Here's what the Forum Rules might look like. Heavy revision of sentence structure and additional "Guidelines" may be in order and are welcome. We've got something to work with now.
Forum Rules and Guidelines
Intro:
We're finally introducing forum rules. These rules are based upon the initial “terms of agreement” that you were required to accept upon creating your forum account. However as of the 17'th of February, 2015, by continuing to post on the forums, you are agreeing to post in accordance with
these rules.
Apart from blatant and/or serious offenses such as posting explicit material (for which the offending community member will be banned), community members that break the rules will be warned by the moderator team that they have erred, with the expectation that they will improve their behavior. Repeat offenders will be disciplined. (suspended, banned, etc.) Now, let’s begin.
Rules:
Note:
- “Posting material” will be taken to include posting your own words as well as linking to material that is not your own.
- The rubric for serious discussion/debate here has been “substantive and irenic.” Let's change that to "meaningful and respectful" for reasons.
1. Do not post any material that is in violation of any International or United States Federal law.
2. Do not post any material that is copywrited unless you own the copyright, have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material, or are not in violation of relevant fair use policies.
3. Do not post any material that is explicit/pornographic.
4. Do not post any material that is intentionally misleading/false.
5. Do not post any material that is defamatory of community members, moderators, or any other person/s.
6. Do not post any material that is hateful and/or bigoted towards community members, moderators, or any other person/s.
7. Do not post any material that is threatening towards community members, moderators, or any other person.
8. Do not post any material that is profane or uses inappropriate language.
9. Do not post any material that is rude, disrespectful, insulting, etc. Show common courtesy.
10. Do not post any material that is invasive of a community member’s, moderator’s, or any other person’s privacy.
11. Do not post any material that is advertising and/or soliciting. Community members may self-advertise to a certain extent in their signature. (personal blogs, video sharing website channels, etc.)
12. Do not post any material that is contributing to
derailing a thread.13. Do not spam.
14. Show due respect to the moderator team and follow their instructions when necessary.
15. If you are suspended or banned, understand that this decision is final.
Sock puppet accounts created with the intentions of disputing a suspension decision will result in a ban.
Guidelines:
Note:
- These are "guidelines" in the
Pirates sense in that they are not "rules," just some tips that might be helpful during your time here.
1. Do not skirt the boundary between your posts explicitly breaking one of the rules (such as being disrespectful toward another community member) and your posts being just good enough. Don’t be constantly insinuating and snide. The moderator team will catch on and take action.
2. We encourage real relationships, but also respect your right to protect your identity. If you wish to keep your identity secret, please ensure that you do not display personal information on your profile.
3. Be likeable. Nobody likes a jerk. Conduct yourself in a manner conducive to meaningful and respectful discourse.
4. While we would discourage silencing dissenting opinions,
here is a good example of some steps to take if you ever run into a community member that you have consistent problems with. (i.e. You are unable to participate in meaningful and respectful discourse with them.) If you are having these kinds of problems with another community member, fighting fire with fire is neither appropriate nor effective. Report posts that break the rules. Get a moderator.
5. Lastly, contribute! The moderator team as well as the entire community (we’re sure) appreciate our prolific contributors even if we disagree with them at times. Follow the rules and keep posting!
6. Do your best to make your posts easy on the eye. We all appreciate effective use of hyperlinks too. If you need help in this area, don't hesitate to ask the community!
