At Mud Club, we want members to have room to be themselves, try new things, make mistakes, solve problems, and enjoy playing with others within a clear and supportive community framework.
The FAIR Code gives members, families, and staff a shared set of expectations for how we treat each other and the spaces we share.
It applies across Mud Club spaces, including therapy sessions, Clubhouse, Minecraft, VR, and other member activities.
💚 The FAIR Code
F — Fairness
Play by the rules.
Members are expected to follow the rules of the game, activity, and Mud Club space they are participating in.
Fairness also means respecting other members' builds, belongings, turns, and opportunities to participate.
A — Awareness
Think before you act or type.
Online spaces can move quickly. We encourage members to notice how their words, actions, jokes, builds, and gameplay may affect other people.
Sometimes this means slowing down, checking what someone meant, or asking for support before reacting.
I — Inclusion
Make space for everyone.
Members do not have to play with everyone all the time. They are allowed to choose when they need space, want to play independently, or do not want to join an activity.
At the same time, members should not deliberately target, humiliate, isolate, or prevent someone else from participating in shared Mud Club spaces.
R — Respect
Kind words and kind actions.
Members are allowed to disagree, feel frustrated, set boundaries, and say no.
We support members in doing this without deliberately insulting, threatening, harassing, damaging someone else's work, or continuing an interaction after another member has clearly asked for space.
🌱 Not Every Difficult Moment Is a FAIR Concern
Kids and teens are learning, and online play creates lots of natural opportunities for problem-solving.
A member might:
- become frustrated
- misunderstand another person
- need some space
- lose interest or withdraw
- have difficulty joining an activity
- experience a technology problem
- communicate differently than another member
- need extra support with a transition
These situations do not automatically mean someone has broken the FAIR Code.
Our team may simply check in, offer support, clarify what is happening, or help the member rejoin when they are ready.
FAIR becomes relevant when the concern involves how members are treating each other or the shared space — for example, griefing, hurtful language, repeated unwanted behaviour, exclusion, or another clear community-boundary concern.
💬 Sometimes a Quick Reminder Is Enough
Staff do not need to turn every small moment into a formal FAIR Reset.
If something happens in the moment, a team member might simply say:
“Let's bring that back to FAIR.”
or:
“They've asked for some space — please choose another area for now.”
If the member responds and the situation resolves, that may be all that is needed.
A quick redirect like this is part of everyday moderation and does not automatically become a formal FAIR Step or require family notification.
If the concern continues, clearly meets FAIR criteria, has a meaningful impact on others, or reflects a developing pattern, staff may move into the formal 1-2-3 FAIR Reset.
🔄 The 1-2-3 FAIR Reset
The FAIR Reset gives members predictable opportunities to pause, reconnect, repair what needs repairing, and start fresh.
It is designed as a reset — not a punishment. That framing is also built into Mud Club's internal FAIR process.
1️⃣ Reminder — Bring It Back to FAIR
At Step 1, a Mud Club team member will check in directly with the member.
They will:
- briefly explain what happened
- identify the relevant FAIR expectation
- give the member an opportunity to adjust and continue participating
For many situations, this is all that is needed.
What families can expect
Once something reaches a formal Step 1 FAIR Reminder, we also send the family a brief heads-up.
Usually, no action is needed from you. The purpose is simply to keep you informed and let you know that we've already checked in with your child.
2️⃣ Short Reset — Take Some Space + Reconnect
If the concern continues within the same incident, the member may move to Step 2.
At this stage, we encourage them to step away briefly, take some space, and regroup.
A team member will reconnect with the member and help clarify:
- what needs to change
- whether anything needs repairing
- what will help them return successfully
A Short Reset is not about requiring someone to immediately “calm down.” Sometimes time and space are the most useful supports.
What families can expect
Families are also notified when a member reaches formal Step 2.
Usually, no immediate family action is required unless the team identifies a reason to connect further. The supervising OT is also made aware that Step 2 occurred.
3️⃣ Full Reset — Pause + Plan Your Return
If a concern continues after earlier support, or the situation requires a larger reset, the member's access to the relevant Mud Club space may be paused for a period of time.
The length of the pause is not predetermined. Depending on the situation, it might be a few hours, the remainder of the day, through a weekend, or until the family and Mud Club team have had an opportunity to connect and plan a return.
At Step 3, the Mud Club team will let the member know that their access is being paused. The OT then connects directly with the family and helps determine what is needed before returning.
🎮 Return to Play
A Full Reset does not automatically mean a lengthy suspension from Mud Club.
The purpose is to create enough space to understand what happened and determine what will support a successful return.
Depending on the situation, the return plan might include:
- reviewing what happened
- clarifying a Mud Club expectation
- repairing or restoring something
- agreeing on boundaries between members
- identifying a strategy to use next time
- planning additional staff support
- checking in with the member and family before returning
When appropriate, the member lets the team know when they are ready to return and play FAIR, and the OT may confirm the plan with the family before access resumes.
Once a concern has been addressed, our goal is to help the member start fresh rather than continue defining them by something that happened previously.
🔧 Repair Before Restriction
Whenever appropriate, our team looks first at:
What needs to happen so everyone can get back to participating successfully?
That might include:
- returning an item
- repairing a build
- replacing resources
- giving someone space
- changing inappropriate content
- clarifying ownership or game expectations
- playing separately for a period of time
- asking staff for help before responding next time
Sometimes an access restriction or pause is still needed, but it is only one part of supporting a successful return.
🧠 Context and Severity Matter
FAIR is intended to be consistent without treating every situation as identical.
Before beginning a formal FAIR Reset, staff first make sure the concern is reasonably clear. Ambiguous situations or misunderstandings may be clarified before a formal FAIR response is used.
Depending on the situation, staff may consider:
- what happened before and after
- whether something was accidental
- whether the interaction was mutual
- whether another member had asked for the behaviour to stop
- Minecraft or game context
- relevant server or block logs
- how the member responded to staff support
- whether the behaviour continued during the same incident
- the impact on other members
- whether a similar concern has been occurring repeatedly
A mild, impulsive comment is different from sustained harassment or deliberate griefing. Our internal process specifically considers the severity of the current incident, repetition, recurrence, and impact on the community.
This means staff may sometimes begin with a stronger response when the situation itself is more significant.
🔢 Is FAIR a “Three Strikes” System?
No.
The 1-2-3 steps generally describe what happens within one connected incident.
For example:
Reminder → same behaviour continues → Short Reset → same behaviour continues → Full Reset
A completely separate incident on another day does not automatically begin at the next FAIR number.
We assess new situations based on what is happening at that time.
However, repeated similar concerns across different incidents can tell us that a member may need more individualized support. In those situations, the OT may review the broader pattern with the family and consider whether additional strategies or a more individualized FAIR/return plan would be helpful.
Internally, Mud Club also uses pattern thresholds to make sure recurring concerns receive OT attention rather than simply accumulating consequences.
📩 When Will Parents or Caregivers Hear From Us?
Our goal is to keep families meaningfully informed without turning every ordinary moment of support into a formal incident report.
A brief in-the-moment redirect
If staff give a quick reminder and the issue resolves without becoming a formal FAIR Step, we generally do not send a separate family notification.
Formal Step 1
We notify the family that a FAIR Reminder occurred and that we've checked in directly with their child.
Usually no family action is required.
Formal Step 2
We notify the family that a Short Reset occurred.
The supervising OT is also made aware. Usually no immediate family action is required unless further support would be helpful.
Formal Step 3
The OT connects directly with the family, explains the pause, and works with the family/member on the plan for returning.
⏰ When Will We Follow Up?
Our goal is to address FAIR concerns as close to real time as reasonably possible while the concern is still relevant.
Mud Club's Minecraft server is open during staffed moderation hours from 9:00 am–9:00 pm ET Monday to Sunday, and is closed outside of those hours.
If a concern happens late in the moderation day, requires additional review, or cannot reasonably be completed before the server closes, staff will address any immediate needs and complete the remaining follow-up the next staffed day at the latest.
For formal FAIR Steps:
- Steps 1 and 2: the OTA communicates with the member and family.
- Step 3: typically, the OTA communicates the pause/reset to the member, and the OT takes over family communication and return planning.
Significant safety concerns are addressed through Mud Club's safety escalation process and are not delayed until the next staffed day.
🔐 Privacy When Other Members Are Involved
Many situations involve more than one member.
Families are welcome to ask questions about what happened and how Mud Club responded. At the same time, we need to protect the privacy of every child and family involved.
We can share information about:
- your child's experience
- support provided to your child
- relevant Mud Club expectations
- steps that affect your child's participation
- anything your family needs to know moving forward
We cannot generally share another member's:
- personal or clinical information
- family communication
- moderation history
- individual consequences
- support or return plan
For example, staff may say:
“We've followed up with the other member and addressed the concern on our side.”
rather than describing the other member's private outcome.
💬 Members Are Allowed to Set Boundaries
Fairness and inclusion do not mean members have to play with everyone all the time.
Members may say:
“I want to play by myself right now.”
“Please stop following me.”
“I don't want to join that activity.”
“Please don't change my build.”
Staff will generally support reasonable boundaries like these.
A concern may arise when someone repeatedly ignores a clear boundary, deliberately targets another person, or interferes with their ability to participate in shared Mud Club spaces.
🎬 Games, Builds and Media References
Members bring many interests into Mud Club, including games, shows, movies, characters, memes, and online culture.
We generally focus on what is actually being created, shared, or acted out within Mud Club, rather than automatically excluding something simply because the original media has a mature age rating.
For example, a location or character inspired by mature media may sometimes be appropriate, while recreating graphic violence, sexual content, or highly disturbing scenes would not be.
Staff may ask a member to modify part of a build or activity while allowing the broader creative idea to remain.
🚨 When FAIR Is Not the Right Process
The FAIR Reset is designed for community and behaviour concerns.
Some situations require a different and more immediate response.
These may include concerns involving:
- significant distress or wellbeing concerns
- self-harm language or disclosures
- credible threats of real-world harm
- significant privacy concerns
- unknown or unauthorized access
- serious discriminatory or identity-based targeting
- other significant safeguarding concerns
In these situations, staff may take reasonable immediate action and follow Mud Club's clinical or safety escalation process rather than moving through FAIR Steps 1, 2, and 3.
🛡️ What Mud Club's Role Is
Mud Club uses staff supervision, clear community expectations, moderation tools, clinical oversight, privacy practices, and family communication to support appropriate participation.
As with any environment involving other people, we cannot guarantee that every interaction will always go as intended.
When concerns arise, our role is to:
- respond appropriately
- understand the context
- reduce risk where reasonably possible
- clarify expectations
- support repair
- involve the OT and family when needed
- adjust supports or access where appropriate
- help members return successfully when they are ready
💚 The Goal of FAIR
The FAIR Code is not about expecting children and teens to behave perfectly.
It is about giving members:
- clear and predictable expectations
- opportunities to repair mistakes
- support navigating social situations
- space to pause and regroup
- reasonable boundaries
- family and OT involvement when more support is needed
- and a genuine opportunity to return and start fresh
We want Mud Club to be a place where members feel supported to experiment, connect, make mistakes, learn from them, and keep playing.