Community Rules and Policy


Introduction

Rules
The Community rules and policies list is here to make sure that everyone understands the basic expectations for this forum. They are a repost of the rules we used in the temporary forum, and are going to be in use until we write a new set of rules and guidelines.

Mods
No rules list could cover every possible thing that might occur, and sometimes moderators will have to use their personal discretion about what is and isn't appropriate for the Community forum. If you don't understand the reason for a moderator action, please PM that moderator and ask them about it. If that person is offline, you can also PM another Community mod, or an administrator.

Comms
If you feel that an issue affects more than day-to-day things on the Community forum, you can start a thread in Comms in order to start a board-wide discussion. If a specific moderator action has brought up an issue that you feel has significance for the entire JC, please make this point of wider interest clear in your Comms thread. "I believe we should revisit the issue of how open-ended discussions and social threads differ from spam" is a statement that clearly involves board-wide policy. "Why did Mod_X lock the thread congratulating my sock for making zero posts in five years?" is a statement that refers only to a specific mod action. Threads about specific mod actions will be locked, and the users directed to contact the forum mods or admins directly.

Posting Guidelines
Finally, remember that the Terms of Sevice and the Rules of the Jedi Council are still in force here, and users with poor posting habits will end up in trouble with the administration.


I. Thread Prefixes

The Community forum is divided into several discussion areas, each one of them tagged with a different prefix. Every thread should have its own prefix; if you're using a third-party application that doesn't allow for them, please indicate the desired prefix manually (between brackets, for example) and the forum moderators will tag them for you. The moderating team reserves the right to change the prefix of any given thread as part of their forum maintenance efforts.

The existing prefixes are the following:

• JCC. Your Jedi Council Community. General discussion threads, social threads and any other thread not covered in the categories below.
• Amph. The Amphitheatre. Discussion of media-related topics, from books to movies.
• Gaming. GAEMZ1!. Discussions of videogames and gaming culture.
• Arena. The Arena. Discussion of sports and sport-related topics.
• Senate. The Senate. In-depth discussion. Senate threads are usually held to a slightly higher standard, but they are subject to the same rules as any other thread.

II. General Behavior

A. Being a positive contibuter: posting do's and don'ts

1) Tolerance​

• Please do be tolerant of others. Other posters may have interests, personal styles, and beliefs that are different from yours, and that's okay. It's part of what makes this board so interesting.
• If you run across a thread that you think is boring or stupid, there's no harm in just walking away and letting others with different tastes enjoy it. If you feel another user is a jerk, it's best to just to write it off as a personality conflict and ignore their posts.
• Alternately, if the person's behavior is so bad that it constitutes a TOS violation, click on the "Report" link and let the moderating team deal with it. Mods are here so that users don't have to fight it out post-for-post on the board.
• That said, the purpose of the Report Function is to alert the moderator(s) to flagrant and obvious rule violations that may require moderator action. The Report Function should be used to report serious trolling, flaming, spamming, language violations or a spamvertiser. Should you have a question as to whether another user is 'flaming' or 'trolling', you should contact the forum moderator via PM for clarification or to discuss the situation - please do not utilize the Report Function in for instances that are not (as previously stated) flagrant and obvious rule violations. Should a user abuse the Report Function, that user may be subject to a ban. Abuse is generally defined as utilizing the Report Function multiple times for issues ranging from a difference of opinion to a general complaint about another user. We will not attempt to outline every scenario of abuse in this policy. Bans will be issued after review by the forum mods and/or an administrator and may range from 24 hours or longer depending on the severity of the abuse.

2) Flaming​

• Please don't resort to flaming. Flaming is verbal abuse of another poster. Sometimes it involves disallowed words and sometimes it doesn't, but its basic purpose is always to humiliate or belittle another person.
• Users are completely responsible for their behavior and not anyone else's. All users are expected to abide by the rules regardless of whatever provocation they may face. If you are being provoked, report it to a moderator. Do not use it as an excuse to violate the rules yourself.

3) Trolling​

• Please don't engage in trolling. A "troll" is someone who seems intent making sure everyone else has as miserable a time as possible. Unlike flaming, trolling doesn't necessarily involve an attack on another person. It may simply be a series of attacks on anything other people seem to enjoy. Trolls may fill a thread with "This thread sucks," comments, or move from thread to thread, telling everybody that their thread sucks.
• Trolling is an editable and bannable offense. If you think you've got a troll in your thread, let a moderator know. Trying to drive off the troll yourself almost always backfires, since most trolls thrive on attention. Just not responding to their negative comments is the best way to go.

B. Posting etiquette

1) Images and media

(a) Image and media overload​

• If you're going to use a large number of embedded images or videos in your thread, please post the warning "Image Heavy" or "Video Heavy" in the thread's title. If it's not necessary for readers to see all your images or videos at once, you might want to post them as links rather than pictures.

(b) Bandwidth-Stealing​

• Please don't link directly to an image on another site. There are many free image-hosting sites that will allow you to upload and link to pictures.

(c) "Safe For Work" Guideline​

• Please use discretion about the appropriateness of images and videos you post. If an image is too graphic or inappropriate for the forums, a moderator will remove it. If you're not sure about the appropriateness of an image, PM a moderator before posting it.

2) Daily thread limit​

• There is a limit of three new Community threads every 12 hours, including threads posted with sock accounts and threads that get locked.

3. Offsite linking

(a) Content Warnings​

• In general, if the content of another site couldn't be posted on the Community forum directly, then don't link to it. However, if you think that users would be very interested in offsite content that has minor TOS violations in it, it may be all right to post a link along with a warning. For example, a link to a video clip of a comedy routine containing a couple of disallowed words could have: "Language warning" put next to it.
• Content warnings are there as courtesies to other users, who might not want to see certain things at work, in the room with their parents, or at all. Warnings don't automatically make all offsite content okay, however. Moderators may still remove links to content and sites that fall too far outside the JC's TOS. Contacting a moderator before posting a questionable link is never a bad idea.

(b) Reposting articles​

• It's a good idea to get to know the forum really well before you start making threads around reposted news articles, especially if you have added no commentary but "discuss" or something similar. Many reposted news articles turn out to be redundant, or are on topics that don't generate much interest. Before hitting "copy" and "paste," consider whether it might be a better idea to summarize the point of the news article, perhaps with a link included, and then include some thought-provoking comments or questions.

​

III. Topics

A. Spam​

• Please try to give your thread an identifiable point of discussion. Opening posts consisting of (for example) simply an emoticon, "(nt)" or a vague word like "discuss," with no additional content, are not encouraged. Such threads are likely to be locked.
• Spamming the "Report" system is going to result in warning or banning.

B. Parody threads​

• Parody threads are allowed, provided there is real discussion-worthy content. Parody sprees (more than one parody thread of a certain subject) are discouraged, and repeated participation in sprees may result in warning or banning.

C. WUL threads​

• "Add me to your Watched User List" threads will be locked. Does anyone still make these?

D.Spoilers​

• Threads discussing television shows, movies, etc, will fall under a default Highlight-To-Read/Spoiler Tag policy. The duration of the spoiler period depends on the media being discussed:
  
  - TV SHOWS: Spoilers must be kept between spoiler tags for two days after the first airing.
  - COMICS: Spoilers must be kept between spoiler tags for a week after a comic's release.
  - MOVIES: Spoilers must be kept between spoiler tags for two weeks after a movie's release.
  - BOOKS: Spoilers must be kept between spoiler tags for a month after a book's release.
  
  Specific threads --upon the agreement of the users posting in that thread or the moderating team-- can have house rules that differ from the general spoiler policy. These "house rules" will be put in the thread title and will be visible in the thread's first post.
  
  Should a thread author wish to create a non-spoiler thread (one that prohibits all spoiler discussion), they may PM a forum moderator and present the reasons behind wanting a spoiler free thread (those reasons should be more detailed than "I want it to be spoiler free". The Community mods will discuss these "petitions" on a case-by-case basis and allow individual spoiler and non-spoiler threads based on the potential popularity of the topic and the need to establish two separate threads.
  
  All spoilers that violate this policy will be edited, and those who post them might end up facing a warning or ban. The seriousness of the spoiler will determine the severity of the action; posting generally harmless material such as casting rumors will not be cause for modding, while spoiling a plot twist or an ending will probably cause a vacation from the boards. Threads with house spoiler rules may sometimes operate under more severe restrictions than threads operating under the general spoiler policy. In case of doubt, use your common sense and err on the side of caution.

E. Discussion of Star Wars​

• This is the official Star Wars thread in the Community forum. Any other Star Wars-related threads are not allowed.

​

IV. Moderators

A. Mod at the post level, not the thread level.
If people are derailing a thread, deal with them individually. Whenever possible, avoid locks based on the actions of a few people. If people are flaming, trolling, etc. deal with them.

B. Give regular folk some credit.
If a mod feels a thread isn't going to lead anywhere good, let it go. See what happens. BUT, keep a closer eye on the thread and post warnings where appropriate to give the thread an opportunity to get back on track.

C. New threads are usually more active than older, upped threads.
If an apparently redundant thread is started, and someone ups an older version, it's almost always a good idea to lock the older version (presuming it's at least a month old) and let the newer version go.

D. Post and have fun!
You're supposed to enjoy the forum you mod, so do so! It makes it infinitely more enjoyable for the members when the mods feel more like regular members and it makes it that much easier to approach them with problems.​

V. Official Profanity and Disallowed Words List

Here's the latest list of words that will be edited in all forums. Using these words in the context given in the list could lead to warning and/or banning.

Of course it goes without saying: there are bad words below. Don't repeat the "non-allowed".

Allowable

Hell
Damn
Douche (when not being used as an insult)
Crap
Ass / Arse and derivatives (when not being used as an insult towards another person)
Bitch (true dictionary definition, verb usage and when not being used towards another person)
Bastard (dictionary definition and some verb usage)
Penis / Vagina / any proper term for genitalia (only in a sheer biological sense and discussion)
God damn / Goddamnit
Jesus Christ
​

Not Allowed:

Prick (except when used as a proper noun or a verb)
****er / **** / ****ing/ Fap/ Fapping/ Jacking off/ words that mean masturbating that aren't "MASTURBATING"
Tosser
**** / ****ing / ****ed
****
****
Retarded (when directed at someone or something - demeaning)
Nigger / Chink / Gook / Coon / Cracker / Honkey (any racial slur)
Gay / Ghey / Homo / Dyke / Poofters (used in derogatory fashion)
Fag / Faggot (when used in a derogatory fashion)
**** / *****
Cock/Dick (when used as slang for genitalia)
Tits / Titties
Pussy (when referring to anything other than in the feline sense)
Bitch (referencing another person) (also Bee-yotch, or Bi-otch, or Bitchslap)
Son of a Bitch (or it's acronym)
Bastard (when used as an insult to any person)
Whore (when used as an insult to any person)
Slut / Ho
******* / ********
Balls (when used as a flame towards someone else. e.g. saying you'll kick person X in the balls.)
Handjob / Blowjob

Acronyms relating to and containing abbreviations for disallowed words no longer need to be starred out.​

Thank you for taking the time to read through the Rules and Policy of this forum, and enjoy your time here!


Changelog:

9/20/2020: Updated with recent changes
5/7/2016: Added small rule revisions that were not reflected in this thread
5/4/2013: Added report function policy
8/1/2013: Edited to reflect split of The Senate Floor