Profanity/Vulgarity/Word Filter/Circumvention Guideline

[Lance]

First of all, let me say that I think that it's important for one to own up to one's mistakes. After reading a post from Bawker about something Mr. Sylvester said in a thread, I went in and edited that post. I was wrong to do that. It's not in the spirit of our guidelines regarding vulgarity and language filter circumvention to go in and edit a post like that. There is a difference between what Mr. Sylvester did (and others, too) and what people who constantly throw out obscenities (or strings of them) in a sentence, post, or several posts in a thread do. It's up to FST members to recognize that difference, and to treat the respective posts accordingly, and I think everybody needs to remember, only 1 person has been suspended for this.

I'd like to refer everybody to John Donovan's detailed explanation of the guideline here. He explains very clearly that like most other moderation matters, there is ambiguity to deciding what violates this particular guideline. He goes on to explain how we'll be approaching it from now on, and after reading it, I hope everybody will see why I have no problem admitting my mistake.

[bawker]

Here's something of interest...

This is a mod for IPB software (what DCP runs on). Look closely...this runs on 2.0 (the version we have now)

http://mods.invisionize.com/db/index.php/f/5178

Description: This mod adds the ability for your members to have their own member teams. They can have other members join, open their own forum on your forum(a subforum that can be password protected) and manage other team members through an easy to use control panel.

Features:

- Members can only create teams if they have a certain number of posts set by forum admin

- Each team has a leader(the person who creates the team) and a co-leader

- The leader can choose a team logo or give other team members permission to do that

- Leaders can create ranks that they can assign to their members

- A group overview page allows groups to make a short HTML-enabled description about their team

- The leader can set permissions on which team members can do what( Different permissions are based on the different categories of settings, which are Team, Forum, and Permissions )

- Leaders can approve members wanting to join the team through an easy to use activation list... you can simply dismiss members that you don't want on your team

- Members can resign(or voluntarily dismiss themselves) from the team

- Leaders can dismiss other team members

- Administrators have control over all teams through the ACP

- Team leaders can create a password-protected subforum for their team, and assign forum moderators to that forum

- Team Member List lists all members in a team

- Team Leader can Mass PM all team members

- Admins can choose which member groups can create teams and how many they can create.

- Team News allows Team Leaders to post news about their team

- PM notifications regarding team member approval

- Overall fixes and security updates

This, in effect, would let us create a "board within a board" in a much better way than we currently do with OT.

With this kind of modding, it would be possible to set up any number of "specialty" boards with any number of users, even within the "OT" sections...small sections for "no holds barred" political debate, unfiltered talk, corps specific forum pods and so on.

This mod can be put in in under 30 minutes according to its creator.

So, if I wanted to have "Bawker's SubForum" off of OT or what have you, I could do so...and then, each subforum would have its own moderation by the forum creator (as well as universal oversight by the FST)

That's not to say we should have 3,000 subforums....but what if we gave a (say 3-4 or so) few posters their own baileywick to test it out?

Maybe a "LisaLisaMoMeesa Current Affairs" thread where LLMM could host no filter, no punches pulled CE talk?

Or, what about Chris and the rest of the HOF with their own smaller subforum that could be as "vulgar" it needed to be, according to their own self-moderation?

..and so on.

With the password protection, the "subforum" owner has rights to let in who wants to be let in, set up rules as such...and, as you can see from the quoted features, "regular" moderators can still step in to handle anything huge.

This way, everyone wins....people stay within the DCP "framework", there are certain sections that rules are relaxed in, and the password protection (and a standard disclaimer that this is a "user forum, DCP has limited ...or no...responsibility for posting here) keeps people out who don't need to be there.

Thoughts?

[GGarrett]

create a forum ... within the forum... within the forum again, just so we can cuss and spit and fling poo and stuff?

well... that'd be OK, ......... I guess.

:P juss messin' wit ya Bawk...

[bawker]

create a forum ... within the forum... within the forum again, just so we can cuss and spit and fling poo and stuff?

well... that'd be OK, ......... I guess.

:P juss messin' wit ya Bawk...

Hmm....more along the lines of getting rid of the OT access the way it is now.

Create OT back as it was, only this time, require a password initally to that as well...add back in all the members and forums as they are now. Now OT requires a password and a disclaimer to get in. Rules in OT stay the same, but we have more security with the password function.

From that OT, establish one "member moderator" with this IPB mod to, yes, create another forum within that one...and I'm not suggesting lots and lots of forums, but maybe, to start...one "general area" that encompasses everything. Politics, flames, rants about drum corps, etc....whatever you want to say without a filter, or fear or reprisal.

The "member moderator" puts a password/disclaimer onto the unfiltered forum, and restricts access. Preferably we use someone who has been here a while, and "knows" people as well. The "member moderator" runs that board, but is also subject to the DCP official moderators stepping in if things get too crazy...(read: threads about killing the President, George Hopkins, etc)

Boom...everyone gets what they want. The members here have a place to go for undiluted talk...it's run by a member, so there's no bad "moderator versus member" blood...and the rest of OT and DCP proper goes on its way doing its own thing.

[GMichael1230]

But my question hasn't been addressed. When does DCP , ie the enforcers of the rules stop becoming omnipotent and take a backseat to reality, ie: Drum corps.

For all intents and purposes, Marc Sylvester IS drum corps, he is a good representation of it and what it is today more than many of us and our thoughts. People worrying about what todays kids are going to encounter in drum corps by blocking out words, and here we have a true representative of drum corps posting in my opinion, my little, meaningless opinion, the most important post I have read in years on DCP, and a moderator goe sin and alters it for the sake of DCP and keeping some kids from being offended or parents from being offended.....a person that is in the theick of the activity they might be enjoying ???

Totally bogus, ridiculous, sorry to be so dramatic but it was indeed that ridiculous.

~G~

and for the record, if #### or &$%^# is still considered offensive and not allowed, this place has issues far more serious than the posters who use them. It is perfectly acceptable in society to use these words at times, it doesnt mean a lack of vocabulary or restricted eloquence, its reality...DCP wants to shield people from reality and create its own reality, and wants to censor true representatives of drum corps.

So I again ask, what is more important, drum corps, or Drum Corps Planet.

[bawker]

But my question hasn't been addressed. When does DCP , ie the enforcers of the rules stop becoming omnipotent and take a backseat to reality, ie: Drum corps.

For all intents and purposes, Marc Sylvester IS drum corps, he is a good representation of it and what it is today more than many of us and our thoughts. People worrying about what todays kids are going to encounter in drum corps by blocking out words, and here we have a true representative of drum corps posting in my opinion, my little, meaningless opinion, the most important post I have read in years on DCP, and a moderator goe sin and alters it for the sake of DCP and keeping some kids from being offended or parents from being offended.....a person that is in the theick of the activity they might be enjoying ???

Totally bogus, ridiculous, sorry to be so dramatic but it was indeed that ridiculous.

~G~

and for the record, if #### or &$%^# is still considered offensive and not allowed, this place has issues far more serious than the posters who use them. It is perfectly acceptable in society to use these words at times, it doesnt mean a lack of vocabulary or restricted eloquence, its reality...DCP wants to shield people from reality and create its own reality, and wants to censor true representatives of drum corps.

So I again ask, what is more important, drum corps, or Drum Corps Planet.

G,

Look at the top of this page...Lance apologized for the edit.

Perhaps I should as well for using Marc's post to make a point sarcastically about the filter situation.

[LegalEagle50]

and for the record, if #### or &$%^# is still considered offensive and not allowed, this place has issues far more serious than the posters who use them. It is perfectly acceptable in society to use these words at times, it doesnt mean a lack of vocabulary or restricted eloquence, its reality...DCP wants to shield people from reality and create its own reality, and wants to censor true representatives of drum corps.

So I again ask, what is more important, drum corps, or Drum Corps Planet.

&$%^# is something frequently used in comic strips such as those you get with your Sunday paper.

i can't say i've ever seen a parent get up in arms over THAT.

[bradrick]

heck the term Pizza Orgasmica might make some parent think DCA is nothing but an orgy.

1. It certainly wasn't for ME last year...

2. Are you allowed to say "orgy"? It would certainly be a potentially suggestive term.

... unless of course one is suggesting that there isn't going to be one

... which would have saved me the cost of the plane ticket as well.

B)

[JMS0527]

It makes sense to post without swearing.

And so posting with swear words is nonsensical?

How do you arrive at this conclusion? Support your thesis with objective fact

[sburstall]

Here's something of interest...

This is a mod for IPB software (what DCP runs on). Look closely...this runs on 2.0 (the version we have now)

http://mods.invisionize.com/db/index.php/f/5178

This, in effect, would let us create a "board within a board" in a much better way than we currently do with OT.

With this kind of modding, it would be possible to set up any number of "specialty" boards with any number of users, even within the "OT" sections...small sections for "no holds barred" political debate, unfiltered talk, corps specific forum pods and so on.

This mod can be put in in under 30 minutes according to its creator.

So, if I wanted to have "Bawker's SubForum" off of OT or what have you, I could do so...and then, each subforum would have its own moderation by the forum creator (as well as universal oversight by the FST)

That's not to say we should have 3,000 subforums....but what if we gave a (say 3-4 or so) few posters their own baileywick to test it out?

Maybe a "LisaLisaMoMeesa Current Affairs" thread where LLMM could host no filter, no punches pulled CE talk?

Or, what about Chris and the rest of the HOF with their own smaller subforum that could be as "vulgar" it needed to be, according to their own self-moderation?

..and so on.

With the password protection, the "subforum" owner has rights to let in who wants to be let in, set up rules as such...and, as you can see from the quoted features, "regular" moderators can still step in to handle anything huge.

This way, everyone wins....people stay within the DCP "framework", there are certain sections that rules are relaxed in, and the password protection (and a standard disclaimer that this is a "user forum, DCP has limited ...or no...responsibility for posting here) keeps people out who don't need to be there.

Thoughts?

This has the makings of RAMD written all over it.

If we wanted to do that then there is still RAMD and alt.drumcorps to still do this. I guess it comes down to what the guidelines will be. None of this fuzzy logic that allows "WTF" and "arse" but not #### and ###.

We need to remember that, for the most part, not everyone have asked for access to the Off Topic area of DCP. In fact, I don't even think they know it exists (us older members do). I purposely removed myself from the OT area because it didn't have any real relavence to drum corps itself (thought at times it was fun). I say let things be as they stay. Only a handful of people are actually complaining about it. The majority couldn't care less.