Forum Rules Review Part II

[Black wallnut]

Forum Rules Review Part II

"Around the coffee pot This forum is for any topic that you would normally talk about at the office "around the coffee pot". Jokes, tall tales, and true stories are welcome as long as they are clean and in good taste. I only ask that you steer away from topics on religion or politics. Go ahead and pull up a chair and pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy the conversation."

Friends, lately some of our members have been getting pretty lax prior to clicking on the "submit post" button. There have been numerous "colorful" jokes posted that have either crossed the line or are so close to the line that they probably should not have been posted. I do not want to have to resort to censorship and from my "conversations" with the moderators they do not either, short of giving spam the ax, which I think they must enjoy. Sam does not believe in heavy handed moderation either. This forum has done an excellent job in the past being self moderated.

I humbly ask that members consider that the nature of this forum is family. If you are thinking of posting a joke that you would not tell to your mother, grandmother or 10 y.o. daughter you should not post it here. People of all ages and both sexes are regular readers and posters of this forum.If any of you think this is aimed directly at you feel free to PM me, as I assure you it has been far more than just one or two posts. If you are unsure if something passes the mother test pm the joke to any moderator and I'm sure they will gladly give their wisdom.

Please feel free to reply to this topic. Our last discussion in September brought up plenty of positive and civil discussion on the rules of conduct our host Sam put into place. I enjoy many of the jokes posed on a daily basis. I've learned that there are just some posters that demand one to have empty hands and an empty mouth prior to opening one of their jokes. A few times of spilling coffee all over the keyboard or having to laugh so hard that that mouthful of coffee sprays the monitor is all it takes to learn who those posters are. I by no means want these to stop.

Thanks for keeping this the nicest place online to spend time.

[Ed62]

That's a good post, Mark. Thanks for taking the time to put it in language that everyone can understand. In all honesty, I'll probably miss a few of the jokes, like some previously posted. But rules are rules, and they should be followed.

Ed

[cabinetman]

I'll be the last one to claim total innocence. Consider my confession as "time served". Thirty lashes with a wet noodle is nothing new to me. Considering that some of those jokes are funny as all get out to some, they can be offensive to others.
.

[LarryG]

As long as we're talking about rules, may we also please have a mention of what is and is not appropriate for Bargain Alerts? The header for that section would seemingly make this clear, but some folks just don't get it.

[cabinetman]

As long as we're talking about rules, may we also please have a mention of what is and is not appropriate for Bargain Alerts? The header for that section would seemingly make this clear, but some folks just don't get it.

OK, lets talk about following rules: What does this have to do with the OP? Isn't this called "hijacking".

I suggest you do a poll asking the general membership if they think there is abuse/misuse of "Bargain Alerts".
.

[Stytooner]

Not really Cman. It's still a forum rules (etiquette) type topic.
Some folks just ain't gonna play by the rules no matter what. Some don't bother to read the rules or even bother to read posts about them. Some don't understand them the same way others do. Interpretations are like belly bottons. Everyone has a different one.
The absolute best way to handle things like this is to notify a mod of a possible infringement. Even if one of us does get a chance to read a particular thread, we may not catch it.
With jokes, I like to use the Mother In Law rule. I may tell my Mom an off color joke, but certainly very few gray area jokes to my MIL.
Don't stop the jokes, but use good taste.
A smile or a laugh to help out in the day is a very healthy thing. POing someone has the opposite effect on them.

[Black wallnut]

As long as we're talking about rules, may we also please have a mention of what is and is not appropriate for Bargain Alerts? The header for that section would seemingly make this clear, but some folks just don't get it.

Good point Larry! To be honest about all I read in the bargain alerts is posts that may be spam. If I do not recognize the poster I will open it to see first if they have any post count, as most Spammers do not. This is really not part of my responsibility as Admin. Usually by the time I find Spam one of the other Mods have already cooked it. I have also seen several topics posted in there that did not seem to be within the scope of an Alert for a bargain of a woodworking tool.

If others wish to comment on the rules for that section this would be an ideal time to do so. It really can help everyone to have a better understanding of what the rules are. IMHO if there is a rather limited opportunity for sale as a bargain, such as only one store has only a few of one item at a great price it likely is not worth mention. If the bargain is not a woodworking tool , jig, or item commonly purchased for use in a home wood shop (think DC and DC fittings, parts, etc) then it likely is out of place.

[Sugarman]

Thanks for your post Mark. I found many of the recent posts in very poor taste and have been hesitant to recommend this forum to my WW friends because of them. I know these posts would not past muster with Sam. This is the only good forum I've found and the only one I monitor.

Thanks again.

Ron

[Ed62]

If others wish to comment on the rules for that section this would be an ideal time to do so.

For the most part, I don't even check the posts in the Bargain Alerts. But I think it works just fine the way it is set up. I also agree that there are times people post things that are better left not posted at all, or posted in the Coffee Pot forum.

Ed

[SARGE..g-47]

Probably the most important thing you learn when going into "combat" with a group of people is that if no one is "in charge", someone has to step up and "take charge" or things can go from casual to chaos in the blink of an eye-lid!

That is all....

[sweensdv]

As long as we're talking about rules, may we also please have a mention of what is and is not appropriate for Bargain Alerts? The header for that section would seemingly make this clear, but some folks just don't get it.

I totally agree. For some reason there all to often seems to be a mentality here that if some company offers something for sale at less than their normal price that automatically makes it a bargain. Usually whatever that item happens to be it can be found somewhere else for the same price or even a lesser amount.

[ejs1097]

Reminders are always great. This site is the best woodworking site hands down. I quit attending other forums for many reasons but the #1 is the lack of respect. This site is just the opposite. 2 weeks ago I read another site (hosted by WW mags) and almost every thread turned into personal attacks and bashing.

Can we get a 'double submit' button in the Coffee pot? After you hit submit, a yes/no message says, "Is this appropriate for your mother or 10yo daughter?" or somthing to that effect. A mental reminder for every poster. The speed here isn't an issue to cause it to be a pain.

[Uncle Cracker]

The 10-yo girls that frequent this site certainly have not contributed much to it as yet.

[Rslaugh]

......Can we get a 'double submit' button in the Coffee pot? After you hit submit, a yes/no message says, "Is this appropriate for your mother or 10yo daughter?" or somthing to that effect. A mental reminder for every poster. The speed here isn't an issue to cause it to be a pain.

Uh - jeez - I sure hope the answer is no. It's much easier to kick off people who can't police themelves than for our resident forum programmer to have to spend a couple of days to create something that will soon be abused by those same people anyway.

[BigguyZ]

The 10-yo girls that frequent this site certainly have not contributed much to it as yet.

I agree. Nothing here has offended me, but I'm not bothered by much.

As far as Sweensdv's comment on Bargain Alerts, I think that's too subjective. I posted a deal on Delta TS blades, and there was a member who chided me saying they must be crap blades and thus not a bargain. Well most everyone else disagrees. If someone is nice enough to give people a "heads up" about a good deal, I don't think it's reasonable to have them have to verify that there's not a better deal to be had somewhere else.

I think that there's a lot of people imposing thier views on others. I love this site because it's one of the only sites I've ever been to where you rarely, if ever, see a negative comment about another member. But if you don't like a conversation, or if you think that a Bargain isn't quite a Bargain- then don't read that thread.

That's just my opinion, however. I hope that this site keeps to it's friendly feel and maintains an environment where so many great people are willing to help people.