A reminder about personal attacks
A while ago I posted here about the increase of personal attacks and negativity on the forum. It had the desired impact and the forum has been civil up until recently.
A few members have clashed recently, so I thought it was time to remind everyone what was said before.
This negativity and hostility goes against everything that built this forum and is resulting in a massive culture change. OzMPSclub's aim is to be a friendly, resourceful and understanding forum.
I'm not saying people can't argue, because that would be unreasonable. With nearly 2,000 members on this forum, there are always going to be people that disagree with each other. We encourage professional debates and discussions on topics, provided they stay professional. We won't intervene with heated discussions provided that both sides stay on topic and no personal attacks occur.
One thing we will not compromise on are personal attacks.
Personal attacks against another member will not be tolerated.
The OzMPSclub forum rules state:
Quote:
Trolling, Baiting and Personal attacks are prohibited
The purpose of the forum is to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas. Occasionally, there will be conflicts that arise when people voice opinions. Be courteous when disagreeing with others. It is possible to disagree without being insulting. Harassment based on sexual orientation, gender, race, religious views or similar; or wilful and unnecessary insults by forum post or Private Message is strictly forbidden and will result in an immediate ban from the forum.
Trolling is the word used to describe a post that is deliberately designed for the purpose of angering and insulting the members of the forum community. Posts of this nature are disruptive and do not convey a friendly attitude.
Baiting is when the poster intentionally makes a comment designed to encourage an argument or entice another member to retaliate.
Commonly known as flaming, personal attacks are posts which are designed to personally berate or insult another. Personal attacks, whether they occur on the forum or via private message are not tolerated.
Text in any of the above context, is not beneficial to the community spirit and will not be tolerated.
This announcement is the only warning to be issued for these infractions. I will be instructing our Forum Staff that the following procedure is to be adhered to in the event of a personal attack:
1. Post to be deleted
2. User given 24 hour cooling off period where they will not have access to the forum
3. If after these 24 hours the user re-offends, this cooling off period will extend to 7 days
4. There is no reason to think that anyone would continue to offend further, but the obvious next step is a permanent ban
The bottom line is this:
Heated debates and discussions are fine, but personal attacks are not tolerated.
I would also like to ask that those members that 'enjoy' encouraging the escalation of heated discussions by 'egging' on other members please refrain from doing this. This is contributing to tension and has resulted in arguments being blown out of proportion.
Thank you for your time in reading this post. I am disappointed that I even have to take it to this level, but I hope that those few members that have caused problems in the past will move forward and help contribute to our community in a more positive manner.
