Off-Topic Forum Guidelines

[Blue Devil Legend]

The following guidelines will apply universally (Bored-Current Events-Entertainment and Related-Sports and Related-Tech Talk) to all Off-Topic forums:

Off-Topic (OT) Forum Guidelines (Please Read Completely)

After careful thought and discussion amongst the Drum Corps Planet™ administration team, we have decided to make some changes to the way in-which the Off-Topic forums (Bored-Current Events-Entertainment and Related-Sports and Related-Tech Talk) operate. These forums provide, for those DCP members who specifically request access, an opportunity to discuss subjects that are outside the normal scope of the DCP forums. We believe there is value in providing the community with a place to venture into and express their thoughts on those issues, outside of the ‘normal’ constraints of the general community structure.

Effective immediately, the OT forums will be "self-moderated" by the members who choose to participate in the OT forums. Believing that most members that participate are interested in presenting their thoughts and opinions in a way that is respectful of others, we think the majority of the participants in these forums will have no problems living within this new environment. The DCP support staff will continue to monitor posts/threads in these forums on a daily basis, but will take a more "hands-off" approach and rely on participants in the forums to act responsibly. Given that members of these forums span a wide range of ages, inappropriate language will not be acceptable and any circumvention of our word filters will be dealt with accordingly.

While we support and encourage lively discussion, passionate representation of one another’s opinions, and contributions from the many different perspectives our members have, we will draw the line for acceptable behavior at any form of personal attack(s) towards any member.

The only way this forum can continue is if all members exhibit a minimum margin of respect and refrain from personal attacks against another’s political, religious, or personal views. If a member has a ‘personal issue’ with another, it will need to be addressed via PM, E-mail, or any other means outside of these forums.

When reviewing any possible violation of the guidelines, reported by a member or not, the post(s), content and context of the offending material will be considered.

To ensure that this policy is adhered to by all, we will uniformly enforce the following penalties for any such violations of the OT guidelines:

1st offense - 3 day suspension (account)

2nd offense - 7 day suspension (account)

3rd offense – access to all Off-Topic Forums will be permanently revoked

After a 3rd offense, any violation of this or other Community Guidelines in any of the DCP discussion forums – PERMANENT BAN from ALL DCP forums.

All suspensions will be reviewed and acted upon by the Community Administrator – to ensure the highest level of consistency and fairness.

We hope that with this new approach to the Off-Topic Forums, our members will be encouraged to express their ideas and positions in a lively, passionate, and constructive way – while allowing all sides of the debate to be heard, without the discussion turning into a demeaning shouting-match of insults and belittlement.

Thank you for your support and participation.

Rich Kleinman

DCP Community Administrator

Due to incidences of vulgarity being used by members in retaliation via the Private Message (PM) feature, if suspended the offending member(s) will lose account access for the duration of the suspension.