Right,I see that a new thread for the rules suggestion won't be needed after all.Since Hawkeye has posted his list here I shall do the same.
So here it is:
1.General rules for user conduct:
-Playful banter is allowed,playful insulting also.As long as all parties involved understand there is no malicious intent.This however needs to be made clear,to avoid misunderstandings.If members are in a dispute and lashing out at each other using profanities and personal insults,they will be asked to move it to a query.If one of the parties feels personally threatened by the dispute,they will seek op's attention and intervention in the main channel.If the perpetrator does not cease after a verbal warning,a kick will be issued,if this is also ineffective a ban in duration of 2 hours will be placed on his IP.
-Harassment of users is not allowed in any form.This also refers to the point above.Harassment in this case would be defined as efforts to insult someone(with malicious intent),making vulgar,sexual remarks about a user,trying to make a user leave the channel,with statements such as "No one wants you here","If you don't like it leave",etc (note that the definition of harassment is very broad and subjective,in any case a user who feels threatened should and must notify the ops about their concerns so that action may be taken).
-Any action resembling sybersex is prohibited.Users involved will be asked to move it to a private query or stop.If they do not obey a warning kick will be issued.If no result is achieved a IP ban in duration of 3 hours will be set.
-Excessive flooding and spamming is not allowed(i'm thinking say 30+ lines of spam)If a verbal warning or a kick has no effect the user will be banned in the duration of 30 minutes.
-Posting offenisve material(pornography,racism,gore,etc,again the definition of offensive is debatable and subjective).Also when linking to offensive,or potentially offensive content,the user is obligated to provide the channel with a warning about the nature of the link,so that people know they're opening the link at their own responsibility.
2.Who gets to moderate the channel?
My opinion is that the only people who should be given ops on the channel are people who already have power on the forum.Esentionally mirroring the forum's hierarchy.
Forum administrator = channel owner
Forum super moderator = channel administrator
Forum moderator = channel operator
Half operators: Do we even need them?
#intpforum.com is a small channel,that I don't remember has had a numer of over 25 users at any given time.I'm thinking 5-4 people are more than enough for moderating it.
3. Banning,kicking and the moderation of moderators:
-It should be noted that these rules apply to channel moderators as well.
-Kick function is a warning,not a toy and should be used accordingly.
-Bans may be set only for a valid objective reasons,that are made clear to the channel,and that the channel agrees with.
-Any permanent bans must be rewieved and agreed upon by the entire channel.That is,the intent to permanently ban a user must be disscussed in the main channel,with the other user's participation.It is not a decision solely based on the op's opinions.
-Any permamanent bans that have been set are a subject for reviewing by the community and may be revoced at any time.This entails disscusion,providing evidence to support one's claims,the agreement of the majority,etc.
-Staff on the channel is there to so to say "serve" the community,by making sure things run smoothly and effectively.They are not to abuse their powers and any abuse noticed by a user must be brought to the attention of the remainder of the staff and other users,so that appropriate measures may be taken by the staff to rectify that sort of behavior.
-An important point is asserting that ops should not act or make decisions independently from the will of other users.Cooperation is crucial.The channel is there for everyone,not just the operators.
4.Other:
-Caps.I really see no problem with them.Some people may find them annoying and see them as screaming or shouting on the IRC,but I fail to see any offensiveness there.Besides they are often used to emphasise a word or a point.
-Swearing.Again I see no problem there,unless it's used as a deliberate malicious insult.People will often went on the channel by saying: "FUCK LIFE!" or "fuck this lousy internet connection of mine."The context is important here.
-Hawkeye mentioned scripts.I again see no need to prohibit those,unless we're talking about malicious and harmful scripts.This may also relate to bots on the channel.Which means that users should seek the approval of the staff and channel to connect a bot,given it'a good,nice bot.(I think that the network allows only 3 bots per channel anyway)
P.S.Phew,that's all I can come up with atm,and I feel exaused now.I'll probably edit it in the future as I get more ideas.I'd like input and constructive criticism by other members of the forum for mine as well as other lists.
Edit:Err,on a second thought,I might have gotten a bit overboard with this extensive list.In any case it's completely free to be dismissed.
Because I myself am a rules hater
