NOTE: The following is an exerpt taken from Richjob's 'Terms of Service' from a previous iteration of the GATT forums by hiddenagenda. Any alterations following were made by the New Era Outlaw.
Welcome to the terms of service for the GATT message board. This pretty much spells out what will and will not be tolerated on the GATT board. The other mods may have different standards; I'm going to look at what is posting
policy and work from there to get something that is consistent. For now, this is what I am doing.
One of the reminders we have is that the GATT forum is a free and open community -- we don't go out and pick members: rather, they seek us out and join. We are grateful for the effort and we want to provide a vibrant and dynamic community for GATT and its supporters. (forgive the style of talk - I do this as part of my RL job and it does comes out on occasion)
I understand that because of our differences (age, class, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, etc (think I got
everybody there)), we have many different and diverse views.
The first and sometimes most important thing to realize is that you may not always agree, or agree with some of the other
users. That is part of being involved in an online community.
NOTE TO NEW POSTERS
Before you ask a question please check the Newbie Corner to see if someone else has asked it before.
You are also encouraged to ask a moderator for guidance. We'll be more than happy to help you out.
Ownership of Submitted Material.
You retain the copyright to material that you submit to any of our forums.
Copyright to material that is NOT yours, however, is retained by the original owners, see paragraph BELOW.
Copyrighted Articles and Information.
In adherence to legal requirements we cannot allow the posting of copyrighted material without proper credits. Clips of copyrighted material should be posted with the specific material in quotes and properly credited. Any permissions by the author should be noted at the bottom of the post.
Copyright violations are a serious legal offense, not only against the poster but also against any forum which allows them. Any post that contains copyright material without proper quotation and credits, or without permission of the copyright holder, will be removed and a brief post will be noted by the staff member who pulled the post, on the appropriate message board.
Bear in mind that others will have access to your posted material and might copy, modify or distribute it. This means that
any community member who quotes your original forum post with attribution is not subject to copyright violations.
No Soliciting.
You agree not to use this site, other than the "Trading Grounds" section of the forums, to advertise products
or services or to solicit anyone to buy or sell products or services, or to make donations of any kind, without our express
approval.
In addition, using the forums merely to 'hawk' goods without any apparent interest in the forum or the participants themselves warrants removal of your posts and even a ban, unless you got the okay from the people in charge to do so.[
As an example, A URL in your sig saying "Richjob_co" pointing to
http://www.jobity.com is fine throughout the forums. A URL in your sig saying "Richjob_co - 128 MB DDR 333 $400 THIS WEEK ONLY" is NOT. Please keep in mind that these are guidelines; there is *always* a gray area when discussing such things. However, please keep in mind that GATT HQ is partially sponsored by GATT, and there is an implied interest in the continued commercial viability of the HQ.
(Controversial, I know, but that's about the best I can do for now)
While trading is encouraged on the forums via the use of the "Trading grounds", bidding for items that have been posted is not allowed. Bidding for items in a non sanctioned public auction is against the law, and as such is not allowed on the forums.
Personal Information.
You may not use the Member Directory or the forum to collect information, including screen names or
information about people who post here. The use of such information for the purpose of sending unsolicited bulk e-mail or any other unwanted purpose is strictly prohibited.
Now that's out of the way, these are the things that will NOT BE TOLERATED.
* Discriminatory comments. What this means: Any slurs that disgrace an ethnic group, racial group, a religious group or organization, or insults based on sexual orientation has no part on these forums. Threads that have these will be WHACKED, and sometimes I may not remember to give an explanation.
* Personal attacks will NOT be tolerated. What this means: If Kayode (just using your name as an example, Kayode... please don't take offense) calls Richjob a nerdy bore and attacks his latest review of the Athlon 1800 XP, that's criticism.
HOWEVER, 'Picong' or ribbing as the case may be, is okay here, as long as it doesn't go overboard.
If 0Wn$j00 (random name) calls Richjob a pedophile, that's a personal attack. That is grounds for a weekban, and some thread whacking.
* Disclosing personal information. Unless otherwise stated, this is a place where people may not want their identities disclosed. Where possible, GATT will protect the privacy of its users. Postings that contain street addresses, full names, phone numbers and other personal information (unless made by the person to whom the information refers to) will be removed for safety reasons. Remember that no matter how comfortable one feels when visiting any web site, or how friendly the members are, information posted online is available to millions of people around the world, and we have no way of ensuring that only community members will read your personal information. For your own safety please use private e-mail to transmit any personal information about yourself.
On the other hand, we do welcome and encourage the posting of newcomer and community members' personal websites! One of the most positive aspects of the cyber community is that there is room for everyone to express himself or herself. Please add a link to your site in the space on your profile and/or your signature file. But nowhere else.
* Freeping or "thread crapping". Freeping is as defined as disrupting a topic enough to stop conversation. "Thread
Crapping" occurs when a person comes into a thread and posts something contrary to the spirit/intent of the thread, often
derailing the discussion or turning it into an argument. For example, in a thread titled "I love my new Apple Macintosh!",
someone posting "PCs are better and cheaper" is a thread crap. If you feel the need to turn a discussion into a debate,
start a new thread instead.
For more details, please refer to: The No-Nos of the GATT Forums, under the section 'What is SPAM?'[/i]
* Trolling. Trolling is the textual equivalent to crank calls, basically comments designed to illicit predictable, angry
responses.
Long story short, DON'T. Troll and it's the banstick for you if you don't behave.
* Harrassment. If you continuously harrass someone online, we will take action.
* Offensive User Names. If we deem that a user name is designed to provoke a response, we will take action. FURichjob is not a username that this mod will be inclined to look favourably on.
* Sexually Explicit, Vulgar or Obscene Language. Among adults, language standards are often relaxed. However it is important to remember that this is not only a forum where others come for friendship and fun, but also a place minors may
visit. There is no way to determine the age of the participants here, please keep this in mind when posting. Mild expletives
and non-sexual anatomical references are fine, but explicit, obscene or vulgar language (regardless of how a word is spelled, used or phrased), crude or explicit sexual references, or posts that contain explicit, obscene or vulgar content are not. If you wouldn't use the phrase in front of your mother, it's probably not appropriate to post.
* Piracy. While we do not mind the forum regulars selling legitimately acquired software, any attempts to sell game and program burns, copyrighted CDs, movies, DVD rips, and other illegally acquired "bits and bytes" will be met with zero
tolerance. If you want to sell burned copies of the cool GPL Linux CD you got, that's fine. You want to put together a
collection of GPL software for Windows, package it nicely and sell it, no problem. Legimitely acquired commercial software?
No problem. Illegally acquired commercial software: BIG problem. In other words, don't insult our intelligence by selling
full versions of Unreal Tournament 2003 for $50 TT - unless you're selling your personal ORIGINAL copy. Smiley
Please do not post any of the following type of content, it will be removed:
- Links (or requests for links) to sites that sell (or trade or contain) bootlegs.
- Trades/requests for CDRs of non-free license copyrighted material. Free license copyrights (that DO permit redistribution)
include the GPL/LGPL/BSD/MIT license/Artistic License or other such Free Software Licenses.
- Nudity / pornography / blatantly obscene material
See "NSFW? What the heck is that?" under 'The Big No-Nos of the GATT forums' for more details about this.[/i]
- Links to Warez (pirated software) or Warez sites
* Promoting or advocating illegal activities. Discussions about coping with the consequences of illegal activity are fine however, posts that endorse illegal activity will be removed. Please keep in mind that these are guidelines, as there is
always a gray area when discussing such things. The discussion of the ritual use of drugs by certain religions, for example,
is perfectly acceptable. We try to use our best judgment in determining such things and ask that you so the same, keeping in mind the sensibilities of others when posting.
The laws that apply in the off-line world need to be obeyed online as well. We have zero tolerance for the advocating of
illegal behavior here. Repeated postings of this nature could result in the suspension of your right to access this site and
we will cooperate with law enforcement on such matters.
* Spamming. If your first post on the forum is a job ad, HGH for sale, MLM, herbal Viagra or anything of the like, it will be regarded as spam and given short shrift. Moreover, if you are regarded as a spammer, the mods may be a little less willing to cut you some slack in the event of a dispute. Rule of thumb: if you don't want it in yor mailbox, it *probably* has no place on the forum.
* Spelling / grammar corrections. If you feel you must correct another member, contact the person via email or though a Private Message. Note: an exception to this rule would be pointing out to someone that they have misspelled an artist's name (for example, Stevie Ray Vaughn instead of the correct Stevie Ray Vaughan); a name correction can be posted on the forum.
Still - keep it polite!
In other words....don't be a Grammar Nazi. Most people here are just Trinis kicking back, proper language ISN'T a rule here (though blatant and gross grammar errors in posting can be irritating, and is not encouraged here.)
* AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, PLEASE DO NOT POST MESSAGES USING ALL UPPER CASE! THANK YOU! :-)
The following will be encouraged:
* Divergent Viewpoints. We have no problem with a difference in opinion. People will agree to disagree.
However... any slurs that disgrace an ethnic group, racial group, a religious group or organization, or insults based on
sexual orientation DO NOT BELONG HERE.
* Offtopic posting. We have the Bar for non-gaming posts. Howevr, if it is the opinion of the mods that you are coming on the forums to lime and NOT talk about gaming at least some of the time, you will be gently herded towards frequenting the fine forums at http:/www.triniscene.com .
We now have the Rum Shop for that. Also, despite what this rule says, you're not encouraged to de-rail (or go off-topic) any thread (for example, if Baego is talking about Tekken, don't go posting about sheep, since it has nothing to do with what he said.
Sexist comments and threads. I know that what is sexist is subjective. However, it it offends, it will also generally
receive short shrift. A discussion of changing gender roles in gaming is acceptable. A discussion of "I feel that girls
does only come here to check man" is regarded as offensive and will receive short shrift.
What Happens If You Violate The Rules
Well, we'll close threads, or we'll remove threads that degenerate. In extreme cases, we will send a polite note to the
offending party explaining our course of action. The notes may become less polite if the offence is repeated. Smiley Now, if
you feel wronged, you can argue your case. We will hear you out; after all, we may have not gotten an accurate reading of
the particular situation, and we could be wrong. One thing that you won't see is one mod contradicting the actions of
another mod without talking to him/her. Locked threads will stay locked, removed threads will stay removed.
Also, when we lock a thread, we'll usually say why we did so. As stated, we'll tell the offending person what they did wrong, right there on the forums or via a PM, as a friendly gesture to tell them not to do it again (and also as proof that we did, at least, try to tell you nicely.) You can argue your case, but do so AT YOUR DISCRETION. Flaming a mod will not help, and is probably the stupidest thing you can do and may even result in a ban. In other words, be nice to us, and we'll be nice to you. = )
How We Review Posts
Now, we don't have a 24 hour watch on the board, but somebody will be in on occasion to cast an eye on things. Smiley What that means is that we try to keep at least a vague idea of what's going on. Additionally, you can report "offensive posts" to the mods. If you need to do so, look for a "report button" to the right of every post. Any posts that we deem offensive or questionable are hidden from view of the general public and reviewed by the moderators. At that time, we make a decision, however fair or unfair it is, to advise users. Note that the moderators are the final say on what is and what is not offensive. Generally we aren't going to take sides, but we will do whatever it takes to protect the integrity of the
community. If you don't like someone's viewpoint, but it's not offensive, you can choose to not respond to the person.
Be Good or Be Gone!
We reserve the right to remove any topic for any reason. If and when we do so, we will try and send the relevant parties
email or a PM letting them know why we had to shut the thread down. However, at times the moderators are overloaded, and don't have the time to send email. In cases like this, we apologize beforehand. However, do not post in the forum asking why your post was removed. Instead, send us email or a PM asking why the post or thread was removed. In *very extreme* cases, we may also reserve the right to delete user accounts. That, however, is very much a last resort.
We reserve the right to edit posts. If there are comments we deem offensive, we may edit the post.
"But it's fascist!"
If you don't like how we mod the board, go away, and do not come back. What we will not allow is disgruntled people trolling and screwing around here and expect it to be unchecked or ignored by the mods. We will not allow anyone to abuse our invitation to participate in GATT forum activity.
Finally, we are glad that people like GATT and want to spend time on the forums and build friendships and the overall gaming
community in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. If you have any questions about what is acceptable around here or think that one of your posts was unjustly deleted or amended, please send us a PM on the forums.
First draft done by richjob on 1:39 AM Sunday, February 16, 2003 and posted for comment.
Amendments made 22/02/2003.
Inspired by the Netslaves TOS at
http://www.netslaves.com/pg-netslaves_board_rules.asp .
Re-posted by hiddenagenda.
Second Draft done by New Era Outlaw on 1:02PM Saturday, July 1st, 2006.
Amendments made at that time.
