Right, this board is here for a reason, let's use it. We need to be on the same page here when talking about the forum rules, so let's discuss, let's see what we think about them, what we need to do to enforce them etc.
This set of rules is not all-inclusive, nor is it hard and fast.
How hard and fast are we going to allow? How quick are we going to clamp down on offenses? We seem to let things run and get out of hand before someone steps in to call and end to it, rather than nip it in the bud. Should discussions be left to see how they develop and whether anything can be brought back?
1. Stay on topic
This site is about the "2012 Doomsday" hoax, and related issues. It is not about the New World Order, the Illuminati, UFOs, alternate physics, or time-travel, except as these may pertain to the "2012 Doomsday" hoax. The forums are not "open" where any subject is welcome, they are provided in order to answer questions people may have regarding the pages, to request clarification, etc.
On the whole, I think we're good with this, especially if the original poster is not a member and/or is posing a question about a recent news item or claim and so on. The issue is resolved quickly and the thread sinks down the board list.
But we know there are times when a large paragraph comes in that assumes something absurd for example, takes an outright falsehood as gospel truth, and any number of us will respond and pick it apart word by word, and sometimes we have different 'debunking' approaches to the same post, so we bring up different responses which in turn bring more responses from the the original poster, and here we go the cycle starts and you can bet we'll be straying out of bounds at some point… but where do we draw the line to stop?
Not all topics are welcome, even in the "Off Topic" forum. The site is not intended to serve as a platform for the discussion of any and every conspiracy theory under the sun. It is specific to the "2012 doomsday" hoax. If you came here to rabble-rouse for your pet conspiracy theory, expect your posts to be summarily deleted. Look, if you want a wide-open free-for-all debate, go post on Usenet.
While I get the message there, maybe there should be a soap box. A heavily moderated, one step off line and your soap box never existed soap box. It still has to be related to 2012, sure, but if it is not presented and responded to in a manner fitting the rules, then it's gone and it's not going to happen again.
Having a place for the strange claims to get an airing on the premise that said claim will be responded to with heavy criticism, the rules for needing to support claims, answer direct questions etc will be enforced for both sides, and one wrong move will result in a closed thread. A proper debate forum perhaps. Here are the conditions you agree to, here are the things we require to see from you, if you do not follow them, no debate.
2. Listen to your hosts
If a moderator or admin tells you that a particular subject line is off topic, or that you are going a bit over the top in your posts, consider that a warning. There may not be a second one.
All too often there is a second one. And a third one. And then we go off topic some more, someone gets louder, hell starts to see the light through the cracks in the walls and then one of us decides "Yup, that's it, bye bye thread."
At what point are we going to enforce this? Too often we read the warning, we quote the warning, and we keep going after the warning.
3. Keep it clean
This site is visited by people of all ages. There have been posts in this forum by children as young as 11, and I have been told that the forums are read by children as young as 8 or 9. Keep this in mind as you write your next forum post.
Where's the line? I know some bad mouthed 10 year olds… How should they be softened? Are we going to draw attention to the ******* $&£?%@! or switch them for flipping harmless ones?
4. Keep it respectful
Argue against the issues, not against the people. Some people have complained in the past that they were attacked for asking a question. Keep in mind that some of the visitors here have been traumatized by the 2012 doomsday rumors. Don't victimize them a second time.
Are the likes of sarcastic responses covered in here, or are we talking about calling people morons? Again, where's the line? Is hinting that someone is part of a group taking things too far? Is making a joke that a post sounds like something some other vocal proponent would say taking things too far? How are we clamping down on it? Edited posts?
5. This is not a democracy
This site is run by private individuals for a specific purpose. If you are told to stop doing something here, then stop doing it. Attempting to appeal the decisions of the moderators or admins will most likely not work. They were picked because they demonstrated a level-headedness that was desirable. If you feel a 'rule' is being inconsistently applied, tough. See the top of this page about how the mods/admins are expected to use their best judgement. We expect them to make decisions, and not double-check every time they have to say something to you.
We make decisions, that's fine. On the whole most of us also contribute to posts with our own inputs, and if we're all posting, we're inside whatever is going on, wherever a thread is going, we may even be taking it off topic, but we still roll with it until we deem something to have gone astray, often too late. When are we going to call a decision?
We've got to let threads develop in some way, certainly, we can't shoot on sight. We just need to know where the boundaries are and stay in between them, and then how we're going to deal with them.
As far as I'm concerned, most things should stay up for others to read in their entirety. But do we then need to differentiate a 'dead' thread from the others? Do we need to highlight where someone stepped out of line by editing posts and drawing attention to it? Should that happen in the middle of a live thread? Should we be disemvoweling or borking posts until those posts are brought back on topic or the posters give in and stop posting?
I think we've got to nail it down, we need to know when things are going sour and indeed when we are pointing them in that direction - or do we? This is a discussion, let's see what you think.