP love craft on that list? Steven universe? Age of Voltron? Furries? It's too vague, When does a reference become too much?

A list of exact franchises would be counterproductive to the moderation [and also just a bad look tbh, not to mention it'd effectively make the mods' job to keep on top of wider controversies which is above their pay grade. also literally no other site does this.] but general criteria for what counts as a 'divisive franchise' are reasonable to establish

i.e. "discussion of franchises whose authors or text perpetuate hateful topics" would probably be enough, since this is a criteria one could easily look up about a given franchise via a quick google search