Help Develop FerrariChat.com Rules and Punishment…

As a lawyer, i spend each day crafting, interpreting and applying rules. The only thing i can say, based on my experience, is that no matter how adroit and farsighted one is at drafting rules to guide conduct, the sheer depth of ingenuity and the unpredictable will mock our rule-making ability; there will be situations that are literally covered by the rules, but not offensive, and others that are not clearly proscribed, but highly offensive. More later.

 

Yup - that's why I followed the K.I.S.S. rule & indicated "Some ways of getting banned" & purposely didn't mention race, sex, religion, orientation by name, as way too many threads would get sidetracked by hair-splitting compared to use of "misogynist," "bigoted" or -phobic" - which when heard, read, spoken or written are acknowledged descriptors of offensive, anti-social behavior.

Race, sex, religion, orientation is the sub-plot of many an off-topic thread. That leaves too many openings for minor-league finger-pointing, hurt feelings, whining because of interpretation of "rules" & ways for wolves to cry foul if there's a "double standard."

It's not misogynist to post pics of women who pose for them - nor is it bigoted to show Osama having his way with a yak. It's not -phobic to humor ourselves with comments about "queer eye" nor is it improper to call your ex a b!tch (after all, she called you an arse-orifice, even as she was plotting your downfall for her net gain). When all is said and done, that's all in sometimes borderline, tastelessly good humor.

Where is the line crossed? Hatefulness. It is misogynist to describe all women as lesser mortals, just as it is bigotry to say that all Arabs, Baptists, Catholics, Homosexuals, Irishmans, Jews, Muslims, Norwegians, *whatever* are better off dead. Spread your hate? Close the door on the way out.

All it boils down to is "don't piss ferrarichatters off, man."

 

Just my .02....What the Hell ever happened to "Majority Rules...?" Not just here on Fchat,but in Society in General?

Since the Dawn of Mankind,(except for the occassional Dictator here and there) Issues have been decided based on what the MAJORITY of the People either want,or don't want. And,for the opposing few. Sorry. Tough Luck. Maybe next time. Like it or lump it.....DEAL WITH IT!!!!!

(Oh sure...you can decide that you'd like to CHANGE it...but,you need to get the MAJORITY to agree with you...)

Now,in the past decade or so. Even if just ONE person doesn't like something. Is "Offended" by something. We have to Change it for THEIR benefit. That is BULL SH*T!!


And,what I'd like to know is why are the rest,the MAJORITY of the populus, ALLOWING this crap to happen? Why are they not fighting just as hard as that 'one',or 'very small group',for THEIR Right to have it the other way?

Has Society become a Bunch of Cry Babies? Sheep? This isn't Burger King....You CAN"T always "Have it Your way". The Rolling Stones have a great song about it,too. "You CAN'T always get what you want...."

You see it ALL the time. Practically EVERY day. Someone is "Offended" by something,and "just want it to go away!!! make it go away,Mommy! make it go away!!!"


The Jerry Springer Show....Now in it's 13th. Season. A FEW are offended by it. But,because of it's immense Popularity with the "rest", (obviously,the MAJORITY) of the Public. It's very successful,and,again,In it's 13th. year. (despite all of the Whining by the "offended" Crybabies.)


Same with Howard Stern. Obviously,there is a Market for it. He's Syndicated all over the Country,and makes MILLIONS of Dollars a year,being "Sopomoric",with "Potty Humor". And,Perhaps offending a FEW. (BTW...I happen to Like both Guys and their shows).

In the 21st. Century,we are provided with many OPTIONS. Especially,as Adults. We can CHOOSE to: Switch the Station,Change the Channel. Look Away. Ignore. Stand up for Youself. Move along. Laugh it off. Log off. Switch to a different thread. Etc...Etc...Etc...

I was born and raised Before any of this "Politically Correct" B.S.came into "Vogue". But,I was also raised as a Gentleman. To be polite. And,to TRY to avoid offending anybody.


But,there is a saying: "You can't please all the people all of the time...."

I was also raised to speak MY Mind. And,not to be afraid to do it. Never to Back Down,if I am expressing MY 'opinion'. And,all the Men who died in Wars,FIGHTING to give us those rights,GUARANTEE that I can.

So,If I Unintentionally "Offend" someone else. I'm sorry....But,Tough Tuna. Just as you have YOUR rights. I have mine. And,I am 'Offended',that You are 'offended'. So,We are even....


Agreed. Blatant attacks,being a Stroke,or just being Ignorant is one thing.And,there isn't any room for that here on FChat,or in Society at all,for that matter. But,expressing your 'opinions' and 'views',whether it might "offend" somebody else,is your RIGHT. Right or Wrong...


But,once you start letting Censorship in the Door,ANYWHERE...in any degree...shape, or Form....It's IN that Door. It's like "Cousin Eddie" on "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation". It's in...and,you aren't getting it back out....


Before you know it. We'll be getting Monitored on the Computer,Phone,in our homes....The thought of "Big Brother" getting in MY door,scares the Crap out of me...How about you?

And,for the FEW who are afraid that something might pop up on their Computer Screen when they are at work? Get back to work,you Slacker!

And,for the Lazy parent who is "Afraid" that their little Angel might see something that they shouldn't. What do you expect? This is THE INTERNET! Police your own kids. It's not our job,or Responsibility. I Police MY own Kids. You Police yours. This is,I am assuming,a chat site for ADULTS. Not too many 8 year olds that OWN A FERRARI!!!

Hey,I'm offended by Wimpy Cry baby Adults...can we just make them all go away....? God Bless America....(and,if anybody is "offended" by that statement,I have another one..."America...Love it or Leave it!!!") Have a nice day....Me? I have other plans.......

 

I know i am not a ferrari owner yet, but i am a true enthusiast and have been since seeing my first ferrari (512bbi) and know quite a lot about the marque, therefore when a person applies to join this site why not devise a quiz which a true ferrari enthusiast should pass without too much difficulty, that should keep out the people who just want to join to cause arguments with other members.

 

uh, well, i hate to be the guy to break it to you, but it never existed

i don't think any society, nation, or large organization on planet earth in the history of mankind and his predecessors has ever really had a a "majority rules" organizing or governmental structure. it's not human nature. i am unaware of any history of a true polity on any large scale.

ferrarichat is an autocracy. everybody is welcome to leave if they don't like it. rob and his minions solicit opinions, and often listen to those opinions, but they make the final decisions and we do not.

doody.

 

Then,whats an "Election",Mr.Doody? "Civilized" Democratic Societies have been around since the "Roman Culture". And,my understanding,is that 'Democratic' loosely means,"The Majority". People are Elected solely due to garnering the MAJORITY of the Vote. Laws are made,because the MAJORITY of the people Want it that way. Our own Bill of Rights,"The Voice of the People"...(Not "Person".),which,I am pretty sure,mean the MAJORITY of the People. Not One,5,or a small group. If it was like that,we'd Really be in a mess...well,worse than it is already.... How about "51% shareholders of any Company". They,the MAJORITY,RULE!!! Sorry,but I have to disagree with you....

 

Well, a US History lesson is in order... pure "majority rules" results in great injustices for the minorities! Minorities quickly lose all ability to be a minority... and everything just turns into what the majority wants.

As a result of this realization, the majority voted to put in place a government that guaranteed certain rights for the minorities. So, for example, a minority can get together and decide to do things their way... as long as they don't violate the rights of some other group.

Back to topic... if a group of 20 of us want to form a forum where you are not allowed to post anything unless it has a picture of a Ferrari and a bikini-clad girl, we can! That is our right. And if 100 people join and "vote" to change the rule to a Lamborghini or a Ferrari... tough... its our site, they can't join and change the rules... they can ask us 20 to change them, but if we refuse... tough... if they want a Lambo or Ferrari site, they can go build one themselves.

In the case of FerrariChat, this is Rob's site. He created it the way he wanted it. And a bunch of us really like what he created. And it doesn't matter how many people join and want something different... its Rob's site... his decision. If you want something different, either convince Rob that he wants that too... or go create your own site.

 

Uhhh... you missed the whole point of the Bill of Rights. Our wise forefathers were worried about the bad outcomes of "majority rules". For example, they worried that if one religion became the majority, then it could vote to make that *the* religion of America. Sooo, they refused to agree to the constitution UNLESS we added some safeguards... like an explicit guarantee that the majority could not vote to restrict their freedom of religion.

The Bill of Rights is all about restricting "majority rules".

Sheesh, what are they teaching in school these days...

 

LOL!

i guess the TX public schools ain't so bad ;-)

doody!

 

Oh, now - all this thread is about is making sure there's no more time than "necessary" to rid the site of Ferrari-haters, trolls, neo-nazi's, those sort of ne'er-do-wells, by putting some basic guidelines to F-Chat netiquette in writing. Nothing more, nothing less. In other words, F-Chat would remain 99.9% the way it is. The .1% is giving the owner & administrators greater leeway in ridding the site of the occasional dregs of society.

Speaking of netiquette, this link should be included as part of the basic training and/or Rules & Punishment:

(For more information, see link to RFC 1855. It suggests reading for one to two months before posting.)
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html
__
Now, if one wanted to have an agreement for new f-chatters which contains most all the wherefores and how-thou-now-cows, it'd read something like this:
__

Registration Agreement Terms

While the administrators and moderators of this forum will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible, it is impossible to review every message. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author and not the administrators, moderators or webmaster (except for posts by these people) and hence will not be held liable.

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-orientated or any other material that may violate any applicable laws or Rules of Ferrarichat.com. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned (and your service provider being informed). The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions.

You agree that the webmaster, administrator and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should they see fit. As a user you agree to any information you have entered above being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent the webmaster, administrator and moderators cannot be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

This forum system uses cookies to store information on your local computer. These cookies do not contain any of the information you have entered above, they serve only to improve your viewing pleasure. The email address is used only for confirming your registration details and password (and for sending new passwords should you forget your current one).

The treatment you receive here is exactly what you receive in any other web forum, news group, discussion board, or in real life when you barge into a room, society or organization full of other people. There is a basic technique called "lurking" employed online; read any guide to netiquette and it will tell you to read a forum for around 2 weeks before posting so you can work out what is acceptable and desirable. So don't claim this is some kind of forum of evil. If you want people to like you unconditionally, you have to pay them. Sorry.

(For more information, see link to RFC 1855. It suggests reading for one to two months before posting.)
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html

By clicking Register below you agree to be bound by these conditions.

I Agree to these terms and am over 13 years of age

I Agree to these terms and am under 13 years of age

I do not agree to these terms

 

I am wondering if the guideline is still forthcoming? I think a standard set of guidelines will help not only new members behave properly but will allow a standard that could be used in terms of when questionable posts come up.

 

Huh, whut happened while I was away just trying to make a buck? Has a secret society been formed? Why can't I get in on this. Damn. I bet that it is that bunch of damn Okies on this list...

 

The issue with a strike count is that there are certain people on this board that can get away with anything, and others that get hammered the moment they say anything. In particular, Carbon gets a pass quite frequently. His latest posts in the P4 thread are particularly offensive, calling a fellow Fchatter after bodily excretions simply because he disagrees with him.

Even if there was a strike plan in place before that exchange, does anyone truly believe The Fchat Posterboy would get disciplined? Pretty unlikely. And yet the person expressing the unpopular view will likely get strikes because they're not part of the inner crowd.

 

Personally, I think that any ranking should be done by all users, not just the moderators.

Nighty nite.

 

It's still a popularity contest, only with fewer players.

 

Of course, it would be. But so would a moderator point system.

I posted a thread on the old board about this same issue that a geek board developed. This board grew to 50,000 users and had thousands of posts daily. They first tried moderators, but even they couldn't keep up. I'm too tried right now to look up the name of this board.

Currently, I use the new post button and scan all posts. Certain members I automatically skip because I know what they are saying even without reading the post. But as this board grows, we will have less and less of a good old boy network. But if other users give stars to a post, this opens the door to even a newbie who has something meaningful to say. Just a thought.

Actually, I think that everybody has been behaving much better lately, and things have gotten much more enjoyable accross the board (sic). I guess that the cabin fever blues have passed, eh?

Good nite.

 

3. If you are a long-standing member please act like one. Lead by example and assist other newer members rather than attacking them. We look upon our senior members to use this opportunity to teach the newer members the appropriate way to use these message boards. Keep in mind; a board is only as good as its members.

Inevitably common questions are going to come up repeatedly. If you know the answer JUST ANSWER IT or advise someone how to navigate this site. Point them to the right thread, otherwise you will intimidate and alienate new members and then maybe you will have know-it-alls here with nothing to discuss.

I think "Search the Archives, it has been discussed before" should be banned from anyone's response! These people are just looking for help for god sakes, don't get on their case

 

I partially agree... the counter-argument is "Don't feed the hungry (they'll just be hungry tomorrow); instead, empower them to catch/grow food themselves."

I try to always answer like this: If you search on "whatever" then you'd find this thread among many others answering your question.

Its a "gentle slap" I suppose, but it is both feeding them and teaching them to feed themselves. Now if the same user does the same three more times after that, I may start to "slap" a bit harder.

 

Brian.

Apparently the repetitive questions don't bother some members since there always seem to be answers given other than, "go look it up" or "look here". What I don't get is what's the harm in a question getting repeated? Often a search won't turn up exactly what you're looking for.

And, as long as you don't reply, am I wasting your time by asking something that's been asked before? Rob doesn't seem to mind wasting the disk space, so why worry about it?

Just wondering out loud.