Post by Ansgar Thegn on Sept 9, 2019 19:56:38 GMT -5
Note: All rules and guidelines apply to staff and members alike. Staff will do their best to apply these rules and guidelines in a fair and unbiased manner.
List of Staff:
Head Admin: Duchess of York
(Temporary Admin) Moderator: Ansgar Thegn
Moderator: Aurelia
Moderator: comet
Moderator: Earl of Rochester
Moderator: Okamido
Moderator: Windischer
1) General forum rules
By posting on "The History Room" you agree to the following rules. These rules are in effect on all boards.
No piracy, talk of piracy, talk of warez, or anything of the sort. No linking to sites with this kind of content
The following actions are prohibited on the forums: 1) Any facilitation of infringement of copyright, or of obtaining materials that do infringe copyright, be it through explicit or implicit written suggestion or through supplying such materials directly. 2) Any linking to websites that facilitate copyright infringement or supply materials that do infringe copyright. 3) Any promotion or endorsement of copyright infringement, or of obtaining or using materials that do infringe copyright.
The exact punishment for violation of this rule will be decided on an individual basis, but it will always warrant at least a warning, in severe cases violators may receive an immediate, permanent ban.
No porn, links to porn sites or anything similar
The members of this board range from pre-teens to retirees. We don't want to offend or corrupt anyone. Again, breaking this rule can lead to a permanent ban without warning.
In addition to the above rule, any images posted on "The History Room" forum are required to meet a minimum “underwear/swimwear” standard. This means no pictures should be shown of nude individuals with conveniently-placed ‘stars’ or black-spots. Images which do not meet this standard will be removed, and offenders warned. Repeat offences will result in an account disabling, and possibly a permanent ban. Historical Artwork is exempt from the nudity clause.
No derogatory or discriminatory remarks based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or gender. No hate propaganda, and no racism.
Racism of any kind will not be tolerated. This is an international community with members from many different cultures and backgrounds. Breaking this carries the same penalties as above. Note that this includes (but is by no means limited to) sexism, homophobia, religious based hatred and similar.
No trolling, flaming or anything similar
This is an open, friendly community. We will not tolerate flaming or trolling; this includes but is not limited to deliberately trying to provoke an argument (flame-baiting), personal insults and verbal attacks. If you disagree with what someone has said, debate the point, not the person. Harassment of other users will not be tolerated either; this relates to PM-harassment or harassment by constantly insulting users across multiple threads, or by making disparaging comments that have no content relevant to the topics/discussion.
We would like to remind all of our members that this community is provided for the use of all members, not just those with a high post count or early join date. We all get sick of reading the same questions again and again, however we'd rather you didn't bother replying if you don't have something constructive to say. Remember, you were a newbie once
No Spam
Spam clogs up the forum, makes relevant and accurate information harder to find and causes the forum to slow down for everybody. The definition of ‘spam’ includes, but is not limited to, the following actions:
- Posting twice with the same sentence or similar ideas — please condense these into one post
- Multi-posting — if you need to add something, and yours was the last post in the thread, edit your last post instead of adding a new one
- Excessive “Meme” images — especially when not accompanied by text
- Posting the same thing across multiple boards, whether this is the same topic across multiple boards, or the same reply across multiple threads
- Quote pyramids — quotes imbedded within quotes which serve no purpose
- Advertising — any advertising, is absolutely considered spam
2) Guidelines for posting
Be Polite
Like your mother told you, treat people how you want to be treated. If you post a polite, well thought out post then you are more likely to get a polite, well thought out response.
Sources
As this is a history related site, sources (both primary, secondary, and even tertiary) are important. While it is not a requirement to include sources in your post, you should make sources available if someone requests any. Failure to provide sources when requested allows everyone to ignore what you are saying. If this becomes a habitual problem, the staff team will intervene.
Internet slang
Don't use chatroom abbreviations, l33t sp34k or similar. If you can't be bothered to type out a coherent, intelligent post then don't expect anyone to type out a coherent, intelligent response.
Topics
Check to see if an existing topic already covers the subject you want to post about. We would rather you posted into that thread than started a new topic, no matter how old. Please give your new topics relevant titles rather than nonsensical ones — "Question about Battle of Agincourt" is a lot better than "Question". Not only does this allow people to see what your post is about (so you’re likely to get interested posters) but it also helps the search function return relevant results. In addition, when starting a thread that requires an opinion, ensure your post actually contributes. The first post in a thread should give your own view about this, rather than being an empty post with no information or opinion for others to act upon.
Cursing
There is a word filter in place, however the use of expletives should not make up the bulk of your posts. If you constantly use bad language you may be asked to tone it down. Circumventing the filter in any way will result in a warning, or in some cases a ban.
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
Your browser most likely has a spell-checker; use it. Remember that not everyone on these forums speaks English as their primary language, and correct spelling and grammar can help them understand what you are trying to say. Punctuation actually does serve a purpose; it makes your post easier to read. By the same token, we will not tolerate "Grammar Nazis" here. Not all members have the same standard of literacy or written English, so the occasional mistake is to be expected. We all make mistakes.
Format your post
The forum software is set up with a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) for posting comments. It is incredibly easy to format your post with it (it works very much like Microsoft Word; highlight the text you want to change, and then click one of the buttons at the top of the editor), and thus we request that you please use paragraphs when writing, as it makes it easier on the eyes for reading.
Public vs Private
Remember, the forums are a public arena. If you wish to talk specifically to a single poster, use the private message function. That's why its there.
Let the staff do their job
It is up to the administration or moderation staff to decide what will happen to a member or post which breaks the rules. Remember, each time you reply to a post, you send it back to the top of the board. We would much rather you hit the report to moderator button if you find a post in breach of these rules rather than replying to it, especially if its simply to state that the poster is likely to get banned. On a similar note, don't just post "this is in the wrong forum" replies, at least try to answer the question. Rest assured we will get around to the post in due course.
Keep to the topic at hand
Try and stay on the topic of the initial post when replying. While we all go off on tangents, it is annoying to the initial poster to see the discussion range of the topic they posted about. It also doesn't help those who are looking for information to find what they thought was a discussion on the marriage practices of Scythian tribes is actually a lecture about medieval swordsmithing techniques. If you find the thread is wandering off topic, try creating a new thread in the relevant forum to discuss the other issue.
My post has been deleted/edited/locked
Sometimes a moderator will edit or delete your posts. Sometimes they will give a reason, sometimes the reason is obvious. Do not post a thread complaining about this, edit your post to restore information or re-post a deleted post. If you have any questions or issues regarding why a post has been modified, PM the admin or moderator responsible, or contact another staff member who will be happy to help.
3) Warnings, disabling and bans
"The History Room" operates a warning/disable/ban system as follows:
Minor transgressions will result in a warning. Repeat transgressions or serious infractions will result in a higher warning percentage being issued. If your warning goes to 70% or above, your account will be disabled. You will be unable to post in threads or send PMs whilst your account is in a disabled state.
"The History Room" operates a warning/disable/ban system as follows:
Minor transgressions will result in a warning. Repeat transgressions or serious infractions will result in a higher warning percentage being issued. If your warning goes to 70% or above, your account will be disabled. You will be unable to post in threads or send PMs whilst your account is in a disabled state.
Once you have been disabled, and the allotted time has passed, your warning will be reset to 0, and you will be able to post/send PMs once more. Each time your account is disabled will remain on your record and will be visible to all moderators and administrators. Consider this your permanent record; users have three strikes for account disabling. First account disabling will be for 3 days, second will be for 7 days, third will be 30 days, after that you will be permanently banned. In addition, if you break a ‘serious’ rule, you will be permanently banned as soon as a staff member is aware of it. “Too many warnings” does not have a quantifiable number; it is however many the staff feel is enough for a particular user to be disabled, and may depend on which rules have been broken and the frequency of warnings accrued.
If whilst disabled or banned you create, or use an “alternative” account to post, then any and all accounts associated with your original account will be permanently banned and no appeal will be considered.
If one user posts on behalf of a muted or banned user, then they will share in the punishment. If somebody is banned from this forum, it is for a good reason, and “channelling” the disabled/banned account undermines the work of the moderators.
If you come across a private message or post which breaks the rules, do not respond. Doing so is only likely to encourage the troll, and may land you in trouble to boot. In both cases, the best course of action is to click the report to moderator (for posts) or report to administrator (for PMs) link. This will notify all staff members of the problem, and it will be dealt with as soon as possible.
All bans with a legitimate reason as to why, will be posted publicly.
If whilst disabled or banned you create, or use an “alternative” account to post, then any and all accounts associated with your original account will be permanently banned and no appeal will be considered.
If one user posts on behalf of a muted or banned user, then they will share in the punishment. If somebody is banned from this forum, it is for a good reason, and “channelling” the disabled/banned account undermines the work of the moderators.
If you come across a private message or post which breaks the rules, do not respond. Doing so is only likely to encourage the troll, and may land you in trouble to boot. In both cases, the best course of action is to click the report to moderator (for posts) or report to administrator (for PMs) link. This will notify all staff members of the problem, and it will be dealt with as soon as possible.
All bans with a legitimate reason as to why, will be posted publicly.
4) Current Politics
We have a current politics board called "The Plotters Corner." If you choose to participate there, be mindful of the rules, and remain civil. The same rules and regulations apply there as to the rest of the forum. There is a two-strike system in place for "The Plotters Corner." Your first violation will result in a temporary three-day suspension from "The Plotters Corner." If you violate the rules again in "The Plotters Corner," you will get a week-long suspension from "The History Room" and a permanent suspension from "The Plotters Corner."
Politics that occurred before, and up to the year 2000, are allowed to be discussed on the regular boards within a historical context. Unlike in "The Plotters Corner" we ask you to please refrain from displaying any sort of partisanship when discussing these political events. Refusal to do so will result in a warning.
Not all situations can be covered within the rules. You may be warned, or even have your account disabled, or banned, for something that is not present on this list. Please use your common sense when posting.