Terms of Service - have your say

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OK, I have another one. Assisting other members to try to commit suicide should be prohibited. We should not prohibit count downs, etc. but should discourage them and encourage the member to seek professional assistance in their area.

Also, we should inform users that we are not professionals and cannot offer that type of assistance.

it is. there are members (me, for one) who check the "posts since last visit" thingy, and so a thread without a reply won't show up, even if it's a sticky.

most of what i wanted to say had already been said.

1. the roles, responsibilities and processes involved in moderating the board to be made public, as in a description of what we do, how we do it, and how we are selected, etc. but not public discussions which involve individual members. (this would address serissa's first point above - Mods do actually send advisory PMs for minor infractions, before a warning is issued. it would also address the first sentence in ante's point 3 above, as this is what we already do).

2. tighter guidelines on what is and isn't acceptable in the way of people posting joke threads or posts which deliberately attempt to take advantage of or manipulate others.

3. definitions of what constitutes a contravention of the guidelines to be made tighter and clearer. ditto for definitions of broad terms.

i'm sure there was more, but i'll think on it and come back to this post later.

I see a countdown to suicide as an excuse to get people riled up. It serves no purpose. If someone says "help" I'm all for informing them we are not professionals and directing them to other sources. A countdown on the other hand says, to me, "I've got power over you and I want you to plead that I don't do it".

Yes, a cry for help should be allowed. A countdown however should not be allowed.

This is just my opinion, but I also think that showing or even posting a link to a picture of self-mutilation should be considered sort of the same as posting/posting a link to a pornographic picture. Obviously there is a different between showing yourself and you happen to have cuts/etc and linking to a pic: "This is my wrist, this is what i do to it." I know I'll get people annoyed at em for saying that but I do honestly think it should be restricted to the mature forum at the very least.

I think graphic self-mutilation should be restricted to the mature forum, but not disallowed entirely. It's a sensitive issue, but there should be a place and time to discuss it.

To be perfectly honest, rules scare the crap out of me. As soon as I start reading something like the Terms Of Service a little voice in my head goes off at me and starts screaming 'AAACK ANNELISE YOU ARE EVIL AND BAD AND HAVE SAID THINGS THAT FALL INTO ALL THE NAUGHTY CATEGORIES AND YOU WILL DIE!', when in truth I have yet to be told off for saying something bad. Plus I get extra nervous about things like 'don't be provocative' (isn't that the point of debating?), 'don't be racist' (I have already mentioned in an earlier thread that I find some cultural differences frustrating, and would have possibly been all freaked about posting that if I knew about the no racism thing), 'don't be homophobic' (I don't mean to be, but having been brought up the 'good little Christian girl', I would be being dishonest if I said that the idea of homosexuality does leave me very unsettled, although I would certainly do my utmost to not let it affect how I feel about people, and certainly not to judge them as lesser because of it)... the whole lot just stresses me no end! And no swearing? Does that mean I can't say crap? Cos most people here wouldn't have a problem I don't think... and is it swearing if you say something and assume the auto fixer will auto fixer it for you? And...and...and... *hyperventilates*

I think it can all be nutted down to 'talk about any issues you want, but respect everyone, be polite, get angry over ideas not people, and keep it clean in front of the kiddies'. As for the mature forum bit, that one does bother me. I haven't thought this through much, but it seems to me that we need a serious mature forum for things like depression, suicide, cutting: not the 'everyone look at me I'm gonna hurt myself if you don't make me a mod' type, but the serious, morbid type. (We all have dark secrets, and I for one feel better when they are off my chest). Then I think we need to allow talk about sexuality, depression and the like in the kids and teen forums, with the condition that the intended age group must set the pace. For instance, if we get 13 year olds talking about sex, we can't very well bar them from the mature forums and tell them not to talk about it cos they will corrupt the kiddies! I think we give far too little credit to the under 18's, and I think it is easily solved by letting them show us where they are at. I also think that we need some sort of method of creating a sacred space for 'the sillies' as well as a place for serious stuff. There appears to be some divide because some people get offended when a serious post is made fun of (yes, many of us have quite bizarre senses of humour and meant no offense!), and at the same time people with 'the sillies' get fed up with 'stick with the topic' when they just want to muck around. Both are ok, just not in the wrong spots... perhaps a 'deep and meaningful' forum and a 'the sillies' one? And we could move mature to...

Oh, wait... this is for the code isn't it! Sorry Vivi!

Yep, basically I say keep the code as simple as possible: be respectful and don't insult, and assume that others will do the same (understanding that some of us do the wrong thing most unintentionally).

Good luck Vivi: you need it!

I want to second everything PhoenixKitten said especially the first paragraph that truly describes my feelings.

Thanks PhoenixKitten

Y

My only two suggestions are make them clear and easy to understand (say exactally what they are) and go by them something youve failed to do many times before.

Fair enough. I was thinking of someone who posted in either the general or members-only forum a little while ago and I think they linked to pictures of self-mutilation. I refused to actually follow the links, though.

I'd like the modarators to step in not just for abuse, but for basic bad manners and lack of civility.

I'd actually like to see more responsibility put on regular members for checking things like bad manners. Unless I am very much mistaken, WrongPlanet is more a democracy than a dictatorship. If ever I notice that someone has said something harsh, I make a polite comment expressing as much. If anyone did as much for me, I would listen. You don't have to be a mod to do your bit to keep things funning smoothly.

Jesus...did someone actually do these things!! !! !

Well of course! EVERYBODY who is ANYBODY counts down to their suicide!

*runs away to cross off today on the calendar...* Yep! Only 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 days to go!

*rubs paws gleefully*

NOTE: This post is not meant to be offensive. I just find the whole idea of such a thing to be quite ironic and in rather bad taste... (much like this post perhaps! )

In my 'umble opinion, any member who in any way encourages another member to commit suicide should get a lifetime ban. that's just not acceptable in any way. As for the countdown, if somone is making suicidal statements, I think we (WP) has a mandate to do our best to get this information to those who can protect them. This may involve tracing IPs etc. Really no different than if someone calls a radio station and makes suicidal statements.