SDMB rules 9/12/2023

[Max_S]

I wouldn’t have chosen alphabetical organization, nor would I have put it all in one post, but you do you. Also it is entirely possible to create intra-post hyperlinks, for example this one goes to the end of my post.

Anyways, here are my opinions on the draft,

@Ed_Zotti

Registration. Registration is required to post messages on the Straight Dope Message Board (“the SDMB”). Registration is free. We don’t request personal information other than your e-mail address (although you may include such information in your user profile if desired).

I think this paragraph is a good place to add, “please do not register more than one account. Your account is for you individually and is not to be shared with family or friends. Contact [insert email address] if you are having trouble registering, trouble accessing your account, or suspect your account has been compromised.”

@Ed_Zotti

Forum-specific rules. Many forum moderators post rules for posting in their forums. These are generally elaborations on the overall SDMB rules and may include tips on forum etiquette, FAQs, and other guidance. Please familiarize yourself with these rules and abide by them. In particular, please note the Pit rules.

If you are doing away with forum-specific rule threads, then this section should be removed.
If not, optimally you should include a list of links to forum specific-rule threads.

• Site Feedback
  • [no forum-specific rules thread]
• About This Message Board
  • [no forum-specific rules thread]
• Cecil’s Columns/Staff Reports
  • Cecil’s Columns Forum Rules
• The Quarantine Zone
  • QZ Rules
• Factual Questions
  • FQ Rules
• Great Debates
  • GD Rules
• Politics & Elections
  • P&E Rules
• Café Society
  • CS Rules
• The Game Room
  • Game Room Rules
• Thread Games
  • Thread Games Rules
• In My Humble Opinion:
  • [no forum-specific rules thread]
  • How to Create Polls
• Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share:
  • MPSIMS Forum Rules
  • Special Rules for Breaking News Threads
• The Marketplace
  • Marketplace Rules (in limbo as subscriptions have been disabled for 3 years)
  • Special Rules on Images in the Marketplace (Obsolete)
• The BBQ Pit
  • Pit Rules

@Ed_Zotti

Hate speech – that is, racial epithets and other pejorative remarks about groups that in our opinion are clearly racist – is prohibited in all forums.

Emphasis mine. This definition of hate speech is unnecessarily restricted to racism, contrary to the preceding statement which implies the rule is intended to cover sexism, etc. Consider reorganizing the sentence like so,

Hate speech – that is, racial epithets that in our opinion are clearly racist and other pejorative remarks about groups – is prohibited in all forums.

Or using a less specific word word like “hateful”,

Hate speech – that is, racial epithets and other pejorative remarks about groups that in our opinion are clearly racist hateful – is prohibited in all forums.

@Ed_Zotti

1. Not all pejorative comments about groups rise to the level of hate speech or, in our judgment, are clearly racist. We recognize there are differences of opinion on what constitutes racist speech. We leave it to the SDMB community to debate such questions. If you believe a post is racist, you are free to say so, provided you abide by our rule against insults – see point #10 below. Others are free to disagree with you. The belief that the truth will emerge from the clash of views in open debate is a cardinal principle of this board.

I recommend replacing “racist” with “hateful” or “hate” as appropriate, like so:

1. Not all pejorative comments about groups rise to the level of hate speech or, in our judgment, are clearly hateful. We recognize there are differences of opinion on what constitutes hate speech. We leave it to the SDMB community to debate such questions. If you believe a post is racist or otherwise hateful, you are free to say so, provided you abide by our rule against insults – see point #10 below. Others are free to disagree with you. The belief that the truth will emerge from the clash of views in open debate is a cardinal principle of this board.

I also recommend revising this paragraph so it is clear:

1. Whether you prefer users report the post and await moderator judgement before resorting to open accusations in-thread, and
2. that while the community is free to debate whether a post is racist, moderators who review a flagged post will not take a community vote.

@Ed_Zotti

We reserve the right to prohibit topics of which we have grown weary – for example, claims that some group is better or worse than others for reasons that can be objectively demonstrated, also known as scientific racism. (For a complete list of tired topics, see “New Rules for Great Debates” at the top of the Great Debates forum.)

Please copy the actual list of site-wide prohibited topics into the text of the post. That goes with the whole objective of having all the site-wide rules in one place. The Great Debates rules thread says they apply only to that forum.

@Ed_Zotti

To summarize, hate speech and other remarks that in our opinion are clearly racist are a violation of SDMB rules. However, we do not wish to rule preemptively on every comment that could possibly be construed as racist. We leave such judgments to the collective wisdom of this board.

As above, this summary implies that all hate speech is racist (therefore sexism and gay slurs are not hate speech). I recommend revising it:

To summarize, posting hate speech is a violation of SDMB rules. However, we do not wish to rule preemptively on every comment that could possibly be construed as hate speech. We leave such judgments to the collective wisdom of this board.

Furthermore I recommend revising or clarifying the last sentence. As currently written, it is reasonable to conclude that moderators will let the community members decide (vote on) whether or not any given post should be sanctioned by moderators as hate speech.

@Ed_Zotti

Inaccuracy and other posting defects. We do not mod posts based on inaccuracy, illogic, lack of cites, etc. We leave it to other posters to point out such defects. If a poster demonstrates a pattern of deliberate misrepresentation, lying or other uncivil behavior, we may tell them to stop and expect them to do so. We do not warn posters merely for expressing views or starting threads on topics others find disagreeable.

I recommend adding, “however, see the rule prohibiting hate speech.”

@Ed_Zotti

Insults. Do not directly insult or personally attack other posters. The general rule when disagreeing is to comment on the post, not the poster – that is, focus on the argument rather than the poster’s personal shortcomings. This rule applies to all insults, including those meant as jokes and quotes from books and movies – we don’t wish to draw fine distinctions between joke insults and real ones. The rule against insults doesn’t apply to off-board individuals, nor does it apply in the BBQ Pit, where you can insult anybody, including other posters, subject to some limitations – see Pit rules.

I recommend adding that hate speech is always prohibited, including racial or ethnic slurs and cheap shots - see the hate speech rule.

@Ed_Zotti

Jabs in breaking news threads in MPSIMS. Breaking news threads in MPSIMS can be a valuable resource, with links from many sources and occasional eyewitness accounts or local insight. However, since these threads commonly involve hot-button issues, they often fall prey to hijacks and rants. Please refrain from such commentary in breaking news threads. If you wish to use such a thread as a springboard for commentary, please start a new thread in Great Debates, Politics & Elections, or the Pit with a link to the breaking news thread.

This is a forum specific rule not only for MPSIMS, but also QZ.

@Ed_Zotti

Minimum age. Minimum age for registration on the SDMB is 13 years. Registrants found to be younger than 13 will have their posting privileges revoked.

This should be moved to the registration paragraph.

@Ed_Zotti

If you are pitting another poster for a specific post or posts, please include links thereto. Similarly, if you’re posting a thread parody, please include a link to the thread being parodied.

Apropos, it is currently bad form to include a link in the Trolls 'R Us thread. The reason being that the software creates a backlink in the original forum which reads “Trolls’R Us”, essentially accusing them of being a troll in the original forum.

@Ed_Zotti

Pornography and potentially offensive material. […] Any user who feels a posted message is objectionable should flag it or contact the moderators of the affected forum by e-mail.

I don’t believe moderators make their email addresses public, with the exception of @engineer_comp_geek. Should “e-mail” be replaced by “private message”?

@Ed_Zotti

Screen names. We reserve the right to refuse postings from screen names we find objectionable. See also Sock puppets.

I recommend moving this to registration because you choose the screen name at registration.

@Ed_Zotti

Sock puppets. Only one screen name is permitted per user. Use of multiple screen names (“sock puppets” or “socks”) is grounds for revocation of your right to post under any screen name. If you have been banned from the SDMB and register under a different name, you will be banned again without notice.

Same as above.

@Ed_Zotti

Agreed, “minorities” is a sloppy usage. I’ll remove it. Rather than list every possible category, I’ll make it “based on someone’s race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender orientation, or other group identity other than political affiliation or leaning.” This rules out blond jokes but allows japes against Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives and what have you. Not sure if this distinction will work but let’s give it a try.

It seems you forgot to edit in the “other than political affiliation or leaning” part.

~Max

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Hover to the immediate left of the section header and you will be able to copy an invisible link. I used this to produce the section anchor:

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And this is the link used at the top of the post:

[this one](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draft-restatement-of-sdmb-rules-9-12-2023/990013/49#end-of-post-section-anchor-1)