A rules section?
 

I think there should be somewhere on here with some basic ground rules because I can't find one. Some questions that people (myself included) always have:

1) Swearing? Yes/no; how much; how bad?

2) Hot girls thread? Yes/no?

3) Speaking of that, nudity? Whether it be a piece of art or whatever.

4) Internet-related rules such as with linking

Re: A rules section?
 

There were some fairly detailed rules presented to each member when they registered, I believe, but I do intend to put together something a bit more straightforward and easier to find. But, to answer your questions in the meantime...

1) No swearing, beyond the "lightest" swear words. General rule: if you can say it on network TV, you can say it here.

2) Depends on what you mean, but if it's a thread that only exists to post random images of scantily-clad women, then no. If it's a thread where people post images of the actresses they think are beautiful, that's another matter. Somewhat case-by-case.

3) No nudity. Some exceptions may be made for paintings or genuine art. Case-by-case basis as needed, erring on the side of caution.

4) No self-promotion or linking to sites that promote illegal movie downloads.

Anyway, the new Help page was added a few months back, and some clearer rules will hopefully follow suit soon. Most of the guidelines can be pretty easily gleaned by what's already here, but I agree that it can't hurt to be clearer.

Re: A rules section?
 

Alright thanks a lot, I think there is a decent amount of help but I'm just saying a FAQ about different rules would probably help a lot of people from being banned who just don't know the rules (which I've noticed happens a lot).

I know there is a thing when you register but most people forget that the second they click OK

Re: A rules section?
 

While I agree that we should make things clearer, I'm struggling to think of anyone who's been banned simply for not knowing the rules. If it happens at all, I certainly wouldn't say it happens often.

This is excepting the purely technical sense, of course, because I don't think someone who shows up spamming their site or swearing at people they disagree with can claim they didn't know any better. Rules against swearing and spamming are pretty consistent across most forums, and fairly intuitive, too.

The overwhelming majority of people we ban are banned for trying to promote something.

Re: A rules section?
 

Oh, my bad I was kind of assuming because I've noticed in a decent amount of old threads that I go through that a lot of people who just have stupid one word posts tend to be banned. Maybe they're just spammers or something.

W/e you're right cause you're the mod and actually ban people, I don't really know :p

Re: A rules section?
 

Ha. Nah, I can see how it would look like that. It's probably because we have a 10-post minimum before a new member can post links, so they tend to post lots of short, pointless posts to meet that minimum so they can post their links. It's annoying, but the minimum keeps out plenty of spammers, so by and large it's worth it. I can imagine how it might look kind of strange, though, to see what's left behind when we ban the member and remove the spam.

Re: A rules section?
 

How do you feel about swearing if it's typed like so: *****, or a$$hole, or f#ck? You've never warned me about curse word edits like this, so I've assumed it was okay.

Re: A rules section?
 

Self-censoring is usually okay. Sometimes it straddles a little too close to the line, but it's not a huge deal. If something is too close to comfort, I'll usually edit it without warning the person if they've been around a bit and already know roughly what's permissible.

Re: A rules section?
 

Not that I would intentionally, but people say sh*t or a**hole on network television. So that's allowed??? :p

Re: A rules section?
 

Hmm, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say sh*t on network TV. you're probably thinking of cable TV. :)

Re: A rules section?
 

Yep, in my "Made for TV" version of Halloween . . .

Lynda: "The only reason she babysits, is to have a place to . . . "
Laurie: "Shoot!"
Annie: "I have a place for that."

I really hate that.

As far as the other word goes, I just used it somewhere on the board the other day, and it didn't turn into this ***holes. They are a bunch of them, though. :D

Re: A rules section?
 

"Chicago Hope" and "ER" both used the sh-word on network TV.

Re: A rules section?
 

NYPD Blue did to I believe.

Re: A rules section?
 

Well, I know they edit it out of movies. I've seen them take the time to edit out *****, and leave in God ****. Which I find very bizarre to do. In my opinion, anyway.

Re: A rules section?
 

Simply put, if you wouldn't say/show something to your mother don't do so here. That rule always seems to work. ;)

Re: A rules section?
 

:rolleyes: Two examples, which the FCC made exceptions for, and one of which I've read has since been edited out of syndication. I gave you a general guideline, and it's a pretty good one. If you want to be completely pedantic, sure, you can find two exceptions over something like 70 years. The network television example remains a good (rough) guide.

That usually works, too. :)

Re: A rules section?
 

1. No nudity allowed unless your Nebbit's avatar.

2. No swearing unless your a regular jerk.

3. Don't mess everything up.

4. No posting at anytime anywhere.

5. You are not allowed to use the spell check function in the top right.

6. No emoticons are allowed within post confines.

7. Never mention a film title in your post under penalty of account deletion.

Re: A rules section?
 

I just answer back by saying..

....and Yoda sends me this somewhat, babyish comment

"Geez, are you trying to start a fight? It wasn't an insult. Chill out."

Now tell me, what the heck was an insult and what was i fighting about???? I just responded back.

Re: A rules section?
 

What on earth is "babyish" about asking you why you're being contentious? There wasn't any whining or namecalling. You should be a lot more careful about how you throw words around.

Anyway, to answer your (rhetorical) question: I thought it was petty. There's a lot more to a given comment than its literal meaning. It wasn't a personal affront for me to suggest that you might have been thinking of cable TV, so why the needless confrontation? Why be so pedantic?

Re: A rules section?
 

Unless you're an outright spammer or an easily identifiable plant it takes rather a lot of effort to be banned from MoFo.

Personally, I can think of one single person I have wielded the ban hammer on in my career as MoFo mod that didn't fit the above criteria.

Said person was warned repeatedly by me, Yoda and Caitlyn as I remember it.

At any rate, if you're a spammer one of us will pick up on you before post #10 (and it probably won't be me). If your reasons for being here fit within the scope of the site you'll have plenty of warning before a banning.

Specifically:

1) Swearing? Yes/no; how much; how bad?
Bad is relative. In posting, to me, swearing is the lazy person's attempt to garner attention. Don't do it, be creative instead. Stun us with wit.

2) Hot girls thread? Yes/no?
Probably. But why? It's not particularly germane to the subject matter of the site. Hot actresses? Sure! We have lots of those threads... search before starting a new one. If your idea is original try it out.

3) Speaking of that, nudity? Whether it be a piece of art or whatever.
Art is subjective. In the context of this site I'd say make it PG13. Any 12 year old can walk into Barnes & Noble and buy a book about the old masters, nudity and all. I don't think a focused discussion (In intermission) would be frowned upon here, although we have some in that vein already going.

4) Internet-related rules such as with linking
You mean hot-linking from other sites? This one is a peeve of mine because people hot link images into their posts and they disappear within a few days because the host sweeps them. This leads to picture oriented posts with no pictures! Each user has a personal gallery here they could copy the picture to and then post it.

Some other trouble we've had here is people copying content from the internet and trying to pass it off as their own post/work. If you copy it, credit the author. Anyway, just employ common sense. You'll be fine.

Re: A rules section?
 

I vaguely remember Dr. Green dropping either the S-bomb or the F-bomb in the episode where he dies. I like to think it was the big one though. :)

Also someone casually says the f-word in an episode of Prison Break. I don't know how no one noticed that. It's not totally audible because it's done in such a non-chalant way but I've gotten other people to watch a snippet of the episode and they agree with me on what was said.

Re: A rules section?
 

Back to the topic at hand: I've written up a quick Site Rules page covering all the big issues. I figured it best to limit the size and stick to the most important rules; everything else is of secondary importance and can be fixed by consulting a moderator, observing the boards, or with a gentle correction as needed. I've added the link to the header, as well.

Thanks for the suggestion, Dill. It's something I've been meaning to do for awhile, but the kick in the butt helped me finally sit down and do it.

Re: A rules section?
 

'Twas my pleasure :D

Re: A rules section?
 

Duplicate Accounts!

I know that this usually only happens when someone is spamming a lot, but I'm curious about a few things. First off, should it be in the rules section? Outside of a long time member maybe goofing off ;), there really is no need in this. Especially when the regular members of the board are getting played. That brings up my other curiosity. Should it be announced? Say for instance, someone joins the board, then they join it again, a month or so later, and start replying to themselves. Let's just say that it's 'obvious' they are playing games. Personally, I would want to know, instead of talking to two different people, like they are two different people, when they are really only one. It just seems to me that if they know from the start that if/once they are found out, the board will be told, then maybe it will help with this not happening as often. Whether it helps or not. Should it be announced?

What are your opinions?

Re: A rules section?
 

You lost me at duplicate accounts...:D I, personally, don't think it should be a big thing. That tends to take away from the boards and will either annoy people to the extent they don't want to stick around or do nothing.

Re: A rules section?
 

I think people who create duplicate accounts should be sent to the Island of Misfit Humans!

Unless they happen to be well versed in the art of cookie baking!

HoHo! Off I Go! Gotta plan for the winter you know!

Re: A rules section?
 

Will you stop that! :p

Spuds, are you saying that if people know a member is jerking them around with a few accounts, that it will make them leave?

I've only been a mod for a bit, so I was judging it on that, and as a regular member, I would want to know.

If none of you care, though, that's cool. I just wanted some opinion on it.

Re: A rules section?
 

Maybe not someone that's been here for a while, but maybe a new member that, say posts a question in the Movie question thread, that in turn, gets overtaken by one person using his/her multiple persona's. That would, more than likely, discourage them from asking anymore questions, at least.

Re: A rules section?
 

In all seriousness, to me it depends on intent. If the intent is to interject a little humor here and there and the persona is quite obviously a sock puppet (like the example above or like Psychic Isaac) then I think it's fine (and fun).

If the intent is to deceive or to any way promote a 'real' user account by way of agreements etc then I think it's wrong and the user should be warned that a banning for such offenses is likely imminent. By the time it gets to this point though I'd bet that the august assembly that is the collective MoFo have already spotted the person as a fake and/or liar and are likely tired of the antics already.

I don't like to be lied to, personally and I don't think that site wide we should encourage the behavior by allowing rampant sock puppet accounts (not that it's ever been a rampant problem but it does occur).

Re: A rules section?
 

OK, I get you. I thought you were saying that we shouldn't tell the board, because if they know about someone doing this, they will leave. You just mean that if people come on here playing games, it may make some leave.

If that's not what you mean, lie to me.


Toose, that is exactly how I feel, and I hate being lied to.

I still think that if the board is told, then that might help them knock it off. Say for instance someone was doing it right now. They see me write this, and think . . . "She knows!"

I'm watching you!

Re: A rules section?
 

Good point.

All users should be aware of the fact that if they register multiple accounts and use the same network access point to connect to those accounts the moderators & admins can see the other accounts that you've used/are using quite readily.

In other words, if your intent is to fool the board with multiple accounts you generally won't unless you want to make it far more trouble than its worth.

Re: A rules section?
 

I would want to know.
So far I don't think that I've wasted my time here, but if someone makes numerous accounts and starts posting to themselves, I think that I would be wasting my time by dealing with three accounts that belongs to the same person.

Re: A rules section?
 

You got it right...no need for me to lie...yet