Q: Do I have to read the rules page?
A: That is entirely up to you, but we operate under that assumption that you have familiarized yourself with the rules. The rules will be strongly enforced, so if you break them, there’s no excuse. We’re not going to go easy on you just cause you say you didn’t read the page.
Q: What’s this rule about contributing an article to the community? Is that required?
A: Technically, it still is. However, over the past few months, we’ve let this rule slide a little because so many people complained it made becoming a member of OKA feel tedious. It was a little saddening, but we realize some people don’t always have the time to sit down and write an essay. However, we do have a good reason for this rule, and that reason is that we want to be an excellent source of information for Otherkin – and the writings of our members provide information straight from the eyes of those individuals who live those experiences. It also helps other people to get to know you a little better. So no, we won’t force this rule on you. If the lack of contributions becomes a problem in the future, we may begin to apply this rule more stringently.
Q: It says on your rules page this site is open to the public? Why?
A: OKA doesn’t make itself scarce, that’s for sure. We’ve been featured, briefly, on television, as well as having made public bids to bring people to a greater understanding about kin – that we’re not all a bunch of crazy crackpots huddled around our computers at all hours of the day and night. We participate and host community service activities, and we pass out flyers and cards at these activities and encourage the public to come to a greater understanding about us. However, only our rules, FAQ, and articles are available to people. In order for anyone to contact our members and access forum information, they must have an they must have an approved account on the forum. We take privacy very seriously. If you feel uneasy in the slightest, please talk to an administrator. We deal with harassment promptly by notifying proper law enforcement officials when the circumstance warrants it. All visitors to our site are warned to treat our members with respect. Banning is the result of failing to observe this rule. Again, further action may be taken if harassment, threats, or violence occurs. At OKA, we want our members to be safe, and we take this very seriously.
Q: What’s this rule about ‘seniority’ on your site?
A: As a general rule of thumb, members who have been with us longer get first dibs at things such as modship, administration, or other programs that are underway, as well as accommodations for OKA-organized meets and travel opportunities. There have been exceptions to this, but they are few and far between. Another reason why this rule is in place is because of a reoccurring problem: several times, we have had individuals from other sites and communities that come on our forum and demand that we ban (fill in the blank member) because he or she was a bad person on another forum. In every case like this that we have had so far, the person in question is an upstanding member of our community, has been there for a while, and proven to us that they can respect our rules. So we don’t take the word of a new person on our forum over someone who has been with us for some time, and has established that they can follow the rules accordingly.
Q: I noticed that your site is 13+. Why not older/younger?
A: We set this age limit for our site for a couple of reasons. For one, we feel certain areas and topics of our site require a specific level of maturity to view the contents within them – some of the pages we link to are sites that are actually 18+. On the flip side of this, many older kin will remember their awakening at a young age; and the lack of support and information that was available at the time. OKA wants to ensure that we are available to the younger generation should they come seeing help, but at the same time, we want to be cautious. OKA accepts no liability for any consequences that may arise as the result from anyone under 18 viewing our site.
Q: Could you clarify your profanity rule?
A: Sure. Try not to do it. It’s very simple. We accept that sometimes life calls for a colorful metaphor, and once in a while, that’s alright. However, the “f-bombs” are not acceptable, and neither are sentences heavily laden with profanity. We do have younger members on OKA, and we must accept that this kind of language may not always be acceptable in their presence. Profanity can make a person sound immature and unintelligent. OKA does not need the negativity this kind of language generates. Try not to do it.
Q: Someone from OKA/from another site has threatened/harassed me. What should I do?
A: Report it to a moderator or administrator immediately, along with any logs/reports of the incident. Here at OKA, we do not tolerate our members feeling threatened. If the aggressor is from OKA, tell us. If it is from another site, please provide us with the names of the administrators/founders of that site and the sites contact information. An administrator should contact your within 48 hours of notification of the incident to inform you of pending action being taken on your behalf. Administrators should always respond promptly to your serious requests for help. If any administrator does not respond to you in a timely fashion, notify Adnarel immediately, and he will respond to your email as soon as he receives it. If there is ever something that needs extra attention, you may include in an email a request for Adnarel’s personal contact information, which may be provided at his discretion. We will attempt to resolve the issue for/with you promptly. IF YOU ARE EVER IN ANY SERIOUS DANGER, CALL 911 (or equivalent). We want all of you to take care of yourselves and each other. Never hesitate to report vandalism, abuse, stalking, or any other behavior that causes you to feel fear. You have a right to be safe.
Q: What are the rules regarding visitors?
A: Guest access is not permitted on our forum. Guests in chat are required to adhere to OKA’s rules. Furthermore, visitors need to respect our members’ beliefs, values, cultures and customs. OKA has a no-discrimination policy, much like a place of employment does. OKA also has a zero tolerance policy for ‘converters’, meaning, we do not accept people on our site attempting to preach or convert our members to any particular religion. This is not only disrespectful and inappropriate on a support site, it’s a waste of time, as it only serves to offend and anger our members. OKA always encourages the general public to speak with our members and administers, but visitors must be kind, courteous, and respectful in doing so. Our members will be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Q: So-and-So broke one of the rules on the forum and didn’t get punished. Why?
A: Often, when one of our members is reprimanded, it is all done privately and away from the eyes of other people – we try not to embarrass people. Also, our administrators and moderators are the final word on what constitutes a breaking of the rules and what doesn’t. It may have been a first time offense, the person may have extenuating circumstances, etc. Admins decide on a case-by-case basis, although this shouldn’t let you be lax in obeying the rules. If you break them, you will be reprimanded, up to and including penalties such as being permanently banned from all our sites interactive content and referral to proper law enforcement officials.
Q: What does my life outside of OKA have to do with your site and it’s integrity?
A: The point of OKA is to support its members. To accomplish this, we want to build a good reputation as well as a good network of resources for our site. Our mission is to always be a site with the genuine concern and welfare of our members as our first priority. With that being said, although you may be an upstanding member of OKA, if you, outside of the site, go out and do things that are illegal or damaging to the people and the environment around you, it has the potential to reflect back on us.
Therefore, we encourage you to always be a respectable and responsible person, and help your fellow members to uphold our good names and reputations in our personal lives, and on OKA.
