Discussion of forum rules

[BoogyMan]

The forum ruleset for politicsforum.com is currently being developed and the rules listed here are borrowed from channelfuse.com, our parent network. Please read and familiarize yourself with the rules listed below.

1 Personal Topics/Rants
Rants and complaints are frowned on and may be closed as they are discovered. Posts of this type are much better suited for a blog or other personal web space and are unwanted on the Arch forums. Public posts should be open and inviting to all members. Discussions among a select group of users should take place in private message.

2 Bringing battles from other forums to Politics Forum
Don't do it. Bringing fights from other forums to PF will not be tolerated and will likely result in a ban without possibility for reinstatement.

3 Do Not Flame. Respect Other Users
Simply put, respect other users and their views; even if you disagree with them.

4 No Trolling
Trolls are generally deceitful and often use ambivalence as a method of covertly insulting, intimidating, or inciting a person or persons for their own sadistic pleasure. They often pick their words very carefully and are therefore able to defend their masked attempts at creating unrest, often redirecting the blame onto the community and its 'failure to understand them properly'.

5 Old Threads/'Necro-Bumping'
Do your part to keep the forums tidy. Do not post in threads that are 6 or more months old. Resurrecting old threads generally creates disjointed zombie information for the community and can also make forum moderation unnecessarily complicated. If necessary, you may link to the older thread in your new thread. We are going to be an active community, and is always moving forward. Don't dig up the past.

6 No Power-Posting/Empty Posts
Power-posting is best described as posting empty and worthless messages. It is not tolerated. People may have two reasons to do this: to increase their post count meaninglessly, or to lend support to an idea (as if it were a vote). Examples of power-posting include, but are not limited to, replying with '+1', 'lol', 'me too', 'I agree', or ':)'.

When you reply to messages, make sure you have something to say. These empty posts clutter up threads and discussion, invalidates the 'Show New Posts' function, and wastes bandwidth and server space.

Threads that degenerate into a series of '+1/-1' or 'me too/I agree/I disagree' with no content will be locked. Individual power posts may also be deleted.

7 Life is a Two-way Street
A simple, yet profound and undeniable truth. Ensure your thread includes details and information that others will find useful. Share your findings with the community. Share your failures as well. Posting the equivalent of 'Nevermind, I fixed it.' in your thread is not only selfish and useless to the community, but a complete waste of resources and everyone's time. Also, demanding help or showing an obvious impatience toward getting it is unwanted here. We are a community here, a closed knit one. Get involved. Contribute to the community. Don't be a 'taker'.

8 Bumping
Posting a single word or useless message (bumping) to attract attention to your thread is not allowed. Do your own research, continue to troubleshoot, post the results, and be patient with the community. If people are reading your thread without answering or offering help, you may try supplying more details, or ask to be pointed in the right direction. Often, the reason for posts remaining unanswered is due in large part to the sparse details in the original post itself, or, the obvious availability of solutions in the wiki, on the forum (by using the search function) or on the web, and the community's unwillingness to point out the obvious.

9 Cross-Posting
Cross-posting is posting the same question multiple times. This is a waste of resources and is not permitted. Any cross-posted topic will be immediately locked or deleted.

10 Life is a Two-way Street
A simple, yet profound and undeniable truth. Ensure your thread includes details and information that others will find useful. Share your findings with the community. Share your failures as well. Posting the equivalent of 'Nevermind, I fixed it.' in your thread is not only selfish and useless to the community, but a complete waste of resources and everyone's time. Also, demanding help or showing an obvious impatience toward getting it is unwanted here. Arch is provided by a community of volunteers. Get involved. Contribute to the community. Don't be a 'taker'.

11 Misplaced Posts
Try to place your posts in the correct forum for the topic. Our forums have been carefully categorized so that most topics fit in one logical location. Any post that is deemed by the staff to be in the wrong forum will be moved to the correct location without warning. Most users can find these on your own but if you lose your thread, it is acceptable to contact one of the forum advisers asking where it has been moved.

12 Thread Hijacking
Thread hijacking is the process of replying to an existing thread with a different topic. This is tolerated but generally discouraged. It is better to start a new thread if you have a problem that is related to an existing posted issue but clearly different. On the other hand, it is better to respond to the existing thread with additional information if you have what appears to be the same problem. Posts that hijack a serious thread with off-topic discussion are strongly discouraged and will often be deleted or edited by forum staff.

13 Spam
Spam is not allowed. Spam is a blight upon the face of the net. Please report the offending post with the forum report function and a moderator will review it for removal. Offending spam accounts and associated IP addresses will be banned.

14 Respect The Staff
Members of The Forum Team have been chosen for their ability to exercise consistently good judgment and shall have the final say. Note that this forum is not run as a democracy. The forum staff shall always attempt to implement universally peaceful solutions, but in the end, are charged with the responsibility of maintaining peaceful, civil order for the forum majority. Therefore, they cannot always please everyone with the decisions made. Please do your part to contribute to a healthy community and environment. If you feel that an egregious oversight has been made, use the forum report function or pm the moderator group. Please do not post complaints on the forum.

15 Warnings, User Locking, Banning
If the Forum Staff Team feels that a member's forum behavior is unacceptable and warrants intervention, a private warning will typically be issued (unless the occurrence is judged to be especially flagrant, in which case a ban may become imminent). Warnings will not be discussed on the Forums, Chats, or mailing lists by the Moderation Team. If the warning goes unheeded, further action will be taken. This may range from locking the offending user account, to deletion or banning of the user. Action is generally on a case-by-case basis.

If a user is apologetic, interested in a peaceful solution and wishes to have their account reinstated, a general consensus will be formed by the staff for, or against, such a request.

[Amit]

Please add your comments and suggestions as you wish. I had started another thread for this, but that went far off topic.

The final rules will be published on a separate page, and not as a thread.

Self-governance is the keyword here though....