This is the new system put in over at Soonerfans. If we implemented something like that here, half the board would be screwed. It's kind of like Tom Light rolled into a computer program.
Dear SoonerFans.com friends,
We're glad you're here. Anybody who has posting privileges on this board has them because they bring more to the board than they take from it, and the staff believes in them. Our belief, though it may be shaken at times, is that each and every person currently posting here is or has the potential to be an excellent poster. We felt that way last week, last month, and last year.
People who through the years have been permanently dis-invited from SoonerFans are in that position because they ultimately convinced us that they harbored more bad intentions than good. Unfortunately, those judgment calls are part of what we have to do here.
But here is what we now ask of everyone: as much as we've recently analyzed our own posting and moderating styles, please do us and the board the courtesy of doing the same. Think about how you post, and why you post that way. Do you reject or attack someone's posts based ONLY upon your dislike for that person? That's probably not a healthy posting philosophy for you, for the other poster, or for the board in general. Do you do things that you know are questionable JUST to see if you can get away with them? Please stop.
Perhaps foremost, if you truly want to improve the tone of the board, we ask that you take your policy concerns offline to the moderators, admins, or the HMFIC. While we have valued recent opportunities to discuss our moderating/admin philosophy in an open forum, and hope you appreciate the attention that we have given everyone's questions, we feel that encouraging/responding to those open-forum discussions on an ongoing basis only leads to misunderstanding, hurt feelings, and divisiveness. However, NOT responding to them and instead letting them take on a life of their own, festering like an open sore, curiously has the same effect.
Therefore, from now on, questions or comments regarding board policy will be deleted, with an encouragement to direct your concerns through the proper channels. Threads on the subject will be locked or deleted. Old threads, bumped to bypass this rule, or signatures, locations and anything else deemed an attempt to make a comment regarding board policy, will earn the same treatment. We truly DO want your opinion on the way we do things, but hashing and rehashing this in an open forum and talking around in circles only seems to be more aggravating to everyone involved.
Also, as a part of our software tune-up, we’ve added some moderating tools to help achieve the most objective, consistent approach possible. In a nutshell, they involve an infractions system of yellow cards (warnings) and red cards (point-accruing violations). Some points expire, while those earned by more serious abuses can stay with a poster forever, effectively placing him on a permanent “short leash.” When a poster earns a set number of points, the board software automatically bans the user until the points have expired. This is an action brought by the poster himself through points accrual. A yellow card, or even points and/or a temporary ban should always be viewed as a warning.
These things by themselves will not cause a permanent ban, but a pattern of destructive posting behavior will. Of course, we still reserve the right to remove offending posts or posters at any time with or without warning, should we become convinced the poster means to harm this board, its posters, or their overall SoonerFans experience.
The rules violations for which you can receive warnings or infractions points include, but are not limited to:
* Bashing current players
* Whining about reputation
* Flamebaiting, including in signatures and avatars
* Posting inappropriate pictures (non-porn)
* Posting inappropriate pictures (porn)
* Personal attacks on members
* Hidden personal attacks via PM or reputation feature (spek comments)
* Stalking other posters
* Whining about mods/admins
* Posting drunk
* Erroneously reporting posts (post reporting is reserved for rules violations)
* Opposing team troll
* Spam
And perhaps most importantly:
* ****ing off Dean
Also, this might be a good time to review the forum rules that you agreed to upon your registration. They can be found anytime in the FAQ section of the site.
Sponsors will get an automatic break on the points, as their point thresholds are higher than non-sponsors for sanctions to be imposed. That said, as always, being a sponsor does not relieve you of the board rules. We ban sponsors and non-sponsors alike if they misbehave, and the policy is that no refunds for sponsorships are given if you are banned due to your own actions on the board.
As always, any help you guys can give us in making this a better board is sincerely appreciated, and we thank you for being a part of the SoonerFans.com community.
Your friends,
Phil and the SoonerFans.com mods and admins
