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We rely on our members to assist us in policing the boards. We cannot be everywhere and we cannot read every post. Also, we presume to some extent that if no one is complaining, then there are no problems. If you see a post that violates one of the rules, please use the Report Post button. If a post violates the rules, Report It. If a thread needs attention, (possibly to separate an off-topic conversation into a new thread) REPORT IT. Reporting a post that needs attention does not automatically get someone in trouble. A moderator will look at it and make a decision. If you want to separate a new thread from an old, Report the first post in the chain that would need to be excised out. This will assist us greatly in moderating threads. In the end, the boards are what you make them. If you want the boards to be better, look to your own actions and how you may assist in making them the place you want to be.
The Report Post button is a small flag icon that is located in the bottom right hand corner of each post. When you report the post, please reference the specific Rule that the poster has violated or the issue that needs to be resolved.
Example 1:
Reason - Hi! This post starts an off-topic chain that we would like to keep discussing on an alternate thread. Could you move it to the "Suspect" forum so we can continue the conversation there?
Reason - Violates Personal Attack policy
Both of the above are valid Report Posts. The Below is not.
Reason- This person is just obnoxious. Every time they come on a thread the life gets sucked out of it. Can't you do something,
Rude is not necessarily against the rules of the forums. If a post is rude, but germane to the thread and contains no personal attacks, it is not a concern.
Our main focus on the Ripper related threads is that they remain Ripper related. These posts are archived and saving off-topic sniping matches is not worth the server space. Occasionally if we receive multiple report posts from the same thread, we may temporarily (or permanently) close the thread while we attempt to sort it out. If a topic you are posting on is closed, do not continue the argument/discussion on another thread. We will either eventually open the thread once we have properly reviewed it or decide to close it permanently at which point we will post a notice about its permanent closure.
Report Posts are confidential. We do not divulge who reports a post to the one reported and we do not divulge what action, if any, we choose to take to the the person who made the report. We will judge the validity of the Report and act accordingly, but we will not discuss disciplinary matters with anyone other than the person they involve. If you report a post (especially one that is personally hostile towards you) and you have REPLIED to it, we will penalize you as well for wasting our time. That increases the work we have to do to clean up the thread. If there is a post that has to be deleted, and you have responded to it and carried on a discussion in the meantime, you have substantially increased the amount of work we will have to do to clean up the thread. Report the post, then ignore the post. Reporting a post and responding to it is usually a poster's attempt to have the last word. This annoys us.
If one of your posts is reported, you may receive a PM from one of the Admin stating that you have received an infraction. The infraction system is the way we keep track of problems on the board. The PM will detail the nature of your infraction and what we wish you to do to remedy it, if there is a remedy needed. The post will also state that you have received a certain number of points with an expiration date. If you receive a specific number of points in a given time period, your account will be automatically suspended.
Infraction Points and Suspensions
Each rule violation can receive an infraction point or points. Infraction points have expiration dates. More serious infractions receive higher points, and stay active for a longer period of time than minor infractions do. So if you receive a minor infraction, and 1 point, that point expires in 1 month, and will not penalize you if you have another violation in 2 months. A slightly more serious offense could still earn you 1 pt, but not expire for 3 months, leaving it to count against you for a longer period of time. Further rule violations will earn additional points, and once you have reached 3 points, either by accrual of 1 pt offenses, or as a single serious violation, a ban is automatically triggered. Points accrue. If you had 2 minor infractions and gotten 2 points, and no ban so far, but then did a serious infraction that gets you 3 points additionally, you will have a total of five active points and be banned for 4 months. The total number of points that you have active against your account decides the length of your ban. The moderator decides your infraction, the programmed system implements your ban, and your ban will be lifted automatically, by the system, when the points expire.
The Infractions you might receive and the points they are worth are as follows:
Violation .........................Points................Expires
Minor Rule Violation........... 1 ................ 1 Month(s)
General Offense................ 1 ................ 3 Month(s)
Personal Attack.................. 3 ............... 3 Month(s)
Major Rule Violation............ 2 ............... 3 Month(s)
Trolling.............................. 2 ................ 3 Month(s)
In addition, we have a category that allows us to give a Custom Infraction and assign any points or expiration date that we wish. This is the nuclear option. If you have engaged in a series of behavior on a thread that is a combination of trolling, off-topic commentary and personal attacks and contributed to a thread going off the rails, we can and will assign you any length of ban that we feel is warranted.
Here are the bans you will receive for the points accumulated.
Points - Suspension
3 points - 1 month
4 points - 2 months
5 points - 4 months
6 points - 6 months
Infractions can be viewed in your UserCP only by yourself and Admin. You will receive a PM/email for each infraction given.
Sometimes a poster violates a rule and they are issued a warning instead of an infraction. This usually occurs with a Minor Rule violation. We RARELY issue a point penalty for a minor rule violation. The Warning adds no points to their infraction total, however, if the poster violates the rule again after receiving a warning, they will receive both the penalty points they would have earned, plus an enhancement for ignoring a moderator instruction.
If a post contains nothing of on-topic value it may be deleted entirely. If the infraction occurred within a larger post that had valuable content, it will likely be allowed to stay, but may be edited, depending upon the seriousness of the violation.
We rarely issue infractions. However, when we do contact you regarding an issue, one of two things can occur. Either you reply, "Ok, sorry," or the equivalent and we say no problem, people are human and we all move on. Or you reply something along the lines of "How come Poster B gets to get away with x, y, or z" or "How come you are picking on me, when so and so did this" or "God, can't you take a joke" or the equivalent in which case you get to enjoy an immediate and non-negotiable 6 month (or longer, possibly permanent) suspension from posting, depending on the nature of your response. To repeat: You are more likely to be banned for giving us attitude or argument when we ask you to quit doing something than you would have been for the offense in the first place. Everyone will probably receive an infraction from us at some point or another, and receiving an infraction leaves no lasting grudge or consequence against you. But the nature of your response will absolutely determine your continued future on the boards.
Occasionally, you may dislike a decision we make. You may then feel that you have the right to tell us how we ought to run the boards, or what we ought to allow, or what we should do in a particular situation. You may then have the urge to go on a public rant about what we are doing wrong or attempt to start a public debate on how it ought to be done, in your opinion. Resist this urge. You are entitled to any opinion of our operation that you like, but you are not entitled to use the server space we provide you to tell us how to run it. Keep in mind that you do not own these forums, you are a guest here and no one is forcing you to remain. Guests who violate the rules of hospitality are shown the door. Occasionally, posters wish to express their angst by posting how they are leaving forever, or state how they don't even know what the point is of continuing on the boards, etc. Such posts will be construed as your desire to have your account rendered inactive and, should we see them, we will act accordingly.
Not every rule can be covered in the Major Rules or the Minor Rules. Sometimes something happens that we need to address that does not violate a specific rule. Once the Admin has asked you not to do something, consider it a rule. Failure to follow the rules will result in your account being banned. Any post that violates the rules is subject to deletion without notice or warning. If you have a question regarding a post being deleted, or any disciplinary action taken, PM the Admin.
Thank you for your assistance and understanding.
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