THE RAILBASTARD RULES

TheLoadedDog · Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:15 pm Post subject: THE RAILBASTARD RULES

This is the master list of rules. It overrides anything earlier than it. I may alter or add to it from time to time. I'll try to keep this as short as possible, and as plain and straightforward as possible.

1.DON'T BE A TWAT!

This is our number one rule for a reason. It is our fundamental rule, our basic law, our constitution. Just don't be a twat.

2. This site is NOT a democracy.

We need to get this one out of the way up here near the top of the list. You are here because I allow you to be here. You can get away with a fair bit, but you do not have a total right to free speech. I have the right to act like a deranged, dictatorial fuckhead. I can ban you or otherwise fuck with you for any or no reason. If, at some future date, I appoint moderators or administrators, they will own you too. Decisions made by them will be backed up 100% by me, and vice versa (even if I'd have called it differently) - so no playing people off against each other, because it won't work. Yes, I am a power drunk knob, and being a petty little official makes my dick feel bigger (I just thought I'd get that out of the way to save others' typing fingers in the event of a future dispute).

3. Think of this place as a pub, not a schoolyard.

You can swear and you can be a little rough around the edges. This is not a licence to be completely filthy. So no posting porno pictures, and no degrading women. I've banned people already for this, and I'll do it again if need be. Even the roughest pub has its own rules and limits. Railbastard is no different. I don't want to see too much gratuitous swearing. Please swear creatively.

4. Slag People Off With Caution

There are strict rules for getting up people. You can ONLY do it in the Getting Up People forum, and even then you can only do it to people who are members here. There is to be NO bagging of other rail boards or their members. You can get up public figures etc, you can bitch about the guy who served you at the video store, but do be careful. Identifying your boss as a cunt might not be a good idea if you work in the rail industry, for example (the internet has a way of coming back to bite you, and what you post here is a permanent record). Do not accuse people of criminal activity, even in jest (call the cops instead if you're that worried). Do not EVER threaten anybody else with violence. Finally, if you get up somebody, be prepared to be gotten up in return - if you can't handle the heat, etc...

5. Pay attention to your spelling and grammar.

This is something that I will be policing. You don't have to be a walking dictionary, and you don't have to cross every T, but do please make an effort. Making an effort to post things that are readable is a courtesy to your fellow members. If you're simply a shitty speller or what-have-you, don't worry. I can tell the difference between that and people who simply don't care. Railbastard isn't an English test. I just ask that you have a go.

6. Don't post intolerant shit.

Racism, sexism, homophobia, etc are not on. This is not political correctness; it is human decency. Don't do it. There is a real person on the other end of the screen.

7. Be careful with the edit function.

Do not edit posts to fundamentally change the context. If you edit a post, I would vastly prefer it if you insert a little note as to why you did it, eg. Edited to fix typo or coding error. I'm not going to be too strict on that, but it is a courtesy to other members. There is a reason for that too - there have already been some instances of people editing their posts later, after having gotten into a blue with somebody else. This isn't on, and is actually the reason why some boards have disabled the edit function completely. I will disable it too, if it is abused. Try to edit soon after the original post. Don't edit hours or days later.

8. No sockpuppetry!

For those who don't know, a sockpuppet is a second (or third etc) user account usually intended to provide artificial support for an individual's stance in a debate, or to otherwise break the rules without the user's main account being warned or banned. Don't do this. In other words, there is to be one account per person and one only. If I catch you with two, I may ban one or both user names. I've been lenient so far (yes, people have been at it already), but not much longer.

9. On the subject of graffiti
If in doubt, don't post about it, especially if you are new here. It's always a good idea to discuss it with me first. The same goes for asking questions about rail security. Another one is cab rides - tread carefully, and don't mention anything that could identify the train crew.

10. Fatalities
See rule 9.

Finally, these rules seem like a lot maybe, but if you just use yer noggin, be friendly, and come here to have a laugh, you shouldn't come afoul of them.

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Administration and Moderation of Railbastard

This is a bit different to the stuff you might be used to....

I will endeavour to keep moderating decisions open and public. This means if you fuck up, everyone will know, and it means if I fuck up, everyone will know likewise. So warnings are issued inside threads, not via PM. Banned posters will have the custom rank BANNED or similar beneath their name.

There is no ticket system. If you want to contact me, my name is Andrew, my email is theloadeddog@gmail.com . Everyone is welcome to use that address to contact me for whatever reason. I understand there is nothing more irritating than high and mighty distant moderators who often do not deign to answer certain queries or complaints, so I give you my personal undertaking that I will reply to you in a timely manner.

There is no thread pruning. What you post here stays here.

I do not like to delete posts or threads unless absolutely necessary. This is in accordance with the open moderation principle. Threads will not get mysteriously spirited away on Railbastard. If I do have no choice but to remove something from public display, I will move it to a non-visible location, but won't delete it.

I won't alter the title of other people's threads unless absolutely necessary. I certainly won't do it for fun, as I find the practice rude.

This announcement may be changed from time to time. I'll let you know if it is. I'll lock this to keep it from getting cluttered, but feel free to open a thread in this forum if you wish to discuss anything I've posted here.

Thanks,

TheLoadedDog

ninthnotch · Site Admin Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 2340

To follow up.

If for any reason you wish to get contact with me, do so using ninthnotch at inhell dot com. And my first name is Chris.

I check that address at least twice a day when I am at work. Or send us a PM.

ninthnotch · Site Admin Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 2340

11. As well as no sockpuppety - no single issue flaming.

Don't sign up here if you just want to have a shot about one thing or another or defend the rights of X or Y organisation or belief or viewpoint and then piss the locals off. Looking at the recent moderationing that's been done, it's mainly been people who have joined up pretty much to flame about one subject. Doesn't mean people who joined because they could post about one thing posted other shit, or only post about one or two things without resorting to being a fuckwit's still cool.

And yes, I am talking primarily about New South Wales preservation here.

Personally, I'd rather not have to be all cunterish about certain subjects or bring the Apparatus™ out, so therefore if you join up just to dick about posting about one thing only, you will be shown the door.
_________________
Get a fucken move-on
Have some fucken sense
Learn the fucken art of
Self-de-fucken-fence