Off-Topic specific rules

[ori]

The following is a collection of rules spcific for the Off-Topic subforum all site-wide rules still apply, please do read up on them here. This thread will be updated as required. Please do use the Site Feedback subforum for any rules related requests.


Above all Don't be a jerk.

Consider this an inexhaustive set of things that can earn you an instant ban.

I have no interest in playing bush lawyer with anyone on these things, and I have no interest in dealing with anyone who wants to try brinking or otherwise skirting the rules. But it is worth keeping a record of the sort of jerky things that will see people banned.

Flaming, trolling or insulting someone who is independent of any conversation.
With 'lighter moderation' comes some tolerance for minor flaming of people that you are debating in a given thread. However, this is on the basis that if someone doesn't want to engage in that style of debating, then they can just stay out of the thread / forum. Flaming someone who is not there to defend themselves, or trolling them, is a jerk thing to do. This extends to not flaming someone in a different thread as well.

As a clarification of the 'jerk' rule, if A and B are discussing something, then each has some freedom to play rough with the other, and even C can enter the thread and enjoy some of that same freedom in relation to both A and B. But if A and B are holding a discussion, they can't just randomly start trolling or attacking C, who isn't present, and isn't a party to the discussion or thread. To troll or attack C in such circumstances is to be a jerk.

Please note that if A and B continuously make full use of the latitude afforded, such that they tend to damage threads into which they both walk, their behaviour could be described as jerkish, due to its cumulative effect.

Remember that although the boundaries set by the 'jerk' rule allow you a certain amount of freedom in your posting, lower quality posting is not an activity you should aspire to partake in. The Tavern does, in fact, have minimum standards.

RD threads are governed by stricter standards than non-RD threads.

[RD] ("Red Diamond") threads are for mature, civil discussions. [RD] threads are for those who are genuinely interested in a free exchange of ideas, with an open mind. They are not for people who want to troll, make oh-so-witty one-liners, or derail decent discussion. They are not designed for chatting about the weather or for the random-rants type threads. Please do your best to create a strong and informative OP to get the discussion started.

[RD] threads will be moderated quite tightly. No trolling. No name-calling. No insults. No ad-hominem attacks. Discuss in a mature manner.

To create an [RD] thread:
Please select the [RD] prefix from the 'prefix' dropdown menu when posting a new thread. It can be found just left of the thread title box on the create new thread screen.

If you wish to add an [RD] to your thread after you've already posted it, please report the opening post with your request. Although such a request will not necessarily be granted automatically, moderators are quite likely to listen to the wishes of the OP.

To find [RD] threads:
The prefix system allows you to sort the forum by a particular prefix. When looking at Off-Topic, under 'Display Options' in the top left corner of your screen you will see the 'prefix' dropdown menu. Select the [RD] option, and all non-RD threads will be filtered out, revealing just the threads with an [RD] prefix:

Foreign language threads are limited to the below.

As already announced in Site Feedback and in an announcement at the top of the forum we are testing an expansion in foreign language threads.

For now we will allow German language threads in Off-Topic and are looking into expanding the offered number of languages. The following rules apply:

All such threads have to use the prefix provided for the respective language - currently this is [DE] for German.

All such threads will be held to [RD] standards.

Please note that these threads will only be covered by a small number of moderators compared to OT in general, meaning that we will rely more on community moderation through the use of the report post function than usual.

 

[Birdjaguar]

For those of you who have joined Off Topic in recent years, the above post was created in 2016 and includes an explanation of [RD] threads. The original red diamond graphic is long gone, but the idea remains. We want [RD] threads to be discussion focused without the many distractions that often appear in normal threads. What it means in practical terms is that the staff will monitor and moderate those threads more closely and more frequently issue warnings, infractions, and thread bans. When topics are emotionally charged, the conversations can go sideways or get personal. We want to avoid that. If you have any questions, feel free to pm any of the staff.