Hey folks, given that the forum has yet to official decide on forum rules we'd like to hear from members in order to gauge what you feel the forum needs in terms of some guiding principles to post by. I should precipitate this by stating that the final discussion will be amongst the Moderation Team with the final word by the Admin, Satyr.

To help members get their thinking caps on some of the areas we need to look into is age appropriate material. So we want to establish the forums as strictly over 18 or not? How should be address the issue of soliciting for either spiritual teachers or sexual partners? The Moderation Team has already said we'd prefer not to have soliciting on here unless we can ensure the posters under the legal age (generally 18 in Europe but 21 in the US not sure where else) are protected. What about appropriate language? Some swear words might be okay in context but how do we want to regulate this?

The parameters are limited to what I've mentioned this is just a rough guide to gauge people's expectations and wishes and see how the Moderation Team (myself, Nikhilinna and GreyWolf currently) can serve the forums best. Looking forward to hearing people's thoughts and ideas. 

Okay I have one very strong point of view on the issue of mental health and online... no one not even a medical professional could diagnose online and over the internet. So I really would request that we NOT diagnose people and offer referrals. Its also sort of a legal nightmare and landed me in trouble in another forum I moderate on. As said poster pointed to me was what I initially read was my own understanding NOT what they said and they also pointed out my copious amounts of posts, okay thats over a 3 year period but she had a point in terms of my assumptions about her reasons for posting and the way she posted. We really can't afford to get dragged into judging people's mental health whom we've never met.

We will need to make the rules and regulations to be user-friendly and readable so clear wording as well so that there can be no loopholes found or argued by certain types of posters best called "trolls".

Include in the rules section, the simple disclaimer that:

"Persons posting to this forum (including moderators and admins) are not acting in the role of medical proffesionals, irregardless of any credentials they may possess outside of here. Any person offering advice does so only on the basis of a concered peer. It should be understood that due to the limited nature of internet communications (especially in text), that misunderstandings of meaning and intent may occur. All those posting to these forums take up resposability for presenting/expressing themselves clearly. Moderators and admins may be called on to help sort out disagreements, and help premote understanding."

I propose this as a starting point for further radification as seen fit.

I think a disclaimer will be needed anyway but I think part of the rules or bylaws should be focused on the principles that we need to feel comfortable as protecting ourselves and other posters as they come along and sign up. 

Checklist of areas to cover in the Forum Bylaws:

1. Age - Persons posting here need to be of a certain age, any minors need to be cautious
2. Content - Post content that is applicable to the section/thread and please stay on topic. Do not solicit members or Moderators for spells, or teachings. It is permissible to discuss spells and share in the appropriate space but do not request spells.
3. Information - What is belonging to another is theirs to redistribute please consult other members/Mods before posting elsewhere

Below is a list of rules based on Pagans in Eire which might help identify some rules for us to use here... its just a kick start

Forum Rules (Version 1.4)

Note: Failure to comply to these may result in a warning or ban

1 - Spell-begging and posting spells is strictly prohibitted. If you wish to discuss a spell or ritual, you may do so, but keep the transmission of spells to PMs or private mail. Some lee-way on this is allowed on the basis of common sense; for example, quotation or citation of rituals may be posted here.

2 - No preaching! We do not allow preaching of views or opinions here, be they religious, political, or other. You may state your opinion and views within reason, but there is a large line that can be crossed, and if crossed it may result in a warning/ban.

3 - Use the Search feature before posting to avoid duplicates.

4 - No Multiple/Cross Postings. Post a topic only once. Duplicates will be deleted and may result in a warning.

5 - No Threats/Harassment. Personal threats, insults, or other such are not allowed here. In extreme cases, this could result in an instant ban.

6 - No Flaming or Trolling. If you do not post with a respective tone and manner, you may be subject to a warning/ban. Racial, religious, sexual, etc. slurs or insults are strictly prohibitted. We take flaming very seriously here, so this may result in an instant ban. Always be respectful, whether or not you agree with others, their choices or their views.

7 - No disruptive posts or threads. Posting in ALL CAPS or text/net speak ('u' instead of 'you' and '3' instead of 'e') not only looks bad, it distracts from the subject matter and really gives the impression you don't care about what you write.

8 - Plagiarism is prohibitted. Cite your sources if you quote from any information that is not your own. Posting stories, poetry, articles, or other without citing your source may result in a warning. Obey the national/international copyright laws.

9 - Keep it clean! While we accept a certain amount of adult discussion and humour, cursing and or speaking indecently really isn't neccessary. Avoid it if you can.

10 - Post in the appropriate board/thread. If you don't know where to put it, post it in one of the "general" forums. Please respect that all posts that are in the wrong board/thread may be moved without notice.

11 - Avatars and signatures should be of a reasonable size; they must be small enough to not obstruct the view or distract from the topics at hand. Signatures should be no more than four lines in length and should not contain anything that obstructs the topic at hand. At the moment, banners are not allowed in signatures. You may, however, post a text line if needed.

12 - Elaborate conspiracy theories (especially those that slate others' beliefs) are not allowed here. Discussion on them (such as the "Da Vinci Code") is permitted, but only if there is a constructive element to it. If the intent is merely to scare, shock, or insult, it will not be tolerated.

13 - Employ common sense and a civil approach to all discussion, including, and especially, in the case of disagreements. Differing points of view are the basis of a good forum, and thus encouraged. Dismissing another's view or turning a disagreement into a personal dispute is not.

14 - No Tradition versus Tradition politics here. Flaming and demeaning others on the basis of their membership of a certain group, or defamation of that group in the first place (even if you disagree with it privately) is not allowed here and breaks a number of other rules. Keep private opinions and disputes off the forum.

15 - Posters under 18 years of age are advised to keeps emails off the boards, repeated infractions may mean warning or banning. Posters must be over 16 years of age to be on the forum regardless. 

16 - It is against forum rules to offer training to minors (those under the legal age) and anyone doing so will be banned immediately. Members are encouraged to report inappropriate posts by members to the Moderators/Admin using the report post function.

17 - Issues regarding member's personal lives, including their mental health do not belong on the forum and will result in a locked thread. Repeated abuse may result in a warning/ban. This is to ensure that all members can enjoy the forum.

These rules may be updated or changed at any time.

Respectively,
Your Admin.

No need to apologise DN! Like I said we need the rules here to reflect the needs here and the needs of any forum is largely dependent on the members and their expectations of the forum. For myself the risk with going too indepth with the forum rules/bylaws is that people will exploit the avenues. Sometimes the legal advice to "say as little as possible" is the best way about dealing with rule-breakers. I don't tend to call posters flamers or trolls as it tends to enrapture them into further discourse when they really just need to be banned....

Well as said these are our rules on PIE and not the same ones I'm recommending for here. So in the case of spell-begging I'd be focusing on the begging as a form of solicitation. Help in the form of advice and guidance on structuring spells and rituals may be offered based on Members experiences and personal understanding (medical and professional advice should be sought before any magical/spiritual working). While I don't advocate minors on site sometimes its too difficult to actually enforce, as minors don't really feel compelled to be honest and actually denying them could provoke some into signing up and then seeing something they perhaps shouldn't. On PIE and the other fora I Mod on we simply don't have the function/people-power to moderate everyone that signs up, most of them tend to be spam-bots. In the case of the cross-posting this wouldn't really affect the Website and Book review section because these are about looking at the resources in detail whereas other areas are about the topic. For example; you wish to seek opinions on www.witchschool.com or www.druidry.org as a website and what is presented in the website and what they offer as a training programme, whereas you could post in say Aether Side on matters of Spirits and quote from either of these two sources. The idea is to prevent spam advertisements from individuals and groups.

I see you've created a poll on Minors on the forum so perhaps this will help us decide with the Minor issue. Are there any rules or issues not addressed thus far? We really just need to have a whiteboard brainstorm rather than exacting details.

Hey Bugs, that's exactly right but as DN points out the rules for any forum tend to be a reference point for Moderators to know what is the most appropriate action in a situation. I think it worthy of stating that the warning/ban won't be dished out as a first call to old or new members and open and friendly discourse is always going to be preferred.

Essentially we want to be able to set the pace of the forums and website.

alrighty looks good to me... All in favor?

yay!

Aye!