Community Guidelines – Engagement Positive
Welcome to Obernaft, where curiosity is celebrated, questions are welcome, and progress is a shared pursuit. This is our community space — a continuously evolving world where insights into the game industry, multiplayer systems, esports strategy, and gaming architecture come alive through thoughtful connection and purposeful expression.
Whether you’re here to discover the mechanics behind adaptive controller feedback or to debate the finer points of online play, we’re glad you’ve joined us. At Obernaft, we’re not just talking about games — we’re cultivating a space that helps shape where this industry and culture head next.
Founded by Tyvian Velthorne, Obernaft exists not simply to inform, but to empower; not just to observe, but to participate. We believe in growing a curious, kind, and collaborative community with every discussion, contribution, and shared experience. These Community Guidelines are written not as rules to follow but as a shared compass for where we’d all like to go — together.
Our Shared Values
Community is more than platform — it’s people, intent, and direction. At Obernaft, our community is shaped by five guiding values that help us listen better, speak more clearly, and connect authentically:
- Curiosity: Fuel learning and discussion with real questions and honest interest. We welcome varied knowledge levels — everyone begins somewhere.
- Respect: Engage others the way you’d want to be engaged. Disagreement can be energizing; mockery is never the goal.
- Growth: Share knowledge generously. Learning here is layered and collaborative — the more we contribute, the more there is for all.
- Credit: If a thought or resource came from someone else, cite it. Attribution honors community and keeps creativity ethical.
- Inclusivity: Whether you’re a veteran designer or first-time poster, your voice matters. The best insights often come from unexpected sources.
How We Interact
Discussions on game balancing, controller latency, or competitive scene trends can be passionate — and they should be. But energy should always remain respectful, curious, and generous. Here’s how we keep our discourse constructive and empowering:
- Ask questions like you’d ask in person. It’s okay to be wrong or not know — openness drives discovery.
- Avoid gatekeeping. No one needs approval to have a perspective; everyone deserves space to learn.
- Context builds clarity. If you reference stats, tools, frameworks, or tests, add a quick note of origin or purpose.
- Share success — but also process. Every high score, updated patch, or config breakthrough becomes more useful when you explain how you got there.
Ultimately, insight shared with care builds a stronger foundation for everyone navigating the evolving worlds of gaming and game design.
Respectful Participation
The Obernaft community grows best in an environment where mutual trust is prioritized. Voices here should feel safe, appreciated, and challenged — not flattened or dismissed.
We encourage:
- Offering thoughtful feedback and asking exploratory questions
- Welcoming newcomers without judgment about their experience level
- Using your voice to uplift patterns, ideas, or contributions you appreciated
We discourage:
- Dismissive replies or personal attacks
- Unsolicited promotions, inflammatory posts, or trolling behavior
- Sharing screenshots, conversations, or usernames from other communities without consent
We want this to be a place where knowledge is both offered and received with humility and generosity.
Moderation and Safety
Our moderation team exists not to police creativity, but to support community health. We intervene only when needed to preserve safety, civility, and clarity of intent. If a thread veers into disrespect, inaccuracy, or unkindness, we may remove it or offer revision guidance. Our decisions are rooted in preserving thoughtful exchange — not suppressing hard questions.
If you encounter problematic behavior or content while here, let us know. You can report incidents respectfully by contacting our team directly at [email protected]. Every concern received is handled with confidentiality and care, with the best interest of the community in mind.
Sharing and Attribution
Obernaft is built on a spirit of shared inquiry — but “shared” doesn’t mean “uncredited.” If you borrow insights, quotes, screenshots, or data visualizations from another creator, cite them. It helps maintain ethical transparency and also helps community members find more smart voices worth listening to.
If you’re referencing one of our published pieces — whether a deep dive into esports matchmaking or an exploration of control remapping in mid-tier games — you’re welcome to link directly rather than paraphrase. Clarity matters more than condensation. We believe informed foundations lead to better dialogue.
Privacy and Boundaries
We care deeply about your safety off the screen, too. Please do not share your own private data or anyone else’s. That includes full names, home addresses, financial information, or anything traceable. We are proud to protect our readers’ and contributors’ digital safety, and we do not tolerate doxxing or surveillance under any banner.
For full information about how we protect data you share with us, please refer to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These pages spell out what we do, how we do it, and what you have a right to expect from us.
Exploration and Contribution
Want to help advance the conversation? We invite participation at all experience levels — whether you’re debugging animation fluidity or experimenting with custom loadouts in emerging titles. This community isn’t designed for showboating. It’s shaped for substance, process, collaboration.
Obernaft is evolving, and so is how we extend collaboration tools to those eager to build. We offer occasional contributor opportunities for deep-dive articles as well as interface with our in-house testing and feedback layers. Ready to contribute something more substantial?
Start exploring through our Database Query Tool — a living library of industry knowledge and game system architecture.
About Tyvian Velthorne
Tyvian Velthorne founded Obernaft to bridge the gaps between how we play and how we understand — between passion and purpose in the game industry. His approach combines a love of systems and surround-storytelling with a north star of accessibility. Tyvian’s personal philosophy: the more we teach each other how games work, the better games can become. His conviction: good design is inseparable from inclusive insight.
How to Contact Us
If you have suggestions, questions, or ideas about the way we support our community or you’ve spotted something that needs attention, write to us at [email protected] or call +1 805-425-6488. We believe real listening is the root of genuine community stewardship.
Open Monday to Friday, 9 AM–5 PM PST
2300 Diane Street, Los Angeles, California 90017, United States
Thank You for Being Here
We’re building something durable and generous here — a space where knowledge can stretch, ideas can sharpen, and collaboration can ignite. With your voice, your respect, and your willingness to be part of something reflective and forward-looking, we can grow not just a better platform, but a better industry. Every dialogue you participate in, every insight you offer, becomes part of what makes Obernaft special.