COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
Common Ground is dedicated to creating a safe and welcoming environment for its community members. Our commitment to fostering this community is reflected in the following rules, which are applicable to any and all events under the Common Ground name:
1. Oppressive behavior, harassment, and exclusion of any kind is not tolerated here.
2. Players are expected to take responsibility for their behavior at events. All interactions within our community should come from a place of respect for one another and awareness of our positionality, privileges, and shared humanity.
3. Set boundaries for yourself, and respect others’ physical and emotional boundaries by seeking consent that is ongoing, informed, and freely given.
4. Introduce yourself with your name and pronouns every time you sit at a table. Our community is diverse in pronouns, identities, abilities, experiences, and backgrounds. Recognizing, respecting, and celebrating our differences is core to Common Ground’s ethos.
5. Assume good faith of others by default, but keep in mind that intention does not always equal impact. We can have good intentions and still cause harm. Be open to call-ins for collaborative dialogue.
6. If any other issues arise, come find Jay to help resolve it.
7. Common Ground teaches 13-tile Hong Kong style mahjong, but you are welcome to play any house rules and/or variant your table agrees on.
8. All players (except the winner) rotate out after two games to give everyone a chance to play.
9. Treat the space, sets, and all other materials with care, and clean up after yourself.
10. Lead with good faith and kindness, and be open to teaching others who are new to the game. People of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels are welcome to spectate and play.
11. Gambling is banned, no exceptions.
12. Support the venue and vendors by purchasing their products and/or services, as well as following them on social media.
13. Common Ground is a volunteer-run community mahjong club. If you’d like to support us, here are some ways.
APPENDIX
Boundaries: Limits of engagement based upon your personal choices and preferences (emotional, physical, or social). Boundaries are adaptable but should not be used to avoid accountability. Consider the difference between feeling uncomfortable versus unsafe.
Call-in: A learning and information sharing process in which a person who commits harm has an opportunity to learn and understand the impact of their actions.
Consent: Mutual permission that is clear, continuous, and active.
Good faith: Acting with honest and sincere intentions without ill will.
Positionality: An idea coined by the philosopher Linda Alcoff that certain aspects of our identity – gender, race, social class, age, and national origin – are markers of relational positions in society, rather than essential qualities (1988). Our positions influence our relations with one another and our perspectives on the world at large.
Privilege: Aspects of a person’s identities tied to systemic power structures that give them greater access in society.
Pronouns: The terms that someone identifies with in regards to their gender identity. Gender identity and pronouns are fluid and can change over time.
Credit to All Flowers Mahjong for inspiring the community guidelines and appendix.
WE PROMOTE
QTBIPOC Voices: Common Ground prioritizes the voices of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous People of Color.
Diverse Events: Common Ground prioritizes working with value-aligned businesses and organizations to provide platforms for community gathering and building.
Masking: Common Ground prioritizes the health of our disabled and immunocompromised community members by providing masks at our mahjong events. All attendees should be mindful of others and mask when requested.
