Who is Accountable for Behavior in a Group?

[Lady_Alizarin]

Why do I bring up this question? It has to do with personal experience I've had in game as well as what I've seen before.

Being the leader of a roleplay group pride/pack/clan/herd can be stressful. Been there, done that. Not everyone in the group is going to follow the rules of the game or the rules of the group from time to time. It happens. I once had a few members of my clan go around trolling people, and those people would come to me and say, "Hey! Why are your people over here bugging us? You need to control them! They are disrupting our chat/roleplay. Do something!" Wait a second.... since when is it MY responsibility for what another user is doing. Sure they are part of my RP group, but I'm not their babysitter. I cannot control what they are doing. Why not hold them accountable for what they are doing?
Rules of the game say that people are responsible for their own actions on this site and game. When it comes to group conduct, who is responsible for the actions of the members of the group? Is it the leader, or the individuals themselves?

[Morgra]

It is completely and entirely the responsibility of each individual member to follow the rules. Each and every member that has created an account here on FeralHeart agrees to our Terms of Service, the Official Game Rules and the Official Forum Rules. They agree to follow them and respect them. I would highly recommend linking the rules to anyone who questions you on this. What I just stated is listed at the bottom of the rules page in bold red text:

Official Game Rules

Never feel that it is your responsibility to make sure the members of your group are following the rules of FeralHeart. That expectation is really absurd of others to make. The only liability a group leader and group moderators would have is to enforce rules that they created for within their group that are not a part of FeralHeart's rules.

What needs to be done from all parties involved, especially from groups being bothered and trolled, is reports need to be filed. If people feel like they are being harassed by members of another group, they either need to ignore them, block them or file a report if they feel a rule has been violated. It is is our responsibility as members of staff to handle the reports given to us and to take care of any rules being broken. Action can be taken if people would put forth the effort to see that it gets brought to a staff member's attention. It is much more productive to handle it through filing a report than to take it out on group leaders who have nothing to do with the offenses being done by their members.

[Wyldercat]

I agree strongly that it is each member's individual responsibility. And on the subject of "control your people," group leaders really don't hold that kind of authority in my opinion. Yes, they can threaten kicks or penalty within the group, but other than that they mostly just hold a high position and facilitate the group. It's not like real life where leaders are authority figures and there are real consequences for actions.

[Ellen11v]

I agree with you, it's not the leader who should be responsbile, just because it's a member of your clan. Each member have responsibility for themselves.
Sorry for not a long thought here, but the other have already stated it very well. ^^

[LegendaryGrace]

It shouldn't ever be the leader's responsibility. I won't go into reason why because the people who have already commented have done a wonderful job doing that already. I don't want to be repetitive, it's unnecessary.

Though, I'd like to add a little bit to my opinion. I think a leader can sometimes, on rare occasions, be responsible or partly responsible. For example, if they set a bad example by doing that same thing and then try to punish someone in the group for doing something they've done themselves, they would be unfair and just be going against their own word. As a leader, you do have a responsibility to set an example. You act the way you want others to act. A leader shouldn't expect their group to be nice and follow the rules all the time, if the leader breaks their own rules or misbehaves.

In your case, I feel you aren't responsible. You are setting a good example and doing what you can. People can just sometimes have a bad day.   

[Drunken-Royalty]

A single or multiple leader's cannot control their whole group, we all have our own minds, our own choices, we should all know from the age of 5, right from wrong.

Every group member is responsible for their own actions, it would simply be unfair to pin up the leaders for the choices their group members make.

I've always said if my group members wanna go cause trouble, they can do it on a different character or they'll get the boot. Their actions will reflect on the whole group.
For example, if one group member is constantly spying on another group and following them etc, then it make's the whole group look bad, so yes it can be hard to keep your members in line but to say the least tell them to do it on a different character.

[/font][/color]

[ForestHysteria]

Well, players should control themselves in the first place and think about if their actions would have later consequences. A leader can't control his/hers members, but they could enforce rules if what they are doing seems rather inappropriate.

[Rizzla]

I agree that everyone is responsible for their own actions. Even if the leader was setting a "bad example" for the rest of the group, it is still the individual member's jobs to be mature, see that the behavior is wrong, and choose not to follow along with it themselves. If they are unable to do that then they should be the ones to face the consequences of their own actions.

[OnionKnight]

I fully believe that behavior is up to each and every individual, a group leader does not have the power to FORCE anyone to be a certain way, but they can discourage it and explain their reasoning why. If leaders desire a certain level of maturity or ruleset within the group they do have the power to kick members who don't follow it. Then that would limit the members in the roleplay, but one could argue quality over quantity is best? Anyways, it is fully up to the individual to decide what to do with themselves.