Gaming History 101

Greetings and welcome to the Discord rules and acknowledgements for the Gaming History 101 server.  These will outline the behavior expected and the response you can expect to certain situations.  All of these rules are based on the values of the people who created both the Gaming History 101 web site and the subsequent discord server.  You may not agree with these points, but you do have to accept them to be part of our server, and we certainly hope you do.  Below is the goal and structure of the server followed by the rules.  You will need to read these over and then request to be made a member in the Discord by contacting Fred (spydersvenom) via the contact link in the paragraph below.  Include your Discord user name so you can be verified.  This will give you access to the rest of the server and features.

Goal: To create a place for free form discussion of issues predominantly focusing on retro gaming but not limited to it.  As the owner of Gaming History 101, I, Fred Rojas, strongly believes in freedom of speech and one’s rights to say whatever they want in their own forum.  I know that not all countries are afforded these liberties and not all individuals agree with them, but it is how I will run this discord server.  At the same time, we are not a governing body, there is no constitution here, and I’m more interested in chatting about gaming than establishing a government for a simple server.  As such there are parts of freedom of speech that will not be tolerated, as laid out in the rules.  We cannot cannibalize a great group of discussions in the interest of one individual or a group of individuals.  This goes both ways in terms of harassment and reporting.  Moderators are available to assist in disputes, but hopefully it won’t be necessary.  What follows are the rules and the current lineup of channels.  As always to request a new channel or offer feedback, simply click this link or e-mail contact@gaminghistory101.com.

Rules

• No hate speech. This will not be a place of fear, intimidation, or appreciation for each and every person.  If you want a platform to spread chaos on the Internet, you won’t find it here.  Even one infraction of this and you are permanently banned.  I shouldn’t have to say this but “hate speech” includes derogatory, racist, sexist, and basically any other isolating term that is thrown as a form of verbal attack on someone based on an aspect of their individuality.  It won’t be tolerated.  If you aren’t sure, you probably shouldn’t say it.
• While discourses are inevitable, even heating up to arguments, they need to be kept out of the public space.  If you both disagree but keep the conversation civil, then we are good.  If you name call, attack, or otherwise get aggressive with an individual that is unacceptable in the public discord.  Sure, if you want to rumble in consensual, private conversations, feel free to IM each other, but keep it out of the public view so as not to create a sense of tension.
• If you are on the receiving end of these comments, before suggesting an action be taken by mods or against the attacker, justified or not, try simply saying “you’re attacking me, please stop,” or something to that effect.  Sometimes people get caught up in a discussion, something I am guilty of myself, and need to be reminded they are escalating.  One opportunity to back off is welcome.  If a conversation is leading somewhere you don’t want it to go, simply say something like “I wish to stop talking about this,” and then stop talking about it.  This does not mean that others cannot (or will not) continue to engage in the conversation, it merely means you are removing yourself from it.  Anyone who has requested to be removed from a conversation or asks you to discontinue aggressive talk should not be “@” after that point save if you wish to affirm that their comments were heard and will be respected.
• Controversial opinions can and will exist on this server.  People come from different walks of life, religions, beliefs, backgrounds, countries, etc.  You may not agree with what someone says, but they should feel free to express it.  This means that religion, sexuality, violence, and possibly politics are possible topics.  On the other hand, remember that this is a retro video game discussion thread and not a place for off-topic controversy, so relevance will be key in determining a topic’s validity.   For example: Satanic or Nazi propaganda in the Wolfenstein franchise, it’s use cases, and various topics in relation to the game franchise Wolfenstein should all be fine.  Starting to discuss the internal values and beliefs of the Nazi party or Satanic behavior as the result of mentioning the Wolfenstein franchise, is not.  Focus on the games, it’s why we’re here.  There is a non-gaming channel, which is pretty fair game, but think before you dig deep into a topic.  We’re not here for controversy, we’re here to share ideas.
• Keep conversations relevant.  If you realize you’re discussing more modern games in the retro channel, please move the discussion there and let everyone know.  Channels cease to have value if they are cluttered by discussions that are irrelevant.  All discord servers have this problem, but I hope to do our best at keeping things organized here.
• There is no 3 Strike Policy since there’s little reason to be concerned with or lay out strong guidelines for bad behavior.  It may shock everyone, but I expect mostly happy and civil conversations.

Channels – Submit a request for new channels either via the contact link, email, Discord message to Fred (spydersvenom), or simply @spydersvenom in the shoutbox with the request.

• #welcome – This is a basic page for all new visitors.  It takes you to these rules and allows you to apply for membership.  It is locked from posting anything by anyone so that the welcome message does not get lost.  I tried the pin mechanic and no one used it.
• #shoutbox – Talk about whatever.  Your day, your thoughts, your feelings, whatever.  It’s the shoutbox, it’s a free running chat.
• #share-video-game-music – Most retro gamers, and especially the GH101 community, love game music.  Feel free to share links to the songs (mostly people use YouTube) that you think are cool.  We ask that you limit the posts to 3 per day and at least an hour between posts to prevent one person from flooding it.  These are loosely enforced by Discord’s automated process but we ask that you try to limit yourself on your own.  Songs posted here may be put in compilations for the community or in episodes as clips.
• #show-questions-and-topics – We run two main shows here: Gaming History 101 (GH101) and Gaming History X (GHX).  Gaming History 101 is co-hosted by Fred and Jam, which focuses on retro topics and research.  GHX is co-hosted by Fred and Trees with a focus on chatting about life with the entire timeline of gaming in mind.  If a question is show/host specific, say so.  If offering a topic, please keep it retro-focused (we are very loose with what that means) and know it’s only considered for GH101.
• #retro-games – Chats about retro games.  Retro is defined by this community as anything before the current generation.  At this time this means anything before 2013 other than the platforms Playstation 4, Xbox One, Switch, 3DS, and Vita.  Yes, despite being retired, the Vita had strong PS4 integration and thus is considered a modern platform.
• #retro-hardware – Systems, controllers, accessories, flash carts, and just about anything else involving a retro console.  New modern hardware for retro platforms, think the Analogue Super NT, will go here as well given that it’s re-creating a SNES.  Atari’s new Android-based console goes in the modern category because it’s a new modern system.  See above for retro definition.
• #modern-games – Discussion of any game on the current generation – PC games from 2013 or later, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, 3DS, and Vita.
• #modern-hardware – Systems, controllers, acecssories, etc. on modern platforms (see above).  We can also discuss upcoming hardware as new developments are always on the way.
• #tech101 – Discussion of tech.  This is a bit more in depth and discusses concepts like resolution, framerate, input lag, upscaling, rendering images, etc.  This was always bunched with hardware, like a new controller of the N64, and should no longer be the case.  This is more software and tech based rather than hardware.
• #retro-news – News based on retro items.  You can simply post links and/or start a discussion.
• #modern-news – News based on modern items.  You can simply post links and/or start a discussion.
• #deals – Sales on games, freebies, anything that tempts you to spend money.
• #Podcast – This is for shows to be livestreamed.  You can listen, you can’t speak.  Guests will be granted temporary access to speak.
• #General Game Chat – This is a chat channel for all.  Mostly it’s for people who want to game up and co-op.  It’s rarely used, although some of us have teamed up for it.  Maybe someday it will be ideal for live stream gaming interactions.

Alright, with all that out of the way, welcome to Gaming History 101’s Discord!