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[1004] - Warnings, Penalties, and Suspensions⚓︎

[1004.1] - Punitive Action Toward Players⚓︎

Players in RGL may view their disciplinary history on their profiles. Below is a list detailing the most common reasons for player suspensions:

  • Players found to violate the Code of Conduct will face suspensions of varying lengths. Ban lengths for Code of Conduct violations are handled on a case-by-case basis and may be appealed
  • Game Integrity related punitive actions can be found in section [1003] - Game Integrity
  • RGL mirrors bans from other Competitive TF2 leagues
  • Bans occurring during the off-season may be delayed following [1004.11.1] - Offseason Bans

Players that wish to have a ban placed on their account (blacklisted) may do so by filing a support ticket in the RGL Discord.

This list is not comprehensive. Repeat offenders receive punishments of increasing severity.

[1004.2] - Punitive Action towards Teams⚓︎

Teams receive minor and major penalties inside of RGL.

  • Three minor penalties equate to one major penalty.
  • Each major penalty deducts 4.5 match points from a team. In formats that do not use the match points system, this results in the subtraction of 0.5 wins from a team's record.
  • If a team incurs three major penalties, they are expelled from the league. Additionally, if a team is in egregious violation of the rules and disruptive to the league they may be expelled immediately with or without the necessary penalties.

Minor Penalties:⚓︎

Major Penalties:⚓︎

NOTE: This list is not a comprehensive list of all the section rules that will elicit a team penalty.

[1004.2.1] - Penalties during Playoffs⚓︎

Minor and major penalties acquired during playoffs will result in the loss of prize money. Minor penalties will reduce prize earnings by 10%, with a major penalty reducing prize earnings by 30%. For example, this means that the first two minor penalties lead to 20% being deducted in total, with the 3rd minor resulting in a major penalty that will result in a 30% deduction.

Forfeits during playoffs will lead to a 50% reduction in cash prizes.

[1004.2.2] - Team Suspension⚓︎

In the event of team suspension, punitive action will not be applied to players uninvolved with the reason for suspension. A team’s removal from the league does not necessarily imply banned players.

[1004.3] - Probation⚓︎

Probation in RGL entails the following:

  • A player that is banned and placed on probation, or banned while on probation, has an indefinite ban length, which can be appealed after the minimum sentence displayed on the profile and ban reasoning
  • A maximum of a third of your roster (depending on the size of the format) can contain players on probation
  • Players on probation can request to have their probation lifted one year after the probation has ended or one year after their latest suspension has ended, whichever is later

A player is put on probation if:

  • An offense they commit is egregious, regardless of how many or few times they have been banned. This is uncommon and reserved for a select few cases
  • They consistently negatively affect the community through their actions (repeated harassment, misconduct, usage of slurs, etc.) for an extended period, including actions outside of RGL
  • They have committed three or more offenses in RGL over two years (a ban applied after a third offense will reapply probation)
  • They are actively banned in RGL and commit a new offense during the initial ban -- thus receiving a second penalty
  • They have a delayed offseason league ban and commit a new offense before the initial ban becomes active -- thus receiving a second penalty

[1004.4] - Using a banned player in a scrimmage⚓︎

If a banned player is playing in any scrim or pickup game scrim (pugscrim) consisting of at least one RGL team and said player commits an act that would result in further bans, then the leader(s), active RGL player(s), and/or scrim organizer(s) responsible for that player's participation are subject to a possible league ban, in addition to a minor team penalty.

Penalties may be administered if the banned player meets both criteria:

  • On a 6-month or longer ban (not permanent)
  • The player’s ban is similar to their discipline history in the league (e.g. A banned player uses a slur and has a history of being penalized for this in the league.)

[1004.4.1] - Permanently banned players in a scrimmage⚓︎

Permanently banned players with bans for one of the following are not allowed in any scrim or pickup game scrim (pugscrim) consisting of at least one RGL team:

  • Breaking RGL's player code of conduct
  • Harassment (doxxing, using slurs, death threats, etc.)
  • Cheating

The leader(s), active RGL player(s), and/or scrim organizer(s) responsible for that player's participation are subject to a possible league ban, in addition to a permanent Discord recruitment section restriction.

[1004.5] - Offenses while on an alternate account in matches and scrimmages⚓︎

If a player breaks an RGL rule on an undeclared alternate account, they will receive twice the punishment of what they would receive on their main account. If we cannot prove who the alternate account is, the leader(s), active RGL player(s), and/or scrim organizer(s) in the match or scrimmage are subject to a league ban.

[1004.6] - Excessive offenses during matches and scrimmages⚓︎

If a team, during an RGL match or scrimmage commits three or more offenses during that time, then the leader(s), active RGL player(s), and/or scrim organizer(s) will receive an additional league punishment for the events.

[1004.7] - Lifting Probation⚓︎

Players on probation can request to have their probation lifted one year after the probation was placed or one year after their latest suspension has ended, whichever is later.

[1004.8] - Sentence Leniency⚓︎

Players that are honest and confess to administration staff are subject to reduced lengths for their suspension (e.g. admitting to alting, assisting an alt in evasion, etc.). The information must not be withheld and instead, be given immediately to an administrator during the investigation when approached by staff and not after it has concluded. Failure to supply this information promptly will not result in any leniency in the case.

Making false claims, tampering with evidence, and/or lying directly to administration staff will be subject to a longer suspension length.

[1004.9] - Appeals⚓︎

The form for appealing indefinite bans, as well as all other bans in RGL, can be found here.

Part of the requirement for an indefinite ban appeal is that the writer shows an understanding of their bans and outlines their steps to end the behaviors that caused it, both of which should also be reflected in their interactions inside of the community. As such, the player must show a pattern of improved behavior in the community. When considering an appeal, admins look at any reports of misconduct and/or negative actions that affect others that are received, even if the individual actions would not be individually worthy of a league penalty. Admins are looking for players who have improved the way they interact with the community as a whole - not just players who have learned to skirt the RGL guidelines while continuing to violate misconduct guidelines outside of the league.

For a denied appeal, the following serves as a guideline of how long a player must wait before reapplying. In specific cases involving longer bans, cases where recent actions of misconduct and/or negative actions occur, the first denial for reapply may be longer than the guideline.

  • 1-month min. (e.g. low-effort appeals)
  • 1-season min. (e.g. continued bad behavior in the community)
  • Any further denied appeals will lead to increasingly longer reapply lengths

[1004.10] - Admin Support Abuse⚓︎

Contacting other admins in search of a different answer after receiving an admin's answer ("Admin Shopping") is prohibited, and may result in a team penalty or warning (with increased penalties for repeat offenses).

Appealing a decision to a more senior admin (division moderator > division admin > head admin) is allowed. Contacting multiple admins for a quick answer (such as about a dispute in a match) is permitted, but the first answer received will stand unless explicitly overridden by the relevant division's admin or head admin. We recommend opening a support ticket in the RGL Discord to avoid this problem and achieve the fastest response.

[1004.11] - RGL Platform Bans⚓︎

All league bans automatically apply to every RGL platform, including, but not limited to, the RGL Forums and any official RGL PUG services. Banned players can access only the support section of the RGL Discord to have contact with admins.

[1004.11.1] - Offseason Bans⚓︎

League bans for misconduct received in the offseason will not begin until the next season as specified in the ban reason. Players with a pending ban will not be able to participate in any ongoing cups, format qualifiers, or use league platforms. However, they can participate in other league formats (beginning of the regular season) that start earlier until the ban starts. Bans that are multiple seasons or greater are exempt from this and will start immediately on the ban being issued.

Last update: January 15, 2024