Rule One - Keep it Friendly

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Rule One
This is a friendly place...

What this means is that if something offends you, you are polite about it or you keep quiet. You can talk to me or one of the other admins but if it is a story that has offended you, you're probably not going to be happy when someone tells you that stories are why this place exists and a story has to go a long way before it breaks any rules here. Blogs and forums can be removed for being offensive or inflammatory because stories are what it is about.

Another thing this means is that if you call someone a name in public, you are in the wrong. First off, that is never acceptable. Especially if you accuse someone of a crime by the name you called them. Then if you object to their reaction by calling them further names, you are digging a hole toward the exit.

I don't want to get too specific here, the people involved know what this is about and attracting attention to the situation is not what I'm trying to do here. What I'm trying to do is make a public statement about what the rules are so that the next time this situation arises, no one will be surprised when someone gets banned from the site. Probably not a permanent ban, I'm a forgiving sort for simple offenses; anyone can be a hothead occasionally.

But think about it before you bring out the verbal knives and try to hurt someone for posting a story or revealing a private self in a blog. Keep this a friendly place.

Hugs to all,
Erin

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Comments

Because...

erin's picture

Sometimes we need to think about the rules, even when things are going well. One of my volunteer editors freshened the date on this to float it up to the top again with just that thought.

Hugs to all,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

Work-Safe Titles and Teasers on the front page

erin's picture

This is a new extension to the friendly rule; titles and teasers that appear on the front page should be work safe and if there are non-work friendly images past the teaser, that should have a caution attached.

This means some of my own teasers would not have passed this test but I think we need to add this caveat. It applies to stories, blogs, links, and even comment subject lines. I will take what steps I think necessary to implement this, usually just modifying the teaser, tags or title slightly.

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.