The Rules of the House (Updated June 2 2020)
Apr 14, 2013 13:18:58 GMT -5
Sam Punk, bob, and 7 more like this
Post by Kash Flagg on Apr 14, 2013 13:18:58 GMT -5
1. NO RELIGION/POLITICS: No religious or current political discussions regarding the real world. No imagery of politicians or negative/mocking imagery of religious figures. We'll define "current" as Pre-1975/Nixon Era is okay for discussion/debate insomuch as it does not relate to the current day. Topics in entertainment that allude to a political topic, or person, yet are not blatant are allowed as long as it stays within the confines of entertainment and does not crossover into the real world topic that it is depicting.
Occasional threads may be created by the staff for elections or other major political events that can not be ignored. In these threads the rules for the thread will be clearly laid out in the first post.
2. NO FLAMING OR TROLLING: No insulting other posters, no flamebaiting/trolling just to get a rise out of other people. Don't go into threads just to crap on things and their fans. However, having a different opinion is not flame baiting. Disagreements can be settled civilly. If a poster continues with no regard to anyone else, the staff reserves the right to ban you right then. It's a privilege to post here, not a right. First Amendment doesn't pertain to privately owned message boards.
3. SIGNATURES/AVATARS: One picture per signature, maximum 800 Width by 600 Height (NOT 600X800) dimensions, less than 1MB in size. Videos may not be embedded in signatures. Avatars can not be larger than 1MB in size. All pictures in sigs, and avatars must be work-safe (no thongs, nudity, etc). No spoilers in signatures or avatars.
4. SEXUAL/VIOLENT/OBSCENE IMAGERY/DISCUSSION: No pictures showing genitalia or female nipples are allowed. Censored imagery must still be tasteful and not cut things too close; no visible genitalia or other naughty bits even if blurred or censored yet still definable. No graphic depiction of gore, injury, death or bodily fluids or functions best left in the bed or bathroom. If you link to or post a video with heavy swearing, please warn ahead of time in the post. Videos with nudity are never allowed. Graphic sexual discussion is strongly discouraged and at the admins discretion will be handled accordingly.
5. NO SPAM: You may not spam the board. You may not start threads to pimp your website/book/auction/etc. You may place a link in your signature, if the linked item conforms to the board's LINKS rules. You may however ask for permission from the staff to start a thread regarding whatever it is you're trying to pimp as long as it doesn't involve the transferring of money/goods. Odds are you will be denied if we believe it's the only reason you're a member of this forum.
An example of what will be allowed is people wishing to promote legitimate independent wrestling events or wrestlers wishing to start a thread promoting their upcoming event is fine so long as you follow the rules and do not constantly bump your threads without contributing to the thread.
Do not spam WWE/AEW live show threads with images unrelated to the show to show your boredom. This especially includes images of scantily-clad women.
6. LINKS: The following items are not permitted: Links to -
7. RIGHTS PROTECTED MEDIA: This one is a biggie. Do not provide links to or provide directly downloadable copyrighted footage or other rights protected media. Do not make threads or posts requesting or detailing where to obtain downloadable rights protected media of any type. Do not discuss illegally obtained video game ROMs or emulators, P2P clients, torrent trackers, video game console modification for the purpose of software back ups, etc.
Only embed (using the UBBC YouTube process) WWE-copyrighted video or audio from the following YouTube channels:
WWE copyright includes all footage from the companies listed here ;
* American Wrestling Association (1957-1991)
* Georgia Championship Wrestling (1944-1985)
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) (1994-2001) and its predecessor
* Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992-1994)
* Ohio Valley Wrestling (1998-2008)
* Florida Championship Wrestling (2007-2012) and its successor
* NXT (2012-current)
* Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992-1995)
* Stampede Wrestling (1948-1989)
* Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1998-2007)
* Championship Wrestling from Florida (1961-1987)
* World Championship Wrestling (WCW) (1988-2001)
* Jim Crockett Promotions (1931-1988) which by the end included
* Eastern States Championship Wrestling (1945-1973)
* Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1973-1988)
* Central States Wrestling (c. early 1950s-1986)
* Championship Wrestling from Georgia (1984-1985)
* St. Louis Wrestling Club (1959-1985)
* World Class Championship Wrestling (1966-1988)
* Maple Leaf Wrestling (1930-1995)
* Mid-South Wrestling/UWF (1950's -1987)
Failure to abide by this may result in an instant ban or a suspension of account privileges.
8. WRESTLING NEWS/NEWZ SOURCES:
As of now, the following list of "reporters," sites and podcasts are not and can not be used as sources here to post news/newz. Failure to follow this will result in your posts being locked/deleted and possible warnings. These are sources that have proven time and again to be false and unreliable. You cannot skirt around this by posting "newz" from a third-party site that is using any of these listed below as the source of the information. The same penalties will apply.
Anything by or from Brad Shepard
Anything by or from Nick Hausman (Haus Of Wrestling)
bodyslam.net
ringsidenews.com
Wrestling News Source
The Dirty Sheets
Oh You Didn't Know Podcast
Sportskeeda
Pro Sports Extra
Rajah
Wrestlevotes
NOTE:
1. This does not affect making rajah "may or may not" jokes. Just don't use them as an actual source.
2. These "sources" do occasionally get an original interview with a wrestler. In those cases, please contact me or any of the other mods to see if it's okay to post it beforehand.
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9. PREJUDICE: Everyone is free to post here, no matter what their Gender, Sexual Orientation, Religious Beliefs, Skin Color, Fandom or anything of this sort. Prejudicial remarks against anyone whether they are on this board or not will not be tolerated. Differing opinions are fine and stating those is welcome, but using someone's beliefs, orientation, gender, race, fandom, etc. against them is not.
The following are two announcements concerning an uptick in posts and reports on this board in which matters of race, ethnicity, and other related matters have been at issue. Everyone should read these announcements, at minimum. If you have any questions or want a more thorough explanation of them, click the spoiler tag below for a full write-up that should hopefully provide answers. This may be considered an addendum to Madison’s announcement concerning posting in the WWE section of the board; these are serious matters to the mods and as such as we will be approaching them in a similarly serious and decisive manner.
Firstly, and most importantly as it applies to everyone, if you find yourself posting in a thread where matters of race, identity, stereotypes, and other matters are brought up, please exercise common sense and decency. Abide by rule no. 15 and have some respect for other people posting here who may come from very different backgrounds; from people who are considered racial or ethnic minorities, to those who identify as LGBTQ, to those who may be living with a mental or physical condition. Understand that just because you don’t see any offense in what you are posting it doesn’t mean your words don’t impact others who see them in the light of their own identity and lived experiences. If you are in such a thread and question whether your intent or phrasing on matters like this might be taken the wrong way or if “some might find this offensive”, err on the side of caution and simply observe, or participate in the conversation in a respectful, deferential manner.
Secondly, there’s an aspect of this that at times cuts the other way, as well. Mods here will always encourage posters to report posts when they feel a rule has been broken, and someone insulting or denigrating the identities of fellow posters is considered one of the worst offenses one can commit on this board. However, when making such reports, and even more importantly when publicly posting in ways that all members can see, please do not automatically assume that the offending poster or the mods are fully aware that an offense has been made in the first place. As mods we can fairly easily root out overt bigotry from our boards, but unfortunately things like racism, misogyny, ableism, and LGBTQ-phobia can be much more subtle and unconscious; we’re here to help smooth such issues over when they arise, but sometimes they will slip under the radar. In such circumstances, we simply ask for your patience and cooperation.
Thank you for reading. For those looking for a more complete explanation or who may have questions arising from this, please read below for the full text of this announcement; hopefully it can provide the answers you’re looking for:
10. Wishing Harm: Do not go too far in bashing people, be they celebrities, athletes, random people in the news or individuals you personally know. This includes wishing or threatening harm or misfortune upon them with malicious intent.
Example:
"I want to punch him in the face" = okay
"I'm going to tear his legs off and force him down a mountain ass first" = not okay
"Malicious intent" is defined at the moderators discretion, so if we think it's too far, it is. If you wish to not be misinterpreted, err on the side of caution.
11. FILTERS: Do not type around the auto-filters. If you absolutely must curse, the auto filters will do the work for you with no risk. Otherwise use only the first two letters followed by **. Do not self censor with any other means that looks like or sounds like the filtered word. Do not post images with an unfiltered word from our banned list. Do not embed YT videos or social media posts with an unfiltered word from our banned list in the title or displayed on the preview screenshot.
An unfiltered list of our filtered words may be found below .
- Fuck
- Cunt
- The "N" word in any and all variations, this includes ending the word with an "a" or starting the word with a "w".
Keep in mind that even if filtered, using these words can constitute a flaming violation depending on context.
12. OTHER SITES: Do not post negative comments about other message boards. Do not use this forum as a vehicle to discuss your vandalism or abuse of any site (e.g. Wikipedia). Do not vandalize or attempt to start an argument "in our name" anywhere.
13. ALCOHOL & ILLEGAL DRUGS: Do not make threads/posts about how drunk you are. Nobody cares.
Do not glorify or promote the use of illegal drugs. If the use or possession of the substance would get you arrested or ticketed, your use is not to be discussed here. If it is illegal to own or use, it is illegal to talk about on this forum.
14. NO TRICK POSTS: Fake out links are banned, this includes the Rick-Roll. Do not falsify a thread title as a joke or ruse to get people to enter the thread. Using the spoiler code as a punchline to your joke or to serve as a fake out is strongly discouraged as we have limited usage of it per page and could cause legitimate spoilers to be revealed on accident.
Clickbait thread titles are also strongly discouraged and will be edited at moderators' discretion
15. SPOILERS: Do not post spoilers in thread titles. Do not post spoilers in threads/posts where the thread title does not declare ***SPOILERS*** without using the Spoiler code/tags. Avatars and signatures showing spoilers are not allowed. If a wrestling show has not aired in the US, it is a spoiler. If it has, then it's not. Please be sure to use the Spoiler tag even in threads that have "***SPOILERS***" in the thread title, and be sure to give a clue as to what the spoiler is about as well (though without spoiling it). This also goes for televisions shows regardless of country. Just as we don't want the latest Walking Dead to be spoiled for people, those who watch Doctor Who in the UK also don't want to be spoiled. Just be considerate.
REGARDING WWE/NXT/AEW SPOILERS
1. Please keep results of the shows to that particular thread. If you hear of something big happening on NXT, don’t mention it in the AEW Dynamite thread and vice versa.
2. Please be considerate with thread titles. For example, if there is a title change don’t start a thread with the title of “new NXT champion crowned”. Just put “spoiler from tonight’s showing” and discuss it in the opening post.
3. These shows are not airing live in all of the usual countries who would get Raw and Smackdown live. Please remember that some other people simply can’t watch it live (legally, we’ll get to that in a minute) so be respectful towards them.
On the other side of that, if you are in a country this doesn’t air Dynamite live, show a bit of common sense. If you go into the discussion thread for the show and see it being discussed, don’t cry foul and moan about being spoilt.
4. Absolutely no requests for illegal streams. No discussion of any workarounds you might know to fool a device into thinking you’re in another country.
(And to answer a question that has already been asked and will surely be asked again, AEW having its own forum is something that has been discussed by the Staff here and it’s essentially a case of waiting to see if the interest is there after a few weeks to warrant its own home).
16. RESPECTING OTHER MEMBERS: Everyone here is an equal from the mods to posters to the people who contribute to the site. It doesn't matter if you have been here for 1 year or 1 day, have 1 post or 1 million. We are here to have fun and talk about the various subjects we enjoy and want this place to be a haven for all. With that said, we ask you to have respect for your fellow posters. Do not harass members via the PM system. Do not inquire about a member's status or the reason they they are not here, they are not here to defend themselves and speculating on why is not fair to them. Please avoid giving the staff a hard time when you disagree with a decision they have made about moderating, they're busy people and are here to post the same as you are. If you have an issue with a decision they have made and it cannot be worked out with the moderator in question in a civil manner via PMs, ask for someone to contact you in the AskAMod thread which is stickied at the top of the Off Topic board.
17. IMAGES/VIDEO IN POSTS: In general discussion threads please try not to overload your post with too many pictures. This is fine in specific image threads as it's to be expected. However under no circumstance post more than 7-8 standard images in a single post, less if the images are large, 2 Animated GIFS in a single post or more than 3 embedded YT videos in a single post. 56K Modem users still exist, let's try not to freeze them up.
Occasional threads may be created by the staff for elections or other major political events that can not be ignored. In these threads the rules for the thread will be clearly laid out in the first post.
2. NO FLAMING OR TROLLING: No insulting other posters, no flamebaiting/trolling just to get a rise out of other people. Don't go into threads just to crap on things and their fans. However, having a different opinion is not flame baiting. Disagreements can be settled civilly. If a poster continues with no regard to anyone else, the staff reserves the right to ban you right then. It's a privilege to post here, not a right. First Amendment doesn't pertain to privately owned message boards.
3. SIGNATURES/AVATARS: One picture per signature, maximum 800 Width by 600 Height (NOT 600X800) dimensions, less than 1MB in size. Videos may not be embedded in signatures. Avatars can not be larger than 1MB in size. All pictures in sigs, and avatars must be work-safe (no thongs, nudity, etc). No spoilers in signatures or avatars.
4. SEXUAL/VIOLENT/OBSCENE IMAGERY/DISCUSSION: No pictures showing genitalia or female nipples are allowed. Censored imagery must still be tasteful and not cut things too close; no visible genitalia or other naughty bits even if blurred or censored yet still definable. No graphic depiction of gore, injury, death or bodily fluids or functions best left in the bed or bathroom. If you link to or post a video with heavy swearing, please warn ahead of time in the post. Videos with nudity are never allowed. Graphic sexual discussion is strongly discouraged and at the admins discretion will be handled accordingly.
5. NO SPAM: You may not spam the board. You may not start threads to pimp your website/book/auction/etc. You may place a link in your signature, if the linked item conforms to the board's LINKS rules. You may however ask for permission from the staff to start a thread regarding whatever it is you're trying to pimp as long as it doesn't involve the transferring of money/goods. Odds are you will be denied if we believe it's the only reason you're a member of this forum.
An example of what will be allowed is people wishing to promote legitimate independent wrestling events or wrestlers wishing to start a thread promoting their upcoming event is fine so long as you follow the rules and do not constantly bump your threads without contributing to the thread.
Do not spam WWE/AEW live show threads with images unrelated to the show to show your boredom. This especially includes images of scantily-clad women.
6. LINKS: The following items are not permitted: Links to -
- Porn. This includes imagry, video, hentai, anything else your naughty mind can think of. This also extends to nudity in art.
- Graphic/disgusting content. (This includes death, dismemberment, torture and things of that nature as well as things involving bodily fluids and functions) This is anything that would make the AVERAGE person feel uneasy seeing.
- Downloadable rights-protected media.
- Political/religious sites.
- Illegal live feeds (Also includes requesting of same) Things from legitimate sites like WWE.com's PPV stream or ESPN3.com for example are fine.
- Sites with excessive cursing, with little to no purpose outside of vulgarity. In the cases where you link to a site or video with cursing in it, place a tag before hand, (WARNING: LANGUAGE)
- Racist content.
- Other boards with negative context (leaving way to start Board Wars or such)
7. RIGHTS PROTECTED MEDIA: This one is a biggie. Do not provide links to or provide directly downloadable copyrighted footage or other rights protected media. Do not make threads or posts requesting or detailing where to obtain downloadable rights protected media of any type. Do not discuss illegally obtained video game ROMs or emulators, P2P clients, torrent trackers, video game console modification for the purpose of software back ups, etc.
Only embed (using the UBBC YouTube process) WWE-copyrighted video or audio from the following YouTube channels:
WWE copyright includes all footage from the companies listed here ;
* American Wrestling Association (1957-1991)
* Georgia Championship Wrestling (1944-1985)
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) (1994-2001) and its predecessor
* Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992-1994)
* Ohio Valley Wrestling (1998-2008)
* Florida Championship Wrestling (2007-2012) and its successor
* NXT (2012-current)
* Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992-1995)
* Stampede Wrestling (1948-1989)
* Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1998-2007)
* Championship Wrestling from Florida (1961-1987)
* World Championship Wrestling (WCW) (1988-2001)
* Jim Crockett Promotions (1931-1988) which by the end included
* Eastern States Championship Wrestling (1945-1973)
* Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1973-1988)
* Central States Wrestling (c. early 1950s-1986)
* Championship Wrestling from Georgia (1984-1985)
* St. Louis Wrestling Club (1959-1985)
* World Class Championship Wrestling (1966-1988)
* Maple Leaf Wrestling (1930-1995)
* Mid-South Wrestling/UWF (1950's -1987)
Failure to abide by this may result in an instant ban or a suspension of account privileges.
8. WRESTLING NEWS/NEWZ SOURCES:
As of now, the following list of "reporters," sites and podcasts are not and can not be used as sources here to post news/newz. Failure to follow this will result in your posts being locked/deleted and possible warnings. These are sources that have proven time and again to be false and unreliable. You cannot skirt around this by posting "newz" from a third-party site that is using any of these listed below as the source of the information. The same penalties will apply.
Anything by or from Brad Shepard
Anything by or from Nick Hausman (Haus Of Wrestling)
bodyslam.net
ringsidenews.com
Wrestling News Source
The Dirty Sheets
Oh You Didn't Know Podcast
Sportskeeda
Pro Sports Extra
Rajah
Wrestlevotes
NOTE:
1. This does not affect making rajah "may or may not" jokes. Just don't use them as an actual source.
2. These "sources" do occasionally get an original interview with a wrestler. In those cases, please contact me or any of the other mods to see if it's okay to post it beforehand.
-----
9. PREJUDICE: Everyone is free to post here, no matter what their Gender, Sexual Orientation, Religious Beliefs, Skin Color, Fandom or anything of this sort. Prejudicial remarks against anyone whether they are on this board or not will not be tolerated. Differing opinions are fine and stating those is welcome, but using someone's beliefs, orientation, gender, race, fandom, etc. against them is not.
The following are two announcements concerning an uptick in posts and reports on this board in which matters of race, ethnicity, and other related matters have been at issue. Everyone should read these announcements, at minimum. If you have any questions or want a more thorough explanation of them, click the spoiler tag below for a full write-up that should hopefully provide answers. This may be considered an addendum to Madison’s announcement concerning posting in the WWE section of the board; these are serious matters to the mods and as such as we will be approaching them in a similarly serious and decisive manner.
Firstly, and most importantly as it applies to everyone, if you find yourself posting in a thread where matters of race, identity, stereotypes, and other matters are brought up, please exercise common sense and decency. Abide by rule no. 15 and have some respect for other people posting here who may come from very different backgrounds; from people who are considered racial or ethnic minorities, to those who identify as LGBTQ, to those who may be living with a mental or physical condition. Understand that just because you don’t see any offense in what you are posting it doesn’t mean your words don’t impact others who see them in the light of their own identity and lived experiences. If you are in such a thread and question whether your intent or phrasing on matters like this might be taken the wrong way or if “some might find this offensive”, err on the side of caution and simply observe, or participate in the conversation in a respectful, deferential manner.
Secondly, there’s an aspect of this that at times cuts the other way, as well. Mods here will always encourage posters to report posts when they feel a rule has been broken, and someone insulting or denigrating the identities of fellow posters is considered one of the worst offenses one can commit on this board. However, when making such reports, and even more importantly when publicly posting in ways that all members can see, please do not automatically assume that the offending poster or the mods are fully aware that an offense has been made in the first place. As mods we can fairly easily root out overt bigotry from our boards, but unfortunately things like racism, misogyny, ableism, and LGBTQ-phobia can be much more subtle and unconscious; we’re here to help smooth such issues over when they arise, but sometimes they will slip under the radar. In such circumstances, we simply ask for your patience and cooperation.
Thank you for reading. For those looking for a more complete explanation or who may have questions arising from this, please read below for the full text of this announcement; hopefully it can provide the answers you’re looking for:
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}It has come to the attention of the mod staff that there has been an uptick in matters on the board where race (or racism) or cultural and sexual stereotyping have been key focuses. We understand that many of our posters here currently live in a charged social and political environment, which there will be no further comment on as this is not the venue, but which might be having an impact on the way many of us are discussing or interpreting posts we read and the people writing them. With this in mind, we want to go over a few things that are already established, and make a few things clear about board practices going forward.
It goes without saying that the board rules clearly dictate treating one another respect (rule no. 15), and doing so without prejudice (rule no. 8). These rules are among our most sacrosanct with regards to how posters are to treat one another, even posters who may cause an individual stress or undue annoyance. In most situations where one poster simply cannot tolerate another, the staff would direct that person to make use of the “block” function, and/or flat-out ignore the person whose posts they feel they cannot tolerate.
What is clear, however, is that matters pertaining to race and identity may go beyond that as, left unchecked, they can alter a poster’s perception of the entire board, not simply individual members, and create situations where some might not feel comfortable fully participating in the board community. This feeling is the antithesis of what we strive for here, and thus we take any instance of it happening in a way that could be avoided very seriously.
With this in mind, there are two main messages that management and moderation wish to pass along, messages which all members are expected to abide by going forward:
Firstly, and most importantly as it applies to everyone, if you find yourself posting in a thread where matters of race, identity, stereotypes, and other matters are brought up, please exercise common sense and decency. Abide by rule no. 15 and have some respect for other people posting here who may come from very different backgrounds; from people who are considered racial or ethnic minorities, to those who identify as LGBTQ, to those who may be living with a mental or physical condition. Understand that just because you don’t see any offense in what you are posting it doesn’t mean your words don’t impact others who see them in the light of their own identity and lived experiences. If you are in such a thread and question whether your intent or phrasing on matters like this might be taken the wrong way or if “some might find this offensive”, err on the side of caution and simply observe, or participate in the conversation in a respectful, deferential manner.
Secondly, there’s an aspect of this that at times cuts the other way, as well. Mods here will always encourage posters to report posts when they feel a rule has been broken, and someone insulting or denigrating the identities of fellow posters is considered one of the worst offenses one can commit on this board. However, when making such reports, and even more importantly when publicly posting in ways that all members can see, please do not automatically assume that the offending poster or the mods are fully aware that an offense has been made in the first place. We appreciate how delicate this issue is and how this may seem a bit confusing, so we will take this time to expound in a way that makes it clear that, as with the above guideline, this really does apply to all posters.
It goes without saying that issues of identity are among the most difficult for many people to wrap their heads around for a multitude of reasons, chief among them that those who are not members of groups that have suffered from oppression or systemic mistreatment may not fully comprehend what may bring about an offended reaction to a given statement. This goes to the heart of what makes a lot of these matters very complex: while bigotry is fairly simple to pick up on, moderate, and strike from our community, racism, misogyny, transphobia, and other systemic matters may be expressed unintentionally, and thus can be much more difficult to moderate in the same way.
There is a key difference between these words. The staff and management at FAN has long been proud that we have maintained a large scale forum where bigotry is not tolerated. Bigotry is seen in expressions of hatred, anger, and resentment toward “the other”; it is overt, it is noxious, and it has not and will not be tolerated on these boards.
The various -isms and -phobias mentioned above, though, are systemic; they are at times subtle, ingrained in the societies and cultures most of us have been raised in, part of our daily lives and routines in ways that many of us often cannot detect as we take their existence for granted and may be completely unaware that they are hurting people from the groups that suffer their effects.
This is not to excuse ignorance, but it’s to make a point: while bigotry is a clear cross section of hatred and ignorance, racism, sexism, ableism, et. al. are an and/or phenomenon; the people perpetrating the former are easy to point out and they intend to harm others, while those responsible for the latter may not have meant to cause offense.
We appreciate how difficult a matter this is; for members of traditionally oppressed groups it can be exhausting to feel like one has to frequently remind, prod, or outright teach others about what’s acceptable and what isn’t in polite conversation or even jokes on these matters. However, we are a large community here, and while such conduct may be exhausting, it is still asked of all members here: to not assume the worst of our fellow posters. Yes, a statement may be sexist, it might be transphobic, it might be any number of problematic things, and we as a staff are here to help address these matters; to hopefully educate and course correct unintentional offenses. But while we can pinpoint and strike out bigotry, the subtler issues, which often did not intend offense yet caused it unknowingly, may require more patience and cooperation between all of us.
In summary, going forward we have a statement and a request:
The statement: if you post on these boards and partake in bigotry, then we don’t want to hear from you, and will quickly show you the door. This is a zero tolerance policy, just as it has been and shall continue to be.
The request: if you feel a post or poster is making statements you feel are offensive in one of the systemic ways mentioned above, please reach out to staff members, even directly, to discuss how we may address the matter both now and going forward. Please do not make passive-aggressive posts on the matter, do not turn a thread around on the matter; instead take the opportunity to reach out, speak with those of us in a position to do something more directly about it, and help us reach a better understanding community-wide.
Again, we appreciate the delicate nature of these matters, and want to thank you for taking the time to read this announcement. We look forward to your cooperation and understanding.
It goes without saying that the board rules clearly dictate treating one another respect (rule no. 15), and doing so without prejudice (rule no. 8). These rules are among our most sacrosanct with regards to how posters are to treat one another, even posters who may cause an individual stress or undue annoyance. In most situations where one poster simply cannot tolerate another, the staff would direct that person to make use of the “block” function, and/or flat-out ignore the person whose posts they feel they cannot tolerate.
What is clear, however, is that matters pertaining to race and identity may go beyond that as, left unchecked, they can alter a poster’s perception of the entire board, not simply individual members, and create situations where some might not feel comfortable fully participating in the board community. This feeling is the antithesis of what we strive for here, and thus we take any instance of it happening in a way that could be avoided very seriously.
With this in mind, there are two main messages that management and moderation wish to pass along, messages which all members are expected to abide by going forward:
Firstly, and most importantly as it applies to everyone, if you find yourself posting in a thread where matters of race, identity, stereotypes, and other matters are brought up, please exercise common sense and decency. Abide by rule no. 15 and have some respect for other people posting here who may come from very different backgrounds; from people who are considered racial or ethnic minorities, to those who identify as LGBTQ, to those who may be living with a mental or physical condition. Understand that just because you don’t see any offense in what you are posting it doesn’t mean your words don’t impact others who see them in the light of their own identity and lived experiences. If you are in such a thread and question whether your intent or phrasing on matters like this might be taken the wrong way or if “some might find this offensive”, err on the side of caution and simply observe, or participate in the conversation in a respectful, deferential manner.
Secondly, there’s an aspect of this that at times cuts the other way, as well. Mods here will always encourage posters to report posts when they feel a rule has been broken, and someone insulting or denigrating the identities of fellow posters is considered one of the worst offenses one can commit on this board. However, when making such reports, and even more importantly when publicly posting in ways that all members can see, please do not automatically assume that the offending poster or the mods are fully aware that an offense has been made in the first place. We appreciate how delicate this issue is and how this may seem a bit confusing, so we will take this time to expound in a way that makes it clear that, as with the above guideline, this really does apply to all posters.
It goes without saying that issues of identity are among the most difficult for many people to wrap their heads around for a multitude of reasons, chief among them that those who are not members of groups that have suffered from oppression or systemic mistreatment may not fully comprehend what may bring about an offended reaction to a given statement. This goes to the heart of what makes a lot of these matters very complex: while bigotry is fairly simple to pick up on, moderate, and strike from our community, racism, misogyny, transphobia, and other systemic matters may be expressed unintentionally, and thus can be much more difficult to moderate in the same way.
There is a key difference between these words. The staff and management at FAN has long been proud that we have maintained a large scale forum where bigotry is not tolerated. Bigotry is seen in expressions of hatred, anger, and resentment toward “the other”; it is overt, it is noxious, and it has not and will not be tolerated on these boards.
The various -isms and -phobias mentioned above, though, are systemic; they are at times subtle, ingrained in the societies and cultures most of us have been raised in, part of our daily lives and routines in ways that many of us often cannot detect as we take their existence for granted and may be completely unaware that they are hurting people from the groups that suffer their effects.
This is not to excuse ignorance, but it’s to make a point: while bigotry is a clear cross section of hatred and ignorance, racism, sexism, ableism, et. al. are an and/or phenomenon; the people perpetrating the former are easy to point out and they intend to harm others, while those responsible for the latter may not have meant to cause offense.
We appreciate how difficult a matter this is; for members of traditionally oppressed groups it can be exhausting to feel like one has to frequently remind, prod, or outright teach others about what’s acceptable and what isn’t in polite conversation or even jokes on these matters. However, we are a large community here, and while such conduct may be exhausting, it is still asked of all members here: to not assume the worst of our fellow posters. Yes, a statement may be sexist, it might be transphobic, it might be any number of problematic things, and we as a staff are here to help address these matters; to hopefully educate and course correct unintentional offenses. But while we can pinpoint and strike out bigotry, the subtler issues, which often did not intend offense yet caused it unknowingly, may require more patience and cooperation between all of us.
In summary, going forward we have a statement and a request:
The statement: if you post on these boards and partake in bigotry, then we don’t want to hear from you, and will quickly show you the door. This is a zero tolerance policy, just as it has been and shall continue to be.
The request: if you feel a post or poster is making statements you feel are offensive in one of the systemic ways mentioned above, please reach out to staff members, even directly, to discuss how we may address the matter both now and going forward. Please do not make passive-aggressive posts on the matter, do not turn a thread around on the matter; instead take the opportunity to reach out, speak with those of us in a position to do something more directly about it, and help us reach a better understanding community-wide.
Again, we appreciate the delicate nature of these matters, and want to thank you for taking the time to read this announcement. We look forward to your cooperation and understanding.
10. Wishing Harm: Do not go too far in bashing people, be they celebrities, athletes, random people in the news or individuals you personally know. This includes wishing or threatening harm or misfortune upon them with malicious intent.
Example:
"I want to punch him in the face" = okay
"I'm going to tear his legs off and force him down a mountain ass first" = not okay
"Malicious intent" is defined at the moderators discretion, so if we think it's too far, it is. If you wish to not be misinterpreted, err on the side of caution.
11. FILTERS: Do not type around the auto-filters. If you absolutely must curse, the auto filters will do the work for you with no risk. Otherwise use only the first two letters followed by **. Do not self censor with any other means that looks like or sounds like the filtered word. Do not post images with an unfiltered word from our banned list. Do not embed YT videos or social media posts with an unfiltered word from our banned list in the title or displayed on the preview screenshot.
An unfiltered list of our filtered words may be found below .
- Fuck
- Cunt
- The "N" word in any and all variations, this includes ending the word with an "a" or starting the word with a "w".
Keep in mind that even if filtered, using these words can constitute a flaming violation depending on context.
12. OTHER SITES: Do not post negative comments about other message boards. Do not use this forum as a vehicle to discuss your vandalism or abuse of any site (e.g. Wikipedia). Do not vandalize or attempt to start an argument "in our name" anywhere.
13. ALCOHOL & ILLEGAL DRUGS: Do not make threads/posts about how drunk you are. Nobody cares.
Do not glorify or promote the use of illegal drugs. If the use or possession of the substance would get you arrested or ticketed, your use is not to be discussed here. If it is illegal to own or use, it is illegal to talk about on this forum.
14. NO TRICK POSTS: Fake out links are banned, this includes the Rick-Roll. Do not falsify a thread title as a joke or ruse to get people to enter the thread. Using the spoiler code as a punchline to your joke or to serve as a fake out is strongly discouraged as we have limited usage of it per page and could cause legitimate spoilers to be revealed on accident.
Clickbait thread titles are also strongly discouraged and will be edited at moderators' discretion
15. SPOILERS: Do not post spoilers in thread titles. Do not post spoilers in threads/posts where the thread title does not declare ***SPOILERS*** without using the Spoiler code/tags. Avatars and signatures showing spoilers are not allowed. If a wrestling show has not aired in the US, it is a spoiler. If it has, then it's not. Please be sure to use the Spoiler tag even in threads that have "***SPOILERS***" in the thread title, and be sure to give a clue as to what the spoiler is about as well (though without spoiling it). This also goes for televisions shows regardless of country. Just as we don't want the latest Walking Dead to be spoiled for people, those who watch Doctor Who in the UK also don't want to be spoiled. Just be considerate.
REGARDING WWE/NXT/AEW SPOILERS
1. Please keep results of the shows to that particular thread. If you hear of something big happening on NXT, don’t mention it in the AEW Dynamite thread and vice versa.
2. Please be considerate with thread titles. For example, if there is a title change don’t start a thread with the title of “new NXT champion crowned”. Just put “spoiler from tonight’s showing” and discuss it in the opening post.
3. These shows are not airing live in all of the usual countries who would get Raw and Smackdown live. Please remember that some other people simply can’t watch it live (legally, we’ll get to that in a minute) so be respectful towards them.
On the other side of that, if you are in a country this doesn’t air Dynamite live, show a bit of common sense. If you go into the discussion thread for the show and see it being discussed, don’t cry foul and moan about being spoilt.
4. Absolutely no requests for illegal streams. No discussion of any workarounds you might know to fool a device into thinking you’re in another country.
(And to answer a question that has already been asked and will surely be asked again, AEW having its own forum is something that has been discussed by the Staff here and it’s essentially a case of waiting to see if the interest is there after a few weeks to warrant its own home).
16. RESPECTING OTHER MEMBERS: Everyone here is an equal from the mods to posters to the people who contribute to the site. It doesn't matter if you have been here for 1 year or 1 day, have 1 post or 1 million. We are here to have fun and talk about the various subjects we enjoy and want this place to be a haven for all. With that said, we ask you to have respect for your fellow posters. Do not harass members via the PM system. Do not inquire about a member's status or the reason they they are not here, they are not here to defend themselves and speculating on why is not fair to them. Please avoid giving the staff a hard time when you disagree with a decision they have made about moderating, they're busy people and are here to post the same as you are. If you have an issue with a decision they have made and it cannot be worked out with the moderator in question in a civil manner via PMs, ask for someone to contact you in the AskAMod thread which is stickied at the top of the Off Topic board.
17. IMAGES/VIDEO IN POSTS: In general discussion threads please try not to overload your post with too many pictures. This is fine in specific image threads as it's to be expected. However under no circumstance post more than 7-8 standard images in a single post, less if the images are large, 2 Animated GIFS in a single post or more than 3 embedded YT videos in a single post. 56K Modem users still exist, let's try not to freeze them up.
