- Welcome to Is God Imaginary?.
News:
New members, please say hello to the forum in the Introductions board!
FAQ
1. There is a freaky weirdo whose posts are consistently bad. Is there any way to ignore him?
2. Will people who advocate any belief be tolerated on this Forum?
3. How do I report a post or PM to the Moderators?
4. What is a Member Group, and how do I join?
5. Are Member Groups moderated?
6. What is The Corner?
7. Why can't I edit my old posts?
8. How do I turn off the profanity filter?
9. Is it true that admins can read PM's?
10. If a moderator bans me, do I have any recourse?
11. How do I post a YouTube video?
12. What is the Banlist tab?
13. Can I delete my account if I don't want it anymore?
14. What does the "Save As Draft" button do?
15. How do the Moderators determine Member Conduct violations?
16. Why are some threads locked?
17. What do I do if I receive an objectionable private message?
18. How do the Moderators determine harassment?
19. What are additional forum features?
20. Can another member abbreviate or alter my username when posting?
21. What is the BoneYard?
22. What is a Troll Post?
23. What is Karma?
24. May I appeal Moderator decisions?
1. There is a freaky weirdo whose posts are consistently bad. Is there any way to ignore him?
Why, yes, there is! You can add people to your ignore list through your profile settings, under "Buddies/Ignore List."
2. Will people who advocate any belief be tolerated on this Forum?
Provided that they follow the Rules, followers of all belief systems are welcome to post on this Forum. It should be noted that this tolerance does not necessarily extend to the belief system itself, and members should expect to be challenged on any and all assertions they may make.
3. How do I report a post or PM to the Moderators?
If you think that a post or PM contains a Rule break or a breach of Etiquette, first check to find the number of the Rule or Etiquette, and then click on the "report to moderator" link at the bottom right of the post.
This will take you to a page where you can enter the number of the Rule (e.g. 5) you think was broken, or the Etiquette (e.g. E1).
When you have done this, click "submit". If your report has merit then it will be actioned, if not, a moderator will contact you to explain why not.
4. What is a Member Group, and how do I join?
Some boards on this forum are for group members only. To start a new group (eg "Triclavians Unite!"), you may petition an Admin provided your group will have at least 12 members. After that, each new member of a group is voted in by the group, itself. If a member receives a simple majority of those who vote, then he or she becomes a member. The poll is to last for seven days, unless a candidate receives yes votes from more than 50% of the total membership. The purpose behind member groups is to give members at least one place on the forum where they can make their posts unmolested by those of other faiths, worldviews, interests, etc.
5. Are Member Groups moderated?
Yes. All Forum Rules and Etiquette apply on the Member Group Boards and posts may be reported in the usual way.
6. What is The Corner?
Rather than ban disruptive members from the forum, we restrict their access for a while. If a member has broken any 2 of our rules within a 60 day period then their very next transgression will see their forum access restricted. Restricted members are only allowed to post in The Corner board, and any posts on their behalf outside of this board will be deleted.
In Corner threads, the default topic is "Forum rules and moderation of the forum." This is to allow Restricted members to freely plead their case if they feel unfairly treated. Moderator decisions can be reversed if they are shown to be in error. Other topics may be discussed in Corner threads provided they are not inflammatory.
7. Why can't I edit my old posts?
Editing or deleting old posts can disrupt the flow of threads and make them difficult to follow. For this reason, we allow Members 30 days to edit their posts. If you wish to make corrections after this time you may request that a Moderator makes the edit for you.
The Administration of this Forum reserves the right to restore deleted posts at its discretion.
8. How do I turn off the profanity filter?
In your profile settings, under Look and Layout Preferences, is the option to leave profane words uncensored. Check the box, then save your settings.
9. Is it true that admins can read PM's?
Yes. While the admins of this forum assure you that they would not violate your privacy in this way, it is important to know that they, and the admins of SMF forums in general, can read your private messages. This is also mentioned in our registration agreement.
10. If a moderator bans me, do I have any recourse?
Except in certain cases, such as spamming, moderators will not ban you but rather just restrict your access to one part of the forum. You will be allowed to plead your case in a board called The Corner. If the other moderators feel that you have been unfairly treated, they may vote to overturn the original moderator's decision.
Members who are continually disruptive will be dealt with by the moderators on a case by case basis. The Corner is located in the Community category.
11. How do I post a YouTube video?
To post a YouTube video, simply copy the short url into a message. No tags are necessary.
For example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S4snTi2dUw becomes
12. What is the Banlist tab?
The ban list will display every banned member along with the reason for being banned. The ban list is available to all forum members.
13. Can I delete my account if I don't want it anymore?
We do not allow members to delete their accounts, as others would be unable to view their post history.
14. What does the "Save As Draft" button do?
This feature comes in handy when you've already invested a lot of effort into a post but don't have the time or energy to finish it in one sitting. Just click the button, and a draft is saved. To retrieve it later, simply view your profile, and you'll see it waiting for you. (Feature is currently unavailable.)
15. How do the Moderators determine Member Conduct violations?
If a post is reported for breach of Etiquette #1, the moderators use the following procedure:
1. Are we unable to identify:
a) one or more derogatory terms used, either directly or indirectly, to describe one of our members (qualifies for E1a)
or
b) personally directed profanities or other derogatory comments not covered by a) (qualifies for E1b)?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY,
IF NO:
2. Was the comment clearly humorous?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY,
IF NO:
3. Is there a strong reason to suspect that the comment was inadvertent?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY,
IF NO:
4. Is there any other way we justify a verdict of Not Guilty without bias?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY
IF NO, GUILTY E1a or E1b.
Examples of forms of words include (but are not limited to)
"You are a <derogatory term>"
"<Forum Member> is a <derogatory term>"
"You are acting like a <derogatory term>"
"Are/were you a <derogatory term>?"
16. Why are some threads locked?
Threads can be locked for the following reasons:
(a) The thread consists of a single post by the Forum Admin containing some information
of use to the membership. If the thread were not locked then the original post would become
buried by further comment and thus difficult to access.
(b) An expired Corner thread will be locked because the thread (which was to give a restricted
member somewhere to post) is no longer needed.
(c) Threads started by members using sock puppet accounts will be locked at the discretion of
the Moderators if the thread serves no other purpose than to promote the sock puppet.
(d) Threads about a single forum member may be closed at that member's request. (This does not apply to Corner threads.)
The Moderators reserve the right to lock other threads if deemed necessary, pending discussion
with the membership over further appropriate action.
17. What do I do if I receive an objectionable private message?
(a) Report the PM to the moderators. Moderators may warn, restrict, or ban members who violate the TOS or who send harassing PMs.
(b) If you do not wish to receive further messages from this member, you can add her or him to your ignore list. To do this, enter your profile, click "Personal Message Options," and either type the name in the box or click "Find Members" and search for him/her.
18. How do the Moderators determine harassment?
If a member is reported for harassment, the moderators use the following procedure:
1. Are the moderators unable to identify a repeated attempt to engage another poster in posts or private messages in a manner that causes the target distress?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY,
IF NO:
2. Are the replies directly related to recently posted content?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY,
IF NO:
3. Has the member stopped attempting to engage in the same sort of behaviour after being instructed to stop by the forum staff on behalf of that poster?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY,
IF NO:
4. Is there any other way we justify a verdict of Not Guilty without bias?
IF YES THEN NOT GUILTY,
IF NO:
5. Is the harassment unlawful and/or excessively harmful, threatening, abusive, sexual, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable in nature?
IF YES, TOS VIOLATION
IF NO, RULE #5 BREACH
19. What are additional forum features?
Additional forum features are aspects of the forum that are not essential to normal forum posting. Examples of additional forum features include member profiles, personal messages, karma, and reporting posts.
Due to their nature, additional forum features are not covered by the Etiquette Guidelines. However, these features are a privilege, and members are expected to use them properly. Administrators reserve the right to disable these features at their discretion for members who abuse them.
In emergency situations, moderators can also temporarily restrict member privileges.
20. Can another member abbreviate or alter my username when posting?
Yes.
If the resulting name is derogatory then it may be reported, by any member, as a breach of etiquette; however, if the moderators determine that you don't object to that alteration then no action will be taken.
If you report it yourself then that will be taken ipso facto to mean that you do object to it.
21. What is the BoneYard?
In an effort to keep threads on topic, we have created an area of the forum where posts or groups of posts that do not follow our etiquette guidelines can be moved, in order to prevent the disruption of intelligent on topic discussion of the original topic of the thread. If a post or group of posts have been determined to violate certain etiquette guidelines(currently E2b) they will be moved to this subsection of the forum.
Other members or the member who created the original post which was Boneyarded can continue discussion in that new thread in the Boneyard. If other etiquette or rule violations(other than E2b) occur within that moved post, normal rule violation processing and\or editing procedures will follow. Additional posts created as a reply in the Boneyard must continue to adhere to all other forum rules.
22. What is a troll post?
On this Forum a troll post is defined as a post which is both off-topic and inflammatory.
Inflammatory:
Elements of a post which might be regarded as "inflammatory" include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
1. By its general tone and/or specific wording it demeans the character, competence or morality of the Forum member to which it is addressed.
2. It advocates (or might be construed to advocate) some form of physical or psychological harm to a person or group of people.
3. It demeans a group of people, or a person, on the grounds of sex, race, disability or sexual orientation.
4. It contains an insensitive or callous remark in a thread concerning the personal life of a Forum member.
Off-Topic:
An off-topic post is one which does not relate directly to the topic, or something which could legitimately lead from it, as defined by the OP (Opening Post, i.e. first post in the thread). In Corner threads, the default topic is "Forum rules and moderation of the forum." Other topics may be discussed in Corner threads provided they are not inflammatory.
23. What is Karma?
Karma is a quick way to register approval or disapproval of a post for whatever reason you wish. "Applaud" adds one to the recipient's positive Karma score and "Smite" adds one to the recipient's negative Karma.
Guidelines:
If you find that your, or someone else's, Karma is behaving in ways that you consider to be unreasonable you should PM an Admin and ask if there is a member abusing the system.
Abusing the system can take a number of forms which include, but are not limited to, some of the following:
Randomly smiting/applauding a large number of members in a short space of time.
Creating a sock-puppet to applaud your own posts.
Applauding/smiting one particular member over and over in a short space of time.
If the Admins determine that an abuse has taken place then the abusing member will be informed and Karma privileges may be revoked for a time and/or the offending applauds/smites may be deleted.
The Admins reserve the right to determine if and when abuse has occurred; see also FAQ 19.
24: May I appeal Moderator decisions?
You may appeal (either as reporting or reported member) a Moderator decision if, in your view, any of the following circumstances apply:
1. Inconsistency: A similar post has, in the past, been ruled differently. Your appeal must link to the post.
2. New precedent: A similar ruling in the future might lead to undesirable consequences for the Forum. Your appeal should state what those undesirable consequences would be and how this ruling might lead to them.
3. Misreading: Your post has been misread by the Moderators. You should submit the clear meaning that you intended to convey by your post, and explain how the original wording had exactly the same meaning.
PROCEDURE:
You should PM a Moderator, within seven days of receiving the result of a report, stating on which ground you are basing your appeal, and your PM should contain the additional information or evidence on which your appeal rests.
The moderators will then re-consider their votes, and if the majority opinion changes in your favour the appeal will be upheld. If there is no change in the majority opinion then the appeal fails.
You will be informed accordingly.
NOTE: Only one appeal per decision is permitted.
25: Aggressive Use of Trauma.
Valued Members will not repeatedly present a graphic or verbal image that describes physically traumatic events. These events include but are not limited to torture, mutilation, child abuse, suicide, etc. Such posts are subject to temporary edit while a reported violation is considered.
When a brutal description of a traumatic event is rhetorically necessary, Valued Members will establish the meaning once, then use euphemisms as reference after that. More in-depth description can go in a spoiler block with a content warning tag.
When encountering a potential violation of E1d reporters should request the poster to modify their language before filing a report. As always, Staff will not typically take action without a violation report unless threats (R1) or privacy (R3) are involved.
When an edit is necessary the edits will involve only the disputed phrase, and the poster will be notified at the time.
Refusal to edit a post is an R4 violation. Continued E1d violations are potential violations of R5.
Extreme Examples
* A fear of spiders will not result in replacements of the phrase "world wide web".
* Reports of repeated descriptions of mutilation or dismemberment will likely result in required edits, whether or not any VM has experienced those events.
Reasonable Examples
* Drowning" and "torture" are generic terms. Repeated physical descriptions of drowning or waterboarding may be violations.
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