Our vigilant moderators have just locked a topic that is on the prohibited list. In order to prevent this from happening again, or to greatly reduce the eventuality, would it not be useful to have one perpetually appearing sticky post with two things: firstly, the list of proscribed topics and secondly a link that makes finding the rest of the rules a bit more handy?
Just sayin’…
Maybe a better solution is to link the rules from the text at the top of the list?..
“Advice, tips, questions and general information on the hobby of model railroading. If you’re new here, please read our forum policies.”
Make “our forum policies” the link to the policies page.
If you go to the directory page (http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/default.aspx) it’s also just in plain text there, although repeated with each of the individual forums where they appeared listed.
Of course, it might be good to have the text in large red letters, too, when adding the link to forum policies.
Here’s a copy and paste of the forum policies so you can see them. Put this thread in your bookmarks so you can call it up when you want it. The moderators don’t have the ability to sticky a thread so I can’t sticky a thread at the top of the screen.
*
Please keep discussions on topic (that is, railroad-related).
Your forum signature should not be used as a place to express your personal beliefs (religion, politics, marital status, sexual preference, etc.). Remember, this is a forum tied to our common bond of railroading; don’t let your personal viewpoints on unrelated topics interfere with the common reason we’re all here.
No advertising. Our forums should not be used as an advertising medium for companies who want to promote their business or products, or by individuals who want to promote their items for sale or their eBay auctions. Our users are the drivers behind this policy. They don’t want the useful information in our forums watered down with posts that are nothing more than advertisements. If you’d like to advertise on our site, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the “Advertise” link. Show promoters; check out our Coming Events section. You can post your events free; click “Add My Event” in the left column.
No swearing or foul language. And we don’t care if you use symbols to mask the words. The meaning is still conveyed and we don’t want it in our forum. Please keep in mind that we have readers of all ages. This isn’t a tavern.
No personal attacks or name-calling. Please keep conversations cordial. We understand that there will be differences of opinion. Please don’t let those differences turn ugly. Accept that others might not have your same point of view, don’t sink to per
Edited/Deleted Content…moderator answered question.
Can the link to that verbage be posted? That is not the same verbage that in the “terms of use” at the bottom right of the page.
Unfortunately the thread I copied that from is in the admin reporting forum which is accessible by admin personnel and moderators only. So postin g a link to it won’t do any good.
So, Is this even a rule or is it an obsolete rule? There is nothing in the “terms of use” that specifically state this.
Jeff, I’m not questioning your ability to moderate. As you stated, you just enforce the rules. But, the “terms of use” must be consistent, no matter who views them. I think an administrator or someone from Kalmbach needs to clarify and/or update the “terms of use” that we see/read.
I have no problem playing by the rules as long as the “rules of engagement” are stated up front.
I’ve put your question in the reporting area where the admins will see it.
Prior to the lasest upgrade, the forum policy was easily accessible/viewable from each forum page. Now there’s no longer a link at all for folks to view them. [:S]???
Tom
But you can. Go to the bottom right corner of the forum page. The link is there beside the Kalmbach logo.
…where our most likely runners-afoul of our forum conduct code are unlikely to find it, or to bother to look for it, prior to doing same. Hence, my question.
All of the conditions (terms) that Jeff posted are in the link at the bottom of the page. However, I think that the location is rather cryptic and it would serve the forum better if it was made more prominent.
Joe
Edit: Selector beat me to it and I agree strongly with him.
I don’t see a valid argument here.
The forum policy states, “No discussion on…”
The OP of the originally locked thread was no newbie.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Rich
That isn’t the issue, Rich. The issue is making more prominent the very policies our moderators have to enforce when they lock topics. I didn’t know where to find the policies, and I used to ‘live here’, if you get what I mean. Same for Tom who admits the same thing…the rules are not evident and prominent. What newcomers must conclude is that they are also not that important. What is salient are ads and the most recently replied or posted posts and thread, but nowhere in the banner just above them does one find something that could get a well-intentioned newcomer punted or his post blocked. In fact, his post WAS permitted, against the very rules in discussion.
Please, Kalmbach, place the rules more prominently, perferably in a perpetual sticky…
I concur, it took me a minute to realize that terms of service = forum rules [D)]
That being said, maybe it just needs to be moved to a more prominent location. Like to the top of the page, put a link in red for “Forum Rules”
We’ve already got one “sticky” that’s become something that everyone is used to ignoring, we don’t need a second.
The one there currently is not really of any use at this point. Two months or more in, even the most occasional of members will have visited and noted its message. Time for it to go.
Crandell
Crandell, I understand that, but my point is that is doesn’t matter how prominently the forum policies are posted or how obscure those forum policies may seem to be, if someone uses the G-word, the thread is going to be locked and eventually deleted.
Two threads got locked here as a result. The first thread was the one that mentioned the G-word. The second thread asked for some leeway and it too got locked. It can be no other way. The fact that the OP of the first thread may not have been aware of the forum policy is irrelevant. No discussion of…is the forum policy. I doubt that the OP got disciplined in any way for using the G-word, so where is the harm?
Rich
I have looked and looked and can not find any where “terms of service” at the bottom of any page.
What am I missing?[*-)]
If someone uses the G word in a post, that post can be edited or deleted without throwing out the whole thread, Rich. If an entire thread is started about the G word, it means the person is either obtuse, bent on mischief, or uneducated about the rules. Our moderators can deal with those types as and when they must. We can’t stop the first two types any more than we can stop people who commit attrocities with weapons.
But, we can do something about ignorance. Education is its undoing. Why not make it easy for everyone to find the rules and to read them? I would like to think the OP in the most recently locked thread just didn’t know. Why would he if there are no highly visible rules? A lone sticky post at the top of every first page is sure to be highly obvious, one to which the mods can nod when they make their point to those who commit infractions.
Crandell
Okay, I have a question. If I remember the first post correctly, the question actually had something to do with the application, or application sequence, of decals. And the thread was locked because the subject illustrated on the decals had led to arguments in the past. Rather than locking the thread, would it not have been better for the moderators to just edit the post a little to remove the offensive word and substitute something else so that the OP could have at least received an answer to what he perceived to be an innocent question??
Also, it does appear to me to be a little hypocritical to be locking posts containing this bad word, when there was at least one recent article in our host’s magazine where the topic was the application of decals which illustrated bad word.
The rule says NO discussion. That includes decals.
This is a line from the guidelines issued to each moderator: No discussions about graffiti. It’s vandalism. Period.
If the subject is about decals of such they can simply be described as decals, without the type name.