Rough Trade / RTGC

We welcome all 18+ Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, straight friends and allies. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive community within these virtual worlds (and IRL) based on respect and a love of all things nerdy.

However, the RTGC family is much more than a bunch of guilds with a bunch of gay people. We support diverse LGBTQ+ inclusive environments.

In any of our guilds, you will find players from every walk of life, sexual orientation, gender identity, pronoun, and hue from all over the world. We welcome every style of gameplay and provide a great place for casual gamers, PvPers, and hardcore raiders to gather alongside one another.

Like pride events throughout the world, we seek to promote positive visibility of our community and celebrate our accomplishments and battles. RTGC hosted the world’s first virtual LGBTQ+ Pride celebration in City of Heroes over 15 years ago. Our yearly Pixel Pride celebrations have been featured in Out magazine, Engadget, IGN, and Gamespot. They continue in WoW and FFXIV and are open to everyone whether they are a member of the guild or not.

We are a social bunch, but not just in these digital worlds. Our community also gathers together in the real world. We’ve had official meet-ups in Key West, Provincetown, San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Las Vegas. We also have smaller meet-ups organized by players all the time. Our players have gone to Six Flags in Georgia, dim sum in Chinatown NYC, or any of the Prides around the world. Of course, you can also find our members at nerdier things like ComicCon, Flamecon, Blizzcon or GaymerX.

Over 15+ years have passed since RTGC was created, and our mission has remained the same: to provide a dependable, friendly, fun, social, and inclusive experience for our members. RTGC celebrates diversity of all types, both inside and outside the LGBTQ+ community, and is founded on a deep respect for that diversity.

If you’re looking for a virtual home away from home, join the lesbian moms in Portland, the gay lawyer in New York City, the brain doctor in Atlanta, or the straight brothers in Michigan. (Please stop asking if they’ve seen each other naked. They have, but you won’t). Hang out with the screenwriter in Hollywood, the muscle bear in Vancouver, the housewife in Dallas (she’s a top), or the bearded drag queen in SF. Enjoy time with the power lesbian in Florida, the freaky guy in New Orleans, the trans activist, and everybody in between or someone without a label.

You won’t be disappointed when you join us in game or IRL.

(1) Membership in the RTGC is a privilege, not a right. The RTGC was created to provide a welcoming community for GLBTQ players and their friends, however, being GLBT or GLBT-friendly does not entitle you to guild membership. If you cannot or do not want to follow the guidelines within this Charter, then membership here is not for you.

(2) You are all 18+, RTGC is too. The forums, social media outlets, and guild chat are adult-only zones. We talk about anything from music and film to religion and politics, to sex and sexuality. Officers will not censor conversations because they are not tasteful, or because they are explicit or extreme. If you are easily angered or offended, then you may have difficulty in RTGC. It is important that you can observe or participate in discussions as described here without resorting to insults, bigotry or harassment.

(3) Mutual respect is the foundation of our community. RTGC celebrates diversity of all types both inside and outside the GLBTQ community and is founded on a deep respect for that diversity. RTGC recognizes that all members have a right to play without harassment, and members are expected to treat each other and non-guild members with respect at all times. As a member of the RTGC, you do not have an unlimited right to free speech. Officers will intervene in chat or any other situation if it is deemed to be in the realm of harassment or is otherwise appropriate.

(3a) Some examples are:

3.a.1 Negative comments/jokes based on sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, political persuasion, age, any body-type/body part of either gender or any form of bigotry.

3.a.2 Threats of physical violence to yourself or someone else.

3.a.3 Continued, unwelcome contact with another player.

3.a.4 Unlawful activities.

(4) You are always an ambassador of the RTGC. We have a strong reputation in the gaming community and we strive to make a positive impact on both the GLBT and gaming communities. The actions of each member will affect the reputation of the guilds as a whole. You need to act with respect toward those around you in all settings.

(4a) Examples of inappropriate behavior:

4.a.1 Spamming, trolling or insulting other players.

4.a.2 Violating game rules, EULA, NDA, Terms of Service, etc.

4.a.3 Exploits such as “ninja-looting”, botting, and “Warzone afking”.

4.a.4 Abuse of guild resources such as mumble, guild banks, and forums.

(4b) “Rage Quitting.” If a member rage quits, as defined by leaving without explaining/alerting an officer or Guild Leader, and you wish to reapply, leadership will generally not allow readmission and a review will be made of the departing player’s previous impact on our player community.

(5) Using Common Sense. Not every situation imaginable is covered in this document and it is important to use common sense in all circumstances. The officers reserve the right to implement more specific rules from time to time and intervene in any situation, even if it is not listed above, if it’s necessary or appropriate for the good of the guild or its members.

Supplemental Charter Rules

RTGC Social Media (Facebook, Discord, etc) Supplemental Rules of Conduct:
Members of the Facebook Group are NOT RTGC members unless registered on enjin with us.
If you would like to join the RTGC Meta Guild click http://rtgc.enjin.com/application

However, the following list of rules applies to ALL RTGC members using ANY RTGC social media outlets:

(6) Respect the Group/Guild Admins:
Be respectful and nice. Ways to show respect to other players include: Don’t make jokes, references etc to derogatory stereotypes about ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, gender groups etc. Please refrain from making jokes and/or irrelevant references to the act of rape. Don’t belittle body types and no slut shaming.
We provide a service, in our free time, to keep the group running efficiently. We are not paid nor are we sponsored by anyone. This simply as a labor of love. Feedback is welcome. If you believe an error has been made in moderation please post (or pm) your concerns politely and help us understand your perspective.

(7) Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll and Illegal Activity:
Do not post anything abusive. If you think someone else’s post is abusive or offends you, please message an admin (for RTGC FB content, start with Benjamin Bon Temps. For RTGC Enjin, Lee Abadie or any guild leader). Refrain from simply “reporting” a post on FB.
Messages containing descriptions of sex acts or sexuality and gender, video game violence, religion, politics, games(even professional sports), drug use (without direct endorsement), etc, are A-OKAY with us (and encouraged) as long as the messages are not abusive. Illegal content, underage sex, rape, other acts w/o consent, similar violence or links to sites with this content will be deleted. Posting or linking to any of these later examples could result in a ban.

(8) Stay on Topic/Thread Drifting/Steering:
Please keep discussions on the topic. We are a gaming community. More than that, we are a GLBTStr8+ gaming community. We know you all have tons to say but please keep your posts to Games (ALL types of games under the Homo Ludens (“Playing Man”) definition), the games/gaming industry, glbtq news and items of glbtq interest (gender and sexuality politics, queer-related pop culture, sex, etc). Please limit meme posting by using the same rules. There is a ton of wiggle room here that leaves plenty of room for almost all of the current posts. Go nuts.

(9) SPAM, Soliciting, and guild poaching: “Hey Y’all, I’m playing Hello Kitty: Island Adventure. Who is with me?”
Do not spam or solicit money/fundraising for other guild/groups, do not use the group as a dating service and/or post multiple selfies, and do not attempt to poach members for guilds/groups in games in which RTGC has a presence.

9.1 Please refrain from posting shoutout threads (I’m going back to X, who is playing?) or LFG posts in general on the Facebook page. Use our forums.
9.2 Please no “Personal Solicitation” either. Examples include asking for money/items, LFBf/Gf/3rd, Hboy (looking for Boyfriend/Girl friend/3rd wheel/Houseboy). We have a “Looking for Love” forum on our Enjin site. Use it, please.
9.3 Additionally, do NOT solicit for any groups outside of the RTGC Meta Guild in this Facebook group or on the Enjin site. Those posts will be removed and repeat offenders may be banned from the Facebook group/Enjin site.
9.4 Instead, please use the Enjin site. That is what it is for. The Guild pays (a lot) for the service (plus Discord) and we get complaints that people can’t see the MMO/Gaming/glbtStr8+/Guild news of the Fbook feed for all the shout-outs.
9.5 If you have any questions about something that you think might fall under this rule please speak to Benjamin Bon Temps.
(10) Respect, Trolling, Attacks, and Flaming:
Always respect other people’s enjoyment of things, especially games you may not necessarily enjoy etc.
At all times respect one another. You don’t have to agree but you don’t have to be an ass.
These are always forbidden.

10.1 It is very probable someone really loves a game you despise. Keep that to yourself.
10.2 Trolling is posting in a way that provokes emotionally negative responses.
10.3 Attacks and derogatory terms of any kind are not welcome.
10.4 Flames are messages that personally attack or call any people names or otherwise harass.
10.5 These, along with any generally condescending posts will be removed at the admin’s discretion. If a thread is flame-bait (appears to be intended to start an argument or is likely to cause an argument rather than enhance discussion, as in trolling), it will be removed without notice.
10.6 Individual flame-bait comments in a post may be deleted at the admin’s discretion.
10.7 If the thread turns into an argument, it may be removed without notice.
(11) Names are very important and carry a lot of weight.
Never create guilds, clans, linkshells, etc. with the names Rough Trade, RTGC, and any variation of Taint in any games.
We have worked very hard, for over 10 years, to develop a legacy associated with our branding. Never create guilds, clans, linkshells with the names Rough Trade, RTGC, and any variation of Taint in any games. If you’d like to see our presence in a game, let us know on Facebook. Our Admins always give thorough consideration to member requests. However, we have very selective criteria an MMO must meet before we will invest our time and energy in an MMO… which is why we are in only a handful of games.

(12) Catch all:
Try to contribute some general level of positivity to the RTGC social environment. We all have bad days and occasionally venting about a quest, class or game is fine but members who seem consistently negative, critical, condescending, bitter, combative, etc may be approached by admins for a conversation. We strive to create a social experience that is pleasant and fun for everyone. If a member isn’t happy/satisfied/content in RTGC, there are thankfully many other social gaming groups that might be a better fit for that person.

Thank you for being a part of the RTGC Family!