Safety & Wellness
Our number 1 priority is ALWAYS member safety, comfort, and well-being. All decisions about BLBR, particularly for the server & technology, are first & foremost judged by those parameters. Please do not hesitate to reach out to staff, including the admins, if you have any questions, concerns, or other thoughts.
We value transparency, player autonomy, and proactive protections. In an effort to be as absolutely transparent as possible, we have compiled these policies as a way for you to know exactly what we are doing to make BLBR a safe environment for everyone.
Protections In Place
Server
The server is invite-only, and all invitations are created and sent by Koby. Only admins can create invites.
We do not have any voice channels, and we do not allow any webcam/screen streaming. Voice channels are created on a temporary basis for things such as playing online games together, and they are only created when at least one staff member can moderate at all times. Voice activity is never required for playing games with other server members.
We do not require members to disclose their age, legal name, or location.
All applicants are given a cursory screening via social media to check for any red flags or warning signs of potential risk.
Server members are not able to join the server unless they have an email associated with their account and have been a Discord user for more than 5 minutes.
Important channels designated for distribution of information to members are locked to ensure that their integrity is maintained, so that members can leave these channels unmuted and receive accurate information in a timely manner.
Moderation
Mods only have permissions to manage messages in order to delete any dangerous or inappropriate content that may be sent. These moderation actions are logged in a channel where only admins can access them, in order to prevent mods abusing this privilege.
Mods are able to respond to tickets, except admin-only tickets.
The main duty for mods is to monitor the chat for any inflammatory, triggering, or otherwise unsafe messages.
When addressing users about behavior reported to us, we keep the user who reported it as anonymous as possible in order to prevent any retaliation or hostility. If we believe it may be necessary to reveal the user's identity, we only do so with consent.
Banned Topics
We do not allow ANY NSFW content whatsoever, as well as any "positive" descriptions of crimes or instructions how to commit illegal acts.
We have a blacklist which is enforced as strictly as possible and updated ASAP upon request. Requests are kept COMPLETELY confidential.
Users do not have to justify or explain why they want a topic on the blacklist. You don't even have to tell us if it's a trigger, a squick, etc. We may however ask for clarification in the future (in private) if we are uncertain if something would fall under your blacklisted item or not.
Certain topics that are already of a sensitive nature and are common triggers are by default blacklisted. We do not require members to request these items.
Tickets & Technology
Many actions are logged in the server, including: joining the server, leaving the server, edited messages, deleted messages, nickname changes, role changes. The logs are only accessible by admins, and we never delete them.
We use Discord's automod feature to log and block Insults & Slurs and Sexual Content. Additionally, we added our own list of words that Discord did not catch, and we have a separate flag that flags (but doesn't block) when blacklisted topics are brought up, helping our staff keep an eye on conversations that could potentially get out of hand.
Tickets are private, so only staff can see them.
You can create admin-only tickets, so only the admins will be able to view & respond to your ticket.
All ticket transcripts are exported to a private channel that only admins can access, and information in tickets will never be shared with others unless you explicitly consent.
Members automatically are DMed a copy of the ticket transcript by Spadesbot, so staff cannot edit them.
Bots are thoroughly vetted to ensure that they cannot be used harmfully by forces outside of BLBR. Where possible, their code is reviewed by Kendall.
Bots are configured to allow only the necessary permissions to ensure that members cannot misuse them.
Our BLBR bot, Spadesbot, is hosted securely in a manner that her code cannot be tampered with. Her commands are coded with the perspective that they may be misused and thus as much effort as possible is made to ensure this is not possible, and sensitive/admin-only commands are configured accordingly. All IDs used in her code, such as server, channel, and member IDs, as well as her access token, are encrypted and stored separately from her source code, meaning it cannot be compromised. The accounts associated with her hosting and files are secured with 2-Factor authentication. Her database is hosted separate from her code and is similarly protected.
Copyright Policies
13. You may not promote, distribute, or provide access to content involving the hacking, cracking, or distribution of pirated software or stolen accounts. This includes sharing or selling cheats or hacks that may negatively affect others in multiplayer games.
[...]
17. You may not share content that violates anyone's intellectual property or other rights.
Discord scrapes servers from time to time automatically searching for piracy, because people make huge hub servers of illegal files and link them out to thousands of people. Even if we don't do that, just one link can get BLBR flagged or even removed. This includes TV shows, books, anime, movies, music, software...Anything that can be copyrighted. However, content that is already available to be downloaded legally for free is perfectly fine.
Please note that this rule is not a judgement against any members who may use, own, or interact with pirated materials. We abide by this rule in order to ensure that our collective efforts that have been poured into BLBR will not get wiped by any automatic filters. You are allowed to discuss, without naming software or website names, the act of accessing copyrighted materials, so long as the discussion is not explicitly about piracy. For example, when discussing anime, you can mention you prefer certain websites over Crunchyroll (so long as you don't specify names). When discussing topics such as software, books, etc with others and you have access to those materials, you are allowed to request/offer to discuss these things in DMs. However, this rule does not mean that you can specifically solicit copyrighted materials.
Allowed Example
A: I would love to read <book series>, but I can never find them anywhere.
B: I have copies if you'd like me to DM you!
Not Allowed Examples
A: Does anyone have a download link for <software>?
(or)
B: Can someone DM me help on how to use torrent websites?