The sections below outline the Code of Conduct policy for QuiP. All players, readers, and spectators are expected to be familiar with this policy and abide by the guidelines.
If you experience an incident related to participating in the league that you believe to be a violation of the Code of Conduct or that has made you feel uncomfortable then you can report it either by emailing quizzinginprogress@gmail.com or by filling out this form; the form can be completed anonymously.
GUIDELINES FOR COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL BEHAVIOR
As a participant in QuiP, you are expected to be courteous and treat one another with respect. As best as possible, players should create an environment that is not just fun for themselves, but fun for everyone.
To promote behavior that is respectful and courteous, we ask that all league participants adhere to the following guidelines:
Display good sportspersonship
- Wish your opponents good luck before the game.
- Congratulate your opponents on a victory.
- Avoid showboating or excessive celebrations.
Avoid overly excessive reactions
- Do NOT yell, curse, or scream after answering a question correctly.
- Do NOT yell, curse, or scream after answering a question incorrectly.
Avoid commenting on the knowledge of others
- Do NOT shame a player for their knowledge or lack thereof.
- Do NOT treat a player like they should or should not know (or not know) certain content because of their identity.
Avoid rude, belittling, or otherwise inappropriate behavior
- Do NOT explain to another player why their answer was incorrect.
- Do NOT talk while a question is being read or while another player is thinking.
- Be mindful of other players and avoid off-color, profane, or otherwise potentially offensive comments.
Be respectful of other people’s time
- Show up on-time. If you must be late for an unavoidable reason, communicate your situation with the other players as early as possible.
- Keep chatter to a minimum. The occasional anecdote can be fun, but you should not be commenting on every question.
Be patient with readers
- Readers are not paid for their work and volunteer their time. Players must treat them with respect.
- Readers are not expected to litigate arguments or make ruling decisions if the question sets are ever unclear.
- Do NOT comment on a readers pronunciation (or mispronunciation) of words.
Be mindful of your Zoom setting and appearance
- Players MUST remain clothed at all times.
- As best as possible, set up your camera in a way in which you are comfortably able to sit with your hands and face in view.
- As best as possible, set up your playing area in a quiet environment.
- Do NOT use a distracting or offensive background.
CHEATING
Cheating is strictly prohibited from any and all QuiP matches. It is considered a serious offense and will result in suspension or expulsion from the league.
What should you do if you suspect another player of cheating?
If you suspect another player of cheating, you may either email quizzinginprogress@gmail.com or use this form: https://forms.gle/xD4U9YfwByDPnwqH7 to submit an anonymous message.
What happens if a player is accused of cheating?
If a player is accused of cheating, the QuiP admin will commence an investigation, the details of which will depend on the nature of the allegation. The general timeline will be as follows:
- QuiP admin will hold an internal meeting to discuss the alleged behavior and determine what action is warranted.
- QuiP admin will investigate the accusation. The investigation may include the following actions:
- Follow up interviews with any non-anonymous individuals who submitted a complaint
- Live observations of in-game play
- Asynchronous observations of publicly available recorded matches
- Interviews of teammates
- After the internal investigation has been completed, QuiP admin will take one of the following actions:
- If the complaint was related to a specific rules violation, e.g. a player continuously takes their hands off screen, but insufficient evidence for actual cheating was uncovered, then the accused player will be presented with a warning and asked to correct their behavior. The league will create an internal report to log the incident but will not take action against the accused individual.
- If the league is unable to substantiate the claims and there is no associated rules violation then no further action will be taken against the accused player. The league will create an internal report to log the incident but will not take action against the accused individual.
- If the league concludes that cheating likely took place then they will contact the accused player and conduct an interview, providing the player with a chance to refute the accusations. After the player has made their rebuttal, the league will make one of two rulings.
(1) The player may have cheated but the evidence is not irrefutable and they will receive a warning and be asked to review the Code of Conduct.
(2) There is strong evidence that the player likely cheated. If this is their first offense in any league that we are aware of then they will receive a 2 season suspension. If it is not their first offense then they will be permanently expelled from the league.
If the player does not respond to a request for contact before the next match week or within 10 days, whichever comes first, then they will be suspended for at least the remainder of the season. Reintroduction to the league will be dependent on submission of a formal request to the league.
SCHEDULING
Each week, there will be 5 fixed slots for teams to play their matches. For season 5, these slots will be:
- Monday at 10 PM ET | 7 PM PT
- Thursday at 9 PM ET | 6 PM PT
- Sunday at 1 PM ET | 10 AM PT
- Sunday at 8 PM ET | 5 PM PT
- Sunday at 9 PM ET | 6 PM PT
Each pair of teams that are matched up for the week will have to agree on one of the four slots. If they cannot come to a consensus then the final time slot, i.e. Sunday at 9 PM ET, will be used.
QuiP will send out a scheduling email each week on Friday. Captains should plan on providing their available options by Sunday evening.
What if the available time slots don’t work for me?
Because scheduling is commonly listed as a pain point for many participants of virtual quizzing, QuiP is testing out a variation on traditional scheduling models. If this model does not work for you then please contact us and provide that feedback. We are open to change for subsequent seasons, though it is important to recognize that there is not likely one method of scheduling that will work for everyone.
What happens if there is a scheduling disagreement between teams?
If the two teams can’t agree on a time slot, then the last time slot for the week will be used. This time slot will likely be on a Sunday evening.
All teams are encouraged to fill out their roster with the understanding that they are expected to have at least 3 players available on Sunday evenings.
Can we choose a time slot outside of the fixed slots if both teams agree?
No. To try to alleviate some of the stress around scheduling, we have decided to use fixed time slots only. Quiz questions will not be available outside of these time slots. We’d also like to avoid the risk of any one team feeling pushed into a schedule change.
IN GAME BEHAVIOR
The list below outlines expectations for players during QuiP matches, though it is likely that issues may still arise from time to time. Readers are NOT expected to litigate arguments and should share any in-game issues with a member of the QuiP admin. For any disagreements related to quiz materials, readers should defer to the questions and answer lines available in the packet. Players may contact QuiP admin to request a scoring review and, when in doubt, a reader can use a spare question.
During a QuiP match, all players, readers, and spectators are expected to exhibit behavior that is respectful and does not make others feel uncomfortable. Toward this goal, we ask that you adhere to the following guidelines:
- All players are expected to be visible on camera at all times.
- All players are expected to keep both hands visible at all times. Exceptions will be made for those with mobility issues, health conditions, etc.
- Individuals may not play while operating a vehicle.
- Players may not talk during an active question, other than to provide an answer, and may not interrupt the reader.
- Players should not provide additional information beyond what is required in the answerline. Such chatter may spoil a future question in that category.
- Players may use basic hand signals to indicate level of confidence but may NOT use sign language or other signals to pass answers to their teammates.
- Players may not verbally or non-verbally communicate preferences with regards to question selection choices after categories in each round have been revealed.
- Players may not give verbal hints to their teammates. This includes answering with language such as, “I know it’s one of two…”, or “I know it’s not X…”.
- All players and readers should be familiar with the rules of gameplay, including those that pertain to answer format.
POST-GAME BEHAVIOR
Players may not discuss questions publicly until all games have been played for any given week. After questions are clear, we encourage discussion as we want our community to be able to connect through conversation. However, we ask that you keep in mind the feelings of the content creators and avoid piling on or being overly negative. The QuiP admin team will moderate discussion groups and may intervene at our discretion. Members of the community who are regularly involved in arguments within discussion groups may be put on a probationary period or asked to leave.
Though the writers and editors of QuiP will work as best as possible to create questions that are of the highest quality, we acknowledge that we may at times fall short. If a player has an issue with a question, they are asked to communicate directly with QuiP admin, either by email or using this form. Players may raise an issue at anytime, but are especially encouraged to contact QuiP admin if questions are ever offensive or insensitive as it is important to us to create a welcoming and inclusive environment.
INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
Any behavior that can be considered harassment or a violation of personal boundaries will be taken seriously by the QuiP League. Such behavior should be reported directly to the QuiP admin, either by email or using the incident report form.
The QuiP League will also honor any bans related to inappropriate behavior that we are aware of. If a player has been banned from another league for such behaviors as harassment of other players, repeated unwanted contact (e.g. continued direct messaging after being requested to stop), or making inappropriate comments to other players, then they will not be able to join the QuiP League.