In additional to the main rules in the FAQ section, please be sure to read the following rules before posting in GD.
Claimed
This has become REALLY tired now, and is a bannable offence.
"tl;dr"
Post it? Get banned
That silly brown bear.
Posting any image containing the stupid bear will earn you a short fun suspension!
jesus.jpg
Same goes for the "jesus.jpg" - Posting this image will land you a suspension.
Rhyl
Mention it? Get a free holiday
"Vote for me" threads
These will only be allowed if the following criteria are met:
Religious threads
Please be aware that from now on there will be no trolling of religious threads tolerated. Your beliefs may differ from those that others hold but we do ask that you show them some tolerance and do not post deliberately disrespectful or inflammatory comments about other people's beliefs. The issue of beliefs is a sensitive one for many people and this does not mean that there can be no criticism of religion but do think about how you present your arguments.
It is unfortunate that this needs to be spelled out but if this simple request for a bit of respect and tolerance towards others and their beliefs is not followed then suspensions and bans will follow. It would be preferable for all parties if these measures could be avoided so please show a bit of courtesy and tolerance towards others. Thank you.
Please read the FAQs, which covers the acceptable behaviours for posting on the forums.
We encourage critical debate, but not at the detriment of individuals or groups of people. If complaints are received, action will be taken.
SWEARING AND LINKING TO CONTENT THAT CONTAINS SWEARING
The reason we do not have swearing on the forum is that we want to have a place where people can discuss things without resorting to swearing or which leads to more aggressive personal attacks (which will still be moderated without compromise). It makes the forum a nicer place to be. So we will not be relaxing the swearing rules ON the forum or items that are embedded (like an image or YouTube video with swearing written on it). However our approach to try and be more flexible with linked articles and items should hopefully make it less of a pain for users worried about being flagged for swearing.
Claimed
This has become REALLY tired now, and is a bannable offence.
"tl;dr"
Post it? Get banned
That silly brown bear.
Posting any image containing the stupid bear will earn you a short fun suspension!
jesus.jpg
Same goes for the "jesus.jpg" - Posting this image will land you a suspension.
Rhyl
Mention it? Get a free holiday
"Vote for me" threads
These will only be allowed if the following criteria are met:
- You link to the entire competition
- You do not give a referral URL
- You accept that people will vote for whomever they feel is more deserving
- You can advise of who your entry is but not link exclusively to it
Religious threads
Please be aware that from now on there will be no trolling of religious threads tolerated. Your beliefs may differ from those that others hold but we do ask that you show them some tolerance and do not post deliberately disrespectful or inflammatory comments about other people's beliefs. The issue of beliefs is a sensitive one for many people and this does not mean that there can be no criticism of religion but do think about how you present your arguments.
It is unfortunate that this needs to be spelled out but if this simple request for a bit of respect and tolerance towards others and their beliefs is not followed then suspensions and bans will follow. It would be preferable for all parties if these measures could be avoided so please show a bit of courtesy and tolerance towards others. Thank you.
Please read the FAQs, which covers the acceptable behaviours for posting on the forums.
We encourage critical debate, but not at the detriment of individuals or groups of people. If complaints are received, action will be taken.
SWEARING AND LINKING TO CONTENT THAT CONTAINS SWEARING
- Linking to a Youtube video with swearing:
We're trying to be more flexible, whilst we'd rather you didn't link to a site or a video with swearing, if there is some depending on how blatant and frequent it is we will either a) leave it b) delete the link. Worst case scenario will be if the content is deemed unacceptable or the post is purposefully trying to circumvent the swear filter; either to make a point or be funny or just that the poster did not take time to check how suitable the link is. In this case action may be taken.
It may not necessarily end in a suspension or an infraction. e.g. if there are a handful of swear words in a 30 min video it is unlikely that we are going to bother doing anything about it. If it is a page littered with profanity, and does not add value to the discussion or thread then it will be removed - any further action will be discussed.
For example: that Ronnie Pickering video is very much not acceptable. Lots of profanity, even in the title.
The "cereal shop riot" posted on the Guardian site is acceptable.
Embedding an image which contains swearing is not allowed as it basically circumvents the swear filter.
If in doubt - ask, either by rtm'ing your post, or emailing us. It is up to you to be responsible for your posts. If you contact us, and it happens that your post is unacceptable it will be less of an issue than if you did not bother to check.
- Not full staring out a swear word:
The forum software automatically censors swear words, however if you only partially star out, it may seem as though you are trying to circumventing the swear filter. Either fully star it yourself, or let the forum software deal with it. Use "preview post" to check if the swearing has been filtered. Depending on the severity of the word, an infraction/warning may be given. If the swearing is considered excessive, despite warnings, then further action may be taken.
- Linking to a news site's video with swearing:
A few words in a news article it's unlikely we will do anything. If it is a page littered with profanity, and actually does not add value to a conversation or the forums then it will be removed - any further action will be discussed. If a link is posted purposely to circumvent swearing rules (i.e. a picture with lots of swearing, or a big swear word and nothing else) it will be treated as a attempt at circumventing the rules. - Linking to a news site that does not fully star out swear words:
If the context is valid, and it is not every other word and within reason it is fine. Worse case the link will be removed and you will advised that it was excessive. It is unlikely that this will ever need any further action.
- Linking to a Youtube video with swearing in the comments
That is out of our control, as long as the video is suitable. If the comments becomes excessive or a concern we may as a team discuss it - but we do not see our role as to police the internet, and expect a little bit of discretion from both our moderators and our users alike.
If the link you are posting is to specifically to discuss a comment which is littered with swearing - this will be treated as excessive swearing and the link removed and an advisory left.
- Linking to another forum/reddit with someone swearing in the comments:
As previously stated, we would rather not purposefully link to sites littered with swearing, however, if it is occasional and in context and not excessive it will unlikely be removed. We do not want to suspend for petty things like that, but we also expect a bit of common sense. Again, if in doubt ask!
The reason we do not have swearing on the forum is that we want to have a place where people can discuss things without resorting to swearing or which leads to more aggressive personal attacks (which will still be moderated without compromise). It makes the forum a nicer place to be. So we will not be relaxing the swearing rules ON the forum or items that are embedded (like an image or YouTube video with swearing written on it). However our approach to try and be more flexible with linked articles and items should hopefully make it less of a pain for users worried about being flagged for swearing.