Question for mods re: OP house rules

Lately I've been noticing a number of threads where the OP explicitly sets a bunch of rules for the thread. I mean well beyond the general "stay on topic" rule that applies everywhere.

Examples: the three "civil debate" threads; other cases here and here.

Some of these OPs are making homework-like rules about how to answer; others are trying to remove some type of negative comments. For instance, one of the OPs basically says, "Anything about TFA having bad writing/plot/dialogue/etc. is unwelcome in my thread."

So... how far are we going to go with this? Can I post a thread that says "No positive remarks toward TFA allowed," and then pop up later on when someone makes that kind of comment and admonish them like I'm a mini-mod of this thread only? Can I say, "No talking bad about Finn, but you can trash everyone else?" And then if I report a post for not following my rules, real mods intervene? Is it really "OP's thread, OP's rules," and don't post in that thread if you don't like it?

I mean, it doesn't seem desirable if this kind of thread becomes commonplace, with people staking out territory as no-bashing turf here, no-gushing turf there. The rules already say to stay on topic; if you don't want people to post some certain angle on "your" thread, don't start a thread where that kind of remark is on-topic.

Am I free to ignore these "house rules" set by OPs, or do they carry force?

 

We can't have people creating threads with rules that are at odds with the TOS or any of the forum-specific rules and policies.

As such, the threads I've seen as examples are fine; it really shouldn't be a big stretch for someone to request civil discourse in their threads (and to not have the conversations in there dragged down with negativity or semi-off-topic posting).

 

I would have thought that the examples shown in the OP were very big examples of mini-modding, which I thought was highly frowned upon. Many a times have I seen in thread warnings for people doing it. Mini modding is just that...it shouldn't matter if it's the opening post, the tenth post or last post.

It's up to mods to enforce rules imo, so in this regard I agree with the OP.

 

well I think those sorts of rules are fine if say it's a fanclub/appreciation thread. And I would encourage that, but when a general discussion thread starts stating rules what can and can't be said that creates a problem I think.

 

Some forums have specific rules about it. Community, for example, allows the OP to define the spoiler rules of the thread. It's not too far-fetched to extrapolate those rules for these cases.

 

My $.02 worth: setting boundaries that are reasonable for the topic are fine, as is reminding posters of the boundaries in a thread one has created. A general discussion thread should probably have few restrictions, IMHO, (i.e. "talk only positive about what Rian may do in VIII" is limiting a discussion of what Rian may do).

 

You should assume such rules carry force unless they are explicitly contradicted by a staff member or otherwise seem to contradict the board/forum rules or TOS (in which case PMing a relevant staff member is a good course of action). I understand your concerns vis a vis discussion but in some forums these sorts of house rules are necessitated by the format (My own RPF comes to mind) so blanket declarations are a bit difficult.

 

I appreciate so many quick answers.

Not worried about people doing this in forums like Saga or Community, but I think stuff like Valairy Scot's example above has a lot more negative aspects when it comes to the "current affairs" type threads.

 

Does that happen often?

 

To add some more to this... there are some in the New Films forums who would probably like it a lot if we didn't have our blanket "no bashing and no OT vs. PT vs. ST arguments" policy/rule. We have that rule to maintain order and civility and to keep threads on topic, etc. But we also created the "hater's cave" thread so that those who did not like TFA have a place to really discuss their displeasure with the film as much as they want, without being called on it by those who liked it. In all threads, posters are not allowed to discuss other posters, just the topic, and they are also not allowed to drag threads off-topic, especially with negativity. So we essentially created a place, out of necessity, where negativity was not off-topic. That means, though, that posters in other threads should be able to expect the discussions in those threads to stay positive and constructive, and to not be dragged down or off topic.