NZLARPS is experiencing dynamic growth, certainly in the Auckland Region. The Auckland Regional Committee as discussed the need to develop a code of conduct to ensure that everyone is aware of the community’s expectations around appropriate conduct.
I would suggest that there could be 3 initial sections:
So, what does the community think should be in a Code of Conduct ?
I think it’s a good idea. It can be a bit time consuming for people to pick up the group vibe by osmosis, and sometimes some hurt feelings along the way. Although I think it shouldn’t just be things like “Don’t do X” but also advice on how to deal with any issues and that it’s OK to speak up if there’s a problem. And something about giving people the benefit of the doubt?
I’m all for the currently-unspoken social contract of the community to be put into a more formal rendition. I think it’ll help immensely if we can point new people at a document on how to behave at LARP and thus what to expect from other people there.
If the Code of Conduct can capture the general expectations of behavior for LARPers in both theatreform and campaign (because there seem to be some differences), then I think it would be really helpful. If it’s focused more on what you should or can do, rather than what you shouldn’t do, it’ll be even more beneficial.
I’m dubious. I would certainly expect a code of conduct for say, Diatribe, because the internet is a funny place full of miscommunication, and having some sort of guide as to what’s acceptable in this online, text only format could be genuinely useful.
I’m not sure we necessarily need one for deailing with each other IRL. We’re all decent human beings, aren’t we? It’s like any social circle, those who act out, get left out.
Conduct at games… is a tricky one, and given the variety of games on offer and the variations of what’s acceptable at each might make it too cumbersome a beast to be pragmatic. Are there issues occuring at games that need to be addressed?
Of course, all of this could be encapsulated in a COC with a single line;
“Don’t be an asshat”
[quote=“TequilaDave”]Of course, all of this could be encapsulated in a COC with a single line;
“Don’t be an asshat”[/quote]
I think that’s the kind of code that sounds nice in theory, but doesn’t necessarily work too well in practice. People’s definition of what constitutes ‘being an asshat’ will vary wildly, and there’s a number of things which some players may be totally fine with, but which would put myself (and likely several others) right off.
Perhaps it’s optimistic of me then, I would like to think we’re all capable of deciding what to get involved with for ourselves (on the grounds of what we each may or may not like and/or be comfortable with), and respectful enough of each other to either not push a person’s buttons or barriers without consideration, and back down if they tell you to.
This is a hobby. A fun get-together of adventures and make-believe. I think it’s fair to say that sometimes it’s precisely about flouting the rules, the norm, and our comfort zones. I think for most - if not all - of us, we are more than aware of what is and isn’t socially acceptable behaviour, and if there are people in the community who don’t or have caused incident, the rest of us are generally congenial enough to make them aware of it in a positive way.
I’m doubtful as to why we think we’re a community that needs this kind of moderating 
Dave, you are being over-optimistic. The bigger community gets the more is variety of people’s opinions, that’s one reason to make such code.
The other is there are lots of young people joining in who may not have yet picked up the important rules about living amongst humans, we can help them socialise better (I am not giving any examples, but some stuff the youngsters do horrifies me, and want to think they are not being asshats, they just didn’t learn yet).
The third reason is that we come from different cultures, and it’s sometimes hard to understand why people from other culture disapprove your actions that your own culture may think are fine, so having a clear “this is how we do it HERE” rule would make it easier to explain (not to understand, but let’s save at least the nerves of people who have to solve such issues).
I have a few ideas to offer, on specific things:
After one-off larp it’s fine to discuss all character secrets between the people involved. If the larp is planned for more than one run - don’t give out the details to people who didn’t play, or you’ll spoil it for them. In campaigns discussing of people’s secrets that you found out should not happen as it ruins their plot, and we know this is a real issue sometimes, people start enthusiastically talk of this as they just don’t think this may be important to keep secret. By the way, Dave, this is a fourth point for you - people often wouldn’t just THINK something may be bad, or something is important to be done (it was mentioned before that in the past people often didn’t stay for clean up after larps because they didn’t think of this needed to be done).
The other idea, and it’s not mine but something that was discussed already, is no showing to games without prior arrangement for skipping. May I also mention it’s important to tell not just GMs but also people who are connected to your character or organising something for you regarding it (sorry, had my own hurting experience with this 
so I thought I’d mention).
More of many-times-mentioned ideas are: shower in campaigns, make people aware of your allergies (not necessarily campaigns only, if it’s a day game in the park and you suddenly fall down suffocating, we’d rather know beforehand that you are allergic to some plants and where in your pockets you have your spray), speak clearly when you feel uncomfortable with something (because we are not telepaths here), pay for your games on time (Jade Empire cancellation made me cry 
).
I’ll second what Aiwe said, and point out that large sections of the geek community in general aren’t anywhere near as open-minded or supportive of marginalised groups as they should be.
We need a CoC - especially relating to the correct procedure for underage attendies of events.
WARNING - ‘Triggerwords’ in article.
abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?secti … id=5281724
Essentially a society in the US had to settle for $1.3 million USD because they did not have the money to fight the legal battle. They had no COC to deal with the situation and so the Committie was deemd liable for damages by the courts.
Yes we can be sue’d - we are a society - not an individual.
We need to protect ourselves and our comittie members.
[quote]The plaintiffs contend that the society failed to require background checks of adults who took part in children’s activities, and didn’t uniformly follow protocols widely used by scouting groups and other children’s organizations that require two adults present at all activities. [/quote]Is it being suggested we should perform background checks?
Thats not nessacary - simple things like keeping 2 adults with children is enough - however we do not have any CoC regarding this AT ALL. Leaving us very very exposed.
Just curious, Adam - do the large games in the UK have a CoC?
Probably - I tend not to look. For example I have attended battle cry for the last 4 years - this year is the first time I have actually read their CoC.
I do know that the Auckland Airsoft Association (or whatever its called) has one.
Also - we currently do not even have somthing simple like:
Important notice relating to the nature of the hobby
Whilst Curious Pastimes Ltd. takes all due steps to minimise the risk to customers, the nature of the game is such that customers are likely to be involved in fights involving LRP weapons and this carries with it a risk of injury due to bad luck or misuse of the equipment. Similarly these events often take place on uneven surfaces and areas with trees and undergrowth, and certain activities also happen where lighting is less than ideal.
By booking to attend an event a customer acknowledges that these risks are an inherent part of the activity and also acknowledges that the primary responsibility for their safety in these circumstances rests with themselves.
I don’t know if CP has a more advanced CoC somwhere - what I do know is that this simple statement protects them from being sued if somone hurts themselves at an event.
I think that Adam’s got a good point about children attending. I think that so far it’s generally been kids attending overnight games who are supervised by their parents, but there’s no particular reason why it will stay that way. And checking how the Scouts handle that kind of thing seems reasonable.
I think it’s important that we have policies in place that attempt to prevent abuse of power, especially of the kind that Adam’s article described, and also to help prevent dangerous situations arising. It’s important that we do this for its own sake, regardless of the possibility of being sued. The idea of organising a game where something like that happened is horrifying. As a GM who has had under-16s wanting to play at an overnight game, I would have appreciated some guidance from such a policy.
However, I would suggest keeping such health & safety policies separate from any “good manners” policies (if it’s decided we need the latter). There’s a world of difference between policies to prevent abuse, or to prevent burning down venues while people are sleeping in them, compared with far less critical concerns such as cultural misunderstandings.
[quote=“Xcerus”]
Also - we currently do not even have somthing simple like:
Important notice relating to the nature of the hobby
Whilst Curious Pastimes Ltd. takes all due steps to minimise the risk to customers, the nature of the game is such that customers are likely to be involved in fights involving LRP weapons and this carries with it a risk of injury due to bad luck or misuse of the equipment. Similarly these events often take place on uneven surfaces and areas with trees and undergrowth, and certain activities also happen where lighting is less than ideal.
By booking to attend an event a customer acknowledges that these risks are an inherent part of the activity and also acknowledges that the primary responsibility for their safety in these circumstances rests with themselves.
I don’t know if CP has a more advanced CoC somwhere - what I do know is that this simple statement protects them from being sued if somone hurts themselves at an event.[/quote]
No, that’s about the extent of it, and for some reason I thought most NZ combat LARPs had something similar in their rulesets. Knightshade certainly does.
What you’ve provided from CP appears to be a legal disclaimer, rather than a CoC.
I think we’ve assumed any injuries at games would be covered by ACC. Certainly I’ve had a broken nose at a larp (long ago with weapons we wouldn’t consider safe now) and it did fall under ACC.
We may need to have another look at this in light of the game runner being an incorporated society, but it’s worth bearing in mind that NZ isn’t the US or the UK, those are much more litigious countries with different laws.
I never said it was a CoC - i said it was all I could find - thats from my rulebook - which I still have a copy of - it also may not be uptodate anymore.
There are places where things can be looked up - I did answer your question tbh.
I just had a look at Scouting NZ’s CoC for adults, and the main points about the duty of care to youth seem to be:
[ul][li]respect everyone’s right to personal privacy at all times. They take special care where sleeping, changing of clothing, bathing and ablutions is associated with any Scouting activity.[/li]
[li]avoid unaccompanied and unobserved activities with youth members wherever possible. Remember, “in sight - out of hearing”.[/li]
[li]for their own protection, should avoid potentially compromising situations by ensuring, where reasonably possible, that at least two adults are in attendance whilst supervising and/or accompanying Youth Members. It is recognised that, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary for a Leader or Adult, whilst acting responsibly and exercising their “duty of care”, to be alone with a youth Member.[/li]
[li]realise that bullying, physical, verbal or cultural abuse, sexual harassment, neglect or any other type of abuse, is unacceptable conduct by any member of the Movement. [/li][/ul]
There are some other more general points around respect and not trying to push religion on the kids, but the above are the safety items.
The main upshot is “keep kids in sight of two adults”. This may prove difficult to be consistent about in a larp, because they are so improvised in nature. But making an effort in that direction seems sensible.