Forum Rules Discussion/Questions

[Whitney]

NOTE THIS IS NOT A CURRENT LIST OF RULES...SEE RULES FORUM FOR OFFICIAL HAF RULES
Rule Revision: June 21, 2008 2:44p; June 21, 2008 5:50p; July 6, 2008 1:30p

1. Respect others. Treat people with the respect they deserve.

2. Preach in appropriate areas.  The Happy Atheist [strike:lr0gb977]f[/strike:lr0gb977]Forum is open to anyone. However, if a theist insists on preaching outside of the "Religion [strike:lr0gb977]Corral[/strike:lr0gb977]" forum the user will [strike:lr0gb977]first be warned, then trolled, then IP banned[/strike:lr0gb977] face action by the moderators/administrators of the forum.  [strike:lr0gb977]That location[/strike:lr0gb977]The Religion category was created to allow those who wish to refrain from religious discussion a nice tidy forum.  Hint, we really would prefer you not preach at all; thoughtful discussion is a lot more welcome.  Theist members who are not able to comply to this rule run the risk of having their posts and posting rights confined to the "Hall of Shame" forum.

3. Do not spam/troll.  Spamming is a troll-able/bannable offense. (this should go without saying...how to determine which one, troll/ban, has so far been based on member input.  

What does this forum consider spam?
-multiple postings of the same topic
-threads which are posted to advertise products/links unrelated to this forum
-responses to existing topics which are completely unrelated to the subject
-hit and run postings of a trollish, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate nature*

*When the spam falls under the hit and run category the poster will be given ~24 hours to show that s/he intended to discuss whatever content was in the post...after that time period it will be considered a hit and run if a second post has not been made.

3. Work friendly.  Keep forum content work friendly. For instance, if an image you want to post is pornographic or otherwise not appropriate for a work environment then link to the image rather than placing the image in your post.

4. Do not plagerize.  When quoting from a source other than yourself give credit where credit is due: use citations, links, names, etc. when possible.  Academic integrity is important to a lot of the members here; violating this rule can result in a ban.  Adding your opinion alongside cited text will not only improve the quality of your post but is encouraged."

5.  Right to privacy  Although the Happy Atheist Forum team cannot be responsible for private information you choose to reveal in your posts.  Members, moderators, and administrators are not allowed to make public the personal information of other member either on this forum or elsewhere.  Anyone caught posting another person's private information without proper consent will be banned immediately.  

6.  Signatures.  Members shall limit the size of their signature images to being no larger in width than 468px and no taller than 60px.  This would mean you could have a standard full size banner. example:


Theists, if you are not familiar with atheism or have never discussed with atheists please look over FAQ for theists

The rest of the agreement is standard of most forums and you should be familiar with the information contained within the agreement.

[strike:lr0gb977]While the administrators and moderators of this forum will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible, it is impossible to review every message. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author and not the administrators, moderators or webmaster (except for posts by these people) and hence will not be held liable.

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, threatening, or any other material that may violate any applicable laws. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned. The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. You agree that the webmaster, administrator and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should they see fit. As a user you agree to any information you have entered above being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent the webmaster, administrator and moderators cannot be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

This forum system uses cookies to store information on your local computer. These cookies do not contain any of the information you have entered above; they serve only to improve your viewing pleasure. The e-mail address is used only for confirming your registration details and password (and for sending new passwords should you forget your current one).[/strike:lr0gb977]

By accessing “Happy Atheist Forum” (hereinafter “we”, “us”, “our”, “Happy Atheist Forum”, “http://www.happyatheistforum.com”), you agree to be legally bound by the following terms. If you do not agree to be legally bound by all of the following terms then please do not access and/or use “Happy Atheist Forum”. We may change these at any time and we’ll do our utmost in informing you, though it would be prudent to review this regularly yourself as your continued usage of “Happy Atheist Forum” after changes mean you agree to be legally bound by these terms as they are updated and/or amended.

Our forums are powered by phpBB (hereinafter “they”, “them”, “their”, “phpBB software”, “www.phpbb.com”, “phpBB Group”, “phpBB Teams”) which is a bulletin board solution released under the “General Public License” (hereinafter “GPL”) and can be downloaded from http://www.phpbb.com. The phpBB software only facilitates internet based discussions, the phpBB Group are not responsible for what we allow and/or disallow as permissible content and/or conduct. For further information about phpBB, please see: http://www.phpbb.com/.

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-orientated or any other material that may violate any laws be it of your country, the country where “Happy Atheist Forum” is hosted or International Law. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned, with notification of your Internet Service Provider if deemed required by us. The IP address of all posts are recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. You agree that “Happy Atheist Forum” have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should we see fit. As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “Happy Atheist Forum” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

NOTE THIS IS NOT A CURRENT LIST OF RULES...SEE RULES FORUM FOR OFFICIAL HAF RULES

[Will]

That's very impressive legal jargon.

If I may humbly suggest a few additional rules:
"Personal information of members is theirs to do with as they please. Do not share their personal information (full name, phone number, address, email, social security number, mother's maiden name, etc.) without their expressed permission. Doing so can put people in a possibly dangerous situation and will result in being permanently banned."

"When you post articles or information from other websites, please post a link the passage in your post, directly quote the passage in your post in a quote tag, and include your opinion along with the quote."

[Whitney]

That's very impressive legal jargon.

That's the new standard phpbb3 registration agreement.  I plan on editing out part of it later, for instance, I'm not going to permanent ban someone that links to a porn site in a work friendly manner unless it is spam or violates a law (ie no kiddie porn).  I also want to add the rules to the agreement so that members who sign up will have to look at the rules before hitting 'agree'.

If I may humbly suggest a few additional rules:
"Personal information of members is theirs to do with as they please. Do not share their personal information (full name, phone number, address, email, social security number, mother's maiden name, etc.) without their expressed permission. Doing so can put people in a possibly dangerous situation and will result in being permanently banned."

Isn't that covered by this?: As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “Happy Atheist Forum” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

"When you post articles or information from other websites, please post a link the passage in your post, directly quote the passage in your post in a quote tag, and include your opinion along with the quote."

What if I add "Adding your opinion alongside cited text will not only improve the quality of your post but is encouraged." under rule 4?

[Will]

Isn't that covered by this?: As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “Happy Atheist Forum” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

Technically, yes, but restating a member's right to personal privacy clearly might be a good idea considering that some people are not public with their atheism. That makes the rule particularly important, imho.

What if I add "Adding your opinion alongside cited text will not only improve the quality of your post but is encouraged." under rule 4?

Sounds good to me!  :banna:

[Whitney]

Isn't that covered by this?: As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “Happy Atheist Forum” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

Technically, yes, but restating a member's right to personal privacy clearly might be a good idea considering that some people are not public with their atheism. That makes the rule particularly important, imho.

What if I add "Adding your opinion alongside cited text will not only improve the quality of your post but is encouraged." under rule 4?

Sounds good to me!  

Included...see pink in OP.

[Asmodean]

Uh... Those last lines:

As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “Happy Atheist Forum” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

I would do something about "will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent" because in some situations, that third party may over-rule the lack of such consent. Police investigations are one such example.

[Whitney]

Uh... Those last lines:

As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “Happy Atheist Forum” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

I would do something about "will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent" because in some situations, that third party may over-rule the lack of such consent. Police investigations are one such example.

Ya...someone from the phpbb3 legal team forgot to include 'unless required by law' in that part.  I'll fix the wording when I edit the agreement file.

[Whitney]

Rules updated to include signature image restrictions.  viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1521&p=18209#p18209

[Asmodean]

Rules updated to include signature image restrictions.  viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1521&p=18209#p18209

 :|

[noba2278]

spam deleted

[Jolly Sapper]

There is something slightly ironic about posting a blatant advertisement in the section on forum rules.

[Whitney]

I added a no junk posts rule to keep certain people from abusing the intent of the 50 post rule.

Previously there was no way to use the rules to justify action against such behavior unless it was spam.

Rule takes effect from this point forward...I have notices of it in 3 places on the board so the person who sparked the rule has no excuse not to see it 

[McQ]

I added a no junk posts rule to keep certain people from abusing the intent of the 50 post rule.

Previously there was no way to use the rules to justify action against such behavior unless it was spam.

Rule takes effect from this point forward...I have notices of it in 3 places on the board so the person who sparked the rule has no excuse not to see it 

Excellent idea.

[Whitney]

I added a no junk posts rule to keep certain people from abusing the intent of the 50 post rule.

Previously there was no way to use the rules to justify action against such behavior unless it was spam.

Rule takes effect from this point forward...I have notices of it in 3 places on the board so the person who sparked the rule has no excuse not to see it 

Excellent idea.

I'm hoping everyone agrees...don't want to make that 50 too hard but I think asking for obviously sincere posts isn't too much to ask.

[Davin]

Which one? You just quoted the whole thing. If the whole thing is what is preventing you from posting, then maybe you should reconsider what you're going to post.