I hate forums that have long lists of "rules" for people to abide by who just want to talk about stuff. I also hate forums with moderators with itchy trigger-fingers and an inflated sense of self-worth. There are, though, sadly, a few things which just aren't allowed.
I really don't like banning people. So far, the ban count is at 1, not including spambots. I value free speech and freedom of discussion very highly, and would be much obliged if that count never has to go up to 2. Nobody will ever be banned from this forum without a polite warning.
Okay, with that in mind, here are the "rules" for posting on the Bar Italia forum. Yeah, I can tell you're excited too.
THE FIRST RULE First off, ABSOLUTELY no discussion about the copying and sharing of commercially-available material. (Discussion of the entirely unrelated Yahoo e-mail account is entirely permissible, provided it's made clear it has nothing to do with the site. If someone asks for something commercially available to be put in there, tell them politely that that's not how it works.) This is an absolute cast iron rule. It is a silly rule, caused by stupid people and their lawyers, but it is not open to debate.
THE SECOND RULE Secondly, don't be an arse. This is pretty much a judgement call, I know, but to me it means no over-the-top personal attacks on other posters, no links to filesharing or porn sites, no posting gigantic graphics, no spamming, and do try not to post anything defamatory if you can help it. If you're worried about accidentally tripping the "being an arse" alert, don't panic. This forum has been up and running since 2000, and the level of arse has been refreshingly low. The threshold is pretty high, and I'll usually step in with a quiet word long before things get to the warning stage. It will probably involve the word "arse" somewhere.
THE THIRD RULE Thirdly - and I'm cringing as I type this lest I come across as a complete tool on some sort of ludicrous tiny power trip, but it's got to be done - thirdly, if I tell you to stop doing something (this will only ever happen if you've broken either of the first two "rules" up there, i.e. been discussing pirate copies of Pulp stuff or been an arse), please for the love of Jarvis stop doing it. Don't take it as an affront, or as an invitation to discuss it further in heated tones. If I go so far as to actually close a thread, do not under any sodding circumstances go and post a brand new one to carry on the debate.
And that's it. Sorry if this seems overly heavy-handed, I've tried to be as unintrusive as possible. Er, also, apologies to anyone whose work firewall has just landed them in trouble because of this thread's record uses of the word "arse". Sorry.
commercially-available material - worth defining. If you cant buy it from a download site or stream it via a subscription its not. Especially if it is available on You Tube.
