Notes

0. This is just a sports chat.

We're here to talk sports and follow the rules. Not solve the world's problems. The rules are simple but complete, and they don't need to be changed.

1. Rule 1: No hate speech (sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc.).

People who talk about someone in a positive, negative, or neutral light are not automatically racist, sexist, etc. We talk negatively about male sports commentators all the time: Chris Collinsworth, Joe Buck, Tony Romo, etc. It would be sexist if we ban people just for saying, "I don't like Maria Taylor." or "I think Doris Burke is a bad commentator." Folks who don't care about certain sports aren't breaking this rule. If they say, "I don't like the NBA." or "I don't like the WNBA.", that's not breaking this rule. If they say things like "Doris Burke shuold get back in the kitchen." or "Dana shouldn't allow women to fight.", obviously, those are violations of this rule.

Someone who says "I don't like the NBA." may dislike the NBA for legitimate reasons or for racist reasons. Someone who says "I don't like the WNBA." may dislike the WNBA for legitimate reasons or for sexist reasons. Twitch mods can't read minds. I think we should enforce the rules on what people actually say in chat, not trying to decipher some hidden meaning in what they say. I don't think statements like "I don't like the NBA." and "I don't like the WNBA." are not against the rules, even though an unreasonable mod might try to find some hidden meaning in these statements.

2. Rule 2: No harassing, stalking, or threatening of individuals.

We don't need a new rule against harassing, stalking, or threatening individuals. We already have that rule here. Talking about celebrities, athletes, commentators, etc. in chat is not automatically harassment or stalking. It can become that, but it isn't by default. If Person A says something in chat that makes Person B in chat uncomfortable, but which doesn't break the rules, the fact that Person B is offended doesn't mean Person A broke a rule, in my opinion.

People may be offended by...
...expletives
...trolling or bad manners
...being disagreed with about non-political topics, like sports, movies, music, etc.
...eating meat
...approximately 175 emotes by my count, which for various reasons might unjustifiably cause offense even if a rule isn't being broken ("Pepe the frog is a hate symbol", "3Head makes fun of British people", "AlienPls makes fun of immigrants", etc.)

We can't sanitize chat for everyone. Some people will get offended by anything and everything. No matter what the rules are, someone will always be offended. The rules cover the things they need to cover. I don't think we need to change the rules.

3. Rule 7: No references to political or world events.

Discussing politics in chat is against the rules. In my opinion, discussions about whether something is sexist or racist are political discussions. In my opinion, trying to convince people that someone is being sexist or racist when they aren't breaking any rules counts as political conversation. If someone has a disagreement with someone in chat that counts as a political topic/controversy, I think they should be allowed to DM the person they disagree with. But being in Streameast Chat isn't signing up for debate club. People are allowed to refuse to DM with other users about political topics.

If someone has a disagreement with someone on a political topic, they should avoid discussing that topic in chat. They should DM the person about the disagreement. If the other person doesn't want to talk about the topic, it would be a violation of Rule 2 to continue to badger that person in DMs, and it would be a violation of Rules 2 and 7 to continue to badger the person about that topic in public chat, in my opinion.