Discord community guideline update

march-2024-discord-community-guidelines.diff

--- old_tos.txt	2024-03-26 21:29:16
+++ new_tos.txt	2024-03-26 21:27:16
@@ -1,66 +1,92 @@
-Effective:  March 27, 2023
-Last Updated:  February 24, 2023
+Effective: April 15, 2024
+Last Updated: March 15, 2024
 ‍
 
-We created Discord to be a platform that brings people together over shared experiences and gives everyone a place to belong. Our Community Guidelines ensure everyone can express themselves and find community, but not at the expense of anyone else.
+We created Discord to be the best place to talk, hang out, and have fun with friends online. Our Community Guidelines ensure everyone can express themselves and find community — but not at the expense of anyone else.
 
-These guidelines explain what isn’t allowed on Discord. Everyone on Discord must follow these rules, and they apply to all parts of our platform, including your content, behaviors, servers, and apps. To learn more about the requirements for developing a bot or other app, please refer to our Discord Developer Terms of Service and our Discord Developer Policy.
+These Guidelines explain what isn’t allowed on Discord. Everyone on Discord must follow these rules, and they apply to all parts of our platform, including your content, behaviors, servers, and Apps. To learn more about the requirements for developing a bot or other App, please refer to our Discord Developer Terms of Service and our Discord Developer Policy.
 
-If you plan to monetize your content, be aware that we have additional rules that are outlined in our Discord Server Subscription Policy and Monetization Terms.
+If you plan to monetize your content, please review the additional rules outlined in our Monetization Policy and Monetization Terms.
 
-Our Trust & Safety team reviews reports by users, moderators, or trusted reporters. When someone violates these guidelines, we may take a number of enforcement steps against them, including issuing warnings, removing content, suspending or removing the accounts and/or servers responsible, and potentially reporting them to law enforcement. We may consider relevant off-platform behavior when assessing for violations of specific Community Guidelines.
+Our Trust & Safety team reviews reports by users, moderators, trusted third-party partners, or where required by law. When we reactively or proactively discover a violation of these Guidelines, we may take a number of enforcement steps against them, including issuing warnings, removing content, suspending or removing the violative accounts and/or servers, and potentially reporting them to law enforcement. We may consider relevant off-platform behavior when making assessments for violations of specific Community Guidelines.
 
-If you come across a user, message, or server that appears to break these guidelines, please report it to us.
+If you come across an account, server, or content that appears to break these Guidelines, please report it to us.
+‍
 
-
 Respect Each Other
-Do not promote, coordinate, or engage in harassment. Discord is a platform where everyone can find a place to belong, and harassment prevents users from building healthy communities. We do not allow harassing behavior such as sustained bullying, ban or block evasion, doxxing, or coordinating server joins for the purposes of harassing server members (such as server raiding). 
+1. Do not promote, coordinate, or engage in harassment. We do not allow any type of harassing behavior, including sustained bullying, sexual harassment, ban or block evasion, or coordinating server joins for the purpose of harassing server members (“server raiding”). (See our Bullying, Harassment, and Threats Policy Explainer for more.)
 
-We also do not allow the coordination, participation, or encouragement of sexual harassment, such as sending unsolicited sexually suggestive content, unwanted sexualization, or attacks on sexual activity.
-Do not use hate speech or engage in other hateful conduct. This includes the use of hate symbols and claims that deny the history of mass human atrocities. 
+2. Do not threaten to harm another individual or group of people. This includes direct, indirect, and suggestive threats. (See our Bullying, Harassment, and Threats Policy Explainer for more.)
 
-We consider hate speech to be any form of expression that either attacks other people or promotes hatred or violence against them based on their protected characteristics.
+3. Do not share or threaten to share the personally identifiable information (PII) of an individual without consent. This includes providing services that facilitate doxxing, such as buying or selling doxxes or compiling doxxes for others. (See our Doxxing Policy Explainer for more.)
 
-We consider the following to be protected characteristics: age; caste; color; disability; ethnicity; family responsibilities; gender; gender identity; housing status; national origin; race; refugee or immigration status; religious affiliation; serious illness; sex; sexual orientation; socioeconomic class and status; source of income; status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking; and weight and size.
-Do not threaten to harm another individual or group of people. This includes direct, indirect, and suggestive threats.
-Do not organize, promote, or support violent extremism. This also includes glorifying violent events or the perpetrators of violent acts, as well as promoting conspiracy theories that could encourage or incite violence against others.
-Do not solicit, share, or make attempts to distribute content that depicts, promotes, or attempts to normalize child sexual abuse. Also, do not post content that in any way sexualizes children. This includes real as well as manipulated media, animation (such as lolicon), and any type of digital creation.
+4. Do not use hate speech or engage in other hateful conduct. This includes the use of hate symbols, imagery, and claims that deny the history of mass human atrocities. 
 
-We report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and grooming to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
-If you are under the age of 18, do not engage in sexual conduct or any conduct that puts your online or physical safety at risk. This includes consensual sexual interactions between teens, as well as any encouragement or coordination of potentially risky behaviors, such as vigilantism.
-We want teens to be able to express themselves freely on Discord as much as possible, but given the risks associated with online dating, we will remove spaces that encourage or facilitate dating between teens.
-Do not solicit sexual content from or engage in any sexual conduct ("grooming") with anyone under the age of 18. We report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and grooming to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
-Do not make sexually explicit content available to anyone under the age of 18. You must be age 18 or older to participate in adult content on Discord. 
-You must apply an age-restricted label to any channels that contain sexually explicit content or any other content shared solely for the purposes of sexual gratification.
+We consider hate speech to be any form of expression that either attacks other people or promotes hatred or violence against them based on their protected characteristics. (See our Hateful Conduct Policy Explainer for more.)
 
-Do not post sexually explicit content in user avatars, custom statuses or bios, server banners, server icons, invite splashes, emoji, stickers, or any other space that cannot be age-restricted.
-Do not share sexually explicit or sexually suggestive content of other people without the subject’s knowledge and consent, otherwise known as “revenge porn.” This includes the non-consensual distribution of intimate media that was created either with or without an individual’s consent.
-Do not share content that glorifies, promotes, or normalizes suicide or other acts of physical self-harm. This includes content that encourages others to cut, burn, or starve themselves, as well as content that normalizes eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Self-harm acts or threats used as a form of emotional manipulation or coercion are also prohibited.
-Do not share real media depicting gore, excessive violence, or animal harm, especially with the intention to harass or shock others.
-Do not share content that violates anyone's intellectual property or other rights. This includes sharing or selling game cheats or hacks. For more information, please view Discord’s Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy.
+5. Do not organize, promote, or support violent extremism. This also includes coordinating violent acts; glorifying or promoting violence or the perpetrators of violent acts; and promoting conspiracy theories that could encourage or incite violence against others. (See our Violent Extremism and Violence and Graphic Content Policy Explainers for more.)
 
-Be Honest
-Do not share false or misleading information (otherwise known as misinformation). Content that is false, misleading, and can lead to significant risk of physical or societal harm may not be shared on Discord. We may remove content if we reasonably believe its spread could result in damage to physical infrastructure, injury of others, obstruction of participation in civic processes, or the endangerment of public health.
-Do not misrepresent your identity on Discord in a deceptive or harmful way. This includes creating fake profiles and attempts to impersonate an individual, group, or organization.
-Do not engage in activities that could damage or compromise the security of an account, network, or system. This includes using deceptive techniques to trick others into revealing sensitive information (phishing), using malicious software (malware), and flooding a target with traffic in order to make a resource unavailable (denial-of-service attacks).
-Do not use or attempt to use Discord to promote, coordinate, or execute financial scams. A financial scam is any intentionally deceptive act taken with the intent to receive an illegal, unethical, or otherwise dishonest gain.
+6. Do not solicit, share, or make any attempt to distribute content that depicts, promotes, or attempts to normalize child sexual abuse. Also, do not post content or engage in conduct that in any way sexualizes children. This includes real as well as manipulated media, animation (such as lolicon), and any type of digital creation (note that this includes AI-generated media).
 
-This includes but is not limited to: Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, advance-fee fraud, market manipulation (including “pump-and-dump” schemes), and romance and employment scams.
-Do not engage in activities that fraudulently generate a profit at the expense of others. This includes facilitating, providing instructions for, and participating in fraud. We do not allow coordinated efforts to defraud businesses, price gouging, forgery, money laundering, or tools that facilitate illegal behavior.
+We report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and grooming to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which may subsequently work with local law enforcement. (See our Teen and Child Safety Policy Explainer for more.)
 
+7. If you are under the age of 18, do not engage in sexual conduct or any conduct that puts your online or physical safety at risk. This includes consensual sexual interactions between teens, as well as any encouragement or coordination of potentially risky behaviors, such as vigilantism. 
+
+We want teens to be able to express themselves freely on Discord as much as possible, but given the risks associated with online dating, we will remove spaces that encourage or facilitate dating between teens. (See our Teen and Child Safety Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+8. Do not solicit sexual content from or engage in any sexual conduct with anyone under the age of 18. We report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and grooming to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which may subsequently work with local law enforcement. (See our Teen and Child Safety Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+9. Do not make sexually explicit content available to anyone under the age of 18. You must be age 18 or older to engage with adult content on Discord. 
+
+Server owners must apply an age-restricted label to any channels that contain sexually explicit content.
+
+Users may not post sexually explicit content in any space that cannot be age-restricted, including in avatars, custom statuses or bios, server banners, server icons, invite splashes, emoji, and stickers. (See our Sexual Content Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+10. Do not share, distribute, or create sexually explicit or sexually suggestive content of other people without the subject’s consent. This includes the non-consensual distribution of intimate media that was created either with or without an individual’s consent. (See our Non-Consensual Adult Intimate Media Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+11. Do not share content that glorifies, promotes, or normalizes suicide or other acts of physical self-harm. This includes content that encourages others to cut, burn, or starve themselves, as well as content that normalizes eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Self-harm acts or threats used as a form of emotional manipulation or coercion are also prohibited. (See our Suicide and Self-Harm Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+12. Do not share real media depicting gore, excessive violence, or animal harm, especially with the intention to harass or shock others. (See our Violence and Graphic Content Policy Explainer for more.)
+
 Respect Discord
-Do not send unsolicited bulk messages (or spam) to others. Also, do not facilitate this activity, such as by selling spambots, server “raid” tools, account-creation tools, token generators, CAPTCHA-solving services, or other spam tools. 
-Do not sell or purchase methods for artificially increasing server membership, such as via advertisements or botting.
-Do not organize, promote, or engage in any illegal behavior, such as the buying, selling, or trading of dangerous and regulated goods. Dangerous goods have reasonable potential to cause real-world, physical harm to individuals. Regulated goods have laws in place that restrict the purchase, sale, trade, or ownership of the goods. 
-Do not abuse Discord products in any way, such as selling or purchasing an account or server, participating in fraudulent Nitro incentives or Boosting activities, or using monetization features to commit fraud.
-Do not evade permanent Discord-level enforcement actions. This includes creating new or using existing accounts or communities after being removed for violating our platform rules.
-Do not use self-bots or user-bots. Each account must be associated with a human, not a bot. Self-bots put strain on Discord’s infrastructure and our ability to run our services. 
-Do not mislead Discord’s support teams. Do not make false or malicious reports to our Trust & Safety or other customer support teams, send multiple reports about the same issue, or ask a group of users to report the same content or issue.  Repeated violations of this guideline may result in loss of access to our reporting functions.
-‍
+13. Do not send unsolicited bulk messages (or spam) to others. Also, do not facilitate this activity, such as by selling spambots, server “raid” tools, account-creation tools, token generators, CAPTCHA-solving services, or other spam tools. (See our Platform Manipulation Policy Explainer for more.)
 
-If you see any activity that violates these guidelines, our Terms of Service, or our other policies, please report it to us. You can learn more on how to report to us here. However, please note that we strongly discourage and may take action against vigilantism, as this behavior can put individuals in harm’s way and can also interfere with our investigations and ability to report to law enforcement.
+14. Do not use self-bots or user-bots. Each account must be associated with a human, not a bot. (See our Platform Manipulation Policy Explainer for more.)
 
-These guidelines will continue to evolve over time. This means we may take action against a user, server, or content that violates the spirit of these guidelines when we encounter a new threat or harm that is not explicitly covered in the current version.
+15. Do not engage with our service in an inauthentic way. This includes artificially inflating server membership, manipulating engagement metrics, and selling artificial engagement services. (See our Platform Manipulation Policy Explainer for more.)
 
-We will always make our best effort to notify you when we update these guidelines, but it is up to you to follow the spirit of them: keep Discord safe and a place for everyone to belong. Thanks for doing your part.
+16. Do not sell or purchase Discord assets, including accounts, usernames, servers, server permissions, or custom server invite links. (See our Platform Manipulation Policy Explainer for more.)
 
+Abuse of Discord's paid features or monetization opportunities are covered under our Paid Service Terms.
+
+17. Do not share false or misleading information (otherwise known as misinformation). Content that is false, misleading, and can lead to significant risk of physical or societal harm may not be shared on Discord. We may remove content if we reasonably believe its spread could result in damage to physical infrastructure, injury of others, obstruction of participation in civic processes, or the endangerment of public health. (See our Misinformation Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+18. Do not misrepresent your identity on Discord in a deceptive or harmful way. This includes creating fake profiles and attempts to impersonate an individual, group, or organization. (See our Identity and Authenticity Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+19. Do not evade permanent Discord-level enforcement actions. This includes creating new or using existing accounts or communities after being removed for violating our platform rules. (See our Identity and Authenticity Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+20. Do not engage in activities that could damage or compromise the security of an account, network, or system. This includes using deceptive techniques to trick others into revealing sensitive information (phishing), using malicious software (malware), and flooding a target with traffic in order to make a resource unavailable (denial-of-service attacks). (See our Deceptive Practices Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+21. Do not use or attempt to use Discord to promote, coordinate, or execute financial scams. A financial scam is any intentionally deceptive act taken with the intent to receive an illegal, unethical, or otherwise dishonest gain. (See our Deceptive Practices Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+22. Do not engage in activities that fraudulently generate a profit at the expense of others. This includes facilitating, providing instructions for, and participating in fraud. We do not allow coordinated efforts to defraud businesses, price gouging, forgery, money laundering, counterfeit goods, or tools that facilitate illegal behavior. (See our Deceptive Practices Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+23. Do not submit false, misleading, or abusive reports or requests to Discord’s support teams. A report or request will be considered false or misleading if it contains demonstrably untrue information submitted with the intent to manipulate staff into taking a desired action. (See our Discord Support Abuse Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+Follow the Law
+24. Do not share content that violates anyone's intellectual property or other rights. This includes sharing or selling game cheats or hacks. (See our Unauthorized Copyright Access Policy for more.) 
+
+For more information on how Discord handles copyright complaints, please view our Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy.
+
+25. Do not organize, promote, or engage in the selling or facilitation of sales of regulated or potentially dangerous goods. Regulated goods have laws in place that restrict the purchase, sale, trade, or ownership of the goods. Dangerous goods have a reasonable potential to cause real-world, physical harm to individuals. (See our Dangerous and Regulated Goods Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+26. Do not coordinate or participate in illegal gambling. Users are responsible for complying with applicable gambling laws and regulation. (See our Gambling Policy Explainer for more.)
+
+27. Do not organize, promote, or engage in any other illegal activity, such as human trafficking or sexual solicitation. (See our Human Trafficking and Sexual Solicitation Policy Explainers for more.)
+‍
+
+If you see any content or activity that violates these Guidelines, our Terms of Service, or our other policies, please report it to us. You can learn more on how to report to us here. However, please note that we strongly discourage and may take action against vigilantism, as this behavior can put individuals in harm’s way and can also interfere with our investigations and ability to report to law enforcement.
+
+These Guidelines will continue to evolve over time. This means we may take action against an account, server, or content that violates the spirit of these Guidelines when we encounter a new threat or harm that is not explicitly covered in the current version.
+
+We will always make our best effort to notify you when we update these Guidelines, but it is up to you to follow the spirit of them: Keep Discord safe and help us continue to make it the best place to talk, hang out and have fun with friends online. Thanks for doing your part.‍
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