Guidelines for the Aus Bluelight Social Forum
These guidelines have been drawn up by your friendly moderators so that everyone understands what is and what is not acceptable as far as posting in the Australia/Asia/NZ/Middle East Social forum is concerned. Hopefully these guidelines will prevent this forum from getting out of control.
Firstly a diatribe written by abygale:
"A lot of people around here, while hiding behind the First Amendment, don't seem to really understand the meaning of "freedom of speech." They argue all the time that "I can say whatever I want -- I have freedom of speech!!" ... well, that's true... you may SPEAK whatever you want. But the person or people who provide an avenue for communication are in no way bound to allow you to say what you want in the space they paid for ... it would be like me insisting that Macy's has to include my opinion in their full-page ad in the Sunday Times, because I have first amendment rights. They paid for the ad -- I have no right to say anything at all in that space. That is the situation with Bluelight. It was created, is owned and operated by Jase and Skydancer, who have entrusted the mods and admins with the power to try to help them run it in the way Jase and skydancer intended. This is not a democracy. There is no right to free speech here. Forum guidelines must be obeyed, or you will lose the privilege of posting."
What's acceptable in this forum?
Almost any sort of open topic that people can actually contribute to is acceptable in this forum, so here is what is NOT acceptable:
BTW if you're new here, have a look at the "Welcome to Bluelight, Greenlighters!" thread and post your introduction there. We don't need the server space taken up with a lot of "Hi! I'm new!" threads.
Here are the specific rules :
The first rule of Bluelight is, NO DEALING ON BLUELIGHT. The second rule of Bluelight is, NO DEALING ON BLUELIGHT ! You should know this, and if you don't, it should be obvious through common sense. Bluelight can be shut down if someone is seen trying to buy/sell illegal substances on the board. Bluelight doesn't need to be shut down in its entirety because someone tried to get/sell some pills. If you try to get/sell pills on the board, your thread will be deleted and you'll get a warning e-mail. If you continue, you will have your posting privileges suspended or revoked. On a similar note, keep any mention of your personal drug use / drug possession / future drug use to a minimum. We know many people take drugs, but don't forget that it is illegal! Don't make it easy for the police to cause you, and the rest of us trouble. Due to the sheer size of this bulletin board, the Australian Police and members of the media do keep on eye on it and have used information submitted by users to their advantage. On some occasions in the past, people have gotten themselves into trouble. This is a very serious matter. Please help to make sure it doesn't happen again, and if you notice anyone else being careless, politely inform them of the mistake they are making.
Threads must stay on topic. The topic of the thread, elaborated upon in the topic starter's first post, is generally what the subject of the discussion should be. Please make sure that what you add to the thread is valid, and please make an effort to keep the thread on topic. If there is something important you forgot to add, just click the edit button to add more to your post. And before you start your thread, use the search feature to make sure it hasn't been done before. Now when you wish to reply to a thread, do so in the thread you are replying to - don't start a new thread to reply to the existing one. If you do, your thread will be closed. It's the 'Reply' button you want when replying, not 'Post'!
Thread topics must indicate the content of the thread. When starting a new topic, please try to make sure the heading is relevant as this just makes it a little easier for everyone. This means no teaser titles like "Open me..." and similar things like that. Also, if the thread you are starting is specific to a particular state or city then that should be mentioned in the title of the thread too. That way those from other states that have no interest in Melbourne clubs or Sydney clothes shops won't accidentally open a thread that has no relevance to them. So if you're after Melbourne specific information for example, then put "(melbourne)" in the title.
This is not a chat site. Though it is tempting to be freely social, chat cannot be accepted. This may be the social forum, but it doesn't mean you can post whatever you like. Too many people are making personal posts that only bear relevance to one or two other people. That's what email, ICQ and IRC are for. To a small extent chat will be tolerated, but its in the interests of all Bluelighters, particularly those who have just joined Bluelight that we leave chat out. This includes in-jokes and threads which revolve around only a select few people. They can be very funny and quite special to those involved, but try to keep them to a minimum and don't drag them out so that other's who don't understand feel alienated.
If you wish to chat, by all means you are welcome to join the IRC #bluelight channel on au.austnet.org - More info on how to do this can be found here :
Austnet #bluelight - Come join us if you haven't yet
Think before you start a new topic. Rather than just starting a new thread for whatever it is that pops into your mind at the time, try and think about what sort of responses the thread will invite. And more importantly, think about whether it's the sort of thing that needs a new thread at all. There might be a very similar thread already in existence, or it might be a topic better suited to discussion somewhere else like the IRC channel for example. For specific details on this matter, please refer to Things to consider when starting a new topic.
If a post or a thread is deemed unacceptable, it will be closed, and in extreme circumstances will be deleted.
If you start a thread, and for whatever reason decide it is no longer needed, please do not delete it! You will also be deleting everyone else's responses, and while you have a right to delete your own words, you have no such right concerning others. Simply ask a moderator and they will close it if necessary.
It is not the sole responsibility of the moderators to start the next incarnation of popular threads; generally we allow threads to go to around 150 posts. If a thread is around the 150 mark (i.e. at post 145 or higher) and you’d like to start the next part, email a mod and cc to the others then wait for a reply before doing so. This is so we don’t have two versions of the same thread open for posting at the same time.
-----------------
Written by Mr. Horse :
The internet has been around for quite a while now, and for years people have been hiding behind their computers. See, we can all be superheros, 8 year old girls or 50 year old men. We never have to deal with confrontation on the net, and if we choose, we don't even have to know what they look like.
We create our own community within our computer, living our lives through chat rooms or message board sites, such as Bluelight. While this can be great, there is an ugly side which cant be ignored; this is, lacking in basic human confrontation skills. We all may not be the most confident people in the world, but I would like to think we can deal with sticky situations in an appropriate manner.
Just think: before you post that email to your girlfriend/boyfriend after she has treated you badly (yes, i'm a culprit) take a minute to reflect. What am I saying in this email that cant be said face to face? SMS's are the same. Its very easy to get angry at someone without actually dealing with them. This is why flame wars become so intense and full on, a lot of people cant deal with confrontation properly, thus when they get infront of a computer, they are invincible to the world. This is something only individuals can deal with, but in the mean time, take the time to read over this and think before you post mmmkay? There is nothing we can do to change the anonymity of the internet and Bluelight, but there are a few things we can do to help avoid ugly situations such as the recent flame wars that have been happening.
Firstly, respect that not everyone will have the same opinion as you. Yes, you may not agree with it, but respect their opinion, just as you would hope yours would be.
Secondly, personal grudges are petty and juvinial ok? There is no need for mindless flaming just because you have a hatred for the person. Please keep all personal attacks to email and icq, or by whichever means you feel fit, just keep it off Bluelight.
Thirdly, dont EVER forget that the internet has no tone!! The difference between putting a little winking face after your comment can be the difference between a friendly poke and the beginnings of a flame war.
And lastly, please dont EVER take anything too seriously. Perhaps we have had a bad day (hey, it happens you know!!) and we let something slip we perhaps shouldnt, please dont get too defensive about it. Take it with a grain of salt.
Thankyou for taking the time to read this, and I hope you will consider what I have said. Please dont ever be afraid to email me and tell either myself, or any of the other moderators about any concerns you may have regarding Bluelight. We are here to serve you, dont forget.
-----------------
Please note that even though they're called "guidelines", these are "rules", so if you don't follow them, your thread will be closed.
If you have any questions, complaints, or suggestions, feel free to post them, or voice your thoughts directly to the Aus Social Moderators:
PsychoKitten: [email protected]
vurtomatic: [email protected]
babu: [email protected]
If you have any quarrel with the way any Moderator does their job, first take it up with them personally (via email or ICQ etc, don’t start a thread about it) and if you are unable to resolve the issue with them, take it up with another Mod or and Admin.
Special thanks to the main Social forum Moderators and Admins for their guidelines...
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: Tarsarlan ]
[ 07 December 2001: Message edited by: MíkeySåmmy ]
[ 17 December 2001: Message edited by: MíkeySåmmy ]
[ 28 December 2001: Message edited by: Pleonastic ]
[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: Pleonastic ]
[ 18 February 2002: Message edited by: Pleonastic ]
[ 18 March 2002: Message edited by: miss apple ]
[ 19 March 2002: Message edited by: Tarsarlan ]
[ 11 July 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 24 August 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 30 August 2002: Message edited by: vurtomatic ]
[ 07 September 2002: Message edited by: vurtomatic ]
[ 10 October 2002: Message edited by: PsychoKitten ]
[ 10 October 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 10 October 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 01 November 2002: Message edited by: PsychoKitten ]
[ 18 January 2003: Message edited by: babu ]
These guidelines have been drawn up by your friendly moderators so that everyone understands what is and what is not acceptable as far as posting in the Australia/Asia/NZ/Middle East Social forum is concerned. Hopefully these guidelines will prevent this forum from getting out of control.
Firstly a diatribe written by abygale:
"A lot of people around here, while hiding behind the First Amendment, don't seem to really understand the meaning of "freedom of speech." They argue all the time that "I can say whatever I want -- I have freedom of speech!!" ... well, that's true... you may SPEAK whatever you want. But the person or people who provide an avenue for communication are in no way bound to allow you to say what you want in the space they paid for ... it would be like me insisting that Macy's has to include my opinion in their full-page ad in the Sunday Times, because I have first amendment rights. They paid for the ad -- I have no right to say anything at all in that space. That is the situation with Bluelight. It was created, is owned and operated by Jase and Skydancer, who have entrusted the mods and admins with the power to try to help them run it in the way Jase and skydancer intended. This is not a democracy. There is no right to free speech here. Forum guidelines must be obeyed, or you will lose the privilege of posting."
What's acceptable in this forum?
Almost any sort of open topic that people can actually contribute to is acceptable in this forum, so here is what is NOT acceptable:
- Any form of drug dealing
- Any mention of your personal drug use / drug possession / future drug use
- Topics that are clearly going to be found offensive
- Topics below a certain level of maturity - an example of this is the "Mu(x)ke vs Piglet" thread.
- Topics that are considered to be below a certain level of usefulness.
- No personal attacks on other bluelighters or flame wars are acceptable. Racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other form of discrimination won't be tolerated.
- Annoying or malicious links (ie. - a link that leads to neverending window popups) are not permitted and will be deleted.
- Threads that are created to blatantly plug a product/site - this forum is not an advertising resource.
BTW if you're new here, have a look at the "Welcome to Bluelight, Greenlighters!" thread and post your introduction there. We don't need the server space taken up with a lot of "Hi! I'm new!" threads.
Here are the specific rules :
The first rule of Bluelight is, NO DEALING ON BLUELIGHT. The second rule of Bluelight is, NO DEALING ON BLUELIGHT ! You should know this, and if you don't, it should be obvious through common sense. Bluelight can be shut down if someone is seen trying to buy/sell illegal substances on the board. Bluelight doesn't need to be shut down in its entirety because someone tried to get/sell some pills. If you try to get/sell pills on the board, your thread will be deleted and you'll get a warning e-mail. If you continue, you will have your posting privileges suspended or revoked. On a similar note, keep any mention of your personal drug use / drug possession / future drug use to a minimum. We know many people take drugs, but don't forget that it is illegal! Don't make it easy for the police to cause you, and the rest of us trouble. Due to the sheer size of this bulletin board, the Australian Police and members of the media do keep on eye on it and have used information submitted by users to their advantage. On some occasions in the past, people have gotten themselves into trouble. This is a very serious matter. Please help to make sure it doesn't happen again, and if you notice anyone else being careless, politely inform them of the mistake they are making.
Threads must stay on topic. The topic of the thread, elaborated upon in the topic starter's first post, is generally what the subject of the discussion should be. Please make sure that what you add to the thread is valid, and please make an effort to keep the thread on topic. If there is something important you forgot to add, just click the edit button to add more to your post. And before you start your thread, use the search feature to make sure it hasn't been done before. Now when you wish to reply to a thread, do so in the thread you are replying to - don't start a new thread to reply to the existing one. If you do, your thread will be closed. It's the 'Reply' button you want when replying, not 'Post'!
Thread topics must indicate the content of the thread. When starting a new topic, please try to make sure the heading is relevant as this just makes it a little easier for everyone. This means no teaser titles like "Open me..." and similar things like that. Also, if the thread you are starting is specific to a particular state or city then that should be mentioned in the title of the thread too. That way those from other states that have no interest in Melbourne clubs or Sydney clothes shops won't accidentally open a thread that has no relevance to them. So if you're after Melbourne specific information for example, then put "(melbourne)" in the title.
This is not a chat site. Though it is tempting to be freely social, chat cannot be accepted. This may be the social forum, but it doesn't mean you can post whatever you like. Too many people are making personal posts that only bear relevance to one or two other people. That's what email, ICQ and IRC are for. To a small extent chat will be tolerated, but its in the interests of all Bluelighters, particularly those who have just joined Bluelight that we leave chat out. This includes in-jokes and threads which revolve around only a select few people. They can be very funny and quite special to those involved, but try to keep them to a minimum and don't drag them out so that other's who don't understand feel alienated.
If you wish to chat, by all means you are welcome to join the IRC #bluelight channel on au.austnet.org - More info on how to do this can be found here :
Austnet #bluelight - Come join us if you haven't yet
Think before you start a new topic. Rather than just starting a new thread for whatever it is that pops into your mind at the time, try and think about what sort of responses the thread will invite. And more importantly, think about whether it's the sort of thing that needs a new thread at all. There might be a very similar thread already in existence, or it might be a topic better suited to discussion somewhere else like the IRC channel for example. For specific details on this matter, please refer to Things to consider when starting a new topic.
If a post or a thread is deemed unacceptable, it will be closed, and in extreme circumstances will be deleted.
If you start a thread, and for whatever reason decide it is no longer needed, please do not delete it! You will also be deleting everyone else's responses, and while you have a right to delete your own words, you have no such right concerning others. Simply ask a moderator and they will close it if necessary.
It is not the sole responsibility of the moderators to start the next incarnation of popular threads; generally we allow threads to go to around 150 posts. If a thread is around the 150 mark (i.e. at post 145 or higher) and you’d like to start the next part, email a mod and cc to the others then wait for a reply before doing so. This is so we don’t have two versions of the same thread open for posting at the same time.
-----------------
Written by Mr. Horse :
The internet has been around for quite a while now, and for years people have been hiding behind their computers. See, we can all be superheros, 8 year old girls or 50 year old men. We never have to deal with confrontation on the net, and if we choose, we don't even have to know what they look like.
We create our own community within our computer, living our lives through chat rooms or message board sites, such as Bluelight. While this can be great, there is an ugly side which cant be ignored; this is, lacking in basic human confrontation skills. We all may not be the most confident people in the world, but I would like to think we can deal with sticky situations in an appropriate manner.
Just think: before you post that email to your girlfriend/boyfriend after she has treated you badly (yes, i'm a culprit) take a minute to reflect. What am I saying in this email that cant be said face to face? SMS's are the same. Its very easy to get angry at someone without actually dealing with them. This is why flame wars become so intense and full on, a lot of people cant deal with confrontation properly, thus when they get infront of a computer, they are invincible to the world. This is something only individuals can deal with, but in the mean time, take the time to read over this and think before you post mmmkay? There is nothing we can do to change the anonymity of the internet and Bluelight, but there are a few things we can do to help avoid ugly situations such as the recent flame wars that have been happening.
Firstly, respect that not everyone will have the same opinion as you. Yes, you may not agree with it, but respect their opinion, just as you would hope yours would be.
Secondly, personal grudges are petty and juvinial ok? There is no need for mindless flaming just because you have a hatred for the person. Please keep all personal attacks to email and icq, or by whichever means you feel fit, just keep it off Bluelight.
Thirdly, dont EVER forget that the internet has no tone!! The difference between putting a little winking face after your comment can be the difference between a friendly poke and the beginnings of a flame war.
And lastly, please dont EVER take anything too seriously. Perhaps we have had a bad day (hey, it happens you know!!) and we let something slip we perhaps shouldnt, please dont get too defensive about it. Take it with a grain of salt.
Thankyou for taking the time to read this, and I hope you will consider what I have said. Please dont ever be afraid to email me and tell either myself, or any of the other moderators about any concerns you may have regarding Bluelight. We are here to serve you, dont forget.
-----------------
Please note that even though they're called "guidelines", these are "rules", so if you don't follow them, your thread will be closed.
If you have any questions, complaints, or suggestions, feel free to post them, or voice your thoughts directly to the Aus Social Moderators:
PsychoKitten: [email protected]
vurtomatic: [email protected]
babu: [email protected]
If you have any quarrel with the way any Moderator does their job, first take it up with them personally (via email or ICQ etc, don’t start a thread about it) and if you are unable to resolve the issue with them, take it up with another Mod or and Admin.
Special thanks to the main Social forum Moderators and Admins for their guidelines...
[ 06 December 2001: Message edited by: Tarsarlan ]
[ 07 December 2001: Message edited by: MíkeySåmmy ]
[ 17 December 2001: Message edited by: MíkeySåmmy ]
[ 28 December 2001: Message edited by: Pleonastic ]
[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: Pleonastic ]
[ 18 February 2002: Message edited by: Pleonastic ]
[ 18 March 2002: Message edited by: miss apple ]
[ 19 March 2002: Message edited by: Tarsarlan ]
[ 11 July 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 24 August 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 30 August 2002: Message edited by: vurtomatic ]
[ 07 September 2002: Message edited by: vurtomatic ]
[ 10 October 2002: Message edited by: PsychoKitten ]
[ 10 October 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 10 October 2002: Message edited by: Jakoz ]
[ 01 November 2002: Message edited by: PsychoKitten ]
[ 18 January 2003: Message edited by: babu ]
Last edited by a moderator:
