Tactical Command
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Code of Conduct?
http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=3932		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  dafrca [ Sun Jul 03, 2005 6:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Primarch, I thought I saw you were going to create a written "Code of Conduct" of some sort. Did I misunderstand something or maybe just miss where this is being done?

I was thinking and had a couple of ideas for it.

dafrca
Author:  primarch [ Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:26 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Hi!

I suggested it  would be done, but didnt volunteer to "write" it... :;):

If you have ideas, by all means post them. :)

Primarch
Author:  dafrca [ Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:43 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Quote (primarch @ 03 2005 July,21:26)
Hi!

I suggested it ?would be done, but didnt volunteer to "write" it... :;):

If you have ideas, by all means post them. :)

Primarch

I am sorry. Didn?t mean to ?Volunteer? you. I could not remember what was said exactly and could not find the thread. :blush:

dafrca
Author:  dafrca [ Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:46 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
OK, to whom ever may or may not be doing a written and posted document, here are a few ideas from my other forums experience. I am a member on a few forums and thus have seen some variations of codes etc. A couple of ideas I thought might help us out here with writing a code of conduct.

One forum that is set up very much like this one (many different areas and sub threads) has a restriction on ?cross posts? meaning posting the same message in more then one area. You select the area that best fits the subject and only post to that area. Keeps the conversations in the same place and easier to find.

Another idea was a small file or in our case, pinned post with some basic etiquette expected on this forum. The idea behind this idea was that as more and more people join in the ?Net? they have experienced areas with little or no formal rules. This allows a new person to become informed the basic etiquette we expect.

Last was a set of ?moderator? agreements. This was a sort of pledge the moderators make regarding their behavior as moderators. Things like what and when will cause them to edit or delete a post. Etc.

Now in offering these ideas, I am not saying we are suffering from a major problem here. I am just thinking if we have a lot of new people it might limit issues later on if we are clear up front.

Just a thought or three.

dafrca
Author:  Warmaster Nice [ Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:58 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
The thoughts I had on the subject were pretty much summed up in ths post:

Hmmm... Just a thought.... While CS has made and excellent set of forum rules which everyone can accept I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have a set of posting "guidelines"? Just a sort of 5 friendly advices which sort of emphasises the general "feel" of these boards.

I'm no fan of all too many rules and policies (People doesn't allways read or follow them anyway) but maybe just have 5 quick sentences to make the "tone of the boards" easy to follow for newcomers.

Something like:

"Don't take things too serious: We are grownups playing with toy soldiers"

"If you are going to offer someone critique do so nicely - Not everyone have an equal ammount of experience in all fields."

"See possibilities/opportunities instead of limitations: If someone got a crazy idea then play along and see where it goes instead of dismissing it right away"

"Everyone can have a bad day/be bad at english etc. If you take offense to something either just walk away or report it to a MOD. Most likely no offense was intended so don't start flaming over a poor choice of words. Also if people take offense to things you've said, be apologetic: We're here to have fun. "

"We're all excentric! be warned!   "

Cheers!  


Other than that I pretty much agree with the overall guidelines you put forth Dafrca.
As for the Mod Guidelines: I think we can all agree that the less the Mods have to interfere the better. This has pretty much been the case so far and if we can continue that then all the better.

Circumstances were Mods will kick in:
Reported offensive posts/threads (naturally!) Also we probably need figure out what our tolerance threshold is, and what consequences violation should have. In the end the decision would probably be up to CS of course.

Moving topics, locking very long threads (like "what are you working on")

I don't know about grammar/spelling/layout. Of course some posters won't have equally good English skills so it is a fine line to walk. However I do know that Maksim likes to keep things tidy and systematic, so if a post is a real mess... :;): :p :;): What are people's feelings about where to draw the line there?

Cheers! :)
Author:  Warmaster Nice [ Mon Jul 04, 2005 11:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Hi again.

After re-reading Dafrca's posts and meditating a bit on the subject here's a few random thoughts:

One forum that is set up very much like this one (many different areas and sub threads) has a restriction on ?cross posts? meaning posting the same message in more then one area. You select the area that best fits the subject and only post to that area. Keeps the conversations in the same place and easier to find.


Completely agree. Of course it will be up to the Mods to find, move or delete such double posts as necessary.

Another idea was a small file or in our case, pinned post with some basic etiquette expected on this forum. The idea behind this idea was that as more and more people join in the ?Net? they have experienced areas with little or no formal rules. This allows a new person to become informed the basic etiquette we expect.


While I can certainly understand the reasoning behind your idea, I'm not sure about this one. While "exclusive clubs" are allways nice as long as you are a part of them there's allways the risk of dividing forums into good and less good members. The problem is that it can encourage some new members to spam the boards to gain enough posts to enter thus increasing the signal to noise ratio on the boards. Personally I'd prefer to keep the boards free for all but what are people's thoughts on this?

******

Moderator Etiquette:

Like I said before Moderation should probably be kept to a minimum. Everytime you moderate somebody's post you will -intentionally or not- signal that there's something wrong with the way or content the person posted. One must allways distinguesh between what I'd call "agressive moderation" where you edit a post because something is offensive or against forum policy, ?and the more "maintanence" type moderation which means moving, locking, editing etc.
Most of the time I think it is important that the Mod inform the poster why his post was moderated as this helps to keep everybody happy.

*****

EpiComms Code of Conduct
(revised version -Feel free to add whatever you want and correct grammar and spelling if we want to keep this)

These general rules of conduct are intended as a guide for new members to get a feel of the tone on EpiComms. These boards have been characterized by an easy going and laid back tone in the past and we all do our best to keep it that way. See these word as a gudelines but don't worry about it too much. We're all a bunch of nice people!

1: EpiComms is a board where grown ups discuss playing with toy soldiers. Don't take anything said here too serious.

2: These Boards contain members who's been playing wargames since the 70ies as well as people who are just starting up. We believe that everybody have something of value to contribute with.

3: Constructive criticism is allways good. Remember to offer advice on how to improve something when criticising somebody's work. Nobody can be equally good at everything. Also remember to accept criticism with an open heart - again these are toy soldiers and not the Mona Lisa.

4: We believe in possibilities and opportunities instead of limitations: If someone got a crazy idea then play along and see where it goes instead of dismissing it right away. Just because something isn't right in your book, it doesn't mean that somebody else might not find that it is a great idea.

5: Everyone can have a bad day/be bad at english etc. If you take offense to something either just walk away or report it to a MOD. Most likely no offense was intended so don't start flaming over a poor choice of words. Also if people take offense to things you've said, be apologetic: We're here to have fun. "

6: As also stated in the Forum Rules, we try to refrain from any religous, political or racial remarks at all. We're a mixed bunch of people and these subjects tends to become a hot potato all too fast. If you want to state a political point then there's plenty of other forums where to do so. Try to be self moderating in that respect. It just keeps everybody happier. :;):

7: Jimbo is almost allways right :D

Cheers! :)
Author:  Jimbo [ Mon Jul 04, 2005 11:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
7. Jimbo is almost always right
Author:  Warmaster Nice [ Mon Jul 04, 2005 11:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
LOL! :D

Sorry Jimbo. I forgot that one. I added it to the list :;):
Author:  dafrca [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:20 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Quote (Warmaster Nice @ 04 2005 July,15:04)
Another idea was a small file or in our case, pinned post with some basic etiquette expected on this forum. The idea behind this idea was that as more and more people join in the ?Net? they have experienced areas with little or no formal rules. This allows a new person to become informed the basic etiquette we expect.


While I can certainly understand the reasoning behind your idea, I'm not sure about this one. While "exclusive clubs" are allways nice as long as you are a part of them there's allways the risk of dividing forums into good and less good members. The problem is that it can encourage some new members to spam the boards to gain enough posts to enter thus increasing the signal to noise ratio on the boards. Personally I'd prefer to keep the boards free for all but what are people's thoughts on this?

Either I am misunderstanding what you are saying or you have misunderstood me. I am not referring to some elite club and I have no idea where post counts came into this, but let me word my point/idea a little different and then lets see.

A friend asked me to check out a Computer Game with him. I went to their site and they had a forum. I opened a thread and the first post had the "F" word nine times. A little further on, two people were discussing how they would like to "Bang" one of the other members based on their avatar. Clearly, the etiquette on that Forum was very ?open? and ?Free?.

On another hand, when my local group was into D&D I went to the WotC forum. There they had a written code of conduct that was very strictly enforced. Their site was a family friendly site and there was little room for maneuver. They even deleted posts with language in disguise mode. You know like A$$ H0le. That kind of stuff.

Third example, I went to a forum for computer games. They had a fairly free forum, but one rule they enforced was you did not use a person?s real name, only their ?handle?.  Now if the person logged on as Dave and you called him Dave, that was cool. But if the person logged on as DarkOne and you happen to know it was Dave, you still were not to call him Dave.

I am not advocating any or all of these. All I was suggesting was a simple statement so someone joining this forum would know what level of etiquette was expected. If you leave it up to each person, soon there will not be any restraints.

dafrca
Author:  primarch [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 1:51 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Quote (Jimbo @ 04 2005 July,18:08)
7. Jimbo is almost always right

Hi!

You forgot the addendum....

7. Jimbo is almost always right *

*In case of any doubt, confusion or disagrement, please eliminate the "almost" from rule 7. ?:;):

Primarch
Author:  Warmaster Nice [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:47 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Ah, sorry. I think that I misundrstood you then Dafrca. Ive been to forums where crtain parts of the place such as politiicaal debate were unlocked once you reached a certain post count. That i think would be unfortunate :;):
Author:  vanvlak [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:54 am ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Code of conduct point 8: when a moderator forgets to leave a space before a smilie, the other moderators will correct this and reprimand him severely. A repeat of this offence will lead to summary execution or purchase of a round of beer by the offending moderator (Guiness, please).

Warmaster Nice, let me never again see a defective smilie in your posts:blues: whoops - I mean ?:blues: ?:( :p !
Author:  Warmaster Nice [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Whoops. Sorry:;):  erh, oh, bugger:p...AAAARGH!!!   :D :D :D

Cheers! :)
Author:  dafrca [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Quote (Warmaster Nice @ 04 2005 July,23:47)
Ah, sorry. I think that I misundrstood you then Dafrca. Ive been to forums where crtain parts of the place such as politiicaal debate were unlocked once you reached a certain post count. That i think would be unfortunate :;):

Ah I see, No I would not want that either.  :oo

I believe that first you set expectations, then you judge behavior by those expectations, and enforce behavior to those expectations.

In any case, glad we figured out that one.  :laugh:

dafrca
Author:  nealhunt [ Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Code of Conduct?
Perhaps having to acknowledge "Da Rulez" as part of registration would be a good idea also.
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