I sent a PM with more details as well, but I still want to respond here.

Something can be funny and/or true and/or your genuinely held opinion or belief, but that does not automatically mean it is appropriate. Just like something that is true or believed to be true can be an insult, something that is funny or intended to be funny can still be inappropriate. If not, what is to stop someone who is genuinely racist, sexist, homophobic, etc., from posting hate speech and saying "oh it is just a joke" and getting a free pass? On the flip side of that argument, I've also heard "I'm just expressing my beliefs" to defend things that were inappropriate.

I assure you that I have quite a sense of humor, but that doesn't make certain things any more acceptable in the context of this forum. You received a PM from a moderator detailing exactly why your signature was not appropriate, and while you are free to disagree with that assessment, the language in the code of conduct regarding this issue is not something that I think needs changing, and making a change to something just as inappropriate as what was there previously is unwise. If you think that means I have no sense of humor, then there we are.

I would say that linking to somebody's Facebook (as an example) would already be covered. If you post a link to my Facebook page, you're revealing my name, where I live, my wife's name, etc. We don't want to get into a situation where we have to list everything that can't be disclosed, because that just creates a potential loophole for somebody to exploit. That's why the example list is worded as "including but not limited to."



I'll actually be adding a section for avatar and signature stuff.



Yep. That's the problem with having a list to maintain; it needs to be maintained...

I added Section Eight to cover avatar and signature rules. They need proofreading - what's there is off the top of my head and almost certainly need to be clarified.

Removed Gobo_Stormageddon from the moderator list.

Changed Blitz to be covering the "underground" rather than "community" section to reflect the name change of the area from a short while ago.

I believe that is all the pending changes. Again, please give the new section a good look and let me know what isn't clear, what I failed to include, etc. And of course, further comments about any other aspect of the draft document are welcome.

Section Eight should be Section Five, then slide the rest down accordingly.

Section One: Content
Section Two: Behavior and Conduct
Section Three: Links
Section Four: Advertisements
Section Five: Signatures and Avatars
Section Six: Reporting Posts / Moderator Action
Section Seven: Intellectual Property
Section eight: Discipline And Procedures
Section Nine: Appendix
Section Ten: Revision History

Just a thought, gets it in there right after the advertising and links bit so staying sort of on that topic.

Yeah, but I was being lazy and trying to avoid all that editing necessary to renumber everything.

I would agree that the signature and avatar rules should be moved up a bit; where it currently sits is a bit awkward. Other than that, everything seems smooth. Though I mostly just skimmed through it, to be perfectly honest.

If you don't mind my asking, what happened to Stormageddon?

I understand the curiosity, but I think much like the way we treat other private matters on the site, it's best if we don't actually comment on matters from our side.

I think Sigs and avatars should go after behavior and conduct.... ugh honestly..it could go anywhere since all of the previous rules apply to it.....but otherwise It's good for me.

T, are you OK with my answer about linking to places such as Facebook? I want to make sure we're covering stuff as clearly as possible. So while I think it's clear that "don't share personal info" also means, "don't link to places that show personal information," that doesn't mean it is clear. By all means, tell me if my answer wasn't satisfactory.

yeah I'm fine with it

Would you guys be willing to make it a higher tier offense to create an account for the sole purpose of advertising?

Twice now I have seen a completely off topic thread in a random subforum where the op is offline and only has 1 post ever. This thread is designed to do nothing but advertise some product, and they contain a link or links to where you can buy something. At best, this is a blatant violation of the advertising part of the COC. So far I have seen a thread advertising Verizon in the DOTP subforum and a thread advertising United Arabic Emerate Credic Cards in the Off Topic Forum.

I bring this up because there is a difference between advertising using your normal account and using your normal account to do nothing but advertise. And eventually someone will do more than just post once, but still fall under this.

We ban spambots on sight; they don't get any second chances.

so when does this replace viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7 ?

Do it on New Years. Haha

I've made some minor edits on wording and fixed a typo or two.

I've also moved the sections around like we were discussing above to try and keep similar topics near each other and to have a better flow.

Gonna read of the thread and see if theres anything worth addressing still, but if you have any new input or input that hasn't been addressed speak up! I'd like to work on pushing this CoC live at the start of the new year.

I want to take a moment and thank everybody who chipped in and helped get this sorted out. As of now, the version discussed here is live and in effect as the site's rules.

Woooo

In the table of contents, seven is misspelled.
Just sayin'.

Oh, sure. Now you notice it.

And I thought this site had standards