Respect
This is a file that covers many sensitive subjects; we expect people to be mindful of others, and the following are examples of how to do that.
Gender/Expression
Out of character, we explicitly endorse and support gender expression of various kinds, including cis, trans, and other genders. Similarly queers of all stripes (and straight folks) are all welcome. In-character, our setting is not always gentle on these issues. Individual players are welcome to focus on such discrimination or not, at their desire; if these desires are at odds, they should be discussed out of character. We expect the average player to take a balance on this front; gay marriage may not be legal in 2012 Japan (or present Japan, just yet--as of writing, there is a case in the courts!), but your character doesn't have to be homophobic or transphobic either. On the other hand, IC is IC and OOC is OOC; if everyone involved is comfortable with it, it's just fine to play with the difficulties there too.
Mental Illness/Disability
Due to the nature of the source material, many characters are likely to struggle with various mental health issues, from illnesses to disabilities. Real people struggle with these issues too--real people who are a part of our player base--so all players should be mindful of this coming from both directions.
If you don't suffer the same issues as someone else, or any mental issues at all, please be kind in how you talk about them. If you do have a mental health issue and choose to app a character with the same issue, be cautious about the IC/OOC divide. Be aware that different people may have different experiences even with the same condition; for example, autism is a spectrum, and two different autistic people/people with autism (pick the term that you prefer) may have very different symptoms and ways of coping with those symptoms.
Stigmatization of mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, and so on does happen in the real world and may well appear ICly--the term "psychotic breakdown" in Persona 5 is but one example, which is a reflection of the in-world media not understanding what's actually going on and mislabeling it accordingly--but that only means that we should be that much more thoughtful in how we approach these topics OOCly.
Race
Our player base consists of people of varying racial experiences, and our character base is primarily Japanese. It is our intention to portray racial issues with respect and care, and that includes acknowledging that racism and ethnic discrimination exist both in our RL cultures and in the cultures that we're writing about. We do not accept any such discrimination out of character, either implicit or explicit. As for this issue in general: it's not something everyone can just put down when they don't want to deal with it, and it needs to be treated as the serious matter it is. We don't require you to be an expert on racial dynamics in Japan, merely to be respectful when those issues do come up.
Religion
JRPGs may like to kill various gods, but please keep in mind that many of the sources for our Personas and character elements are from real religions that people do believe in or have believed in in the past. They should be treated with respect. That doesn't mean you can't use them, but it does mean that religion shouldn't be merely a punchline. Characters may be religious or irreligious as desired, but our official policy is that we won't come down to decide what's Correct on that front in general.
Sexuality
In any work that explores deep psychology, it's not a surprise if sex comes up. That's fine and normal; many ways of engaging with it, including not at all, are just fine. But as to how we handle things on game, we do have a few rules.
1) No explicit sex should be depicted on-screen, either on-game or on the wiki. Sex acts should be faded to black or off-screened. It's not what we're here for, and it's actually a legal problem in some countries where we have players. 'They spent a long time together' is the traditional euphemism in Social Links for the later Persona games, but there are other options. If you have to ask if it counts, it probably counts.
2) References are OK though. Coming out of someone's bedroom, talking about sexuality, and even non-sexual scenes in such situations (such as talking in bed) are fine. For example, the Lovers sequence in Persona 3 involves a love hotel, and that's not a problem. However, if you get close to the line, use trigger warnings on relevant logs.
3) Don't make it weird. If someone is uncomfortable, stop. Direct sex is covered by these rules, but so are expressions of kink that aren't necessarily openly sexual, and the rules apply either to the stated limits here or the comfort zones of the people involved, whichever is more restrictive.
Violence
In a game that involves so much combat, one can expect Persona stories to get violent. This is true, and we don't shy away from that. However, for the most part the combat in Persona is relatively 'bloodless'; blue flames appear and shattered glass falls everywhere when one shoots herself in the head with an Evoker, rather than brains and blood. Terrible blades knock people back instead of cutting them in half. A little blood is fine, but for the most part, Persona combat is just not gory.
This isn't to say blood and injury are unacceptable--it's more that they have weight. When Akihiko is injured fighting the Shadow in early Persona 3, it's more than HP loss; he's out of the action for some time. Real injury beyond cuts, scrapes, and bruises should be treated with gravity.
1) Real injuries are generally the province of cutscenes and narrative weight, rather than combat systems. You never have to pose a gruesome injury as a result of a highly damaging attack. Similarly, a character can take hundreds of points of HP damage in theory, but if they're shot in the heart by a real bullet they can still die.
2) When injury is inflicted and required, please refrain from being too graphic in its depiction. There's different lines on this, but if you are talking about bones sticking out, hot blood, or eyes turning to goop, you should speed check with the players in your scene and certainly consider a content warning.
3) However, sometimes violence in Persona is scary or disturbing, and that's fine here. In Persona 3, Chidori's Persona tries to kill her. In Persona 2, there's a serial killer doing murders who paints walls with blood. Persona 4's opening sequence includes a victim's corpse splayed out. Violence happens, sometimes shocking and terrible violence, and that's fine. But not all the time. Be careful in your depictions of it so that it continues to have the impact it should.
Violence, Sexuality, and Abuse
1) All the rules above about sexuality and violence continue to apply especially in cases of various kinds of sexual assault. In fact, it gets more restrictive; even flashbacks to moments are prohibited on-screen in the case of things like adult/minor sex abuse, and while these elements do exist in the game, we'd prefer not to focus on the above for reasons of taste and legality. Persona's setting is very dark, but we don't have to go everywhere in that umbrella.
2) To be clear: depiction of sexual violence against minors is prohibited. This is a legal boundary, not just a boundary of good taste. Your character can suffer trauma, and many will suffer traumas of varying sorts, but the details should be limited to verbal descriptions and fading to black. This is not negotiable.
3) Dealing with the aftermath of trauma is fine. Dealing with memories of trauma is fine. The above rules are not meant to restrict interesting and well-considered play, but to draw a line within which we can explore stories of trauma, abuse, and recovery safely and well.
4) Depictions of physical and/or emotional abuse (that are not also sexual) are not prohibited. However, the same general rules apply: please speed-check participants and use trigger warnings as appropriate. If you think it's too graphic to show, it probably is.
Respect, in Summation
These matters should be treated with sensitivity and respect. Remember that for some players, the issues depicted in our stories are real issues. We have players who deal with racism both open and subtle. We have players who have dealt with violence, including sexual violence. We have players with histories of abuse. Remember to be considerate of your fellow players in your depictions, and always be willing to adapt the scene to the comfort and needs of those involved.
1) People do not have to disclose why they are uncomfortable, simply that they are uncomfortable. When this happens, the scene or event stops until the matter is dealt with. This might involve the scene changing or being adapted, or it might involve the player who is uncomfortable simply withdrawing. Whatever it is, it should be handled with OOC care and sensitivity above IC concerns.
2) At the same time, people are and should be allowed to depict sensitive scenarios. You can ask that someone put a trigger warning on their logs (and indeed if you think your log needs one, it's wise to add it), but the depiction of abuse or other unhealthy situations is not itself a violation of these rules. Please be kind to each other on this, and handle such cases with care. The person who has to punch out is not the only person with feelings on this, and everyone involved should be treated appropriately.
3) We do not discourage writing outside your own experiences. Just because you haven't dealt with a particular illness or mental illness or experience doesn't mean you're not allowed to write about it! However, do so with the understanding that someone on our game might have their own experience with the matter in question, and be willing to slow or change your roll. When dealing with other people's experiences and cultures, remember that those people and cultures are not just play pieces to be handled roughly.