www.talkcyprus.org

[Bullika]

I have a few ideas about rules of conduct for our wonderful forum. These may already exist but I couldnt find them on the forum home page.

I know I may be guilty of some of the below charges, I apologise, but I am willing to change my ways for the common benefit of our forum and would like to invite others to consider it too.

Firstly: I believe there should be a total ban on Conspiracy Theories! No more attempts to brand or label certain users as anti-greek, anti-turkish, trolls etc... one of our users has a tendancy to do this alot and it is bloody annoying me. It also makes users paranoid of one another, "ooohh who could it be...?" and thus hinders constructive discussion.

Secondly: It is my view that no insults ought to be made to one another. However heated the discussion becomes, control yourself. This means refrain from using words that are insulting . This includes "fool, stupid, idiot, twat, twit, dick etc" This hinders the spirit of good discussion and leaves people feeling resentful. I find one member is breaking this rule big time and so far i have ignored him but I do feel someone should lay down the rules.

Thirdly, AND I WILL MODIFY AS MANY OF MY OWN MESSAGES AS POSSIBLE I PROMISE. Lets not use abusive terms, like "shit, fuck, bollocks, crap..."

Lastly: Any issues that our users have I believe should be first addressed to the person in question, write them a PM first. then as a next port of call the moderator, then admin and then if still unsuccessful in reaching a resolution, make it public, but do so without being abusive, rude about that person or damaging his / her character.

What do you think?

[Crash Test Dummy]

Quote:
Firstly: I believe there should be a total ban on Conspiracy Theories!

This is what makes us different from the rest of the world. Its the Official Sport of Cyprus

Quote:
Secondly: It is my view that no insults ought to be made to one another.

Does this include friendly banter?
Quote:
Thirdly, AND I WILL MODIFY AS MANY OF MY OWN MESSAGES AS POSSIBLE I PROMISE. Lets not use abusive terms, like "shit, fuck, bollocks, crap..."

Moose that joke is crap
The latest speech by Talat was a load of bollocks. He made it all up
Are these sorts of phrases allowed?

Quote: Lastly: Any issues that our users have I believe should be first addressed to the person in question, write them a PM first. then as a next port of call the moderator, then admin and then if still unsuccessful in reaching a resolution, make it public, but do so without being abusive, rude about that person or damaging his / her character.

This will mean telling the story 3 times. Have you never played Chinese whispers?


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You can not ban X,Y and Z. You must rely on the members self moderation. Apart from playing musical posts the mods thankfully don't have to do much. Less than a dozen posts have been quarantined for a major reason.

[cypezokyli]

if we stop the conspiracy theories re, we will have nothing to talk about :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Crash Test Dummy]

cypezokyli wrote: if we stop the conspiracy theories re, we will have nothing to talk about :lol: :lol: :lol:

but why. this is just another scheme by Greeks to avoid facing the facts.
*admires his ability to twist anything into a conspiracy*

[Bullika]

Crash Test Dummy wrote: Quote:
Firstly: I believe there should be a total ban on Conspiracy Theories!

This is what makes us different from the rest of the world. Its the Official Sport of Cyprus

Quote:
Secondly: It is my view that no insults ought to be made to one another.

Does this include friendly banter?
Quote:
Thirdly, AND I WILL MODIFY AS MANY OF MY OWN MESSAGES AS POSSIBLE I PROMISE. Lets not use abusive terms, like "shit, fuck, bollocks, crap..."

Moose that joke is crap
The latest speech by Talat was a load of bollocks. He made it all up
Are these sorts of phrases allowed?

Quote: Lastly: Any issues that our users have I believe should be first addressed to the person in question, write them a PM first. then as a next port of call the moderator, then admin and then if still unsuccessful in reaching a resolution, make it public, but do so without being abusive, rude about that person or damaging his / her character.

This will mean telling the story 3 times. Have you never played Chinese whispers?


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

You can not ban X,Y and Z. You must rely on the members self moderation. Apart from playing musical posts the mods thankfully don't have to do much. Less than a dozen posts have been quarantined for a major reason.

Users know wen they are engaged in friendly banter. Traditionally people who do this, myself included do it with users we are more familiar with and have built a forum relationship with.

Its not wrong to use crap, I have used it countless times, but on reflection I feel it lowers the tone of the forum. I dont know, maybe we could leave this one among friends, or used in a friendly informal way.

But not when somebody says

"Bullika you`re a sack of crap"

[Crash Test Dummy]

Bullika wrote:
Traditionally people who do this, myself included do it with users we are more familiar with and have built a forum relationship with.

easy with the use of the word relationship there Mr Foot Fetish. Does this count as friendly banter or a personal insult?

[Bullika]

Crash Test Dummy wrote: Bullika wrote:
Traditionally people who do this, myself included do it with users we are more familiar with and have built a forum relationship with.

easy with the use of the word relationship there Mr Foot Fetish. Does this count as friendly banter or a personal insult?

No no foot fetish is not an insult. :D

[cannedmoose]

I'm fine with the labelling of my jokes as 'crap'... in fact, any other term wouldn't do them justice ;)

[Crash Test Dummy]

cannedmoose wrote: I'm fine with the labelling of my jokes as 'crap'... in fact, any other term wouldn't do them justice ;)

agreed :lol: :lol:

[cypezokyli]

crash wrote:
Quote: cypezokyli wrote:
if we stop the conspiracy theories re, we will have nothing to talk about Laughing Laughing Laughing


but why. this is just another scheme by Greeks to avoid facing the facts.
*admires his ability to twist anything into a conspiracy*
i totally agree. i was trying to be ironic or sarcastic but i guess it didnot work :wink:

[thebrix]

Bullika wrote: I have a few ideas about rules of conduct for our wonderful forum. These may already exist but I couldnt find them on the forum home page.

I know I may be guilty of some of the below charges, I apologise, but I am willing to change my ways for the common benefit of our forum and would like to invite others to consider it too.

Firstly: I believe there should be a total ban on Conspiracy Theories! No more attempts to brand or label certain users as anti-greek, anti-turkish, trolls etc... one of our users has a tendancy to do this alot and it is bloody annoying me. It also makes users paranoid of one another, "ooohh who could it be...?" and thus hinders constructive discussion.

Secondly: It is my view that no insults ought to be made to one another. However heated the discussion becomes, control yourself. This means refrain from using words that are insulting . This includes "fool, stupid, idiot, twat, twit, dick etc" This hinders the spirit of good discussion and leaves people feeling resentful. I find one member is breaking this rule big time and so far i have ignored him but I do feel someone should lay down the rules.

Thirdly, AND I WILL MODIFY AS MANY OF MY OWN MESSAGES AS POSSIBLE I PROMISE. Lets not use abusive terms, like "shit, fuck, bollocks, crap..."

Lastly: Any issues that our users have I believe should be first addressed to the person in question, write them a PM first. then as a next port of call the moderator, then admin and then if still unsuccessful in reaching a resolution, make it public, but do so without being abusive, rude about that person or damaging his / her character.

What do you think?

2-4 I agree with.

1 I do not agree with, as it goes straight to the heart of freedom of expression. There are some very doubtful (IMO) English laws on "incitement to ..." which put juries in an impossible position regarding drawing a line. When does a "fiery speech" become "incitement to murder"? Similarly, when does a "speculation" become a "conspiracy theory"?

I would prefer that content is not regulated; as Voltaire put it, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". (And it is always possible to put forward an argument without bad language or ad hominem attacks, hence my agreement with 2-4).

[erolz]

Ok here are my thoughts

I like the idea of setting (discussed and agreed) 'rules / guidelines' for behaviour on the forums. Not for what can be said - but for HOW it is said.

I generally support 2 - 4 as well.

2 is pretty much alreasdy in the rules as they stand now. Generally it is implement after a 'complaint' rather than proactively - but the rule is already there. What would help would be if people did not do this.

As ever however this is not as clear cut as it seems at first glance. If a posters 'style' is something I percived to be a problem, then I think I should be able to say this. This is 'personal' - its not about what they say but avout how they say it (and the consequences of such). Some people may interpet a rule that says personal abuse of others members is not allowed as meaninf personal critisim of other members is not allowed. To me these are clearly different things - but to others perhaps not.

To say 'person x' - your childish immature and attension seeking posts are not worth reading

To me would be abuse.

To say 'person x' the way you chose to post is in my opinion nearly always in a combatative style, where you simply neagte something someone else says, without any explaination and is not conducive to a fruitful debate.

To me would not be abuse but critisim (fair or not).

I think abuse should be prsocribed by the rule. Critisim should not per se - but when it is made every effort should be made to not cross the 'line'.

3 - I would be happy to see all swear words banned myself (by consetual agreement of members - not by fiat). But I am also not that bothered by them either. I use them in the real world occasionaly. Personally I try to avoide them in text.

4 - I totaly agree with. It is already pretty much the 'unwritten' rules for how things _should_ be dealt with (though frequently are not) but I think this one most definately should be 'formalised' along with some specific prohibition on 'back seat moderation' (a common 'no no' on many forums in my experience).

One other 'behaviour guide' I think we should also consider is something along the lines

'do not posts replies that simply say "great post" - or similar. If you wish to complement a poster then do so via PM and not in public'

On the general issue of 'freedom of speech' my view is that in society at large it should be absolute and defended as such.
On online forums like these however I recognise the 'fragile' nature of such virtual communites, and how easy it is for a sinlge indivdual or very very small minorites to undermine and actualy destroy such a community under the protection of 'freedom of speech'.

To give an extreme example. A given poster could simply reply to every post with 'Cyprus is Greek' or 'Cyprus is Turkish'. I do not beleive that someone behaving in this way has an absolute right to do this on a forum like this (like I believe they would have an absolute right to stand outside and embassy every day and shout 'Cyprus is X')

Those are my thoughts.

I really do hope more memebers contribute to this discussion on from it we can untleimately and collectively AGREE a set of guideline behaviour based rules for the forum.

I look forward to hearing from as many members as possible on this issue.

[depurple]

I agree with everything But 1:
The CT conspiracy theories usually arrive but some sort of truth!
In 1971 I was told not to build in Lapta because the Turkeys were going to invade: We thought that was only a CT:
Then in 1972 we heard they were going to overthrow Makarios: Another CT?
The US wanted bases in Cyprus: CT?
Cherie Blair was being paid by the Turkish Government: Another CT?
Diana, 9/11, Kennedy, Monroe, Lennon another CT?
Denktash, Clerides,Kyprioanou, Bassilou all got rich fro the Cyprus Tragedy another CT?
Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq another CT?
My friend Cyprus is riddled with conspiracy and no one wants to face up to the truth WHY because everyone has something to benefit from it:
1:If someone says the EOKA B were Hero's then either there father of relative were part of it:
2:The people who say let there be 2 Cyprus not one: Also have something to gain:
3:The people who say Turkey is our mother and 4:Greece is our Mother also have something to gain:
1: My uncle was EOKA B and he has been sitting on his arse for over 30 years being paid to keep his mouth shut!
2:Clerides, Bassiliou and their friends have all become multi millionaires and live in a Glass Castle:
3: Denktash to protect HIS and all his assets:
4: The many idiots who supported the Coupe and the EOKA B:Are still being paid today BY who? ask one of them?Don't be like the Orams and cry your dint know the land was Greek Cypriot land: Don't tell me the Greek Cypriot don't know any EOKA B:And don't tell me that the Turkish Cypriot don't know what assets Denktash has and don't give me he was a barrister BULL;
My Koumbaro is Nick Papas the Attorney General of Australia and he had a part time job as a lecturer to make ends meet and Dentash had better court cases than Nick???? I don't think SO!

[Bullika]

depurple wrote: I agree with everything But 1:
The CT conspiracy theories usually arrive but some sort of truth!
In 1971 I was told not to build in Lapta because the Turkeys were going to invade: We thought that was only a CT:
Then in 1972 we heard they were going to overthrow Makarios: Another CT?
The US wanted bases in Cyprus: CT?
Cherie Blair was being paid by the Turkish Government: Another CT?
Diana, 9/11, Kennedy, Monroe, Lennon another CT?
Denktash, Clerides,Kyprioanou, Bassilou all got rich fro the Cyprus Tragedy another CT?
Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq another CT?
My friend Cyprus is riddled with conspiracy and no one wants to face up to the truth WHY because everyone has something to benefit from it:
1:If someone says the EOKA B were Hero's then either there father of relative were part of it:
2:The people who say let there be 2 Cyprus not one: Also have something to gain:
3:The people who say Turkey is our mother and 4:Greece is our Mother also have something to gain:
1: My uncle was EOKA B and he has been sitting on his arse for over 30 years being paid to keep his mouth shut!
2:Clerides, Bassiliou and their friends have all become multi millionaires and live in a Glass Castle:
3: Denktash to protect HIS and all his assets:
4: The many idiots who supported the Coupe and the EOKA B:Are still being paid today BY who? ask one of them?Don't be like the Orams and cry your dint know the land was Greek Cypriot land: Don't tell me the Greek Cypriot don't know any EOKA B:And don't tell me that the Turkish Cypriot don't know what assets Denktash has and don't give me he was a barrister BULL;
My Koumbaro is Nick Papas the Attorney General of Australia and he had a part time job as a lecturer to make ends meet and Dentash had better court cases than Nick???? I don't think SO!

No Depurp[le, not those kind of conspiracy theories! I meant ones where a member says something along these lines

"Someone in this forum is two-faced, be careful, they are watching you, they may work for the Nazis". I find this kind of stirring unacceptable.

[Khan]

KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid

I dont like too many specifics when it comes to forum conduct. A general rule of "please be polite to other members and dont swear" would cover most of what your saying.