Things seem to have quietened down which is a welcome change. And with no news regarding the PP on friday, and pending news next week, now seems like as good a time as any to hand out some apologies.
Regarding my spat last week, and subsequent abuse of LPD holders. I apologise. This includes
@Lynxie,
@In4apenny,
@maxi1981,
@Stock12345,
@timmy35851. I behaved like a Donkey, an absolute Ass if you will. I publicly derided you and for that I apologise. Friends?
For the record, my suspension was self-imposed to calm down. The good people of this forum, were kind enough to suspend my account, and then kind enough to reinstate it on request. On that note, they did request that I "refresh" my reading of the posting guidelines. They can be found here
https://hotcopper.com.au/help/guidelines/.
A few that stood out for me;
3) Stay on topic. If your reply isn't relevant to the thread, post a new thread.
7) Profanity/harassment. Personal abuse is not allowed since it falls under harassment. Profanity in posts is not normally tolerated. Please avoid profanity in general. Repeated or extreme profanity will most likely get you suspended. You should know some words that aren't profanities - use them instead. See below for the guidelines we use to deal with profanity.
8) Complaints about posts or users. If you have a problem with a user's post, use the TOU violation reporting link, rather than flaming them in the thread. In particular, if you think somebody is using multiple identities, don't tell them, tell us and we will investigate. Accusing people in error is embarrassing for everybody.
9) Name your source. If referring to or pasting an article in your post, please include a reference so people can check it out themselves. This is polite to the original author and your readers and saves you being accused of making it up. Note: Copyright material should not be posted on HotCopper.
And then the Probation Offences
- Harassment against another user.If you feel another user is an idiot, that's your business. No-one cares. Don't post about it in the forums. Add them to your ignore list if you feel strongly about it. If you feel the user has violated the terms of use, report it via the TOU violation function.
- TOU Abuse.Do NOT keep making TOU complaints about a member because you don't like what they are saying about your stock, as we will soon realise that you have an ulterior motive for using the TOU button. Mischievous, and overuse of the TOU function will likely result in you receiving a suspension that is longer than the poster you are complaining about.
- Don't feed the trolls.It just makes the situation worse. If a user abuses you or your friends, use the TOU Violation button and they will be moderated anyway. You don't want to join them do you? Ditto if you think the user is using multiple identities - tell us, don't accuse the user in the thread.
- Derailing the thread.Don't post about how you like bunnies in a thread that is all about people who like beer, make a new thread. Just don't make a postanywherethat is (intentionally) worded so as to disrupt the constructive discussion of the current subject.
- Profanity against a user. Similar to harassment, but will probably get you suspended for longer. Seebelowfor guidelines used to deal with profanity.
- Low content posts.A good measure is to ask yourself, 'Is this post funny, informative, or otherwise interesting?' if you can answer 'Yes' to any of those, then post away. If not, take your finger off the Post button
The words of the forum moderators themselves.
I think you will find if we collectively ignore the trolls, and collectively report comments that violate the TOU, they will get the message. I know I have started to follow these guidelines, and I know there have been moderated posts. Who knows, perhaps it works.
As for negative comments on a share price, guess what, it's going to happen. And that is ok. It is ok for a poster to make negative comments about the share price in a share price thread. However, when the commentary spills over into other threads. Bamm.
Likewise, if people wish to post negative comments about, say, Namibia, by all means they are welcome to. But negative comments about Namibia in a Gulf Fluor thread will not be tolerated. Collectively, we adhere to the TOU's provided to us by the good people of this forum. We ignore, and we report.
This is what I will be doing, and I encourage all of you to do the same.
(20min delay)