Post by Outlooker on Nov 19, 2007 22:34:30 GMT -5
These are Policies, i.e. guidelines.
1. What is "Hate Speech"?
For the purposes of this board, "Hate Speech" means comments intended to degrade or intimidate another member or group of members, or incite arguments with any person or group of people which is based on race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, language ability, moral or political views, socioeconomic class, occupation or appearance (such as height, weight, and hair color), mental capacity (IQ) and any other distinction-liability.
2. What is the "Freedom of Speech"?
The Freedom of Speech is basically the right to state your opinion with-out fear of personal attack, punishment or any other form of reprisal.
It is the philosophy of the Admin that everyone has an equal right to their Freedom of Speech, however everyone also has the "Right" to not have to put up with personal abuse or harassment.
This creates a conflict for if everyone has the right to state their opinion, then it can be said if they have a poor opinion of someone then they have the right to state that opinion; on the other hand the other members retain the right to not suffer personal attacks.
The solution is simplified by merely stating that the Freedom of Speech does not include the right to flame or attack others for any reason. If anyone attempts to use the Freedom of Speech in order to harass or attack another, then consider the comments made as a violation of The Outpost's Guidelines.
3. Respect to Others!
The Members are asked to respect each other's views, even if they do not respect the person. If the person says something you do not like, either respond in a civil manner or ignore the person. If there is a rule violation, the staff will take care of it in due course.
The Moderators and Admins are required to treat the members, as well as each other, in as civil of a manner as possible. The Members are urged to respect the offices of the Staff Members, even if they do not care for the person holding that office.
3. Who Judges?
In as far as The Outpost Message Board is concerned.. the Administrator has the final judgment on all disputes. The Admins and Mods, which the Administrator appoints, do have a certain amount of authority on the board and they have something to say concerning matters of Board Policy, however their judgments may be considered as temporary until the Administrator makes the judgment permanent.
In addition the Member may go to the appropriate forum and petition the Administrator for a review to be held and the previous decision to be overturned. If the request is denied, an answer will be given for the denial.
4. Do the Members have any rights on The Outpost?
I am positive I will hear this question, or one like it, at some point in the future... so I will answer the question now.
"Of course the member has rights on this board, however the members do not have the right to use the "Freedom of Speech" as a protection to break the rules."
5. Are you not infringing upon my rights, and the rights of others?
The honest answer is "most probably". The rules are set up for everyone, not just a few, therefore the rights of everyone is a major factor on this board. The very same rules that impede you from saying certain things also impedes someone from saying certain things about you. It balances out in the end.
The Guidelines and Policies of this forum might seem strict, but the vast majority of people will find out the rules rarely (if ever) bothers them. Mainly the ones it will affect will be those intending to cause trouble... and our concern isn't for them, it's for you, the normal poster.
1. What is "Hate Speech"?
For the purposes of this board, "Hate Speech" means comments intended to degrade or intimidate another member or group of members, or incite arguments with any person or group of people which is based on race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, language ability, moral or political views, socioeconomic class, occupation or appearance (such as height, weight, and hair color), mental capacity (IQ) and any other distinction-liability.
2. What is the "Freedom of Speech"?
The Freedom of Speech is basically the right to state your opinion with-out fear of personal attack, punishment or any other form of reprisal.
It is the philosophy of the Admin that everyone has an equal right to their Freedom of Speech, however everyone also has the "Right" to not have to put up with personal abuse or harassment.
This creates a conflict for if everyone has the right to state their opinion, then it can be said if they have a poor opinion of someone then they have the right to state that opinion; on the other hand the other members retain the right to not suffer personal attacks.
The solution is simplified by merely stating that the Freedom of Speech does not include the right to flame or attack others for any reason. If anyone attempts to use the Freedom of Speech in order to harass or attack another, then consider the comments made as a violation of The Outpost's Guidelines.
3. Respect to Others!
The Members are asked to respect each other's views, even if they do not respect the person. If the person says something you do not like, either respond in a civil manner or ignore the person. If there is a rule violation, the staff will take care of it in due course.
The Moderators and Admins are required to treat the members, as well as each other, in as civil of a manner as possible. The Members are urged to respect the offices of the Staff Members, even if they do not care for the person holding that office.
3. Who Judges?
In as far as The Outpost Message Board is concerned.. the Administrator has the final judgment on all disputes. The Admins and Mods, which the Administrator appoints, do have a certain amount of authority on the board and they have something to say concerning matters of Board Policy, however their judgments may be considered as temporary until the Administrator makes the judgment permanent.
In addition the Member may go to the appropriate forum and petition the Administrator for a review to be held and the previous decision to be overturned. If the request is denied, an answer will be given for the denial.
4. Do the Members have any rights on The Outpost?
I am positive I will hear this question, or one like it, at some point in the future... so I will answer the question now.
"Of course the member has rights on this board, however the members do not have the right to use the "Freedom of Speech" as a protection to break the rules."
5. Are you not infringing upon my rights, and the rights of others?
The honest answer is "most probably". The rules are set up for everyone, not just a few, therefore the rights of everyone is a major factor on this board. The very same rules that impede you from saying certain things also impedes someone from saying certain things about you. It balances out in the end.
The Guidelines and Policies of this forum might seem strict, but the vast majority of people will find out the rules rarely (if ever) bothers them. Mainly the ones it will affect will be those intending to cause trouble... and our concern isn't for them, it's for you, the normal poster.
