That's correct, Vam. On Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 10:23 AM, Vam <[email protected]> wrote:
> " Your moderators are Chris, ornamentalmind, and Molly." > > Posts elsewhere gave me the impression that Neil has joined the ranks > and Chris has refused to be redrawn into moderation affairs. > > Give it the pass, if my impression is a figment... But if true, you > need to revise the line quoted from your post above ! > > On Oct 1, 5:44 pm, Molly <[email protected]> wrote: > > Mind's Eye Posting Guidelines > > 1. Introduction > > The moderators have always bent over backwards to avoid banning anyone > > from Mind's Eye. This fact remains unchanged for anyone who has proven > > themselves capable of meaningful contribution to the group. However, > > as the group has grown, so has its appeal to increasingly anti-social > > individuals who enjoy "trolling" forums. Trolling, says Wikipedia, is > > "making deliberately inflammatory remarks in order to provoke a > > vehement response from others" [1]. It's a very popular pastime on the > > Internet, and one that can ruin online communities like ours. > > > > Mind's Eye -- by virtue of its increasing activity and diversity -- > > has become a very tempting target for trolls. It seems that the days > > of only needing to ban one person every couple of years are now > > regrettably behind us. We are victims of our own success, and thus the > > moderators have decided to revisit, tighten up, and clarify, what is > > acceptable/unacceptable in this group. Although this guide is mostly > > for the benefit of new members, we hope our existing members will find > > this framework clarifies certain principles and conventions which they > > already subscribed to. > > 2. New Member Moderation > > All new members of Mind's Eye are initially moderated. This means that > > a new member's posts will not appear immediately, rather they will be > > held in a queue until an administrator has checked them over and > > released them to the group. The group's moderators are spread across > > several time zones and work schedules, thus this process generally > > happens within a few hours. Sometimes it's much quicker. However, your > > patience is appreciated if it is the weekend or a public holiday. > > After a few posts we will take new members off of moderation, thus > > allowing their messages to appear -- the Internet and Google willing > > -- immediately. > > > > We take a strong line on posts from new members which contain links. > > Farming hits for your website or blog from Mind's Eye is very likely > > to get you banned. After your moderation has been removed and you have > > proven yourself capable of meaningful contribution, we would tend to > > be more relaxed about you linking back to your website, assuming it is > > relevant and not just blatant hit farming. > > > > This moderation policy has stopped Mind's Eye sinking under the weight > > of spam, which has ruined many other groups. > > 3. Etiquette & Principles > > 1. If you are looking to "flame" people or generally be > > obnoxious, please find yourself a different outlet. Mind's Eye is a > > group intended for rational discussions. Aggressive/bullying posts are > > unwelcome. If you've had a bad day, go and take your stress out > > elsewhere. Remember, a hasty retort thrown together in anger will be > > visible to the world long after those feelings have subsided. > > Moderators are unable to delete your posts on the website or suck them > > magically out of the inboxes of members who participate via email. > > 2. Attacks upon immutable human characteristics (race, > > disability, sexual orientation, et al) are totally unacceptable. > > 3. Debates about a person's deeply held values, beliefs, or way > > of life, should be tempered with a high level of respect and civility. > > These debates have been some of our most interesting over the years, > > and they work, or not, based upon the level of mutual respect and > > honesty extended by each side. If your motive is to ridicule members, > > or spread bad feeling, please do not bother to post. > > 4. We've tackled a fair few sacred cows over the years and these > > are always interesting discussions. However, by their nature, these > > debates are very likely to stir up emotions. Please accept that the > > world is full of people with radically different opinions to yours > > which they hold equally as strongly. Mind's Eye is a forum for you to > > interact with such people and learn more about them. It is not a forum > > for you to attack them, even if they are "pro abortion baby killers", > > "neo-con nutjobs", "pinko liberals", "sinners", or even British. All > > of the above miscreants are welcome. > > 5. Posting irrelevant asides, snide comments, or generally trying > > to derail a discussion, is not in the spirit of the group. If you have > > nothing to contribute to a discussion, move on, start a new thread, or > > just be happy reading what other people have posted. > > 6. Avoid simple "you are wrong" statements; if you have a point > > to make, back it up. Please also see the section labelled "Quoting/ > > Citations" for specific information on how you should cite your > > sources. > > 7. Avoid swearing/cussing, unless it is absolutely pertinent to > > the discussion at hand. Sometimes it happens naturally in the flow of > > a sentence -- and I'm guilty of it -- but there are many far more > > creative ways to express yourself. > > 8. Do not preach or proselytize: we are here to discuss ideas, > > not be recruited to your particular religion no matter how great you > > think it is or how much peril you believe our eternal souls to be in. > > 9. Do not patronise our members. The membership of Mind's Eye is > > fantastically diverse in terms of member's ages, levels of education, > > forms of spirituality, life experience, and professional vocations. > > Even if you think you know the answer to life, the universe, and > > everything, you'll be stirring all kinds of bad feeling if your tone > > is smug or condescending. Assuming the role of "teacher" is often > > unpopular. > > 10. Ad hominen should be avoided and, in the most serious > > circumstances, could see you moderated or banned. Wikipedia defines ad > > hominem as "replying to an argument or factual claim by attacking or > > appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the > > argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the > > argument or producing evidence against the claim. [3]" > > 4. Quoting / Citations > > 1. Copy/pasting reams of text from a website, without a citation, > > gives the impression that you are claiming the work as your own. Given > > that this is probably not the case, please attribute the quote to its > > author or source. > > 2. When quoting from a website, do not copy/paste the entire > > article. Try and limit your citation to a paragraph or two, and, of > > course, please provide the link. > > 3. If you wish to reproduce content from Mind's Eye elsewhere, we > > ask you to seek permission of the author(s). > > 5. Crossposting/multiposting > > Crossposting is "the act of posting the same message to multiple > > forums, mailing lists, or newsgroups" [2]. It is sometimes known as > > multiposting. Mind's Eye is a discussion forum and we encourage you to > > take part, not treat the group as a one-way audience for your message > > (no matter how important you believe it to be). We consider > > crossposting to be the equivalent to spamming, thus it could see you > > banned. Depending on previous form, the moderators may take a more > > lenient stand with existing members; however, be clear, repeated > > crossposting may see you moderated or banned. > > 6. Bannings > > All decisions regarding disciplinary actions up to and including > > banishment from the group are discussed thoroughly among the > > moderators before any decision is made. None of the moderators take it > > upon themselves to discipline a member of the group. Disciplinary > > actions include, but are not limited to: warnings, return to moderated > > status, banishment from the group, and ETERNAL DAMNATION. Except for > > exceptional circumstances -- such as emergencies where other > > moderators are out of contact -- all bannings and moderations are > > voted on. > > 7. The Moderators > > Your moderators are Chris, ornamentalmind, and Molly. None of us share > > the same religious or political views, thus we hope that there is no > > bias in moderation. > > > > If you need to contact the moderators "off-list", you should click the > > "Send email to the owner" link on the page below: > -- Planning without action is futile; action without planning is fatal. The Web Guy <http://imtheirwebguy.com>
