discord gateway!

the fenced forest community server is now open!

growing organically out of social connections recently formed between a cadre of newer indie tabletop game designers on twitter, this discord server is a space for safe and positive discussion. conversation need not be about games, but the server is established around the SWORD DREAM movement, LGBTQIA+ designers, and leftward political ideals. LGBTQIA+ folks, BIMPOC, and non-men are especially encouraged to join — it would be preferable if we comprised a strong majority. discussions will primarily occur in English but all languages are welcome and you are not required to translate for non-speakers. the server is run by me, Blake, a nonbinary queer person who is not a person of color. there are administrative roles being offered to trusted individuals across a wide range of identities.

anyone who IS MUTUALS WITH @fencedforest on twitter, answer the first section of questions on this form and submit. (if you want, you can fill out the other ones too, but you don’t have to.) you will receive a DM or email with the invite link and will be granted Gardener role upon entry.

if you are NOT MUTUALS WITH @fencedforest on twitter and you’d like to join the community server, read over these guidelines and enter your info into this google form.

if accepted, feel free to invite trusted others to the server, but ALWAYS link them to THIS PAGE FIRST.

• no cishet white men i don’t personally know. this is a safety rule.
  
• no bigotry of any kind, including expressions of internalized oppression or disparagement of body image, even against oneself.
  
• if you think the first two rules contradict each other, you do not share the values in mind with which this community server has been created and are not welcome.
  
• “call-ins” instead of “call-outs”. if someone in the community server engages in a behavior which is harmful, they should be given the benefit of the doubt and educated compassionately by those with the needed knowledge and energy.
  multiple similar offenses and/or resistance to education can get you kicked.
  
• no unsolicited or open criticism of people or their work, whether or not they are included in the conversation. those seeking crit on their work may ask for it on the server, but the actual criticism should be done in private, and should remain compassionate and constructive even when no one else is looking.
  
• the server is currently not listed as NSFW. this can change by popular vote at any time, but regardless, it will never be appropriate to post pornographic or graphically violent material, and the server is not open to minors.
  
• any member of the server may at any time express a need to see certain triggers avoided in conversation. such requests should be worded in a precise and actionable way, and a list may be pinned in the channel. part of the reason i created this discord was so that a discussion space free of many of my own triggers could exist, and i would like to extend that safety to others as long as the accommodation does not thoroughly disrupt the purpose of the server.
  i need to stipulate specifically that this is a server in which cussing, reclaimed slurs, and references to sexuality are freely permitted. that will not change.
  
• although the topic of conversation can be anything, this is a server for tabletop game designers of any skill level, especially those of us who are recent arrivals to the scene. a person need not have any games published in order to participate, but you should have an interest in doing work in this field.
  
• derision or criticism of people or their work is not appropriate for this server. the only exception to this rule is when calling attention to a bad actor or an offensive work within the scene. even then, such conversations should not dominate the room; this space is meant to be a positive escape from that exact kind of content.
  men, white people, and cis and/or straight people should be extra mindful not to come into the space frequently brandishing the latest awful thing that hurts marginalized folks. it’s infuriating to you, but exhausting and traumatizing for us.