At Chicken Smoothie we strive to provide a safe and supportive environment for people of all ages. We are inclusive of all people regardless of gender identity, sexuality, race, religion, nationality, or culture.
When mixing diverse groups of people there are always differences of opinion, and personalities which clash. Occasionally this can lead to arguments, or in the worst cases - bullying and harassment.
We encourage users to report rude or offensive behavior, and to block users that are bothering them. Once we are aware of inappropriate behavior, we can take action.
Off-site Behavior
One issue we have always struggled with is what to do about CS users' behavior on other websites or chatrooms.
Our community has a lot of overlap with other pet websites, and there are several CS-related forums or chatrooms where our users gather. We often receive reports about bullying, harassment, or other rule-breaking activities generated from offsite messaging.
We have very limited powers to control what people are doing on other websites. However, when receiving serious reports about offsite harassment of CS users, it creates a moral dilemma about whether we ought to take action on the involved CS accounts.
From feedback we've received, it seems most CS users would be happy for us to take offsite behavior into consideration, particularly if it will allow us to put an end to vicious bullying or harassment of CS users.
Change to Rules
Going forward, we will take offsite behavior into consideration if we are made aware of CS users breaking our rules or targeting other users for bullying/harassment/scamming or account hijacking.
For example, if you are found to be participating in harassment of a CS user through another communication platform, you may be punished on CS for this behavior. Similarly, we will take action if we find offsite evidence of you using cheats or exploits to gain an unfair advantage on CS or to attack CS user accounts.
Please Be Safe
Bullying is a serious issue, which unfortunately affects most of us at some time in our life. If you or someone you know is being bullied on CS or elsewhere, please tell someone you trust. It is good to involve an adult or someone in charge (e.g. moderators) rather than trying to deal with the issue by yourself.
Please be careful when joining unmoderated communities such as smaller discord chats or forums. Without strictly enforced rules, these may ignore (or outright encourage) harmful messaging and bullying. We encourage CS users to keep their communication within CS so we can keep you safe and allow for easy reporting of problems.
If you are finding that the pressures of life have gotten to be a bit too much, it's time to ask for help. Wherever you are in the world, there are numbers you can call for crisis support if you need it.