SD Forum Rules of Behavior

[Jeff Head]

Jeff Head with the approval of other active SDF MODs and myself has streamed lined the rules of this forum..making them easier to read and understand.

Great job Jeff, the next two posts inform all users what SD is about:

PREAMBLE AND BIASES

There has been a lot of discussion about bias...and whether there is any, should be any, etc.

Let me make clear what I believe over the years the entire moderation team has tried to accomplish..

Of course there are biases. Everyone has them. Whether people have biases or not is not the issue.

The issue is how the acceptance of, or vocalization of the biases is handled on the forum.

SD is not meant to be a place where politics and these biases bare sway in any real fashion. I is a place where we want to try and discuss the technologies and the capabilities of various military and defense issues, their technology, their cost, their capabilities etc. It is also a place to be able to discuss certain countries and their beauty, pictures, and non-bias oriented cultural things...bu principally defense technologies.

Common sense will tell you that if people get the idea that one or the other bias is acceptable that people will come here and invite their friends who share and push those biases to come here...and then SD will no longer be a Military Defense Forum...it will become a political forum full of flame wars, attacks, insults, and degradation as the sides line up against each other.

We have have attempted to keep that type of thing from happening and to stop such bias on both sides. I have tried to do all in my power in my time here and will continue to do so. It is what we must do if we want SD to remain the preeminent place on the web where people of all sorts come to discuss defense.

As long as people follow the rules and do not push their bias, or try and insult of others who may feel differently, then people from Pakistan and India, people from Saudi Arabia and Israel, people from China and the the US, or China and Japan, etc., etc. can coexist on this forum and get a lot of pleasure and a lot of goo information from one another.

So the rules are written to forbid politics, and insulting bias activity, etc. and we have policed the biases and will continue to do so.

It does not mean people do not have them...of course they do. We are asking people to be mature about them and not come here to express, push, or lift up such biases over other people.

SD IS NOT FOR THAT!

If that is what any poster wants to do...GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

On the other hand, if you can pretty much leave such ideology and pushing it on others at the door, and want to discuss military technology without the bias and learn about it...and also maybe learn about other people without all the negativity, bias, insults, flame wars, etc...then SD is meant for you.

That is what SD is about and is the way we moderate and try and operate SD...and it is something that everyone should know when signing up to post here at SD.

Now, the forum rules of behavior:

 

[Jeff Head]

SINODEFENCE FORUM
RULES OF BEHAVIOR

Version 3.3, 12142017

INTRODUCTION:
The Sinodefence (SD) Forum, as it's name implies, is principally about Chinese Defence forces. It also however includes forums/topics for all the World's military forces, World News, a Member's Club Room, and other forums/topics established for the discussion of other activities as established by the Forum Management Team. The SD Forum maintains a professional attitude and prides itself on providing an atmosphere that allows both younger individuals, and seasoned professionals to visit and discuss military and other topics rationally and with good will.

We take pride in the forum we have established and the professionalism of it. If you haven't already done so, pleas read the first post about Biased posting and SD's direction concerning it here on SD.

The following Rules of Behavior have been established to maintain the decorum, professionalism, and reasoned atmosphere we expect at the SD Forum. All members, by accepting membership to the SD Forum, agree to be bound by these Rules of Behavior and are required to read and abide by them.

SINODEFENCE FORUM
RULES OF BEHAVIOR

MODERATOR INSTRUCTIONS & INTERACTION:

• Moderators post BLUE, RED, or BROWN text as official instructions, edits, or input. These colors, including in bold, are for moderator use only.

• Do not quote or respond to moderator posts. If you have issue with one, PM that moderator, or another about it. Be advised: Moderators have a forum where actions are discussed. Arguing with a moderator o open threads will be cause for warnings or suspensions depending on the severity.

• Follow moderator's instruction. Disobeying or ignoring moderator's instructions will lead to warnings or suspensions, including permanent suspensions.

GENERAL RULES:

• All new members must read the forum rules and follow them. It is expected that you will have done this and moderators will treat you as if though you have done so. So, READ THE RULES and follow them.

• This is an English language forum. You may post in a any language, however provide an English translation for any non-English post and any links posted.

• This is a military forum. Non-military topics belong in the provided off-topic forums. Politics and ideology are not a part of "off topic" posts, they are not what SD is about and we discourage them heavily..

• This is a professional forum. Do not make nonsensical claims or points. Moderators will remove them and ask you to stop.

• Stay on topic. Off-topic discussions, if they persist, will be moved or deleted.

• When posting a new topic, use the search function, and also look through earlier threads to ensure it is not a duplicate post.

• Only post pictures that are either on your server, or a common online server like flikr, etc. Also, very high res pictures (like anything over 2000 pix) should have a smaller version posted with a link to the high res. See how BD Popeye does it in the Daily US Naval Pictures thread in the Military Pictures Forum. Pictures over that simply take too long to load, slowing down everyone who visits this page. Such posts will be deleted.

• A maximum of 5 pictures are allowed in any one post. A maximum of three five picture posts will be allowed in sequence.

• Only post videos that are either on your server, or a common online video server like Youtube, News Service, etc.

• A maximum of 2 videos are allowed in any one post. Do not post multiple posts of two videos to get around this limit.

• Do not make one line posts. You will be warned if you persist in doing so.

• Multiple accounts are not permitted. They will be deleted.

• If a thread is old, or closed, and if new material comes up, open a new thread under the same name but add a "II" or next available Roman Numeral to the thread title.

DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING:

• Post any personal attacks, political or ideological propaganda, or commercial advertisements better know as spam.

• Post any swearing, foul language (damn, hell & ass are permissible) or any sexually explicit terms. Do not use them for user names. . Do not posts asterisks in place of the letters to try and get around this rule.

• Post Text message abbreviations such as U R, ppl..etc.. etc... or excessively use slang language.

• Post any comments would be offensive to any ethnic, racial or religious groups or government. For example, "Chinaman," and "Chicomm," are offensive to our Chinese members and not permitted.

• Post any comments that prompt anger or hatred between different countries or groups of people. This includes "Nationalistic chest thumping," "Country bashing," and any attempts to insult countries, governments, or people (particularly with insulting labels, like Nazis, etc.). Moderators will determine if such language and posts exist and delete them and warn or suspend the member depending on the severity.

• Post or take part in meaningless arguments and inappropriate provocation of members.

• Post anything that the moderators/administrator regard as inappropriate. This includes "sexual comments," including idiotic & immature "she's hot" etc comments. Remain respectful to all women, military or otherwise.

• Post any article by someone else without comments of the poster and a link to it. You are responsible of the content of your links so do not post trash.

• Post anything (pictures or any plagiarism ) that violates an author's copyright. Always provide a source if quoting someone else.

• Post any purely political comments of any sort.

• Post comparison threads or posts.

FORBIDDEN TOPICS:

• No "what if" discussion about war, particularly nuclear war, between China and other nations, or between any nations.

• No discussions that compare Indian defense against Chinese defense or India Vs China discussions...or any other such comparisons of particularly difficult situations.

• No discussion of revenge against any country for past actions that are now historical. IE. Mao and Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Russian Stalinist era, the Japanese atrocities in World War II, etc.

• No discussions regarding Tienanmen Square or the Tibet operations in the 1950s.

• No discussions promoting any Terrorist Organization or their ideologies.

• No discussion about, or photos or videos of, sexual themes, pornography, or nudity.

• No discussion regarding any commercial activity seeking the money or business of forum members.

• No discussion of purely political issues.

WARNINGS AND BANNINGS:

• Members will receive warnings for minor infractions which will appear in the Banned/Public Warning list.

• After two warnings a member will receive a one week suspension.

• After a third warning a member will be banned for longer periods or may be banned permanently.

• A member may be banned at a moderators discretion for unspecified amounts of time or permanently without warnings issued for any major infraction.

• Super Moderators can ban members, and the banning will appear in the Public Banned/Warning list.

• Members shall not publicly call for the banning of any member.

 

[Blitzo]

Newly amended rules for content posting, interaction, critique:

1. Members are allowed to post articles, social media, images, videos, and other online content of "questionable" quality, however they ideally need to be accompanied by reasonable thoughts and commentary by the member themselves.
- For example, newly released images of a J-20 or any other system can be posted with minimal description or even without a description -- however if it is an old image that is well known (and thus would be content of a "questionable quality"), then ideally the posting member should explain why they are posting it.
- For example, posting a link to a video that is a podcast or an "information video" (and thus more likely to be content of a "questionable quality") should be accompanied by an explanation for why it is being posted such as what section is relevant, what information is new, and to justify its presence overall. Alternatively, posting a link to a newly released CCTV video defense documentary on a weapons system can get away with less of an explanation.
- For example, posting an article from outlets with long established poor track records such as SCMP, The National Interest or Business Insider (and thus are sources of "questionable quality"), is allowed but should be accompanied by a justifiable explanation for why it should be of interest to anyone on the forum. Its presence would need to be actively defended and justified.
- Overall, members should exercise common sense, and to not be afraid of using some effort to preemptively explain and justify what they are trying to convey, including for content that may not be of "questionable quality".

2. Fellow members have the right to critique and respond to posts and links in a manner that stays within the bounds of forum rules and etiquette (i.e.: they should be done in a civil manner, without use of expletives, and conveyed in a way that minimizes provocation).
- Members should not wield the forum rules as their own person bludgeon and cite them as the first course of action for shutting down another member's post or contribution. Instead, should seek to engage with them as equals.
- If members identify someone who has repeatedly made posts they consider to be of poor quality and the offending individual has not engaged in constructive responses, then they can use the "report" function and make their case for a track record of questionable low quality posting behaviours. Moderators can then review and judge the offending individual in question, and provide (or not provide) warnings and penalties as appropriate.

3. Members who consistently post articles, tweets, videos, images of questionable quality without responding to critique, and without alteration of their behaviours, may be subject to receive warnings and penalties by the discretion of the moderators, depending on the context and severity of their infarctions and behaviours.
- These members who behave in this way may be identified through other individuals using the report function to raise it to moderator attention, or alternatively can be a result of moderators themselves noticing such a pattern of behaviour through their own time on the forum.

4. These above rules and guidelines apply for all parts of the forum, but will be especially closely monitored and enforced in the primary PLA watching sections of the forum, in the "Strategic Defense," "Army," "Air Force" and "Navy" subforums.

Signed from the active moderating team:
T-U-P, Sampanviking, Deino, Siegecrossbow, Blitzo, LawLeadsToPeace, Vincent, HereToSeePics, Phead128, SAC

 

[Blitzo]

Update due to AI matters.

User generated AI generated content here is NOT permitted, including text, video or imagery.

This has been discussed among moderators, and such content will be deleted with warnings and bans given if that occurs.

If such content is posted unknowingly or unintentionally, moderator action will be done at discretion when evaluating past posting behaviour, knowledge and intent of the user posting it.