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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6890254" data-attributes="member: 22779">I'd argue that the conflation has been largely one sided - we should investigate every complaint and determine to criminal law levels whether or not it should be acted upon.&nbsp; I've repeatedly tried to argue that the majority of harassment cases aren't criminal.&nbsp; Even the ones in the original blog post have several that would never be considered criminal acts.&nbsp; So, when people talk about harassment policies being weaponized to silence people, the presumption is that most complaints will result in severe penalties.&nbsp; Thing is, most won't.&nbsp; The overwhelming majority of cases will be handled quietly and with a minimum of fuss.Heck, even the guy whispering inappropriate things in the ear of a cosplayer would never involve criminal charges.&nbsp; There's just no way it realistically could.&nbsp; However, the basic presumption should be that when the woman makes that complaint, it will be acted upon.&nbsp; And another basic presumption should be that any behaviour like this, in our hobby, in public, would be publicly and quickly dealt with by the people around.&nbsp; That by remaining silent, by not wanting to get involved, by assuming it's someone else's problem, we are all contributing to the problem.So, in the end, what do we do, as a community, to deal with it?&nbsp; Well, part of it has to be education.&nbsp; That's a given.&nbsp; Harassment, like bullying, has to be talked about.&nbsp; Threads like this are a very good thing.&nbsp; Raise awareness.&nbsp; Make people realize that their actions do, actually, hurt others and hurt the hobby.&nbsp; Hey, I'm all about the well phrased dick joke.&nbsp; Our last D&amp;D session invented the term &quot;gargloryhole&quot;, so it's not like I'm saying that the humour can't circle the potty.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />&nbsp; But, OTOH, I'm playing in an online game, over Skype with everyone on headphones.&nbsp; The only people we could offend are each other.&nbsp; Making those same jokes in an FLGS or a Con is not a good idea.&nbsp; And people need to learn that it isn't a good idea.The guy who body shamed gamers with that photo spread got banned for 18 months.&nbsp; And, really, good.&nbsp; That's precisely the reaction that should happen.&nbsp; Sure, I thought it was kinda funny too, but, really, no, it isn't.&nbsp; And, the fact that people complained and this guy got banned raises awareness.&nbsp; The next time I see someone posting those kinds of pictures, I'm a whole lot less likely to laugh about it.&nbsp; Because, really, it's not funny.&nbsp; It's harassment pure and simple.&nbsp; And instead of laughing about it, the reaction should be one of condemnation.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 6890254, member: 22779"] I'd argue that the conflation has been largely one sided - we should investigate every complaint and determine to criminal law levels whether or not it should be acted upon. I've repeatedly tried to argue that the majority of harassment cases aren't criminal. Even the ones in the original blog post have several that would never be considered criminal acts. So, when people talk about harassment policies being weaponized to silence people, the presumption is that most complaints will result in severe penalties. Thing is, most won't. The overwhelming majority of cases will be handled quietly and with a minimum of fuss. Heck, even the guy whispering inappropriate things in the ear of a cosplayer would never involve criminal charges. There's just no way it realistically could. However, the basic presumption should be that when the woman makes that complaint, it will be acted upon. And another basic presumption should be that any behaviour like this, in our hobby, in public, would be publicly and quickly dealt with by the people around. That by remaining silent, by not wanting to get involved, by assuming it's someone else's problem, we are all contributing to the problem. So, in the end, what do we do, as a community, to deal with it? Well, part of it has to be education. That's a given. Harassment, like bullying, has to be talked about. Threads like this are a very good thing. Raise awareness. Make people realize that their actions do, actually, hurt others and hurt the hobby. Hey, I'm all about the well phrased dick joke. Our last D&D session invented the term "gargloryhole", so it's not like I'm saying that the humour can't circle the potty. :D But, OTOH, I'm playing in an online game, over Skype with everyone on headphones. The only people we could offend are each other. Making those same jokes in an FLGS or a Con is not a good idea. And people need to learn that it isn't a good idea. The guy who body shamed gamers with that photo spread got banned for 18 months. And, really, good. That's precisely the reaction that should happen. Sure, I thought it was kinda funny too, but, really, no, it isn't. And, the fact that people complained and this guy got banned raises awareness. The next time I see someone posting those kinds of pictures, I'm a whole lot less likely to laugh about it. Because, really, it's not funny. It's harassment pure and simple. And instead of laughing about it, the reaction should be one of condemnation. [/QUOTE]

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