Posted:
Hello everyone,
The Development Team and I would like to address a number of issues pertaining to India-Forums.com that have been and continue to be a cause of concern for the members of this online platform in recent years.
Before we dwell into things, I wish to apologize to everyone for the use of the phrase "hate-mongers"! As soon as I realized that I had offended members of India-forums.com, I have withdrawn the comment in one of my later post, but now I wish to officially express my apologies that such will not occur in future, as at the end of the day its you, the non-DT members as well as the DT members, who are the pillars of the forum! And I hope that we can start off on a clean slate from this point on.
a) First off, we would like for it to be known that India-forums.com DOES NOT encourage or allow any group(s) to use the forum as a platform which promotes hatred through the use of derogatory speech and unnecessary name calling against any individual or company.
Internet and this platform are a great resource for us to utilize the "written" medium of communication to empower freedom of speech! But the sad truth is many of us misuse it. According to many, freedom of speech is a right on the internet, which is true to an extent. However, when it comes to a forum, it's a privilege rather than a right. It is a powerful tool that has direct/indirect impact on us and those around us, especially in regards to the tone and choice of words used. Hence, it is very important to focus on the expression of speech and views in a manner that is civil and comes across as constructive criticism, without the use of derogatory language just to ridicule or degrade the quality of discussion. Freedom of Speech DOES NOT give us the right to hurl accusations or curses at others whether its a member (including dev team) or a celebrity or a production house!
If one side can express an enormous amount of dislike for an actor without being labelled as "haters", "bashers", "bullies", others are also allowed to appreciate their favorite actor without being labelled as "drooling", "fangirls", "fanbots" or worse.
b) Lately, there have been a lot of serious concerns regarding Cyber Bullying on India-Forums.com and therefore we wish to reiterate that India Forums DOES NOT encourage or tolerate such activity. No one has the right to frame/ label/ personally attack fellow members! Henceforth, severe action will be taken against members who indulge in this. Any threats that are directed or suggested towards the development team member(s) over actions against Cyber Bullying will also be dealt with severity. Rules are applicable for everyone and all must abide by them without prejudice.
c) As the Site Admin I would like to assure our members that your privacy and safety is of prime importance to us and we would work to the best of our ability to ensure issues are handled in timely and effective manner. In the coming months you will notice many new features addressing the same. But while we work on those features, we would like to strongly clarify that posting private and personal content from other social networking onto India-Forums.com is NOT acceptable and will not be treated lightly! Everyone has a right to privacy that needs to be preserved and respected on an online forum and under no circumstance will a breach of member's privacy be tolerated here.
Also, there has been a lot of false rumors being spread that Senior DT members as well as Admin have the ability to access members' private messages. I would like to stress that NO MEMBER OF THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM INCLUDING THE ADMIN GROUP are able to access members' inbox or read private messages. Member privacy is of the utmost importance and will never compromised under any circumstance. The private messages sent by a member are only accessible by the sender and the recipient, and NO ONE ELSE unless its reported by the recipient.
d) Last but not the least I would like to thank our Development Team, as they put in a lot of effort to maintain a peaceful environment with healthy discussion, devoid of spam and troll. Since it is difficult for admins to be present in each forum of this online platform, it is the DT that represents us and implements decisions and rules put in place after much discussion. And while members are welcome to and encouraged to bring to us any concerns regarding DT moderation, I would like to clarify that under no circumstance will DT bashing be acceptable nor tolerated. If you have concerns regarding their management of a forum, please bring them to the appropriate higher DT's attention. But ridiculing, bashing or bullying DT members on a public forum will NOT be tolerated any more. You're welcome to air your grievances in a civil manner and WITHOUT the use of abusive/derogatory slander. Any instances of DT bullying/bashing will be dealt with SEVERITY from this point onwards. At the end of the day a development team member is also a member and the anti- cyber bullying concept is also applicable to them.
e) Having said all this, all members are required to abide by the RULES OF EACH FORUM they participate in! They are applicable to everyone and from now on any violation which has a warning-level raise associated with it will come with further restrictions, as described below:
20% - First warning, so members are given a chance, without any other restrictions
40% - Only 5 posts (replies in topics) can be made in a day
60% - No new topics can be created in addition to restrictions of 40% warning level
80% - Restricted PM access whereby PMs can ONLY be sent to Dev Team to resolve issues, in addition to restrictions of 60% warning level
100% - Automatically bans the member
In the event of having received a warning level raise, please contact the DT for any discussion pertaining to the reduction of the warning level. However, the reduction in warning level is incumbent upon the behavior displayed in forums throughout IF over a three month period subsequent to receiving the warning. During this three month period, the member MUST remain active (i.e NO self-ban) and display appropriate forum behavior in order to be considered for a warning level reduction.
We understand that this may be a bit overwhelming to go through, but we sincerely hope for your cooperation as we work towards the betterment of this platform to generate a healthy environment.
Thanks,
India-Forums Development Team
P.S.: Any abusive/derogatory post against anyone will simply be deleted and warning level increased. People MUST express their views or criticism in a civil manner.
The Development Team and I would like to address a number of issues pertaining to India-Forums.com that have been and continue to be a cause of concern for the members of this online platform in recent years.
Before we dwell into things, I wish to apologize to everyone for the use of the phrase "hate-mongers"! As soon as I realized that I had offended members of India-forums.com, I have withdrawn the comment in one of my later post, but now I wish to officially express my apologies that such will not occur in future, as at the end of the day its you, the non-DT members as well as the DT members, who are the pillars of the forum! And I hope that we can start off on a clean slate from this point on.
a) First off, we would like for it to be known that India-forums.com DOES NOT encourage or allow any group(s) to use the forum as a platform which promotes hatred through the use of derogatory speech and unnecessary name calling against any individual or company.
Internet and this platform are a great resource for us to utilize the "written" medium of communication to empower freedom of speech! But the sad truth is many of us misuse it. According to many, freedom of speech is a right on the internet, which is true to an extent. However, when it comes to a forum, it's a privilege rather than a right. It is a powerful tool that has direct/indirect impact on us and those around us, especially in regards to the tone and choice of words used. Hence, it is very important to focus on the expression of speech and views in a manner that is civil and comes across as constructive criticism, without the use of derogatory language just to ridicule or degrade the quality of discussion. Freedom of Speech DOES NOT give us the right to hurl accusations or curses at others whether its a member (including dev team) or a celebrity or a production house!
If one side can express an enormous amount of dislike for an actor without being labelled as "haters", "bashers", "bullies", others are also allowed to appreciate their favorite actor without being labelled as "drooling", "fangirls", "fanbots" or worse.
b) Lately, there have been a lot of serious concerns regarding Cyber Bullying on India-Forums.com and therefore we wish to reiterate that India Forums DOES NOT encourage or tolerate such activity. No one has the right to frame/ label/ personally attack fellow members! Henceforth, severe action will be taken against members who indulge in this. Any threats that are directed or suggested towards the development team member(s) over actions against Cyber Bullying will also be dealt with severity. Rules are applicable for everyone and all must abide by them without prejudice.
c) As the Site Admin I would like to assure our members that your privacy and safety is of prime importance to us and we would work to the best of our ability to ensure issues are handled in timely and effective manner. In the coming months you will notice many new features addressing the same. But while we work on those features, we would like to strongly clarify that posting private and personal content from other social networking onto India-Forums.com is NOT acceptable and will not be treated lightly! Everyone has a right to privacy that needs to be preserved and respected on an online forum and under no circumstance will a breach of member's privacy be tolerated here.
Also, there has been a lot of false rumors being spread that Senior DT members as well as Admin have the ability to access members' private messages. I would like to stress that NO MEMBER OF THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM INCLUDING THE ADMIN GROUP are able to access members' inbox or read private messages. Member privacy is of the utmost importance and will never compromised under any circumstance. The private messages sent by a member are only accessible by the sender and the recipient, and NO ONE ELSE unless its reported by the recipient.
d) Last but not the least I would like to thank our Development Team, as they put in a lot of effort to maintain a peaceful environment with healthy discussion, devoid of spam and troll. Since it is difficult for admins to be present in each forum of this online platform, it is the DT that represents us and implements decisions and rules put in place after much discussion. And while members are welcome to and encouraged to bring to us any concerns regarding DT moderation, I would like to clarify that under no circumstance will DT bashing be acceptable nor tolerated. If you have concerns regarding their management of a forum, please bring them to the appropriate higher DT's attention. But ridiculing, bashing or bullying DT members on a public forum will NOT be tolerated any more. You're welcome to air your grievances in a civil manner and WITHOUT the use of abusive/derogatory slander. Any instances of DT bullying/bashing will be dealt with SEVERITY from this point onwards. At the end of the day a development team member is also a member and the anti- cyber bullying concept is also applicable to them.
e) Having said all this, all members are required to abide by the RULES OF EACH FORUM they participate in! They are applicable to everyone and from now on any violation which has a warning-level raise associated with it will come with further restrictions, as described below:
20% - First warning, so members are given a chance, without any other restrictions
40% - Only 5 posts (replies in topics) can be made in a day
60% - No new topics can be created in addition to restrictions of 40% warning level
80% - Restricted PM access whereby PMs can ONLY be sent to Dev Team to resolve issues, in addition to restrictions of 60% warning level
100% - Automatically bans the member
In the event of having received a warning level raise, please contact the DT for any discussion pertaining to the reduction of the warning level. However, the reduction in warning level is incumbent upon the behavior displayed in forums throughout IF over a three month period subsequent to receiving the warning. During this three month period, the member MUST remain active (i.e NO self-ban) and display appropriate forum behavior in order to be considered for a warning level reduction.
We understand that this may be a bit overwhelming to go through, but we sincerely hope for your cooperation as we work towards the betterment of this platform to generate a healthy environment.
Thanks,
India-Forums Development Team
P.S.: Any abusive/derogatory post against anyone will simply be deleted and warning level increased. People MUST express their views or criticism in a civil manner.
40% Warning Level Limit has been increased from 5 to 15.
Please check: India-Forums.com- Participation Guidelines & Rules
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