Community Policies

We live in a diverse community, which we appreciate and treasure. We welcome that diversity, and want to continue to encourage it. As we continue to grow and welcome new people, we want to make it clear how NEIL operates.

Harassment Policy

NEIL is dedicated to providing a harassment-free event experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion, or any other factor. We do not tolerate harassment of event attendees in any form. Event attendees violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event without a refund at the discretion of the event organizers.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to, offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion. It also includes display of sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of games or other events, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, and unwelcome simulated combat using realistic or non-realistic weapon props. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the event organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event with no refund. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the event Senior Staff immediately. Event Senior Staff can be identified by their event badge, which will say SENIOR STAFF under their name, and, if they are on duty, by an event Senior Staff button.

Event Senior Staff will be happy to help participants contact Hotel security or local law enforcement if desired, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the event. Senior Staff will never pressure anyone into making an official report. We value your safety, privacy, and comfort while at a NEIL event.

Weapons Policy

NEIL understands that costumes sometimes include weapons, and some boffer games have simulated combat with boffer weapons, but the safety and comfort of our attendees and other occupants of the hotel must be paramount. In the context of this policy, "weapon prop" or "weapon-like prop" refers to any prop that looks like a weapon, including but not limited to swords, knives, guns, bats, clubs, claws, arrows, etc.

Any realistic-looking weapon prop must be peace-bonded and not wieldable. Swords must be secured in their sheaths with string, zip-ties, or some other method that actually prevents them from being drawn. If you need help peace-bonding your weapon prop, you may bring it to the event staff. If event staff concludes that your realistic-looking weapon prop cannot be peace-bonded, you will be asked to return the prop to your hotel room or vehicle and leave it there for the duration of the event.

Wieldable weapon props must be obviously fake and approved by the GMs. In games that use boffer combat, only props approved for boffer combat by the GMs may be used for this purpose. In other games, combat may be acted out as well as being simulated with non-physical methods ONLY with the explicit permission of all parties involved. Please note that explicit permission to act out a combat does not automatically imply permission to touch another player or to contact another player with your weapon prop.

Outside of games, any non-realistic weapon props must either be peace-bonded or carried in a non-threatening manner (sheathed, pointed at the floor, or put away). (Realistic weapon props must be peace-bonded at all times, as detailed above).

Non-prop weapons are not allowed at NEIL events.

No realistic-looking gun props without orange safety tips are allowed at NEIL events under any circumstances and should not be kept hidden while in public areas.

Violation of any of these rules is grounds for immediate expulsion from NEIL events, without refund. If you have any questions about acceptable weapon props, ask at the Operations desk or contact the Event Chair or the Operations coordinator.

Alcohol Policy

Because of the hotel's liquor license and strict Massachusetts state law, alcohol in function spaces may only be served by a bartender from the hotel. Players and GMs may not bring their own alcohol into the function space. If a GM would like to have a real bar for their event, we can make arrangements with the hotel in advance. There is to be no alcohol in the Con Suite.

Players, GMs, or Games found in violation of this policy will be asked to remove the alcohol from the function space immediately. If they do not comply, they will be asked to leave the hotel. If the GMs opt to have a bartender, the bartender will validate that the players are of legal drinking age.

Content Warnings Policy

Definitions

A content warning is defined, for the purposes of this policy, as a disclosure of content in a LARP that would, if known, be a factor in some players’ decision about whether or not to play the LARP.

An example of a content warning is: “The Salem Witch Trials LARP contains depictions of violence including burnings at the stake, discussion of sexual assault, sexist and racist characters, and mass paranoia.”

Warnable content includes but is not limited to:

Content warnings on bids

Games should include either a content warning or an explicit statement that no warnings are applicable. This will be part of the bid form and visible to the public.

If a GM team wishes not to include content warnings in their game description, a message will be added in their place. This message will read “The GMs of this LARP have chosen not to include a content warning. If you have any questions about the content in this LARP, please contact <the listed contact address for the game>.”

Content warnings should err on the side of more disclosure, with appropriate qualifications as to the prevalence and/or intensity of the content in question. If there has been a dispute in the past about warnable content in a game, it is appropriate to note that fact, but the warning should be present.

It is reasonable for a content warning to omit disclosures that are made clear by the game’s description.

Prior to the convention

GMs are expected to truthfully answer, to the best of their ability, player questions about whether specific content is present in their games or not. GMs may explicitly decline to answer, but their explicit refusal should be clear to the player.

If there is a dispute between the applicable convention staff (e.g. the Bid Committee, GM Liaison and/or Con Chair) and the GM team about what content warnings are appropriate for a game, and the GM team does not wish to alter the content warning accordingly, the convention may add a statement to this effect, stating: “There may be more content warnings for this game, please contact <the listed contact address for the game> and/or attendees AT <convention-letter>.interconlarp.org for more information.”

During the game

If a player introduces warnable content into a game that did not warn for that content, without obtaining consent from all affected parties (players and GMs), the GMs have the right and responsibility to take appropriate measures in order to ensure player safety when the GMs become aware of it.