Discussion of Forum Rules

[Administrator]

Forum Rules....we should probably have some.

What should we allow, what should we not allow?

What annoys you about other forums you've been on and what could we do differently here to prevent or mitigate it?

What conduct should earn a warning, a temporary ban or a permanent ban?

[SF Band dad]

Okay, I'll start it off. Some choices are easy... fake members posting commercial advertising or links to porn....
<Zot!> Delete & Ban.

[jhs65]

Try to make sure that you enforce the rules equally.
No personal attacks. However, that's not an easy one. For instance, if Beau tells me I'm old and ugly, or I tell him that he is, since we know each other and those statements are at least half true, it's not a personal attack.

[Beaudiddley]

I agree with Mack......I'm not sure personal attacks should even be something we worry about because to me you could not say anything that I would consider a personal attack......to me it would be just a way to have some fun......with a comeback......now if two people lose their cool in an outright argument.....maybe a moderator should step in and ask....are you guys serious....or are you playing......if it's serious....then ask the two to stop or be banned for a time......I think if everytime mack calls me old and ugly.....if it gets called a personal attack ...that is crazy......

[cavaliereagle]

I agree with Mack......I'm not sure personal attacks should even be something we worry about because to me you could not say anything that I would consider a personal attack......to me it would be just a way to have some fun......with a comeback......now if two people lose their cool in an outright argument.....maybe a moderator should step in and ask....are you guys serious....or are you playing......if it's serious....then ask the two to stop or be banned for a time......I think if everytime mack calls me old and ugly.....if it gets called a personal attack ...that is crazy......

Agreed!

[SF Band dad]

What about off-category topics? On PFT they are common but they can often clutter-up the forum particularly during busy times.

If someone posts a political statement or a link to a funny video in "Prep Football - 3A" should a moderator:
- Delete it?
- Issue a warning?
- Issue a temporary ban if it's a repeat offense?

If not deleted, should an Administrator move the topic down to an appropriate category down in "The Sandbox"?

[cavaliereagle]

What about off-category topics? On PFT they are common but they can often clutter-up the forum particularly during busy times.

If someone posts a political statement or a link to a funny video in "Prep Football - 3A" should a moderator:
- Delete it?
- Issue a warning?
- Issue a temporary ban if it's a repeat offense?

If not deleted, should an Administrator move the topic down to an appropriate category down in "The Sandbox"?

I think it should be moved and a warning issued. After 3 warnings, a temporary ban.

[SF Band dad]

What about off-category topics? On PFT they are common but they can often clutter-up the forum particularly during busy times.

I think it should be moved and a warning issued. After 3 warnings, a temporary ban.

I was thinking along the same lines, move it and issue a warning. After 2 or 3 warnings, you know they're being intentionally disruptive.

...and I just realized that Moderators can lock, move and merge topics and replies. I was thinking that required an Administrator.

The forum software allows temp bans of: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours or any number of days.

[cavaliereagle]

What about off-category topics? On PFT they are common but they can often clutter-up the forum particularly during busy times.

I think it should be moved and a warning issued. After 3 warnings, a temporary ban.

I was thinking along the same lines, move it and issue a warning. After 2 or 3 warnings, you know they're being intentionally disruptive.

...and I just realized that Moderators can lock, move and merge topics and replies. I was thinking that required an Administrator.

The forum software allows temp bans of: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours or any number of days.

That sounds good. You could use some help.

[SF Band dad]

Vanity Topics - A topic that is in the correct forum and category but is redundant, adds nothing to the forum and could have been posted as a reply on existing topics. Called a "vanity" because its only purpose seems to be getting that member's name/topic on the front page. Sometimes posted because the member is too excited or too lazy to read-through the existing topics and post a reply.

Example: There are already several topics discussing South Florence's big wins over Northwestern, Greenwood and Goose Creek to reach the Div-II Championship game,.....
< shut up, it's my example >
...and one of the 30 SF newbies starts a new topic/initial post that says: "SF Defense! - - Has any team ever shut-out all their playoff opponents before?"

I was thinking we should treat a Vanity similarly to an off-category topic, Warn the member and Move the topic. The difference is that the Moderator has a tougher job, they would have to Merge the new topic with an older one. They may have to edit the initial vanity post and any replies so they make sense in the older topic without the subject line that the newbie used.

Some moderators may not feel comfortable with that much editing, we could also Warn & Lock the topic preventing any additional replies.
Or we could just Warn and start issuing temp bans on the 3rd offense.
Or we could do what PFT does: nothing.

I think this is a tough call because it's not necessarily off-category, but when the board is busy it's annoying to wade through multiple discussion topics on the same subject, particularly if some are just one-liners, throwing out an opinion.