Site Policy (please read)

[Glennbear]

Today I visited our site policy page and the number of visitors to that page vs. the number of members we have led me to believe that a lot of us are not familiar with the "house rules". As a public service here they are. If you wish to review them at any time there is a link in the brown bar at the top of each site page. Thank you for taking the time to review the policy. :wsmile:

General Policy

The goal of ncwoodworker.net is to provide a welcoming atmosphere that fosters a unique sense of community for any North Carolina woodworker who wishes to participate or lurk. The three main aspects to meeting this goal are:

1. Guests and members surfing our site should feel that they are welcome and that participating in our site is a worthwhile and pleasant experience. We strive to maintain a polite and helpful tone in our posts, replies, and questions.
2. We seek to ensure that guests and all members of their family are comfortable viewing site content. Every effort is made to monitor User names, avatars, signatures, biographies, and posts in pursuit of that goal.
3. Members may post threads, comments, replies, questions, and make suggestions without fear of abuse from other members or staff.
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Approach

Our primary method of achieving the above is prevention. The staff, webmaster(s), administrators, and moderators are tasked with dealing with explicit violations of site policy and recognizing content with the potential to become disruptive to the site. Immediate corrective action will be taken in these instances.
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Content Review

The primary duties of the staff, webmaster(s), administrators, and moderators are to support the day to day functioning of the site, assist members, and maintain the structure of information on forums so that members and guests can find the information they seek. Often that requires threads to be moved, split, or merged. This should not be construed as criticism, but routine housekeeping. The staff's primary function is not to censor. However, as moderators and administrators read almost every post, they encounter content where wording, style, or content is counter to the General Policy. In these cases, they are expected to be proactive. The types of actions taken are described below.
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Usernames

NCwoodworker.net encourages members to use some form or combination of your real name, first and/or last, initials, etc. This applies to both new and old members. To request a username change, please email webmaster@ncwoodworker.net and include your existing name and the desired new username. Selected usernames must not contain or allude to subjects that violate site policy, including double entendres.
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Areas Of Focus

All content (with the exception of Private Messages and Email) of this site is open to staff moderation. The following areas are scrutinized:

• Threads, posts, comments, and replies in forums, Photo Galleries, Link Library, Download Library and any future site additions.
• Usernames
• Avatars
• Profile Pictures
• Signatures
• Profile Biographies

Prohibited Subjects

• Expressions of bigotry and intolerance, including negative comments or direct attacks based on race, religion, sex, or sexual preference.
• "Code words", phrases, or other content that attempt to disguise expressions of bigotry and intolerance
• Personal attacks by name or implication
• Harsh or offensive comments
• Argumentative behavior
• Profane, Vulgar, or Obscene Language or any representation of such language.
• Political content.
• Religious content.
• Controversial topics of any form except, of course, woodworking.
• Sexual content or innuendo, no matter how mild
• Illegal activities of any sort
• Posted links to prohibited material.

A Special Word About Religion

Many of our members are very devout and feel their religion and beliefs play a fundamental role in their lives. We applaud adherence to beliefs of your choice. Members with different, but equally devout, beliefs may be in direct contradiction. Please remember that some of mankind's worst and longest lasting wars were fought over differences of spiritual belief. Statements of a religious nature can cause disharmony. Therefore, in the spirit of "prevention", all religious content is banned from this site. However, the following exceptions will apply:

Phrases such as, "God bless you", "Bless you", and "you are in our prayers" are more than acceptable. Such phrases are not proselytizing and are regarded as non-denominational. (Technically, even atheism is a belief system.) No one is criticized for saying they would or would not pray. Also, phrases used to greet and or wish well being during certain seasons or holidays such as "Merry Christmas" are allowed and even encouraged, regardless of the religious foundation.
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A Special Word About Politics

Unfortunately, politics has the same potential as religion to inflame, so a similar prohibition applies. Politics includes current events/conditions in the economy and job losses due to economic conditions. There are also exceptions to this rule. A post suggesting that people vote or otherwise participate in the political process is quite acceptable.

At the time of the writing of this document, the United States is involved in military conflicts and experiencing a downturn of the economy. This is not the place for debating these complex topics. Forum-style discussions can easily escalate into heated arguments that detract from this site's primary purpose: woodworking. Again, there are common sense exceptions, such as expressing sympathy over someone's loss of employment. Statements in support of the troops are not only allowed but encouraged. This is also true of individuals or groups (such as police and firefighters) who go in harm's way for the betterment of our society.
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A Special Word About Controversial Topics

This area is the hardest to define. It covers anything, except woodworking, that might start heated debate. Examples from current events at the time of writing of this document are:

• Economy
• Immigration
• Crime

Controversial or “hot topics” can be very subjective. From time to time the staff may add or subtract topics and the membership is asked to abide by the spirit of these decisions.
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Moderation Procedures

The primary focus of moderation procedures is to remove offending material from view as rapidly as possible. This will be done on a per case basis and is the preferred method of moderation. In the case of threads, posts, and comments, we attempt to allow the discussion to continue without disruption. These actions are not taken lightly. Most moderation actions will be taken in a manner so they may be reversed or amended after staff review. We are not trying to be arbiters of good taste or political correctness. We are simply trying to be proactive in maintaining our goals.
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Threads, Posts, Comments

When a thread, post or comment is contrary to policy, the moderator will make an effort to edit the offending material and leave the primary content intact. If that is not possible, the whole thread, post or comment will be deleted. At this point a Private Message (PM) will be sent explaining the action taken.

On occasion a thread that starts within guidelines becomes disruptive despite attempts to moderate. If a moderator(s) feels the thread will continue to be problematic, the thread will be closed and/or deleted as a preventative measure. In this situation the moderator will provide a reason for the thread closure in a PM.
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Avatars, Profile Pictures, Signatures and Biographical Profile Material

Any of these items found to be in violation of policy will be deleted.
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Usernames

If your username is found to be in violation of policy, your account will be placed in a state of temporary suspension, and all your posts will become invisible to the general membership. After you have supplied the staff with an acceptable username, your active status will be restored and all your posts will again become visible.
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Stephen Coles
Founder
North Carolina Woodworker, Inc.

 

[Glennbear]

Although the posts that followed my start of this thread have value I started the thread as a source of INFORMATION. It was not my intent to start a DISCUSSION on policy. I am closing the thread to eliminate any more discussion since that was not it's original purpose. :wsmile: