The specific reasoning and details regarding this rule change are as follows:
- DNI lists often contain inappropriate content that we do not want to expose our young userbase to, as well as political statements or anti-statements that break our established site rules. We often need to ask users to modify or remove currently posted/linked DNI lists due to these rules.
- In the same vein as our rule to disallow "Sign up if you do not like abuse" clubs in our Clubs and Armies board, we have also found that most DNI lists mention (often specific) criminals, which serves almost no purpose as most people would like to distance themselves or not interact with such individuals.
- For more specific entries, DNI lists endanger users by giving a comprehensive list of all the things that would upset, trigger, or harm that user. Especially with the young user base on CS, not all users may realize the danger of posting such a list. In the same vein, DNI lists may encourage targeting of said vulnerable users, or make bullying or harassment by a bad actor more dangerous. This makes their potential harm much greater than their potential benefit.
- DNI lists are hard to enforce on CS as they generally focus on who is sending the content rather than the actual content being sent. Someone's identity, beliefs, fandoms, interests, or age is not something we can prove or moderate in most cases, as CS rules limit what personal information can be shared. It is also hard to draw a line on what would or would not be allowed on a DNI, and any rule explanation allowing them would fail to cover all potential content.
- In a practical context, a functional, rule-abiding, enforceable DNI list on CS would look like "DNI if your profile has images of spiders on it." However, even this is not very useful because, on a forum-based site like CS where you are scrolling and viewing users' posts and avatars in threads, the most likely way you will encounter triggering content is not through direct interaction, but passive observation. If you find you are often being triggered browsing the forums, we do have settings to disable avatars, signatures, and even images in posts.
- We encourage you to use the block function for any user you do not want to interact with. Users may block other users for any reason, and you are never required to explain or justify why you have blocked someone. Block evasion violates our rules and should be reported.
- Users may still request that they not be sent trades with certain species of pets (such as spiders) in their trade rules, but this is not considered enforceable unless it is clear that a user is violating your boundary intentionally. One spider in a random trade with other pets is likely a mistake. However, targeted harassment with multiple trades of only spiders would be a violation of our current rules.
There will be a two-week grace period following this announcement for users to remove any previously rule-abiding DNI lists from their profiles/links, after which moderators will begin to enforce this rule, at which point you may receive a reminder PM or board warning from a moderator asking for the DNI list to be removed. However, please be mindful that these warnings are intended as informational corrections and are not likely to result in account restrictions or bans unless a pattern/repetition of rulebreaking behavior is observed.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding of this change. Any questions may be asked in this thread!
