1.
Be courteous to others.
2.
No spoilers save in the appropriate area designed for them such asSpoiled
Souls.
3.
No character bashing
4.
No member or poster bashing
5.
No discussing on the mainboard of religion or politics except in a manner
that
is relevant to the Whedonverse or other series or movies showcased by the site
The
Soulful Spike Society, from its inception, has prided itself on several things:
1. BE COURTEOUS TO OTHERS
First,
we are a friendly board and site. It's the one thing that newer posters time
and time again report as being what they like about the place. We were formed because
another site allowed its members to be rude to each other without stepping in
and controlling the situation. When the Founders created this site, we pretty
much vowed to never be like them. Hence Rule #1. Being courteous is hard
sometimes. This is a large group of people and the site is growing all the
time. Because of this, new people, new ideas, and new ways are always
appearing.
It's
a given fact that not everyone is going to like everyone else or agree on any
given topic. Some people are just unlikable: they don't mean to be cranky,
cantankerous or come across as belligerent or arrogant. Some topics have no
"real" answers, only opinions. Opinions are wonderful things.
Opinions are how we live and stay alive. They are born of mankind trying to
make sense of the world with limited input. If something "seems" bad,
we try to avoid it. If something seems to "work," we will follow our
recipe for success. As a race, we try to put "2" and "2"
together because knowing "4" is very important to our survival.
Unfortunately, sometimes we don't always get both variables in the equation.
Sometimes we go with our gut. And our gut (and our reasoning capacity) is often
very good intuitively; sometimes, not so much. And, always there are questions
that have no real answer, only opinions, guesses, and gut feelings. Being
courteous means allowing a difference of opinion. It also means that if there is a problem with another poster,
don't drag the other members through it by posting in relation to it on the
open board. Either
A.)
IM the person and work it out,
B.)
Let it go or,
C.)
Contact a Technopagan only if the first two solutions do not work.
Including
posters unrelated to the conflict is divisive to the board by forcing people to
take sides. It is being "discourteous" to the entire board. One should not air his or her hurts and
disappointments in relation to another poster on an S3 public board. Failure to
follow this rule once merits a warning. Twice or more indicates a pattern and
can merit a strike. More information on Strikes and Warnings are covered in this
document below.
If
a person elects to gripe to their friends in IMs , email, Live Journals or any
other medium, that is obviously his or her right. We simply want the board to
be as conflict-free a place as is humanly possible, comfortable for all.
***********************
2. NO SPOILERS: (Except in the Spoiled Souls thread)
Second,
there are many among us that strive to stay spoiler free. In reality, since
this is a known thing, it sort of falls under rule #1: Be courteous to others.
Our track record for the site, while not unblemished, is actually excellent. I
applaud every single spoiler-whore out there who knew what was coming and
managed to allow the rest to be surprised. Thank you! Now that original airings
of any Whedon televison series are over for the time being, this rule
applies to the upcoming feature film Firefly: Serenity, and the series: LOST,
Veronica Mars, ALIAS and Battlestar Galactica. Thus far, to the best
of my knowledge, no one has spoiled anyone. Again, congratulations folks and
let's keep up the good work.
**********************
3. NO CHARACTER BASHING
Third,
because of the aforementioned differences in people, some folks identify with
certain characters and loath others. The first thing to remember here: it's
fiction, people! We are here first and foremost to talk about some
wonderful stories that Joss Whedon and many other talented folks wrote to
amuse, entertain and perhaps, in some circumstances, enlighten us. Enlighten us
to their point of view, that is. These folks do not have the answers.
They are not gods; they are not all-knowing sages. They have opinions like any
of us and simply have created a world in which to further examine those
opinions. They do it for fun, for their own enlightenment, and let's not
forget, for money.
Bashing
a character is thus just silly. Being upset because a character you like got
bashed, almost as silly. There is nothing wrong with stating your opinion that
a certain character didn't act in a way you believe they should. There is
nothing wrong with saying you aren't fond of how an actor portrays a certain
character. There's nothing wrong with not liking a storyline, a plot
occurrence, or even thinking the wardrobe person or makeup staff absolutely
suck at their jobs. It's your opinion and assuming you can somehow sum it up in
more words than, "they suck, I hate them", it should be considered a
valid one. However, once you have made your point and someone disagrees and
offers points in their own favor, it's time to either let the matter drop or
move onto points that are more conversant. We are not here to argue, we are
here to discuss. It's another given that "everyone else" is just
silly and can't see what's right in front of their noses. Take the advice of
Robert Heinlein, whom I paraphrase in the following: Don't try to teach a pig
to sing. It will only frustrate you and annoy the pig.
*************************
4. NO POSTER OR MEMBER BASHING
Fourth,
and similar to rule #3, is we DO NOT BASH MEMBERS OR POSTERS. Everyone has a
different opinion. If you are bashing another it is because your opinion
differs from theirs. Odds are they feel the same about "your
opinion." It is fine to discuss a difference of opinion on the board.
People being different is what makes the world an interesting place. If you
believe you are right and COURTEOUSLY and not belaboringly
offer some evidence towards why you think you know what you know, then that is
of the good. Perhaps the other person may find something they haven't considered.
Perhaps other posters reading your discussion will learn something or be
prompted to seek out their own answers. But it should never become
personal. I don't care if a person is a world renowned specialist in cancer
therapy, one of the top ten in their field, they should never call another
person an idiot, belittle their beliefs, or in short make them feel less than
an equal human being even if they do believe that eating, say, a diet of
artichoke hearts will "cure" melanoma. The other person doesn't have
to be "right," nor do they have to have sound evidence to back them
up. This site is about discussing a few television shows, the relationships and
characterizations within those shows, good versus evil and comparing all of the
above to real life. None of those topics have a "right or wrong"
answer. Hence any other discussion where there are some real, meaningful
factual type answers... are "off topic." Being off topic is fine,
especially in the Main thread. But at the point where being "off
topic" causes a problem, it will not be allowed. Besides, bashing
anyone simply violates rule #1.
***********************
5. NO DISSCUSSION OF POLITICS OR RELIGION SAVE FOR AS IT RELATES TO
THE WHEDONVERSE OR OTHER SERIES OR MOVIES SHOWCASED BY THE SITE
Fifth,
discussing religion outside the scope of how it relates to BtVS, AtS, and
Firefly or any other series or movie that is covered on the website are real
no-no's. If people have a strong Christian belief and can't suspend their need
to bear witness at the door this probably isn't the board for them. If they are
a non-Christian worshiper (or atheist) and can't tolerate what may feel to them
as pro-Christian society pervading everything, then they probably should not be
here. The former probably has real problems with the subject matter in the
Whedonverse (homosexuality, practicing magic, etc.) and the latter, while
possibly drawn to the shows due to their themes, will probably not get along
with many of the viewpoints expressed that ARE on topic. Please realize I am only
taking both cases to the extremes and am not expressing any type of viewpoint
on the correctness of either. It's as in most of the other rules: be courteous.
If you can't agree to disagree politely then you have no place amongst us.
The
same as above applies to politics. Politics are divisive by nature. Just
looking at the last American Presidential election shows how very down the
middle Americans are split and we are a world-wide board and site! Think how
many other opinions are just waiting to come to the forefront. Obviously a
person's politics is really a case of how they view the world. You are free to
politely make those viewpoints known...as they apply to the Whedonverse.
There's nothing wrong with saying you are a conservative or a liberal. There's
nothing wrong with mentioning the pros and cons of gun legislation because it
was an issue to some extent in BtVS. Abortion, free speech, civil rights,
feminism, mental illness... they are all issues that have been dealt with by
the shows we love. Intelligent reasonable discussion of the topics as related
to the shows is wholeheartedly welcome. Drawing lines, calling names, bashing
others' political affiliations...a no-no. A person that can't abide that others
have different viewpoints, no matter how wrong they might seem does not have
a place here.
*************************
I
think the best way of stating all the above is that we are here to have fun and
to learn. WE ARE NOT HERE TO TEACH. It is not your responsibility to show
anyone the error of their ways in this forum. If you feel you cannot allow
others to live in ignorance, learning lessons on their own, without your
sage wisdom, YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE. It is one thing to share as equals
and another to assume a position of superiority.
ENFORCEMENT OF
THE RULES
Rules
are no good if they aren't enforced or you don't have a means to do so.
So,
after a lengthy, several-week-long discussion by the moderators, a method of
rule enforcement is being implemented. The enforcement will adhere to the
following very simple model:
Three strikes
and you are out.
1.
Techs have discrimination in determining a strike. They will be using
the rules we have posted and also the following concepts: no name-calling,
negative stereotyping, or deliberately inflammatory posts. They may simply
issue a warning to the offender instead of a strike. This warning
may be either a gentle public chiding or an IM, depending on which the tech
deems most appropriate. They may remove any portion of a post or the post in
its entirety if it violates the rules. If a warnee wants, they can petition,
via IM, the remaining techs for its reinstatement.
2.
If the warnee makes a "public" stink out of receiving a warning
or a strike (ie. by posting about it on the open board), they can be
assessed a strike. By doing so, they are causing a public disturbance
and it will be considered a "deliberately inflammatory post." If they
elect to tell their friends in IM's or emails what a lousy group of fascists we
are, that is their right. We are only striving for board harmony here, not
world peace.
3.
A tech has the right to remove the offending portion of a post. The removed
piece will not be destroyed. It will be saved for evidence upon a petition. It
can be re-posted if the other techs disagree with the tech "on the
scene" following such an inquiry and hearing. A unanimous vote by the
remaining techs will allow the post to be reinstated.
4.
A strike will last for 2 months from the time of issue. At the end of 2
months the strike falls off the record. Anytime a person has a total of
three strikes they are subject to "long-term" barring from the
board.
5.There
are no appeals for strikes except for the third strike. In
that case an automatic appeal will be made and the perceived offender may
present their case or simply await the vote by the remaining techs. This
hearing and vote will be handled in private by the techs that did not issue the
strike. Due to schedules, the hearing may take some time to conclude.
Until that time, the perceived offender is on a probationary status. Any
strikes occurring during that probationary period will most likely be
considered very poor for the perceived offender's cause and will be automatic
grounds for the their barring until the hearing is concluded.
6.
"Long term" barring is a limited thing: a "1 month
sentence" and then the offender can return if they like but will have a 3
month probation at the end of which all previous strikes against them
will have evaporated from the record. If any further strikes are
committed in that 3 month probation, the offender will be removed PERMANENTLY.
7.
Upon issuing a warning or a strike, the tech on the scene will immediately
IM the other techs of the situation. This will be done to hopefully prevent
double or triple reprimands of the same offense. It is still possible a tech
will reprimand on a matter that has already been handled without knowing. In
such a case, the first tech's judgment call will stand and the second tech's
discarded as the official reprimand, even should there be a disparity in the
penalty (ie. a warning from tech one and a strike from the second
tech.)
8.
Techs are not immune to the rules. A tech should feel free to reprimand another
tech the same as any other poster. If a member feels that a tech is not
adhering to the rules, he should first point out the transgression to the
offending tech via an IM. Then, if that doesn't achieve results, he should
contact one of the other techs. If he is unsatisfied by the result of this, he
should then send a petition to the C.O.W. That may be done by sending an IM or
email to any of the following:
Alexandra*
Diane
Erin
Lola
Nan
Rob
Rusty*
Sara
Shan
Spring
Sue
Vlad
*
It should be noted that a message to Alexandra and Rusty may involve a lengthy
wait as they are not on the board in a daily capacity.
