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  • Forum Guidelines (revised 03/13/11)

    § 1) Posting

    Although we respect the principle of free speech, the World Affairs Board is not a democracy. Therefore we have devised a set of guidelines designed not to stifle debate, but to enhance it. To maintain a level of high-quality discussion, types of behaviors that are forbidden include, but are not limited to:
    • 1. flamebaiting, trolling, participating in flame wars, or fanboy behavior.
    • 2. spamming, via posts or private messages. This includes, but is not limited to, sending unsolicited invitations via PM for other forums and sites, and advertising via post for any site without prior approval.
    • 3. treating the forum as if it is a chatroom, and posting with instant messaging or text message-type conversation. Please refrain from using SMS language and chatspeak, and use proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization.
    • 4. posting, uploading or linking to content which is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, harassing, threatening, sexually suggestive, hateful, profane, or contains racially, ethnically, or religiously objectionable material.
    • 5. religious proselytizing; this forum is not a pulpit, preaching your religion is not permitted here. We are also not a platform for the bashing of religion.
    • 6. advertising for commercial sites.
    • 7. advocating acts that are unlawful.
    • 8. expressing support for groups that are internationally recognized as terrorist or criminal organizations.
    • 9. making malicious comments about the forum or its staff, on this forum and other forums or websites.
    • 10. public criticism of a moderator's actions; if you have any concerns about a moderator, please contact an administrator.
    • 11. publicly requesting a member be banned, or implying that they will be; attention can be requested to rule violations, which will be followed by a decision and appropriate action by staff.
    • 12. blatantly advertising for other sites in a signature, post, avatar, etc.
    • 13. make sure to check for relevant, recent threads when posting a new topic.
    • 14. topics must be posted in the appropriate forum.
    • 15. make sure your post is relevant to the thread you are posting in, please try not to post off-topic comments, make tangential remarks, or otherwise derail a discussion.
    • 16. when presenting an argument as factual, please take care to be able to back up your argument with actual facts or evidence that you are able to source. Arguments based on unsubstantiated rumors or conspiracy theories are frowned down upon.

    § 2) Images & Copyrights
    • 1. hotlinking images from other sites is forbidden; WAB has a generous attachment policy, up to 5 pictures totaling 1MB for all attachments are allowed per post, so please save the pictures to your computer, then upload them if you wish to use them in a post.
    • 2. abuse of upload privileges is forbidden, this includes using WAB for image hosting or uploading inappropriate content.
    • 3. copyrighted materials posted on the World Affairs Board must state the source in full.
    • 4. permission must be sought to republish copyrighted materials that require the permission of the author and/or publisher that are not covered under the Fair Use Provision of Title 17, U.S.C. Section 107.

    § 3) Registration
    • 1. multiple registrations by the same person are prohibited, if you wish to change your username, contact an administrator.
    • 2. registering an offensive or inappropriate username, and incorporating ranks and titles of the military or other organizations into your username of which you have no legitimate claim to. If your username is in violation of this rule, we will contact you to give you an opportunity to change it.
    • 3. All new members are asked to introduce themselves in the Introduction Forum and tell a bit about themselves, after finishing the registration.

    § 4) Miscellaneous
    • 1. violations of criminal or civil law will not be accepted, and may result in the notification of the proper authorities.
    • 2. the administrators of the World Affairs Board delegate their authority to moderators they deem competent to carry out everyday tasks such as promoting discussion, enforcing guidelines, closing and moving topics, issuing warnings and infractions, etc.
    • 3. if you are unsure if a post, picture, signature, link, avatar, or advertisement would constitute a violation of forum rules, contact an administrator or moderator for clarification beforehand
    • 4. if you feel that a member's posts are in violation of forum guidelines and/or are an attempt to bait you into a response in violation of forum rules, please report the post to staff and/or add that member to your ignore list. Continued participation may make the situation worse.
    • 5. staff's posts and overlooked rule violations do not set a precedent for behavior that is permitted.
    • 6. there are certain individuals whom we have ascertained as possessing a professional status. Keep in mind when questioning their experiences and opinions in their areas of expertise, making sarcastic or rude comments may invite swift retribution, and the staff may not be inclined to shield you from the consequences of your behavior.
    • 7. the staff reserves the right to intervene in discussions lacking blatant rule violations to preserve the quality of discussion, which includes requesting that an unruly member exit a discussion.
    • 8. immature nationalist bickering matches are not tolerated here (e.g. nation vs. nation threads), please take them to another venue.
    • 9. private messages written to staff members concerning moderation issues may be shared with other staff members, unless explicitly requested otherwise.
    • 10. the rules are subject to change at any time, without prior notice.

    § 5) Rule violations & consequences
    • 1. the administration of the World Affairs Board, without any previous notice, reserves the right to delete any topic or post and ban any user at any time.
    • 2. consequences for violation of forum rules include warning or infraction issued by a staff member (in petty cases we may choose to "advise").
    • 3. editing or deletion of the offending post.
    • 4. account suspension.
    • 5. permanent ban.


    The World Affairs Board is a public forum, and anybody who wishes to may register and post. Keep in mind, however, that visiting and posting on the World Affairs Board is a privilege, not a right.

    Upon registration, you agree that you will comply with the forum guidelines.

    Determination of what constitutes a breach of the World Affairs Board rules and guidelines rests solely with the forum staff.
    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

  • #2
    Addendum - Definitions & Details

    Definitions of terms used in the forum rules:
    • flamebait: posting something with the intention of drawing an angry reaction
    • trolling: posting controversial and irrelevant or off-topic messages with the intent of provoking other members or disrupting on-topic discussion
    • flame war: prolonged exchange of deliberately hostile messages
    • fanboy: describes individual who is devoted to a single subject in an emotional or fanatical manner, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession. A very essential and very common for a fanboy is to become aggressive or violent to discuss the amateur for whom it is dedicated, often leaving behind the taste of others or even underestimated.
    • spamming: the advertisement of products, services, or sites on the forum
    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

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