Note from James B. W. Bevis: Effective September 1, 2008, the Cafe has a new rules thread, located here.
Universal Rule
1. Use common sense.
No set of rules can do justice to the complexities of all possible real-life situations. Please use common sense in reading and following these rules, and in all situations that arise at the Cafe. If you have questions, please contact James B. W. Bevis, the Cafe's administrator.
Member Conduct
2. Treat other members in a respectful and civil manner.
a. Here are some (not necessarily all) categories of behavior that violate this rule:
*Threatening another member.
*Insults or stereotyping based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual preference, etc.
*Serious flaming of any kind, including name-calling, unnecessarily offensive or personal criticisms or attacks, etc. Flaming may be verbal or visual, direct or indirect.
*Excessive profanity (including F-bombs in any form) or bad taste.
Note: Unless there is a specific reason not to, staff members will discuss less severe or clear-cut violations with members on or off the board (repeatedly, if appropriate) before doing any editing, deleting, suspending or banning. If an argument is brief and reasonably controlled, and stays between two members with no particular history of animosity, we might not intervene at all.
b. Some apparent violations of this rule can actually be expressions of good will if they are between members who get along, and if mock hostility is part of their friendly relationship. Insults or stereotypes based on race, etc. are still not OK even in these circumstances, though, and neither is anything else that violates the Forumer Terms of Use. And keep Rule 1 in mind.
c. Members are expected to do their best to assume that other members are well-intentioned, if there is reasonable room for doubt, and to try to avoid being offended unnecessarily.
d. This rule also applies to e-mail sent through the board. What members say to each other via private message (except threats) is up to them. Members may block pms from individual members because of flaming or any other reason. Since private messaging can be a useful way for members to work out differences, you will probably want your channels of communication with other members to stay open as much as possible.
3. If a person or spambot joins this board just to post advertising, then unless there are special circumstances, the advertising will be deleted and the member banned. Advertising of competing Twilight Zone message boards is also prohibited.
4. Also, anything not mentioned here, but that clearly violates the Forumer Terms Of Use, will be deleted.
Special Note: Sensitive or controversial topics may arise on the board. In these discussions, please do your best to limit potentially offensive posts, to respect the reasons why others might hold differing opinions, and to keep the discussion about issues instead of the members who are discussing them. If you feel yourself getting angry, consider taking a break before posting. Anything you can do to de-escalate things in a heated thread, instead of escalating them further, increases the chance that someone might actually learn something from the discussion. If the whole thread gets sufficiently out of control, it may be temporarily or permanently locked.
Universal Rule
1. Use common sense.
No set of rules can do justice to the complexities of all possible real-life situations. Please use common sense in reading and following these rules, and in all situations that arise at the Cafe. If you have questions, please contact James B. W. Bevis, the Cafe's administrator.
Member Conduct
2. Treat other members in a respectful and civil manner.
a. Here are some (not necessarily all) categories of behavior that violate this rule:
*Threatening another member.
*Insults or stereotyping based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual preference, etc.
*Serious flaming of any kind, including name-calling, unnecessarily offensive or personal criticisms or attacks, etc. Flaming may be verbal or visual, direct or indirect.
*Excessive profanity (including F-bombs in any form) or bad taste.
Note: Unless there is a specific reason not to, staff members will discuss less severe or clear-cut violations with members on or off the board (repeatedly, if appropriate) before doing any editing, deleting, suspending or banning. If an argument is brief and reasonably controlled, and stays between two members with no particular history of animosity, we might not intervene at all.
b. Some apparent violations of this rule can actually be expressions of good will if they are between members who get along, and if mock hostility is part of their friendly relationship. Insults or stereotypes based on race, etc. are still not OK even in these circumstances, though, and neither is anything else that violates the Forumer Terms of Use. And keep Rule 1 in mind.
c. Members are expected to do their best to assume that other members are well-intentioned, if there is reasonable room for doubt, and to try to avoid being offended unnecessarily.
d. This rule also applies to e-mail sent through the board. What members say to each other via private message (except threats) is up to them. Members may block pms from individual members because of flaming or any other reason. Since private messaging can be a useful way for members to work out differences, you will probably want your channels of communication with other members to stay open as much as possible.
3. If a person or spambot joins this board just to post advertising, then unless there are special circumstances, the advertising will be deleted and the member banned. Advertising of competing Twilight Zone message boards is also prohibited.
4. Also, anything not mentioned here, but that clearly violates the Forumer Terms Of Use, will be deleted.
Special Note: Sensitive or controversial topics may arise on the board. In these discussions, please do your best to limit potentially offensive posts, to respect the reasons why others might hold differing opinions, and to keep the discussion about issues instead of the members who are discussing them. If you feel yourself getting angry, consider taking a break before posting. Anything you can do to de-escalate things in a heated thread, instead of escalating them further, increases the chance that someone might actually learn something from the discussion. If the whole thread gets sufficiently out of control, it may be temporarily or permanently locked.
