The Rules of the Forum -- Please Read

[TexasBlue]

Welcome to Superior Politics forum. This is the home for discussion of all things related to politics (and plenty of other stuff).

Moderators will monitor these forums. Admin (myself specifically) will maintain the board's functions, but will not moderate unless no moderator(s) is online/available. As of this time, there is no moderator.

When the time comes that there will be more than one moderator, their names will be colored to signify their status. The Global Moderator will have this color. A second moderator will have a predetermined color when that time arrives.

The Administrator will have this logo



The Moderators will have this logo

Onto the rules...........

There are rules here. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse not to follow them. That means that you need to read this (obviously, since you're here reading this) whole post. If you don't understand what a rule entails, PM me.

Please respect the following rules:

1. This is an English only forum. Post in English.

a) If English is not your first (or native) language but you know enough to get by, then by all means, come and post. We'll do our best to facilitate you.


2. Disagree, but be respectful to each other.

a) Politics and religion can, and does, tend to be heated subjects at times. Keep it real.

b) No flaming. That's internet-speak for name calling. None of that here. Libtard, Dims, Dumbocrats, Repugs, Rethugs, Tea Bagger, faggot, asshole, jerk, moron, etc will not be tolerated. Offending word(s) will be removed. They will be replaced with a moderator's notice of removal with the following text -- Comment Removed -- in red. If you feel the need to flame, then exit your post and go cool off.

c) If you accuse somebody of something, you had best be able to back it up. For example: accusing someone of being a racist is NOT allowed unless YOU have concrete PROOF. I get tired of this kind of tactic and will not tolerate it here.

d) Respect others line of thinking. Not everyone believes as you do on any given subject. If you don't like liberal views, then stray from subjects of that nature. If you don't like conservative views, then stray from subjects of that nature. Do NOT complain about someone posting too much liberal or conservative viewpoints or articles. If you don't like it, don't read it or reply to it.

e) If you have a problem with another member or posting, use the report button (see rule #12).



3. Respect the moderators and Admin.

a) I can't stress this enough. Mods and Admin will more than likely be involved in general debate from time to time. Treat them how you would like to be treated.

b) Insulting, deriding or harassing the moderator(s) or administrators is not allowed. If you don't agree with their opinion during a debate doesn't give you a right to be insulting, etc. The same also goes for Mods and Admin.

c) If you have a problem with one of the moderators, please contact admin via PM to voice your concern. Please do not drag it out into the forum for all to see. It doesn't look good for those involved.

d) If you have a problem with admin, please contact a mod via PM to voice your concern. Please do not drag it out into the forum for all to see. It doesn't look good for those involved.

e) Any post that contains grievances with a moderator or administrator will be deleted. The user will then receive a PM from the mod who deleted the post to engage in PM's in relation to the problem(s).


4. No trolling.

a) Cruising the boards looking for/instigating a fight is not allowed.

b) Posting avatars or signatures that contain unsubstantiated or purposely inflammatory claims aimed at instigating a fight is not allowed.

c) Repeated trolling will result in a warning depending on infraction(s).

d) Excessive trolling will result in a ban.



5. Racist, sexist, homophobic or hateful language is NOT allowed.

a) Violators will be given a warning. The offending comment(s) will be deleted. Repeated violations will result in a ban. Mods and admin will decide on their discretion in regards to severity of the comment and status of the member. What that means is that if it is an established member in good standing, they likely will be given a fair warning. They should know better.



6. Plagiarism

a) The definition of plagiarism is passing off someone else's work, words or ideas as your own. An example is that in the midst of a debate, you reply to another member with text lifted from another website because you can't come up with a reply of your own. That constitutes plagiarism because you are using someone's words as your own to debate. I won't tolerate that here. Offending posts will be deleted immediately.

b) If you quote something from another web site then please properly credit the source.

c) Posting an opinion piece is not plagiarism. Most opinion pieces or any news article always has the authors name and the web site it was posted from.



7. Threats are treated seriously.

a) Use your head.



8. Spamming is not permitted.

a) Spammers will be banned immediately. Your IP will also be banned. No tolerance.



9. Recreating a thread that has been deleted or locked. The same goes for single posts.

a) There's a reason why it was locked or deleted.



10. Complaining about an edited post.

a) There's a reason why it was edited. PM a mod/admin about it or just keep it to yourself.



11. Backseat modding.

a) Please don't point out what needs to be deleted, edited, banned or locked. Report the post if it breaks the rules or PM a mod/admin to find out why it was edited or deleted.



12. Harassment.

a) Harassing or flaming other users, regardless of who instigated the argument, is not permitted.

b) Harassing other users by having a continuous negative or bitter attitude towards them is not permitted. Don't debate them or avoid subjects that irritate you.

c) Dragging personal issues from other forums (ones that you may have frequented with other posters) to this forum is not permitted.



13. Reporting a post/rule violation

a) Use the report button if you have an issue. This reports that particular post. Action may or may not be taken, depending on review by the forum moderator or admin. Sometimes, an issue will need to be reviewed at length. If the Administrator gets the post report first, admin may wait till a moderator is online to do his review. This keeps fairness in play. If it's a severe issue, it will be dealt with as quickly as possible.

b) When any member of the forum makes a report, there will be a drop down menu to use that gives the reason for the reporting of an offensive post. Please use that. In your comments box, put what you think is wrong.

c) Reports need to be kept brief and to the point.

d) Warning.... do not make an unsightly/nasty/unbecoming comment about a Mod, the Admin or the user that is being reported because both the moderators and forum admin will have access to and also read these reports. If the comment in the report is about the Moderators or Admin and is offensive in itself, then it negates the purpose of the report. Just be careful what you say when reporting a post.

e) Again, if you have a problem with another member or their post(s), use the report button and do not drag the issue into the thread. If it is an issue not related to a single post, but more about a general problem and requires a lengthier explanation/discussion then please PM a Moderator (or Admin if a Mod is not available).

f) If a Mod or the Admin is contacted for a reported post or general problem, your complaint will be treated fairly and without bias.

g) I, as the forum administrator, live in the United States. As such, reported posts may not be seen right at that instance, depending on the time of day.



14. Warning Bar

Members will be able to see their membership status on the board. There will be 5 buttons.




When you get to this one, you're very close to being 86'd from here.


This one speaks for itself.


Severe infractions will end up in lowering the bar one click per infraction. Repeated minor infractions that one has been repeatedly warned about will also do the same.



15. Try to stay on topic.

a) There is no rule for that here, but staying on topic keeps things flowing.

b) Changing the title of a topic when replying isn't allowed. Only the author of the original post and moderators may change those.

c) Comment on the content of the post, the original or one you're replying to. If someone posts about something that the president said, then comment on what was said. Do not make comments on the president about how dumb you think he is.



16. Accounts.

a) Activity/Inactivity - If you join the forum but do not make a post or just visit within the first week, your account will be deleted. The reason for this is simple; We have had members join and then never even bother to post or even bother to come back to visit. I'm not going to keep people on the rolls just to make the forum member count look good.

b) Deactivations - If a member does not visit and/or post in the forum from 6 months from their last post or login, their account will be deactivated. Not deleted. Deactivated. If your account has been deactivated, you may go here to see what to do.



17. Attempting to smartass your way around these rules.

a) Please accept the rules as they are written. They also can be improved and amended.






Violation of the rules stated above may result in any of the following:

1. Movement of posts between threads.
2. Offending text removed.
3. Deletion of posts.
4. Suspension of an account.
5. Revocation of an account.






The Big Ones

If you break any of these rules below, you will be banned on the spot! This will be regardless of which moderator(s) sees the post(s).


1. Posting any member's real life information without permission.
2.Posting pornography (including cartoon porn).
3. Linking to pornographic material.
4. Linking to viruses, referral sites, or maliciously coded websites either in your signature or in your post.
5. Posting with an alternate account while banned.
6. Impersonating Administrators, Moderators, or regular posters.
7. Spamming.





Code of Conduct

Members are asked to exercise caution when posting op-ed articles. Some op-ed pieces use hyperbole that may offend and leave no room for debate. For example, people with a social democrat or liberal political philosophy no more want to be called Communists than pro-choice campaigners want to be called Murderers or Baby Killers. Conservatives don't want to be called Nazis or Fascists. Atheists don't like being labeled as amoral. Nor do the religious like being labeled as mentally ill or Jesus Freaks, etc. The admin and moderators reserve the right to delete posts that they feel are designed to antagonize rather than encourage debate.

This is geared towards opinion articles. These labels are already contentious in normal debate and are considered to be antagonistic in nature (flaming or trolling) if two people are debating and one member uses these in the course of the debate.

Now, if the op-ed piece is actually an excellent piece that a member feels would be a good post to spur debate, then you as the original poster of the said piece, can strike out the part that would be considered antagonistic. Struck text is not to be discussed; it is to be ignored. Do not edit the comment out, as that would misrepresent the author.





General Conduct

Before making a topic, make sure you are posting in the correct forum. If it doesn't belong, it will be moved. It should be pretty clear where to post since each forum has a description.

When making a topic in a non-political or non-religion forum, try to keep it member friendly.

Give your topic a good title. This is often overlooked. WTF? gives no clue as to what your topic will be about.

Before posting a topic, please ask yourself the following question: "Am I making a post which is either interesting, informative or funny on some level?" If you can answer "yes" to any of these, then please post. If you can't, then refrain.

Before replying, please ask yourself: "Does my reply offer any significant advice or help contribute to the conversation in any fashion?"






Some simple guidelines:

* Discussion is user driven. If there is a topic you wish to discuss, begin a new thread.

* Try to use proper punctuation and grammar. I know... in today's lingo of the internet, that's a lot to ask.

* Creating a title for your post. When making a title for your post, use a descriptive title with appropriate capitalization.

* CAPS. Under no circumstances should you use all caps to draw attention to your post. This means, NO CAPS.

* Lurk first, post second. If you can, please try to read the entirety of every thread you want to post in before you post.

* Post content. If you're about to make a post that you're not sure is okay, whether covered by the rules or not, don't. Find out first.

* Positive contributions. If you can't make a positive contribution to a topic, don't post.

* Have fun. If you're not here to somewhat have fun, go elsewhere.

* Read, re-read, and respect these rules.






Final Thoughts

I'd like to keep this Forum clean. Without rules, things can (and will) get ugly quick. Most of us want to see people engage in intelligent conversation. Use common sense. If you don't have something interesting to discuss, don't post.

The rules can, and will, be updated from time to time as issues arise.

Please PM me if there's anything else you'd like added, removed or simplified as far as the rules go.

I'm not perfect. Contact me or a moderator if you have a question or general comment. We'll do our best to get back to you.

For those that don't want to get involved with political discussions, there's other topics to cruise through. If there's a section you'd like to be created, let me know in the Suggestions section. I'll be more than happy to consider it.

These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation.

Please don't assume that Superior Politics mod(s) or admin agree with or otherwise endorses any particular comment.

The right is reserved to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please contact a mod or admin.

For other forum info, go to the FAQ page