Posting Rules

About This Message Board
#1

I’ve forgotten the rules.

No, not this stuff
Forum Rules:
Who Can Read The Forum? Any registered user or guest.
Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered user.
Who Can Post Replies? Any registered user.
Changes: Messages CANNOT be edited by their author. Messages CANNOT be deleted by their author.
Posts: HTML code is Off. Smilies are On. vB code is On. [IMG] code is Off.

I mean the rules of what we can and cannot put in our posts. I can’t for the life of me figure out where they are.
Could someone give me the link

Thank You

#2

No.

h.a.n.d.

#3

Log out and then click on “Register” and read the registration agreement. Or log out and go to http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=signup . Basically, don’t post commercial messages, don’t post anything TOO obscene, harassing, disgusting, etc. The basic rule is “Don’t be a jerk” and if you just keep that in mind, you’ll be able to figure out what you should and should not post. If you have any questions, email Tubadiva or me (Tubadiva@aol.com or lynnbodoni@hotmail.com) and ask us, or ask the forum moderator.

#4

Hmmmmmmm, I just tried logging out and checking for the rules, and now it won’t let me do it. Crud. I’ll tell TubaDiva about this.

#5

Hmmm, it works fine for me, Lynn. Anyway, here’s the full text of the registration agreement.

We have one basic rule: Don’t be a jerk.

Considering the real-time nature of this bulletin board and the volume of messages received, it is impossible for us to verify the information posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. Users should be particularly wary of medical, legal or other professional advice posted on the message boards and recognize that it is no substitute for in-person consultation with a competent professional. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of the Chicago Reader, Inc., or any entity associated with it.

Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable should contact us immediately by E-mail. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this BB to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, threatening, invasive of a person’s privacy, or otherwise violative of any law. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this BB. You agree to abide by the wishes of the board moderators in interpreting and enforcing these rules. Refusal to cooperate with board moderators or to abide by these rules is grounds for revocation of your posting privileges.

Religious proselytizing (“witnessing”) and religious discussions generally (other than strictly factual inquiries) should be confined to the Great Debates forum. Proselytizing in other forums will be deleted. In the Great Debates forum, proselytizing should be limited to threads started for that purpose or to which a discussion of religion and related matters has some relevance. Proselytizing inserted into inappropriate threads will be deleted.

Only one screen name is permitted per user. If you wish to change screen names please notify the webmaster and we will deactivate your old screen name. Use of multiple screen names is grounds for revocation of your right to post under ANY screen name. We reserve the right to refuse postings from screen names we find objectionable.

Vandalism of the site through inappropriate use of HTML or other code is grounds for immediate banning. Vandals will be reported to their Internet services provider. In extreme cases we may refer site vandalism to the police.

We reserve the right to delete any message for any or no reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Chicago Reader, Inc. (the operator of this BB), Jelsoft Enterprises Limited (the makers of the bulletin board software), and their agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s).

The Chicago Reader, Inc., also reserves the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.

Advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are not permitted on this BB and will be deleted. We will notify the Internet service provider of any party posting objectionable messages.

By posting on this board you grant the Chicago Reader, Inc., a nonexclusive irrevocable right to reuse your posting in any manner it sees fit without notice or compensation to you.

One last thing. This message board allows us to selectively ban individual users, and to delete all postings by a particular screen name in a single operation. Please remember that you are our guest here, and that we must reserve the right to exclude you at our whim, for any or no reason whatsoever. By registering and using the board you acknowledge this right and agree to abide by our rules and to submit to their interpretation and enforcement by our moderators and editors.

#6

Thank You.

I also found go information & guidelines at

Where Are The Rest Of The Rules
Somebody Clue The Newbie In
Moderator Behaviour(Not by a Newbie)

#7

Sorry, I hit submit instead of preview. That’s goodinformation. The reason I asked was:

“You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this BB.”

Sorry if this has been asked & answered. What about, say, song lyrics? Book excerpts? They are copyrighted, yes?

#8

Song lyrics and book excerpts are copyrighted, yes. You can quote a portion of a song, or a SMALL portion of a book excerpt. You can’t copy all of it. It’s better to post a small excerpt and provide a link, if possible.

This goes for articles, too. Just post a SMALL portion of the article, please do not post the whole article!

#9

…Just one more thing. Is there any restriction on the links we can put in our posts? Obviously it would be in pretty dreck taste to put in a link for an obscene site and label it something else. That’s common sense. What about:

When its a link to a photo or image of something for sale
(example: I want to include a link to an image of The Three Stooges Playing Football, but the only one I can find is on a site that is selling a poster of it)

As long as I or none of my family or friends are profiting from a link that I include in a post, does anything go???

#10

We’re not supposed to post “links to commercial sites” with the idea of getting people to buy something. Your example, however, is clearly not intended to boost people into buying Three Stooges posters, nor will clicking on your link and registering a hit on the Three Stooges site result in money in your pocket.

Strangely enough, the Administrators and Moderators here generally seem to use common sense. If you found a site that resolves someone’s question or makes a point clearer, and it happens to be quasi-commercial in nature, they’re not going to sweat it.

I’ve noticed that one thing people do, which seems well accepted by members and staff alike, is to describe a questionable site adjacent to the link. For example, if the old “Is Jamey Lee Curtis a hermaphrodite?” question came up again, someone might post a link to a site called http://www. moviestarsnude. com\jcurtis.html that proves her to be all woman with a message like “Note: This is a porn site which has a nude picture of her which proves she’s a woman. Be warned that it’s a porn site.” (That may be an extreme case, but I noted on a question about whether a book that came out in the 1970s was child pornography, someone posted a link to the text-only version of the book and nobody got bent out of shape on it.)

Tuba? Is this pretty close to on target on how you’d like such questionable cases handled?

#11

You got it good, Polycarp. Now all I have to do is pass out the kudos.

Thanks to everybody that posted to this thread (except for that person who decided to test here, I’ve removed that one).

It always gives me a little glow of pride to see Dopers doin’ it for themselves! (Not that I don’t mind helping. But I LOVE the assist.)

your humble TubaDiva
Administrator

#12

I wanna see that Stooges link, btw. :slight_smile:

your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
“Will that hurt?”
“No, but THIS will!”

#13

soytenly

see my post on

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54829

#14

Thanks!

your humble TubaDiva
More of a Marxist than a Knucklehead.

#15

I can fix that.

#16

We’ve noticed.
(:D) Joking, really, I was joking. What’s behind your back UncleBeer???

#17

It’s even OK for a poster here to post links to books they wrote for sale at Amazon. I have seen several commercial sites used to illustrate a point. For example, I remember a thread about celestial navigation (whatever happened to sailor anyways?) where links to various sextants for sale were posted to illustrate what one can get for various prices.

#18

Again, common sense is the rule. A poster who has been in good comportment and a contributor to the boards may be untouched in their “Hey, I wrote a book, here it is for sale!” (Though we’d probably prefer they run it by the mods beforehand, at least as warning). Conversely, someone we’ve never seen before starting a thread titled “FREE!!! Solve all your money woes at MoneyMaker.com!!!” will get a boot to the head.

As for other links- we generally frown upon links to sites that could be considered ‘illegal’- porn, for example (there are minors on this site); information on how to procure or manufacture drugs; information on how to build small nuclear devices for use against certain government officials, etc.
(And I have that Stooge picture on my mousepad at home.)

#19

Posting Rule #1
Be sure to put a stamp on the envelope before mailing.