The Rules

[Kevin]

Alright gang, If you don't know me let me Introduce myself. My name is Kevin, I started this site back in 2001 and well after a couple of technical hiccups this site has managed to grow back like a weed and the good news is that BirdBoard is getting more and more popular, and of course this means new people all the time... The bad news is that this also means that the work of moderating, administrating, and generally just keeping a watchful eye has become a big chore, and in the near future, moderators will be brought aboard to help out with this task. To facilitate their duties, a set of rules needs to be laid down, simply so that everyone knows what goes and what doesn't. The "use your head" approach has worked up until now, but if moderators are going to be able to exercise their authority correctly, they will need a set of rules to point to as a reference. These rules will also help you, as a user, to stay within the boundaries for acceptable use of these forums. Please observe them, and feel free to PM the Administrators or the Moderators with any questions. Thank you!

Remember I am very understanding and easy going but don't mistake that for weakness. These rules are put into place to better the community information flows, and members can extract that information, and learn, meet other fellow bird owners, experts, and avian vets in a condusive forum for community growth.


1. The primary focus of BirdBoard.com is the promotion of the hobby and help bird owners learn more about their birds, how to properly take care of them and more.. Therefore, any behavior which patently transgresses this primary goal is prohibited. Examples of this type of behavior include, but are not limited to: trolling the boards posting anti-bird hobby messages, name-calling based on the fact that a person is an bird keeper, and discussions that incite forum vs. forum or anti-other site sentiments. Violations of this rule will result in one warning, followed by a 1-month ban for subsequent violations.

2. The forum is divided into numerous subject-specific areas and a designated off-topic, general discussion area. It is required that all off-topic discussion be confined to The Lounge. A small amount of off-topic tangent will be allowed in threads in the subject-specific forums, but threads that wander too far off track will have to be closed,locked or moved with instructions to create a new topic regarding the new topic at hand. Violations of this rule, while not serious, degrade the effectiveness of the forums for other users that may not have as much time to use them as you do. The first 2 violations will be met with mild warnings. 3-4 violations will be met with stern warnings and post/thread deletion and/or movement. The fifth violation will result in a 2-week ban.

3. Everyone comes to BirdBoard with different and widely varied experience levels, species in possession, and formal education. The disrespecting, "flaming", or general harrassment of ANY user at BirdBoard based on their perceived lack of knowledge, lack of experience, lack of formal education, short timeline in the hobby proper, or other such petty reasons will result in a stern warning and post deletion, followed by a 1-month ban for subsequent offenses. Instead of belittling, flaiming or being rude to another user, why not shed some light on what they can do, and what they should read to help them educate them on the hobby.

If an inexperienced or otherwise ignorant user is truly causing a problem, please report this to the admins or moderators, that's what they are there for.

4. The obligatory Anti-Discrimination clause: Under no circumstances will discrimination, defamation, slander, or gossip about anyone based on religion, race, color, creed, sexual preference, financial status, the size of number of birds or what kind of birds they own, their make of car, the gun(s) they own, or the fact that they like to strap on a pair of stiletto high heels and run around city parks wearing nothing but a yellow raincoat...be tolerated. Any discriminatory remarks will earn you a stern warning and post deletion followed by a 1-month ban for subsequent offenses.

5. The audience of BirdBoard varies widely in age and background. We have members as young as 12 or 13, and this should be kept in mind when posting material that could be considered to be "adult", "mature". Leeway will be given in most cases, as it is not our wish to be thought police, but posts considered to be "crossing the line" between a little adult-oriented fun and mature material is hard to discern. To make this decision easier, please note the following out-of-bounds material:
- overt and/or gross nudity or partial nudity and/or humor
- If you have a link to share, do it in a PM or email
- stories or text, pics, etc
- discussion of explicit topics... there are PLENTY of other forums out there for this

Any violations of this rule will earn a stern warning, followed by a 1-month ban for subqesuent offenses. If you have any questions about the approriateness of a certain topic, please PM or email it a moderator before posting. In this case, it is NOT easier to get forgiveness than permission.

6. Absolutely NO flaming, deliberate personal attacks, or excessively antagonizing posts! Any violations of this rule will earn either a stern warning and post deletion, or a 2-week or 1-month ban, at the moderators' discretion. Obviously, harsher infractions will require harsher punishment, so please think twice.

In the area of enforcement of the rules, Kevin (owner and operator of BirdBoard - aka "Keev") and the moderators/admins are judge, jury, and executioner. Their decisions are not open for debate, and this is not a democracy. The moderators/admins are NOT to be mocked, ridiculed, or called out on the discussion forums. If you have issues with a mod or Keev, take it up in an email or PM to Keev. The public disparaging of ANY mod or admin, for ANY reason will earn you an IMMEDIATE 1-month ban, no questions, no discussion. You've been warned.

7. Acceptable language is a very hard line to draw in the sand. Please appreciate that editing EVERY post with questionable language would require the mods to spend a lot of time scrutinizing...which we're doing anyway, but why make our job harder? Please help us out by avoiding the use of the roughest 4-letter words (you know what they are), and any expletives containing explicit references to bodily equipment or functions. Asterisks or symbols ARE NOT an acceptable way of circumventing this rule. We all know what you're trying to say, and it will be treated as such. Posts will be edited at the mods' discretion, should they see any language they deem over the line. Please don't be a baby and complain about it publicly, use PM or email... in fact, don't complain at all, as it is VERY unlikely that you will get the mod to change his/her mind. Repeated warnings will earn you post deletion and an eventual ban, based on circumstances.

The owner of Bird Board Online community have the right to remove, edit, and or close any thread for any reason.

[Kevin]

Ok gang, I know this seems like a lot of rules, but it really isn't. In any community venture, 95% of the rules are there because of 5% of the members who will always try to push the envelope. All enforcement of the rules will be handled fairly, equally, and as swiftly as possible. If you notice any post(s) in violation of the rules that the mods have not yet gotten to, please make use of the "Report this post to a moderator" icon in the upper right corner of every post. Vigilante justice is NOT appreciated... Thank you, and enjoy your Bird Board experience!

[Kevin]

As stated in the rules, we do try to allow some leeway. This leeway is the reason for the "May Contain Mature Content" warning for "The Lounge" forum. It is not to condone "Adult Content" or to approve of it, but just to warn that there may be some "stuff" in here that is not for children due to the leeway we allow. The warning is there mostly for the stuff that we, as adults, would consider mild, but to a 13 year old, may be more than their parents want to have to explain.

If you're not sure if something is appropriate or not, ask yourself if it's something you would want your teen child to read...

If you're still not sure, ask a mod before posting, that's what we're here for

I hope this clears up any questions about the warning.

If you do have any further questions, feel free to contact me via PM or Email and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Thanks,

Keev

[Kevin]

Private Message Abuse (PM's)

This is a Privledge to you members, If detrimental abuse is taking place on BirdBoard or using Bird Board resources there will be consequences.
Please report it to myself.

[Kevin]

Every so often we need to look back on the rules! Please follow the rules of the road and treat each other how you would want to be treated...

[catonroof]

Kevin, thank you for helping me get registered. I have read the rules and I will try to stay in their limits. And thank you for starting birdboard. Now I can talk to people who really know their birds. catonroof

[Bookwolfphd]

Hey Kevin, I teach at a college and have to do the same "rules" thing and it is always for the one or two students who really are there for some reason other than education. Thanks for letting me know i am not the only person who isn't running a democracy...i prefer enlightened dictatorship.