siskataya
Hello everyone,
We here in the office love a good joke as much as anyone – and sometimes even more. And we pride ourselves on providing an open environment where you guys and gals can talk about almost anything. But lately we’ve seen a few too many Gaians posting comments or "jokes" which cross the line from humorous into subjects that pose safety issues for the Gaia community. When this line is crossed, you need to know that we are legally obligated to consider the joke as a serious statement of fact, and usually have to ban the account that made the joke. In fact, in certain cases, we have to forward the content to the authorities.
To be perfectly honest, I have to tell you that when this happens, it’s a really frustrating situation for us. We HATE having to ban accounts for making these jokes or comments, especially since we are almost certain that most of these statements are not meant seriously. We're also sure this is aggravating for the account owners as well - nobody wants to be banned! It's just a lose-lose situation all around.
So, to help you all steer clear of possibly losing your account (or even having to be sent to the authorities) for making an inappropriate comment, here are some of the subjects you should avoid joking about on Gaia:
a) Anything that indicates you have killed, maimed or raped another person, or plan to do so.
b) Saying you are under 13 years old.
c) Soliciting or offering sexually explicit content.
d) Anything that indicates you own, make or distribute child pornography or that you’re a ***** and/or child molester.
e) Making threats against government officials.
Everyone of course is expected to comply with the Terms of Service and our Rules & Guidelines, but these topics above are particularly sensitive. It’s not an exhaustive list, but are amongst the most common topics that result in an immediate ban and the inevitable “But I was joking!” email afterwards. Remember that we (and your fellow users) have no real idea whether you’re serious when you post about these, so we’re forced to assume you are.
Thanks for listening - it is my sincere hope that this PSA will help some of you identify topics to avoid joking about so you don't have to have your account banned for safety reasons.
Be well,
Sisky
Gaia Online Safety Lead
We here in the office love a good joke as much as anyone – and sometimes even more. And we pride ourselves on providing an open environment where you guys and gals can talk about almost anything. But lately we’ve seen a few too many Gaians posting comments or "jokes" which cross the line from humorous into subjects that pose safety issues for the Gaia community. When this line is crossed, you need to know that we are legally obligated to consider the joke as a serious statement of fact, and usually have to ban the account that made the joke. In fact, in certain cases, we have to forward the content to the authorities.
To be perfectly honest, I have to tell you that when this happens, it’s a really frustrating situation for us. We HATE having to ban accounts for making these jokes or comments, especially since we are almost certain that most of these statements are not meant seriously. We're also sure this is aggravating for the account owners as well - nobody wants to be banned! It's just a lose-lose situation all around.
So, to help you all steer clear of possibly losing your account (or even having to be sent to the authorities) for making an inappropriate comment, here are some of the subjects you should avoid joking about on Gaia:
a) Anything that indicates you have killed, maimed or raped another person, or plan to do so.
b) Saying you are under 13 years old.
c) Soliciting or offering sexually explicit content.
d) Anything that indicates you own, make or distribute child pornography or that you’re a ***** and/or child molester.
e) Making threats against government officials.
Everyone of course is expected to comply with the Terms of Service and our Rules & Guidelines, but these topics above are particularly sensitive. It’s not an exhaustive list, but are amongst the most common topics that result in an immediate ban and the inevitable “But I was joking!” email afterwards. Remember that we (and your fellow users) have no real idea whether you’re serious when you post about these, so we’re forced to assume you are.
Thanks for listening - it is my sincere hope that this PSA will help some of you identify topics to avoid joking about so you don't have to have your account banned for safety reasons.
Be well,
Sisky
Gaia Online Safety Lead
