Code of Conduct

Welcome to the Dotabuff forums! The Dotabuff community is here to provide you with a friendly environment where you can discuss ideas, give game play advice, ask for help or converse about other topics with other Dota players. Community forums are at their best when participants treat their fellow posters with respect and courtesy. Therefore, we ask that you conduct yourself in a civilized manner when participating in these forums.

The guidelines and rules listed below explain what behavior is expected of you and what behavior you can expect from other community members. Note that the following guidelines are not exhaustive, and may not address all manner of offensive behavior. As such, the forum moderators shall have full discretion to address any behavior that they feel is inappropriate.

Your access to these forums is a privilege, and not a right. Dotabuff staff reserve the right to limit or suspend your access to the forums at any time for reasons that include, but are not necessarily limited to, your failure to abide by these guidelines.

The Rules

• Racial or Ethnic Hatred:Do not make any posts or links to websites containing language or images that promote racial or ethnic hatred, use a recognized racial/ethnic slur or allude to a symbol of racial or ethnic hatred.
• National or Geographic Hatred:Do not make any posts or links to websites containing language or images that promote national or geographic hatred, use a recognized national or geographic slur or allude to symbols of national or geographic hatred.
• Harassment:Do not make posts or links to any websites that insult another player or person, or which would result in the harassment of a player or person by others. Harassment comes in many forms and is not limited to specific words or behaviors. Repeatedly targeting a specific player can lead to more severe action being taken.
• Sexual Orientation:Do not make posts or links to websites which insultingly refer to any aspect of sexual orientation.
• Gender Identity:Do not make posts or links to websites which insultingly refer to any aspect of gender or gender identity.
• Real-Life Threats:Do not make any posts or links to websites containing violence or threats of violence against other players or Dotabuff staff.
• Distribution of Real-Life Personal Information:Do not make posts or links to any websites which release any personally identifiable information about another player or Dotabuff staff without their expressed consent.
• Extreme Sexuality or Violence:Do not make any posts or links to websites which refer to extreme or violent sexual acts, refer to violent real life actions, or contain pornography.
• Hostility:Be friendly toward others and try to keep conversations on-topic. Do not be hostile, or discourage people from participating in the community. There are human beings on the other side of a conversation and everyone deserves to be treated with respect.
• Cheats, Hacks or Malicious Programs:Do not make posts or links to websites containing game cheats or malicious programs, including making posts that exploit other forum visitors on the website.
• Selling or Boosting Accounts:Do not make posts about or links to websites that advertise account selling, boosting or trading services, commercial or otherwise.
• Inappropriate Language:Do not make posts or links to any websites containing language that is hateful towards ​a specific person or group of people or bypass the language filters in place on these forums. Cursing is allowed but words or phrases that are racially charged or may be perceived as hateful or intolerant toward another person are not.
• Advertising:Do not make posts or link to any websites for the purpose of advertising any commercial or non-beneficial website, business or organization. It is at our staff's discretion to deem any posts or links as Advertising.

Violating any of the rules specified in the Code of Conduct may result in your account being banned from participating in the Dotabuff community. The length of a ban will vary based on the severity of a violation. Repeat offenders will be banned for longer durations, including the possibility of being banned permanently.

The bottom line is that we want Dotabuff to be a fun, safe and constructive environment for everyone. Millions of people from all over the world visit Dotabuff and it's important to respect the ideas, cultures and backgrounds of others. While certain language or images may not be offensive to you, consider the fact that that they may have a completely different effect. Intent is not important when using words or phrases that may be perceived as intolerant of others.

The Dotabuff staff takes harassment, distribution of personal information and threats of violence very seriously and may pursue legal action and/or cooperate with legal authorities in these cases.