The site policies of this forum were put here for a reason and are to be followed. Yes, it's a public forum the polices need to be adhered to like on any public forum. The moderators and Administrator decide what is and isn't rude and 2 moderators posted here about the Rudeness policy being broken. I am printing the regulations on that particular policy here that was written by the site Administrator and by going down that list, they were indeed not followed. If anyone has anything else to add regarding this, you can send me a pm, otherwise lets let this thread get back on track to help the OP.
As we regularly seem to encounter people being rude to others in varying degrees and ways, this policy is being defined to make it clear that this will not be tolerated. Rude behavior will now be handled by temporary banning users from logging into the site (you can still read public areas). Repeat offenses or more severe offenses will result in increased period of ban time. Attempts to circumvent bans (ie. registering with another account) will result in a permanent ban on you IP address/subnet. Public rudeness and attitude to moderators attempting to enforce site policies, or ignoring their warnings in threads will also be met with a temporary ban and treated more severely.
Examples of rudeness (not limited to these):
- Making fun of someone's spelling
- Calling someone a name
- Implying another member is stupid
- Unfriendly sarcasm
- Attacking someone seeking help, for other aspects of their care practices
- Making comments designed to evoke an emotional upset in another... aka "pushing buttons" (as determined by moderators)
There are polite and friendly ways of addressing all of the above. I do not find it acceptable that new members decide to leave after only a few posts, because they were jumped on for flaws in their care practices, or were made to feel stupid because they didn't know various things. I do not find it acceptable that what could have had the potential to be a good discussion or debate, degrades into bickering or unfriendly arguments. I also do not find it acceptable that rudeness on one person's topic often results in derailing the original posters thread.
If you cannot post something politely, don't post it at all.
The definition of what is and is not "rude" will be left up to the moderators and myself.This is to avoid people saying "it wasn't intended" or saying people just misunderstood. When it comes to deciding whether you think something is or is not rude, do not think of what you would find to be rude. Ask yourself if we (moderators and I) would consider it rude. If it's questionable, err on the side of caution. If you don't try to push things to the limit, you won't find yourself getting in trouble for it.
As always, if someone is being rude to you or to another, you are NOT to get involved yourself. This is not your role here. If you want to do something about it, report it, and leave it at that. Getting involved in a dispute risks having you also be warned/banned, so just stay out of it and let us deal with it. "They started it" will not be an acceptable excuse.
First offense will result in a warning via a PM that will also direct you to this policy (that way everyone gets one chance to be made aware of the policy). Subsequent offenses will result in a temporary and escalating ban (ie. 1 day, 3 days, etc.).
[Added 11/17/07]
Members are not to publicly point out others as being rude. Ever since this policy was defined I'm seeing a number of members using that accusation as a tool of "control", effectively using it as a threat, or a manipulation. If someone is being rude, report it. I believe I've already said that members should not attempt to moderate other members, and that includes deciding what does and does not fall under this policy.
