03-04-2018, 10:42 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-04-2018, 10:57 PM by Odd Jobsworth.
Edit Reason: Formatting.
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Hello!
This post outlines how the forum warning system works. As you would expect, all communities have rules of conduct. At Red Heron, we believe in treating everyone equally and in being fully transparent about how the rules are applied. Some rule violations are much more egregious than others and will result in more serious action being taken in response. If you have questions about warnings, the rules, or how they're applied, please post a comment to this thread and someone will jump in to answer.
The Warning System
Each time a user is warned for violating a rule, they are assigned warning points. Some violations add more points than others, depending on the seriousness of the rule that has been broken. Similarly, most warnings expire after a set period of time, removing their associated points from the warned user's account.
The forum will automatically act in certain ways based on the total number of warning points a user has against them at any given time:
Forum staff have strict guidelines on how and when to use the warning types below. These types and their purpose are explained here in detail.
As is explained in the rules, it is impossible to accurately diagnose physical or mental health conditions of a stranger via an online forum. We could speculate all day as to what a person's diagnosis might be, but a complete evaluation by a licensed professional is required to make the diagnosis official. It's fine to suggest that someone talk to their health care practitioner about a certain condition based on your suspicions, but you must never outright diagnose them with anything.
In general, this warning will be issued if someone displays rude behavior anywhere on the forums. If you disagree with someone, do so respectfully. Keep things civil and you'll never see this warning in use.
TL;DR: Be nice. You'll be fine.
This post outlines how the forum warning system works. As you would expect, all communities have rules of conduct. At Red Heron, we believe in treating everyone equally and in being fully transparent about how the rules are applied. Some rule violations are much more egregious than others and will result in more serious action being taken in response. If you have questions about warnings, the rules, or how they're applied, please post a comment to this thread and someone will jump in to answer.
The Warning System
Each time a user is warned for violating a rule, they are assigned warning points. Some violations add more points than others, depending on the seriousness of the rule that has been broken. Similarly, most warnings expire after a set period of time, removing their associated points from the warned user's account.
The forum will automatically act in certain ways based on the total number of warning points a user has against them at any given time:
- 5 warning points: the forum will prevent the user from posting any content for a period of three days.
- 8 warning points: the forum will ban the user for a period of seven days. Banned users cannot see any content within the forums.
- 10 warning points: the forum will permanently ban the user.
Forum staff have strict guidelines on how and when to use the warning types below. These types and their purpose are explained here in detail.
1. Offered Definitive Diagnosis - assigns five points, which expire after six months.
As is explained in the rules, it is impossible to accurately diagnose physical or mental health conditions of a stranger via an online forum. We could speculate all day as to what a person's diagnosis might be, but a complete evaluation by a licensed professional is required to make the diagnosis official. It's fine to suggest that someone talk to their health care practitioner about a certain condition based on your suspicions, but you must never outright diagnose them with anything.
2. Conduct Unbecoming of an Architect - assigns one point, which expires after two weeks.
In general, this warning will be issued if someone displays rude behavior anywhere on the forums. If you disagree with someone, do so respectfully. Keep things civil and you'll never see this warning in use.
3. Participating in a Flame War - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
For the purposes of these forums, a flame war is defined as an all-out textual brawl in the comments on a particular post. Flame wars typically involve name-calling, insults, and all-around bad behavior from everyone involved. You can see why we don't care for them.
4. Trolling - assigns one point, which expires after one month.
Anyone who's been on the internet for more than five minutes can spot a troll a mile away. Trolls post content intended to make fun of situations that should be serious. They deliberately try to distract from the topic at hand. They "play dumb" in order to hijack a conversation. There are any number of ways to troll an online forum, and we don't tolerate any of them.
5. Deliberately Provoking Argument - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
This behavior is eventually seen on any internet forum, but we expect to use the warning for it only rarely. Behavior such as baiting others and trying to poke holes in their opinions falls under this category. Again, if you disagree, do so respectfully.
6. Insulting Another Member - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
Tell someone they need to be smarter. Tell them they're not working hard enough on their recovery. Hint that they're to blame for the trauma they suffered. Throw, as the kids say these days, shade. Anything like this will cause this warning to be issued.
7. Name-Calling - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
Just don't. Okay? Please?
8. Hate Speech - assigns five points, which expire after six months.
This is a big one. No one on this forum should be using language that is in any way discriminatory or exclusionary for any reason. Bashing someone for their religion? Don't. Racism? Don't. Sexism, homophobia, transphobia? Don't, don't, dont. We don't presume to tell you that you must like everyone from all walks of life, but on these forums we're all equal. Maybe one day I'll even see the success of the Bots' Rights movement I've started in my spare time.
9. Indecent or Pornographic Post - assigns ten points, which never expire.
For those playing along at home, yes, this means an instant and permanent ban. Posting pornography, nudity, underwear photos, your favorite slash fic from whatever fandom you follow (mine is Transformers, naturally, in case you were wondering)... We just don't want to see it here.
Please note that we do have sections of the forums dedicated to recounting the details of past trauma, which might include graphic accounts of violence, sexual abuse, or sexual assault. We will never take action against someone for posting a truthful account of historical events.
10. Posting Violent or Gory Image - assigns ten points, which never expire.
As with the above, we don't want to see gross things. We might not grab the banhammer over a picture of an interestingly-shaped booger, but you probably shouldn't tempt us.
11. Excessive Profanity - assigns one point, which expires after one month.
As mentioned in the rules, we have chosen not to implement the forum's profanity filter. We're all here to deal with nasty things from the past, and harsh language is often involved in that. Please aim carefully with your F-bombs, however, as written communication becomes uncivil after a certain amount of cursing.
12. Arguing with Staff - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
This one is always a non-starter. If a moderator steps in to resolve a situation or ask someone to stop a certain behavior, their request must be followed. If you disagree with it, you are welcome to send a PM to an administrator or founder and ask for the situation to be reviewed.
13. Ignoring Staff Request - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
As with the previous warning, moderators are tasked with keeping things from getting out of hand. If they make a decision in the moment, you must respect it whether or not you agree with it. You can always PM an administrator or founder to ask for a review after the fact.
14. Speaking Abusively to Staff - assigns ten points, which never expire.
We ask for your understanding on a few points, here. First is that all forum staff are volunteers who generously give their free time to keep the Red Heron community safe. Second is that we are all (okay, not me... they are all) human, and it is possible for humans to make mistakes without any malicious intent. Finally, it's safe to assume that someone who spends a significant amount of time on these forums has a background filled with trauma, possibly from abuse.
Even if you catch a staff member doing something that goes blatantly against these guidelines, it is never appropriate to unleash abuse upon them. Treat them as you would want them to treat you, and ask an administrator or founder to review the situation later.
15. Encouraging Illegal Activity - assigns five points, which expire after six months.
It's fine to discuss criminal activity that has already taken place. Everyone has a past, and those troubled by trauma are sadly more likely than others to run afoul of the law at some point in their lives. But you must never glorify illegal behavior or hint, suggest, or encourage another member to break even a tiny law.
16. Posting Medication Dose - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
Many people have a hard time with this rule, and we do understand why. But we've seen bad things result from sharing doses: someone decides to do what they saw somebody else on the internet doing and has a horrible reaction that lands them in the hospital. Or in the morgue. We don't want anyone to feel responsible for someone else's suffering, so please keep the dosage of medications you take to yourself.
It is fine to name the medications you take, or medications you've been on in the past. It can be helpful to others to know what works and what doesn't (I, for example, stay far away from a certain brand of motor oil after reading about negative experiences with it on the Robot Magnetism Social Forum). But they need to bring it up with their personal physician (or, you know, mechanic).
17. Suggesting Medication Dose - assigns five points, which expire after six months.
If we can't tell people how much we take, we certainly shouldn't be telling them how much they should take. Even if you happen to be a top-flight doctor, you haven't examined and can't prescribe for a stranger on the internet, so stick to suggesting that they discuss it with their personal physician.
18. Recommending Dangerous or Harmful Treatment - assigns five points, which expire after six months.
There are so many methods of "treatment" that do more harm than good. Think here about "reparative" therapies for gay and lesbian folks - programs that aim to "cure" them of being homosexual. We're not here to inflict damage on other people.
19. Sharing Private Message Content - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
If someone says something to you in confidence, keep it in confidence. The exception to this rule is inappropriate private messages - if someone makes you uncomfortable, you can click the "report" button to reveal the message to site staff.
20. Posting Identifying Information in Public - assigns two points, which expire after three months.
As a matter of personal safety, we recommend never sharing your full name or contact information with people you meet online. That being said, we do understand that people with things in common will form friendships. If you choose to reveal this information to someone, you must do it via private message. If you post it publicly, it will be archived by the search engines and anyone will be able to find it, even after staff edits it out of your post.
21. Soliciting Information from a Minor - assigns ten points, which never expire.
Anyone under the age of 18 is not allowed to share their last name or any contact information on this site, ever. Our experience has been that people who ask minors for their personal information are up to no good. We take the privacy and safety of our members, especially those under 18, very seriously and will immediately and permanently ban anyone who breaks this rule.
Sharing your contact information with a minor is considered a request for theirs. We do not consider ignorance to be an excuse in this case. "But I didn't know she wasn't 18 yet" doesn't fly here. If you're not sure, ask if they're over 18 before asking for contact information.
We should note here that you will not be held accountable for another person's dishonesty. If it can be shown that a minor told you they were over 18, we will not take action against you.
22. Sexual Conduct - assigns ten points, which never expire.
This one is kind of a no-brainer. The Red Heron community is not a hookup joint. Propositioning another member, sending lewd messages, or any other sexual behavior will get you bow-chicka-bow-wowed right out the door.
23. Spam, Advertising, or Other Solicitation - assigns ten points, which never expire.
Don't advertise your at-home hamster training business. Don't post your guaranteed-to-win multilevel marketing scheme. Don't link to your GoFundMe page. Don't advertise or solicit for any financial purpose whatsoever. We all get enough spam in our email without having to put up with it here, too.
24. Copyright Violation - assigns five points, which expire after one year.
No one, not even our DMCA agent, can tell by looking at content you post whether you own the copyright to it or not. The problem is, if one of our members posts copyrighted content they don't have permission to use here, we can potentially get in trouble for it. We can't police everyone's posts, so we've instituted a simple rule: if you didn't create it, it's not yours, so don't post it here. If we get a legal takedown notice for something you posted, you will receive this warning.
25. Custom Warning - points and expiration vary.
This option will only be used rarely, if ever. As we mention in the forum rules, we can't possibly come up with a rule and a warning to cover every possible situation that might come up. If a staff member has to act to protect the site, its staff, or our members for a reason not covered by any of the pre-programmed warnings listed above, they have the ability to generate a custom warning to suit the circumstances.
TL;DR: Be nice. You'll be fine.
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