Ruth Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I don't stand in a restaurant mouthing off opinions not caring if someone will get offended, so why do it here? That's a good point. Now we have so many 'guests' on line it really is much more public. Maybe some of the chatty threads could be in the members only section, then at least we know more clearly who's around. Oooops, sorry for crashing into your conversation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. Clay Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Yes, that's it, Wendi -- I tried to make it more concise, but wekept hearing how people wanted to KNOW EXACTLY what things were and how things were done... so we put it all out there to make it as clear as possible. dcdeb FAIR NOTICE: MY NEW WORDS FOR ALL UNWELCOME (BANNED) WORDS IS GOING TO BE "PICKLE JUICE!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keti Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I totaly agree with these rules... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdeb Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Just an update to these guidelines... We've been discussing how we ought to set up a "grievance" or appeal process for someone who doesn't agree with a ban (or infraction) they receive. At the moment, we have Niki27 away on holiday and Freddie just away for the weekend, so it may be a few more days before we post something on that... Just so you don't think we've forgotten or are trying to sweep it under the carpet dcdeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdeb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Bump... Just want to make sure everyone gets the chance to read these... dcdeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosinaKiwi Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 dun get it?!?!?! does this mean too the end of all sarcasm here on MFC? or will we have to point out that its sarcasm like *insert sarcasm here* or [sarcasm]...[/sarcasm] because that gets old really fast! I do understand that some people read peoples jokes as something more than a joke...but how are we to prevent this...bann joking from here entirely? becasue I can tell you even the most light hearted jokes can be taken too literally! no im not joking or piss taking here...nor am I trouble making. do not get me wrong I do understand the bases behind these guidelines...and I understand their need and to an extent i also agree with most of them! just pointing out some issues I feel I want to address!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelzy Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 dun get it?!?!?! does this mean too the end of all sarcasm here on MFC? or will we have to point out that its sarcasm like *insert sarcasm here* or [sarcasm]...[/sarcasm] because that gets old really fast! I do understand that some people read peoples jokes as something more than a joke...but how are we to prevent this...bann joking from here entirely? becasue I can tell you even the most light hearted jokes can be taken too literally! no im not joking or piss taking here...nor am I trouble making. do not get me wrong I do understand the bases behind these guidelines...and I understand their need and to an extent i also agree with most of them! just pointing out some issues I feel I want to address!! Joking is fine. Having fun is fine. Being sarcastic without the intent to offend a single person or collective group of people is fine. Acknowledging the difference between friendly sarcasm and hateful sarcasm is truly worth our while. What this joking guideline means is that if you make a post, or an insulting remark at someone, and then they or someone says 'I didn't like the way you said that', don't hide behind the 'I was just joking - getting over it' alibi. Make an effort to either apologise or explain what you meant by your post so there is no confusion. Just take responsibility for what you post and try to use common courtesy and common decency. It's not hard to put a wink at the end of your post if you are making a friendly joke. Or is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollipop_monkey Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Joking is fine. Having fun is fine. Being sarcastic without the intent to offend a single person or collective group of people is fine. Acknowledging the difference between friendly sarcasm and hateful sarcasm is truly worth our while. Amen! Kelzy for President! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelzy Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Amen! Kelzy for President! :roftl: You're my adviser then!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greta Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 no restrictions about fanfics, innit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdeb Posted April 8, 2008 Author Share Posted April 8, 2008 no restrictions about fanfics, innit? Fanfics are absolutely restricted in that they are governed by the same guidelines as all other posts. They are not *prohibited*, if that's what you mean, though. I think we've been tolerating fanfics as long as they adhere to the guidelines -- that is, no obscene or profane material, no explicit (or strongly implied) sex, respecting the privacy of others and the fact that Mika and his family read here, not condoning illegal activity, etc. Are you writing something, Greta? dcdeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 25 March 2008 Dear MikaFanClub.com members: MikaFanClub.com (The MFC) is a worldwide community of Mika fans, and as such we feel it is important that we make sure to treat everyone with respect and contribute to an open, comfortable atmosphere for all members. As we have grown significantly over the past year, and in light of recent events, it has become clear that we need some better defined guidelines for forum behavior. We have therefore developed these guidelines to help both new and established members as we move ahead. Keep in mind that these guidelines apply to posts made on the forum and should also apply to any private messages you send. Please take the time to read through the guidelines and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact one of the moderators (listed at the end of this post). Many thanks to all those whose efforts and input contributed to these guidelines, including the authors of the awesome FAQ (read it HERE) which we used as our starting point. We hope that these guidelines will allow for a more enjoyable forum experience for all. The Guidelines 1. Hateful language, including but not limited to racist, sexist, homophobic, and/or bigoted speech is prohibited here. Personal insults and attacks are also prohibited, and will result in a ban from the forums. These include name-calling or insults about a person's religion, sex, sexual orientation, race, age, nationality, physical impairment, etc. Do not mock someone because of their appearance, or the way they speak/write, or the amount of time they spend on the forum. Do not hide behind saying your comment was meant as "a joke", or use the rose-colored glasses icon or white text to disguise a nasty remark. Just saying you didn't mean something as an insult doesn't make it any less of one. 2. Posts containing obscene or pornographic material will be deleted, and can also lead to a ban. Moderators may edit or delete any post deemed unsuitable. 3. Adult topics are not directly prohibited, but we have many younger members, some under 13. Keep in mind MFC's universal audience, and avoid profanity, explicit sexual posts, or other content that may be inappropriate. This would include posts that describe a sex act, or strongly imply one. The forum system automatically blanks out certain curse words, but there are some that it won't catch and you may be asked to stop using those words by a moderator. 4. Since Mika's family are not public figures, posting photographs of them that are not officially taken at publicity events, or soliciting personal information about them, is not permitted. Keep in mind that Mika, his band and management, and his family and friends read these boards at times. 5. Any Mika-related material that can be purchased through regular channels cannot be posted. This includes all studio recordings, clips from the Live in Cartoon Motion DVD, iTunes files, etc. In addition, we ask that demos and studio outtakes not be posted on MFC, as Mika has specifically requested those items not be shared. NOTE: When posting links to other content (such as TV appearances, live recordings, etc.) please be sure to read the terms of use for the external sites you are using. YouTube in particular has been known to pursue claims of copyright infringement, even shutting down the accounts of users who post content against the terms of use. MikaFanClub.com is not responsible for any repercussions that may occur in regard to content posted on external sites. 6. Respect the privacy of other members. Do not post personal information (i.e. personal photographs, addresses, phone numbers, passwords, or any other private information) without permission. 7. Spamming is not permitted. Posts that are seen as spam will be deleted and the spammer will be banned. We consider spam to be: - advertisements - multi-posting the same word or link in a thread, without contributing anything else to it 8. Multiple threads on the same subject will be closed, with a redirect to the other thread on this subject (which is usually the one started first or with the most posts in it). Use the search function to determine if a similar thread already exists before you start a new thread. Also, name your threads clearly, so that a reader has a good idea of the content without opening the thread. 9. In general, avoid condoning illegal activity. This includes sharing copyrighted material, as well as promoting illegal drug use, fraud (such as failing to pay for tickets that were purchased on your behalf), and other illegal activities. 10. Violation of the above guidelines can lead to either infractions or temporary or permanent banning from the forum. When any of the forum guidelines are violated, the MFC mod team will determine an appropriate action. This includes (but is not limited to) public warnings, private warnings, temporary account suspension, permanent account suspension and server bans. Note that there may be occasions when a situation calls for a moderator to make a judgement call that strays from the stated guidelines. An infraction is a notice applied to a user's account to denote that he/she has somehow violated the forum guidelines. You'll see the infraction in the user profile, with the reason the infraction was given. The member will receive notification whenever he/she receives an infraction. Multiple infractions lead to a ban. If the moderators ban a user, that means the user will not be able post on this forum. A temporary ban means that the user will not be able to post for a specific period of time. A permanent ban is only applied if a user is persistently abusive or otherwise continuously disregards the forum guidelines. If a banned user returns to the forum using a different screen name and continues to disregard forum guidelines, the moderators may issue a ban against the person's IP address. In general, moderators do not want to ban any members, although spammers and those who post pornography will be immediately banned. In other situations, here are the general guidelines for issuing a ban. 1. If a user violates the forum guidelines, a moderator first sends a warning via a private message (PM). 2. If the user continues to disregard the warnings, an infraction is placed against the account. 3. If a user receives three infractions, they will be banned from the forum temporarily, usually for one week. 4. If, after returning from a temporary ban, a user continues the pattern of negative behavior, they may be permanently banned. Note that a ban will normally be determined by a majority of the moderators/admins whenever practical. There may be times where this procedure can not be followed (not all moderators/admins can be contacted, for example). At those times, the moderators who are available will make every attempt to confer and decide on an appropriate plan of action, at their discretion. If a situation requires immediate action, a moderator may give a 24-hour ban until a majority of the mods/admins have been consulted. ======================================== You will note that most of these guidelines fall under common courtesy and common sense. If you have any concerns or suggestions, feel free to let the moderators know. The Mod Team dcdeb happikali Niki27 Diana Queenie lollipop_monkey Christine FREDDIESDOUBLE (admin) I totally agree with everything, and thank you for the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greta Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Fanfics are absolutely restricted in that they are governed by the same guidelines as all other posts. They are not *prohibited*, if that's what you mean, though. I think we've been tolerating fanfics as long as they adhere to the guidelines -- that is, no obscene or profane material, no explicit (or strongly implied) sex, respecting the privacy of others and the fact that Mika and his family read here, not condoning illegal activity, etc. Are you writing something, Greta? dcdeb me? Nothing at the mo..but Caz's fanfic flow reminded me of Ingie's one..I was really saddened when you{general}blocked her from writing more, coz i still don't know what was wrong in them {yep I collect some MFC stuff just in case..} oh well, in any case there are still pms, but for me sharing laughs with most of the MFCrs it's better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Travers Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 My personal views have no bearing on how the MFC is run: it's a privately-run forum and therefore has the right to set whatever guidelines or rules that it pleases. It has every right to say to me: if you're not happy with it you can leave. I am personally completely against censorship, I'm pro people saying exactly what's on their mind and others accepting that the definition of "acceptable" and "insensitive" is arbitrary and subjective and therefore won't take offense. But that's my ideal and not the MFC's. Why are we treating "censorship" like it's a dirty word to be avoided? This is a private forum which has the right to set its own guidelines which if you wish to participate you must adhere to. One of the guidelines that it has set is that this forum is moderated. Moderation is inherently a form of censorship because it involves drawing lines and any line inherently limits freedom of speech. Any absence of absolute freedom of speech = censorship. What you're calling "self-control" is one and the same thing: it's a member controlling their opinions to fit within what the MFC defines as acceptable (which may or may not be in line with what you personally feel is acceptable). And it's fine, as a private forum the MFC has every right to dictate its own rules and censor what it deems needs censoring. I don't need to agree with it to live with it. If didn't I conform to guidelines that I disagree with I would have ended up in trouble a long time ago. I accept that I must do so if I want to participate in this forum. It's not fair but hey it's reality. What'll happen when/if we become official, though, is a different matter. That's why I've been putting off my decision of whether I want to continue participating the MFC or not until after we become official (if ever)... the whole dynamic of the place may change. i must say that it is [sarcasm]surprisingly[/sarcasm] the most interesting post ive read here...that for me sums up the whole thing, i would LOVE to believe that you get banned because you dont follow the rules, as you said its a private forum if there are rules and you dont follow them , you are free to leave , that would be simple and effective and CLEAR BUT the fact that the moderators are active members will never fit, because those people "know" you on the forum and once you know or think you know you judge and if you judge and dont like you destroy, humans are destroyers and we all are humans. I dont like the fact that people hide behind guidelines and rules to be in fact plainly subjective. Again it would be a dream come true if the rules were the only thing you could base a ban on. ex: rule1: you cant say **** X said "****" X got banned = thats only normal, that was the rule but here its more like rule1: you cant say **** X said "****" reunion of the mods" yes X said **** but X is like us, lets NOT ban X" or "X said **** and X is not like us what a twat anyway of course we ban X!!!" = hello subjectivity I think non members people could stick to the exemple number one because they wouldnt give a **** about being subjective ( since they wouldnt be fans of mika), they would only do their job= i think some people need to be hired =get paid to apply the rules if its the choice of a forum to have rules someone in a post asked what we were expecting, I personally am expecting that mods admin etc wouldnt hide behind rules to cast away people they strongly dislike but that seems impossible since its exactly the same in our society if a forum is private it can work out without rules, the only rule would be not to virtually kill someone else.period. for instance i have a very small forum dedicated to mika and my rules are: "No Rules" BUT it brought up some "problems" people think that no rules means to be vulgar which is ridiculous but hey they have the right to be vulgar and i do have the right to ban them for whatever reason I LIKE because thats my forum and thats private and I AM BEING TOTALLY SUBJECTIVE, i can ban someone because i dont like the way his/her pseudonym sounds...=i dont hide behind rules so the whole point is: if you make up rules, thats great and a big forum probably needs rules especially if there are kids around but make sure that people in charge respect them and respect them the same way for everyone now to rosinakiwi who said: does this mean too the end of all sarcasm here on MFC? or will we have to point out that its sarcasm like *insert sarcasm here* or [sarcasm]...[/sarcasm] because that gets old really fast! well yes some people want to be put everywhere or insert sarcasm here, which i understand but its a problem since sarcasm doest work with smilies at all, it ruins the whole thing, plus sarcasm isnt meant to be dead funny, like falling out of you chair when reading it or anything (though it happens sometimes) so i dont know whta to tell you, maybe go to the apple thread, it seems that smilies are not required there but maybe you were not born an apple and wont fit there so in that case i dont have any solution, i personally stopped doing it. 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Pam Travers Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Fanfics are absolutely restricted in that they are governed by the same guidelines as all other posts. They are not *prohibited*, if that's what you mean, though. dcdeb are satires allowed? or are they totally prohibited or allowed but with smilies only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdeb Posted April 8, 2008 Author Share Posted April 8, 2008 someone in a post asked what we were expecting, I personally am expecting that mods admin etc wouldnt hide behind rules to cast away people they strongly dislike but that seems impossible since its exactly the same in our society You know, Pam, I could understand this type of statement if we had banned hundreds, even scores of members. But the thing is, most of the members who have been banned have been spammers. They are banned automatically -- like yesterday, someone was spamming the forums with ads for Nokia phones. He (or it, in case it was a bot not a person) was banned. I can promise you that I personally have not banned anyone that I 'strongly dislike.' Mostly because I can't think of anyone on this forum that I do strongly dislike. I'm not hiding behind anything. After the spammers, there have been, I would guess, fewer than 10 members banned over the course of about 15 months. Several of those were temporary bans. A few were permanent bans for various reasons. But those bans occurred before we had these guidelines in place -- so perhaps mistakes were made. You have to remember that this forum started out relatively small and members were close-knit. There wasn't much need for rules. But like Mika's career, things mushroomed quite quickly and started getting out of control. So we're trying to learn how to deal with that. By putting these guidelines together we are trying to avoid FUTURE mistakes and problems. I understand that some people don't like rules or guidelines of any sort. But I don't think most of us can live with that sort of anarchy. We prefer to have a sort of order here. I am hopeful that these guidelines are not so restrictive that people feel they can't post *anything* any more. Judging by the extensive activity on this forum, I think I'm right. I don't think "outside" moderators could do a better job, and quite honestly, as long as moderating on this forum is an unpaid position, I don't think you'll find anyone EXCEPT a fan to do it. dcdeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sienna Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 You know, Pam, I could understand this type of statement if we had bannedhundreds, even scores of members. But the thing is, most of the members who have been banned have been spammers. They are banned automatically -- like yesterday, someone was spamming the forums with ads for Nokia phones. He (or it, in case it was a bot not a person) was banned. I can promise you that I personally have not banned anyone that I 'strongly dislike.' Mostly because I can't think of anyone on this forum that I do strongly dislike. I'm not hiding behind anything. After the spammers, there have been, I would guess, fewer than 10 members banned over the course of about 15 months. Several of those were temporary bans. A few were permanent bans for various reasons. But those bans occurred before we had these guidelines in place -- so perhaps mistakes were made. You have to remember that this forum started out relatively small and members were close-knit. There wasn't much need for rules. But like Mika's career, things mushroomed quite quickly and started getting out of control. So we're trying to learn how to deal with that. By putting these guidelines together we are trying to avoid FUTURE mistakes and problems. I understand that some people don't like rules or guidelines of any sort. But I don't think most of us can live with that sort of anarchy. We prefer to have a sort of order here. I am hopeful that these guidelines are not so restrictive that people feel they can't post *anything* any more. Judging by the extensive activity on this forum, I think I'm right. I don't think "outside" moderators could do a better job, and quite honestly, as long as moderating on this forum is an unpaid position, I don't think you'll find anyone EXCEPT a fan to do it. dcdeb I am so glad and sometimes happily surprised over your moderators patience! Thank you! In my language we have an expression: The right man on the right place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soangel Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 well yes some people want to be put everywhere or insert sarcasm here, which i understand but its a problem since sarcasm doest work with smilies at all, it ruins the whole thing, plus sarcasm isnt meant to be dead funny, like falling out of you chair when reading it or anything (though it happens sometimes) so i dont know whta to tell you, maybe go to the apple thread, it seems that smilies are not required there but maybe you were not born an apple and wont fit there so in that case i dont have any solution, i personally stopped doing it. Okay.. I' not arguing here, just giving my opinion, The way I see it, in real life you have tone of voice and body language and personal relationships which help you decide when your being sarcastic. What I say to someone in real life as sarcasm, could be totally taken the wrong way online, hence the reason for the smilies. Misunderstandings happen all the time with sarcasm online so while it doesn't work with smilies in real life, it needs something extra online (eg the difference between me saying to someone "I hate you" and "I hate you" , or even "I hate you":newyear:) Oh and about the apples.... and are faves of theirs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopelesscandy Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 How positively delightful! These rules are very easy to adhere by, and just branching out into these forums, I feel welcome and safe. This seems to be a pretty nifty place. : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollipop_monkey Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 How positively delightful! These rules are very easy to adhere by, and just branching out into these forums, I feel welcome and safe. This seems to be a pretty nifty place. : ) Welcome! Feel free to introduce yourself here: http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3 And take a minute to read our FAQs in brown bar at the top of the site, if you haven't already done so. And I must say - wow, you've certainly been lurking a while. I'm glad you've finally come out of the shadows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopelesscandy Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Welcome! Feel free to introduce yourself here: http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3 And take a minute to read our FAQs in brown bar at the top of the site, if you haven't already done so. And I must say - wow, you've certainly been lurking a while. I'm glad you've finally come out of the shadows! Hey, it's never too late to jump out and join in the fun! It's time I did so. : ) Thanks again! I'm off to the introduction thread now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliem Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Thank you, I think this is very useful, don´t remember if I followed these rules for a 100%, but now that you mention, fans forget about MIKA´S BAND and STUFF or their families. We think of him as an extraordinary, superlative and extremely gorgeous:mf_lustslow: Human Being, but yeah, like or not, he´s just a singer, with a song (Freddie´s:punk:) maybe more.... Anyway, all manhood are called to sanctity! Sorry, hallucinated that last night:shocked: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikatching Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 hiall, Hey, hello...I'm from portugal, i'm new here, but i like it a lot...just found out about mx recently due to his summer festival concert in portugal...started browsing the net and found u guys... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAK1 Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 hiall, Hey, hello...I'm from portugal, i'm new here, but i like it a lot...just found out about mx recently due to his summer festival concert in portugal...started browsing the net and found u guys... Hi there, and welcome:wink2:. If you go to the Introductions thread, you will get a lovely warm welcome from many other MFCers. And check out the FAQ link for any questions you need the answers to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avoca Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Hi there, and welcome:wink2:. If you go to the Introductions thread, you will get a lovely warm welcome from many other MFCers. And check out the FAQ link for any questions you need the answers to. rose, we shall add the tee with tails question to the faq ones.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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