Rules and all that (feedback welcome)

[Utisz]

Edit: 2021-03-26

The rule in effect right now is don't be an asshole.

This includes, but is not limited to: doing illegal shit, posting porn or gore, trying to hack or harm the forum, being a general shithead.

We'll deal with other issues as they arise.

[Utisz]

Outdated yadda yadda ...

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Potential Rights

In the specific context of this forum, each registered member has the right:

• To not be doxxed: to not have their real-life identity revealed by another member, nor to not have information revealed that could lead to their real-life identity or address being revealed in turn.
• To not have personal communications revealed to third parties, other than to moderators for moderation purposes.
• To not have personal communications accessed by mods or admins unnecessarily (beyond site operation or moderation purposes).
• To not be harrassed, bullied, threatened, etc., on the forum, or in real-life regarding a matter relating to the forum.
• To not be discriminated against in a manner based on race, gender, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation.
• To opt out of being spoken about or interacted with by any member they specify without further justification.
• To not to be spoken about or interacted with by a member that has opted out with them.
• To browse the main forums without coming across shit that is not safe for work, or not safe for life.
• To be informed of the reasons for any infractions applied to them.
• To appeal a decision to a second moderator.
• To not have their real-life photo or likeness posted without permission by another member (including as a quote).
• To reuse their content from this forum elsewhere.
• To not have their content reused by another member outside the forum without explicit permission, except if the site is migrated or mirrored elsewhere in part or whole.
• To edit any of their posts at any time, but possibly with a notice indicating that it has been edited.
• To ban any user from posting further in a thread/topic that they have started.
• (anything else?)

Again, this is a proposal of possible things we can consider. Comments or proposed additions/removals/changes welcome.

[Utisz]

Outdated blah blah ...

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Potential Infractions / Things We Don't Want

Some things we must avoid are set in stone and are global:

• no doxxing
• no threats of violence or reprisals in real-life for what happens on here
• no fucking with the forum's normal operation (hacking accounts or the database, (D)DoS attacks, running hidden scripts, etc.)
• no (other) illegal stuff
• (anything else?)

Other stuff we don't want but might be more difficult to delineate:

• online harrassment/bullying
• hate speech
• stalker-ish behaviour
• frequent shitposting
• spreading misinformation
• (anything else?)

Other stuff that in general has not been acceptable, that we can discuss in terms of if they should be allowed, where, and under what circumstances:

• adult content
• sock puppets
• revealing private info
• (anything else?)

Again, this is a proposal of possible things we can consider. Comments or proposed additions/removals/changes welcome.

[Utisz]

Outdated etcetera etcetera

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Potential Consequences / Moderation Tools

• Ban: Lose registered member status
• Exile: Confined to a limited part of the forum
• Limitation: Restriction of normal privileges, such as maximum number of posts per hour, maximum length of posts, ability to post images or videos, ability to send PMs, etc., designed specifically to curb infractions.
• Social distancing: Not allowed to interact with a user or set of users: no PMs to them, no direct replies on their messages, no posts in topics they have started in the members-only sections of the forum, no direct or indirect mentions of them, no reps on their posts, no allusions to them, no PMs about them to other members (except for moderation purposes), etc. Social distancing will always work both ways: neither member can interact with the other.
• Redaction: Editting, deleting or moving problematic messages, posts or threads
• Warning: A PM highlighting an infraction and listing possible consequences
• (anything else?)

The first four can be:

• Permanent: Forever; end of matter
• Indefinite: No fixed end, but may be overturned based on some specified condition
• Fixed-length: Will be overturned after X period of time (indicated at the start)

Again, this is a proposal of possible things we can consider. Comments or proposed additions/removals/changes welcome.

[Utisz]

Outdated whathaveyou whathaveyou

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Moderator Selection

• OP moderates their own topics/threads
• Moderators are voted on by the community (possibly at regular intervals)
• (anything else?)

These options are not necessarily exclusive.

Again, this is a proposal of possible things we can consider. Comments or proposed additions/removals/changes welcome.

[Utisz]

Outdated asdf asdf

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A proposal to try to match potential infractions to consequences. Again feel free to comment or add whatever you think.

In general, some flexibility and discretion is needed, e.g., for minor or indeliberate offences it may be sufficient to issue a Warning with Redaction. Any infraction may also require Redaction alongside what is explicitly mentioned.

Some things we must avoid are set in stone and are global:

• no doxxing
  • Indefinite ban, can be overturned by the person doxxed.
• no threats of violence or reprisals in real-life for what happens on here
  • Indefinite ban, can be overturned by the person affected.
• no fucking with the forum's normal operation (hacking accounts or the database, (D)DoS attacks, running hidden scripts, etc.)
  • Indefinite ban, can be overturned by tech admin (currently me).
• no (other) illegal stuff
  • Permanent ban.
• (anything else?)

Other stuff we don't want but might be more difficult to delineate:

• online harrassment/bullying
  • Social distancing: this can be requested by anyone of any other member that they feel is harrassing them, no questions asked. It will work both ways until both parties agree to opt out.
• hate speech
  • Depending on severity, can range from Redaction + Warning to Permanent Ban.
• stalker-ish behaviour
  • Social distancing: this can be requested by anyone of any other member that they feel is stalking or harrassing them, no questions asked. It will work both ways until both parties agree to opt out.
• frequent shitposting
  • First a Warning
  • If it continues, Fixed-length Limitations to curb it (e.g., restriction to one post per day for a fixed period of time).
  • If it continues after limitations are lifted, Indefinite Limitations to curb it.
• spreading misinformation
  • Redaction (move posts to some perdition-style forum labelled accordingly), eventually leading to Exile for repeat offences.
• (anything else?)

Other stuff that in general has not been acceptable, that we can discuss in terms of if they should be allowed, where, and under what circumstances:

• adult content
  • Anything NSFW not allowed in the main forum (people will browse at work). Depending on severity, Redaction / Warning up to Permanent Ban.
  • We could have a NSFW forum with some ground rules.
• sock puppets
  • To circumvent a consequence (Ban/Exile/...): Permanent ban of the sock account. Warning to main account. Permanent ban of main account for repeated offence. In other cases, don't know.
  • Other cases should be permitted only when approved by a moderator or admin.
• revealing private communications
  • Moderation to edit/remove private communication. First time: Warning. Repeated offences leading to an Indefinite Ban that can be overturned by the member whose communication was revealed.
  • If it constitutes harrassment or doxxing, those infractions will also be dealt with accordingly.
• (anything else?)

Again, this is a proposal of possible things we can consider. Comments or proposed additions/removals/changes welcome.

[Sistamatic]

I created a profile but I apparently already had one. I have created a sock on accident. It was nice knowin yall. :p

[Sistamatic]

Utisz, if it please the court, perhaps you could delete this account and change the name on the other one to Sistamatic. (is currently sistamatacism...which I must have thought was cool when I made it but it really just isn't.)

Or conversely you could delete the other account and I'll keep this one. Whichever thing is easier for you.

[Utisz]

Sistamaticism is dead. Long live Sistamatic!

(I saved your other account as it has your avatar and a couple of other posts and all that, now called Sistamatic)

[Sistamatic]

Yay! Thank you!