JDRGaming servers

Note: the following content is based on a brilliant post on rpg.net published not long after Trump’s election in 2016. I hereby credit the authors of that post for both the inspiration of this post and much of its wording. Thank you.

New rule: Do not post, act, speak, or otherwise communicate in support of Musk, Trump or their administration. Doing so on the JDRGaming web site, in JDRGaming Discord, in JDRGaming Gametracker server chat, in chat on any JDRGaming game server, or in the form of player names, will result in an immediate and permanent ban and possible network blocking.

This policy announcement is the result of careful consideration. The decision is final. It will not be the subject of further debate. I have considered the possible downsides and ultimately decided I have to stay true to my values. I will not pretend that evil isn’t evil, or that it becomes a legitimate difference of political opinion if you put a suit and tie on it.

I am banning support of Donald Trump and his administration on JDRGaming sites, servers, and services. This is because his public comments, policies, and the makeup of his administration are so wholly incompatible with my values that formal political neutrality is not tenable.

We can be welcoming to (for example) persons of every ethnicity who want to talk about games, or we can allow support for open white supremacy. Not both.

Support for elected hate groups is not welcome here. We can’t save the world, but we can protect and care for the small patch that is JDRGaming.

You might object to this new policy. You might be thinking along these lines: “The problem I find with a lot of people who call themselves ‘progressives’ online is that they seem to think the only strategy worth doing is to ‘ostracise people whose values are antithetical to their own’ rather than discuss it with them or accept that some people just have different viewpoints. Sure, in some cases there’s not much hope for changing anyone’s minds, but to default at ‘ostracise, humiliate, shun and berate’ is not a good approach IMO.”

To which my response is: “No. You know what? Fuck that noise. Ethnic cleansing is not a ‘different viewpoint.’ Racism is not a ‘different viewpoint.’ White nationalism is not a ‘different viewpoint.’ Dogwhistling that attacks against your political enemies will continue if the media doesn’t stop saying things you don’t like is not a ‘different viewpoint.’ Putting children in cages is not a ‘different viewpoint.’ A nazi salute is not a legitimate political expression. Misogyny is not a viewpoint, it’s hatred. All bigotry is irrational and evil.

This is not an argument over tax rates or the proper role of government in education. This is an argument about who will be allowed to exist in America and beyond. If you don’t like it, get the fuck off JDRGaming. And don’t come back until you learn the meanings of words like compassion, empathy, fairness, and equality.

Policy Outline

(In effect starting February 14, 2025; not retroactive.)

JDRGaming sites, servers, and related services remain no-fly zones for political and religious discussion, with one exception: the #general channel on JDRGaming Discord.

1. We are banning expressions of support for the administration of President Trump. You can still post on JDRGaming sites and services even if you do in fact support the administration — you just can’t bring your evil here.
2. Zero tolerance for anything supporting or defending Trump, Musk, nazis, fascism, white supremacy, or any other form of bigotry.
3. The penalty for ignoring this policy will depend on several factors, but may include loss of admin status, game server bans, deletion of user accounts, IP address blocking, or subnet/CIDR/provider blocking. We will not report your statements or actions to your Internet provider or to your employer unless the offense is particularly egregious.
4. We are not explicitly endorsing or banning any American political party.
5. We are not banning conservative politics, or anything on the spectrum of reasonable political viewpoints. We assert that fascism, hate groups and intolerance are categorically different from other types of political positions, and that confusing the two legitimizes bigotry and hatred.
6. We are not going to have a purge; we will not be banning people for past actions and speech. Although if your player name is ‘MAGA’, ‘President Donald Trump’, ‘Commander Trump’, or ‘Kyle is still KING!!!’, this might be a good time to change it.
7. We will not permit witch-hunts, progressive loyalty-testing, or attempting to bait another into admitting support for Trump or Musk in order to get them banned. I recently did this myself in JDRGaming Discord, with unfortunate results. Lesson learned.
8. It is not open season on conservatives, and revenge fantasies against Trump and Trump supporters are still against the rules.